CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Super Late Model drivers from five states will invade Hawkeye Downs this Saturday night for the Iowa Donor Network 100.
The “Stars and Cars” of the ARCA Midwest Tour will be led by two-time Tour Champion and current point leader Casey Johnson, central Wisconsin front runners Gabe Sommers, Levon VanDerGeest and Justin Mondeik as well as former Tour Champ and Hawkeye winner Jonathan Eilen Racing.
SLM Winner Scott Tomasik
Tomasik won the final Tony Bettenhausen Memorial held at Illiana Motor Speedway (Ind.) in 2015 and has multiple weekly wins at Grundy County Speedway in Illinois. Tomasik made his first Tour appearance of the season at Milwaukee and again competed with the Tour in July at Grundy. A side window blowing out at Milwaukee and an ignition issue on the grid at Grundy have hampered the team’s efforts thus far, but the third time is the charm. This will mark Tomasik’s first Midwest Tour appearance at Hawkeye Downs.
Tour Champion Casey Johnson
Johnson’s tour season has been tough on his fellow competitors, second at Slinger, winning the Joe Shear Classic at Madison (Wis.), third at Jefferson, winning at Milwaukee and a second earlier this month at WIR. In addition to three Jefferson titles, Johnson has amassed two track championships and two Red, White and Blue State Championships at Wisconsin International, two in Big 8, two Tundra titles, six Wisconsin State Championships at Jefferson, the 2013 and 2016 MIS Triple Crowns and two National Short Track Championships at Rockford Speedway. Johnson won the Alive for 5 feature at the Dells last weekend.
Tour Winner Gabe Sommers
Sommers recorded his breakthrough win at the Larry Detjens Memorial at State Park Speedway in 2019, to date his only tour win. He went on to become the 2019 Midwest Tour Rookie of the Year and backed up that effort with a runner-up points finish in 2020 and fifth a season ago. It has become commonplace to find the 15 car running up front, finishing second at Jefferson and Grundy while finishing third in the Gandrud Auto Group 250 earlier this month. He currently sits second in tour points.
Truck Champion Levon VanDerGeest
VanDerGeest recorded his first VDL Fast Time Award last month when the ARCA Midwest Tour visited Grundy County Speedway. VanDerGeest became the youngest winner in Milwaukee Mile history when he rolled to the Midwest Truck Series victory on Father’s Day 2019. He went on to become the 2019 Truck Champion and finished second in the 2021 ARCA Midwest Tour Rookie of the Year standings. Hid first visit to Hawkeye Downs resulted in an eleventh place showing last year and is fresh off an impressive fifth place run at WIR.
Tour Winner Justin Mondeik
Mondeik’s lone Tour win was recorded during the 2020 Larry Detjens Memorial at State Park Speedway where he is a two-time and defending track champion. With a fifth win at State Park just last week, Mondeik is again leading the point standings at his home track. In addition to his Wausau success, Mondeik has posted back to back Stateline Challenge wins at Norway Speedway in the UP of Michigan and collected the Champion’s Hardware the past two seasons at Golden Sands Speedway. Mondeik finds himself fifth in the Tour point standings and has tallied a total of twelve weekly wins on the season
Tour Champion Jonathan Eilen
Eilen returned to tour victory lane for the first time in over nine years at State Park Speedway in July, 86 events had passed. The 2012 ARCA Midwest Tour Champion and 2007 Tour Rookie of the Year has a total of six career feature victories including the first ever Tour event in 2007 held at his home track, Elko Speedway. Eilen, who is seventh on the all-time wins list will make his Tour Record 150th start on Saturday Night. Jonathan sits third in the Tour Point Standings and is the only former Tour Hawkeye Downs winner entered this weekend.