Jace Malasek never won a hobby stock race before Sunday. He had never competed at Park Jefferson Speedway before, either. However, in his first race there, Malasek earned his first visit to victory lane.
(For more on Park Jefferson Speedway, read “Park Jefferson Speedway Reopens”.)
Malasek typically races at Off Road Speedway in Norfolk, Nebraska. There, on August 29, he had scored his career-best finish at the time of a third.
“We’ve only raced at three speedways — the other two being Boone County Raceway in Albion [Nebraska] and US 30 Speedway in Columbus [Nebraska],” Malasek, 16, of Emerson, Nebraska, said. “When the season ended, we sat for a month, and then we saw this race [at Park Jefferson Speedway]. We said, ‘Why not?’”
Malasek’s father, Jeff, and little brother, Cody, accompanied him to Park Jefferson Speedway. Jeff used to race modifieds. He gave up racing when he saw his son showing interest in moving up to full-sized cars from go-karts.
“My dad knew the gist of dirt-oval racing, but didn’t have hobby stock experience,” said Malasek. “We got tips on driving and learned all the setup tricks from the people we race with. We met many people at the track, and they helped us get faster. The best part of racing is that people you race with want the close competition, and they will help you get there.”
The culmination of that help came at Park Jefferson Speedway this past Sunday. He took the top spot among of a field of 29 cars that started the feature. The win that earned him $1,000 didn’t come easy. Jace Malasek battled for the lead after losing it twice on restarts.
“Without ever seeing Park Jefferson Speedway, we made the right decisions on setup,” Malasek said. “It comes down to maintenance and preparation. I’m so thankful for my father and my brother. We’ll have so much confidence going into next season.”
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.
