JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — Jack Ward has assumed the role of general manager at Goodyear All American Speedway with a goal of improving consistency at the track in the upcoming season.
Ward, 75, has worked in motorsports for decades and has worked with Goodyear All American Speedway since the track’s opening dating back to the late 1990s and the Coastal Plains era. Ward has been a flagman and also serves as the race director at the four-tenths-mile track in Jacksonville, N.C.
“I just want to improve the operations of the track, put people in place that want to be a part of the show, and try to help the track evolve and get back to its glory days,” Ward said. “We want to be consistent and efficient in our operations, for the racers and the fans.”
Ward’s first race as general manager will be on Sunday, Jan. 1, when the track hosts the 2nd annual Hangover 150.
“Jack’s been here a long time and knows the racers and the track,” said Anthony Goodyear, speedway operator. “He’s been committed to this track and doing what we need to do to get the shows in on time and cultivate an atmosphere that’s fun for the racers and fans.”
Ward, a veteran of the United States Army, grew up in Napa, Calif., where he attended races as a kid before eventually getting into racing himself.
“There was a race track over the hill from where we lived, we’d walk over there every night. It just kind of went from there. I was watching, then a friend of mine had a car and I worked on his pit crew for a while. Then a fellow wanted to sell his car, so I bought it for $900, trailer, tires and everything, and that’s where it all started with the driving. It was a super mod. From there I got into sprints and midgets. I was not Steve Kinser by any stretch,” Ward said.
In the years that followed, Ward began working in the pits at a dirt track in California.
“Nobody was messing around with fire bottles, so I just started doing it and they thought it was a good idea so they started paying me. I used to get $25 a race. Shortly after that, the flagman and I were buddies, he got drunk one night, and I ended up flagging for him and it started snowballing from there. They paid me about $50 at the time to do that flagging, and I did that for four or five years,” Ward continued.
“Then the track closed, and me and my ex-wife decided some of these tracks don’t have safety crews. We were both working for SCCA at the time as certified EMTs and we started working around some of the dirt tracks, bought our own equipment and started going to the racetracks and started working at five different dirt tracks.”
After moving to the East Coast, Ward began working at the track as stop-and-go before becoming a pit steward and eventually a flagman.
He served as a pit steward and a flagman at Carteret County Speedway as well, before joining Goodyear All American Speedway on a regular basis as the race director.
The next racing season at the track begins with a pre-season exhibition, the Hangover 150, on New Year’s Day at 3 p.m. (ET).