Crazy Eights

Getting ‘rubbed’ is inevitable with Figure 8 drivers frequently crossing paths

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

How insane is Figure 8 racing?

Maybe not so much more than traversing through Charles City where several select intersections don’t have stop signs.

Or entering a roundabout at 60-plus miles an hour.

But one thing is for sure: Figure 8 racing is a contact sport.

“There’s going to be some rubbing,” Figure 8 racing veteran Ron Hillegas said. “It does happen.”

Jacob Lehman’s description of the contact is a little less discreet.

“I’ve been T-boned … had things cracked in half … been rolled,” Lehman said. “I’ve had about everything broken … but only with the cars. I’ve never really been hurt, at least not yet.

“We custom make our cars to be safe for the driver inside.”

Hillegas of Charles City and Lehman of Waterloo were among the drivers who crossed paths frequently during the Figure 8 racing features, July 22 at the Floyd County Fairgrounds.

Hillegas, who helped organize the event that was part of the Floyd County Fair festivities, races at Figure 8 tracks across the region.

“Last week (at Osage), I placed first in Pro Stock and my son (Holden) placed third,” Hillegas said. “We often race against each other.”

And sometimes with each other.

In addition to Stock, Pro Stock, Compact and “Old School” divisions, there’s also a Cruiser class with two passengers in the car, which is modified to where the person in the driver’s seat does the steering and the teammate riding “shotgun” hits the gas and brakes.

“I love it,” Charles City resident AJ Smith said of being the shotgun “gas” man. “I like being on that side of the car while my teammate (Devon Ackerson) does the steering.

“I just started last year. Devon and I bought this car. We just rely on our sponsor (City Tap) for racing costs.”

The Cruiser division runs standard ovals instead of braving the Figure 8 intersection, so there is no chance in getting “T-boned”.

Wrong.

Ackerson and Smith got broadsided during their feature, but managed to finish the race.

Like Lehman, Smith is a second-generation racer. His father, Mike, used to race Figure 8’s in his heyday.

Lehman’s father was a Late Model racer back in the mid-80s. The elder Lehman was his son’s gas-brake man in the Cruiser heat and feature.

“I’m going to probably stay with this,” Jake Lehman said of Figure 8 racing as opposed to standard oval racing. “We try to keep it cheap, and this doesn’t cost as much as ovals.”

Though there were a fair share of close calls, there were no major “rubs” in the crossing intersection during the Figure 8 heats and features. Most of the mayhem came along the turns.

When fields widened prompting more cars to cross from opposite ends of the track, drivers would often yield or steer away from pending collision courses.

The potential danger was at its greatest whenever two neck-and-neck drivers were fighting for the checkered flag during the final lap. That’s when  “yield” sense seemed to go by the wayside.

The top three finishers in the Pro Stock feature were Ed Johnson (first), Holden Hillegas (second) and Zach Lewis (third).

The top three finishers in the Stock feature were Derek Dezarn (first), Jake Jacobs (second) and Jacob Lehman (third).

The top three finishers in the Compact feature were Russell Brymer (first), Levi Pitz (second) and Jorden Aple (third).

The top three finishers in the Cruiser feature were Kevin Leerhoff-Ed Johnson (first), Mike Goodell-Colton Miller (second) and Steve Robel-Nicole Dunn (third).