That first photo was a smashing success.
Although Barrie Goodwin took his inaugural photo at Western Speedway sitting in the stands as a fan on Victoria Day in 1955, his love of racing began even earlier than that.
“I saw my first race at the old Langford Speedway in 1946,” he said. “My uncle was a mechanic there.”
Goodwin had his own car for a while in the 1960s but changed gears after a few years to focus on taking pictures of the action.
“I thought having a car would be cheaper than photography,” he recalled. “Boy, was I wrong.”
Goodwin became the official photographer for Western Speedway in 1967 and kept at it until 1989.
“I took a few years off at that point,” he said, but he started up again until 2017, when he stepped away because of health issues.
“What kept me going back is that it’s an addiction,” he explained. “It’s like soccer or football, something people get hooked on for life. The speedway has a great history, and it’s really good to be a part of it.”
READ MORE: Speedway news
READ MORE: Speedway – 1954-2022
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