Pictured with Miss Chicken is Mr. Tommy Swilley. Tommy was the Flagman at Jackson International Speedway (JIS) from the day it opened in 1968 until about 1982. He was a NASCAR certified flagman and worked at several other NASCAR tracks throughout the Southeast. He shared a ton of stories and memories about JIS and I laughed until I hurt. Tommy was well known for his enthusiasm while waving the flag at JIS. He would lean way out over the flag stand rails to get the drivers' attention. One Saturday afternoon he lost his balance while waving the yellow flag and fell out of the flag stand onto the race track. Cars went ever which a way to miss hitting him and other cars. It was quite a long way down to the track and Tommy was hurt badly. At the time it was very serious but he can laugh about it now. We all enjoyed his visit…
UPDATE: The Jackson Clarion-Ledger News reported that on May 12th 2007 Tommy Swilley passed away.