IMCA racer Jeremiah Hurst back at the track, eager to race again

DUBUQUE — Ask any dedicated racer, and they'll tell you: watching your car race without you is tantamount to torture.

Dubuque driver Jeremiah Hurst, who was sidelined from racing last month with congestive heart failure, found himself back at the racetrack this weekend, doing just that. Hurst was at his home track of Dubuque Speedway with his Roberts Motorsports team to watch the man who held the seat before him — Ray Guss Jr. — wheel the No. 58 Late Model.

Hurst had a mechanical heart valve put in on Thursday, was released and went home on Friday and couldn't stay away from the racetrack.

'I feel 110 times better now, I'll tell you that,' Hurst said. 'It's one of the toughest things I've ever had to do, watch the car race, all things considered. I've been through some tough things, but I live to race. I love it. It's difficult to explain, to tell you the truth. There aren't too many words to say, to tell you what it feels like.

'But I can't really stay home and sit on the couch. I'd rather be at the racetrack.'

Hurst spoke with The Gazette on Monday for the first time since his previously-repaired valve failed and he was forced into the hospital after pulling to a stop during a Tri-Track Challenge race at Farley Speedway. Now that his new valve is in place, Hurst awaits an Aug. 25 doctor visit in which he'll get an update on clearance to drive a racecar. If the doctor gives the OK, he'll be in a car just days later for the Yankee Dirt Track Classic.

The 41-year-old said he doesn't have clear memories of what happened on the track after the restart before he pulled to a stop. His recollection picks up when he was in the hospital in Dubuque. He laughed when the story of his wanting to go to Maquoketa that night was brought up, calling it 'wishful thinking.'

He's an old school racer who said he'd usually race through anything. But as a man with a family and some perspective, he knows he has to listen to his doctors at some point.

'I remember trying to get the visor up, but it's bits and pieces after that, and the next thing I remember was riding in the ambulance,' Hurst said. '

Hurst was at a loss for words, he said, at seeing how the racing community has rallied around him. People he's never met have reached out and donated money. Dozens of people visited him in the hospital. People he never expected to support him did exactly that.

Hurst said the whole episode has given him a greater appreciation both for the people in the racing community and being able to drive a racecar at all.

He's a racer. That's what he lives for. With the new valve, he'll be able to continue to live for it.

'It's been pretty crappy, but I knew (the valve replacement) was going to happen at some point,' Hurst said. 'It's all I've got, really. It's all I've ever known, racing. It's got to be in your blood.

'Some things you can't control. I'll just listen to the doctors, try to live a better lifestyle; try to take care of this one. It sucks being out of the car, it does, but I've got a kid too, so I need to look at it from that angle, too.'

MARS/CORNBELT CLASH COMING TO FARLEY, WEST LIBERTY

As a racer and a co-track owner, Jason Rauen has been working his cellphone pretty hard the last few weeks.

Farley Speedway Promotions is set to host back-to-back nights of MARS/Corn Belt Clash Open Late Model racing with $10,000 to win both nights. Rauen has been working the phone to get top-level racecars to his racetracks.

The headliner he convinced was announced over the weekend. Late Model legend Scott Bloomquist will bring his iconic No. 0 racecar to Eastern Iowa for both nights. He, along with Billy Moyer, Tony Jackson Jr., Brian Shirley and tentatively Billy Moyer Jr., Brandon Sheppard and Mike Marlar bring heavy hitters to battle locals Chris and Chad Simpson, Denny and Dave Eckrich, Spencer Diercks and others.

'People love (Bloomquist) and they hate him, but they all love to watch him,' Rauen said. 'He's the best in the business. We're going to have the best in the business and it's going to be a show people won't want to miss.

'I've been reaching out to all these guys. I race with them. I called and invited them and tried to get them here. That's my job. I want to make this work so we can make it a bigger event.'

Rauen has been put in the de facto promoter role since former FSP promoter Ed White and the ownership group mutually parted ways last month.

Rauen, who still occasionally drives his No. 98 Late Model, said he's picked that up out of necessity — and because he wants the venture co-owned with him by Roger Simon and Joel Callahan to succeed.

'I've got to jump in and do it,' Rauen said. 'We're all playing a part. I know a lot of these people, so I want to make this work. I want to put Farley back on the map where it used to be.'

KAY WINS MOD, SPORT MOD AT TIPTON

Wheatland driver Justin Kay is no stranger to multiple wins in one night of racing, and Friday night at Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, he just added to his list.

Kay took the win in IMCA Modified, collecting $2,000 for the victory in the Gary Reinhart Memorial race. That wasn't all for the two-time Gazette Eastern Iowa Driver of the Year, though. Kay hopped in Ryan Walker's IMCA Sport Mod to do some tuning, and ended up outrunning everyone twice in the same night.

Kay's victories came ahead of Joel Rust, Jeff Aikey, Chris Zogg and Darin Duffy in Modified. He beat Corey Dripps, Tyler Soppe, Dan Mohr and Jacob Ellithorpe in Sport Mod. He collected $750 for the win in Sport Mod.

Kay and Dripps running Sport Mod also prompted Darkside Promotions to issue an announcement for its Fall Bash in October that any driver who holds a Late Model or Modified license will not be allowed to race in Sport Mod.

STAT OF THE WEEK

With his IMCA Late Model win Saturday night, Tyler Bruening became the 20th driver in Independence Motor Speedway history to earn at least one win in 10 different seasons in the same division. The entire list includes:

Late Model: Curt Martin (at least one win in 26 different seasons), Greg Kastli (23), Gary Crawford (18), Red Dralle (17), Rick Wendling (17), Ed Sanger (16), Jim Burbridge (15), Darren Ackerman (14), Greg Hunter (12), Glen Martin (11), Tyler Bruening (10), Denny Osborn (10). Modified: Vern Jackson (17), Troy Cordes (14), Darin Duffy (14), Jerry Luloff (14). Stock Car: Dan Trimble (17), Jarod Weepie (14), Norman Chesmore (11), Justin Temeyer (11).

All-time, Vern Jackson leads the overall list with at least one feature in 30 different seasons in six different divisions.

-Ryan Clark, IMCA

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com