Two Hawkeye Dirt Tour races scheduled earlier in the week, the Iowa State Fair Speedway, and the Southern Iowa Speedway, were wash outs, but the third time was the charm when Knoxville hosted the Dynamic Drivelines Dirt Duel/HDT on Thursday night. The sweltering heat still brought 44 IMCA Modifieds and 51 IMCA Northern SportMods to attempt to tame the famed half mile.
The Modifieds ran five heats with the top two moving to the feature. The three B mains, took four from each, and Hawkeye Dirt Tour provisionals were tagged on the tail....those being Cory Dripps and David Brown. The Sportmods ran six heats, the top two moving to the A main, and three B mains, moving another four to the feature.
The SportMod feature went 20-laps. The luck of the draw found Pella's Matt VanGelder and Montezuma, Iowa's Brett Lowry...who was wanting to win one for his newborn son, sitting on the front row.
Lowry held down the top spot for the first eight laps, but then Tim Plummer, who started third, took command. Meanwhile, flying on the topside of the track, was eighth place starter, Curtis VanDerWal. VanDerWal hung precariously to that topside of the track, making that momentum payoff at lap thirteen when he took over the lead. From there on, it was all VanDerWal, taking the checkers and the win. Plummer held down the runner up spot, Lowry took third, Jarrett Brown from Ainsworth, Iowa was fourth and Matt VanGelder completed the top five. VanDerWal was a happy camper in victory lane, saying the win was a dream come true.
The grand finale was 25-laps of IMCA Hawkeye Dirt Tour Modified racing. When we saw the front row starters, Justin Kay and Jacob Murray, we were already pretty convinced, it could be how they would finish. The start saw Kay jump to the immediate lead, and put distance between himself and second running Murray. The only yellow to fly save for the initial "no go" for debris, came at lap nineteen. Kay and Murray were still the top two, but sitting in third was hard runner, and defending IMCA National Champion, Chris Abelson. Things could now get interesting on the restart! And that is just what it did. Abelson flew to the topside, moving around Murray and on lap twenty one, was able to pull off a slide job on leader Kay as they came out of turn four....and scored the leader. Kay was having none of that "caught by surprise move", and was able to grab the lead back by the following lap. Kay held tight to that lead then, the rest of the way to the checkers. Abelson was second, and Murray went third. Fourth was veteran racer, Kelly Shryock, and making the most headway, was Richie Gustin in fifth, after starting twelfth.
There was a contingency of drivers from Great Bend, Kansas racing last evening. Jesse Richter, Mike Petersille, and Jimmy Reeves in the Modifieds, and Brendon Damon in the SportMod class. The SportMod class also found Frank Packer from Australia back in Iowa for his annual racing vacation.
Elvis was in the house last night too! Well....Elvis impersonator, Joey Franklin from Las Vegas, who drives the #33 white IMCA Modified. The last few years, Franklin has come to Iowa for a racing fix. His racing suit even reflects the Elvis theme. His night did not end well, when he came to a stop on the front stretch, and had to be pushed into the pits.
Another driver making the long haul back to Iowa from Winston, California, was Paul Stone. We caught up with him and his wife Jill, prior to the races. They will be returning to California, but plan to be back racing the Harris Clash coming up on August 9 at the Hamilton County Speedway, and also plan for the Super Nationals at the Boone Speedway the week of Labor Day. A fellow Californian, Ethan Dotson was also in the house. He drives the #174....though from a distance, it appears to be just a #1. He made Iowa his summer racing home last year, and has now been back again as of late. The youngster has made great strides in his racing career.
The extreme high temperatures, prompted the racing to be moved back last evening. Hot laps were 7:30 and the first green flag dropped at 7:58. Racing was completed at 10:40. It was a sweltering night, and we were more than glad to be invited into one of the front stretch suites. We thank them for the opportunity and for the great hospitality. It made the night very enjoyable.
The next Hawkeye Dirt Tour on the schedule is next Tuesday, July 26, when the series travels to the Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway. The Sprint Invaders will also be on the program.
It appears the high temperatures are sticking around for racing this weekend. Take heed and be safe out there if you will be attending a race.
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