As IMCA modified driver Jamie Anderson came off turn four on the final lap of the feature on Monday, a dirt clod hit him in the helmet. It caused him to hit the berm and flip out of Hancock County Speedway in Britt, Iowa.
“The track was hammer-down, with a huge cushion that was like a shelf,” Anderson, of Meservey, Iowa, said. “A dirt clod came through my window screen, hit my helmet, knocked my head sideways, and caused me to lose control of the car. I hit the shelf violently, and then went up and over.”
Fortunately, the accident itself did not injure him. Anderson steered a GRT chassis by Bob Harris Enterprises. He sat in a Kirkey full-containment seat, with a Crow Safety Gear five-point harness. He wore a Bell helmet paired with a Simpson Hybrid head-and-neck restraint.
“I had my bell rung for a moment from the dirt clod,” said Anderson. “My car’s tail is bent and it needs a few bolt-on parts. Hopefully, we’ll be racing in a couple of days.”
Jamie Anderson has raced since first stepping into the cockpit of a hobby stock in 1997. He and family steer a total of five race cars. Anderson’s wife, Sara, drives a mod lite. Daughters Autumn and Summer compete in sport mods. Stepson Ethan Dirks wheels a hobby stock. Anderson works as a forklift repairman. However, the family also has a side business of mowing lawns and removing snow to finance their racing effort. The quintet of racers calls a pair of Iowa ovals home — Boone Speedway and Hancock County Speedway.
“My uncle Denny Anderson was my hero when I was a kid,” Anderson said. “I sat in the grandstand as a little kid and told my parents that someday I wanted to do that. He’s the reason why I am a racer and that all my kids race.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
