Landon Cassill back behind the wheel at Hawkeye Downs Speedway

Cedar Rapids NASCAR driver will drive in Sports Mod Division during races on Wednesday night

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CEDAR RAPIDS — It’s Landon Cassill’s turn.

A Cedar Rapids Jefferson grad who spent 16 years on the NASCAR circuit, Cassill will drive his No. 7 Sports Mod on Wednesday for Advance Auto Parts Night at the Races at Hawkeye Downs Speedway.

It will be the first time Cassill has raced at HD since he drove Mark Ironside’s Late Model in 2017.

“It’ll be fun,” Cassill said. “I love this Modified class and I’m excited to be part of it, actually racing firsthand.”

Until now, Cassill had shared his Sports Mod with friends all season. Nathan Ballard took the reins and held the points lead in the class through the first nine weeks of the weekly racing series.

Then, it was Jeff King’s turn for a week. The last two drivers to race Cassill’s No. 7 were longtime NASCAR competitors Kenny Wallace and Ken Schrader.

“I’m just calling my friends to see if they want to drive it,” Cassill said. “I love Kenny Wallace coming up and racing it — and Schrader. These guys are professionals. They travel the country racing. Even though they’re retired from NASCAR, they still race for a living.

“And they’re not demanding to get paid — they just want to come race. Over time, hopefully we can keep that going.”

Cassill’s racing career began at Hawkeye Downs in 1998, driving quads and go-carts. From 1998 to 2002, he won six national karting championships. He made his debut in a Modified on the half-mile at age 12 and started racing full-time on the half at 14.

Cassill also won a Legends track championship in 2003 at age 14.

“The drivers that I raced with (at Hawkeye Downs) were a big part of shaping me,” Cassill said. “The fans that supported me … the news coverage I got when I was a kid in high school … all those things helped continue to perpetuate my forward path as a driver and my ability to become a professional driver.”

In 2007, Cassill made his debut in the NASCAR Busch series and was the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year. From 2007 through 2022, Cassill made more than 600 combined starts in NASCAR’s three top racing divisions.

On July 25, he was inducted as a member of the 2025 Hawkeye Downs Wall of Fame class.

“It’s an absolute honor to be inducted,” Cassill said. “Hawkeye Downs was not just the first track I ever went to as a kid — it was the first track I raced on. It gave me a platform to race when I was really too young to race big cars. I wouldn't have made a career out of racing if it weren't for the community at Hawkeye Downs.”

What’s next for Cassill?

“I’m not necessarily pursuing a full-time professional racing schedule — I’m absolutely interested in and want to do a part-time racing schedule at a professional level,” Cassill said. “I would like to run, even if it's just five or six races, because there's huge value in that for Hawkeye Downs, myself, our businesses and my family.

“I want to be a resource to Hawkeye Downs and to this community.”

Front gates open at 6 p.m. with opening ceremonies set for 7. Heat races and features will follow.