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Saturday, September 10, 1983
A New Winner!! Wayne Arnold captures his first ever World Championship.|

Wayne Arnold finally grabbed the most elusive prize of his racing career by winning the seventh annual World Figure 8 Championship in 1983 by only two laps over Michigan’s Chuck Hall.

Arnold completed 470 laps in three hours on the challenging Figure-8 to collect the $5,000 first-place prize.

The win ended years of frustration for Arnold in the World Championship. He had led the 1982 event for more laps than any other driver only to be thwarted by a late-race oil leak. Since 1977 Arnold had won 87 Speedrome Figure 8’s but finally won the big one.

Arnold started from pole position after a record run of 17.186 in his new Corvette but did not take the lead until lap 79. He took over for good on lap 187, saw challenger Jim Fox ousted in a stunning two-car crash and out-lasted hard driving Bob Studt in relief of Chuck Hall for the final two-lap victory.

Arnold almost saw his victory changes go up in a four-car collision near the crossover but the #12 Corvette had little damage. He eventually led the way for 321 laps, including the final 284 circuits.

The Hall-Studt combination was six laps down at the two-hour mark but they made up three laps on Arnold before the final dramatic moment struck with just 20 minutes left.

Hall made another lap on Arnold when both drivers pitted under the red flag on the 428th lap. Arnold’s crew had quickly changed a left rear flat tire but Studt returned to the track first for the final duel. Arnold maintained his two-lap margin for the final 20 minutes to touch off one of the wildest victory celebrations ever seen in Figure 8 racing.

As planned, the pit crew headed by crew chief and Speedrome Hall of Famer Bob Clark did not see much of the race. They stayed at their posts in their pit. “It was planned that way.” Arnold said. “They wanted to make sure they were ready for me anytime I came into the pits. One of them always kept an eye on what was happening on the track, but they eliminated a lot of the needless running around that takes place when the red light comes out.”

Mike St. John, the 1982 runner-up, finished third in relief of veteran Ray Bray. St. John re-entered the fray while his car was undergoing transmission repairs Speedrome Figure-8 veteran Bill Frazer was fourth.

A trio of top running rookies fought hard for the coveted Sonny Eaton Memorial Award. Jeff Brown was running third when an accident on lap 355 took out his AMC Concord, which left Dempsey Apperson and John Bradley to fight it out. Apperson completed 394 laps to win the award over John Bradley, who finished sixth.

Larry Harris reaped the benefits of a hard-working crew who replaced two engines and was the first non-qualifier to enter the World Figure 8 Championship. Harris started 56th and completed 126 laps to finish 30th. Larry won the coveted Sonny Thompson Memorial for most improvement from your starting position.

A race record 22 red flags slowed the pace. There were 22 lead changes among five drivers.