A ‘#NewEra’ dawns for Hawkeye Downs Speedway

CEDAR RAPIDS - The newly-active Hawkeye Downs Speedway Twitter account (@HawkeyeDowns1) attaches a message to its followers at the end of every tweet these days.

It's simple and clear that there's a '#NewEra” at the track, which has admittedly fallen on some hard times in recent years.

But after former promoter Mike Becker's resignation, and an influx of new people, the hope is that the '#NewEra” restores Hawkeye Downs to what it once was - a hotbed of great racing and entertainment in Eastern Iowa.

'I just think it fits perfectly for what we're trying to do here,” said Hawkeye Downs Fair Board President Bob Bruce. 'We're proud of the racing program we've had for years, but it needs some re-energizing. So we're just trying to do anything that might interest people - not just the racers, but also the fans.”

When Becker resigned, Bruce and Hawkeye Downs general manager Roy Nowers said it would be a team effort approach to promoting races.

It has been just that, with a division of labor among Fair Board members to what their strengths are. Board member - and racer in the Legends class - Kevin Korsmo was put in charge of finding a race day staff while Nowers handled the business, and Bruce went about asking for help from community members for everything from sponsorship to volunteer work fixing the Party Deck in Turn 1.

'Kevin's got incredible passion for racing - you're with him for 30 seconds and you realize that,” Bruce said. 'If there's anybody that was perfectly suited to get this program up and running, it's Kevin.

'I've begged more in the last two months than I ever have in my life. What we've found in the last two months, as a Board, is there's still a passion for Hawkeye Downs. We're fixing up a lot of stuff, and all the stuff has been donated, the labor's been donated.”

The first step in fixing the race program was to put people in roles that will make the night flow smoother, and allow for consistent and fair calls to be made - both on and off the track.

Ron Day was named the race director, and will be the final call on things that happen on the track. In the past several years, there wasn't one individual in that position, and calls could be inconsistent at times. With years of experience at a variety of race tracks, Day hopes that will translate well from the pit area to the booth.

'Ultimately, as a racer, my goal is to try to make the calls, and try to make them as fair as possible,” Day said. 'You ain't going to make everybody happy, but I think I can be consistent. My goal is to make fair calls, consistent calls.

'I'm excited to do this. I really have a passion for making this work, and trying to restore (Hawkeye Downs) to where it was. That is absolutely what I want to do. I've been around a long time. I've seen the highs, I've seen the lows, and I want to do what I can to make it better.”

The next step for Korsmo was to have one individual in charge of the pit area at large. Someone for racers or crew members to come to when there's a problem or question.

Enter Russ Lyman, who's been around racing for decades, and knows well what racers want in a program director. He'll be in charge of getting cars on and off the track in a timely fashion, and ensuring lineups are correct.

'I'm just kind of being an overseer, and making the program run smooth,” Lyman said. 'I really thought I was going to walk into a hornet's nest - a broken mess. But I tell you what, Kevin Korsmo has went out and put some people together and whatever was going on - I don't know, I haven't been here - I don't see any problems. We don't have a negative person in the bunch.

'We're all communicating, and I feel very comfortable.”

The final step for the race program was to have a proper technical inspection, both pre- and post-race. And with a new rule set for the late model class, it's even more important. With the blessing of the late model racers, Hawkeye Downs adopted the Big 8 Series rules, which - among other things - changes the size of the tires from 10 inches to eight, and limits the shock technology in order to save money.

Mike Frieden and Arnie Reif will take charge of that on race days, and hope to further ensure a fair and level playing field on the track.

Ultimately, officials won't know if the new staff and new positions will work as they hope until the season kicks off tonight at 6:30 p.m. But if the lead-up to the 2014 racing season is any indication, things will be better.

'There's still a passion for Hawkeye Downs,” Bruce said. 'It was our job to go out and ask people (to come help). We're not hiding anything. We need help. We don't just need help with the race program. I've just been amazed at the amount of people that have stepped up over the last couple of months.”

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@sourcemedia.net