116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Big 8 Series set to make its debut at Hawkeye Downs
Jun. 4, 2015 6:02 pm
CEDAR RAPIDS - When Hawkeye Downs Speedway switched from Super Late Model rules to Big 8 Series rules before the start of the 2014 season, it was with several goals in mind.
The Big 8 rules are more cost effective for racers, which in turn has increased the car count in the class from four or five each week to 10 or 12 on a weekly basis. The package also opens up more racers from Illinois and Wisconsin to come run on Friday nights as well.
It also brings in the Big 8 Series itself, which makes its first stop at Hawkeye Downs on Friday for the Liz Girl Logistics Clash at the Downs, the second race on the Big 8 schedule. The expected entry list has 30 drivers making the trip, including NASCAR Xfinity Series driver and Cedar Rapids native Joey Gase. He'll be one of two hometown drivers in the race, along with Griffin McGrath.
'All I've done is watch Big 8 races, other than what we do here weekly, and they put on an excellent show,” McGrath said. 'I'm not an eight-inch tire fan, but the eight-inch tire really takes the field and takes away some of the more expensive things in the car - makes is so those things don't do anything for you. It takes the field and brings it all together and creates two-lane racing here at Hawkeye Downs, which we haven't seen forever.
'They beat the tar out of their stuff, are still able to pass people and put on a good show for the fans. The speed isn't that much different than a Super Late Model; you can't really tell the difference. But they put on a way better show.”
The race will bring in racers from five different states - six, if you count Gase as a North Carolina resident - with the hope of enticing some of the racers from neighboring states to come race at Hawkeye Downs again for a weekly race.
Gase flew back to Cedar Rapids from his new home in Charlotte, N.C. on Wednesday, and spent all of Wednesday and Thursday at Performance Concepts getting his familiar No. 35 car ready to race. It'll be one of two planned events at Hawkeye Downs this season for Gase, who saw this date on the calendar and couldn't miss it.
The Xfinity Series is on an off weekend, and he wanted to be a part of the first Big 8 race at his home track.
'It should be a fun time, hopefully,” Gase said. 'I think the competition is going to be high. We'll have all the locals and those guys that are fast, and top guys that are fast all around the Midwest. It's going to be tough. There's a lot of track champions coming. It should be some exciting racing.
'I wanted to come back and race and come back to race with a bunch of cars. I'm really looking forward to it. It's also the first annual Big 8 race, so it'll be cool to be a part of that.”
Any time a traveling series comes into Hawkeye Downs, the guys who run weekly are considered among the favorites. In addition to McGrath and Gase, weekly regulars Brad Osborn, Brian Gibson and potentially Tim Plummer (whose wife just had their first child, Eddy) are expected to race.
McGrath said he'd like to call himself a favorite, but his record in tour races at his home track isn't stellar. Whether it's pressure or overthinking changes to the car, he's not sure. But the target will certainly be on his, Gase's and the other regulars' backs when the green flag drops for the 48-lap main event.
That fact isn't lost on him, and the desire to defend his home turf prompted McGrath and his crew to do something this week they hadn't done for Hawkeye Downs in years.
'We came out to practice (Wednesday), and this is the first time we've been out for a practice with our weekly car in two and half years, probably,” McGrath said. 'It's more in preparation where you think about the pressure.
'Especially on stages like what the Big 8 is going to let us do, we only get to do this four or five times a year. … The pressure's no quite as high because we're doing this for fun, but we definitely circle races on our calendar. It's a cool challenge for us, and the hometown thing is cool. We've never run well when touring races come here - we've blown motors or crashed or something.”
No matter who it is, this inaugural race has the Cedar Rapids troupe eager to see a big event help grow a track they love.
Especially for Gase, who made a point to financially invest in switching things around on his Late Model to meet Big 8 rules. He said he wanted to do anything he could to help the track get and stay healthy.
'I've been going to Hawkeye Downs as long as I can remember,” Gase said. 'It's something that's close to my heart and I never want to see it go away. I hope it can stay healthy and get going in the right direction. Me coming back is definitely part of that.”
Big 8 Series qualifying is set for 6 p.m. on Friday, with heats for Late Models and the rest of the regular Hawkeye Downs weekly program to follow.
l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com
Joey Gase (left) competes in the late model heat race at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Aug. 1, 2014. (Justin Wan/The Gazette-KCRG TV9) ¬