Less takes home $1,000 in Late Model win at Hawkeye Downs

CEDAR RAPIDS - Zach Less didn't even know he was racing for $1,000 to win in Late Model at Hawkeye Downs Speedway in Cedar Rapids on Friday night - at least not until he climbed in his racecar for the main event.

He might not have known before, but he sure knew after. The Manchester driver drove from seventh at the start, avoided a big pileup (hold that thought) in Turn 3 on Lap 1 and held off Brad Osborn to take home his first win on pavement - and his biggest payday for winning a race.

'I just can't believe we're sitting right here,” Less said. 'I didn't even know it was $1,000 to win until someone told me right before the feature. This is the biggest paycheck I've taken home winning a race.

'When I took the lead, they kept telling me we had a really good car. The car came alive. I don't know what happened, but it came alive.”

Less' main event win ahead of Osborn, Brian Gibson, Brody Willett and Mike Ehde came in his first full race on pavement since 2012. He and his team broke a motor in practice on opening day, so he didn't get to run that main event.

And just like he didn't know what the race paid to win, he didn't know he was even racing Friday night until Friday morning. His car didn't have an engine in it Thursday night, but his crew worked overnight to get it ready, and it certainly paid off.

'At 9 o'clock this morning, I got a text saying we were racing,” Less said. 'They worked all night trying to get the motor back in the car, and we're sitting here in Victory Lane. It's pretty crazy compared to where we were last time.”

Certainly luck played a role for the top group who eventually raced for the win, as a group of cars got together in a three-wide scrum on the first lap of the race.

Griffin McGrath, who had set quick time in time trials earlier in the night, was a victim of circumstance, and found himself piled into the foam barriers that line the outside wall. Three cars ahead of him went three-wide, made contact and McGrath took the brunt of it.

It was the first Friday night racing of the 2016 season, and it also happened to be the night before a Full Moon. Superstitious racers have often called on Full Moon Fever as an explanation for a night of wreck-filled races, and more than a few noticed as much Friday night.

'I think it's just people not using their heads, obviously,” McGrath said. 'One class goes out and makes bad decisions, then the next one goes out and makes bad decisions. Nights like this always snowball. Bad decisions on bad decisions. It's early in the season, too, and people make their bad decisions now.

'It's too bad, because this car was so fast today. It sucks. I mean, it's the first lap of a race when we're sitting here for four hours waiting for it. Just race the thing. It shouldn't happen in this type of racing. We've got spotters and people that have done this for a while. It's supposed to be the premier class; don't make stupid decisions.”

Troy Scott in Hornets and Matt Blake in INEX Legends got their first career wins while running out ahead of all the carnage, and Jim Hanson swept Hobby Stock and Sportsmen.

'It's nice to get in Victory Lane finally,” Blake said. 'I could keep the car down low. I knew if I didn't drive into the corners too hard I could keep in down there and it was going to be hard to get around me. I've seen people do that and win races.

'It's just nice to finally get here. It's really cool.”

Blake's win came in the closest race of the night. He started third in the 19-car field, and ended up leading every lap - though not without immense pressure from a group of cars behind him.

Blake held off Kevin Korsmo in second, Brady Fox-Rhode in third, Cole O'Brien in fourth and Brody Willett in fifth in a finish that saw Blake, Korsmo and Fox-Rhode three wide across the finish line. Blake's win might not have even been possible if not for Fox-Rhode, who saw Blake had worn right side tires and loaned him a pair.

The Cedar Rapids driver put the loaned tires to good use, that's for certain.

'There's a lot of fast people in this division, and I had a nice opportunity with a good starting spot,” Blake said. 'I was just able to take advantage of it. I borrowed tires from Fox-Rhode, and I have to say thanks to Brady. I obviously wouldn't have been able to do this without decent tires on the car.”

On a night where patience was thin, a few drivers got to Victory Lane for the first time, and it served as the silver lining for a long night at the races.

And Less, who expressed a desire a few weeks ago to get out of his dirt racing pursuits entirely, had that reaffirmed Friday night with his win.

'After tonight, I've got a new dirt car for sale, too,” Less said through a big grin. 'So if anyone wants one, give me a call.”

HAWKEYE DOWNS SPEEDWAY RESULTS

LATE MODEL

20 Zach Less

72 Brad Osborn

17 Brian Gibson

00 Brody Willett

18e Mike Ehde

SPORTSMEN

88 Jim Hanson

54 CJ Van Horn

77 Kevin Franks

6x Mike Mitchell

57 Jeremy Clement

LEGENDS

88 Matt Blake

52 Kevin Korsmo

4 Brady Fox-Rhode

25 Cole O'Brien

00 Brody Willett

HOBBY STOCK

07 Jim Hanson

88 Gerald Hall

12 Brandon Herb

41 Jasen Freeman

8 Braxton Franks

HORNET

44 Troy Scott

3 Dallas Chandler

87 Drew Nickell

16 Todd Ness

01 Derek Parrott

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com