Family inspires ‘grandpa’ to get behind the wheel again

VINTON — Keith Moline figured his days in the winner’s circle were over.

The 53-year-old Cedar Rapids racecar driver walked away from racing 19 years ago, but a stealthy move by his son has him behind the wheel again.

“My boy brought home a car and then I just couldn’t handle the bug and I had to do it myself,” said Moline, who won the Legends division feature race Sunday night at Benton County Speedway. “I bought this one, I bought one in Pennsylvania and I just bought a new one from Legends Direct.”

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The victory was the first for Moline since a successful decade-long run from 1997-2006 in which he won more than 100 feature races and 10-plus track championships in the Legends division at Iowa racetracks like BCS, Davenport Speedway, Hawkeye Downs Speedway and Maquoketa Speedway.

Moline’s 2001 INEX Racing Series PRO Dirt national championship was his crowning achievement.

“For me, I loved to race,” Moline said. “When I quit, I had a good run and I was happy with it. I guess that urge has always been there. (Moline's 33-year-old son) Cody (Moline) bringing that car home, it was just like a needle in my arm. I couldn’t handle it.”

Moline walked away from racing after taking a job at a steel mill in Blue Grass.

“I knew I would be the worst employee ever if I was still racing,” Moline said. “I just kind of made the decision that I was going to try to earn some money, make a living and take care of my family.”

Cody Moline raced Legends at age 14, but shortly after high school he joined his father in “retirement” to focus on his own day job. The birth of Cody’s 4-year-old son, Waylon Moline, provided the initial inspiration for the family’s return to the racetrack.

“I grew up with the racetrack,” Cody Moline said. “I want him to grow up with the racetrack. … People here are just a good, friendly community. I wanted him to grow up in that community of people.”

Cody Moline finished third in the Legends feature Sunday night, two spots behind his father. Keith’s win provided a token of revenge after Cody bested his father by one spot at a pair of Missouri racetracks Friday and Saturday.

“It’s awesome,” Keith Moline said. “There are no words for it. His goal has been just to beat me and in the last two nights, he has.”

The father and son Legends racing team will continue their 2025 return throughout the summer at BCS, Maquoketa Speedway and racetracks in Missouri and Wisconsin.

“I’m having a blast,” Keith Moline said. “It brought our family back together. Everybody is in the shop now.”