Autos: McCalla strives to stay ahead of the field

CEDAR RAPIDS - Dave McCalla knows how to take the lead and stay ahead.

A race car driver doesn't amass more than 50 feature wins during a decade without expertise.

McCalla's ability to improve a winning setup to keep in front of the stiff competition has helped him continue his success in the sportsman division at Hawkeye Downs Speedway. The 36-year-old from Cedar Rapids sits atop the season points lead, entering weekly races Friday night beginning at 7:30.

Five wins in six features this season puts a second straight track championship within reach. The key has been a constant need to improve and make strides he sees from other competitors.

"You can't be satisfied with your setup," McCalla said. "We have to try to look for stuff and keep ahead of the game. If we don't try to get ahead of the game, the rest are going to catch up with you."

McCalla has benefitted from racing on the road. He has competed with the Mid-American Stock Car Series and driven at Jefferson Speedway in Cambridge, Wis., and Elko (Minn.) Speedway. McCalla has had to constantly adjust his car to adhere to the shorter, tighter turns of the out-of-town tracks and the longer, wider corners at Hawkeye Downs.

"We're pretty happy with the car," McCalla said. "We're doing some changes to it. Just trying to make it so when we go out of town we have a little more flexibility and adjustment. The car has been really good this year."

This year has been a little tougher than 2012, according to McCalla, who won 11 races a year ago. Despite hoarding feature wins, he said they have been harder to come by with the improvements of drivers in the class. He praised drivers Ben Glascock, Cory Houdek, Brian Franks and Jim Hanson for making the races more exciting.

"I don't think it's been as easy as it was last year," McCalla said. "I think the competition has gotten faster."

Houdek battled McCalla, nearly nabbing last week's feature victory. The two drove side-by-side for the last few laps with McCalla edging Houdek, who is runner-up in points, at the finish line. The excitement didn't end there. The two made contact, sending McCalla into a spin that ended without harm in the first turn of the half-mile track.

"That was extremely close and a lot of fun," McCalla said. "I wasn't really sure if we had won or not. By the time we got across the checkered, I was just hoping to keep the thing off the wall."

McCalla has four sportsmen track championships, earning runner-up honors with five wins as a rookie in 2005. He won three straight titles from 2006-2008, finishing second by a point to Andy Duggan in 2009. He has 47 sportsmen victories, despite focusing on dirt-track racing in 2011. Things are different now. The class has merged with the old stock car class and has moved from the half-mile to the quarter-mile oval at Hawkeye Downs.

“The momentum and speed were a lot different on the half-mile,” said McCalla, who won a super stocks title and seven features from 2003-04. “The racing is a lot tighter. … You can't get open all by yourself like you can on the half-mile.”

To stay all by himself atop the points standings, McCalla will have to keep his foot on the accelerator. He will need to continue working hard away from the track to stay successful at it.

“I think it will depend on doing your homework,” McCalla said. “Make sure you do your stuff in the garage.

“Make sure your car is in the best shape it can be every Friday night before you even get to the track.”

Gates open at 6 p.m. with hot laps at 6:35. Admission is $10, $7 for senior citizens and $5 for students. Children 12 years old and younger are free.