HAWKEYE DOWNS SPEEDWAY OPENS 2014 SEASON WITH NEW FACES, NEW ATTITUDE

By Brad Grupe

Cedar Rapids, IA  May 2, 2014) – Hawkeye Downs Speedway, Iowa’s only full-time asphalt racing facility, roared to life for the 2014 season Friday night with a bolstered lineup of officials and staff,  and a new attitude amongst drivers, officials, and fans.

A cool, windy evening greeted racers and fans but rain showers stayed away allowing a largely entertaining program to roll on without a hitch.

In Sunline Hornets, Kurt Bohnsack wrestled the lead from Brad Schmidt on the white flag lap  of the  fifteen lap feature to lay claim to his first win of 2014. Schmidt took the lead from CJ Van Horn on lap five but just couldn’t keep the door shut on Bohnsack as he surrendered the lead with one to go.

Schmidt settled for second while Troy Scott crossed the stripe in third.

A familiar name in an unfamiliar car took top honors in the Barron Motor Supply Hobby Stocks as Matt Petrzelka collected the checkers Friday night. Petrzelka was running a borrowed ride after mechanical issues sidelined his regular car. The change didn’t seem to matter as Petrzelka quickly took command of the race and went unchallenged as the laps ticked off the board.

Nathan Ballard was his closest pursuer, finishing second,  while Kandi Floyd crossed the stripe in third.

In Miller Time Modifieds, Brian Gibson held off Jake Griffin to earn his first trip to victory lane for 2014. Gibson took the lead on the first trip around the historic Hawkeye Downs half-mile and then held off high side and low-side challenges from Griffin.  Griffin settled for second with Ryan Luedtke finishing third.

In other Hy-Vee Racing Series action, the luck of the draw may have been an early wedding present for Carpetland USA Late Model pilot Tim Plummer as he drew the pole for the 25-lap feature for that division. Plummer, who ties the knot next weekend, led from start to finish stretching his lead to over five seconds by the time the checkered flag waved. Some very even competition behind Plummer saw Scott Siems hold off Brad Osborn for second. Chad Siems finished fourth and Brian Allen was fifth.

The Mountain Dew Sportsmen feature saw Jim Hanson and Dave Ballstaedt split Greg Hentrich on the opening half-lap with Hanson edging out the early lead. The action slowed briefly on lap three when Cory Houdek spun while mounting a charge for second.  Houdek rallied from that spin to move into second on lap seven but he couldn’t mount a serious charge for the lead. Ballstaedt finished in third behind Houdek.

Finally, the Dublin City Pub Legends feature didn’t disappoint as Bryce Bailey took the lead near the halfway point of the 25-lap feature. Bailey took command after a lap thirteen restart. Johnny Kringas had led the race to that point after starting on point.

Kyle Diercks made a run at Bailey over the last couple laps but Bailey was too fast and Diercks settled for second finishing ahead of Kringas. Mark Ironside finished fourth and Tim Goettsch was fifth.

 

 

HYVEE RACING SERIES OPENING NIGHT

May 2, 2014

DUBLIN CITY PUB INEX LEGENDS

HEAT 1- 1.  (86) Kevin Korsmo, Atkins; 2. (29) Austin Kunert, Batavia, IL; 3.(43) Kyle Diercks, LeClaire; 4. (58) Tyler Kingery; 5. (25) Cole O’Brien, Cedar Rapids

HEAT 2.- 1. (01) Tim Goettsch, Bettendorf; 2. (51) Bryce Bailey, Cedar Rapids; 3. (10 Mark Ironside, Swisher; 4. (10K) Johnny Kringas, Homer Glen, IL; 5. (77) Warren Ropp, Kalona; 6. (00) Brody Willet, Alburnett; 7. (13) TJ Aimers DNS- (95) Alan Diercks, Davenport

(FEATURE (25 laps) 1. Bailey 2. Kyle Diercks 3. Kringas 4.Ironside 5. Goettsch 6. Korsmo 7. Kunnert 8. Alan Diercks 9. Ropp 10. Willett 11. O’Brien 12. Kingery 13. Aimers

SUNLINE HORNETS

HEAT- 1. (4) Kurt Bohnsack, Iowa City; 2. (54) CJ Van Horn, Marion; 3.(7B) Brad Schmidt, Cedar Rapids; 4.  (44) Troy Scott, Cedar Rapids; 5. (1A) Trent Jochinsen, Cedar Rapids; 6. (1) Kaden Reynolds

FEATURE (15 laps) 1. Bohnsack 2. Schmidt 3. Scott 4. Reynolds 5. Jochinsen 6. Van Horn

BARRON MOTOR SUPPLY HOBBY STOCKS

HEAT 1- 1. (22) Matt Petrzelka, Norway; 2.(2)Matt Lacoursiere, Cedar Rapids; 3.(57)Malena Clement, Cedar Rapids; 4. (14j) Jacob Floyd, Cedar Rapids; DNS- (6) John Ness, Cedar Rapids

HEAT 2- 1. (29) Nathan Ballard, Marengo; 2. (48) Adam Petrzelka, Norway; 3. (54) Jason Sherman, Marengo; 4. (12k) Kandi Floyd, Cedar Rapids; 5. (12) Brandon Herb, Marion; 6. (00N) Drew Nickell, Cedar Rapids

FEATURE (15 laps) 1. Matt Petrzelka 2. Ballard 3. Kandi Floyd 4. Lacoursiere 5. Adam Petrzelka 6. Sherman 7. Jacob Floyd 8. Clement 9. Nickell 10. Herb DNS- Ness

MOUNTAIN DEW SPORTSMEN

HEAT- 1. (19) Cory Houdek, Marion; 2.(88) Jim Hanson, Cedar Rapids; 3. (9)Dave Ballsteadt, Marion; 4. (35) Greg Hentrich, Hiawatha

FEATURE (10 laps) 1. Hanson 2. Houdek 3. Ballstaedt 4. Hentrich

MILLER TIME MODIFIEDS

HEAT- 1. (66) Jake Griffin, Quincy, IL; 2. (8) Ryan Luedtke, Norway; 3. (17) Brian Gibson, Walford

FEATURE (10laps) 1. Gibson 2. Griffin 3. Luedtke

CARPETLAND USA LATE MODELS

HEAT- 1. (72) Brad Osborn, Janesville; 2. (74) Tim Plummer, Norway; 3. (52) Brian Allen, Hiawatha; 4. (43) Scott Siems, Cedar Rapids; 5. (76) Chad Siems, Shellsburg  DNS- (40) Curt Tillman, Roscoe, IL

FEATURE(25 laps) 1 . Plummer 2. Scott Siems 3. Osborn 4. Chad Siems 5. Allen 6. Tillman

Category: Hawkeye Downs Speedway, Iowa