Today’s racing scene in the state of Iowa differs drastically from what it was even 10 years ago – even on a national scale with the entire discipline of the sport.
National tours are becoming more well known around the country by the casual race fan, gaining popularity and notoriety by the race weekend.
The same can be said when focusing on just one discipline of dirt racing – super late models. The low-to-the ground fendered machines that house engines that pull in upwards to 900 horsepower. It’s the top level of vehicle to race on the non-open wheel side of the sport.
Iowa, this year, has been fortunate enough to see a resurgence of super late model racing, which kicked off Wednesday night with the Castrol FloRacing Night in America Series’ visit to Marshalltown Speedway.
“I’ve been saying (we should go to Iowa, and Marshalltown, more) for 10 years,” Decorah, Iowa native Tyler Bruening said. “I’m sure anyone that’s raced here knows how good of a facility Marshalltown Speedway is. The little bit that we’ve gotten to race here over the years – the racing surface is always badass.”
The track provided an action packed main event Wednesday night, with Hudson O’Neal claiming the victory in the midweek, national tour event.
It’s the first of a few different national, super late model races scheduled to be held in the state this season across a multitude series.
Marshalltown native and World of Outlaws Late Model Series veteran Ryan Gustin called it the biggest race he knows of at the track.
“I think this is the biggest race ever here,” Gustin said. “As far as the prize money and the (drivers) here and everything, it’s going to be a hell of a show.”
The race on Wednesday featured FloRacing’s premier late model tour – a series built on midweek events that attract the top open schedule talents along with stars from one of the top three national tours running nearby.
It also brings the stars of regional tours like SLMR – a Midwest regional late model touring series that runs in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and Illinois.
“It’s a big deal tonight,” Ames, Iowa’s Charlie McKenna – who sits fifth in SLMR points standings – said. “It’s exciting that Jerry and Toby are putting this on and just bringing these (drivers) to our turf is pretty dang exciting.”
The schedule for the FloRacing tour is set strategically to attract the full-time drivers running other tours like the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.
The Lucas Dirt series will run a pair of national events in Iowa this weekend at Farley’s 300 Raceway on Friday and Saturday at 34 Raceway in Burlington.
“It’s great to see all of these big shows that Iowa is having throughout the year,” four-time Hell Tour champion and late model star Bobby Pierce said. “There’s a few really big shows – (Marshalltown) being one of them – here.”
The FloRacing tour pays out $22,022 to the winner of each of its first 11 races and $53,053 out for the winner of its season finale in October.
It’s well above the standard of a regular national race, that being $10,000-to-win.
The amount of national events throughout the year and money to be made at different race tracks has attracted a number of drivers to pull off from national tour commitments and chase what sprint car fans would call, ‘a true outlaw schedule.’
“This sport’s expensive,” Pierce said. “It’s definitely hard to do – it’s hard to make it. We’re definitely in IMCA land so that doesn’t help, but at the end of the day I think it’s doing good. Like I said, though, it’s really good to have these big shows. Everything about it is really good to have.”
Later this summer, Iowa will play host to a four-day, national event tabbed as the Fever Heat 100. The racing, sanctioned by Race XR, will pay out $25,000 to the winner during each night of the July 10-13 show.
The World of Outlaws will visit Iowa this summer as well, hosting the Hawkeye 100 during the weekend prior to the event at Stuart. The series will then return for a three-day show at Davenport Speedway – the Quad Cities 150 held on the last weekend before the start of the college football season. Each finale night will pay $30,000 to the winners.
“I love this area,” four-time World of Outlaws champion Brandon Sheppard said. “This midwestern part of the country is my favorite place to race for sure. It’s nice to come to a track that I’ve never been to and none of my guys have been to. They haven’t had a whole lot of super late model racing here, so it’s going to be cool and something that’s new and exciting for everybody.”
When going back to the past decade of the sport’s presence in Iowa, the only real constant on the schedule was the Lucas Dirt tour’s Knoxville Late Model Nationals – held in the sprint car capital of the world that is Knoxville Raceway.
Some people that I’ve talked to in the past reminisced about the lesser crowds at the event during the 2010’s, citing fans’ wishes to only be extended to winged sprint car racing for the track.
But when taking a closer look at the dates the race was held on, any Iowa native would advise that putting it on the same Saturday it’s two division 1 football programs face off on the field is going to cut the attendance drastically.
This year, for the second straight season – that conflict was indeed avoided.
And with the amount of big, super late model races being held in Iowa this year, there’s no doubt that there is momentum to be had in starting a resurgence.
“It was really racy,” Bruening said of the track after Wednesday’s race. “I think Marshalltown was due for a good night of racing like this and a big event. Hopefully, it turns out well for the track and everybody, because it’s a lot of fun coming here.”
Wednesday was the start of it, and the fan base will only grow, but only time can tell what this will turn into for the state of Iowa.
At the very least, the drivers seem to love these tracks, and that’s one of the best balls to have on your side of the court.
