2 years after flat tire, Will Rece returns to Hawkeye Downs and wins

CEDAR RAPIDS — Will Rece felt he owed a little something to Cedar Rapids.

Two years ago, the Stoughton, Wis., racecar driver competed in a Big 8 Series Late Model event at Hawkeye Downs Speedway. Early in the race, Rece sustained a flat tire and a broken exhaust.

He has never forgotten the treatment he received.

“The people here and all the people that work here, the crowd, the fans, everybody were very welcoming when we came,” Rece said after returning to Downs and winning the Late Model feature race at the Big 8 Series’ “Clash at the Downs X” event Friday night. “So I wanted to come back and try and put on a show for them. I have been to a lot of race tracks and I have never felt more welcome than it is when I come here.”

True to his word, Rece dazzled the bustling grandstand of race fans. Against a field that totaled 20 cars, the 33-year-old driver claimed the lead about a third of the way into the 48-lap race, withstood a pair of restarts with 20 and 18 laps to go, respectively, and never relinquished the advantage.

“I was fighting off some really good guys,” Rece said. “Guys that normally beat me weekly. I am always right there and sometimes it is your night. Tonight was one of those nights. We brought a really good car down. Handled really good.”

Rece primarily races limited late models at a pair of asphalt tracks in the Madison, Wis., area. This was the first Big 8 victory for Rece, who ran a full schedule in the Series in 2022.

“I have had a couple of close ones, but that was my first one,” Rece said.

Hawkeye Downs has been part of the Big 8 schedule every year since 2015. And every year, there has been a different winner.

Zack Riddle of Oregon, Wis. – the 2023 Big 8 winner at Hawkeye Downs – finished second. The highest area finisher was Marion’s Michael Weber, who placed sixth. Weber primarily competes in the Legends Division, but has added late models to his repertoire. The Big 8 race was Weber’s third Late Model event this season and fifth of his career.

“It was just fun to be out there racing,” Weber said. “It was the first Big 8 race I have ever done, so I feel like sixth place is pretty solid with the competitors that we have here.”

Elsewhere in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, 14-year-old Tallan Chandler of Norway claimed a pair of feature wins (Sport Mods, HD Dawgs), while Norway’s Adam Petrzelka won his fifth Hobby Stocks Division feature in as many tries.

Todd Ness of Cedar Rapids claimed the Sportsmans feature for the third time, Downs Wall of Famer Kevin Korsmo won his second Legends race of 2024 and Robin Atkins of Clarence (American Iron Racing Series) earned his first win of the season.