Adam Petrzelka still pines over not sweeping

CEDAR RAPIDS — The one that got away still gnaws a bit at Adam Petrzelka.

Last year, the Norway racecar driver earned his first points title at Hawkeye Downs Speedway in the Hobby Stocks division while winning 11 of 12 feature races.

“That one stung a little bit,” Petrzelka said after the first of two feature wins during the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Friday night. “Not sweeping the whole year, but we’re going to try it again this year.”

So far, so good. Petrzelka is 4-for-4 in 2025.

“Same thing as last year,” said Petrzelka, 29. “Confidence gives you an extra 10 horse(power), so that is what I have been going by.”

Due to the May 16 postponement of the weekly series, hobby stock drivers had two opportunities to upend Petrzelka as the racetrack staged a pair of feature races in each class. In the first feature, Petrzelka charged from the fifth starting position, charged ahead of Alburnett’s Brayden Beauregard midway through the 15-lap feature and easily won.

“The thing with these cars and these tires is, you’ve got to be pretty patient,” Petrzelka said. “Because as soon as you make the tire hot, it’s game over. I knew he just kept pressuring. Just waited and waited and took it.”

Despite starting last in the seven-car field for the night’s second feature race, Petrzelka triumphed again. Jason Sherman of Marengo finished second. The addition of a second feature race did not alter Petrzelka’s preparation.

“Just check tire pressure, put fuel in it and away you go,” Petrzelka said.

The week leading up to Friday was a different story. The rear brakes on the No. 5 car needed a brake line replacement. Had the May 16 schedule not been postponed, Petrzelka would have raced with no rear brakes.

“The car is still plenty fast to win,” he said with a laugh. “It’s just nice having brakes when you need them.”

In October, Petrzelka will travel to Morris, Ill. to compete in the Bahama Bracket Nationals. He also lends a helping hand to Marengo’s Nathan Ballard, who races hobby stocks at dirt tracks in Eastern Iowa and was the night’s other double winner in feature races at Downs (Sport Modified class).

For the rest of the summer, Petrzelka plans to exclusively race at Downs each Friday night in pursuit of the perfect record that eluded him in 2024.

“Just keep driving the car,” Petrzelka said. “You can only do what you can do.”