Dis-re-spect (dis-ri-spekt) : 1. noun: lack of respect; discourtesy; rudeness; 2. verb (used with object): to regard or treat without respect; regard or treat with contempt or rudeness. — From Dictionary.com
Yep, it’s that time again. The soapbox is out and I’ve got something on my mind. You’ve been warned: read on at your own peril.
OK, I’m not a big fan of sports “personalities” who complain about a lack of respect from their coach, teammates, fans, opponents, city, state, country, species, the media, etc. Having said that, sometimes it is obvious to even the most casual observer that something isn’t right about a situation.
And I’m here to tell you, in my opinion the Super Figure Eight racers at Evergreen Speedway are not getting as much of the capital-R respect that they deserve.
The 26th annual Figure 8 Nationals this past weekend at Evergreen Speedway — the longest continuously run event at the 56-year-old track — should have been a highlight of the season for fans and racers alike. Instead, it turned out to be memorable for all the wrong reasons.
Where to begin? The race, which shared billing with four other features including a late-model doubleheader on the first weekend of the Evergreen State Fair, was shortened to 70 laps due to time. The 20 or so yellow-flag laps were counted, bringing the scheduled 100-lapper in at about half the announced size.
Twenty-eight cars showed up and raced; 26 was the magic number that were supposed to start the A Main, but there were no heat races or other mains to determine which two drivers would watch. The extra two cars may not seem like much, but the figure-eight track isn’t as big as you’d think, and a lot of those 28 racers were either first-timers or hadn’t been racing regularly this season. The difference in speed between the fastest and slowest was felt from the drop of the green flag, I was told by a racer of more than twenty years of experience.
Because the caution laps were counted, there was a strong incentive for drivers to keep racing while crawling around the track — isn’t the field frozen under yellow? — and some have said they lost up to 10 spots before the green fell again. In the confusion the scoreboard went black, and drivers and fans alike didn’t know who was racing who or for what position.
Although Glenn Davis was declared the winner after the race on Saturday — much to his surprise, I’m told — on Monday the “official” press release listed Brian Gunderson as the winner of the $1,500. Troy Simianer was second and Davis listed as third.
Sadly, that same press release pushed all mention of the prestigious Figure 8 Nationals — all seven lines of type — to the very bottom, beneath a lot of information about the “undercard” races.
No, I wasn’t there. Yes, I know at fair time there is no wiggle room in the curfew, which is also a bit earlier than normal. I also know there were a series of stoppages due to wrecks and the induction of Steve Peters — a four-time winner of the F8 Nationals, by the way — into the Figure Eight Auto Racing (FEAR) Hall of Fame. And, yes, I know both late-model races were also cut due to time.
I don’t care.
The fact is, the Figure 8 Nationals — let me say it again: the longest continuously run event at 56-year-old Evergreen Speedway — should have been the centerpiece of the night. The schedule should have been crafted to allow for the full 100 laps to be run, after heat races and a B Main set the starting field.
There were just two other races last year, with the bombers and late-models both running single features, on the same night as the F8 Nationals. If the track was looking to spotlight its two feature divisions — and the Super Figure Eights were raised to that status alongside the late-models last season — and time was an issue, why not just run the late-models and F8 Nationals? Instead a program was written that would require near-perfect timing and zero incidents, and how often has that ever worked outside of Hollywood or a Tom Clancy paperback?
Unfortunately, this was just the latest case of the figure-eight racers not getting their due this season. Some have complained that the schedule hasn’t allowed enough downtime between races to repair costly racecars. A third “major” race, alongside the 60 Minutes of FEAR and the Figure 8 Nationals, was added during the Washington 500 this season, but even that wasn’t without problems. Because there was a dispute over the purse — what was promised before the season and what was planned to be paid out — many regulars were talking about boycotting that race. Additional money was found, but it took some 11th-hour wrangling.
At least half of the average Evergreen Speedway crowd — more for the 60 Minutes of FEAR and F8 Nationals — comes to see figure-eight races, which have a long and proud tradition. In fact, there isn’t anyplace else in this state that a fan can watch a figure-eight race but Evergreen. I was hooked on figure-eight racing after the first event I saw.
Maybe there just are not enough folks left at Evergreen Speedway who know and appreciate figure-eight racing. Perhaps it would be wise to enlist the help of an old FEAR hand to serve as “figure-eight advisor” to help with developing the schedule, technical issues and running the figure-eight races — especially those “major” events like the F8 Nationals. I think figure-eight racing is a unique enough type of competition that the drivers in the other divisions should not consider such a move to be “favoritism.”
I’m just saying.
Have your say: contact Scott Whitmore at swhitmore@heraldnet.com or by clicking the link on the Trackside main page.
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