McGrath and Gade Highlight Winners On Second Night of Racing
The second night of racing on Friday, May 10th, included a rainbow in the sky among the overcast skies at Hawkeye Downs. Weekly racing classes were joined by late models and the American Iron Racing Series (A.I.R.S.) for the first time in the 2024 season. Hawkeye Downs Speedway was thrilled to welcome racers from across the Midwest.
Photo by Caleb Slouha
It was a wild race in the Legends.Direct Legends, with several incidents where there was heavy contact. Kevin Korsmo and Jacob Tiegen came together, and later in the event, it was John Ferden and Jeremiah Davis with contact resulting in both of them being unable to finish the race. Austin Slabaugh led the majority of the event until Danny Lehmkuhl slid by and took home the victory.
The defending champion returned to victory lane in the Sunline Hornets, with Corey Crispin fighting through the field to get ahead. Duane Hochstedler paced the rest of the field behind him and took home the second-place spot. Crispin gained four spots en route to the win.
Photo by Ed Siems
For the first time in 2024, the Performance Concepts Late Models roared around the track. The feature was clean throughout. Griffin McGrath went from third to first during the 15-lap race to score the victory.
“It was fun because four of the guys in this race were on the same late model crew at the same time at one point,” said McGrath. “That’s pretty cool for me and cool for Hawkeye Downs.”
It was all Adam Petrzelka again in the Anderson Automotive Hobby Stocks, quickly coming from 6th to take the lead. Jeremy Peterson charged up to the runner-up place, where he crossed the line but was DQ’d in tech inspection after the race, moving Jason Sherman to a second-place finish. Petrzelka is now 2-for-2 on the season in the hobby stocks.
The All Seasons Automotive Sportsman feature was also full of excitement. Close racing saw Greg Hentrich go airborne after contact with Cory Houdek. Hentrich would end up retiring from the race, while Houdek would go on to maneuver his way to the front and hold off Todd Ness to pick up his first win since August 2022 driving Rob Aimers' car.
Driving a throwback to his father, American Iron Racing Series driver Brian Gade was able to pull off his first win on the asphalt, despite running out of gas going into turn three on the final lap.
Photo by Ed Siems
“I definitely played that too close to the wire,” Gade shared after the race. “I need to monitor the gas in this new car a little closer with it having a smaller fuel cell and playing it too close to the wire.”
Jon Fish from LaCrosse, Wisconsin, crossed the line after Gade to take the second position, while heat-race winner Bart Miller finished third. The other heat race winner, Lisa Miller, suffered contact and was unable to finish the feature.
Finally, in the Cassill Motors Sport Mods, Patrick Flannagan went back-to-back to earn his second win of the season. This one was more contested with Tallan Chandler and his son Beckett Flannagan hot on his tail. As the race went on, Beckett slid backward while Chandler tried to get around Patrick. After several laps, Chandler lost a couple of car lengths of real estate, and Patrick snagged the victory.
Next Race: Friday, May 17th
Hawkeye Downs racing continues this Friday, May 17th, with the return of the HD Dawgs, plus our five weekly racing classes. Front gates open at 6:00pm and racing begins at 7:05pm. Tickets are available at the gate.
