Danny Lehmkuhl finds rocky road to Victory Lane

CEDAR RAPIDS — Danny Lehmkuhl and his wife Jaime have survived a tough two years with help from friends and family.

That bond was displayed in full earlier this month at Hawkeye Downs Speedway when 33-year-old Danny earned his first career victory and his entire class slowed down as they passed to give him a thumbs-up and an "attaboy" for his efforts.

"I just kept telling myself to be smooth and fast," Lehmkuhl said.

The 2007 Cedar Rapids Jefferson graduate had come close before and, in his words, "choked" two or three times last season while finishing third in points in the Legends class.

Growing up surrounded by speed-seeking friends that include Landon Cassill, Griffin McGrath and Tony Olson, Lehmkuhl wasn't always sure he'd find himself in Victory Lane as a wheelman.

“I didn't come from a racing family so I never thought I could have a racecar,” Lehmkuhl said. “When I finally got one it seemed so far away to win, so it's a relief to check off that box.”

Both Lehmkuhls are feeling some relief recently after losing their home during the 2020 derecho when a tree fell through their house. Danny then went back to college during the pandemic to earn his degree in business administration. Then their first child, Brooks, was born on June 22 despite originally having an Aug. 3 due date.

After 20 days in the NICU, the family came home and was flooded with visits from friends and family who had yet to meet the newest Lehmkuhl, making it nearly impossible for Danny to prepare for the races.

“Once Brooks wasn't in the hospital I was good with racing, I just didn't have the time to go and get my car ready but my friends decided I wasn't going to miss another week,” Lehmkuhl said. “There's plenty of things to do besides just putting on your helmet, but I just showed up Friday night at the track and raced.”

Once at the track, Lehmkuhl started the feature on the inside of the fourth row. That proved to be fruitful when his lane found the quickest line before the outside did, allowing Lehmkuhl to move toward the front in the first five laps.

Trailing only Jordan Miklas with seven laps to go when the final caution came out, Lehmkuhl was provided a chance for redemption.

“We're teammates and I wasn't going to move him out of the way,” Lehmkuhl said. “I was going to try to pounce on him if he made a mistake.”

With six laps remaining, Miklas wiggled and dropped to fourth as Lehmkuhl, Michael Weber and Kacey Korsmo all sling-shot ahead of the rookie from Wisconsin who races for Griffin McGrath.

That left another teammate and longtime friend, Michael Weber, on his bumper.

“He was pushing me down the straightaways and we were bumping a little bit in the corners, but I knew he wasn't going to disrespect me,” Lehmkuhl said. “If I didn't make a mistake he couldn't get around me without running me over and I didn't think he would do that.”

Once he crossed the finish line with his first victory secured, Lehmkuhl let out a big sigh of relief.

“I don't know if I breathed the last couple laps,” he said.

After following along on FaceTime, Jaime Lehmkuhl packed up Brooks and joined their friends in taking photos with the proud new papa in Victory Lane.

“We've had a couple nights where (the racing team) gets mad at each other, but then we stop at Kwik Star and get our ice cream and we come home,” Danny said.

All is good.