PerspectivesfromaLocalSaturdayNight

By David Swope

Photos Courtesy of Darrell Kenneth

TheNew Mexico Motor Sports Report made a field trip to Legacy Speedway on Saturday April 15th. The drive was an easy hour and 15 minutes from Albuquerque’s Big-I. Weaving in and out of the transport trucks was more exciting than it needed to be, but the effort was worth the trip.

Legacy Speedway, like Sandia Speedway, was looking for an announcer for the 2023 season. Sandia Speedway brought back Kenny Payne who had called some of the races in 2022. Codi Orozco, who basically does everything at Legacy, gave it a try on Opening Night but felt like it wasn’t “her thing.”

I like to call a race occasionally, doing it weekly is very difficult. Last year, I stepped-in to announce at the Randy Combs Memorial Race at Sandia Speedway on May 21, 2022. There was no way I was going to say no to Patty Cain plus the Combs / Cain / Truden Clan has done so much for Sandia over the years – it was my pleasure!

It was only the second race of the season and in April, so the car count was light. It gave me a chance to learn the driver’s names quickly. It was a beautiful Saturday night, and the sunset was gorgeous. The field was headlined by the USRA Stocks Cars but featured USRA B-Mods, Hobby Stocks and Cruisers.

Track sponsors include Red Bolt Internet, Ed Corley Ford, Papa’s Pawn, Pizza 9 and iFinance. Door prizes were provided by B-Mod Racer, Chris Langwell (diecast cars & card), Snap Fitness (1-month FREE membership) and a Legacy Speedway Ball Cap provided by Lucky Hat Company. It was a lot of fun giving the prizes away. I recruited Jonathan Fjeld to help with the giveaways and ultimately to announce the Mains.

Jonathan is a writer for TheRacingExperts.com which started in Grants several years ago. He is also published in the NM Motor Sports Report Magazine including this edition with an article on Chase Elliott. It was a full circle moment when Fjeld represented local Grants’ Pirate, Dominic Aragon, and his NASCAR Media Outlet at the historic track. Jonathan got the crowd cheering as the cars came on the track, provided color commentary during the race and ultimately celebrated the victor.

The night started with a tribute to Denny Otto, 1995 Legacy Speedway Champion (formerly Uranium Capitol Speedway) with all the cars tracking to the track and stopping on the front straight while Amazing Grace played on in the grandstands. Legacy Speedway President, Jason Bodley, outlined the program for the event at driver’s meeting. Head flagman, Brett Edwards, ran a tight program with few accidents slowing the show. Track photographer, Darrell Kenneth, caught all the action including the Winner’s Circle.

The night’s Winners were Jose Morales (63) in the Cruisers, Jeremy Kingsbury (21) in the Hobby Stocks with a last lap pass, Chris Langwell (57) in the USRA B-Mods and Herman Garcia (96X) in the USRA Stock Cars. Both Garcia & Langwell are undefeated on the season. Saturday April 22nd will be a night off for Legacy Speedway with racing to resume on April 28th.

I would like to thank all the staff for making me feel welcome including catching-up with Paul Campos and Suzanna Bonesteel who had both been on my radio show.