Storms leave slight damage to area racetracks

Amid the mass amounts of rain Eastern Iowa (and all of Iowa, really) has received in the last several days, sports venues have had to deal with flooding and damage right along with homes and other businesses in the area.

Thankfully for race fans, area racetracks weren't too heavily hit by the most recent storms Sunday evening and Monday afternoon.

Though it wasn't significant, Hawkeye Downs Speedway, Benton County Speedway in Vinton and Cedar County Raceway in Tipton all reported damage and/or some flooding as a result of the storms.

'We've worked hard. The worst part was the storms hit about 2 p.m. Monday, and along with that, we lost power for a day and a half,” said Hawkeye Downs fair board member Kevin Korsmo. 'So we got a generator and two sump pumps. The water in Turns 3 and 4 was up past the second groove. As of (Wednesday) morning, all the water is all off the track.

'The way I understand it, it's been looking in much better shape than we thought.”

Korsmo said he and other Hawkeye Downs officials would meet Wednesday night after an open practice for racers to assess the state of things and get a final plan set for Saturday's Coors Light Summer Shootout and Merv Chandler Memorial.

He added everyone at Hawkeye Downs felt lucky the damage limited itself to the Turn 3 and 4 flooding and just the loss of a few shingles off roofs of the Expo Center and some other out buildings on the grounds - especially compared to damage sustained to homes and elsewhere around Cedar Rapids.

Officials had spent time working on the track surface itself last week after weepers canceled 1/2-mile racing two weeks ago, so barring more rain or flooding, the surface should be in good shape for the big race Saturday.

Cedar County Raceway was likely the worst off for damage at area tracks, with some downed light poles, roof damage to fairgrounds buildings and some standing water around the track.

'One of our main light poles got broke, and they had to replace it. We had downed power wires and some of the buildings had roof panels and siding peeled off it,” said promoter Rodney Ohrt. 'There was just stuff thrown all over out there.

'It's mostly all cleaned up. They got the pole and lights all reset (Wednesday) and we're going to be good to go.”

As for Benton County Speedway, the track has avoided race day rainouts for much of the year - unlike many other places around here - but the end of Sunday's racing was cut short by the start of the big storm.

Some fencing was knocked down, and they too lost a light pole, but promoter Dana Benning said it shouldn't affect racing going forward there, either.

'We had some damage to some fencing, and there's a signal light in Turn 3, and the wind picked that pole up and snapped it completely off,” Benning said. 'We got a fair board member involved, and they should be installing a pole this week and we should be back to normal.”

Independence Motor Speedway was the least affected by the storms, with no damage other than standing water in the infield.

The only problem for Independence - and many others who live or have businesses near rivers - is what might happen if more rain falls and the river near the track rises. Officials said the water in the infield typically follows the level of the Wapsipinicon River, which sits essentially next door to the track.

'I think the rain fell so quickly, it just ran off - it didn't really do anything to hurt the racetrack,” said track announcer and record-keeper Ryan Clark. 'The thing about Independence, is it's close to the river. The water in the infield will rise to whatever the level of the river is. That's generally our problem.

'I think the (worst) I've ever seen there was about 20 years ago, the entire infield was full of water during the races, and the promoter at the time at a rowboat out there.”

HOLIDAY WEEKEND RACING

Race fans making Fourth of July plans will have plenty to choose from for the upcoming holiday weekend.

None of the Cedar Rapids-area tracks have scheduled over city activities on Friday night, with only Davenport Speedway racing among the normal Friday night-scheduled tracks. Street Stocks will run for $2,000 to win in their Fourth of July Clash.

Elsewhere, Farley Speedway hosts its second and final night of the Aftermarket Nationals tonight, with $10,000 to win in Modifieds and $50,000 total being awarded across the entire event with Sport Mods running as well. Cedar County Raceway in Tipton also runs tonight, and will host the Stars and Stripes 30, with Modifieds racing for $1,000 to win.

Saturday night offers the Coors Light Summer Shootout and Merv Chandler Memorial at Hawkeye Downs. Independence Motor Speedway runs double features after not finishing its racing program last week.

Then on Sunday, Benton County Speedway in Vinton will host its Midseason Championships.

IOWA SPEEDWAY WEEKEND

As the next race weekend at Iowa Speedway approaches, officials from the speedway made a pair of announcements Wednesday.

First was Sukup Manufacturing stepping up to sponsor Pole Day on July 11, when both the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will have its knockout qualifying and the IndyCar Series will have its qualifying session. Sukup Pole Day starts at 2 p.m. for IndyCar and at 4:40 for the Truck Series.

The second announcement was a pair of post-race concerts Friday and Saturday night following the Camping World Truck Series and IndyCar races featuring Tim Dugger. Speedway officials announced any race ticket holder for both events will be able to see the concert on the night of their race for free.

The concerts are set to begin approximately 30 minutes after each race.

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@sourcemedia.net