Racin' Down the Road

Finally! As I sit here on Sunday morning awaiting the Mothers Day lunch guests, the sun is shining in northeast Missouri. Although it is still quite cool, we did not have the huge rain totals Friday that plagued southeast Iowa, so I am hopeful that the Quincy Raceways crew will be able to get the soggy pit area ironed out and we can get back to racing this evening. IMCA late models and stock cars, UMP modifieds, and track rules hobby stocks with hot laps at 5:00 and racing at 5:30 is on the schedule. Considering the past two weeks have been washed out, I am looking for a healthy car count. So far this weekend I have been shut out again, as Friday night was a washout at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, and Saturday racing was also cancelled at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, and in West Liberty. Given the 40 degree temps, my racing' buddies and I decided not to venture any further from home, so it was another NASCAR race on tv. With only five full nights of racing in and a less than favorable forecast for next weekend, I spent part of the evening looking at alternate possibilities for next weekend. Due to my work schedule, Friday night racing is pretty much limited to Lee County, and promoters Terry and Jenni Hoenig have cooperated by adding IMCA late models to the card as they are zero for three attempting to get their first point night of 2010 in the books. Saturday night racing could be plentiful, but not so much for late model action. Wayne Messamaker will make his third attempt at kicking off weekly racing at the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo. after the track sat mostly idle in 2009. A modifieds will be the featured class in a four class program. The same is true at the Eldon, Iowa speedplant, as they kick off a limited 2010 schedule. Hopefully both of these fast tracks can draw a solid group of cars and fans. 24 Raceway in Moberly, Mo. will present a special program featuring non winged sprint cars, and they are also bringing in non sanctioned crate and steel block late models. 34 Raceway has a scheduled night off for late models, adding 4 cylinders and mod lites to their card. And on Sunday, Quincy Raceways will present a regular night of racing.
The red circle on my calender marks Friday, May 21, as the touring Lucas Oil late models are set to invade 34 Raceway for a $10,000 to win show. A show of this magnitude is always a gamble for local promoters, especially with the weather we have had this spring, so hopefully a good night of racing is in the offing at 34. But with a vacation day on the books, I am looking at contingency plans already! Checking the various websites, I see that some tracks to the far north of me, and some to the south in the St Louis area have been able to get in a few more shows than my " local " tracks. Quincy racer Michael Long is working on another outstanding weekend, which began Friday night at Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Il. Michael captured the make up UMP mod feature win, then ran second in the regular feature. Like Mark Burgtorf before him, Michael has been dominate at his home track, but you are never sure how good these guys are until they begin to travel and race against some of the best in the midwest. And like Mark, Michael is proving that he can race with and win against pretty stiff competition! Way to go, Michael. Until next time, come see us at QR, or check out your local track. See you at the track!