KHOL · ‘I finally got it’: Figure 8 races deliver firefighters, flips and a first-time champ
No airbags or windows. Only mesh protects the driver’s side. This is for safety. Can’t have glass and plastic in the cab during Figure 8s, the grand finale at the Teton County fair.
Retrofitting follows a few other guidelines. No turbo engines or superchargers, no pickup trucks or 4x4s. Only street tires are allowed. No studs, but the tires can be spiked. Welding reinforcement is only allowed on the driver’s side door for safety, but nowhere else on the vehicle.
Teams spend upwards of 40 hours prepping these four-cylinder rides. It’s the one day a year Teton County gets to watch stock cars fly at each other on a course that – instead of an oval – intentionally intersects.
Minutes before the first heat at 7 p.m., finishing touches from one team include cutting a hole in the headrest for GoPro.
“We forgot all of our mounts but this works pretty good. We got a couple zip ties, some foam, and I think it works,” said pit crew member Alex Wells.
This GoPro will capture Chris Santaniello’s Honda Accord racing against five other cars. The gist is simple: first cars to make it 12 times around two dirt mounds advance to the next round. One winner is crowned at the end of 14 heats.
Nicole Gaitan painted Figure 8 race competitor Chris Santaniello’s Honda Accord. It earned second place for best paint job.
Figure 8 racing originated in the 1940s. At the time, other tracks around the world featured an overpass at the crossover point. The Indianapolis Speedrome was the first to put everyone on the same plane and embrace the high-risk laps, counted by transponders outfitting each car.
Teton County’s race has grown in popularity in recent years. Two years ago, tickets sold out in four days. Last year it was 48 hours. This year it was 46 minutes.
In Jackson Hole, paint jobs get awards, too. Santaniello’s Accord took home second place. Local artist Nicole Gaitan painted a colorful owl on the roof and a bear on the hood. A ribbon marks the trunk, a meaningful symbol for both.
“Nicole shared with me that her daughter is battling childhood cancer,” Santaniello said. “I had shared with her that I had lost my father to cancer so there was just a common bond.”
Unlike most tourist-heavy rodeo nights, its locals who pack the stands. Many know the drivers. For a coveted spot among 36 cars, you have to either work or live here. A first time racer, Santaniello lives in Idaho and works several jobs in and around Jackson.
His plan: “go hard, have fun and be safe and see what happens.”
Racer Tim Hoff hangs out with his 5-year-old twins. (Sophia Boyd-Fliegel / KHOL)
Nearby, racer Tim Hoff hangs out with his 5-year-old twins. The bicycle shop owner has been in the race for almost two decades. In 2019, he took first place. This year, he just snuck in after a last-minute cancellation.
It’s impressive longevity for a race that’s all about destruction.
“I’ve started on fire. I flipped. I’ve gotten hit in the driver’s door, broken my helmet in half. That’s part of it,” he said.
This year is no different.
Just after 10 p.m., a plume of smoke from a flipped car sends onlooking members of Jackson Hole Fire/EMS into action. This is the third time a cars wind up roof-down. Refs in high-vis run out of the center mounds to, like ants on litter, right the vehicles and send them back out.
Sometimes, cars stall out, or otherwise get stuck for minutes in the dirt, only to be carried off the track by forklift. (Sophia Boyd-Fliegel / KHOL)
Like any sport, experience pays off. In the final lineup is reigning champ Ruben Gallegos, joined by several other race veterans.
Car flips are crowd pleasers. (Sophia Boyd-Fliegel / KHOL)
The flag drops and the cars take off. First, a one-by-one right hand turn. Things clog up heading into the first tight left-hand bank.
The sound of airhorns and flags signals the finish, but there’s no clear winner. It takes a few minutes of waiting for results. Finally, a red-clad driver climbs out of his Ford Focus in the center of the track and puts up a fist.
It’s Jorge Tomas Meneses’ first win after his start behind the wheel of a Figure 8 car in 2019. Hugs all around for his crew and other competitors.
“Dude, it’s insane, man, my adrenaline is pumping,” he said with a grin and heavy breath.
This year, he’s taking home the trophy and $1,880.
Jorge Tomas Meneses (center) celebrates his first win after his first race behind the wheel of a Figure 8 car in 2019. (Sophia Boyd-Fliegel / KHOL)
“I’ve been wanting this for five, six years now and I finally got it,” Meneses said. “I finally did it, man, it is a huge accomplishment.”
