Feller ‘will not recover’ from Hawkeye Downs accident

CEDAR RAPIDS - After her accident on the last lap of the INEX Legends main event at Hawkeye Downs Speedway, racer Joan Feller 'will not recover” from injuries sustained in the accident.

According to Feller's family, she is currently still on life support 'so that her youngest child, who is coming back from a school trip (Tuesday), may say goodbye.”

A GoFundMe account was posted by Feller's niece, Ashley Petefish, to help benefit Feller's husband and children with funeral expenses. Within the explanation for the account, Petefish wrote, 'Joan's injuries were critical, and the doctors have informed us that due to the severity of her spinal injury, Joan will not recover.”

Petefish said Feller is an organ donor and the family anticipates life support will be removed Wednesday, as long as the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and the organ donor registry 'have done all they need to for her organ donation wishes to be fulfilled.”

An official statement from the family is expected later this week, and memorial services will likely be this weekend.

The opening week of the 2015 was Feller's first in a racecar after spending nearly 15 years helping friends at the racetrack. It fulfilled a long-standing dream of being a part of the action on the track, and in a previously unpublished interview with The Gazette in May, she said the learning curve was steep, but she was having fun doing so. She lauded promoter Kevin Korsmo for his help in bringing her along.

'I just love the sport. I fell in love with it. I saved up three years, got the car and I'm going for it,” Feller said in May. 'It's a learning curve. … I don't think people realize how difficult it is and how much mental energy goes into racing a car around this track.

'I've gotten a lot down that I never thought I'd get down. It's fun. It's fun to race. It's a neat division and very nice people in this division, too.”

Feller was a flagship member of the Joey Gase fan club, and attended several races each year - at Iowa Speedway and Kansas Speedway - to support one of her favorite drivers and friends.

Gase said Tuesday he was devastated and in a state of disbelief when he heard about the accident. His history with organ donation is well-documented, and it was a subject the two talked about at length.

'She definitely believed in it and saw all the good it does for others,” Gase said. 'She told me she was proud of everything I was doing to honor my mom and promote donation. On her Legends car, on the driver's side, she even had a Donate Life 52 sticker on it.

'I'm so very sad to hear (about it), but I'm glad her wishes are being met by being a donor. I just can't believe this has happened.”

On the final lap of Friday night's INEX Legends race, Feller collided head-on with the car of Sammy Smith, who had spun and come to a stop on the track. Feller was unresponsive at the scene, and was transported by ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Cedar Rapids, then by helicopter to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.

On Monday, Hawkeye Downs officials said races on Friday will go on as scheduled, 'with heavy hearts and concern for Joan,” and that 'without a doubt” the races will be dedicated to Feller and that she will be recognized.