Rounding the turn and heading home

When Tracy Gullett grew up in Newton he never dreamed he could someday race at the Iowa Speedway. Well, that’s because it wasn’t even there. When Gullett heard of the speedway project a few years back, the driver who has raced at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids and more recently at I-70 Speedway in Odessa, Mo., got to work on a project of his own. The 1990 Newton graduate wanted to race at the track. On Saturday night, Gullett will be speeding around the track in the ASA Late Model Series race. He will be the first Newton-born driver to compete in a sanctioned race at the track. “It’s a big deal for me,” Gullett said. “I was excited to hear about the project. To make my debut (in ASA) in my hometown is a big deal.” Gullett, who now lives in Platte City, Mo., hooked up with 5K Motorsports to get his Chevy Monte Carlo ride for the race. “I met with them back in December and we made a one-race deal,” he said. Gullett can see the grandstands at the speedway from his parents’ back deck. In fact, his parents, Chuck and Jewel, will be joining dozens of relatives cheering him on Saturday night. “My mom bought a block of 40 tickets and I know we’ll have about 50 people cheering for us,” Gullett said. “It’s neat to have that kind of support.” First things first ... Gullett will be qualifying for the race. “I’d like to qualify in the top 15 and the team has the cars to make that happen,” Gullett said. “I have the equipment I need.” Although Gullett will be loving every lap around the track, he doesn’t plan on being there just for the fun of it. “I want to be competitive,” he said. “I don’t want to go and just be there.” Gullett got a call from track president Stan Clement and he noted officials from the speedway are happy to welcome him home. “My family and the Clement family know each other,” Gullett said. “The people from the speedway seem to be pretty excited.” The ASA Late Model Challenge and Super Trucks race will go on Saturday night at the speedway with the NASCAR Grand National East-West race on display on Sunday.