MONROE — The Figure Eight Auto Racing (FEAR) club held its 43-year reunion picnic on Saturday, Aug. 16 at Evergreen Speedway.
Tucked into a cool, shady spot beneath some trees behind the speedway office, the picnic had food, refreshments, old and young racers, and memories.
Hundreds of years worth of memories.
Glenn Foster of Snohomish, Wash., who started with FEAR in 1968, was asked how many years of experience were gathered under the trees.
“Lots,” he said.
Pressed to come up with an actual number, Foster gestured at the nearest picnic bench and said: “There’s 500 years sitting right here. … We’re on our third generation.”
As with any reunion, especially one nearly 50 years, a certain set of questions was heard over and over.
“Did you know … Do you remember when … Whatever happened to …”
Younger drivers asked quiet, respectful questions of their elders, or examined the model racecars and memory books documenting the 43 years of FEAR brought by club historian Tom Claibourn from his home in Entiat, Wash.
Claibourn pointed out that three of the original members of FEAR, going back to 1965, were present at the reunion: Rick Norton, Ed Peterson and Hal Schukar.
Norton built Evergreen’s figure-eight track and Peterson won the first championship in ’65.
Schukar was the series points leader entering the final race in ’65, but he was spun out and lost the title to Peterson.
One point reinforced after leafing through the memory books was how strong the family connection is in racing.
Names like Zaretzke, Sundholm, Eaton, Dietz and Jefferson, among many more, could be found in the old newspaper clippings and programs.
Rossi sponsoring big-track race: It was announced at the pre-race drivers meeting on Saturday that Republican candidate for governor Dino Rossi would be the race sponsor for the Northwest Big Track Championship night on Sept. 20.
Rossi will serve as the grand marshal for the event, which will feature the speedway’s Super Stock division and the American Speed Association Aero Exhaust Northwest Tour racing on the five-eighths mile oval.
Marriage of fate? Husband and wife and Mini-Stock division drivers Mindy and Kris Harriss drive cars which feature the paint schemes and numbers of a pair of popular NASCAR drivers.
Mindy Harriss drives an orange and white No. 20 which mirrors Tony Stewart — her favorite NASCAR driver. Kris Harriss’ No. 12 is blue and white, similar to Ryan Newman, a driver he admires.
Stewart is leaving Joe Gibbs Racing after this season to be part-owner and driver for Stewart-Haas Racing. On Friday, Stewart announced that Newman, a fellow native of Indiana, would be joining his team.
When asked Saturday about the coincidence, Mindy Harriss joked that Stewart had consulted with them before picking Newman.
Mindy and Kris Harriss were non-committal when asked if they would change numbers and paint schemes next season to match the new pair at Stewart-Haas Racing.
Fozzy Wuzzy wasn’t, was he: Prior to Saturday night, Mini-Stock drive Jon Roberts was easy enough to spot when he wasn’t wearing a helmet.
Roberts sported a full head of hair that earned him the nickname “Fozzy.”
Saturday night, however, Roberts’ hair was cropped close — evidently for the heat — which led to several instances of people not recognizing him.
Minor-Ball, who will be a senior at Marysville-Pilchuck High School this year, is no stranger to racing. She has 12 years of experience racing in quarter-midgets and mini-sprint cars at Deming Speedway.
4-for-4: Snohomish, Wash., singer Tasha Ehoff delivered another stirring rendition of the National Anthem on Saturday night, making her 4-for-4 on the season.
Car counts: Although 13 late-models lined up for the Super Stock feature, Brian Cottrell drove off before the green flag flew.
There were 15 cars in the Super Figure Eight main, 17 for the Stinger Eight feature, 18 for the Mini-Stock division 16 for the Bomber feature.
There were no B mains.
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