"ONE MORE LAP, MOMMA" MIDDLETON... BEATS PETERS ON, WELL, THE LAST LAP! "
Stinger-8 Results for May 10, 2008

It took young Sean Peters 15 laps to take the lead of the 25 lap Stinger-8
Main Event, and just the final half lap to fall to 10th, turning the
victory over to defending Champ, and "fast timer" Mike Middleton. It
sounded, and looked like Peters ran out of gas in his fast little Honda
Civic- let that be a reminder to all of us...even Hondas need gas! The
Stinger-8 division was the STAR event of the night, with 26 timing in, and
17 cars starting the 25 lap A Main event. It was the #4 Civic, driven by
Super-8 regular Nick Dunham, that jumped into the early lead of the "A",
followed by yours truly in the 'ol 99. Dunham stretched that lead until
tangling with another car at the intersection on lap 15, and falling back to
finish 5th. Just a couple of laps later Peters flew by me for the lead, with
Middleton in hot pursuit. And so it went to the last lap, with young Michael
Durbin on my bumper, when flames spurt out of the #8 exhaust, and everyone
slipped safely by to finish behind the #75 Scirocco of "Iron" Mike
Middleton. Doing a great job, and coming in 4th was 2nd generation FEAR
driver Brian Wheeler, who also followed Peters and me to a 3rd place in his
fast heat! The 2nd heat was won by #04Jessica Grey over the #2 of Jeff
Mueller, and the "C" heat was won by Andree Elsen Peter over the #88 driven
by James Waters. We had another15 lap "B" Main this week, 9 cars started
that event with hopes of "moving up"to the A main. Aaron Flett took that
move in his newer Civic, and finished 13th. Meanwhile, James Conley got the
"B" trophy in his first week back in action... in Fletts old Accord! And It
was noticed by several "expert" racers this past weekend, that the Stinger
events are getting better, with less crashing, more side by side actual
racing, maybe a little more "give and take", like they say on big-time TV...
Good job everybody! And speaking of big-time, the 15th annual "60 minutes of
FEAR" is coming up this weekend, and a lot of new cars are scheduled to
appear that night! This gives the little cars the next 2 weekends off, so
enjoy the break, the BIG RACE this weekend, and Monster trucks plus
SuperMoto the following weekend. I will see you on the 31st, when OUR fun
continues! Ben Chandler

TWO REALLY OLD GUYS...SHOW THE WAY!
RESULTS FOR WEEK 4 - 5/3/2008

Saturday, May 3rd 2008 Results. I pulled into the pits right before the pit meeting, as usual, and found myself parked between two longtime FEAR racing stars! On my left, 2 time Season Champion, Hall of Fame member, 4 time FEAR President and 30 year member, Doug "the Griz" Delfel. And on my right, 6 (SIX!) time FEAR Champion, and future FEAR Hall of Fame member Steve "Battlewagon" Peters. With nearly 20 years of Figure 8 experience and multiple "Big Race" wins, plus experience with the NASCAR bombers, Peters has won more races at Evergreen in the last 10 years...than ANYBODY! Both were honored (as was I) a few years back, as Evergreen Speedway "Top 50" Drivers. Both drive black race cars, are married and have kids... and own Tow truck and auto repair businesses. And last Saturday night, BOTH these 2 "Old" guys also took the 2 Figure - 8 "A" Main Events, spanking the young dudes on a real slimey track! The Stinger-8 count was an impressive 24 for the 2nd week in a row, which made for 3 heats and 2 Mains again. Fast (Stinger) time of the night was young Michael Durbin in his #17 Toyota, who actually practiced? 40 laps that afternoon! The "B" Main was another "move up" deal with the win going to Jessica Grey over Nick White. Jeff Mueller drove the #2 Rabbit to the 1st heat win, plus moved up to compete in the "A" main. The 2nd heat went to #87 Mike Buse over #44 Ethan Taylor. And it was Steve Peters in his #30 "Mini Battlewagon" making it a Honda sweep in the Stinger Division "fast" heat and Main, both times over son Sean Peters in his #8 Civic! Defending Champion Mike Middleton got his #75 VW up to 3rd in the 20 lap Main Event, followed by Durbin's #17, and yours truly in the 'ol #99 holding off current point leader Josh Young's #22, for 5th and 6th. The 30 lap Super-eight race started just 13, and the track sorta dried out as the night went on. But a wet time-in spin put the usually fast #13 of Ryan Gunderson on the front row, in what we once called the Bob Eucker spot...and it was transponder problems that allowed (or forced) the #04 of Jerry Funden to get "fast time" and thus start in the back - with last weeks winner Ricky" the kid" Deitz. Doug Delfel started his march to the front of the Main Event by getting past the Nick Dunham #4 Camaro at lap 5, and catching Ryan's #13 by lap 9 to take the lead. From the middle of the pack, Troy Seminar raced the #51"zipfizz special" into 2nd place by lap 9, and flew past Delfel around lap 18 to take the lead, until tangling with the #02 of Dale Larson and cutting down a tire. An early black flag took Steve Peters out of this one and relegated Bill Wade to 10th, a couple laps down...And that's how it ended, with Delfel again out front to the end, followed by Ryan Gunderson, and from the back of the pack, it was Ricky Deitz, #50 John Carlson and #33 Nick Gunderson. Troy did win the fast heat race ahead of Nick and Ricky. Brother Ryan Gunderson beat the #47 of Greg Estes in the slower heat. Next Saturday night the Stinger-8 cars will carry the show at Evergreen Speedway, as the Super-eights get the week off to prepare for the "60 MINUTES of FEAR!" on the 17th. I want to thank all of you figure 8 drivers who have chipped in to help save "the Club" this season, and I'll see you at the track! Ben Chandler

THE CREAM RISES TO THE TOP!
RESULTS FOR WEEK 3 4/26/2008

The good weather was back last Saturday night, along with the Stinger-8 cars. . . a coincidence, well perhaps! A decent Super-8 count of 14, 2 DOZEN Stingers, and a good sized crowd to enjoy it all, was a stark contrast to the previous weeks freezing cold winterfest! As fans of racing we so often see NOT the fastest car actually in the winners circle. Lots of things mechanical can go wrong, of course. Good Karma is always a factor, as is the weather, track conditions and just plain luck - especially with our traditional and exciting inverted lineups! Saturday night the stars were just right for Ricky "the kid" Deitz and "Iron" Mike Middleton, who both set FAST fast times in their respective divisions, and went on to win their first "A" main events of the year. Ricky's win should tighten up the Super-8 points battle as Point leader John Carlson left the race early with mechanical problems and 2nd place Steve Peters was vacationing at Talledega! "the Cowboy" made it to the front spot of the 35 lap Main Event, by around lap 15, with Deitz right on his tail, and held it for 7 laps until hard contact with Ryan Gunderson in the intersection, and later with Jerry Funden took out his radiator. The "Grizz" Doug Delfel rose to 2nd place in his #01 Buick around lap 26 after a spirited battle with the #33 of brother Nick Gunderson - and before falling to the "Zipfizz Special" of Troy Seminar, who took that #51 into 2nd place ahead of Gunderson, the #3 of Bill Wade and the #04 of Jerry Funden. But after 2 DNF's to start the season, it was all Ricky "the Kid" Deitz in Paul Petersons Ford-bodied Chev last Saturday night! Super Heat races were won by the #13 of Ryan Gunderson over #4 Nick Dunham in the "B", and "the bobblehead" Bill Wade's #3 ahead of Funden and Deitz in the "fast" one! The Stinger-8 class had enough cars for a "B" Main, with a 2 car move-up, which was won by #94 Josh Laitila over the #29 of young Brian Wheeler. Wheelers Prelude went sick, however, and that allowed the #68 of DJ O'dell to move up to the "A", where he finished 8th. Laitila had another great points weekend by his move up, coming in 4th in the WILD and Slippery Stinger-8 "A' Main. 16 cars started that 25 lap race, and only 3 were on the final lap together,"technically". Last years Champion Mike Middleton took his #75 Scirocco to the lead by lap 5. from the 14th starting spot! Point leader Josh Young was right behind him in his #22 Toyota, and it was yours truly trying to keep up with the 'ol #99 in 3rd, as we dodged spinning cars, loose parts and what I heard was tranny fluid all over the track! Young slowed a bit at the intersection, allowing the "old fart" to slip by for 2nd place around lap 14. . . and thats how it ended - with Middleton, by 20 seconds, nearly lapping the entire field! Stinger Heats were won by #6 Steve Schoenfeldt over #04 Jessica Grey in the "C", #99 B. Chandler over the #24 of Nick Williams in the "B", and Bill Wade, doing "double duty" in his #3 Stinger over the #22 of Josh Young and Mike Middleton's VW, in the "A" or fast heat! And a reminder, its just a couple of weeks until the "60 minutes of FEAR", SUPER-8 EVENT! If you have not seen a "BIG" figure-8 race before, you are truly in for a treat! See you Saturday, when the fun continues for both divisions! Ben Chandler

IT'S "COWBOY" TIME AGAIN!
RESULTS FOR 4/19/2008

After a summer-like opening weekend, day 2 was as COLD as I EVER remember, with SNOW flying all around the Great Northwest! The Stingers were not on the schedule Saturday night, some were racing in Puyallup, I understand, and the "Supers" rained out, as usual with this kind of weather. That left the PAWN-Xchange SUPER-EIGHTS to put on the show for a meager and shivering crowd! The car count was also meager that night, with just 5 Legends racing their little hearts out in a heat and Main, and a single "Crash- car!" showing up for a lackluster "demonstration" event. The NASCAR Bombers timed 20, and put on an OK show, but the Super-8 Main event had just 13 hardy souls taking the green flag for the 35 lapper, which mercifully started at 9:10 pm. Nick Dunham in his "old-school" #4 Camaro took the early lead over the #45 of Jake Ripen and the #55 of Doug Wilkenson. A lap 3 tangle between the stealth-like #6 driven by Mike Barnes, and the #51 "Zipfizz" special, driven by Troy Seminar, took both cars out early. The fast-timer of the night (by nearly a half second !) was #76, Ricky "the Kid" Deitz who worked his way to 3rd by lap 10, and took the lead by lap 15 - before hooking Dunham's bumper for a moment. It was all the #30 "Battlewagon" needed as the 6 time Champion Steve Peters slipped by for the lead, with Deitz in hot persuit! At lap 22 it appeared that the #76 and a slightly slower #30, ALSO hooked each other up... this time allowing the #50, of last weeks winner John "the Cowboy" Carlson, to fly past. The tangle sent a disappointed Deitz to the pits early again, and slowed down the"Battlewagon" as it was all "Cowboy" to the finish, over Peters, Dunham, Jerry Funden and Bill Wade. Steve Peters did win his "B" Heat race, after arriving too late for time-ins, and Nick Gunderson won the fast A Heat race over points leader John Carlson.

See you at the track...when the fun continues! Ben Chandler

WEEK ONE OF THE NEW (NASCAR) FIGURE-8 RACING SEASON!
April 12, 2008

Man, does that seem weird to say!  It was a spectacular summer-like day as Evergreen Speedway kicked off another Saturday night racing season with new scheduling, new sponsors like Pawn X-Change, and new track management!  The figure-8 races were the absolute highlight of the night, with a great car count – nearly 40 in both divisions!  Congrats to defending Super-8 Champion John “Cowboy” Carlson on his last lap win over the #55 car driven by Doug Wilkinson and Steve Peters, who was back in his #30 Camaro, “the Battlewagon”.  And how about that crazy Stinger-8 race, won by #22 “Mighty” Josh Young in his cute little Toyota MR2 – his first win ever – over the #40 Honda driven by Seth Funden and the #79 of Nick White.  It was a crazy night that took me back three decades, as we come to the end of an era – and the start of a new one!

It was EXACTLY 30 years ago that I was a young figure-8 stock class Champion, and the new promoters were first introduced to the fans here at Evergreen.  The Beadle family, along with a couple of Canadian partners, were the third different promoters to run the track in the short five years I had been involved, but their promotion company, IPI, seemed MUCH more professional than those they followed.  In fact, they had a “real” press conference that winter at the Edgewater Inn Hotel in Seattle to announce their new venture!  They invited a much younger me, FEAR President Mick Tomlin, the late, great “Stormin’ Norman” Litts (our “Super” Champion) and the FSCRA Champions, plus the local papers, and radio and TV stations to a very cool party!  It was then that I met young Michael “Mickey” Beadle, his parents (both sadly now deceased) Bob and Dorothy, and his “Uncle John” Beadle who, along with Bob, were listed as the actual guys in charge.  Anyway, a good time was had by all that afternoon.  Mickey swears I’m in a photo of the actual signing of their first contract, but it was all such a blur to me – as any good “Forrest Gump moment” should be!  If you get a chance to pick up one the the “retro” Lucky Number programs available at the track (for a limited time only), you can see how far we ALL have come in 30 years!  Thank you, Mickey and John, Bob and Lyn, for all of the seasons, passes, cocktails, special events and good times with IPI and FEAR working together! My work on the Program, especially with Terry Buell over the past decade, has been a highlight of my life, and I hope to remain involved with that, and this Club, for many more years to come!

And so it is that now, 30 years later, we have a new group running the track!  We welcome Lex Johnson, a young Superstock racer, former Bomber Champion, and successful business owner, who has assumed the management duties here at Evergreen, and we wish him well!  By the way, the new FEAR stickers were printed by Lex at his CONCEPT graphics and racecar supply store, and he did an excellent job! (Maybe he’ll give us a bit of a discount for the plug…or not!)  May all of the young guys and gals who are now involved with racing enjoy the next 30 years with a promoter who cares as much for the track, the people, and all the old traditions – like this 43-year-old club called FEAR – as much as I’ve enjoyed the last 30.  And a big thank you to all you fellow members and racers for your support of this new version of the Club this season…and I promise, next week it will be more racing story, and way less “old guy” blubbering on! Also, there might be a couple of openings at the Puyallup “Spring Fair” for Stinger-8 racers this Saturday. Contact Steve Dunn!

See you at the track, Ben

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