Drivers to Watch 2016: Willett full throttle in Late Model, Legends car

Editor's note: This is the first in a three-part series on Eastern Iowa Drivers to Watch for 2016. These three drivers are racers who compete in multiple cars and at several tracks and are poised to have a successful season. Last year's contenders for Driver of the Year, including winner Justin Kay, Nathan Ballard and Tony Olson, were not eligible because of their high profile in the area. Part 1 is on Alburnett driver Brody Willett. Part 2 and 3 will be released Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

MOUNT VERNON — It's hard not to notice when a kid who's not allowed to drive legally on the city streets hops in a racecar and quickly proves he can be fast.

Alburnett racer Brody Willett has caught folks' attention since he was in go-karts, but headed into 2016, he's got it again. After getting his feet wet in a Late Model last season, Willett will go full-force into his No. 00 Big 8 Series ride this season, while still piloting his INEX Legends car, and likely will turn some heads.

He's far from the first 14-year-old to compete on the ½-mile at Hawkeye Downs Speedway — Landon Cassill and Joey Gase come to mind — nor on the Big 8 tour. But given he's proven he can win in every car he's ever been in, a full season in a Late Model is certainly enough reason to take notice.

'Last year, we had a couple wins, and with running two different cars and all the tracks we're going to, we're going to be more widespread,' Willett said. 'If you're in Wisconsin, you could come watch us at a Big 8 race. You can watch us at Hawkeye Downs.

'We've talked about it (winning races in Late Model) just a little bit. We're not going out to set the world on fire, but it wouldn't hurt any to maybe pick up a win at Hawkeye Downs or something like that.'

That last line came with a wry grin from the eighth-grader. He's as feisty and competitive as anyone would expect a teenager to be — especially one who came close to winning a Legends championship last season at Hawkeye Downs, and who has competed nationally since he was five years old.

In dipping his toes in the Late Model waters last season, Willett and his dad, Chad, took baby steps.

Chad wouldn't let Brody pass another car — even if he was clearly faster — for the first several weeks. But bit by bit, he worked up to a competitive level by season's end. In the season finale, he finished third behind winner Tim Plummer and season champion Brian Gibson.

The kid gloves are off now. He's full steam ahead in both his Legends car — in which he won three races at Hawkeye Downs last season — and the Late Model. The plan is to run all the Big 8 Series races, which will force them to miss three races at Hawkeye Downs, and possibly some select others.

Brody said he wants Rookie of the Year in the Big 8 Series and wins at Hawkeye Downs. Learning to juggle both cars, which they'll run in tandem every night at Hawkeye Downs and several times on Big 8 nights, will be the most important part.

'I'm not going to lie, I think my Legend a little bit screws up my Late Model, and maybe even a little bit my Late Model screws up my Legend. … Power steering, everything like that; I about lost it in the Legend going into Turn 3 (the first night in both). It's definitely a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be,' Brody said. 'But the Legend car is way overpowered for as small of a car as it is, so it actually helped me in the Late Model in some ways when we went to Lacrosse. Getting the feel for the car and learning to adapt, not only at Hawkeye Downs, and traveling to other tracks has helped me the most. That's the biggest advantage I've taken.'

Brody and Chad spend many hours in their shop in Mount Vernon together, working on the cars with the help of a few crew members.

While the competitive part of them certainly comes out constantly, they get tremendous enjoyment out of spending that time together in an effort to go fast. Having fun together makes everything easier — and often is a key ingredient for winning races.

'Dad gave me the option when we first started out. We could either just keep running go-karts and go watch races at Hawkeye Downs or get into big cars. I wanted to race cars. I'm in love with it,' Brody said. 'My dad pushes me a little, but it's not like he's trying to live some dream through me or anything like that. I enjoy it just as much as he does, and that's what we're out there to do — have a good time and win races if possible.'

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