DISCOVER!

DISCOVER! | JUNE 20, 2015
Sports | 7
KATE HARLOW | STAFF WRITER
Off to the races
Primghar Jaycees host Figure 8 Races
Car lovers, race enthusiasts and
people just looking to enjoy a
Saturday night might want to
add the Primghar Jaycees Figure 8
Races to their summer bucket lists.
The Primghar Jaycees host the races
every other Saturday night throughout
the summer at the Figure 8 track in
Primghar, IA. Races started on May 30
and will run through Aug. 15.
The race season is put together and
hosted by the volunteer work of the
Primghar Jaycees, who have been
hosting the races since the 1970s.
“There was a track started years ago
and then the Jaycees took it over in the
’70s,” said Andy Jacobs, a member of
the Primghar Jaycees and one of the
head flag men at the races. “It’s nothing
like what it was when we took it
over and we owe a lot of that to the
older Jaycees who put in the work to
make it what it is today.”
Around 600 spectators come for the
races each time to watch the 35-orso
racers as they drive their specially
modified cars on the special Figure 8
race track.
“It’s very much a family atmosphere
that features good, action-packed
entertainment,” Jacobs said. “It’s also
economical. A family of four — mom,
dad and two kids — can get in for $14
and hotdogs are still a buck.”
There are volunteers who coordinate
the race as well as volunteers who
work the concessions stand.
In fact, volunteers don’t just come
from the Primghar Jaycees. They also
come from surrounding communities
as well.
Along with being a fun event for the
whole family, it’s also the Primghar
Jaycees’ major fundraising venue.
The funds raised at the Figure 8
Races all find their way back into helping
the community.
“In the past year alone, we’ve
made a lot of donations including
everything from little stuff like bicycle
helmets for the kids to helping out
people who are having down or bad
times,” Jacobs said. “A lot of the funds
go to the school and to the athletics.
Most of it goes to the kids in the
Primghar community as well as to
kids in the surrounding area.”
All of those funds come from the
excitement of watching the Figure 8
Races every other weekend.
Figure 8 races are a little different
than your stereotypical car race as the
track forms an 8.
The big question: Won’t the cars run
into each other at the point where the
track crosses?
Apparently not.
The cars from the south must yield
to the ones from the north and the
drivers learn to time it so they don’t
lose much speed.
A typical Primghar Jaycees race will
feature five heats in which the drivers
will be selected randomly.
“The first three cars place; the rest
who finish receive points,” according
to the Primghar Jaycees’ website. “The
placement in the heats dictates who
races in which feature race. The first
and second place winners in the heats
race in the A feature, the last race of
the night.”
On a Saturday evening if you find
yourself wanting to get away from
the rat race think about heading to a
completely different kind of race in
Primghar. F
At a Glance:
WHAT: Primghar Figure 8 Races
WHERE: Primghar Jaycees’ Figure
8 Race Track, Primghar, IA
WHEN: Saturday, June 27 at 7 p.m.
COST: Adults $5, Children $2
CONTACT: 712-957-4640
ONLINE: primghar.com/race
Schedule:
The 2015 Primghar Figure 8
Race schedule for the rest of
the summer:
June 27 at 7 p.m.
July 11 at 7 p.m.
July 18 at 7 p.m.
July 22 at 7:30 p,m.
July 29 at 6:30 p.m. at the Plymouth
County Fairgrounds, Le
Mars, IA
Aug. 1 at 7 p.m.
Aug. 15 at 7 p.m.
Primghar | Iowa