DAVENPORT, Iowa — A tradition for the opening of stock car racing in the Upper Midwest each Spring, the 11th annual Thaw Brawl presented by Hoker Trucking LLC dirt late model stock car special moves to the Davenport Speedway with the two-day event set for March 25-26.
Previously, the Midwest late model special had been held at Illinois’ LaSalle Speedway, beginning with the inaugural race in 2012.
Two days of racing at Davenport marks the season opener for the MARS Racing Series. The MARS late models will battle for victory in a $10,000-to-win main event on Friday night, followed by a $20,000-to-win finale on Saturday evening — a record Thaw Brawl payoff.
Support classes for the two days of racing on half-mile dirt oval include IMCA Mods, IMCA Sport Mods and Outlaw Street Stocks (Saturday only).
On both days, the grandstands open at 5 p.m. with hot laps at 6:30 p.m. and racing to follow.
Rained out last year in late March, the 60-lap Thaw Brawl was won by New Mexico native Garrett Alberson on the makeup date of May 8. Alberson raced to the checkered flag ahead of former race winner Brian Shirley, Tanner English, Ryan Unzicker and Jason Feger.
The Thaw Brawl has developed a rich history since the first event was run in 2012. Dennis Erb Jr., from Carpentersville, Ill., captured the inaugural, $5,000-to-win, race, taking the checkered flag in front of Brian Birkhofer and Frank Heckenast Jr. on April 7, 2012.
Birkhofer, the Muscatine, Iowa, speedster, won the race in 2013 ahead of Chris Simpson and Brandon Sheppard.
Erb, the second- generation racer, came back in 2014 to score the victory – this time besting Bobby Pierce and Ryan Unzicker. Racing out of Oakwood, Ill., Pierce, son of hall of fame driver Bob Pierce, took the victory in 2015 in front of Simpson and Ricky Weiss.
Hailing from Chatham, Ill., Brian Shirley held off a late-race charge by Pierce to win the Thaw Brawl in 2016. Shirley and Pierce were followed by Heckenast Jr. and Shannon Babb. 2017 saw Saturday’s main event canceled because of rain with Josh Richards winning Friday night’s 40 lapper. Chris Simpson, from Oxford, Iowa, finally won the Thaw Brawl in 2018, besting (Rusty) Schlenk and Ricky Weiss.
Texas racer Tyler Erb won in 2019. The program became a Sunday afternoon event after both Friday’s and Saturday’s races were canceled because of weather issues. Erb, from Waverly, Texas, raced by Pierce in the closing laps to win the 75-lap event on March 31, 2019. Erb and Pierce were chased to the finish line by Chris Simpson and Dennis Erb Jr. 2020’s program was canceled because of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Defending race winner Garrett Alberson is among the early entries along with 2018 winner Chris Simpson, 2021 MARS champion and 2016 race winner Brian Shirley in addition to 2015 winner Bobby Pierce, Shannon Babb, Frank Heckenast Jr., Chad Simpson, Jason Feger and Jimmy Mars.
Over the years, seven different drivers have won the Thaw Brawl. Will there be an eighth?