Disappointing homecoming for Gullett

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This homecoming story certainly didn’t have a Hollywood feel. Newton native Tracy Gullett, whose parents Chuck and Jewel still live in town, hoped to make a splash Saturday night in the ASA action at Newton’s 7⁄8-mile Iowa Speedway. Gullett had been eyeing this day since December, when he teamed up with the 5K Motorsports team out of West Bend, Wisconsin. “The last thing I wanted to do was tear up the car for 5K,” Gullett said. “I feel terrible for the guys.” Gullett felt terrible because he spun in turn 3 during his first qualifying lap and backed his Chevy hard into the wall, finishing his evening before it even really started. “The car is pretty much junk,” said a disappointed Gullett, who praised the track’s SAFER walls. “I’m not sure exactly what happened. The car felt good on the warm-up lap. I was probably just carrying too much speed into the corner. We were at the bottom of the speed charts in practice, so I had to do something. Apparently I tried the wrong thing.” Gullett felt the car would be fine for qualifying. “We made significant improvements on the day, especially me as a driver,” Gullett said. “The warm-up lap was fine. Then I went into turn 3, and the car just started drifting. On these tires, there is no saving it at that point.” Jacob Geode of New Germany, Minn., won the ASA Late Model Challenge ‘Make-A-Wish’Triple 50s later in the evening, while Tom Roney of Crystal Lake, Ill. won the United States Super Truck Series 50-lap event. Gullett, a 1990 Newton High School grad who lives in the Kansas City area with wife Cindy and their two daughters, formerly raced the Stock Car class at I-70 Speedway in Odessa, Mo. He last raced two years ago, and was unable to get a deal put together for last fall’s ARCA event in Newton. Gullett hadn’t raced in the ASA Late Model Challenge class before. “This is the one shot I was going to take,”Gullett said. “To miss the race is very disappointing. All of my resources went into this one shot.” Growing up in Newton, Gullett couldn’t imagine an immaculate facility being built in his backyard. “Not at all,” he said. “I’m very excited about a facility like this being built in my hometown. I never imagined being in a race car at any level. Growing up, we would go to Knoxville Raceway sometimes. It was a big deal to go down to the pits and meet those guys.” Gullett competed in his first race at Hawkeye Downs Speedway in Cedar Rapids in 1995, but came into this weekend knowing it could be his last time behind the wheel. “I’m ready for other things,” he said. “I was at a crossroads of what I wanted to do with life. It’s been a great four to five months leading up to this. I took the chance. I wanted to see what I could do. The odds weren’t necessarily with us. Even with this ending, I’m very glad I did this.” Even with Saturday’s disappointment, Cindy was smiling while standing with her husband. “I’m just excited he got a chance to do something he’s always wanted to do,” she said. “He’s wanted a chance to run in a regular series like this. I’m excited he got to live that dream.” Even though Tracy Gullett said he’ll move onto other things, that doesn’t mean the family involvement with racing is over. Gullett has season tickets at Iowa Speedway, and older daughter Grace, 7, has expressed an interest in racing. That makes mom a bit nervous. “I’m not sure I want to think about it,”Cindy Gullett said. “I’m not ready for my kids to grow up and do something dangerous. She wants to do go-carts. There’s not been the opportunity so far.” Grace’s dad had an opportunity, and he was glad he took it. “It’s nice to see the people who came out because I was here,” Gullett said.