If you race regularly in the South, you’ve probably seen him, but you probably didn’t know just who you were looking at. Jeff Miles is the General Manager of South Georgia Motorsports Park (SGMP), and he’s got his hands in just about everything.
“My duties are everything, honestly,” Miles explained. “Linda handles the gate stuff, but I handle the track prep, track clean-up, if problems with the timing system arise. You may announce sometimes, you may run a computer sometimes. You have to be a jack of all trades.”
Miles has been part of the structure at SGMP since January of 2021, and before that, he was at Orlando Speed World Dragway. But his attachment – and hands-on involvement – in the sport of drag racing stretches back to when he was a kid.
“My father purchased Carolina Dragway [in Jackson, South Carolina] when I was nine years old, so I grew up working there,” said Miles. “This is all I’ve known since then.”
Of course, Miles has the heart of a racer, and that’s why he’s so good at his job.
“I licensed in just about everything but a fuel car, but I don’t really have time for that right now,” he said with a grin, going on to explain that although 2020 was a light schedule for SGMP, this year the facility just outside of Valdosta will host right around 60 events. The weekend of March 19-21, the track is hosting the inaugural Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Southern Sportsman Showdown, a Stock and Super Stock Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels triple $20,000 race with the Holley Performance $50,000 64-Car Shootout sandwiched in the middle.
Racers started streaming in on Monday and kicked off testing on Wednesday ahead of the event, and there were smiles all around as the friendly staff of SGMP welcomed them with open arms.
“I love this event,” Miles said. “It’s a ton of fun already, it really is.”
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