With Shaggin’ Wagon II, Pete Wright has won 45 races. That incredible mark may have come to an end in turn three of Rockcastle Speedway in Mount Vernon, Kentucky.
Wright had returned to the back of the field after suffering a flat tire on lap seven of the KDRA super stock feature. With one lap to go, Wright’s race came to an end.
“I had a few good runs on the top,” Wright, of Wartburg, Tennessee, said. “I was getting around the seventh-place car when I switched lanes — I misjudged, got into the wall and went over four times.”
Wright had flipped the same car before, that time occurring at I-75 Raceway outside of Sweetwater, Tennessee.
“This week’s flip was more violent,” said Wright. “It hit the ground three times between four flips. That did a lot more damage, and destroyed the Shaggin’ Wagon II.”
He sat in an Ultra Shield full-containment seat, with a five-point harness from Speedway Motors. Wright wore a Zamp helmet, but no head-and-neck restraint.
“[My neck] is mildly sore, not real sore,” Wright said. “I hurt my ankle unloading the car and that hurts worse.
“The full-containment seat made a huge difference. I did not bounce around much during the crash. I probably should have had a head-and-neck restraint — I wouldn’t have a sore neck.”
Pete Wright hung upside-down when the track crew reached him. A small fire erupted under the hood from oil escaping the breathers and dripping on the headers.
“You could see in the video that they were heading for me before my car came to a rest,” said Wright. “They asked if I was okay. I told them I was in pain from the sub belt being between my legs. The safety crew had to boost me so I could release the harness.”
Adams Chassis built the Shaggin’ Wagon II based on a GM Metric car.
“I’m already planning to build another car — we will have to use parts from the Shaggin’ Wagon II to build Shaggin’ Wagon III,” Wright said. “Nothing around the cage was bent. The front and rear are bent badly. I will be talking to Jamie Adams to see what direction we go — clip it or build another car.”
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.
