Marion racers back in action
by Brandon Leonard [email protected] · May 28th, 2020


The state of Iowa is known throughout the world for having some of the most exciting local racing out there. Often referred to as "The Dirt Track Capital of the World", throughout the summer you can find racing action almost every night of the week. The state also features one asphalt track that races on a weekly basis: Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids. The race track started up their season this past Saturday as well as the Benton County Speedway in Vinton. Several Marion residents took to the tracks to do what they love over the weekend and for Jason Doyle, he walked away with a smile and a little bit of satisfaction.

Doyle won the Sportmod feature at Hawkeye Downs on Saturday and placed eighth in the feature at "The Bullring" on Sunday. The famed quarter-mile featured some of the top competition around the country as the division's reigning IMCA National Points Champion Tyler Soppe claimed the feature event at Benton County's season opener.

Alicia Steepleton made the tow from Marion to Vinton as well, advancing from her eighth starting position to place third in the Sport Compact division's A Main. The race was won by Ashley Reuman of Hills.

Jacob Tiegen and Michael Weber finished eighth and ninth respectively at Hawkeye Downs on Saturday in the Legends division. Weber was on the move from his 20 starting spot and was the hard charger in the division's main event. Allenton, Wisconsin native Aaron Moyer won the Legends feature.

Conrad Vertz scored a top five finish as he crossed the stripe in fifth while Devin Coghlan was seventh in the Hornets feature at Hawkeye Downs. The Hornets, often referred to as Sports Compacts, differ in name depending on the location, but are a front-wheel drive machine that runs on four cylinders. Cedar Rapids racer Brad Chandler held off "The Norway Nightmare" Matt Petrzelka to claim first in the Hornets feature.

Races across Iowa appear to be being booked on a week to week basis right now. With tracks unable to seat fans in the grandstands, they are allowed ten members per race team to help out in their pit area on race day. Fans have been able to watch their favorite drivers on a host of different streaming sources such as XR, Speed Shift TV, IMCATV, Done Right TV and others. Benton County Speedway promoters Corey and Rick Dripps gave their fans a fun alternative to view the races as a drive-in movie type setting that allowed for social distancing yet gave fans the ability to smell the fumes and hear the engines roar.