Brad Osborne wins at Hawkeye Downs

CEDAR RAPIDS - After pre-race hot laps, Brad Osborne said despite a recent slump his car was set up pretty well Friday night.

“We started off strong, but in the last couple weeks we've kind of been behind the eight ball,” he said. “We're hoping to dig out of it. It felt pretty good tonight.”

Starting the night with the first race of a late models double feature, Osborne ended his short slump with a win at Hawkeye Downs Speedway. A first-place finish. Yeah, that's pretty good.

One might expect an uneventful opener with drivers mindful of the second race. But the race was anything but, featuring multiple passes, lead changes and plenty of contact.

Late in the race, trailing Griffin McGrath, Osborne took a lead he didn't relinquish. Rounding the corner, Osborne sneaked inside McGrath, possibly making contact, then passed him as McGrath's car swiveled to the outside.

“Coming down the back shoot, I had just an inch on Griffin's bumper,” Osborne said. “He kind of got loose, not on me, but on three and four, and got kind of squirrely.”

The 31-year-old veteran was followed by the young gun, 19-year-old Thor Anderson in second and McGrath in third.

Osborn started the leading the point standings with 345 and Anderson right on his tail with 336. Osborn won the points championship last year. If he wins this season, it won't be the first time he's repeated; he won in 2004 and 2005 but said that doesn't cross his mind.

“We just kind of take each night as they come, and try to do the best we can do, and whatever happens in the end of the year happens,” Osborne said. “If you focus too much on the points too early, it'll bite you.”

A wise strategy from the experienced driver.

“We just kind of got our mojo back tonight, I guess,” Osborne said. “We kind of lost it, so we went back to the basics, the way we were the first couple of races. It was pretty good.”

Pretty good indeed.