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The General, John Day

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By Ken Brown
Ask any regular speedway fan “Who is known as the General?” and it is virtually guaranteed that the answer would always be – John Day.
The man behind the fleet of bright orange push utes has become a household name right around Western Australia and his fame has even spread worldwide.
75210738_2810247178987710_7918506898691719168_nJohn Louis William Day was born on September 12, 1937 and passed away on June 29, 2016.
He was always interested in cars and first attended the speedway as a spectator. Day had a go at driving at the Forrestfield Speedway, but in his own words he wasn’t very good.
He married Janet in 1962 and they had four daughters – Kylie, Nadine, Lisa and Justine.
Day opened his smash repair business – John Day and Co. – originally in Bentley and then for many years at 10 Bellows Street in Welshpool.
Looking for a way to advertise his business he approached the WA Speedcar Drivers’ Association, who at the time had only two push utes.
At first he was the reserve push ute driver for the Speedcars at Claremont, but soon graduated to being a regular – and before long we saw the first bright orange John Day and Co. ute at the Showground venue.
The number of utes multiplied over the years with as many as twelve often seen out on the track.
Day also sponsored several drivers – the trademark orange livery being seen on many cars – including the 1969-70 WA Sedan Championship winning Holden of Geoff Stanton.
Looking for a way to add to the spectacle, Day constructed a padded cradle for the back of one of his utes, and we saw his close friend Paul Johnson starting the races. When Johnson retired, Day took over the role as starter, with Norm Kerr doing the driving. 81158155_2944995192179574_8202094775973707776_n
Day also became the “flagwaver”, practicing until he mastered the art of twirling two flags, then four and finally six.
At times he had fireworks coming out of the top of the flag handle, a trick that once saw him suffer burns to the hand.
In 1984 he had a Channel 7 cameraman in the back of the ute with him one night as they paced the field at Claremont.
Coming off the track onto the infield the ute slid and rolled over.
Day recalled:- “We came over the kerb and slipped a bit and we were suddenly going over. It was a slow-mo roll but it all seemed to happen very quickly and I was thinking, ‘Oh dear, I’m not going to get out of this one’. Luckily the ute rolled the right way and none of us were injured.”
But something far worse was to happen to Day in 1988.
His wife Janet says it was by far her scariest moment at the track. It was the night that John was hit by a Sprintcar.
He had to make a split-second decision and thankfully he made the right one.
In Day’s own words: “I was well off the track on the lawn when Allan McCarthy suffered a flat tyre and swerved infield onto the wet grass. I only saw him at the last minute and knew I couldn’t jump to the side because of the car’s hot exhaust. So, I decided to jump up and I cleared the front wing but went straight into the top wing. I was in hospital for a while and I have neck problems as a result, but I’m still here and laughing. It was a freak accident and the thrill seeker in me just had to get back out there.”
Originally Claremont Manager Con Migro gave him the name of ‘The Colonel’ but that seemed too low a rank, so he was promoted to ‘The General’.
The Day family became very close to New South Wales Speedcar and Sprintcar star George Tatnell, who regularly used the John Day and Co. premises when he raced over here in the west.
88099507_3098102723535486_7605002491133952000_nOne of the John Day utes carries the number plate ‘GT 25’. That friendship has continued on with George’s son Brooke Tatnell.
The first Motorsport Ball held at Burswood in 1988 honoured John Day.
From then on until the final one in 2000, the black-tie event was known as the John Day Motorsport Ball.
During the final season at the Claremont Speedway (1999-2000) many local identities were inducted into the Claremont Speedway Hall of Fame.
Fittingly, one of them was John Day.
Since the first meeting at the Perth Motorplex, the John Day and Co. utes have continued to be an integral part of the entertainment package on race night.
In 2003 Wade Aunger arranged to take one of the John Day utes over to Adelaide for the Speedweek section of the World Series Sprintcars competition.
He was honoured as the Grand Marshall for Speedweek, and fans in South Australia and Victoria got to see the John Day show that we here in the west witness on each and every race night.
35990534_1977069608972142_269506393210355712_n“Wade Aunger contacted me and asked if we would do it,” Day recalls. “He got the pace ute on a truck over east and we went and did our thing with the fireworks and the flags each night. That is a very special memory for me.”
Another great tribute for the legendary John Day occurred during the 2011-12 finale for World Series Sprintcars at the Perth Motorplex.
Local driver David Priolo changed his usual black livery to an orange paint scheme to honour the ‘General’.
There were tears in a lot of eyes when the newlook #8 car was unveiled.
“What the Priolo’s did to that car is something that I will hold very close to me for a very long time,” said Day. “That and the fact that this is my 50th year are both highlights for me.”
The bright orange paint scheme worked a treat too, as Priolo became the first WA driver to win a WSS final round at the Kwinana venue.
Both the WA Speedcar Drivers’ Association and the Sprintcar Association of WA have made John Day a Life Member of their organisations.
He is – and always will be – a legend of Western Australian Speedway.
This Saturday, December 3, we are witnessing the sixth running of the John Day Speedcar Classic and the eleventh event honouring John. 163239541_125020069630879_3370392576994204993_n

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