MCCALLA OVERCOMES SPIN TO TOP SPORTSMEN ON HAWKEYE DOWNS ON “WALL OF FAME” NIGHT

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA  (June 9, 2012) – Matt Petrzelka, Dave McCalla, Bryce Bailey, Mike Schulte, Brad Chandler, and Thor Anderson all created a little history of their own Friday night by winning Papa Johns Cup/ i-Wireless Championship Series features on Keith Fleck Memorial Wall of Fame Night at Cedar Rapids’ Hawkeye Downs Speedway.

Eight new members were inducted into the Hawkeye Downs Keith Fleck Memorial Wall of Fame during a ceremony on the front stretch. This year’s group of honorees included brothers Lem and Gordon Blankenship of Keokuk, Iowa, Bill Bennett Jr., Vince Fiala, Jerry Epperson, Russ Lyman, all of Cedar Rapids, Sonny Crow of Marion, Iowa, and the late Eddie Leavitt of Kearney, Mo.

In Barron Motor Supply Hobby Stocks, Matt Petrzelka recovered from last weeks’ mechanical problems, winning the 15-lap feature for that division. Brad Chandler mounted an early challenge on polesitter Petrzelka but the #22 of Petrzelka pulled away by lap eight and motored to his fourth win of the 2012 campaign.

Brad Chandler, who has one trip to victory lane, finished second while Alex George was third.

One of the best races of the night was the Mountain Dew Sportsmen 20-lap feature as Dave McCalla earned a very hard fought win over Ben Glascock. Glascock and Dave Ballstaedt waged a side-by side battle for several laps early in the race before Glascock pulled away a bit.

Caution bunched the field was nine laps complete after Craig Stepanek and Cory Houdek tangled. On the restart, the field got a bit out of sorts with the #3 of McCalla spinning out and retreating to the pits briefly.

On the subsequent restart, McCalla flew through the pack from the rear and found himself in second and running down the leader Glascock with five laps remaining. McCalla mounted one last charge and slipped under Glascock in turn two of the final lap to claim the checkers and his fourth win of the season.  Glascock maintained second while Bob Ahrendsen was third.

Bryce Bailey started on point for the 30-lap Dublin City Pub INEX Legends feature and scored a relatively easy win over Dennis Diercks and Kevin Korsmo. The win was the first of the year for Bailey.

The first two positions remained rock solid throughout the feature but the race for third between point leader Kevin Korsmo and Matt Blake was an intense one as they swapped positions throughout the race. In the end Korsmo prevailed and snagged the third finishing slot.

The veteran Arlo Becker led the first seven laps of the 20-lap Budweiser Modified feature before another veteran driver and nemesis Mike Schulte slipped around the #88 of Becker and quickly began pulling away from the pack.

There were a couple “tricky” moments during the race with one coming on lap three as the cars of Jake Griffin and Brian Gibson touched briefly during hard racing. Both drivers recovered with Gibson finishing second and Griffin, who won last weeks’ feature, finishing third.

Later in the race, near the halfway mark, Gibson, Griffin, and Ryan Luedtke found themselves slipping and sliding but all made a great save and finished in the top five.

Shane Hanson made an early run at polesitter Tom Blum in the 30-lap Hornet Feature,  taking the lead on lap three and then holding the top spot until lap 25 when Brad Chandler completed his charge through the pack from the back row by taking the lead.

Five laps later Chandler found himself in victory lane with his second straight victory. Hanson, who holds one win this season finished second while another feature winner from this season, Kurt Bohnsack, wrapped up third.

Brian Allen parlayed a pole position start into an early lead in the Performance Concepts Late Model 30-lap feature but by lap eight Thor Anderson, who started in row three,  had pulled alongside and was battling for the lead. One lap later Anderson made what would be the winning pass and the field had smooth sailing until lap twelve when Jake Griffin spun, bunching the field.

Once the action restarted, it was short-lived as the $95 of Jay Jaspers brushed the wall on the backstretch sending him to the pits with rear-end problems. The subsequent restart only ran for two laps as the #1 of Brian Allen was smoking noticeably, forcing the caution.

The rest of the race ran caution-free with Brad Osborn, Dudley Fleck, J Herbst, and Andy Edwards completing the top of the order. The win was the third of the season for Anderson.

Racing returns next Friday night , June 15 with Van Meter/ “Aiming for a Cure” Night”. Fans will be admitted for a minimum $1.00 donation with the proceeds benefiting “Aiming for a Cure.” A Celebrity Race is also on the card with University of Iowa Wrestling Coach Tom Brands and former Iowa Wrestler Mark Ironside battling an executive from Van Meter on the quarter-mile. All six divisions of the Papa Johns Cup/i-Wireless Championship Series are also in action.

 

JUNE 8 RESULTS

BARRON MOTOR SUPPLY HOBBY STOCKS

HEAT 1—1. Matt Petrzelka, Cedar Rapids; 2.Brad Chandler, Cedar Rapids; 3.Matt Lacoursiere, Cedar Rapids; 4. Roland Bohnsack, Clutier; 5. Alex George, Ionia; 6. Jason Sherman, Marengo

FEATURE (15 laps) 1. Petrzelka 2.Chandler 3.George 4.Lacoursiere 5.Bohnsack  DNS- Sherman

 

MOUNTAIN DEW SPORTSMEN

HEAT 1—1. Cory Houdek, Marion; 2.Greg Hentrich, Hiawatha; 3.Craig Stepanek, Cedar Rapids; DNS- Kandi Floyd, Cedar Rapids

HEAT 2—1. Ben Glascock, Indianola; 2.Dave Ballsteadt, Marion; 3.Dave McCalla, Cedar Rapids; 4. Bob Ahrendsen, Cedar Rapids

FEATURE (20 laps) 1. McCalla 2.Glascock 3.Ahrendsen 4.Ballstaedt 5.Stepanek 6. Hentrich 7. Houdek 8. Floyd

 

DUBLIN CITY PUB INEX LEGENDS

HEAT 1—1. Bryce Bailey, Cedar Rapids; 2.Kevin Korsmo, Atkins; 3.Dennis Diercks, Davenport; 4. Brian Allen, Hiawatha; 5. Jeremy Cassill, Cedar Rapids; 6. Gary Dyer, Bettendorf; DNS- Jason Beauregard, Cedar Rapids; DNS- Al Diercks, Davenport

FEATURE (30 laps) 1. Bailey 2. Dennis Diercks 3. Korsmo 4.Blake 5.Al Diercks 6.Cassill 7.Dyer DNS- Beauregard

 

BUDWEISER MODIFIEDS

HEAT 1—1. Jake Griffin, Quincy, IL; 2.Arlo Becker, Norway; 3.Brian Gibson, Walford; 4.Brian Allen, Hiawatha; 5. Ed O’Brien

HEAT 2—1. Mike Schulte, Norway; 2.Ryan Luedtke, Norway; 3.Craig Bender, Cedar Rapids; DNS- James Dixon, Cedar Rapids

FEATURE (20 laps) 1. Schulte 2.Gibson 3.Griffin 4.Luedtke 5.Becker 6. Bender 7. Allen 8. O’Brien DNS- Dixon

 

SUNLINE HORNETS

ANDERSON AUTOMOTIVE PROMOTERS CHOICE DASH- 1. Dan Schmidt 2. JR Dvorak 3.Prestin Witham 4. Joe Bean 5. Zach Hartman DNS- Dan Hartman

HEAT 1—1. John Ness, Cedar Rapids; 2.Kurt Bohnsack, Iowa City; 3. Tom Blum, Cedar Rapids; 4. JR Dvorak, Lisbon; 5. Dan Schmidt, Cedar Rapids; 6. Prestin Witham, Cedar Rapids; 7. Zach Hartman, Cedar Rapids

HEAT 2—1. Shane Hanson, Cedar Rapids; 2. Brad Chandler, Cedar Rapids; 3.Jose DeJesus, Cedar Rapids; 4. Todd Ness, Cedar Rapids; 5. Ian Pate, Cedar Rapids DNS- Dan Hartman, Cedar Rapids

FEATURE (30 laps) 1. Chandler 2.Hanson 3.Bohnsack 4.DeJesus 5.John Ness 6. Todd Ness 7. Pate 8.Dvorak 9. Schmidt 10. Blum 11. Witham 12. Bean 13. Zach Hartman 14. Dan Hartman

 

PERFORMANCE CONCEPTS LATE MODELS

HEAT 1—1. Thor Anderson, Bonduraunt; 2. Brian Allen, Hiawatha; 3.Jay Jaspers, Steamboat Rock; 4. Dudley Fleck, Cedar Rapids; 5. J Herbst, Lacrosse, WI; 6. Scott Siems, Cedar Rapids; DNS- Kurt George, Ionia

HEAT 2—1. Jake Griffin, Quincy, IL; 2. Brad Osborn, Janesville; 3.Andrew Edwards, New Hartford; 4.Chad Siems, Shellsburg; 5. Tom Muhr, Exira

FEATURE ( 30 laps) 1. Anderson 2. Osborn 3. Fleck 4. Herbst 5. Edwards 6. Chad Siems 7. Scott Siems 8. Griffin 9. Allen 10. Jaspers DNS- George  DNS- Muhr

Category: Hawkeye Downs Speedway, Iowa, News