01/14/2004
A SECOND HYDE ENTERS THE FIGURE 8 RANKS
by J.A. Ackley
Dorothea Hyde, wife of Figure 8 veteran Kenny Hyde, will be
running a team car to her husband in 2003, driving the #85
Chevrolet which she hopes will help propel her to the 2004
Rookie of the Year title. Dorothea Hyde is no novice, as
she is an accomplished Smash to Pass Figure 8 racer, as well
as a feature winning Female Enduro driver. With strong
determination and talent, Dorothea will be a contender to win
the Figure 8 Rookie of the Year award in 2004.
In addition, Dorothea Hyde is no stranger to racing as
racing has surrounded her life since her early years.
Hyde out of Medford started going to Islip Speedway
with her mother and two sisters.
It was also through racing, that Dorothea would meet
her husband Kenny in the final year of Islip Speedway, 1984.
When growing up upon the racing fumes of Islip Speedway,
Dorothea made the bold prediction that one day she would race
a stock car. Dorothea
had her prediction come true in 1991, when she attempted an
enduro. Hyde, one
of the few female competitors at the time, would start out in
right field in 120th and she would turn a mere 32
laps before the rear end locked up and ended her day early.
Soon after, Riverhead started the Smash to Pass Figure 8
program and Dorothea told her husband Kenny that she had to
try it. Dorothea
went and found a car, which she could borrow for the event and
Dorothea along with a friend, checked the car over, banged
some dents out, and was ready for the race.
“Being the only female out there, I was everyone's
target,” Dorothea remarked, “But I didn't give up, I gave
it right back, all said and done I came in with a half a car,
and told my friend, I never had so much fun like I did when I
was out there.”
Dorothea Hyde faired very well in the unique Smash to Pass
division, as Dorothea finished consistently in the top half of
the field, with finishes as high as third and fifth.
After every race, Hyde would drive her car off the
track, a feat that many Smash to Pass drivers could not claim.
However, Riverhead Raceway would eliminate the division
as the division was getting a little too carried away in their
fun.
With a car still race ready, and no division to race it,
Dorothea decided to try another enduro, this time starting
around 100th.
Hyde would fare a little better this time, running
around 50 laps until she would hit the turn 4 wall hard,
ending her day early and seeing stars.
“I told my husband that I wouldn't want to do it again
because there were too many cars and it felt like I was on the
L.I.E. in rush hour,” Dorothea remarked.
Then in 2002, Riverhead Raceway started a division for the
other half of the racing scene, the Ladies, with the Ladies
Enduro.
“I told Kenny that I had to do this! He said why not?
That I've supported him with his racing long enough, it was
about time I got to have some fun,” a jubilant Dorothea Hyde
commented.
Hyde would buy a race ready enduro car from esteemed enduro
veteran, Rich Johnson. The
car would immediately see action, with not much time for it to
be painted, except for a #23 to mark Dorothea’s car number
for the enduro. The
enduro car would still feature the Constant Performance
lettering from Rich Johnson, as Johnson would sponsor the car
for the event. The
fast paced effort to get the car would lead to a fast paced
effort in the first enduro which would result in Dorothea’s
first career win.
Dorothea’s incredible run in the first female enduro did
not make Dorothea invincible which she quickly found out in
the rough and tumble division.
Dorothea tried to win on the first lap in her second
race and immediately got a flat and thus ended her day early.
However, Dorothea would learn and would pull off a
second and another win before the end of the 2002 season.
Dorothea’s success continued into 2003 as she started off
the year with a win, but midseason, the Female Enduro division
experienced problems with car counts and eventually the
aggressiveness of the ladies would end the division for the
time being.
“I would have to say that I enjoyed the Ladies Enduros
the best so far because it was more like racing and I made a
lot of really good friends,” Dorothea commented, “For
anyone who has seen a Ladies Enduro, you would have to say if
you didn't know that the ladies were out on the track, you
couldn't tell because [we didn’t race] like a bunch of
girls.”
And in fact, many fans, male and female alike looked
forward to seeing the Female Enduro show, so much so that some
have stated that the ladies put on a better show than their
male counterparts, although some guys wouldn’t admit it.
Dorothea will be joining the Hyde Family Racing team, which
has traditionally featured one car for her husband Kenny.
Kenny is a 15-year veteran of crossing the busiest
intersection on a Saturday night, and now will be steering the
two-time championship winning Dodge which was formerly of Tom
Rogers, Jr.
With the addition of the new car, that left the old car as
an extra car in the stable and Kenny offered her wife the
ride.
“[Kenny] asked if I wanted to race his racecar while he
runs the new car,” Dorothea remarked, “I just couldn't
pass that up so I jumped on that saying YES!”
Kenny Hyde didn’t only want to put anyone in the car, but
he wanted to put someone he could trust, and who better to
trust than his wife Dorothea, a race winning driver in her own
right.
Although Hyde Family Racing has expanded to a two-car team,
sponsorship has unfortunately not expanded.
With one main sponsor covering the weekly bill, Hyde
Family Racing is looking for a sponsor to take them to the
front.
The Hyde Family Racing team has two simple goals for this
year. One is for Kenny Hyde to finally win his first ever
championship, in the best car he’s ever been in.
The second is for Dorothea Hyde to learn the ropes,
gain experience, and earn the 2004 Rookie of the Year.
“Now I'm going [to go] out there and give it my all to
run a figure 8 car,” Dorothea remarked, “I know that
it’s a lot different then watching it like I have been for
the past 20 years because I have taken the car out in warm-up
before and had a lot of fun.”
Dorothea
Hyde is looking forward to 2004, in her first attempt at
weekly racing at the tough figure 8 at Riverhead Raceway.
Some of the best in Long Island Racing history have
braved the fierce intersection.
And if history is any indication of Dorothea’s
future, be sure to keep an eye out on her #85 Chevrolet, as it
may be right at the rear bumper of the Figure 8’s best. And one man may have to keep an eye out as well, as that one
bumper may be of her husband’s #58, Kenny Hyde.
Sources:
J.A. Ackley/LongIslandJam.com
Posted: January 14, 2004
