Cayden Carter takes hometown Hawkeye Dirt Tour win in Oskaloosa

OSKALOOSA — Before Wednesday night's IMCA Hawkeye Dirt Tour Modified race program got started, a few drivers were asked who they had to beat.

Recently crowned Dakota Modified Tour champion Hunter Marriott didn't hesitate. Cayden Carter's was the first name out of his mouth.

Marriott proved right — and at his expense, to a certain extent.

Carter picked up his second career Hawkeye Dirt Tour main event victory at his home track, taking the short ride home with $1,000 in tow. He laughed about Marriott's prediction before the race. After the race, Carter did what's become typical for him: he complimented Marriott, who led the first half of the race.

Still, he had to admit he had something on his side: laps at Osky and a heap of pride on the line.

'I'll take any race I can get,' Carter said. 'I've got a million laps around this place. That doesn't hurt me at all. I know the lines. I've raced here since I was about 13. It's been a long time racing here.'

Carter's win came ahead of Ricky Thornton Jr., Joel Rust, Kyle Brown and Kelly Shryock, but his compliment for Marriott was noted because of the lead Marriott had early in the race.

After drivers settled into race pace, Marriott led by at least a full straightaway. But around the midway point of the race, Carter — who had to work hard to get around Kyle Brown for second to even be able to have the shot — erased that gap in a hurry.

What would've likely been a hotly contested race ended up smooth sailing for Carter because Marriott pulled in with a broken left rear brake line.

Instead, Carter restarted in the lead and was never challenged the rest of the way, even despite the restart. A little racing luck combined with his new chassis — a VanderBuilt Race Cars chassis designed and built by USMTS racer Zack VanderBeek — gave Carter both the confidence and speed needed to get it done.

'Man, I was looking forward to that battle,' Carter said. 'We've always managed to struggle or draw bad, but this new car is so much fun to drive. It's given me a lot of confidence to come to these big races again knowing I'm capable of winning again. It makes it fun to race.

'I've had multiple new cars over the years, but this one, the first night (here) in Osky I knew in hot laps it was something special. I knew it was going to be a fun year in this car.'

Marriott was upbeat after the races, despite the setback. His recent success in North Dakota didn't make the part failure sting less. If anything, Marriott's run was encouraging for him since the HDT next goes to Knoxville Raceway on Thursday, and given the two tracks are very simple, Wednesday was something of a testing ground.

Marriott's timeline of when the brake line broke coincides with the rapidness by which Carter closed the gap between them. No one will ever know the exact battle they had, but that, as several drivers said, is racing.

'I went into (Turn) 1, hit the brakes and about drove it into the wall, and probably drove it like that for seven laps,' Marriott said. 'I was just holding on, thought maybe we could do it. I knew once the yellow came out, if I went into 1 I'd probably knock the fence down.

'Once that happened, I knew I slowed down probably five or six tenths and I knew they were catching me. It's frustrating, but we just have to fix it, figure out why it happened and make sure it doesn't happen again because that's one we let go right there.'

No matter exactly how it played out, Carter was beaming after the race — and smiling more than he does usually.

Living up to the hometown status isn't always the easiest thing to do. Being able to win at Osky for his first HDT win in several years meant as much or more than anything else all night. As the Modifieds rolled out of the pits, a gaggle surrounded Hurst or someone on his crew. Drivers don't that, oftentimes, unless they're at home.

Carter was glad to be home — and glad to make Marriott right in the process.

'When you come to your home track, you always have that responsibility to put a good showing on in town,' Carter said. 'It adds that extra little pressure. It makes you want to perform that much extra. I came here prepared. I didn't even come (Tuesday) night to watch my brother because I was in the shop until 10 p.m.

'I was 100 percent prepared to come here tonight.'

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