Updates From the Weekend

Sunday night was going to finally be night number four at Quincy Raceways after two weeks of rainouts. Having not had the chance to visit with most of the local racers during that time, I arrived at the track shortly after 4:00 PM to catch up on the gossip. As I parked along pit road, I saw an ominous sight. Haulers were exiting the pit area. Making my way to the pit shack, I received official word that the water trucks were both down, and there would be no racing after all. After the initial surprise and disappointment, I quickly remembered that the Lucas Oil show postponed Friday night at 34 Raceway was scheduled to start in just under two hours. Calling my traveling buddies, we quickly arranged to meet and carpool the 80 or so miles to West Burlington. After a quick stop for some extra cash, we hit the road, arriving just as hot laps were concluding. Jeff has done a good job of recapping the race, so I will just add that it was easily worth the $25.00 ticket. There are lots of people to be congratulated, including the owners and promoters of 34, especially Jeff and Amy Laue for taking a chance and bringing a national series to our neck of the woods. Rescheduling for a Sunday night was taking another gamble, but the cancellation at Quincy probably added 350-400 people to the crowd. Kudos also go to the local drivers who attempted to run with the big boys, and a special shout out to two talented and personable veterans, Mark Burgtorf and Boone Mc Laughlin, who both made the coveted 25 car starting field. And lastly to race winner Earl Pearson Jr., who has twice visited 34 and twice walked off withe the big prize. It was interesting to hear EPJ mention that he ran the same line as the last time he was at the track, which was something like seven years ago. To say that these guys keep good records would be an understatement.
Meanwhile, back on the homefront, the debacle at Quincy Raceways touched off a bit of a firestorm. Track owners Tony and Paul have since issued a statement apologizing for the late cancellation and assuring all that the equipment is repaired and everything is a go for this Sunday, when 410 Sprint cars will join the regular four classes in a holiday special. this has certainly been an odd start to the racing season, fueled mostly by the miserable weather. Hopefully that is all behind us, and this weekend will allow all the area tracks to get back to regular racing. As I sit here, the forecast for the weekend looks pretty good, so lets all enjoy some holiday weekend racing!