Midwest Tour events keeping Plummer off Downs track full-time

CEDAR RAPIDS - Tim Plummer will have a hard time defending his track championships at Hawkeye Downs Speedway.

The 27-year-old race car driver from Norway, who piloted Dudley Fleck's No. 74 late model to the season points championship last summer, will compete in some ASA Midwest Tour events that will force him to miss a few dates at the Cedar Rapids track.

Racing fans can catch Plummer in the field Friday night, however, during the schedule opening of weekly points races.

Plummer has won the last seven modified division season points titles. He is believed to be the first driver to win two points titles the same year on the half-mile oval.

“Right now, it looks like that we'll probably miss two to three weekly races,” he said. “That will take us out of the points race, but we'll be there the vast majority of the season.”

The regional tour competes in the upper Midwest with races in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa.

“The growth of the Midwest Tour has presented itself that a person needs to look in that direction if they feel they can compete, because they offer some higher purses and it's increased competition,” Plummer said.

The maintenance and setup in late models was a new challenge for Plummer last season. Now it gets even tougher because each tour track is different.

“The way we set the cars up nowadays, that's really finicky to go from place to place,” he said.

@Netline:n Comments: (319) 368-8679; kj.pilcher@sourcemedia.net

On the track at Hawkeye Downs

On tap: It's the season opener Friday night at Hawkeye Downs Speedway in Cedar Rapids with all six divisions scheduled to run in the Papa Johns/I-Wireless Championship Series. Late models and modifieds run on the half-mile oval, sportsmen, hobby stocks, hornets and legends on the quarter-mile.

Schedule: Grandstand opens at 6 p.m., hotlaps at 6:35, heat races at 7:30 followed by features.

Tickets: $10 adults, $7 seniors, $5 students 13 and older, free for 12 and younger

On the air: KGYM-AM (1600), 7:30

On the Web: www.hawkeyedownsspeedway.com