Dragway is my ‘home’

Having been born and raised in St Augustine, I got excited when I heard rumors that a dragstrip may be opening about 25 miles away. More than 50 years ago, my Dad raced at Thunderbolt raceway and I see a full trophy case with pictures of his ‘55 Chevy and the crowds from racing decades ago. I started racing as a teenager, we had to drive over 1½ hours to get to the nearest drag strip. We trekked to Gainesville or Orlando almost every weekend when I was a kid and I have been at the race track since I was born, I don’t remember anything else. And when he got off early enough from work we made the trip to Jax Raceways.

Dad got meningitis several years ago before the track opened here and had to retire from work as a mechanic and drag racing. His Camaro I now race has been in the family as long as I have and we have no idea how many trips it has made down the strips in North Florida.

Dad and I came over here to watch the day the track opened and, while it had a long ways to go, it had a world of potential – a potential that it is still striving forward with the leadership of Pete, Tom and crew. We don’t hesitate to call this our home track and while the traction here is as good as anywhere, the track personnel are more friendly and caring than any track crew we have ever raced at and the atmosphere is one of family – that is why this is our home track. It’s an alcohol-free atmosphere that you can take your family to enjoy drag racing, an American past time.

As a kid, I traveled to different towns playing sports and I get a feel for the towns. But other than knowing that the football and baseball teams here were almost always amazing I didn’t have much of a feel for Green Cove, the little town on the other side of the river we’d pass through briefly on our way to Gainesville.

Then we started racing, meeting people here and, while Pete and Maree started this, it was the families at the track and the community that made this place our home. If I had the money, I would be here every time the gates open.

I am an outsider, a preacher and drag racer from elsewhere but I am treated like family here. People all across the board here reach out to me for prayer, pick me up when I hit a rough patch and ask about my kids. Alexa even started doing a little drag racing and it was embraced from day one. This is a hardworking, family-loving community and never has it been more apparent than when we lost Buddy and Valerie Short.

Green Cove Springs is an amazing community, full of hardworking family-loving citizens and this man Peter Swanson is attacking that. In my short time as a drag racer, I have watched race tracks be attacked and many times shut down and I have seen how it all affects local businesses. Every automotive business in Green Cove Springs can tell you they have more business because of the automotive interest that drag racing brings. Anyone in law enforcement can tell you a drag strip that embraces the gearheads and motor heads lessens the prospect of street racing. Green Cove Dragway has brought nothing but good to the community.

Jeff Gatlin

St. Augustine