Despite rain, Mid-Season Championship Night at Hawkeye Downs goes on for fans

CEDAR RAPIDS — Mother Nature sprinkled some unexpected coils into Brian Gibson’s plan for Friday’s Mid-Season Championships.

Gibson, the race director at Hawkeye Downs, had scheduled heat races to begin at 7:05 p.m., followed by an intermission for an autograph session on the track, with features to close.

“At 3 p.m., it looked like it was going to blow through and we were going to race,” Gibson said.

On-again, off-again precipitation forced Gibson to alter his schedule.

Heat races were scratched, the autograph session was moved inside and feature races didn’t start until approximately 9 p.m.

Alas, the show went on — for the fans.

“That’s the whole thing – we wanted to do the autograph session to get the fans out so they can meet the drivers,” Gibson said. “That’s one of the big points.

“It gives fans a chance to meet and interact with some of the drivers. And then maybe that interaction will keep those fans coming back out since they've met the drivers and have that close and personal experience with them.”

According to Gibson, autograph signing sessions have been a tradition at HD for approximately 25 years.

“They (the drivers) like doing it,” Gibson said. “They get their ‘hero cards’ done and they always like signing autographs for the kids. It seems to be a good hit with the fans.”

Sportsmans and Legends driver Jacob Tiegen enjoyed interacting with fans and signing autographs on programs and his hero cards Friday.

“The fans are what makes racing what it is,” Tiegen said. “Without the fans, we wouldn’t be able to come out here and race every week. It’s definitely important to show our appreciation for them. Even if it’s just handing out some stickers, some cards, it gets the kids going – they love it.

“When these kids come out here and watch us, who knows? Maybe one day they’ll come out here and race. That’s where I started.”

Gibson’s crew worked to dry the track while fans interacted with drivers. Following the autograph session, drivers returned to the pit area and prepared to race.

“It’s always important to get the race in because we’ve got some people who come in from out of town – Minnesota, northern Iowa, we had one guy that came from Kansas City today,” Gibson said. “When they travel like that, you want to try and make an effort.”

Despite the nearly two-hour delay, feature races were completed for all five weekly classes (Legends, Hornets, Hobby Stocks, Sportsmans and Sportsmods), and the Vintage Series — a mid-season win for Hawkeye Downs.

“At the mid-season point, I'm tickled to death that things have been going so well,” Gibson said. “I feel like we are continuing to gain momentum and we have been getting a good crowd count. That has been up on average at the mid-season point, and that certainly helps.”

Comments: nathan.ford@thegazette.com