Summer Shootout gets in despite bad weather

CEDAR RAPIDS - For much of Saturday, it wasn't looking good for the Coors Light Summer Shootout at Hawkeye Downs Speedway.

Rain fell on Cedar Rapids all morning and into the early afternoon, threatening to postpone or even cancel the first ARCA Midwest Tour race to visit Hawkeye Downs since 2011. But eager to get the event in as planned, Midwest Tour and Hawkeye Downs officials worked together to dry the track and get the Coors Light 100 and Merv Chandler Memorial 42 run.

Not as many cars made the trip in either the ARCA Midwest Tour or IMCA Sport Compact divisions, with many of the long-distance drivers not taking the risk at traveling and getting rained out. But plenty of fans braved the cool temperatures to watch more than 200 laps of caution-free racing as none of the qualifying races or main events was slowed by an accident.

'Considering the weather, I think it was awesome,” said Griffin McGrath, who helped organize the event and also finished fourth in the Coors Light 100 main event. 'I think it probably hurt about five or 10 late models as far as car count. Getting down here from long distance, if they see rain (on radar), they're not coming. Same with the Sport Compacts. We had a lot coming from Wisconsin and Minnesota. The crowd was pretty decent for having rained all day, too.

'I would say overall it worked out. We can't thank the ARCA Midwest Tour enough, and the track did a great job.”

Cars were originally scheduled to hit the track for practice sessions starting at 1 p.m., but the first laps weren't turned until 5. That accelerated the show and took away two practice sessions for teams to dial in their racecars.

Ty Majeski, a rookie on the Midwest Tour, got the second win of his career on tour in the 100-lap event - in his first trip to Hawkeye Downs - and said the weather delay requires drivers to be even more focused than normal.

Majeski raced side-by-side with Nathan Haseleu and Chris Weinkauf for the lead for several laps - he and Haseleu were door-to-door for 10 solid laps at one point - but raced clean and hard for the win. He used experience at similar tracks to help put him in a good position.

'The rain set us back a little bit - we got really limited practice time - but this track is similar to LaCrosse, Wis., where I run weekly, so I was able to carry that to this track,” Majeski said. 'You've just got to keep your composure and stay focused (after a rain delay). Thankfully we were able to get the race in and get the win.”

To a man, every driver asked after the race was happy Hawkeye Downs and the Midwest Tour got the race in Saturday night, as opposed to pushing to Sunday and playing the weather game all over again.

McGrath Powersports, Fleck Sales, Liz Girl Logistics and Townsquare Media all teamed together to sponsor the event, and helped raise the prize money that went to winners, and officials wanted to make sure they ran the event on its advertised date.

McGrath was key in the process - especially helping organize the Merv Chandler Memorial 42 - and said even with the weather hurdle, he sees this event going forward next year and beyond.

'I think no question,” McGrath said. 'With the supporters we have, all those people love Hawkeye Downs and love racing in general. This isn't really a moneymaker, but it's a cool event, and we want to raise exposure for the track. I think if people come out and see this and see the track is trying to put on good shows, people will come out on a regular basis.”

COORS LIGHT 100 RESULTS

1. Ty Majeski, LaCrosse, Wis.

2. Chris Weinkauf, Merrill, Wis.

3. Nathan Haseleu, Marshall, Wis.

4. Griffin McGrath, Cedar Rapids

5. James Swan, Lake Geneva, Wis.

6. Nick Barstad, Prior Lake, Minn.

7. Cardell Potter, Camp Douglas, Wis.

8. Jonathan Ellen, Hampton, Minn.

9. Jason Weinkauf, Merrill, Wis.

10. Brennon Willard, Lebanon, Mo.

11. Brent Kirchner

12. Jeff Choquette, West Palm Beach, Fla.

13. Brian Campbell, Wyoming, Mich.

14. Nick Murgic, Rosemount, Minn.

15. Matt Kocourek, Franklin, Wis.

16. Brian Gibson, Walford

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