Hawkeye Downs cancels weekly races due to heat

CEDAR RAPIDS - The heat won after all.

The weekly points races at Hawkeye Downs Speedway have been canceled for Friday, July 6 due to extremely high temperatures, according to the track's race promoter Mike Becker. Union Night at the Races, which was also canceled last week due to rain from severe thunderstorms, will be moved to Friday, July 20.

A day after mentioning drivers are trained to handle hot conditions, Becker said elements were too severe to risk any issues with drivers, staff or fans.

"I had extreme concerns about the heat," Becker said. "I talked with some of my competitors and they were looking forward to competing and looking forward to not competing,"

Becker said he consulted other race promoters, who run tracks on Friday night. As of early afternoon, Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Lee County Speedway in Donnellson and Davenport Speedway have cancelled races due to heat. Becker said he had to do what he felt comfortable for Hawkeye Downs.

"It was a terribly tough decision to make," Becker said. "I had to consider the safety of everyone."

Races are scheduled to resume with a free evening of races sponsored by 100.7 The Fox Night on Friday, July 13.