Bohnsack closing in on another season points title

CEDAR RAPIDS – Kurt Bohnsack found a new class of competition.

After racing stock cars, Bohnsack switched to hornets when Hawkeye Downs Speedway somewhat merged the stock car and sportsmen into one class. This season, he has a chance to achieve something for the first time since he was behind the wheel of a stock car.

Bohnsack entered last night's weekly races at Hawkeye Downs with a commanding 42-point lead in the hornets division. He moved closer to his second season points championship and first since he won the 2008 stock car title after a lengthy rain delay erased heats from the slate.

The winning season marked his first full season that wasn't interrupted by National Guard duties. He has about 30 feature wins at Hawkeye Downs, finishing runner-up in points 2012, 2009, 2007 and 2002.

Bohnsack, of Ely, welcomes the chance of adding another crown to his resume.

“It's always meaningful to win the championship,” Bohnsack said. “You can look back and say I was the best out there that year.”

Bohnsack earned his sixth feature win of the year, but had to physically battle with former points leader Todd Ness for it.

Bohnsack started near the back of the field, along with Ness. Both made their way to the front. Bohnsack patiently waited his chance to make a move on the leaders when Ness push him high in Turn 4 and forced him to drop back.

The two renewed the rivalry with two laps remaining when Bohnsack caught Ness, who was leading. Bohnsack returned the favor by bumping Ness in Turn 4, attempting to pass. Ness even swerved to the bottom of the track to prevent the move. Ness seemed to stall near Turn 2 when Bohnsack passed him for the win, but not after Ness appeared to try and hit him on the way by.

Ness stalled near victory lane, got out and leaned in the passenger window of Bohnsack before the post-race celebration.

“Rubbing is racing,” Bohnsack said. “I pushed him back and he can't handle his car, I guess.”

The move to hornets was a practical move as well. Bohnsack said they are cheaper to maintain than his previous ride. It helped influence his decision.

“I like the hornets,” Bohnsack said. “It's not too expensive. It's reasonable to drive and race.”

Time demands are less with hornets also, according to Bohnsack. The time in the garage is considerably less, which is a more attractive to the 45-year-old driver. The amount of attention needed varies weekly.

“It depends,” Bohnsack said with a laugh. “If you wreck, you have to put the time in. I didn't do anything from last week to this week. I put the car in the trailer last week and pulling it out (tonight).”

The legends race followed with a caution-filled featured that saw a whopping six yellow flags. The 30-lap contest saw a scary four-car wreck with four laps left that trimmed the 15-car field to 12, forcing the cars of Bryce Bailey and veteran Warren Ropp to be towed to the pits.

After the final caution with two laps left, points leader Tim Goettsch sprinted to the finish ahead of Kyle Diercks. It was fifth win of the season.

“It was a survival race for sure tonight,” Goettsch said. “It's all on everybody's driving style. If they want to go for it, they're going for it. If they want to just relax a little bit and ride, that's their choice. Tonight was pretty crazy.”

Matt Petrzelka got back to victory lane this week, claiming his 10th feature win of the season. Petrzelka moved to the inside taking the lead at the start and pulled away from the field. He avoided any trouble in the two cautions during the opening feature, including the first that saw last week's winner Kandi Floyd, Jason Sherman and Jacob Floyd spin out on the front stretch.

Petrzelka was strong on the restarts and wasn't challenged.

“The track was slick,” Petrzelka said. “I just took her easy. It was like driving on ice out there, but I made it.”

The last few weeks have seen some tough racing with multiple cars making contact with each other. The two-time defending points champion and current leader isn't concerned.

“Just keep on doing what I'm doing and putting a show on for the fans,” Petrzelka said. “Who cares what happens, I guess.”

Brian Gibson and Tim Plummer played a cat-and-mouse game for the first eight laps of the modified feature with Gibson in front. All that changed after Jim Dixon was spun out with 12 laps to go. Plummer took the lead and was able to hold on for his 10th modified win.

“For whatever reason, my car took off a little better on the starts,” Plummer said. “He was good enough I couldn't get around him the longer he kept going, so I knew I had to try to get him right away.”

The late model feature started with six cars, but was cut in half by the end. The field dropped to four before completing the fourth of 30 laps. Griffin McGrath brought out the first caution when his engine blew and started leaking on the track. During the ensuing restart, Jay Jaspers ran up on leader Chad Siems, spinning him out and colliding with him.

Jaspers returned for the next start, but pulled off after sliding into the foam barrier between the third and fourth turns with five laps to go. With a depleted field, Plummer won his third late model feature, sweeping the modified and late model races for the second straight week.

In the sportsmen division, Ben Glascock won his second feature of the season. He bolted to big lead early and held off points leader Dave McCalla on the final lap to win.

“We made a last-minute adjustment,” Glascock said. “My dad did some wonderful things with the tires, getting them set.”

HAWKEYE DOWNS SPEEDWAY

Hobby stocks

Feature – 1. Matt Petrzelka, 2. Matt Lacoursiere, 3. Kandi Floyd, 4. Bob McCorkle, 5. Adam Petrzelka

Hornets

Feature – 1. Kurt Bohnsack, 2. Dan Schmidt, 3.J.R. Dvorak, 4. Nathan Chandler, 5. Jose DeJesus

Legends

Feature – 1. Tim Goettsch, 2. Kyle Diercks, 3. Rod McGlothlen, 4. Caleb Adrian, 5. Mark Ironside

Sportsmen

Feature – 1. Ben Glascock, 2. Dave McCalla, 3. Jim Hanson, 4. David Ballstaedt, 5. Greg Hentrich

Modifieds

Feature – 1. Tim Plummer, 2.Brian Gibson , 3. Ryan Luedtke, 4. Ed O'Brien, 5. Jim Dixon

Late models

Feature – 1. Tim Plummer, 2. Brian Allen, 3. Scott Siems, 4. Jay Jaspers, 5. Chad Siems