Davis Wins First Legends Feature, Thompson Scores Iowa Vintage Victory
To kick off the month of August, Hawkeye Downs was honored to welcome members of the Hawkeye Downs Wall of Fame to the track! Wall of Fame organizers introduced five new inductees on Cassill Motors Wall of Fame Night.
Brad Huff, Ed Janey, Scott Megonigle, Joe Merryfield, and Arnie Reif were all honored at intermission at the start line amongst friends, family, and Wall of Fame supporters. Drivers and others in our community who have contributed to the history of Hawkeye Downs Speedway are honored annually at Hawkeye Downs on Wall of Fame Night. Hawkeye Downs is grateful to have a strong group of volunteers to manage the Wall of Fame program. We are thankful to honor individuals within the Hawkeye Downs racing community each year.
“The five 2024 Hawkeye Downs Wall of Fame inductees from left to right - Arnie Reif, Irv Janey accepting for Ed Janey, Scott Megonigle, Curt Hansen accepting for Joe Merryfield, Brad Huff and Grand Marshall Shane Carson.” - Steve Day
Photo by Ed Siems
For the first time, Jeremiah Davis was able to pull off the win in the Legends.Direct Legends. Davis started 4th in the feature and made his way to 2nd after an incident just ahead of him. Davis took the lead shortly after, expanding the gap over Kacey Korsmo to 1.3 seconds at the finish.
Photo by Ed Siems
“It’s really hard to win the Legends division at Hawkeye Downs,” Davis said. “There are eight guys who could win on any given week. It’s really cool to win. My dad passed away in May, so I dedicated it to him. It was on Cassill Motors night, and my daughter's birthday was the day before, so all of those things meshed together to make for an incredibly special night.”
Kevin Korsmo now leads Kacey in the Legends standings by just eight points.
Once again, it came down to Chad Vozenilek and Corey Crispin in the Sunline Hornets. The pair started 5th and 6th but quickly made their way forward. Vozenilek then took the lead from Jamie Wood, who would hold on to finish third. It took Crispin a couple of laps to get the runner-up spot, and from there could not complete a pass on Vozenilek. The two drivers are separated by just three points, with Crispin ahead.
It won’t come as a shock to racing fans that Adam Petrzelka made another visit to Green State Credit Union Victory Lane in the Anderson Automotive Hobby Stocks. Five laps into the feature, Petrzelka took over the lead and did not look back. Scott Siems would come through to gain four spots on his way to 2nd, with Nathan Ballard in the #51 bringing it home in third.
In the All Seasons Automotive Sportsman class, it took nine laps for Todd Ness to work his way from 6th to the lead. He spent two laps battling Dave Ballstaedt for the top spot before he cleared and jumped ahead of the field by 2 seconds. Greg Hentrich would make his way to 2nd while Brandon Herb finished 3rd. Ness leads Herb in the standings by seven points heading into this Friday night.
The Iowa Vintage Racing Series was back at Hawkeye Downs as part of Wall of Fame Night. The field included some local celebrities, including Hawkeye Downs flagman John Huff, track Pastor Matt Wiley, and Hawkeye Downs former weekly racer Allen Hansen. In the heat race, Huff started 9th but made his way up to win over Dan Thompson and Juneau, Wisconsin's Eric Melchior. When it came down to the feature race, Huff couldn’t match their speed and fell to 3rd, while Melchior took 2nd. Thompson, who races on many tracks, went on to capture the victory.
In the first of two Cassill Motors Sport Mod features, Patrick Flannagan patiently worked his way up to the lead from his 5th-place starting spot. On lap nine of the 15-lap feature, he grabbed 2nd from his son, Beckett, and then set his sights on the leader, Steve Schnor. With just three laps to go, Schnor surrendered the lead while Flannagan cruised to Victory Lane.
Photo by Ed Siems
During the second feature race, it was time for Tallan Chandler to shine as he rocketed from 3rd to 1st by the third lap. Flannagan worked his way back up to 2nd but couldn’t match the near-record lap put down by Chandler. The gap grew quickly in the final laps, and Chandler snagged his third win of the season in the class. During tech inspection, the F7 of Flannagan was found to be outside of the rules and was disqualified, moving Chad Siems up to 2nd for the race. This also moves Chandler to the top of the points standings, just two ahead of Siems.
Next Race: Friday, August 9th
The second-to-last race of the NASCAR Advanced Auto Weekly Racing season is scheduled for Friday, August 9th, with our friends from Linn Animal Hospital joining us on the party deck! The American Iron Racing Series and Performance Concepts Late Models will be joined by double features in the Legends racing class. Gates open at 6pm, and racing begins at 7:05pm. Tickets are available at the gate. See you there!
