FIGURE EIGHTS--- A MORE COMPLICATED CIRCLE
By Mike Fields

             Most drivers go into an entry-level division when they start their racing careers.  However, this is not normally a requirement to get into racing.  We’ve seen drivers go from Go-Karts right into premier division such as NASCAR Modifieds and become successful.  However, that’s hardly the norm. 

            You may find the Figure Eight division in many areas of the country, and also in a few countries around the world.  On Long Island, they are one of the most long-lived racing divisions, and steeped in tradition.  Figure Eight racing takes a lot more concentration than any other division.  With other race classes, you need to look at the straightaway in front of you, as well as the upcoming corner.  In Figure Eights, you need to look at the straightaways in front of you, the upcoming corner, and opposing turns to see other cars that may be approaching the X. 

            For the fan sitting in the stands, it can get downright nerve-wracking to sit and watch the cars that narrowly miss each other by inches going through the X.  After the initial green flag, the field takes a few laps to start stretching out, as the slower cars can’t keep up with the faster cars.  That means that the front-runners will start going around the track and through the X before the back-markers have a chance to clear it.  From the seats, it begins to look like a fast-paced game of chicken to see who will slow down first to avoid a crash. 

            However, you would notice that it is usually the back-marker that will slow down, giving the leaders the right of way through the X.  Many times, it is the driver new to the division who either doesn’t know enough to yield, or is inexperienced enough that he will misjudge the speed of the other car, his own car, or how far the other car is from the X that may cause a spectacular crash.  Invariably, that will in turn cause some intense conversation (with the appropriate gestures) and/or other extra curricular activities in the pit area after the race. 

            Figure Eight racing has made a name for itself and gained tremendous national popularity, along with a world-wide audience many years ago, when it was showcased on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, as well as being seen on ESPN and ESPN@2. 

            On Long Island, many of the drivers believe that Figure Eight racing got it’s start right here in 1963.  However, former Figure Eight driver and current NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour director Joe Larsen remembers it somewhat differently.  According to Larsen, master promoter Larry Mendelsohn sent the late Walt Edsal out west, perhaps in 1962, to check out this “Figure Eight thing” that Mendelsohn had heard about. 

            Edsal’s report to Mendelsohn began, “Their God Damned Crazy!” 

            But Mendelsohn, perhaps believing that crazy is always a good draw, started turning current racecars into Figure Eight racecars.  From there, the fun and mayhem began.  Walt Edsal became the first Chief Steward of the Figure Eight division.  Back then, Islip had separate Chief Stewards for both the Figure Eight and the Modified divisions.  Eddie Nagle, sliding across the finish line on his roof, won the very first Figure Eight race! 

            In the 1960s, Mendelsohn would put up an extra $100 to any driver that could win both the Modified and Figure Eight races in one night. Joe Larsen thinks that the bonus was won only one time.  That was by former NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Wayne Anderson.  But Larsen wasn’t certain that it was only won once. 

            At our little corner of the world at Long Island’s Riverhead Raceway, the Figure Eight drivers have their last practice at approximately 4:00pm or so, and then they don’t usually hit the track again for their feature until at least 9:00pm, as theirs is the last feature race every Saturday.  By the time they are ready for the feature, track conditions would usually change since they last practiced; the temperature may have dropped, the humidity would have risen, and other racing divisions may have laid down fluid on the track beyond the capacity of Speedy Dry.  However, some division has to go last, so it falls to these Warriors of the X. 

            It takes a special type of driver to be able to master the course.  Bravery, talent, consistency, and persistence come to mind… as well as being a little bit nuts doesn’t hurt either!  It’s a widely held belief (and a probably correct assumption) that to drive one of these cars, you need to be about 3 fries short of a Happy Meal! 

            You have to be much more talented to drive a Figure Eight car than any other division,” Riverhead’s announcer Bob Finan stated.  “Instead of just driving on an oval, you’re basically driving on a road course.” 

            The crews need to set up the cars to go in both directions on the track.  To the expression ‘Go fast and turn left’, you must add ‘…and then turn right’ to the equation.  It even causes a new set of minor problems for the officials.  Some signal lights on the track may have to be turned in another direction, as well as the flagman moved to stand in one of the turns. 

            Drivers name may not be known off of Long Island; Roger Maynor, ‘The Dean’ Bill Steen, and ‘TK’ Tom Kraft aren’t as well known around the northeast as those of Mike Stefanik, Rick Fuller, and Ted Christopher.  But ask anyone in the local racing community whom they are, and you’ll get a quick answer. 

            However, a couple of graduates that did run Figure Eights and went on to more fame are Greg ‘Superman’ Sacks and Wayne Anderson.  Sacks went on to win the 1985 Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway as a Nextel Cup driver.  Wayne went on to win numerous track championships at Islip, New Egypt, and Riverhead Raceways, as well as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Championship in the Modified division. 

            “I only ran one season,” Superman said.  “Bob Cidone had a Novice car, a ’49 Chevrolet, that he ran on the oval track until 1968.  Toward the end of the season, he wanted me to use it on the X on the same night.  The only thing he told me was ‘don’t stop’!  So I ended up T-boning 2 (cars) in the X. 

            “1969 was my first season.  The first four races, I ended up wrecking in the X each night.  After that, they all stopped,” Greg said laughing.  “The last night of the season, we had an extra-distance race.  We had an 8-gallon gas tank.  I was leading in points.  With a couple of laps left, I ran out of fuel, and lost the championship to Don Howe.” 

            Those names are somewhat enduring and extremely colorful.  Tom Kraft tells several stories of some of the drivers who’ve raced in the division.  As far as color goes, Ernie ‘The Wrench’ Maynor didn’t exactly get his nickname due to his prowess with a Craftsman Tool Set! 

            Many of the Figure Eights are solid, well-built car (read that; tanks).  However, back in the 60’s and 70’s when the division had their championship races, it would attract many out-of-towners, who would bring much lighter cars to the race from their local tracks. 

            Roy Deal, at one drivers’ meeting, looked at all the light cars gathered around, and said to the assembled outside invaders, “You guys may be fast and light.  But when I hit you, I’ll saw you in half!” 

            Bobby Lane was another driver, who had a reputation of being very innovative with the rulebook.  One night, he was disqualified for having the motor too far to the left.  Lane came up with a very novel way to handle it. 

            The rules at the time stated that although the motor couldn’t be positioned any further back, they could be position further forward than originally came equipped from the factory.  So Lane came out the following week after the DQ with a Corvair body on the car.  For those too young to remember, Corvairs were rear-engine cars!  Motor placement certainly wasn’t a worry after that. 

            Of course there was the night that John Kraft stuffed Whitey Voelker into the wall.  Voelker got out of his car, and went after Kraft.  This was right after window nets were mandated for all racecars.  Voelker couldn’t figure out how to get Kraft’s net down.  So he ran around the front of the car to the passenger side window to lean into the car.  However, by that time, Kraft had already bolted out the rear windshield opening! 

            One of the more famous (infamous?) drivers is ‘Downtown’ George Brown.  Years ago, the then Chief Steward Bob O’Rourke accessed Brown a $200 fine one night.  Brown shoed up the next week, and paid the fine in rolled pennies.  O’Rourke had no problem with that.  At the end of the night at the drivers’ payoff window, Brown received his just rewards--- all in unrolled pennies! 

            Then again, everyone is familiar with the very annoying practice of once being spun out, the driver simply waits for the caution flag to come out.  Then, the driver re-starts his car, pretending that his engine had died, and continues on his merry way.  It’s a practice that usually driver the other competitors, officials, and fans nuts. 

            One night Roy Deal got stuck at the X, and waited for the yellow flag to come out.  But the flag didn’t come out.  Finally, he got tired of waiting.  To prove his point that the car was stuck, he got out of the car while the race was still under green, and then stood on the roof.  It doesn’t take a PhD or a game of 20 questions to figure out what happened next.  Of course the car got hit, and Deal was sent flying.  Word has it that two things happened.  One, the yellow finally came out.  Two, he never attempted that particular stunt again. 

            Tom Kraft tells of the night that both he and George Brown fought against several competitors at the now defunct Islip Speedway.  Bob O’Rourke sent security people down to break it up.  The security people came back and reported that to O’Rourke that they couldn’t break up the fight.  O’Rourke then summoned the fighting duo to the officials’ trailer; a place they both knew very well. 

            O’Rourke fined them both $500 each.  As the subdued duo got up to leave the trailer, Big Bob offered them an alternative to their fines.  Instead of paying the well-deserved monies, they could work their fines off as security at Riverhead Raceway on their off-nights from Islip, stopping numerous fence jumpers, who had been beating the front gate admissions.  After talking it over, they realized several things. 

            1)  They wouldn’t have to shell out the fine money. 2) They wouldn’t have to pay to get into Riverhead to watch the races (where they used to go weekly anyway). 3) They’d both be able to drink beer and eat food for free.  It was simply no contest! 

            So TK and Downtown were out patrolling the fence behind the front stretch the following week, throwing the jumpers back over the fence much quicker than they could climb in.  One night however, there were four jumpers that tried to come over at one time.  They tossed the first two without a problem.  But the second two were a little more difficult. Those ‘freeloaders’ were left a little more scratched and bruised from the experience.  Later that night, TK and Downtown were once again summoned back to Big Bob’s infamous trailer. 

            “We have a little problem with those four people that you tossed out earlier,” O’Rourke explained as Kraft and Brown looked at each other, trying to figure out how they got into trouble this time. 

            Those four you tossed out?” O’Rourke continued.  “They were the fence people.  They were here to raise the height of the fence!” 

            At Riverhead Raceway, the Figure Eights are somewhat different than the other divisions.  Figure Eights motors utilize a 10.1 compression ratio, while the Late Models 12.1.  Perhaps they are more like one of the lower division cars. 

            “They’re pretty much a Charger Car,” say George Sprague.  “Chargers are allowed to run headers.  Two years ago, Maynor ran a 50-lap Charger race (in his Figure Eight car).  He started last, and finished about 6^th.” 

            Sprague has been racing a Figure Eight since 1989.  With a break from ’92 to ’95 so he could run a Street Stock at Flemington, he returned to Riverhead in ’97.  He’s run consistently toward the front of the pack ever since. 

            “I used to come to the track with my uncle (Bob Sprague),” George tells of his beginning in the sport.  “He owned Tommy Kraft’s cars. Although he has raced from many years, he claims to never have been in a serious wreck by the dreaded X. 

            “The worst was (several years) ago, when I got into it with Bill Batsche,” George revealed.  “He was coming down for the checker, and I totally blew it.  George is talking about retiring, and wants to devote more time to helping his son race in Go-Karts. 

            Figure Eight racing looks like a lot of fun, and can be somewhat easier on the wallet to run than other divisions. 

            “The money lures you in,” reveals ‘Slim’ Jim Donaldson as to why he races in the class.  “There’s more money in this, than any other division.  I love this division.  But if someone gives me a steering wheel and tells me to drive it, I will.” 

            ‘Slim’ is one of the more colorful characters at Riverhead.  Sporting 6 rings in one ear, and 5 in the other (we have to wonder… does the odd number ever affect his balance?).  He has known to take the steering wheel and race Blunderbusts, demolition derbies, backwards demolition derbies, school buses on the Figure Eight course, and school bus demolition derbies.  And just for fun, he has this strange habit of taking cars and flipping them over… even that occasional school bus. 

            Mike Mujsce Sr. has been running since 1997.  Before that, he ran Blunderbusts from 1989-1995.  But Figure Eights had always held an attraction for him. 

            “I always got a kick out of the Figure Eights, and the car became available,” Mike told us.  “I like the change of direction, the risks, and the competition.  And the money helps to pay for the car in this division better than most.  But the risks are the same as in all racing divisions.  The wrecks, when they occur, can tend to be of the more spectacular version--- especially in the X.  

            “Hitting the wall was probably the worst crash,” Mujsce stated.  “I’ve been over the car of another.  They guy underneath I was really concerned for.” 

            “I’m working on a Modified right now.  I plan on running eh Figure Eights next year, as well as the Modified.  I want to get some seat time this year in the Modified,” Mike concluded. 

            Many of the drivers in the division belong to S.A.F.E.R., the Suffolk Association of Figure Eight Racing.  The club meets monthly to discuss issues pertaining to the division.  S.A.F.E.R. has an annual picnic open to all, and also holds it’s own Awards Banquet every March, separate from the Riverhead Raceway banquet.  To award monies at the end of the season, the organization charges monthly dues, holds a weekly 50-50 raffle in the pits, and holds other fund-raisers along the way. 

            The hot topic of conversation for most of the 2003 season was the switching from American Racer tires to Hoosiers.  Many felt that the tires were just not working properly for their cars.  When the switch was made, with a lot of tinkering of setups and getting increased seat time on the new tires, the drivers for the most part, were able to get used to the Hoosiers. 

            “The cars are right on the edge of control,” Roger Maynor proclaimed. 

            Unfamiliar tires are only part of what a driver has to concentrate on to be successful, and keep out of trouble. 

            “You need to concentrate on what’s going on in front of you.  Throw the mirror away,” Tommy Kraft says.  “The only time you really have to worry about the X is if you’re out front or in the back.  If you’re in the middle of the pack, there’s nothing to worry about.” 

            “You shut your eyes, and put it down to the floor, and hope the other guy knows what he’s doing,” Rob Nunziata says with a laugh. 

            “I’ve been doing it for 32 years,” stated ‘The Dean’ Bill Steen.  “I’ve never hit anyone, and I’ve only been hit once in the X.” 

            “My strategy for getting through is to make up your mind in the middle of the turn, look across to see where the other guys are in the middle of the other turn, depending what driver is there.  I either pick up the pace or slow down slightly.  From that point, you look ahead about three cars and pass who you can pass, then set it up for the next turn.” 

            “The cars are much more sophisticated and expensive,” Steen commented about how the racecars have progressed over the four decades he’s been racing.  “Over the years, the cars became faster, because Riverhead is a faster track than Islip.  That’s when they switched to bigger motors and fabricated chassis.” 

            “Years ago, there were more cars.  Whoever qualified for the main event could win it--- any of the other 24 cars,” Steen stated. 

            “I started back in the ‘60s.  Sammy Atkins was my cousin,” Steen said.  I went to watch him in the mid-60s.  When I got out of high school, he gave me a roll cage and a motor.  I put it in a 1955 Ford, and that was my racecar.” 

            “There so only so many divisions to go into.  Back at Islip, it was Modifieds and Figure Eights,” Tom Kraft explained about his start.  “You used a regular car, gut it out, and use street tires. That’s why there were 75 or 80 cars trying for 24 spots.” 

            “Some of the better drivers had two cars.  If they didn’t qualify in one, they’d run the other in one of the two consolation races.  There were 25-28 cars in each consi.  They’d only take the top two.  They would take five cars from each of the four heats.”

            Now, it’s difficult to field a full field of 20 cars.  The last time that heat races were needed to qualify for the feature was back in 1998. 

            “Back then, every division got two ‘ladies passes’ for the spectator stands,” said Joe Saraceno.  “Back then, women weren’t allowed in the pits.” 

            Any way you look at it, Figure Eights aren’t for the faint of heart.  Driving a car in this division has proven to be an art form.  As when you get many artists together, there are degrees of talent.  It’s the untalented artist that can paint a lousy canvas. 

Copyright Ó 2003 by Mike Fields.  Reprinted by permission of Long Island Motorsports News.