HOSS to Hawkeye for Storm Steel/ Abrasive Jet Night of Racing

The Hoosier Outlaw Sprint Series sponsored by Marathon has again made the trip West to Hawkeye Downs Speedway and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This race is always a wild card on the HOSS schedule as drivers and teams take Iowa’s only pavement winged sprint car race of the year and the title of Iowa’s “Pavement King with Wings” very serious. Banner Valley is proud to be a part of Iowa’s great sprint car tradition. That tradition alone gives every team the desire to dig deeper, but when combined with the thrill of racing before the packed grandstands full of sprint car fans, it brings the excitement to a whole new level.

Friday night action begins at 3pm when the pit gate opens, with the grandstand gate opening and the start of practice at 5pm. Sprint car time trials at 6:45 and Hoosier Outlaw Sprint Series racing at 7:30pm (ALL TIMES CENTRAL) Adult tickets are $15, with senior citizens and students $10, and kids just a buck.

The Iowa racing excitement could cause a shake up in the HOSS Championship points standings. Currently atop the number stack is the 2001-2002 champion Ron Koehler from South Bend. He’s had his black number 10 on a roll so far in ’04 and the Cedar Rapids track suits his abilities very well. Rick Baker of Camby, IN, trails Ron by only five points after last Saturday’s Mansfield (OH) event, where he finished sixth. Greg Wheeler sits third in points but the Columbia City, IN, veteran had the point lead before Mansfield mechanical failure relegated the red and white 7 car to a late race DNF. Wheeler collected his first HOSS feature win in May on the high banks of Salem and looks to contend for the 2004 Championship title.

The Rookie of the Year hunt is a three horse race and two of the contenders are fourth and fifth in points. Sondi Eden, the 2003 NAMARS Midget champ is fourth in points in John Batts’ potent 6 car. Eden is splitting her time as she is leading the Wednesday night Speedrome midget series in Indianapolis. Five markers behind is Michael Tarlton. The Tarlton name has been around for many years, but in 2004 Michael has taken the reins from his uncle Mark and has wheeled the 9 ride without missing a beat. The third rookie for 2004 is Dale Wood of Warsaw. Coming up from 600 mini sprint ranks, Wood has already shown to be a quick study in the ultra fast pavement sprinters. Although tenth in points he has shown he is a force to be reckoned with in HOSS competition.

All of the action of the HOSS Pavement Kings with Wings can be found at www.hossracing.com Hawkeye Downs Speedway news and information is at www.hawkeyedownsspeedway.com