It was an anticlimactic finish to the racing season at Hawkeye Downs Speedway, but the cancellation of Friday night’s championship races left Austin Slabaugh on top of the Legends standings for the third time in his career. 

Slabaugh held a two-point lead in the series heading into the finale on August 19, when heavy rain prevented the drivers from taking the track, giving him back-to-back Legends championships. 

“It feels good to finish out the year the way I did after having a few ups and downs this year,” Slabaugh said. 

He had eight finishes in the top five this season and 13 top-ten showings.

“We had a rough first couple weeks,” Slabaugh said. ‘But then I was able to come back and win four in a row, which helped me gain some momentum heading into the second half of the season.”

He finished the season with five victories, and a track record. On August 12, Slabaugh set a new Legends-best lap time of 14.762 on his eighth time around the track.  

Slabaugh began racing in 2015 after graduating from Mid-Prairie. 

“Warren Ropp sold us a car and it started from there,” he said. “We didn't have any racing experience before that so it was all new to us.”

Slabaugh won his first series championship in 2017. He enjoys the competition and the community at the racetrack.

“It's always fun to go out and compete every week with the group of guys we race against,” he said. “We have met a lot of new friends through racing that we wouldn't have met otherwise.

“I want to give a big thanks to all of our family and friends that make the drive every week from Kalona and the surrounding area. It always seems like we have the biggest crowd there every week and we are very appreciative of that.”