Last night was the first night of the Western World Championships. With the closing of Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix, Arizona earlier this year, the race moved to the USA Raceway down the I-10 in Tucson. For anyone who still feels nostalgic for Manzy, here’s an interview from earlier this year on the eve of the final race at the track with longtime track announcer Windy McDonald.
The winner of the winged sprint feature at Thursday night’s Western World opener was Sammy Swindell. Needless to say, he had a better night than he did on July 24, 2001, when he was involved in a freak accident during a World of Outlaws race at Lernerville Speedway in Pennsylvania. During qualifying, Swindell drove into the back of a push truck at top speed while taking the white flag for his second lap of qualifying. The accident knocked Swindell out of action with broken bones in both hands but he was able to return just two weeks later to run in the Knoxville Nationals.
Finally, with the Turkey Night Grand Prix coming up at Irwindale Speedway next Thursday night, it’s easy to forget that the race went to several different venues after the closing of Ascot Park before it landed in Irwindale. This included five years of racing at Bakersfield Speedway. Here’s the start of the B main at Bakersfield in 1995 with a multiple car flip involving Walt Johnson and John Sarna:
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