Driver Todd Ness motivated by the one that got away

CEDAR RAPIDS — Two points.

That’s all that kept Todd Ness from becoming a NASCAR series champion and defending his Sportsman crown at Hawkeye Downs Speedway last year.

Ness, 34, is using the result of last season’s finish as a learning lesson … and motivation.

“It was a really close finish,” Ness said. “The main thing this year is making sure my car is in tip-top shape. I have a feeling that’s why I lost out on the championship last year. I had a couple mechanical issues that didn’t quite take me out of races, but they made me finish further back in races than I should have.

“I could have done a little more maintenance during the week and I might have been able to change the outcome … but that’s in the past.”

With a more concentrated focus on keeping his ride in prime condition, Ness is back to where he wants to be — atop the Sportsman standings.

“So far, it’s been a pretty uneventful season,” Ness said. “Successful obviously, but uneventful as far as not tearing up a bunch of stuff and no dirty driving.”

Brandon Herb won’t make winning the track title easy for Ness. The Marion driver has recently narrowed the gap between himself and Ness by winning the last two Sportsman features, including Friday’s race.

“I’d say Brandon’s my equal competition,” Ness said. “He’s real clean, and he’s just as fast as I am, so it’s fun to race side-by-side with him.

“It’s nice to race with a bunch of guys that are close competition and still be able to race clean.”

Jim Hanson took the 2023 Sportsman title in the first year of NASCAR affiliation with Hawkeye Downs — another driving factor for Ness.

“My motivation this year is to become a NASCAR series champion and to overcome what we let go last year,” Ness said.

While 2023 didn’t end the way Ness had hoped, 2022 was a record year for the Cedar Rapids driver.

“I won Rookie of the Year, the track championship and the Hard Charger Award all in 2022,” Ness said.

Ness, inspired by his father John Ness (1998 Saturday Night Thunder Stock track champion), has been racing at HD since 2011 in a variety of different classes including Legend, Hornets, Enduro and Heroes.

“He (John Ness) ran at Hawkeye Downs since before it was asphalt,” Ness said. “I’ve been rolling around in the garage helping dad work since I can remember. It’s just what I grew up doing, and hopefully that’s what I’ll continue to do for a while.”

Now, the roles are reversed.

“He doesn’t feel comfortable driving a race car anymore, but he’s there with me every week,” Todd Ness said.

With dad by his side, Ness hopes to finish the year strong with three races left before HD’s Championship Night.

“We’ve just got to stay clean and consistent and not have any kind of a DNS (did not start), DQ (disqualification) or anything like that and I think we’ll be fine,” Ness said.