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World Figure 8 History September 13, 1999
Jack Dossey does it again!!!
Dossey wins his record 6th World Figure 8
Jack Dossey Jr. won the World Championship for a record sixth time
Saturday night in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the Indianapolis
Speedrome.
Dossey, completed a near-record 495 laps and finished four laps ahead of
runner-up and two-time winner Duane Lee in the 23rd running of the World’
greatest figure-8 race.
Dossey’s sixth triumph surpassed the five wins by Speedrome Hall of Famer
Kenny St. John (1978-1982) and was just 17 laps short of St. John’s all-time
event record of 512 laps set in 1981.
“The car was marvelous. That’s why I could drive every lap like it was
the last lap of the race,” Dossey said. “I raced against a class field of
drivers and I got the breaks in traffic all night.”
Dossey started from the pole position and topped a field of 67 entrants
from the Midwest to Florida.
Michigan’s Jeremy Miller son of former World Figure 8 driver Dave Miller
completed 414 laps and finished ninth to earn the Sonny Eaton Memorial
Award. Mike Hughes with relief driving help from Kevin Ford started 40th and
finished 18th to earn the Sonny Thompson Memorial Award for best
start-finish improvement.
Bill Tunny Jr. emerged from a spirited four-driver battle for a
career-best third place after completing 480 laps. Tunny trailed by Richard
Fenwick, Rodney Sizemore and George Sutton. They waged a 90-minute battle,
oftentimes on the same lap and dueling side-by-side that ended with a flurry
of late-race pit stops in the final 20 minutes. Fenwick finished fourth with
478 laps and Sizemore fifth with 476 laps.
Dossey put Lee down one lap on lap 217. Dossey’s rapid-fire crew gave him
another one-lap edge during his first pit stop under caution on lap 253.
Dossey pitted again under caution for a splash of fuel with only 15 minutes
to go.
Buddy Vertrees, Louisville, Ky., and finished seventh and claimed a bonus
for highest finishing out of towner. Jerry Whitten, New Albany, was the
third of out of towner driver to finish among the top 10. Florida’s Gordon
Brown, the top rookie in 1998, finished 16th. Three-time winner Mike St.
John was 24th and 1988 winner Leonard Basham was 29th.
Bruce Tunny led early for 50 laps. Only 53 laps of the three-hour race
were run under caution, the most serious for a two-car crash involving Fred
Bear Jr. and Danny Turner, Bear was hospitalized overnight with a mild
concussion.
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