For 20 years, Mike Goldsberry competed in the IMCA stock car ranks. This year, however, he returned to his roots of figure 8 racing.
“It is fun, and a different thrill,” said Goldsberry, of Runnells, Iowa. “You’re going a bit slower than in a circle-track stock car, but you are still doing 50 to 60 mph at the X.”
Goldsberry grew up in a figure 8 household. His father, Rick, races them. Goldsberry’s son, Anthony, competes in them now.
“I had seen several other circle-track drivers try figure 8 racing,” Goldsberry said. “They do it once and say, ‘That’s enough.’ Only a handful stick around.”
Goldsberry lives in an area with several figure 8 tracks. He regularly competes at a pair of Iowa tracks — Dallas County Fairgrounds Speedway in Adel and Webster County Speedway in Fort Dodge.
“It’s organized chaos,” said Goldsberry of figure 8 racing. “It’s like playing chicken. If a car gets hit in the driver’s door — there could be broken legs, arms, or ribs.”
Goldsberry races in the stock figure 8 class that uses former stock cars and hobby stocks used on ovals. Goldsberry has a former stock car, with a Chevrolet Performance 602 engine under the hood.
“Figure 8 racing is half the price of stock car racing,” Goldsberry said. “The stock car goes through more tires — you have to have new tires every two nights. Figure 8s can race four or five nights on the same tire. Stock car tracks are usually dry-slick and figure eight tracks are tacky.”
For Mike Goldsberry, the biggest appeal of figure 8 racing is spending time with family.
“My dad loves figure 8 racing, and I love racing with him and my son,” said Goldsberry. “We’re next door to each other, and we all help each other out. It’s our life.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
