Griesbach return to Hawkeye Downs is successful

CEDAR RAPIDS — Grant Griesbach’s return to Cedar Rapids was brief but successful.

Nine years after racing a limited late model racecar at Hawkeye Downs Speedway, the 23-year-old Pewaukee, Wis. resident returned to the venerable half-mile asphalt track oval with the Midwest Truck Series.

Immediately following his victory in the 50-lap feature race — which did not end until 10:30 p.m. — Griesbach raced to the airport to catch a flight to Green Bay, Wis. in order reach Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukana, Wis. by 8 a.m. There, he will race his super late model in the “Spring Classic Weekend” event.

“Maybe not this quick and this much travel,” Griesbach said with a laugh when asked by a reporter whether this type of schedule was normal. “A night like tonight definitely makes it all worth it. I always say, ‘If you’ve got three races in a weekend, you have a good chance to at least have fun at one of them.’”

Griesbach’s third race of the weekend will be Sunday at Slinger Speedway north of Milwaukee, where he will again race his late model. His Friday victory at Downs was hard-fought, as the race was stopped several times due to collisions, including a large pileup that wiped out the two leaders — Dillon Hammond of Grand Marsh, Wis. and Parker Cain of Big Bay, Wis. — with 16 laps to go.

“It took a lot of luck,” Griesbach said. “I definitely kind of saw that wreck happening. That seven (Hammond) was getting way too aggressive with the 44 (Cain) and there was not a lot of respect showing tonight. It was kind of one of those things and I saw that wreck happening and could slow up enough in time and the four in front of me didn't, so it's kind of a lucky event. Sometimes that's what racing takes. That's a big part of it. Sometimes you lose races you should win, sometimes you win races you should lose.”

The victory was the second in three Midwest Truck Series races for Griesbach, who is in his second season of full-time racing in the series. The Midwest Truck Series schedule resumes Memorial Day (Monday, May 26) at Golden Sands Speedway in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.

“Doing the circuit for a second time, definitely we have got some good notes and hopefully some more success,” Griesbach said. “Two out of the first three races winning is a big deal. It is a good start to the season.”

Downs also hosted the Mid-Am Racing Series for a 35-lap stock car feature race, which was won by Joshua Nelms of Lockport, Ill. The lateness of the two feature events limited the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series divisions to hot laps and heat races.

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