Dominance is theme at Hawkeye Downs

CEDAR RAPIDS - A common thread ties together  all six divisions at Hawkeye Downs Speedway.

Although the cars vary greatly in look, size and power, the distribution of wins for each are similar.

In every class competed at the asphalt track, one driver owns at least half the wins through six weekly points races. Those same drivers will try to stockpile more wins during Union Night at the Races on Friday, including two late model features scheduled. Gates open at 6 p.m. with hot laps at 6:35 and races at 7:30.

"I'd say that's been common at Hawkeye Downs the last couple years," former modified and late model track champion Tim Plummer said. "Wherever you're racing, you're going to have one or two cars that have things figured out."

Dave McCalla (Sportsmen), Griffin McGrath (late models), Plummer (modifieds) all have four wins. Tim Goettsch (legends) and Kurt Bohnsack (hornets) both have three feature victories. Matt Petrzelka has been the most dominant performer, winning all six hobby stock races and amassing a 27-point lead over Matt Lacoursiere.

"The other racers have to buckle down and figure out how to beat them," former track champion and Wall of Famer Kevin Korsmo said. "That's all you can do."

Plummer said experience plays a big role, and most of the drivers with an experience advantage are wins leaders in that class. He insists the standings do not accurately reflect the competition in most classes at the track, noting most classes have multiple cars that can win on a given night.

"In modifieds, I've just been a little bit better than (defending points champion Brian) Gibson," Plummer said. "In the late models, Griffin has been a little bit better than me. In some of the classes the numbers look skewed really bad, but it's not that bad."

Racers have different goals. Some are determined to contend for wins, points and titles, while others take a more recreational approach. They are content with placing second, third and fourth and returning to race the next week.

"People are different," said Korsmo, admitting he isn't concerned with points. "Some people just want to go out and have a good time. I understand that, too.

"It could be some of these people's thinking, too. I'm doing a good job, happy with where I'm at and let it go where it may."

Despite some of the lopsided victory totals, the points races remain interesting. Four division leaders have double-digit advantages, but only two of those frontrunners own the most wins in their class.

Todd Ness also owns a 10-point lead, sitting atop the Hornets division. He has just one feature win. Last week's hornets winner, Dallas Chandler, has two. McCalla's dominance has only yielded a five-point lead, while Goettsch hangs on to a seven-point edge over Korsmo.

Plummer is on both sides of the fence. He leads in both the late model and modified standings. He has yet to earn a checker flag behind the wheel of a late model, but owns a 10-point lead on McGrath, who could be in the lead had he raced opening night.

One aspect that likely adds to the situation is the car count. The weekly total has been a little more than 50 lately, but the hornets and legends classes are the only ones that have more than 10 in a feature. The legends division is the only one to have more than three different winners and the hornets is the only class with two drivers with multiple wins.

Plummer said the smaller fields make it easier for a car to make its way from the back to the front, of course.:

"Car count has something to do with that, too," Korsmo said. "You don't want to take away anything from the racers, because I think if you put 20 cars out on the track the cream is still going to rise to the top. I think they will and right now they have it figured out."