January 11, 2005 Outlaw Figure Eight Racers In Spectacular Show By Jack Smith Donnie Thomas in Winners Circle after awesome winning effort. In what was one of the most intense racing events at Charlotte County Speedway in years, Donnie Thomas held off hard charging Wayne Calkins to take the win in the Outlaw Figure Eights. Twenty-Four Outlaw Figure Eight driver started the race flying down the middle of the infield from turn two to turn four. Click here to see the first lap of racing.. They did what all promoters dream of. They put on a spectacular racing show that kept the fans attention glued to the action, with the addition of interesting track conditions that added to the excitement for the fans and certainly for the drivers. Lakeland's 'Rockin' Rodney Davis, one of the most popular driver Figure Eight Racers, started deep in the field and was not a factor. The Outlaw Figure Eights are a new addition to the program at Charlotte County Speedway, with the bulk of the drivers coming from the now closed Sunshine Speedway. There were several hard wrecks into the turn four wall, mostly due to the gravel thrown out onto the track from the cars as they exited the straight and turned to head for the number three turn. In addition to the wrecks there were many spins in that area.Click here for Outlaw Figure Eight Racing action. One incident in the middle of the "x" was a bit scary as L.B. Skaggs, one of Charlotte's local racers, was nailed pretty hard, but he race did not have any serious injuries. In the closing laps Wayne Calkins, from the Tampa-St Pete area was right on Thomas' rear lap after lap, each being careful to negotiate the rock pile in turn four. Wayne Calkins. Thomas finally slipping, but not until the checkered flag had waved giving him the win. The two drivers shared the spotlight in the winner's circle along with third place finisher Cliff Rousseau. Cliff Rousseau The fans were the real winners though who were treated to a tremendous race to close out the day. Hopefully next time they see them the caution lights and other track conditions can be improved, as some drivers simply were taken out of the race too early due to the problem in turn four. Outlaw Figure 8's 1. 40 Donnie Thomas 2. 14 Wayne Calkins 3. 3 Cliff Rousseau 4. 94 Charlie Meyer 5. 5 James Poole 6. 78 Bob Hage 7. 77 John Thomas 8. 81 Ken Crews 9. 58 Jack Boswell 10. 71 L.B. Skaggs 11. 23 Junior Henson 12. 1x Jeff Firestine 13. 15 Danny Hamilton 14. 27 Seth Nistock 15. 89 Rodney Davis 16. 8y Darryl Hage 17. 74 Robbie Hage 18. 13 Carl McPeak 19. 68 Chet Lusk 20. 28 Scott Gullett 21. 8b Kenneth ? 22. 45 Michael Cherry 23. 15x Clint Snyder 24. 33 Randy Thomas 25. 112 Jeff Dufresne Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board! <news@karnac.org>or send a letter to the editor!