Manzanita Speedway book...

A book about Manzanita Speedway is being written by Larry Upton and Judy McDonald with the assistance of the Stock Car Racing Association (SCRA). The book is available in local book stores as well as outlets like Costco, Sam’s Club, Walgreen’s, CVS, and online book sellers like Amazon.com.

The book will tell the story of how Jack Holloway, president of the Arizona Jalopy Racing Association, along with Avery Doyle and Gene Gunn, set about convincing Rudy Everett and Larry Meskimen to convert their dog racing operation into a quarter-mile dirt track. On August 25, 1951, Manzanita Park opened to an overflow crowd. Everett and Meskimen had found their very own “Lost Dutchman” gold mine, which was located at 35th Avenue and Broadway in Phoenix. Manzy became an integral part of the racing culture in Phoenix and was heralded as one of the top five dirt tracks in the United States. The book will use words and pictures to tell the story of the early years, the glory years, the last days of Manzy, and much more. Many SCRA members and other Manzy racers will appear in the pages of this book.

Larry Upton is a member of SCRA and author of Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America: Bowling Green Stock Car Racing. Upton is the recipient of journalistic awards from both the Journal of Commercial Bank Lending and the Journal of Arizona History. Judy McDonald is Larry’s wife and former owner of an automobile dealership. This is her first book.

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