1997 World Figure 8 Championship -Indianapolis Speedrome, Home of Figure-Eight Racing Action

with Bill Baas, President of Blossom Chevrolet

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Bill Tunny Jr wins 2003
World Championship

For a complete Recap Click Below

Bill Tunny Jr. wins the 27th Annual World Figure 8

Bill becomes the fourth different winner in the last four races

Bill Tunny Jr. wins for G & M Trucking, Jim Jones Racing Engines and Big Bee's Towing

Bill Tunny Jr. wins his first World Figure 8 in his 25th try

2003 T-Shirt art
front - back
Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader You can buy your shirt in the Pit Office during race nights or at the Awards Banquet

more stats

America's Number One Crew

On behalf of Checkered Flag Enterprises LLC
we would like to thank the
employees of the
Blossom Chevrolet
Indianapolis Speedrome

Jeanna Stiles Office Manager
Tracy Mann Pit Office
Sandy Johnson Pit Office
Denise George Pit Office
Tina Archer Pit Office

Torry Stiles Communications Director

Jason Abney Track Caretaker

Track Crew
Dennis Love Chief Steward
Jerry Gulley Senior Track Official
Tommy Ellis Flagman
Wayne Thompson Backup Flagman
Toby Thompson Track Official
Mike Brydges Track Official
Randy Storm Track Official
Todd Shelby Track Official
Bob Mcfayden Track Official
Blue Green Track Official
Leon Patterson Track Official
Chuck Bloomfield Track Official

Dewey Burgess Pit Registrar

Brenda Jenkins Assistant scorer and Sign operator
Rose Krimmel Official Scorer
Vanessa Stiles Scoreboard Operator/Assistant Scorer
Jay Baker Voice of the Speedrome
Jonathan Byrd II Advertising Director of the Speedrome
Danielle & Brianna Assistant Scorers and Runners

World Figure 8 Scoring Team
John Stiles Jr. Group Leader
George Lane
30 Other volunteers

Seals Ambulance Services

We could not of done it without all of you

Thanks from Checkered Flag Enterprises

1997

World Figure 8 History

September 6, 1997
Jack Dossey does it again!!! Dossey wins World Figure 8

After nearly three hours, the $10,000 to win World Championship Figure 8 boiled down to the final 90 seconds in the 21st Annual World Figure 8 Championship.

Jack Dossey Jr. snatched the lead from Bruce Tunny in a red-hot duel with less than two minutes remaining in front of a standing room only crowd. Tunny lost the lead when contact with another car forced him into a spin in the first turn.

Dossey scampered to the $10,000 win, his fourth in last five years. Dossey led the final five laps. Long-time Speedrome supporter Jonathan Byrd, an Indy Racing League co-car owner, presented Dossey with the Championship trophy.

“Most of the time this race goes down to the last 30 minutes and its settled, but this time it went down to the last minute,” Dossey exclaimed after a victory leap on top of the winning car. “It was just not his (Tunny’s) time to win this one.”

Dossey completed 451 laps in the most torrid Figure-8 since 1983 when 470 laps were completed. Dossey led six times for 164 laps. Tunny had led three times for 109 laps.

The disappointed Tunny, who has never won the World Figure 8 Championship, slipped to third after running out of fuel moments after spinning. Two-time winner Duane Lee was second, three laps behind Dossey.

“Devastating,” Tunny said. “ I thought I had it. I was prepared to go wheel-to-wheel until the end.”

Pole winner Fred Bear Jr. was leading with 45 minutes to go when he was gathered into a six-car accident in the third turn. He had a lead of one lap over Tunny and Dossey. Bear had led 171 laps, the most of any leader. He finished tenth.

Richard Fenwick once again was right there as he finished fourth, only six laps down. Three-time winner Mike St. John was fifth.

The hottest pace in 13 years was evident after the first hour with 146 laps complete. At the halfway mark, 224 laps had been completed.

There were 16 lead changes among four drivers, including Lee who led twice for seven laps. The World Figure 8 pace was slowed only by 88 caution laps.

The Sonny Thompson Memorial Award was earned by rookie John Conner Jr., who finished 12th and the Sonny Eaton Memorial Award for start-finish improvement was earned by Steve Ridener, who went from 40th to 22nd.

21st ANNUAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FIGURE-8 -- September 6, 1997
Fin	Car	Driver		Hometown	Qual	QU	QU	QU	25L	St.	3Hr	Fin	QU1	QU2	QU3	OVL	3-Hr.	Spl.	Total
Pos	#				Time	#1	#2	#3	OV	Pos.	Laps		$$$	$$$	$$$	$$$	$$$	$$$	$$$
1	1	Jack	Dossey Jr.	Indianapolis, IN	17.143					6	451	1					10000		10000
2	15	Duane	Lee	Greenfield, IN	17.103	3				4	448	2	100				5000		5100
3	4	Bruce	Tunny	Indianapolis, IN	16.902		3			2	445	3		100			2500		2600
4	5	Rich	Fenwick	Indianapolis, IN	17.240	5				9	445	4	85				1500		1585
5	12	Mike	St. John	Indianapolis, IN	17.452		4			16	442	5		90			1000		1090
6	33	Doug	Greig	Indianapolis, IN	17.275	8				10	419	6	70				900		970
7	7	Rodney	Sizemore	Indianapolis, IN	17.328		7			12	408	7		75			800		875
8	38	Kenny	Rackley	Indianapolis, IN	18.081		2			24	408	8		200			700		900
9	71C	Charles	Coles	Indianapolis, IN	17.342		9			14	391	9		65			600		665
10	94	Fred	Bear Jr.	Indianapolis, IN	16.793	1				1	389	10	400				500	100	1000
11	91	Butch	Lanum	Indianapolis, IN	17.734	10				21	374	11	50				425		475
12	20	John	Conner Jr.	Greenfield, IN	16.936	4				3	360	12	90				350	100	540
13	44	Jerry	Brown	Louisville, KY	17.925			3		23	354	13			100		300		400
14	00	Donnie	Garrigus	Indianapolis, IN	17.156		10			7	352	14		50			290		340
15	23	Eddie	VanMeter	Indianapolis, IN	17.190		6			8	339	15		80			280		360
16	72	Curtis	McMurtrey	Indianapolis, IN	17.549		5			17	337	16		85			270		355
17	2	Jerry	Whitten	New Albany, IN	18.200			1		25	306	17			400		260		660
18	77	Kevin	Ford	Speedway, IN	17.409		8			15	296	18		70			250		320
19	27	Eddie	Deal	Indianapolis, IN	17.570		1			18	280	19		400			245		645
20	93	Mike	Nelson	Nashville, IN	18.694	17				36	271	20	25				240		265
21	22	Chris	Green	Indianapolis, IN	18.677		12			34	269	21		40			235		275
22	17	Steve	Ridener	Indianapolis, IN	18.837		11			40	255	22		45			230	100	375
23	71	Steve	Frost	Indianapolis, IN	17.839	6				22	248	23	80				225		305
24	84	Donnie	Garrigus Jr.	Indianapolis, IN	17.780		15			29	239	24		30			220		250
25	83	Country	Brown	Indianapolis, IN	18.816					39	223	25					215		215
26	95	Kim	Gibson	Camby, IN	17.850					30	219	26					210		210
27	05	Wayne	Newkirk	Louisville, KY	19.178			7		43	168	27			75		205		280
28	2T	Bill	Tunny Jr.	Fairland, IN	17.292	18				11	157	28	20				200		220
29	26	David	Morris	Indianapolis, IN	17.728	9				20	122	29	65				195		260
30	21D	Bobby	Douthitt	Indianapolis, IN	17.338	2				13	118	30	200				190		390
31	21	Buddy	Vertrees	Louisville, KY	17.117			2		5	115	31			200		185		385
32	0	Dan	Wright	Louisville, KY	17.593					19	113	32					180		180
33	41X	Bob	Foster Sr.	Indianapolis, IN	18.687	14				35	82	33	35				175		210
34	92	Victor	Rybolt	Indianapolis, IN	20.930				7	50	76	34				60	170	100	330
35	02	Mike	Kennedy	LaGrange, KY	19.589			6		28	66	35			80		160		240
36	11	Gary	Bedell	Greenfield, IN	17.957		16			31	63	36		25			155		180
37	24	Jack	Smith	Indianapolis, IN	19.080		14			41	53	37		35			145		180
38	99	Denny	Buckler	Indianapolis, IN	18.735	15				37	50	38	30				125		155
39	35	Robbie	Loving	Romulus, MI	19.236			5		27	50	39			85		105		190
40	29	Jerry Lee	Ward	Indianapolis, IN	19.256	12				44	48	40	40				100		140
41	2X	Burchell	Muncy	Clarksville, IN	19.085			4		26	31	41			90		95		185
42	31	Bobby	Whitaker	Indianapolis, IN	18.090	11				32	27	42	45				90		135
43	27X	Curtiss	Unrue	Indianapolis, IN	19.728					46	25	43					85		85
44	41	Mark	Dailey Jr.	Indianapolis, IN	20.907				17	49	25	44				20	80		100
45	53	Marvin	Owens Jr.	Indianapolis, IN	18.736					38	21	45					75		75
46	37	Art	Smith	Indianapolis, IN	19.171	21				42	18	46	10				75		85
47	40	Steve	Brown	Indianapolis, IN	20.746		13			48	12	47		40			75		115
48	91X	Bruce	Cooper	Indianapolis, IN	19.729	20				47	10	48	20				75		95
49	70	Ronnie	Rigdon	Indianapolis, IN	19.433	13				45	8	49	40				75		115
50	47	Joe	Carlton	Indianapolis, IN	18.250	19				33	0		20						20
	44B	David	Bussie	Indianapolis, IN	18.359	7				DNS			75						75
	43M	Mike	Marsee	Indianapolis, IN	DNQ	16				DNS			25						25
	11S	Jimmy	Skiles	Indianapolis, IN	20.173				1	DNS						200			200
	84X	Bryan	Graham	Indianapolis, IN	20.010				2	DNS						100			100
	97	Kenny	Stewart	Greenfield, IN	20.965				3	DNS						90			90
	39	Billy	Boyer	Indianapolis, IN	21.073				4	DNS						85			85
	107	Guy	Bolton	Greenwood, IN	21.854				5	DNS						80			80
	68	Gregory	Jines	Indianapolis, IN	20.229				6	DNS						70			70
	14	Jeff	Sorley	Indianapolis, IN	21.686				8	DNS						50			50
	12X	Ted	Nott	Indianapolis, IN	21.956				9	DNS						45			45
	44F	Ray	Furrer Jr.	Indianapolis, IN	22.176				10	DNS						40			40
	116	Jerry	Pleasant Jr.	Indianapolis, IN	22.328				11	DNS						35			35
	23X	Kenny	McDonough	Indianapolis, IN	21.282				12	DNS						30			30
	62	Brian	Luttrell	Indianapolis, IN	20.843				13	DNS						25			25
	34	Daniel	Moore	Indianapolis, IN	22.913				14	DNS						20			20
	117	Jim	Bolton	Greenwood, IN	DNQ				15	DNS						20			20
	85	Ray	Penrod	Indianapolis, IN	22.973				16	DNS						20			20
	16	Eddie	Snapp Jr.	Indianapolis, IN	21.825				18	DNS						20			20
	72X	Brian	Newsom	Indianapolis, IN	21.307				19	DNS						15