Driver: Robby Iverson
Car: #97 Late Model
Hometown: Escanaba, Michigan
In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, there are few names more synonymous with racing than Iverson. The two go together like football and fall, it’s hard to imagine one without the other.
Robby Iverson is a third generation driver from the Iverson family. Grandfather Bob raced for many years and, in fact, was racing almost right up until his passing last summer. Robby’s father, Jamie, is still racing, spending his Saturday nights at the Upper Peninsula International Raceway in a Sport Modified. For years, Jamie was the driver to beat at Norway Speedway, winning seven track championships as well as the Stateline Challenge a record five times.
It’s watching his dad win at Norway that comes to mind as Robby’s favorite racing memory, or in this case memories.
“Watching my dad win all those races at Norway growing up, those are special for me.” Iverson said
The winning ways haven’t gone away between generations either. Last Friday, Robby continued the Iversons’ winning ways at Norway by parking his car in victory lane for the first round of Auto Value racing at the track, which paid 1,000 dollars to win. The victory was his fourth at the Norway Speedway, but it still doesn’t match the memories of watching his dad win there.
“Well, it’s up there,” Iverson smirked when asked about the win’s place in his favorite memories, “Maybe if I had earned it a little more…” he chuckled.
Don’t let his humbleness fool you, Robby earned every bit of the victory that night. To start the night, he set quick time in qualifying then, in the feature, worked his way from the tenth starting spot to third. When the first and second place cars crashed with two laps remaining, Robby found himself leading. Sure, he had some help from the misfortunes of the drivers in front of him but winning that race was more than just luck.
As for his 2019 plans, Robby plans to run at Norway Speedway a few more times as well as travel down to Wisconsin to tracks such as Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna. He didn’t limit himself to those two tracks, though, keeping his options open for the remainder of the season.
Robby sends a big thanks to all of his sponsors including Ward’s Auto Body, Florence Auto Parts and Kris and Toby Kelly, and, of course, his mom and dad.
By Todd Rose