During his time as speedway reporter for MCN, Andrew Edwards travelled extensively witnessing first-hand the thrills and spills of world class speedway, meeting the top riders and hearing and reporting on stories of epic euphoric success and sometimes tragedy. Here Andrew recounts his own story from humble beginnings in provincial journalism in the West Midlands to national newspaper reporting of Grand Prix world meetings with anecdotes and characters described in his own style with a fair bit of humour along the way. How he met with some of the greatest headline makers over decades of speedway reporting becoming great friends of many along the way including legendary names like Ivan Mauger, Barry Briggs, Bruce Penhall, Peter Collins, Simon Wigg, Jason Crump and Kenny Carter. There is also the story of how Andrew experienced major changes in the publishing industry, from hot metal presses, the days when clanky ink ribbon typewriters were the latest technology and even before mobile phones were invented, right through to a new dawn of the new digital printing revolution.

The post-war era was British speedway’s golden age. Ten million spectators passed through the turnstiles of a record number of tracks at the sport’s peak. With league gates as high as 80,000, speedway offered a colourful means of escape from the grim austerity of the times.A determinedly clean image, with no betting and rival fans mingling on the terraces, made speedway the family night out of choice. The sport thrived despite punitive taxation and Government threats to close down the speedways as a threat to industrial productivity.A three-division National League stretched from Exeter to Edinburgh and the World Championship Final attracted a capacity audience to Wembley. Test matches against Australia provided yet another international dimension.Even at the height of its popularity, speedway was a sporting edifice built on unstable foundations, which crumbled alarmingly as the 1950s dawned and Britain’s economic and social recovery brought competing attractions like television.

Following in his late father's footsteps, Tai Woffinden made his name as Britain's most successful speedway rider ever. Known for his speed on the tracks and his quirky tattoos, he is a popular figure within the sport and beyond it. With a vast array of titles to his name, including youngest ever Grand Prix World Champion, achieved at the age of twenty-three, Tai has come a long way from his Scunthorpe roots. His love affair with speedway began when his family emigrated to Australia while he was a child, where he became a local champion while still at school. He has not been without his share of struggles, however. In 2010, he lost his father, the popular speedway rider Rob Woffinden, to cancer, which, combined with issues within his team, resulted in a difficult season. Then, in 2019, during his defence of his World Championship, he crashed heavily during a race in Poland and was badly injured, breaking his back. Such setbacks do not keep true champions down for long, however - Tai will be back, to dazzle his thousands of fans with his unique combination of flamboyant skill and raw courage. Told with his trademark honesty and directness, his autobiography provides an eye-opening insight into the life of one of speedway's greatest talents and most beloved stars. © images; not to be copied or reproduced without permission.

Saving Speedway tells how the road to recovery began when a small group of men of vision re-opened long-closed venues and then, in 1960, formed a new competition, the Provincial League, which doubled the number of speedway venues overnight and eventually led to a new Golden Age for the sport.