The Gazette: Dirt racing returns to Hawkeye Downs Saturday

Hawkeye Downs has teamed up with Benton County Speedway to bring dirt back

“CEDAR RAPIDS — For the first time since 1988, dirt racing is back at Hawkeye Downs Speedway.

In continued celebration of its 100th anniversary, Hawkeye Downs has teamed up with Benton County Speedway to bring dirt back to its quarter-mile track for “Dirt at the Downs,” a six-week series of racing events set to begin Saturday.

“It started as a ha-ha, funny joke … but it kept going and turned into, ‘OK, we’re doing this,’” Hawkeye Downs Race Director Brian Gibson said. “I said to Roger (Cassill, Hawkeye Downs property owner), ‘If we’re going to do this, we’re going to partner with a dirt track promotion company that knows what to do.’”