Rob Howden returned to the Rock Island Grand Prix for the first time since 2015 (Photo: In2itive Media Management)

As I traveled home from Rock Island on Monday afternoon, my mind raced as I unpacked two days of action from the city’s streets. I pulled out my laptop on the flight from Chicago to Toronto and hammered out a bunch of words, downloading the thoughts in my head for a new column. Below are some quick hits and commentary on this year’s Grand Prix:

First time racing alongside ‘Mr. Deltona’ Rick Fulks (Photo: In2itive Media Management)

I’ll start with a huge shoutout to the RIGP committee for the extra effort that was needed this year when the traditional track became unavailable due to the ongoing construction effort. A new track was designed, and even in the weeks that led up to the race, they had to be on their toes to make adjustments due to a lack of entries that eventually saw the cancellation of the shifter classes. Traditionalists struggled with the lack of the shifters, because the King of the Streets has always been the marquee race of the event. It was odd not hearing the shifters rip around the track, grabbing gears. I actually spoke to one of the spectators who was watching outside the Holiday Inn on Sunday and he was super disappointed to hear that the shifters weren’t racing this year, as he said that they were his favorite part of the event.

It was so cool to get back to the track where I’ve spent many a Labor Day weekend. It’s an event where you get to see old friends once a year and make new ones as well. I love racing with the guys in Masters, but it was also fun to be in draft packs with the ‘kids’ in the Ignite Senior classes as well. I think I may have been the second oldest non-vintage driver in the event at 55, and that’s a dubious honor, for certain. Just how did this happen?

The Schwiebert Riverfront venue is a great addition to the RIGP experience

Let’s put this out there. The guys and girls who raced this past weekend are badasses. Each and every one of you have my respect. Plain and simple. The track was new, tight, and bumpy. We were all hanging it out on the ragged edge and any mistake meant a hard trip in to the plastic barriers. Kudos to street racing track set-up veteran Terry Riggins and his crew for solid barrier positioning that included the usual crush zones between the shorter Scribner barriers and the taller jersey barriers that lined the entire course. I think they could have used a few more barriers in a couple of key positions, but overall, I felt very safe driving the track.

The Saturday night ‘ROCK The Blues’ concert in the new Schwiebert Riverfront venue was awesome. The venue is absolutely beautiful, overlooking the Mississippi River, and the weather was just ideal. The blues band that was on stage when we arrived was really good, and there was a nice amount of people chilling out in their lawn chairs, enjoying the show.

Having raced on the traditional layout a half dozen times over the years, I’ll say that I may have enjoyed the new replacement layout a little more. It had a unique feel in terms of the characteristics of the corners. Turn 1 was a quick flat-out kink and turn 3 was more than a 90-degree right-hander that added another wrinkle. That said, it was super bumpy, which elevated the challenge. I’ll shout out the good folks at Stilo USA for their Carbon Curva rib protector, which allowed me to run three classes throughout the weekend. I skipped the final Ignite race, Senior 2, as I was mentally spent by the end of Sunday. In the past, I’ve only run one class, so this was a big leap, running 12 sessions over the two days. All in all, the new track, running in the opposition direction of the norm, definitely leveled the playing field as everyone was starting fresh.

Howden ran multiple classes for the first time at RIGP, all in the Ignite K3 machine (Photo: Mark Schwigen)

I have never had a bad time when I’ve raced with the Margay Ignite program. Their arrive-and-drive program is such a fantastic opportunity for out-of-towners to come in and enjoy an event. Californian Gary Hall came out to Rock Island with his brother and he was pit with us, and we all enjoyed the event, some bench racing, and the atmosphere. Big thanks to Keith Freber and Zach Buchanan, our wrench Eddie Remick, and the entire Margay crew and family for their hospitality and friendship.

David, Alycia, and I attended the trophy presentation on Sunday night and I know we all came out with some deeply felt emotions. The speeches made by all those in attendance carried a common theme; the Grand Prix is extremely important to them and it’s a core event in their personal karting experience. They all speak of the race with reverence, and they put massive importance on adding the iconic Rock trophy to their hardware collections.

The event was also quite emotional as families paid their respects to two members of the RIGP community who are no longer with us. The event kicks off every year with the Travis DeVriendt Memorial Briggs 206 Heavy race which honors the late racer, who we lost in 2015 of suicide. The race aims to grow suicide and mental health awareness, and Travis’ father Ron was there to present the trophy to Connor Lund. Ron said he’ll always attend the event has long as it runs to honor his son’s memory. The Nielson family was also front and center, with Tony winning Briggs 206 Masters, a victory he dedicated to his late mother, Cheryl. The Neilson’s lost the matriarch of their family last fall and you can only imagine how difficult it was for Tony to race for her this year. We always talk about how karting is such an incredible family sport, and we saw that on display again on Sunday night.

A quick interview before racing with RIGP co-announcer Carter Pease (Photo: In2itive Media Management)

Next year will be the 30th edition of the Rock Island Grand Prix. Work will need to be done to draw new racers to come and cross this race off their bucket list, and I think the key will be both narrowing and expanding the target pool of drivers. With the IAME Grand National Championship event at Trackhouse drawing all the national level teams and drivers on the same weekend, I’d suggest honing in more on clubs around the area to promote the challenge and the experience that is Rock Island. The race has a grassroots ‘feel’ these days and a majority of the entries were in the Briggs classes. Briggs 206 racing is now the foundation of our sport, and I think that’s where the promotion and marketing needs to be focused.

So that wraps my return to the Rock Island Grand Prix after an eight-year absence. There is one streak that continues, and that is the fact that every time I leave the race, I do so with a smile on my face and a few well-earned aches and pains.

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