Kibbe’s prerace ritual paying off in Legends class

CEDAR RAPIDS — Dallas Kibbe isn’t superstitious, necessarily.

He just likes a clean start.

For Kibbe, success begins with preparation — which includes a unique prerace ritual.

“My thing is, I’ll brush my teeth before the races — right before I leave,” Kibbe said. “I make sure my teeth are very clean. It just makes me drive better.”

Kibbe, 16, of Ames, took the checkered flag in the Legends feature race Friday at Hawkeye Downs Speedway. Starting third, he battled Austin Slabaugh neck-and-neck before taking the lead late and sealing the win.

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“Every time I’ve won, I’ve brushed my teeth before I left,” Kibbe said. “It’s about a two-hour drive, so I just try to be meticulous. I always try to eat healthy and put my body in the best possible state it can be in.”

It was Kibbe’s fourth win of the season, his second straight and third in his last four races. He’s finished top 5 in 11 of 12 starts this year.

“I didn’t win until the fifth or sixth week,” Kibbe said. “It's really rewarding that the work we've all put in is coming to success.”

With one race remaining in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Racing Series, Kibbe is just two points behind leader and HD Wall of Famer Kevin Korsmo.

“It's kind of eye-opening because Kevin's been racing at this track since before I was born,” Kibbe said. “For him in his retirement year, for me to be able to compete with him — sort of a passing of the torch moment — it's just really cool.”

This year is Kibbe’s second season at Hawkeye Downs, but his first running full time.

“He (Korsmo) races me clean and hard, and he teaches me a lot, too,” Kibbe said. “So it's really cool that in my first year and his last year, we can go toe-to-toe first and second, second and first.”

Kibbe is a Legends development driver for Legends Direct in Cedar Rapids and Miller Performance Motorsports in South Carolina. He expects to run “30 to 35 races” this year between Hawkeye Downs, Charlotte, Las Vegas and various tracks in Wisconsin.

To Kibbe, Hawkeye Downs feels like “home.”

“We put together this asphalt program so we have the equipment and means to succeed,” Kibbe said. “I’ve been racing all around the Midwest, but this is my home track because it’s the only asphalt track that runs Legends in Iowa.

“Wherever I go in my racing career, I think I'll always have a special place in my heart for Hawkeye Downs.”

The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Racing Series concludes Friday. Opening ceremonies begin at 7 p.m., followed by heat races and features.