Throwback Thursday: Pro Thunder Bar Banging at Phoenix International Raceway (1999)
Larry Lawrence | February 9, 2023
Shawn Higbee Shook Off Collision with Billy Graef to Win the Race
In this week’s Throwback we set the time machine for March 21, 1999, and set the location to Phoenix International Raceway. There we see the restart of round two of the AMA Progressive Insurance Pro Thunder Series. On that start a pair of Buell riders, Billy Graef (No. 7) and Shawn Higbee (No. 3) had a hard collision just after the drop of the green flag as they headed into turn one. In this shot you see the riders bouncing off one another while David Estok (No. 2) looks over to watch the impact. Higbee said it shook him up enough that it took him a couple of laps to get his confidence back. But come back it did and Higbee recovered to win the race over Estok and Shawn Conrad (who won that’s year’s championship). Other Pro Thunder riders visible in the shot are Michael Gage (No. 92), Conrad (No. 40), James Lickwar (No. 5), Richie Morris (No. 65) and Kiyoshige Watanabe (No. 10).
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