Three months into the 2003 season at Pinellas Park's Sunshine Speedway, brothers Robbie and Darryl Hage have turned the fight for Figure 8 supremacy into a family matter.
The siblings have occupied the top two positions in the Figure 8 class since the fourth week of racing. Few others have had a shot at the points.
"This is really the first time we've been neck and neck like this," said Darryl, who drives the No. 8 car. "We finished third and fourth - our Dad finished first - in Citrus County a few years ago, but that's it."
It has been a roller coaster for the two since March. Robbie, driver of the No. 74, was the first to take the point, snatching it from 2002 champ Cliff Rousseau in the March 8 feature with a third-place finish.
Darryl grabbed his first lead a few weeks later, and neither has held the top spot for longer than three weeks since.
"It's been back and forth. One week he's up, then I'm up," said Darryl, eight years his brother's junior at 26, before their feature race Saturday. "I'm up by four (points) right now."
The lead changed hands again by the end of the race.
Starting side by side on the fifth row, Robbie on the outside, the brothers Hage took the green flag poised for a showdown. But thanks to a racecar-load of twists and turns - the literal and figurative hallmark of the Figure 8 class - that showdown never materialized.
Both started solidly and moved up a position when the second-place car, Ron Davis' No. 89, lost a wheel in Lap 9. But the potential action was short-circuited when Darryl's machine became entangled with the No. 28 of Shane Grigsby on Lap 10, and was sent to the rear.
Darryl went on to finish eighth. Robbie, thanks to a lucky break at the start, stayed clear of most of the surrounding carnage.
"I jumped into fifth from the get-go," Robbie said. "Our whole outside just took off at the start."
Though fighting handling difficulties throughout, Robbie moved up to fourth and finished there.
"The car was so loose," Robbie said, "I knew right away I wasn't going to get anywhere. But they just kept falling out ahead of me."
By finishing four positions of his brother, Robbie took a four-point lead heading into this week.
Pinellas Park's J.R. Meyer led most of the 20-lap race in his No. 21, but was passed in Lap 15 by another set of brothers, Art and Wayne Calkins, drivers of the Nos. 11 and 14, respectively.
Art won, closely followed by Wayne. Meyer took third place.
OTHER CLASSES: Mango's Jay Steele, driver of the No. 0, won in in Open Wheel Modifieds, trailed by the No. 8 of Teddy Nelson.
Tommy Schnader took third place in the No. 19.
Robert Crisp, driver of the No. 2 Outlaw Late Model machine, charged from 11th on the starting grid to register his sixth feature win of the year in that class.
Jimmy Altobelli, No. 76, nudged out Wendell Overstreet and his black No. 78 for second.
Ashley Larson, driver of the No. 58 Mini Stock, nabbed her second feature win of the year to move into fourth in points.
Jay Zolciak was second in the No. 69, and points leader Ronnie Larson, No. 88, was third.
Robert Nappi, No. 09, of St. Petersburg, edged the No. 72 of Jackie Ashley for the win in Street Stocks. Joe Freitas nearly bagged his first win in the No. 5, leading for most of the 20-lap feature.
Trailed by the No. 50 of James Ellershaw, the two confronted wrecked lap traffic heading into Turn 4 on the final lap. Freitas went high to avoid it, and Ellershaw swung to the inside, briefly taking the lead.
In a final frantic push, Ellershaw screamed out of the turn to find another stopped vehicle blocking much of the inside lane. Hitting the car, Ellershaw was thrown into Freitas' oncoming No. 5, removing both from contention.
Dennis Cantara was third in the No. 12.
Steve Elder drove the No. 42 to a win in the Enduro feature. He was followed by Russell Scalf in the No. 50 and Rick Germony in the No. 8.
