Ness Dominates, McGrath Returns to Victory Lane
Photo by Ed Siems
The final night of short-track racing in July brought fans to experience the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Racing Series at Hawkeye Downs Speedway on July 26th! We want to extend a special thanks to our race night sponsors, DaaBIN, Advance Auto Parts, and The Prull Group. As a special gift for fans, the first 250 people through the gate received a FREE DaaBIN coupon to spend at their local DaaBIN store. Even without the Cassill Motors Sport Mods on the track this week, the evening was jam-packed with our other racing classes, plus the HD Dawgs and two late model features.
After lacking a win in the last two All Seasons Automotive Sportsman races, Todd Ness was determined to win on this night with his car branded with the DaaBIN logo and colors. Ness won his heat and quickly went to the lead, coming across the line three seconds ahead of Brandon Herb to sweep the night.
“I went out and ran the best race I could,” Ness said. “I tried to show up and show out for the sponsors.”
Photo by Ed Siems
In the first of two Performance Concepts Late Model races, Michael Weber led the first 12 laps of the 15-lap event. Kacey Korsmo then made his move to pass Weber and lead the final three laps to win his second late model feature of the season. In Victory Lane, Korsmo had a scary moment where the heat got to him, and he needed to be checked out by Area Ambulance. He was able to recover and compete in the legends race and second late model feature. Thank you to our first responders with Area Ambulance for always supporting our racers at the track.
During the second late model feature, Griffin McGrath found enough speed to hold off Korsmo after a spin during the first race. It was McGrath's first race back since the Big 8 Series race, where he also suffered a spin.
Photo by Renae Gibson
“I’m not sure if something is wrong in the rear end or what,” McGrath said. “I just run out of grip and the car spins. Definitely a team effort because with everything we are doing with Legends.Direct, this car is the last thing to get worked on. The first feature was a handful but other than that, good stuff.”
While some drivers struggled to balance their cars on a night when the track was slick from extreme heat, it’s true that years of experience helped Kevin Korsmo go to Green State Credit Union Victory Lane for the third time this season in the Legends.Direct Legends. Korsmo made the pass on Nick Slabaugh on lap four and didn’t look back. Korsmo acknowledged that patience was important and letting the car come to him as the track cooled down helped the speed.
The battle between Corey Crispin and Chad Vozenilek continued in this week’s race in the Sunline Hornets racing class. Clifton Emrich started off by leading the first five laps until Crispin arrived on the scene and took over. Not long after, Emrich was penalized for not holding his line and finished 11th. Vozenilek and Dallas Chandler worked their way up. With multiple restarts, they were able to get past John Carnahan to take over second and third place. Vozenilek didn’t have enough in the tank to challenge Crispin however, and Crispin grabbed his fifth win of the year.
Scott Siems had his #1 car rolling well in the early stages of the Anderson Automotive Hobby Stocks race. Adam Petrzelka came knocking on the door and tried for several laps, and finally got to the inside of Siems to take the lead on lap 12. Petrzelka expanded the lead to just over 1.2 seconds in the last couple of laps to win once again in the series.
Photo by Ed Siems
After capturing his first feature win last week, Devin Coghlan backed up the run with another victory in the HD Dawgs. Coghlan patiently worked his way up to the front and caught up to Garrett Warren, who was making his second start with the series. On lap seven, Coghlan took the lead from Warren and proceeded to lay down some quick laps, at one point coming within .091 seconds of breaking out.
Next Race: Friday, August 2nd
This Friday, August 2nd is Wall of Fame Night at the Race Sponsored by Cassill Motors. We will be adding a new class of inductees. This year’s inductees include Brad Huff, Ed Janey, Scott Megonigle, Joe Merryfield, and Arnie Reif. Hawkeye Downs Wall of Fame inductees will be celebrated with a special presentation at intermission. Races include the NASCAR Advanced Auto Parts Weekly Racing Series and the Iowa Vintage Racing Series. Gates open at 6pm, with racing to follow at 7:05pm. Tickets are available at the gate.
