“All the lights work,” he proudly points out. “I even have the brake lights and reverse lights working because that to me looks the coolest when a car is backing up after a burnout. People can relate to that. It feels like on a Friday night they could actually see that car rolling down the road—and I’m not past driving it down the road. I have driven it at some local cruises because I don’t want anything I can’t drive if I really want to. It takes the fun out of it.”
When time allows, Ghee also plans to enter as many of the informal Friday-night events hosted throughout the summer by Atlanta Motor Speedway along the pit road of its NASCAR oval.
“You can go down there for 20 bucks and make 10 passes if you want to and the crowd absolutely loves it, and AMS treats us with great fanfare and style,” he says. “To be honest, though, I thought it was just going to be a joke with no rubber, no real traction on the starting line, but I was very amazed, it’s actually pretty good. And it’s absolutely the most fun you can have, no pressure, you can run your car for 20 bucks all you want. It’s a great family atmosphere and what they’re trying to do is very positive for the community and for drag racing as a whole, so I’m going to support it all I can.”
In his work life, Ghee owns and operates Ghee Force Restoration, a contracting company that does high-end residential remodels and insurance restoration work. He uses racing as a means of relaxation and an opportunity to spend time with his sister Patsy, brother-in-law Charlie Rich and their daughter, Amy, who along with members of Garner’s family attend every race as crew and chief supporters. At the ORSCA event last November at Jackson, SC, Ghee’s mother, Barbara, also came out to watch him race for the first time in 20 years “and she had a ball,” he says.
“Business is stressful enough every day. We do this strictly as a hobby, to have fun, enjoy family time and to witness with people, that type of thing,” Ghee says. “If you’re in this for the money, you’re in it for the wrong reason. I just believe racing is meant to be fun.”