Flagger Bruce Anderson credits his experience as a combat controller in the U.S. Air Force during the Iraq War for saving him from possible tragedy.
Wyatt Howard said his car’s wheels touched wheels with Regan Tafoya battling for the lead, with four laps to go, at Diamond Mountain Speedway in Vernal, Utah. The contact sent Howard’s car flying toward the flag stand.
“I saw [the car] coming, and told myself, ‘Oh man, this isn’t going to be good,’ Anderson, 53, of Vernal, Utah, said. “I knew from being in the War … you have to react instantly. I covered up — that came from my military training. I saw debris flying my way, and felt something heavy hit my hip and leg pretty hard. I reached for the red-light switch. I knew I had to shut the cars down.”
Anderson then jumped on the track to check on Howard. Howard was bleeding profusely from his mouth. Anderson tried to calm him and stabilize him until the track safety crew arrived seconds later.
“I was bleeding because I had bit my tongue,” said Howard, 24, of Price, Utah. “I refused treatment, though the emergency responders wanted to take me to the hospital when they saw the blood.”
Howard’s DeVilbiss Racing Chassis car was a total loss, but Howard escaped without serious injury. He sat in a Kirkey full-containment seat, with a RaceQuip five-point harness. He wore a Bell M4 helmet with a HANS device.
Bruce Anderson said he had bruises from the piece of debris that hit him, but otherwise he was okay.
“I discovered racing when I was stationed near [the now-defunct] Mesa Marin [Raceway] in California, and I wanted to be more involved ever since then,” said Anderson. “When I came home to Vernal, I got the flagger job [at Diamond Mountain Speedway]. I love it so much. I’ll be back up there this week for sure.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
