56th Hank Arnold Memorial Preview
Photo Courtesy: Tucson Speedway
Tucson Speedway will honor Arizona racing great Hank Arnold as it hosts the 56th annual Hank Arnold Memorial on Saturday, Oct. 14.
Arnold was a legendary racer and car builder who won over 160 main events in his career mainly racing in Phoenix, Tucson and Albuquerque. Arnold was tragically killed in a sprint car accident in June of 1967 at the age of 36 at Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix. Arnold was the first-ever inductee into the Arizona Open Wheel Hall of Fame and in 2010 was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame
He won two Arizona State Championships in 1960 and 1962. Arnold also earned the fan vote as Arizona’s Most Popular Driver twice. He was the Tucson Speedway track champion from 1956 through 1959 and he later had three runner-up seasons. Tucson track announcer and Arizona racing expert Woody Cummins claims that Arnold set 17 different track records across the Southwest during his career.
Arnold was equally renowned as an innovative race car builder which helped give him an edge over his competition. When he got out of the Marines, Arnold built his first Jalopy in 1950 with fellow Arizona Open-Wheel Hall of Famer Roger McCluskey. Arnold was too young to drive the car and would not end up making his racing debut until 1953.
As a machinist, fabricator, designer and engineer, Arnold was a bit of a do-it-all man. He had a deep passion and understanding of race cars and understood how to make them faster while maintaining handling. Cummins said that Arnold was consistently about five to 10 years ahead of the curve when it came to the cars he built. He had a drive to make consistent growth in his craft and it allowed him many years of success.
“The old saying was, ‘when the competition caught him, he would just build a better car,’” Cummins said.
In 1956 he built “Party Doll,” the first tubular framed super modified race car in the country. Arnold won more than 30 main events in the car, but in 1958 he built a dirt roadster called “Little Stinker.” In 1959 he built “Payola” which Cummins described as the stepping stone to Arnold’s most famous build, the “Twister.”
The Twister was the first, and to this day is the only, Sprint Car that has been powered by a supercar engine, housing more than 550 horsepower. In 1962 Arnold entered into the 2nd annual Knoxville Nationals in Iowa. Arnold was third fastest in qualifying and earned the Most Beautiful Car Award, but he placed 21st in the event.
In July 1963 Twister was featured in Hot Rod Magazine and in 1988 it was featured in September’s Open Wheel Magazine after being refurbished.
The Twister will be on showcase at Tucson Speedway for the Hank Arnold Memorial on Saturday for spectators to come and see. Payola has been in the process of being restored and there is a slight chance that it could make its way out on Saturday as well.
Off the track, Arnold was always known to make time to meet fans and sign autographs. He was fondly remembered by his competitors as well.
“If somebody had a problem with their car, he would be the first guy over there helping them work on it,” Cummins said.
The first Hank Arnold Memorial race was held at Manzanita Speedway just a few weeks after Arnold’s accident and it has been run annually since. It was held at Manzanita until the speedway closed in 2009. After bouncing around tracks for a few years it found Tucson Speedway which it has called home since 2012. At 56 years running, Cummins says it may be longest running memorial race for a driver in the United States and possibly even the world.
Arizona Open Wheel Hall of Famer Bob Heubner claimed that he ‘would not be denied the first-ever Hank Arnold Memorial,’ before the race. He held true to that, winning the inaugural memorial event.
Come out to Tucson Speedway on Saturday to honor and remember a racing legend and to see a part of Arizona's racing history. Gates open at 5:00 p.m. for a Trunk-or-Treat Halloween event and racing gets underway at 6:30 p.m.
The event will feature action from Thunder Trucks, Modifieds, Pro Stocks, Hornets and Mini-Stocks. As temperatures cool down into October, it should also help the cars race better with improved track grip.
The modifieds championship battle is intense with 2023 NASCAR Advanced Auto Parts Weekly Series Arizona State Champion Nick O’Neill trailing Brian Harrington Jr. by just six points. Brice Bonnett has two wins this season and is in third, 39 points back from Harrington.
With 11 wins this season, David Levitt has a steady lead in the Thunder Trucks championship. However, the battle for Rookie of the Year is tight between Kalvin Catlin and Keirstin Jones as Jones trails Catlin by 18 points. Catlin earned his first career win on Sept. 2 becoming one of only three drivers to record Thunder Truck wins this season.
“Kalvin Catlin could drive a stagecoach pretty fast,” Cummins said on the rookie.
The Mini-Stock and Hornet combined race will also be one to keep an eye on as defending Mini-Stock track champion Jim Bates holds just a three-point lead over Garrette Gilliam. Bates has five wins this season but Gilliam has won three straight and will be looking to tie the win column as he looks to gain a lead in the championship battle.
Don’t miss any of the action. Gates 5:00 p.m. Racing 6:30 p.m.