Fast forward to 1989 and yes, I was the track announcer for promoter Larry Kemp in the first season of pavement racing here and I do have memories from that season as well, including the one pictured here when I was interviewing Kenny Schrader after a feature win with the legendary Keith Knaack alongside. But last week it was all about the dirt as the memories raced through my mind. Every one of the Sprint Car drivers that I spoke to absolutely loved the experience, especially knowing that it could be a long, long time before Winged Sprint Cars ever get the chance to do it again here at Hawkeye Downs.
That's why I couldn't wait to come back last night as the IMCA Modifieds and Hobby Stocks, along with the Legends Direct Legend Cars would be in action, and despite it being a football Friday night, the big amphitheater filled in nicely with an enthusiastic crowd ready for more dirt track action. The Midwest Jalopies were on the card as well and they would be the first of the four feature races after a brief intermission with Austin Honts going flag to flag to take the win. Jayson Blunt chased him the entire distance in second while Pat Bailey trailed behind in third. Matt Fulton Jr. picked up two positions in the final two laps as he finished fourth while Michael Hulsing completed the top five.
The Hobby Stocks were up next for twenty laps and after seeing Joren Fisher race his way from sixth to win the second heat race, my focus was on him as he lined up eleventh in the twenty-one car field. Braxton Franks would lead the way on lap one while just behind him mayhem broke out when the eighth starting Brandon Beyer got crossed up on the high line in turn four and slid down into traffic collecting Jeremy Peterson and a couple of others.
Once back to racing only two more laps were scored before Ben Shannon took some contact in the right rear that turned him hard into the outside wall on the front stretch. The race was red flagged briefly as Shannon caught his breath before climbing out of his car uninjured.
Fisher would lineup eighth for this restart, but when two cars in the top five spun in turn one, but were able to gather it up and continue on to keep the race under green, Joren quickly made his way up to third and was ready to take on both Franks and Justin Wacha. It would take him a few laps to get by Wacha and he would now ride the bumper of the leader for several trips around the quarter-mile both working the high line. When Braxton stumbled a bit on the cushion coming to score lap fourteen, Fisher drove to the bottom exiting turn four and he would take he lead that he would then build upon over the final six laps to secure the win. Franks would settle for the runner-up check while Wacha maintained third to the checkers. Boone Speedway veteran Jerry Gifford made his way into fourth on the final lap after starting from fifteenth while Jake Keiser took fifth after starting thirteenth. This would be Fisher's ninth feature win of the 2025 campaign.
I don't see the Legend Cars often and, when I do, it often seems to be a parade around the bottom. Tonight however was the best feature that I have seen for this division outside of the Turkey Bowl in Springfield as drivers were able to race high, low and every place in between on this temporary dirt surface!
Twenty-five laps would be the distance and it would be Wisconsin driver Cohen Henze leading lap one from the pole position before pavement specialist, and former Cedar Rapids Gazette columnist, Jeremiah Davis moved to the front on lap two. Davis, who was one of the best at giving this sport the coverage that it deserves in a daily paper, put down his pen a few years and started to successfully race karts before adding a Legend Car to his garage, was now showing the dirt guys the way until lap seven when Jordan Miklas used a higher line to slip by him. Miklas had come from the eight starting spot and he was soon joined by the ninth starter Michael Weber and on laps ten and eleven I saw something that I have never seen in a Legends car race.
The two leaders traded slide jobs on both ends of the speedway before Weber was able to establish himself on the cushion and take the point on lap twelve. Miklas appeared ready to battle back before the caution waved on lap fourteen when Ryan Mech and Cody Moline tangled in turn three. With the field tightly packed again on the restart, more trouble happened in turn three a lap later as cars checked up in front of Kacey Korsmo causing him to spin and then take a hard hit from Robby Morrison.
Then, after one more lap went in the books, the early leader Henze looked like something broke either in the steering, or his throttle stuck, as he just ramped up and over the turn three wall then taking a hard tumble now out of sight of the large crowd. Thankfully Cohen quickly emerged from his battered ride uninjured.
Back under green the twelfth starting Eric Blumer now made this a three car race for the lead as both he and Micklas appeared to be making up ground on the bottom as Weber continued to take the long way around, but a caution with three laps remaining slowed their progress and one lap after the restart, Micklas got loose exiting turn two, overcorrected and slammed the outside barrier on the back stretch ending his evening.
This would setup a green, white, checkers restart with tenth starting Griffin McGrath now in the mix as well and while Blumer had a shot coming to the checkers, Weber would hang on to score the win over Blumer and McGrath. Ryan Sullivan would get to fourth after starting thirteenth while Davis did the pavement pounders proud by rounding out the top five. You know that this was a good one as that is the longest recap of a Legend Car race ever in the Back Stretch!
The Modifieds would close out the evening on a track that had a favored groove around the top, but still enough bite on the bottom to make it interesting and pole-sitter Troy Morris III wasted no time getting to that top line after the drop of the green. It would be a three car breakaway as Shane Paris and Joel Rust chased Morris and just as they approached a bunched up back of the field on lap eight, Chris Zogg got crossed up at the entrance of turn one and the three leaders were able to take evasive action.
On the restart the ninth starting Jeff Aikey joined the party up front as now a quartet would pull away from the field and with the lapped traffic all running the bottom in the closing laps. Morris stayed perfect on the preferred line to go the distance for the $1,500 win. Rust finished second, Aikey was third, Paris finished fourth and Dustin Smith took fifth.
Hot laps started just a few minutes before the advertised time of 7:00 p.m. and the checkers waved over the well presented program right at ten o'clock. On the drive home I was already anticipating my return to Hawkeye Downs tonight as the Karl Chevrolet PRO Late Models, likely presenting a field of forty or more cars will be the headliners on Saturday joined by IMCA Stock Cars, Sport Mods, Mod Lites and the American Iron Racing Series. Even with a late kick for the Iowa and Wisconsin game I still look for a packed grandstand and hopefully I will see you there. And, if you don't make it tonight, you will have one more opportunity on Saturday October 18th as that same Kenny Schrader, pictured above, will be back to compete with the IMCA Modifieds.
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