1981<<1982 >>1983

Saturday, September 11, 1982
Kenny St. John wins his 5th in a row!!

The sixth running of the World Championship Figure 8 was definitely won in the pits.

Continuing a record setting Figure 8 journey, Kenny St. John captured an unprecedented fifth straight World Figure 8 Championship in 1982. This one could not have been won by St. John had it not been for his crew headed by Sam and Harold Emerson.

They successfully changed a right front tire strut and broken coil spring in four minutes, 20 seconds after St. John pitted shortly before the 200-lap mark.

Although he returned to the World Championship 12 laps down, he eventually won by four laps over brother Mike St. John. Had the repairs taken 90 seconds longer Kenny St. John’s margin would have been wiped out!

St. John’s pit stop was just a sample of intense activity in the pit area during the annual World Figure 8 Championship. Because it’s a three-hour endurance race, major repairs can be made and can mean the difference between not even finishing or a top 10 finish.

Lonnie Breedlove finished fourth thanks to a crew that changed five flat left rear tires and kept him running even with a broken axle.

Lubie Allen’s crew replaced a broken radiator. His crew hopped on top of the car as it entered the pits and began unbolting the radiator while the car was moving.

Wayne Arnold, who led 18 different times for 280 laps, was not as fortunate. He had led for 194 consecutive laps when he pitted with an oil leak. His pit crew tried to plug it with a gel-like leak preventive substance but the problem was more serious. Arnold placed ninth as fortunate. His crew fought an oil lead, which cost him the lead on lap 395—after running for more than 170 consecutive green flag laps.

“If he (Arnold) hadn’t had that oil problem and I hadn’t had that broken shock, it would have gone down to the wire,” Kenny St. John observed.

As it was, Mike St. John was only four laps off the winning pace. He gladly joined his older brother for a family 1-2 celebration.

Louisville’s Rance Harmon, the recipient of the 1982 Sonny Thompson Memorial Award for best start-finish position gain, led out-of-state chargers. Harmon started 25th, entered the race on the fifth lap, completed 467 laps and finished third. Michigan’s Lyle Heiss completed 467 laps and finished 11th to earn the Sonny Eaton Memorial Award as the highest finishing rookie in the race.

The Michigan Invaders were again led by Bob Studt who completed 460 laps to finish fifth—the fourth time he has finished among the top six drivers.

A total of 61 drivers competed in the World Figure 8 Championship, just six shy of the record number in the 1978 event. The race was halted for accidents or debris only 13 times.

During qualifications, Kenny St. John reset the one-lap record by hitting 17.296 to break his old mark of 17.684 seconds. Arnold qualified at 17.428 seconds the only other driver to exceed the old record. Chuck Hall was the fastest out of towner at 18.571, the tenth fastest overall