Year End Review

While my 2011 racing season ended just over two months ago, I like to hold out just in case that one last race comes along. Unfortunately, that last chance turned out to be the Thanksgiving weekend event at the Springfield, Mo. Raceway, which was cancelled by less than favorable weather. Not sure if we could have made the trip, but we were sure looking at it, as it would have made the off season a lot shorter than the 161 days from our last race to a projected March 31 opener.
The cancellation should have been no surprise, as the weatherman was not very cooperative for a large part of the 2011 season. For the second year in a row, I finished with 45 race nights, including three that were rained out before a green flag waved. My travels this season included visits to 13 tracks in four states. Two of those tracks I attended for the first time, I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb., and Callaway Raceway in Fulton,Mo. The August visit to Fulton was my 50th track all time, leaving me well behind several of my fellow Positively Racing cohorts. I confess to being a bit of a creature of habit, and over the years, I tended to frequent tracks I enjoyed. I have also spent several years as a track reporter at a couple of different tracks, and served as my son Brents sidekick for several years of Saturday night reporting at Lee County Speedway. In fact, quite a few of those 50 tracks have been added since the turn of the century! Jeff Broeg referred to me as a late model fan in one of his columns, and I confess that the full bodied machines are my first love. In fact, I attended only one event in 2011 that did not include late models, that being the season ender at Scotland County Speedway 60 miles up the road in Memphis,Mo. I was rained out of my only visit to a World of Outlaws show this season, at Independence, Iowa, but I did get to witness shows by the Lucas Oil series, MLRA, ULMA, IMCA weekly and Summer Series, UMP weekly and Summernationals, as well as several non sanctioned high dollar shows, MOWA sprints and Sprint Invaders, and an outstanding USMTS modified show at I-80. In addition to the venues already mentioned, my travels this year also took me to Knoxville, Davenport, West Liberty, West Burlington, and Donnellson, Iowa, Pevely, Mo., Pontoon Beach and Alexander,Illinois, as well as my home base in Quincy,Illinois, where weather held them to only 18 full nights. There were several memorable shows, and I am sure I will leave out some dandies, but Shannon Babbs' late race charge at the May Day Classic at West Liberty, Brian Harris doing the same at the first IMCA Derry Brothers show in more than 25 years at West Liberty, and Don Oneal dominating the last part of the $25,000 to win 80 lapper at I-80, then using late race dramatics to capture the $40,000 top prize at the Knoxville Nationals remain vivid memories.
As we look ahead to 2012, there are a lot of changes afoot, as we might have expected given the economic struggles of the past year. Quincy Raceways got things started by ending their 14 year late model affiliation with IMCA by announcing a switch to ULMA sanction, then a change in the ownership group followed by another change to UMP late models, all within a span of a few days. At this time, I am cautiously optimistic that car counts in the premier division will increase, especially after track officials announced that the late model feature will now pay $1,000 to win. It looks as though a small number of QR regulars may opt to race away from home with IMCA, but there appears to be at least an equal number of area drivers " coming home. " Plus there are 12-15 UMP cars within 100 miles of Quincy, and with Shepps Speedway in Alexander switching to a Friday night program, hopefully we will see the weekly travelers that we have not seen the last few seasons with IMCA. QR will also host UMP modifieds, IMCA stock cars and sport mods, as well as track rules hobby stocks and 4 cylinder Wild Things. QR track photographer Dewaine Hulett has been named race director at the Lee County Speedway under new owners Dave and Yvonne Sapp, and they are going to kick off 2012 with a 4 cylinder show on Saturday Feb. 11. Check the website for details. It also sounds as though LCS and 34 Raceway in West Burlington are looking to work together in 2012, which should be good for the tracks and fans alike. At this time, there appears to be nothing shaking at Memphis, Mo, or 24 Raceway in Moberly, Mo, as well as Jacksonville,Il., Bloomfield, and Eldon, Ia.All these venues are within 100 miles of my home, and there has also been nothing announced for Columbus Junction, Iowa, which sets about 104 miles away. So that is eleven tracks - including Fulton - within a two hour drive, six of which are not scheduled to open at this time. It would sure be nice to see at least a couple of these tracks running, as I have certainly seen some great racing at all of them over the years!
As the schedules are being released we are trying to put together a working schedule for 2012. With the time it takes to travel to and from many tracks, most of the weekday races require two vacation days, so most of our traveling will again occur on the weekends, and we will have to pick and choose those week night races carefully. But for now, we are focused on Saturday, March 31, with the second night of the World of Outlaws Illini 100 to the east at Farmer City,Il, the UMP opening night to the south in Pevely, Mo., and the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series opener to the north in Farley, Iowa. I have a feeling the weatherman will have a lot to say about our choice. Quincy Raceways is scheduled to open the UMP late model era the following night, Sunday, April 1. The QR banquet is three weeks away, on Saturday January 21, so I will hopefully have some gossip and maybe some real news to report at that time! Until then, Happy New Year, and heres to a successful racing season in 2012!

Here We Go Again

A couple of weeks ago, Quincy Raceways issued a press release stating their intention to switch their late model sanction to the Missouri based ULMA . United Late Model Association. The ULMA began as a steel block engine based group designed for the lower budget late model competitor. In the last couple of seasons, they have modified their rules to allow for the crate late models as well as the IMCA type spec engine cars to also compete. With Callaway Raceway in Fulton,Mo. a sanctioned track, and 24 Raceway in Moberly,Mo. set to come on board in 2012, it seemed like a decent fit for QR if they were indeed going to switch from IMCA. Still, I decided to hold off commenting on the switch, as some close to the situation seemed to be hedging their bets as it were as to the final outcome. On this past Tuesday, co owner Paul Holtschlag held a drivers only meeting at his riverfront Quincy restaurant to discuss the move. He also used the occasion to announce an ownership change at the .29 mile 37 year old oval. Tony Rhinberger, a member of the ownership group since the Scott family sold the track five years ago is no longer involved as an owner, with the facility now jointly owned by his father Bob Rhinberger and Holtschlag .
Bob has been a vital part of the tracks management team for the last five years, and was a long time employee during the Scott years, and has purchased his sons interest.
The actual subject of the meeting was which way to go with the late model sanction for 2012, and after some discussion, it was decided to go with the UMP option. UMP - United Midwest Promoters - is headedquartered in North Carolina, but enjoys its strongest presence in the midwest, with Illinois featuring numerous late model venues. The open engine sanction was apparently the choice of more than 80 percent of those in attendance at the meeting. It is my understanding that those who hang onto their IMCA spec engines would still be able to compete under the UMP rules package. Indeed, under the right track conditions, the lower horsepowered machines could be competitive on the QR oval. Still, I would expect that most of the locals who make the switch will be looking to upgrade their power plants, especially if the are looking to perhaps travel to other larger UMP tracks such as Pontoon Beach, Il. and Pevely,Mo. With Stve Shepards Shepps Speedway in Alexander,Il switching to Friday nights in 2012 - no word yet on whether or not they will run the super late models - QR looks to be the only Sunday night sanctioned track in the region, and it is hoped that will help to draw out of town cars. Unlike IMCA, the UMP points formula allows drivers to count points earned at any sanctioned track to be added towards their national total, much like the old NASCAR weekly racing series of which QR was a long time member. While QR may lose a couple of local late models due to the switch, there are also a couple of locals who have been doing the UMP thing in recent seasons, so at worst the weekly car count should increase slightly - at best, an infusion of new drivers will increase the weekly " wow " factor. The track has enjoyed a 14 year run with IMCA, and I am sure I will not be the only one who will miss the Deery Brothers Summer Series events during the season. Whether QR will look to rejoin the UMP Summernationals tour remains to be seen.
Whether more changes are coming it is hard to say - as of now, the lineup is UMP late models and modifieds, IMCA stock cars and sport mods, and non sanctioned hobby stocks and 4 cylinders, although there has been talk of a possible 4 cylinder sanction.
Since QR late model drivers have been strong supporters of the 34 Raceway late model program in recent seasons, the owners of the West Burlington, Iowa facility took the opportunity to assure everyone that they will continue to sanction IMCA late models in 2012.
What is often a slow news cycle for Tri State racing has been anything but thus far, starting with the sale of the racing operation at Lee County Speedway. In addition, rumors abound at tracks in Independence and Maquoketa, Iowa just to name a couple. Keep checking back at Positively Racing.com and we will try to keep you up to speed on what figures to be a busy off season.
Thanks for reading!

More Change A Comin'

We call this the silly season of racing, a time when rumors and tall tales abound. However in some cases, the proper expression may be " where there's smoke, there's fire." A meeting was held Tuesday night in Quincy for the late model racers concerning the 2012 season. Nothing will be official until later this week, but it sounds as though big changes may be coming, despite the press release issued last week. When the final plans are made, I will update on this site, so check back at the end of the week. Thanks for reading.

One For The Road

Saturday night, Darryl, Fred and I took off for what is likely our last race night of 2011. The occasion was night number two of the Fall Nationals at Memphis, Mo. With season long promoter Rick Girard and the Scotland County fairboard parting ways, IMCA modified racer Brandon Savage stepped up to try his hand at promoting. Brandon is a third generation racer, with his uncles, Lance and Corrie Stott, and his Hall of Fame grandfather, the legendary Ramo Stott having circled the tracks before him. In fact, Ramo, who promoted a race or two along the way, was on present for the weekend to help out however he could. Although I am not privy to the books, I would guess that the weekend was successful one for Brandon, and his " significant other, " Nikki, as the Saturday night crowd was a good one, and the car count came in at 103 after 90 teams raced on Friday. In addition, the weather man was most kind, even holding back the few raindrops that fell after the show concluded just prior to 10:30. Five classes of cars competed on the smooth, fast track, which still had plenty of moisture at the end of the night. The only hiccup in the program was a 37 minute late start to hot laps as it took a bit longer than planned to run in the track. But the wait proved worth the time it took.
The top six cars in each division were locked into the first three rows of the Saturday features based on Fridays main events. Everyone else ran hear races, and in the case of the stock cars, a B- main, to fill out the field. Only the stocks had drivers fail to qualify, as the 103 cars were spread pretty evenly throughout the five classes. Of course, there were a few that could not make the call come feature time in the other classes. The heat races ran off without incident except for Sport Mod heat two, when Rusty Sands lost nearly the entire drive train from under his # 5s as he came down the front chute. It took the track crew several minutes to try and collect all the small parts the were scattered all the way to turn two.
The SportMod 18 lap feature ran first, with Friday winner Chris Larson in a car purchased very recently by his team on the pole. But it was Scott Vanbuskirk grabbing the early lead. The race was red flagged for a scary crash coming out of turn two Rick Paulsen. His # 28P rode the backstretch guard rail, rolling several times. While Paulsen was uninjured, his race car was a total mess. In fact it took his crew and a very good wrecker driver what seemed like forever to wedge it into his enclosed trailer. Hopefully the driver who towed down from Tripoli, Iowa will be back on the track in 2012.
By this time, Jim Gillenwater, who had started in row five, had moved to third, but the veteran driver spun on the restart, winding up deep in the pack. As Van buskirk continued to lead, Gillenwater quickly recovered to move back inside the top five, but he again bobbled at the white flag.
" Local " favorite, Brandon Dale shadowed the leader the second half of the race to take runner up honors to the delight of the crowd. Larson drove a steady race to capture third ahead of Curtis Vanderwall and Gillenwater.
The 4 cylinder cars ran next, with 14 cars taking the green. It was Friday winner Nick Wilkerson of Yarmouth, Iowa setting the pace, with the first yellow on lap eight. As the laps wound down, Adam Gates, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa was making a charge in his # 007. Coming to the white flag, he appeared to break a fuel line, as his ride erupted in flames, ending his third place run. Wilkerson took a flag to flag win over Micheal Grossman, Craig Bangert, Kimberly Abbott and William Michel.
The 24 car stock car feature had a little trouble getting rolling with a lap two caution followed by two false starts. Matt Greiner led lap one before Grinnell, Iowa hotshoe Todd Reitzler took over. From then on, it was a two car battle as the # 22 and # 29 swapped the lead, but mostly ran side by side, low on the oval, not touching. As they came to the white, Greiner had the edge, and the Washington, Iowa racer held on for a photo finish win. Terry Houston had worked his way through the pack and caught the top two, but had nowhere to make a move with the front pair side by side. Beau Taylor rolled home fourth ahead of Mike Harward. The 15 lap hobby stock main endured a couple of early yellows with Clayton Crump jumping out front. On lap eight, Bobby Anders took over in the Mayfield - Anders # 21. From there the Quincy Raceways regular was in charge. with Crump, Brandon Symmonds, Andrew Hustead, and Council Bluffs, Iowas David Orr completing the first five. Anders and Mayfield have already announced plans to field a Sport Mod for 2012.
The final event of the night, and our final race of the season was the 25 lap A modified main event, paying $1200.00 to win. In addition, sponsor money had been raced to the point that the highest finishing IMCA legal car would receive a $550.00 bonus and the second highest IMCA would pocket an extra $250.00. Sixteen cars took the green, with second row qualifier Donovan Lodge and two class driver Beau Taylor on the trailer. Friday winner JD Auringer from Waterloo, Iowa, an IMCA car, took the early lead. Quincy Raceways track champion Steven Delonjay took up the chase, while fellow Quincian Michael Long began his charge from row six. When the caution flew on lap six, Long had moved to fourth. By lap nine, Delonjay had slowed, as he had a tire quickly going flat, and Long moved to second. As Michael tried to work the top side of the track where he normally makes his living, Delonjay adjusted to the flat and moved back to second on the bottom of the track as the top side " went away. " When the caution waved on lap 17, Steven went to the infield to change the tire, and Long was back in second. With two laps to go and the leaders fighting lapped cars, Long tried to move under Auringer in turn three. Apparently misjudging just a bit, Michael got into the back of the # 00, winding up in the infield. From there JD was in charge, taking the win and the top bonus for a $1750.00 payday. Davenport, Iowa veteran Bruce Hanford styaed close to the front and nabbed second, Dave Weitholder started 16th and finished third. Steve Stewart was fourth, and Jeff Waterman snared the other IMCA bonus with a fifth place showing. Delonjay charged all the way back to sixth.
It was a good finish to what was a frustrating season in many ways, but we will save that for a later blog.
I was able to offer congratulations to Keokuk, Iowa resident Dave Sapp, the new owner of the Lee County Speedway racing operation. Dave was on hand as car owner of the # 105 Sport Mod driven by John Oliver Jr. Dave has already retained Dwaine Hulett as his 2012 race director. The y also indicated the will be featuring IMCA sanctioning in all five regular classes. No word yet if there will be any late model shows at the fairgrounds facility in 2012.
Several days ago, I received what I thought was the determination on next seasons plans for the late model class at Quincy Raceways. Now it seems there has been some rethinking, so I will pass along information when a final decision is made.
Leading the way, the Lucas Oil late model series has released their 2012 schedule, and although we know there may be some tweaking, it looks as though we Tri Staters will have to do some traveling to see the Lucas stars next season. At least before September, when the series will again sanction the Late Model Nationals.
If you can squeeze in another race, wherever you are, do so for me, as my next race is ONLY 23 weeks away!

Chad and Andy Share the Twins

Saturday night Darryl, Fred,and I made our annual trip to the West Liberty Raceway for the finals of the Liberty 100. This race has always been a favorite of mine, but since they split the format last season, running 50 laps each for open late models and IMCA late models, it has moved near the top of the list. Saturday night was made even better by absolutely perfect weather. And whether it was the warm evening, the race format, or both, it was the largest crowd I have seen at Liberty in several seasons., and that was good to see!
As with most places we have journeyed in 2011, the car count was down a bit from last season, but there was still 18 open lates and 23 IMCA lates back for the finals. The only real downer was the fact that the program was about one hour late getting started as the track crew over watered the big 1/2 mile. but even then, things got going at the regular Saturday night start time.
In addition to the late models, both regular track modified classes were on the card, as well as IMCA Sport Compacts and the mod lites.
After the feature fields were set with assorted heats, last chance races and fast dashes, the 4 cylinder 12 lap finale ran first.
After 50 plus years of racing, it is not often I see something I have not seen before, but on lap seven, Brad Chandler lost a left rear wheel while leading the race. What was different was the fact that not only did Chandler continue to run, but he held his lead. Then, with two to go, second running Ryan Walker also threw a shoe, bringing out the caution. At that point Chandler was sent pitside in accordance with track policy. On the restart, 74 year old Wayne Noble grabbed the lead and took the checkers. Although I have yet to see official results, sources say Wayne was DQ'd in tech and Jordon Walker was awarded the win. If this info is incorrect, I apologize.
Next out was the seven car mod lite main. Rob Guss took an easy win in the 15 lapper, with Jonathon Houston blowing up one of the 1000 cc power plants while running second.
The IMCA modified 20 lapper turned in to a caution plagued affair, and after early leader Larry Herring dropped out with engine woes, second generation driver Chris Horn, from Marion took his first dirt modified feature win. Many of you will remember his father, Fred, a late model ace in the 1970s and 1980s.
The open late models rolled out next for their 50 lap, $3500 to win extravaganza. Outside pole sitter Chad Simpson snatched the lead from polesitter Brian Harris coming out of turn two on the first lap, and never looked back. Simpson began lapping slower cars by lap seven before the first caution on lap eight. At this point Jill George, who received the loudest applause in pre race introductions, became the first casualty of the event. The race then went clean and green until lap 285, when Wayne Brau slowed in turn four. Even though the side by side restart method was employed on restarts, Simpson retained the lead each time. By lap 42, Harris seemed to be closing, but he jumped the cushion a bit, ending his challenge. Chad picked up the flag to flag win, with Harris second all the way. Chris Simpson shared in the family success by running third, and the Eckrich brothers took the next three spots, with Denny, Andy, and Dave crossing the stripe in that order. Rounding out the lead lap cars were Joel Callahan and Kurt Kile, while Rich Bell and Todd Hormel completed the top ten.

The open modified 25 lapper came next, with polesitter Todd Hansen leading the first lap before veteran Bruce Hanford took over from a row two start, taking outside polesitter Scott Dickey with him. Brad Dubil had motor issues early in the night, and started 24th on the grid. Ten laps later, he had moved up ten spots , only to retire to the pits. The first caution came on lap 13 for Hansen, who appeared to blow his engine. On the restart, Johnny Spaw, who had dropped back several spots, charged to second. Two laps later the yellow waved again, and on the third try at a restart, Spaw grabbed the lead. On lap 18, double duty Kurt Kile took the runnerup spot, and he mounted a challenge on Spaw, but came up short. A jubilant Spaw noted that it was his first mod win at Liberty, ending a long dry spell after many pro stock wins in the late 1980s.
The finale of the evening and the season was the IMCA 50 lap $3500 to win feature race. Dash winner Ray Guss Jr., a newly named member of the dirt racing Hall of Fame, and Denny Eckrich sat on the front row. The first yellow came on lap four for Tyler Breuning, and Guss held the top spot over Andy Eckrich. Meanwhile, 18th starting Mike Murphy Jr. had advanced six spots. Two laps after the restart, third running Denny Eckrich stopped on the track, and by now, Murphy was up to fifth, while Tommy Elston took over third, and 15 starting Justin Kay in the # 21H normally driven by Brian Harris moved to eighth. The race stayed green until lap 18, and by now Murphy was fourth, and Nick Marolf had moved from 13th to sixth. On the restart, Marolf shot to fourth, while Murphy fell to seventh. When the caution came out on lap 20, Mike Klinkhammer, the 16th starter, moved to sixth. Six laps later, double duty driver Joel Callahan slipped past Andy Eckrich for second. On lap 31 the caution came again, and Murphy was back to fourth. If you are wondering about my point, we often hear that there is nor enough passing with IMCA late models. Well this race sure debunked that myth! Following this last restart, Eckrich and Callahan waged a fierce battle for second, with Andy taking the spot back on lap 38. Two laps later, the youngest of the Eckrich brothers charged past Guss to take a lead he would not give up. Guss held on for second ahead of Callahan, Marolf, and Murphy, while colby Springsteen took sixth. The rest of the top ten included Kinkhammer, Elston, Gary Webb, and Kay.
This was for sure one of our best nights of 2011, and makes me wish the season was not coming down to the final night. Still there are some opportunities to see good racing, so make some plans this weekend as I hope to!

The Real Deal Pulls an Ace

The weatherman finally cooperated Saturday, and we headed out just after 8:00 AM for a three hour trip to Knoxville, Iowa for a full day at the late model nationals. With excellent internet updates, plus several update phone calls from on site friends, we had a good idea of who and what to expect when we arrived. The opening night field featured 64 cars, followed by 62 on friday and 60 on the final night. This was easily the highest return rate in the eight years this race has run. Chances are it would have been even higher, but Georgia ace Dale McDowell left after night one due to the passing of his mother. Jason Utter stayed around as a spectator after crashing his # 31 on Thursday night. Steve Casebolt and Jeremiah Hurst, who had starting spots in C-main rows one and two respectively, also were no shows. The 15 lap event transferred four cars to the B-main, and Kevin Sather outlasted Matt Furman in an entertaining duel to the checkers. Illinois hot shoe Tim Lance and Jay Johnson also moved on to the next race. It was my first chance this season to watch Sather and Lance in action.
Up and coming Tyler Breuning just missed the top four, as Johnson made the late race pass. The 20 lap B-main saw 24 cars take the green flag. West Virginia driver John Blankenship led flag to flag for the win. Wisconsin ace Brady Smith has cut back on his traveling this season, but the former nationals winner was dialed in on Saturday. He started 15th on the grid and charged to a runnerup finish. A total of six drivers transferred to the 100 lap finale, with pole sitter Eric Wells, ninth starting Brian Harris in the Diercks Motorsports # 27H, Denny Eckrich and Frank Heckenast Jr. also moving along. Because the race was sanctioned forthe first time ever by Lucas Oil - which has been the title sponsor since year two - three series provisionals were allowed. I will admit that I am not a huge fan of provisionals, but at Knoxville they are added to the field rather than taking " earned " spots, so in this case I say the more the merrier. A total of 33 cars were set to start the 100 lap A -main!
Before the grand finale, the IMCA modifieds had some business to take car of. Some 40 plus invitations were sent out to modified drivers who had " qualified " by their participation and success in various IMCA races and series throughout the season, along with some past champion spots. 37 cars came through the gate, with the four heat wins going to Jon Snyder, Josh Gilman, Quincy, Il pilot Michael Long, and Luke Wanninger. Chris Abelson captured the B-Main. There has been a lot of back and forth internet chatter about the addition of a second class on Saturday night. While there are good arguments on both sides, there should be no arguing about the quality of the mod racing. The feature event ran with only two cautions, and had lots of side by side action with some " slam, bang " tossed in for good measure. At the checkers, it was Snyder topping Eric Dailey for the $2500 top prize. JD Auringer finished third ahead of Richie Gustin and Jacob Murray. After running away and hiding to win his heat, Long was the first car out of the A when he rolled to a stop in turn one of lap two.
When the green waved to start the 100 lapper, 19 year old Austin Hubbard took off from the outside pole. By lap nine, the leaders were catching the back of the pack, and as Hubbard worked the traffic, polesitter Brian Birkhofer and third starting Scott Bloomquist closed in. On lap 16, eighth starting Don Oneal, making his first visit to Knoxville since 2004, slipped past Bloomquist for third. Three laps late, Oneal moved to second, and on lap 24 he took the top spot with Birkhofer in tow. The first yellow then came out, and the restart had Oneal, Hubbard, Birkhofer and Jimmy Owens leading the pack, while Billy Moyer had advanced six spots to eighth. The real mover at this point was Jimmy Mars, who started 22nd and was now running fifth! By lap 28 Mars had moved to third, but two laps later a spate of caution periods slowed the action for the next 30 laps. Most of these yellows were caused by cars simply slowing on the speedway to get a chance to duck into the pits for tires or suspension work. Like many in attendance, I noted that it seemed to take an unusually long time to reset and restart the field. Was this a direct result of the race now being sanctioned? That seemed to be a question on some minds. On lap 54, Owens moved to the second spot, and six laps later, the " Newport Nightmare " took over the lead. With Bloomquist going a lap down, the running order had Owens in position to take over the series points lead. A long green flag run ended with twelve laps to go when the fourth running Mars stopped in turn two with suspension issues. On the restart, Moyer jumped from seventh to fourth after nearly being lapped before the caution. At the same time, third running Hubbard began to fade as only eight cars remained on the lead lap. The cushion, especially in turn four had become very treacherous, and the front runners seemed to be on the ragged edge every lap, with Oneal really fighting it. With eight to go, Harris, who had come from 28th to seventh fell out of the running. One lap later, Oneal retook the lead from Owens, who had been cruising, but a caution put the Owens back out front. With five to go, Owens hit that turn four cushion wrong, and got sideways out of turn four. Oneal pounced to take the spot, and those last five laps were as good as you could hope to see. 15 year old Tyler Reddick, had been hanging in the lead group all night, and suddenly found the line he wanted . He charged from seventh to fourth, and tried to move around Birkhofer on the high side out of two. Steve Francis took advantage of this battle to slip into second, the highest he had run all race. Birkhofer held on to third, with Reddick fourth. Owens faded to fifth followed by Moyer and Hubbard on the lead lap. Smith advanced 18 spots to finish eighth, with 23rd starting Bub McCool ninth and Bloomquist tenth. The win was worth $40,000 to Oneal, who was behind the wheel of the Moring Motorsports ride. Don also piloted the Moring car to the $25,000 win at the Silver Dollar Nationals in July. At that race, the car was sporting a # 1, while it had Oneals' familiar # 71 at Knoxville.
While some saw disadvantages to the race being sanctioned, it probably resulted in the stoutest field of competitors since the field was limited to 66 entries after the 2005 event. I can be counted among those who wish the entries would be opened up, but I can certainly see the advantage for the track and especially the racers to keep the limit in place. I short, they must be doing something right, as I have not missed a Saturday night finale yet. And Keagan has made this one of two " can't miss " races on his schedule.
We dropped in on the Saturday afternoon auction in time to hear Lynn Richard make the announcement that Mark Burgtorf would be wheeling his # 15 late model in 2012. While Lynn offered no specifics about when and where the new team would be racing, he did say they would be at the nationals next season. Burgtorf had been looking for a motor deal to run the Knoxville show this year, but did not find the right deal. Mark had raced the Richard car earlier this season on at least one occasion. It will be interesting to see how this works out, as Mark has concentrated more on UMP racing in Illnois the last couple seasons, while the Richard car is semi regular on The IMCA Summer Series circuit and at weekly IMCA shows. Of course, Mark is a past champion in these venues, also. So the " silly season " has started before the racing season ends! A rumor making the rounds at Knoxville has the date of the nationals being changed, but we shall see. One fact, not rumor has Toby Kruse taking over as race director at Knoxville, as Ralph " Cappy " Capitani steps down. Congratulations to both men!
It looks as though the weather man may give us another good weekend upcoming, and our choices are night two of the Liberty 100 at West Liberty, i\Iowa, or night two Of the Fall Nationals originally scheduled at Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo., but since moved to 24 Raceway in Moberly, Mo. In a related move, modified racer Brandon Savage will be promoting a two night special at Scotland County on October 21 and 22. And in between, is the final Shiverfest extravaganza promoted by Terry and Jenni Hoenig at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa. Hope to see you at some of these races!

Catching Up

The last couple of weeks have been a bit hectic, and it seems typical of this season that when I can head for the race track it is raining, and when the weather is good, something else demands attention. We did get in our final night at Quincy Raceways this past Sunday, with an unprecedented seven classes on the card, making for a long night. A particular highlight of the evening came at intermission when we inducted our first six members in the newly formed Quincy Raceways Hall of Fame. As a member of the five person selection committee, I was pleased to be able to present the first award to the founding family of the track, the Scotts. Albert Scott constructed the facility in time to open midway through the 1975 season, and three generations of Scotts took a turn promoting the facility through the 2006 season. Alberts son Bob, Bobs' wife Jan and their son Jeff were on hand to receive their plaque. The Quincy Pepsi Cola Bottling Co. received the sponsor award, and long time track employee Don Hummell was also honored. In the driver category, three drivers who have dominated at different times through the years were the first to be inducted. Nine time late model champion Steve Fraise, who was a force during QRs' NASCAR years before retiring in 1992 made the trip down from Montrose, Iowa to the delight of the fans who still talk of his exploits. Henry Delonjay who captured three sportsman titles as well as ten in the modified division before hanging up his helmet to mentor son Steven was also a popular selection. Finally, 14 time late model champ Mark Burgtorf, who was competing in two classes, climbed from his # 7B modified to receive his award. There could be no questioning the inclusion of all these folks in the first of what we hope will be many classes of those who have given QR its rich history.
In racing action, Steven Delonjay made the night doubly special for his father by picking up the UMP modified feature win, thereby clinching the track championship, his first in the mod after two earlier 4 cylinder crowns.
Although the late model title was decided a month earlier, a dozen cars contested the 30 lap finale, with Joey Gower making it two wins in a row to end the season. Interestingly, Burgtorf finished a close second in both features. Terry Houston topped the IMCA stocks, but lost the point title by one point to first half sensation Aaron Brocksieck. Second half hot shoe Jake Powers picked up the hobby main, with Steve Carlin scoring a fifth track title. Kimberly Abbott scored another Wild Thing win, with Seth Woodruff claiming the championship. Joe Bliven took the four race sport mod crown, with Jim Gillenwater taking the main event. Logan Mitchell grabbed the KIDZ MODZ finale.
Promoter Tony Rhinberger announced that sport mods will be added to the weekly card for 2012, with more information forthcoming.
This weeks plans are to head to Knoxville, Iowa Saturday for the final night of the Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals. While the season is winding down, apparently I may be able to add one more race to the schedule with the preliminary announcement that the Memphis, Mo. Fall Nationals will be moved to the weekend of October 21-22. Again, details to follow.
See you at the races!

Shower Power

In the two seasons that I have penned this column, i have tried to stay close to the intent of the site - to emphasize the positives in racing. So i will go ahead and apologize in advance for this missive, which unfortunately will not follow along those lines. I was part of a large crowd on hand Friday night at the Davenport Fairgrounds to witness the once postponed IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series show. The fact that the race had been rescheduled on the seldom used 1/2 mile, and set during both the World 100 and the Boone Supernationals was very interesting to me - a gutsy move, to say the least.
So I deemed it worth taking a vacation day at work, and with a local racers wife watching the weather, buddy Fred and I headed out on the three hour trek north.
I must say I was a bit nervous as I always am at Davenport, given the track curfew and with the number of advertised laps to be run on the big 1/2 mile, and when no cars hit the track until 6:40, I was clock watching. And then it happened. A ten minute rain shower, moderate though it was, put the entire night in jeopardy. Still, there seemed to be hope when the rain stopped and the track packing vehicles came out quickly. When announcer Phil Roberts made the request for the 80 plus race cars in the pits to please come out and help with packing, we figured we had maybe a 30 minute window at best to roll in the track and go racing. Now I have spent enough time in the pits to know that no one wants to be the first car out on a rain slick track, but it was not long before a dozen or so cars made their way out, followed shortly by another dozen or so. And that was where it stopped. As those hardy souls did what they could to help, another 60 or so drivers stayed in the pits, either convinced the effort was futile, or simply not willing to help. I must say, I have rarely been so disappointed by or disgusted with a group of drivers. Was it a lost cause? Probably. Would it have been a terrible imposition for the drivers to make a half dozen laps, then offer an opinion to track officials that the track would not be raceable? I have seen and heard many excuses last night and today, the cost of fuel, the cost at the car wash, it is not the racers job to work the track, etc. While I tend to agree that it is not the racers job to prepare the track, it was hardly the promoters fault that the rain came at hot lap time. And I am sure the cost of towing home, anywhere outside the Quad Cities, and towing back on Sunday will far exceed the cost of fuel and wash expense involved. Although this was obviously a much smaller deal, I was reminded of the flood of 1993, when the folks in my little river town, which has no levee, worked in extremely hot weather to fill sand bags in a futile attempt to hold back the water from the homes and businesses at the rivers edge. And I still remember those who sat and watched and decided it was a lost cause and was not their job, anyway. Well the water came anyway, some tried to help, and some just watched...
I do not know the Davenport promoter personally, but I do remember going to a race on the 1/4 mile last season when it had rained most of the day. The track was rough, and during hot laps we thought there must be no cars as very few came out. The crowd was understandably small, and I am sure he turned little or no profit this night. But come race time, he had a decent field of cars, and the race went off as planned. In short, he fulfilled his obligation to his drivers and fans even though it would have been difficult to blame him for pulling the plug. The payback he got last night was disappointing. I hope the cars and fans can come back on Sunday night for the re reschedule - I am sure neither group will be as large, and I know we cannot, and now he is under fire for going up against another race to the north. I have been rained out many times before, and this will not keep me away from Davenport Speedway, or Summer Series shows. But then I am not an " average " fan, and I think we can all agree that we need more of those. And last night did nothing to make those folks want to attend more races. And my wife was quick to mention when I repeated the new popular slogan, " it is what it is," the rest of that saying is " but it will be what you make it."
See you at the races.

If It's Monday, This Must Be...

When the vacation schedule goes up at my workplace, I make sure to be first in line so i make sure I have the Friday of the 34 Raceway Pepsi USA late model nationals off. In the 20 years of the nationals, I have missed a total of three nights - all due to work - and so I guess this is truly my " can't miss " event. With the Sprint Invaders joining the regular classes Sunday night at Quincy Raceways, I was looking at a three race weekend. Good thing Monday was an R and R day - or so I thought! Friday went pretty much as planned, good, though hot weather, and a nice field of IMCA late models looking to qualify for a shot at the $10,000 top prize on Saturday. The car count was down a bit this year, but that seems to be a common thread with the late model specials of all sanctions. Still 45 cars signed in, and someone wisely asked who was not there that had a chance to win!?!
Ray Guss Jr. continued his amazing two year run by setting quick time, then coming out of the four car invert to grab his 12 lap heat race to earn the pole for the 99 lap finale. Yes, this is normally a 100 lap race, but it was shortened to 99 this season to honor the former owner of 34, ole # 99, Johnny Johnson. Up and coming Tyler Bruening, track regular Tom Goble, and the father and son team of Lonnie and Matt Bailey also grabbed heat wins. The 14 car Iron Man Feature for those with perfect attendance to this point in the Summer Series season ran as the finale of the night, with Oskaloosa driver TJ Criss taking the checkers in the 20 lap $750 to win race for the second consecutive year. Mike Garland nabbed second ahead of Jay Johnson, Matt Strassheim, and Terry Neal. We headed home knowing there was a chance of rain Saturday, but things looked good at the time, and still looked that way Saturday morning. Fred and Darryl were on their way to pick up Keagan and I when I got an ominous text picture showing an ugly grey cloud hovering over the track. Minutes later word came that the finals were postponed to Sunday night, in direct competition with Quincy Raceways. But first things first, I had three race fans in my living room expecting me to make a plan. Well a couple of internet clicks told us that I-55 raceway in Pevely,Mo. was still racing their UMP weekly show. With about 45 minutes to spare, we jumped in Freds van and headed south. A couple of showers as we neared St Louis caused us to call the track, but we were assured all was well. Arriving at the track, we found a solid field of 94 cars in four classes, including 22 UMP late models and 22 UMP modifieds. The street stocks had been added to the card for a special, but only three showed up, so they were given the option to run with the AARA sportsmen.
It just happened to be 1/2 price fan appreciation night, and the place was rocking! I-55 does a great job of running the premier classes first, a good thing for weary travelers like us. It also helps traffic control, as there it but one way in and out of the track co owned by Ken Schrader. The absolute only downer on the night was the 45 minute intermission to stage a nickel dash for the kids - where is Lynn Richard when you need him? When the cars got back on the track, the late models ran first, 25 laps of ground pounding action on the 1/3 mile banked track. " King Kong " Randy Korte started outside row two, followed Dave Jumper for one lap, then checked out on the field. Several cautions bunched things up, but each time the
# 00was equal to the task. Michael Kloos found his way around Jumper late in the race and tried to close the gap on Korte, but it was not to be. Korte sat out all of 2010 after back surgery, but looks to be as strong as ever. He also picked up the win Friday night at Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Il. Quincy driver Rickey Frankel came home fourth, followed by Mark Miner and late model rookie Bobby Bittle.
The UMP mods ran their 20 lapper next, and with Quincian Michael Long in the house, we had a rooting interest. Michael had also won the night previous at Tri City, and was working on an eight straight feature win streak, vaulting him to second in national points. Now however, it was Mark Miner, doing double duty, who took off from row one to lead the pack. " Big Block " Tim Hancock soon moved to the second spot, and Long flew to third in a couple of laps. Once again, a spate of cautions kept the front runners from getting their momentum going, but when it was clean and green, Hancock on top and Long on the bottom put on a shoe behind Miner. As the laps wound down, Miner faded a bit, and on the final set of turns Hancock made his move. Miner led for 19 and 7/8 laps, but it was Hancock when it counted. Long settled for third. With two features still to run, with headed for the parking lot at 10:30, with a 2 hour 45 minute drive home ahead of us.
During the intermission, Michael Long talked to Darryl and advised him that Quincy Raceways had moved their race to Monday night. Good news that I could go back to 34, bad news that I had non racing plans for Monday.
But first things first, and Sunday afternoon, we were back on the road for West Burlington, and Keagans first ever three race weekend. With the day off in between and Sunday night late model races in East Moline and Dubuque, only 18 of the 30 non qualified cars came back. Still we would have two B-mains taking the top three from each, and five provisionals, filling out the 26 car starting grid. B- main number one went to Jeff Guengerich over Nate Beuseling and Criss, with Darin Duffy suffering a heartbreaking engine failure three laps from a win. Duffy was pilorting Brian Harris # 21H, as Harris had wheeled the # 27H on Friday, then went modified racing on Sunday. The second 20 lapper saw a similar fate for Tom Bowling Jr., as he lost a transfer spot in the # 3D normally driven by Jason Cook. Terry Neal captured B-main two over Jay Chenoweth and Darrell Defrance. Boone McLaughlin came up short as he jumped the berm going for third. Three time race winner Mark Burgtorf had mechanical issues on Friday, finishing eighth in his heat. Mark finished fourth in the first consy, and that was good enough to give him the hard charger provisional.
Guss Jr. and Bruening took off from the front row of the 99 lapper, and Bruening set the pace for most of the first 22 laps. As the two frontrunners entered traffic, there was what appeared to be inadvertent contact that sent Bruening in to a spin. On the restart, Guss took off, and the race was his for 30 green flag laps. A handful of cautions bunched to field, but Guss was in charge. By lap 64, Burgtorf had moved for 23rd to seventh, but a broken body brace caused a tire to go down, and after one trip to the pits, he eventually went to the trailer. By lap 74, Andy Eckrich was making his move, and he and Guss raced side by side for a few laps. On lap 92, traffic again came into play, and this time it was Guss in the wrong place. The # 58 was forced to check up slightly, and that was all Eckrich needed to make the winning pass. Five laps later contact between third running 34 track champion Denny Woodworth and Quincy track champion fourth running Justin Reed sent Denny spinning, bringing out the final caution. Andy held on for the $10,000 win, with Guss settling for second. Reed finished third, with Johnson, Goble, and Colby Springsteen next in line. The final checkers waved before 10:00.
Thanks to Amy, Jeff and their crew for keeping this tradition going strong!
As I said, Monday was family time, but when we arrived back home at 5:00 with the sun shining, I could hear Quincy Raceways calling. Arriving later than usual, I caught up to speed quickly. A good field of 19 Sprint Invaders checked in, and the UMP mod count was a healthy 18. Unfortunately, the late model experiment of adding crate cars to the IMCA machines and allowing tire modifications seemed to backfire, with only seven total cars, and veteran Terry Gallaher having the only crate on hand.
Still, we witnessed three outstanding feature finishes. After Tanner Klingele grabbed his third feature win in the hobby stocks, the sprinters came to the track. Ryan Jamison jumped to the lead before breaking a gear on a lap two restart. Jimmy Davies then took over, with Joey Moughan moving to the top spot about mid way through the 25 lapper. Joey looked to be in control before Ben Waggoner made an unbelievable last lap charge, closing a nearly one second gap to take the win over Moughan. Korey Weyant, Jim Moughan, and Bobby Mincer completed the first five.
The late models ran next, and us " old timers " enjoyed a special treat, as Terry Schlipman dug out his fire suit and wheeled Keith Pratts # 33 for the night While Schlip ran a strong third, the race was ahead of him, as Denny Woodworth charged past Jason Perry on a lap two restart. The two ran side by side nearly the entire 24 remaining laps. with DW high and Perry low. Jason had the spot at the white flag, but Denny powered back, and crossed the line less than a quarter second ahead of Jason. Jake Griffin ran fourth, with Sam Halstead, Lonnie Bailey, and Gallaher rounding things out.
Kimberly Abbott used a late race pass to nab her second Wild Thing feature in the 12 lap finale.
Last on the card came the UMP modifieds. Michael Long was looking to make it five in a row at QR, but he suffered a set back in his heat race. After leading six laps, He gave up the lead to Mark Burgtorf, the also lost second to Steven Delonjay, knocking him out of the top six redraw. When Burgtorfs car owner drew a two, we knew we would have race. Mark checked out on the field before Michael could get through traffic. One thing about mods, especially at QR, patience is a virtue, because there are usually enough cautions to allow you to advance through the pack, and the side by side restarts helps even more. As the race wore on, both point leader Delonjay and runner up Jared Schlipman retired to the trailer with damage, and it quickly became a two car race. Burgtorf ran the low side, Long the top. Michael had the advantage out of turn two, Mark down the front stretch. A couple of late cations seemed to break Burgtorfs momentum just a bit, and Long grabbed his first lead at the end of lap 23. Burgtorf took the white flag first, but Longs final lap charge gave him win number five in a row by .026 seconds - thank goodness for transponders! Shawn Deering eased past Donavon Lodge late for third, with Jim Roach and Dave Weitholder completing the top six.
I don't know when I last did four nights of racing in a row, and I'm feeling it now, but what an awesome racing weekend. This weekend looks like a double, weather permitting, with my first trip of 2011 to Davenport Speedway for the Summer Series race on the big half mile as the opening act. If you see me there, stop by and visit!

A New Track and A New Champion

Well after considerable time covering this past weekends races, I have discovered that my blog is lost in cyber space. as there is not time tonight to attempt to recreate, I will just recap quickly. Darryl, Fred and I made our first ever visit on Friday to Callaway Raceway in Fulton,Mo. for the ULMA late model, and Don Trammell Pro Mod Memorial races. Visiting racer Jason Bodenhammer rolled in with his # 88 late model to try and take a win away from track and ULMA association points leader Jake Griffin, the 12 year old from Quincy,Il. Griffin managed a second place finish ahead of Terry Gallaher, Alan Westling and Travis Coffman. The Pro Mod 30 lapper was a runaway for Jason Russell, with Danny Crane and Richard Foster staging an epic battle for the runner up spot, finishing in that order ahead of Gary Blackburn Jr and Robbie Reed.
On Sunday, Quincy Raceways crowned an IMCA late model champion, and Justin Reed led all 30 laps to capture the feature race. He had come into the night tied for the top spot with Lonnie Bailey. Bailey entered the feature with a two point lead after a second place heat race run. A runner up spot in the main event would have given Lonnie the crown, but a lap 20 pass by 34 Raceway points champion Denny Woodworth sealed the deal for Reed, who held the feature wins tie breaker over the veteran Bailey.
The 360 CI Sprint Invaders will be on the card this Sunday at QR along with the five regular classes, while 34 Raceway hosts the annual Pepsi USA late model Nationals. See you at both these big events!

A Road Trip, and then Back Home

As the 2011 race season quickly winds down, it has become all too apparent that even though we thought 2010 was a " down " year in terms of number of race nights, this season is shaping up to be even worse. While we could really use some rain around these parts, the timing of the few showers we get has really interfered with the race season. Between bad forecasts, gas prices, and outside commitments, the total number of tracks visited looks a bit week this season as well. One night in particular really stuck in my craw, that being the rained out World of Outlaw show at the Independence, Iowa Speedway in early July. Grandson Keagan and buddy Fred joined me on the three hour trip north, but the closer we got, the rainier it became, and as we waited on pit road, the plug was pulled. In addition, it was Freds first visit to the track, and I was anxious for him to see racing there. So after checking out fellow Positively Racing blogger Ryan Clarks' summary of the August 14 show, featuring 23 late models for a weekly show, I decided one more trip to the 3/8 mile oval sounded like a good idea for this past Saturday night. Once again, Keagan was on board, and buddy Darryl was able to make the weekend trip. Unfortunately, Fred had to miss this adventure. After several back and forth e- mails with Ryan, we set out from a rainy looking LaGrange, and drove into sunny Iowa skies. The closer we got to Indy, the more the clouds built up, and the first sprinkles hit just after we pulled into the fairgrounds. As Yogi said, it seemed like deja vu all over again! But after the lady at the front gate said the radar looked pretty good, we bought our tickets and staked out our seats, well ahead of the late arriving crowd. Sure enough, here came the persistent sprinkles that would cause a 37 minute delay before the program could get started. When they subsided, the track was rolled in, and hot laps began. As the late models came to the track, the showers came back, and another 26 minutes of down time resulted. When Darryl recalled a similar night in Jacksonville,Il. where we endured three such circumstances before the skies really opened up, I was not feeling any love. Still, Ryan kept assuring us on the mic that it would soon clear up, and the rare double rainbow lifted our spirits. It was 6:52 when the first heat came to the track, and what followed was nothing but racing as it should be! 13 heat races featuring 101 and race cars, run off in one hour and 11 minutes! No extra parade laps for the flagman to show drivers the furled green flag! Roll 'em out and turn 'em loose! When a disabled car dropped off the speedway in turn one, but kept rolling towards the pit entrance, the green stayed out. I may have a new favorite flagman, sorry I didn't catch his name! At 8:03, with no intermission, the first feature hit the track. Ryan has a detailed rundown of the action and results in his blog, so I will just offer up congratulations to the winners - young Tyler Droste in the sport mods, Sean Johnson in stocks, Troy Cordes in mods - after Todd Conrad spun while leading - and Quinton Miller in the time shortened hobby stocks. More kudos to the way this time limit race was handled. First of all, a 15 minute time limit really meant 15 minutes. It was then announced that the first stoppage after half way - 8 laps - would be the end of the race, no green, white, checkers. and that is exactly how it went. Anyone who spends much time around me at the race track knows that the late models are my first love, and I must say we were all excited that the field was once again 23 strong. And being a ' veteran " fan, having the likes of Curt Martin, Greg Kastli, Rick Wendling, Jeff Aikey, and Dean Wagner alltogether in a weekly show was something of a thrill. While we attempted to relate some of these legendary drivers exploits to Keagan, he had his eye on one of the up and coming stars of late model racing, Tyler Bruening. In the end, i guess we all had something to cheer, as the veteran Wagner grabbed the lead on lap one from his row two perch and held on for all 25 laps, surviving the only two caution periods on lap 13 for his first Indy win in over seven years. On the second of those restarts, 11th starting Bruening charged into the runner up spot, and shadowed Wagner to the checkers.
Ryan had told me in an e-mail that the races were usually over by 9:30, and I even with the rain, he was proven right, as my watch read 9:32 as we headed to the car for a three hour and five minute drive back to LaGrange. It would be an understatement to say a good time was had by all, with Darryl saying we should go back this week. Unfortunately, we will have to wait until 2012 for a return visit. Special thanks to Ryan Clark for all his help, and for not one, but two plugs for my attempts to entertain here at Positively Racing.
After early church and a much needed nap, it was off to Quincy Raceways for Fan Appreciation night on Sunday. A crowd reportedly numbering around 3000 turned out for the nights races, with IMCA Northern Sport Mods added to the card for the second time this season. The open wheel class will be featured two more times, with a track an Illinois state champion determined in mid September. The total car count was down a bit, but the racing was hotly contested. Abe Huls rolled through the pit gate as the heat races were winding down, started last in the IMCA stock car feature, and clawed his way to the front and the win in the caution free 15 lapper. Only eight sprt mods towed in for the $500.00 top prize, but again the action was intense. Jim Gillenwater grabbed the early lead and was cruising until a lap ten caution brought him back to the pack. On the restart, QR veteran mod driver Tony Dunker slipped past for the lead. three laps later, Gillenwater retook the point,leading the final two circuits for the win. Gillenwater is himself no stranger to QR, having won championships in the old bomber class as well as competing in A-mods, and late models.
Bobby Anders led 15 laps of the hobby stock feature before suddenly heading for the trailer. From there it was a battle to the checkers, with Brandon Symmonds holding off Jake Powers for his second win of the year.
After heat winner Mike Hornung Jr., making his first visit of the year, was sent to the tail of the Wild Thing feature for getting on the gas before the starting line Craig Bangert grabbed the lead and picked up his second win in two weeks. A special shout out to the 17 car UMP modifield field, as they completed 25 laps of caution free action. Michael Long ran away from the field, picking up his third feature win of the weekend, following victories at Pontoon Beach,Il and Memphis, Mo. Points leader Steven Delonjay ran second, while Mark Burgtorf, back in a modified after several seasons, ran third. Mark spent several campaigns racing the " Goob " Gordy # 69, and just recently agreed to pilot the # 7B of Craig Brooks, from Thompson - think Mexico - ,Missouri. Mark picked up the modified win Friday in Fulton, Mo.
The IMCA late models are having their tightest points battle in track history. Five drivers entered the next to last night of the late model points season with a shot at the title. Justin Reed came in with a one point lead over Keith Pratt, two over Lonnie Bailey, four ahead of Joey Gower, and nine up on Denny Woodworth. Only Bailey and Woodworth have late model championships on their resume. Bailey took over the lead with a heat race win, while Reed and Pratt were shut out. Come feature time, Matt Bailey jumped to the point, building a sizable advantage. Jason Perry soon broke loose from the pack and began to close the gap. Perry grabbed the lead on lap 12 , as Woodworth moved to third and tenth starting Burgtorf rocketed to fourth. After languishing mid pack, Reed began to move, and came to fifth, as M Bailey, Woodworth, and Burgtorf duked it out for second. With no cautions to bring the field to Perry, he picked up his second win in a row, ahead of M Bailey, Woodworth, Burgtorf, Reed, and Lonnie Bailey. So entering the final points night, Reed and L Bailey are tied, with Reed holding the feature wins tie breaker.
Before I sign off, I'm sure you have read the news that 14 year Lee County Speedway promoters Terry and Jenni Hoenig are backing away from promoting as Terry will apparently join the rest of us " regular " working smucks. All I can say, is good for them if this be the best for their family, and bad for the rest of us. There is no doubt that they experienced some growing pains in the early years at LCS, but to this day, they have one of the best run, and most entertaining dirt track shows in the midwest. Should Terry ever want to return to promoting, he should have no trouble finding a gig. I only hope that the Lee County fairboard can find someone with that sort of a knack for dirt track racing to take over the reins. Donnellson is a top notch facility with genuine race fans, so lets hope things work out for everyone involved.
Not sure where this weekend will take us, but hopefully there will be good racin' when we get there!

Pratt Back, Perry Back on Top

After devoting the first part of the weekend to family activities, Sunday was the day to saddle back up and head for the race track. It was regular racing at Quincy Raceways, with 64 cars checking in to compete in the five featured classes. We had a couple of visitors in the IMCA stock car class, including Joe Gerdes, who brought out his # 76 for the first time in 2011, and Ty Hill, who calls Dallas Center, Iowa home. Ty has visited the speedway on occasion in the past. Although Hill posted a top five run, neither the out of towners nor the locals had anything for points leader Aaron Brocksieck. Aaron blasted to the lead on lap six, survived a couple of yellows, then stretched out to a big lead, picking up his fourth points feature win of the season. Abe Huls muscled his way to a runner up finish ahead of Terry Houston, Jerry Jansen, and Hill.
The 13 car IMCA late model field rolled out second for their 30 lap finale.
Many eyes were on Keith Pratt, who ended last weeks feature upside down with a fourth place finish and a destroyed race car. Last Sunday night, things looked bleak for the # 33 team, with their shot at a points championship at both QR and 34 Raceway headed down the tubes. With a huge hand from family and friends, however, Pratt had a deal worked out with Joe Garrison of GRT for an almost new race car. While Keiths father and a buddy headed to Arkansas to pick up the car, Garrison bolted on a body, as the 33 team looked to save every step possible. With help from the Woodworth and Schlipman race teams, as well as many others, the " Kool Kat " was back on the track Saturday at 34, and QR on Sunday. Come feature time, however, It was Jason Perry grabbing the lead from Clint Kirkham on lap one, and shooting out to a big advantage. As the leader moved through traffic and the laps clicked off, eighth starting Lonnie Bailey began to close the gap on Perry. Jason was glued to the bottom of the track, while Lonnie was bumping the cushion at both ends of the .29 mile oval. The first caution flag waved on lap 25, and even though the NASCAR style restart put Bailey alongside Perry, the slow down seemed to hurt, perhaps due to Baileys tires cooling . A couple laps later, Bailey was on the move again, but again the yellow waved for a spinning Justin Reed. On the final restart, Perry got a good jump, and Bailey found himself challenged by Joey Gower. For Perry, it was his first points feature win of the year, although he picked up the opening night victory on April 3. Bailey held off Gower for second, Pratt scooted home fourth, and Matt Bailey completed the first five. The late model points race is the closest in the history of QR, with Justin Reed holding the top spot, with Bailey, Gower, Pratt, and Woodworth all within nine points of the top, with two points nights remaining.
After a four week suspension from the track during which time he sold his car, Bobby Anders has picked up right where he left off. Now behind the wheel of Wes Mayfields #21, Bobby powered his way to a flag to flag win in the 20 lap feature. Second generation pilot Tanner Klingele challenged Anders, but could not get by.
The 4 cylinder Wild Things saw nine of the ten entrants start the main event, after Kevin Baze rolled his # 7 in his heat race. Craig Bangert picked up the win over points leader Seth Woodruff.
The 20 car strong UMP modifieds were last on the card, with all but Chris Spalding making the call. As often happens, the open wheelers were plagued by caution flags early on until the field is pared down a bit, then things seem to heat up. Shawn Deering took the early lead, with Jared Schlipman taking over on lap four. Following another restart, Michael Long moved to the front, and held off all challengers to collect his second consecutive main event win. Point leader Steven Delonjay wrestled second away from Schlipman, with Deering sticking around in fourth. Dave Weitholder broke something in the front end of his #05 on about lap six, but managed to keep the car under him to finish fifth.
If you have never been to QR, this coming Sunday night would be a good opportunity to do so. It is fan appreciation night, with $5.00 adult admission, and the IMCA sport mods added to the regular five class card.
As for me, plans for this weekend are up in the air for Saturday, then back to QR on Sunday. See you at the races!

Beck &Burgtorf Bring Home the Bacon

After Friday nights unexpected rain out, we were not in the mood for more disappointment. So when Keagan and I rolled in to Freds' house in Quincy, I told him the radar did not look too good to the east. But we had made our plans, and with Fred behind the wheel, we picked up Darryl and headed out to make our first visit if 2011 - and Freds first ever - to Shepps Speedway, just outside Alexander,Il. Alexander is a small town just off I-72 about 90 miles from Quincy. Unfortunately, there regular race night is Sunday, in direct conflict with Quincy Raceways. This week, however, with I-55 Raceway in Pevely,Mo. running World of Outlaw sprint cars, the Sheppard family scheduled a special Saturday night show featuring UMP late models. Although the late models are no longer featured weekly at the track, 17 cars showed up for a shot at the $1,000 top prize. In addition, UMP modifieds, street stocks, Hornets, mini sprints and Kidz Modz were a part of the 76 car field on the tight 1/4 mile speedway. The UMP mods and UMP late models were last in the running order, and both had some problems with the caution flag come feature time. Former late model driver Guy Taylor led the first lap of the mod main before breaking the front end of his #77. From there, Curt Rhodes took over the top spot in his #10. A total of six cautions slowed the action, with most coming early in the race. Meanwhile, Ryan Blakeman, fresh off a Friday night win in just down the road in Jacksonville,Il. had encountered problems in his heat race, and started last in the 17 car field. By lap seven, he was up to fourth, and coming fast. Surprisingly, that was as far as he could advance, and he settled in there, as the battle raged up front. Brian Dively, doing double duty in the mods and late models, worked all three lanes of the track to try and overtake Rhodes, but came up short, settling for runner up honors, Another double duty pilot, Ethan Schnapp, finished third, with Blakeman fourth.
All 17 late models took the green for the finale of the evening. John Beck took off from the pole to lead lap one, but Farmer City Raceway co promoter Kyle Logue took over on lap two. At the same time, Ryan Little eased his # 38L into second, but smoke began to pour out of the back of Littles ride during a lap eight caution, ending his good run. Four laps later, Jake Little in the 38J - not sure what the family connection is - brought out another yellow. On the restart, Logue smacked the turn two wall, lost a wheel, and was done for the night. This turned the lead back over to Beck, with Roger Brickler in second. At this time, Dively, who started fifth was setting in the sixth spot. When the green waved, he took to the top of the track, and four laps later he was third and closing fast. On lap 17 the caution waved again, and on the restart, Dively jumped the turn three cushion, and climbed the concrete wall, ending the run of the night. One more yellow waved on lap 21, but Beck remained in control, picking up only his second ever super late model win. Veteran Rick Standridge ran second,, second generation racer Matt Taylor in one of father Dicks # 24 cars was third, Greg Kimmons took fourth, and Brickler faded to fifth. 14th starting Mike Hammerle rolled home sixth, and Adam Mefford in the Sheppard family owned # 5s advanced five spots to seventh. Although there was some delay between checkered flags and the next racing pulling on the track, the curtain came down about 10:20 after a 17 race program. The racing was very close throuout the night, including possibly the best 4 cylinder battle I have ever witnessed. Part time Quincy competitor Todd Nelson finished second, but unfortunately, I was not able to get the winners name! If you get a chance, I can recommend a visit to this unique facility.
Night number 30 of the 2011 season found me back at the familiar ground of Quincy Raceways. With the weather somewhat cooler although accompanied by a threat of rain, the car count was up a bit with 67 race teams in the five classes, led by 22 UMP modifieds.
The IMCA stock cars ran feature number one, and the story remained the same - short on cars, long on action! Three different drivers spent time in the top spot, with the team cars of Kevin Tomlinson and Kelly Bartz knocking at the doors, of first Andrew Griffin, then Terry Houston, and finally Aaron Brocksieck. In the end, Brocksieck cruised to the " W " ahead of Tomlinson.
The 14 car IMCA late model feature rolled out next, for their 30 laps of action. Amazingly, the race went green to checkers with no stoppages - sort of. Lonnie Bailey held the lead for a dozen laps before Joey Gower took the spot away.On lap 19, Keith Pratt took over the second spot, while seventh starting Mark Burgtorf - the late models ran a draw, redraw show - began to move on the top side of the oval. In lapped traffic on lap 24, Pratt moved alonside Gower, and two laps later took over the lead. It was then we noticed that Pratt had broken something in the left front of his # 33. We later learned he also lost his brakes. One lap later, Burgtorf took third, and as the white flag flew, Mark moved to second. Coming out of turn four to the checkers, I will not speculate on exactly what happened at the far end of the track, but there was some contact between Mark and Keith, and Pratt got airborne, flipping his mount across the finish line, landing upside down under the flag stand. Burgtorf scooted by for his first win of the season, Gower grabbed second, Bailey third, and Pratts wild finish was good for fourth and a bent up race car. Justin reed held on to the point lead by coming home fifth. As for Pratt, he is sore, but otherwise uninjured despite the wild ride.
Tanner Klingele topped a twelve car hobby stock field, while Nelson picked up a win to go with Saturday nights runner up finish in the 4 cylinder class. Obviously a true racer, Nelson loaded up Friday in Donnellson after the cancellation and headed for Jacksonville,Il Raceway hoping to tag the back of the Hornet feature. He came up just short, as the feature was rolling to the track as he came to the gate. As he calls Springfield,Il home, at least it was on the way!
The UMP mod feature ran last on the card, but there was plenty of drama attached. Steven Delonjay was looking to set a track record, as he was going for his seventh straight feature win. Besides the locals trying to prevent that, UMP national point runner up Ray Bollinger from Kewanee, Il made the trip south in search of UMP points. Bollinger has been a dominant car at Peoria,Il in 2011 , but had not yet been to Quincy. 20 of the 22 entrants took the green to start the 25 lap finale, and once again, the caution periods slowed the pace, especially early on until the field was pared down a bit. Defending track champion Jared Schlipman took the initial lead, before Michael Long took advantage of a restart to claim the top spot. Schlipman stayed close until a lapped car opened the door for Delonjay to take second on lap 13. A final caution flew on lap 20 as Jim Roach lost a rearend while running fourth, and as everyone settled in for the final shootout, Chris Spalding suddenly found something on the top of the track, and moved up to grab third and challenge for second. At the flag, it was Long breaking the streak, Delonjay second, Spalding third, followed by Schlipman and Bollinger.
I would have to say that the two nights combined provided some of the most exciting racing I have seen in 2011.
This weekend, plans are wide open, other than Quincy on Sunday. Maybe I will see you at the races!

A Quick and Disappointing Friday

After keeping one eye on the sky all day at work, I hopped in the car at 5:00 and made one more to call to Lee County Speedway to make sure the races were still on. Darryl and Fred picked up Keagan and I at my house and we headed north in anticipation of the IMCA late model special. Along the way we saw Tommy Elston heading to the track which only added to the mood. About 4 miles south of Donnellson, the pavement was damp, and soon a light shower began. Things still seemed okay until we approached the Donnellson exit, when we met modified driver Adam Birck headed south. Although we were pretty sure of the outcome, we drove the last couple of miles to the track, meeting more haulers along the way. As we drove to pit road, Mark Burgtorf was preparing to leave, and said it had just begun to rain minutes earlier. Just another reason to chalk up 2011 as something of a lost season. Still, racers and race fans are incurable optimists, and tomorrow we will try it again with an eye on the sky. Wish us luck!

High Temps and Hot Cars

It did not look like a good racing weekend when I rolled out of bed Saturday morning, as the rain was coming down pretty good here in northeast Missouri. A quick look at the maps on line offered some hope, so I made a call to Bob Litton in Iowa City, who told me it was sunny and hot there. As the missus and I headed out to snag some groceries, I phoned Fred and Darryl to assure them that our planned trip to West Liberty Raceway was still a go. As Keagan had other things going on, I also phoned old friend Gary Lupardus, and he filled the open spot in the Sonata as we headed north. With 34 Raceway and Jackson County Speedway not running late models, we were hoping a few extra might wander in to " Lib." Still we were surprised to see Mendon, Il hotshoe Keith Pratt roll through the gate. Keith is a regular at 34 as well as Quincy Raceways, and had never even been to the big fairgrounds half mile. He was sitting home Saturday with an urge to race, and so he did! He struggled a bit in his heat race, started 16th in the main event, but moved up to a respectable eighth place finish. He told me later he loved the track, but wished he had put on new tires for the feature. He said he stayed with old ones because of his starting spot, not expecting to advance through the tough field. We had plenty of time to watch Keith, because all the racing was in the middle of the pack. That's because former Liberty standout Ray Guss Jr. qualified for the pole position in the 25 lapper, and turned the race for first into a rout. Outside pole sitter Jeff Guengerich stayed close until a lap eleven caution for Sam Halstead who stopped in turn four. On the restart, ninth starting Kevin Kile bolted from fifth to the runner up slot. One lap later, Fred Remley spun in turn two, bringing out the only other caution of the race. From that point, Guss took off, cruising to the win. The younger Kile held off twelfth starting Andy Eckrich for second, with Mike Klinkhammer and Guengerich completing the top five. Sixteen cars took the green flag, with Jay Chenoweth and visiting Dave Schitker unable to make the call. Both drivers saw there mounts go up in smoke in heat race action.
The IMCA modifieds had started off the feature action, with 13 cars taking the green. Bub Irwin led lap one before Larry Herring charged to the front. Herring paced the field until Todd Hansen made a last lap pass for the win. Visiting Bob Dominacki took third. Hansen had been racing a late model throughout the week for the Kile Motorsports team in the Corn Belt Clash series.
Tyler Whalen, Mike Morrow and Nate Chandler staged an entertaining battle in the Sport Compact feature, with Chandler getting the win Whalen second, and Morrow third.
Although short on cars, the stock car feature was a real shootout. Cody Harris was the early leader, but by lap six, Harris, David Brandies, and visiting Andrew Burk were running three wide. Coming to the white flag, Burk looped his # 20B, bringing out the yellow. On the restart, as the field again took the white, Burk made contact with Marcus Ostofi, sending the # 17m into the inside wall. the race was called complete, with Brandies getting the win over Rod Statts and Harris.
The open modified feature may have been the pick race of the night, with 14 of the 16 cars taking the green. Larry Herring, one of several double duty mod racers, blew his engine in his heat, and Nick Hixson was loaded and gone by feature time. Scott dickey jumped to the early lead before a lap three yellow. Double duty Hansen retired then with lost oil pressure. By lap nine, Noah Coppes was challenging for the lead, but one lap later, tenth starting Ryan Dolan moved to second. The next ten laps were edge of your seat ones, as Dickey ran the middle groove, and Dolan tried both the top and bottom lines. Dolan finally found the high side in one and two and the low line in three and four to his liking, and the two second generation racers came to the white flag side by side. Ryan led his only lap at the end, Mike Schulte trailed Dickey in third, with Coppes fourth.
Although the heat races were slowed by several cautions, the show ended before 10:00, a real bonus for us weary travelers.
Sunday night found us back at Quincy Raceways for weekly racing, with Jeff Broeg joining us in the grandstands.
The PCRA crate late models were added to the Sunday card, racing for $1,000 to win, as they wrapped up a four night mini tour. Though short on cars, the crates were plenty long on talent. Bobby Dauderman led throughout, but not without a stiff challenge from Nick Lyons in the black # 8 ball sometimes driven by Scott Weber. The top two were chased across the line by Mark Oller, Tim Rataczyk, and Dustin Griffin. The crate lates have another date in Quincy in September.
The 16 car UMP modified field started the features off, but once again the yellow flag was the featured attraction. Nine times, the caution flew, eliminating half the field, including defending track champion Jared Schlipman and top contenders Dave Weitholder and Shawn Deering. Shawn was wheeling the # 00 of Ben Huff, as his # 16 is in the repair shop, but he could not take advantage of a front row start. Meanwhile, IMCA driver Brandon Savage continued to set the opace early, until losing a wheel on one of several lap eight restarts. At the same time, Steven Delonjay ducked to the hot pit area to change a flat tire, rejoining the tail of the field after challenging Savage. This turned the lead over to newlywed Vance Wilson. Wilsons ride was beat and battered, and he soon gave up the top spot to Robbie Reed. Meanwhile, Delonjay worked his way back to the front, taking over the lead on lap 18, and going on to his sixth straight win, tying Michael Longs track record in the mods. Reed took second, with Jake Griffin, Wilson, Ryan Meyer in tow.
Nine IMCA stock cars took the green flag, with Andrew Griffin and Abe Huls dueling for the lead. Abe picked up the win, with Terry Houston getting around Griffin for second. Beau Taylor and Jerry Jansen also had top five runs.
Thirteen IMCA late models checked in, although Justin Jennings lost his drive shaft in his heat race, ending his night. Darin Weisinger took off from the pole in search of his first win as the field jockeyed behind him. Denny Woodworth worked both the top and bottom grooves to move to the front, but Justin Reed got his # 1st hooked up on the high side, grabbing the lead and the win after a lap 21 caution. Woodworth took second ahead of Matt Bailey, Joey Gower, and Weisinger.
The hobby stock saw the return of early season sensation Bobby Anders, now wheeling Wes Mayfields # 21. Bobby was back in his familiar top spot, when he went pitside on lap eight, turning the lead over to steady Brandon Symmonds. The Keokuk, Iowa driver held off allcomers, collecting his first win over Tanner Klingele, point leader Steve Carlin, and Nathan Anders.
The 4 cylinder Wild Things brought the curtain down with a 12 lap finale. Seth Woodruff overtook point leader Casey Kendrick on lap nine for his first feature win. Craig Bangert, Kimberly Abbott and Robert Thompson rounded out the first five.
A couple of weeks back, I congratulated Kimberly Abbott on being the first lady racer to pick up a QR win since 1993. Inexplicably, I overlooked the colorful career of high schooler Sarah Woodhurst, who was a standout racer during the 4 cylinder Hornet days at QR. Not only did Sarah pick up five feature wins in that class, she also picked up a hobby stock checkers before ' retiring " to attend college at Mizzou. My apologies to a talented and young lady!
It is already August - the season is slippim=ng away, so get out to the races this weekend. See you there!

The " Real Deal " Hits the Jackpot

Every now and then, you just feel like taking a chance, and Saturday was one of those days. The weather has stood in the way of a fair portion of the 2011 racing season, but the nearly 400 mile rainout 11 days earlier was not going to influence our next road trip. So Keagan, Darryl, Fred and I loaded up early Saturday morning and headed to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, where we met up with Bill Brown and headed off on yet another adventure. If the rain stayed away, it would be the first visit for all but Bill to the I-80 Speedway near Greenwood - think Omaha - Nebraska for the final night of the inaugural Silver Dollar Nationals. The Saturday lineup included a complete USMTS modified show for the second consecutive night, plus last chance races and the 80 lap feature for the MLRA late models. As none of us has the weather app on our cell phones, we made several calls along our journey across Iowa, as the rain began north of Oskaloosa and stayed with us off and on all the way to our destination. Thinking positively, we stopped in Omaha to get motel rooms, then headed to the speedway. Even with the clouds hanging over us, we bought tickets so that we could go to the pits before the 3:00 PM cut off. The late model count of 51 was a bit less than might have been expected, but that has been a recurring theme this season, but we knew what we had going in, and there were more than enough quality cars and stars to fill the 34 car starting field. Our first look at the Kosiski family owned 4/10 mile high banked facility confirmed what we had heard - that this was a top notch speed plant, wide and smooth with plenty of good seating, complete with backs for added comfort.
20 cars were already prequalified for the $25,000 to win finale, seven drivers would earn provisionals from various methods, the 34 th spot would be auctioned off, leaving slots 21 thru 26 to come from the two last chance events. Although we were not on hand on Friday, everyone we talked to - fan wise - thought the qualifying format of each car running two heat races, with the second heat lineups inverted against different cars and passing point totals used to line up the top 20 was a success. Apparently some of the drivers who had pre entered but did not show did so because of the format., preferring the time honored two lap time trials instead even thought he ten heat races each had a total purse of $500 split among the top three finishers. Another unique idea was to have the heats and last chance races total two more laps than the number of cars in the field, making the last chance races 17 laps each. The combination of six open spots, the provisionals from the MLRA, SLMR, and three previous I-80 late model specials, plus the auction spot kept 48 of the 51 cars on hand. In addition, Dave Conkright rolled in for night two only to try and make the field.
The first last chance event saw Kelly Boen, driving # 33x advance from a row three slot to lead pole sitter Al Humphrey and RC Whitwell for starting spots. The second 17 lapper rolled to the track with pole sitter Mike Collins missing. This moved UMP regular Jason McBride to the outside front row. Collins rolled out at the back of the field, starting in the 14th position. As McBride pulled out to a big lead, Dan Schleiper moved for row four to the runner up spot. Meanwhile, Collins worked his way all the way to third, only to lose the transfer spot to Denny Eckrich after a late caution.
With the modified field pared down to 24 from the 34 cars that signed in and the late model grid set except for one spot, intermission time came. In another unique move, the qualified drivers from both classes came to the grandstand side and mingled with the fans as they were introduced. It was at this time that the announcers called for any late model drivers that wanted to bid on the final late model starting spot to come to the flag stand. Three drivers made the call, including Collins, Mike Wallace, and Bill Koons. The auction rules, were as follows - it would take a minimum bid of $1,500 to buy in to the $1,000 to start race. All money bid over the $1,000 start money would be split amongst to last twenty finishing spots. The bidding started slowly until the announcer auctioneer invited the large crowd to offer up extra cash for the driver of their preference. The bidding came down to Collins and Koons, before Koons, the restauranteur sealed the deal with a bid of $2,700. When asked what had just happened, he replied, " I just did something really stupid! "
With all the hoopla dying down, the USMTS cars rolled out for 35 laps of action. Springfield, Missouri pilot Jeremy Payne left his late model at home and concentrated on his # 74 modified, earning an outside row one starting spot. Payne paced the field for thirty non stop green flag laps before Friday nights winner, Kelly Shryock was able to close a straightaway lead and make the pass to the front. Less than two laps later, as the leaders negotiated lapped traffic, there was a three car tussle in turns three and four that collected Shryock, and left Payne with minor damage. Kelly went pitside and changed a tire, came back out, but retired to the trailer before the green waved again. Jeremy inherited the lead back, and held on the final four circuits, as his teammate and mentor Terry Phillips came home second. Iowa ace Ryan Gustin had blown an engine on Friday night, stuck in a new one, and finished a strong third. Jason Hughes needed a B- main win to make the show from row seven, and had advanced to fourth on the restart, but faded back in the pack in the closing laps.
Phillips, Kyle Berck, and Chris Speiker all did double duty for the weekend, with Phillips driving the # 80 late model of Scott Koskovich. Of the three, only Speiker did not qualify in the late model finale, so Berck and Phillips would be running more than 100 laps on a muggy night - did I mention that the clouds almost magically drifted away after 5:30, prompting a somewhat nervous Ed Kosiski to jump back in the water truck!?!
Iowa driver Chris Simpson and Indiana hot shoe Don Oneal in the Freeport, Il based Moring Motorsports # 1 made up the front row for the finale. Simpson took off like a shot, with the first caution on lap eleven. On the restart, third starting Austin Hubbard, the young driver from Delaware, moved around Oneal for second. after a lap 20 stoppage, Billy Moyer the elder, who had been locked in a three wide duel with Oneal and Mars, took the fourth spot, with Oneal in third and Mars fifth. Oneal then took second from Hubbard, and after a lap 33 restart, he put a major league slide job on Simpson in turn two, clearing him with no problem for his first lead of the night. About this time, 20th starting Brian Birkhofer began to move after spending the first 30 laps outside the top ten. Brian moved to eighth on a lap 40 restart. Another yellow three laps later saw Hubbard take second, and fifth starting Dale McDowell renentered the top group in fourth. Throught the race, Moyer had been working the high side, where the cushion was nearly to the wall, and the footing was tricky. On lap 56, Moyer slowed in turn two, dropping about three spots, and one lap later he retired to the pits with apparent rear end or transmission issues. Birkhofer used Moyers misfortune to move to sixth as the field retook the green and Oneal continued to lead by a wide margin. On this, the final stoppage, McDowell moved to third/ Three laps later,Birky took fourth from Mars, and on lap 67 McDowell grabbed second from Hubbard. Two laps later, Birkhofer made the pass for third, but from the The Muscatine ace and the Georgia hot shoe could only watch Oneal, the " Real Deal " cruise to the $25,000 big check waiting in victory lane. McDowell was smooth and steady, taking the $12,000 runner up check, and Birky took home $7,000 for third. The rest of the top ten included Hubbard, Mars, Chris Simpson, New York standout Tim McCreadie, 18th starting Chad Simpson, Jesse Stovall, and 21 st starting Boen in tenth.
Even with a bit of a late start due in part to track prep, and all the festivities, the final checkers waved about 11:30, and no one seemed to mind. I would have to say that my long overdue first trip to this impressive speedplant will not be my last, and a big thank you to Ed and the entire Kosiski family for a well run show and a perfectly prepared track despite the weather. The field of late model drivers on hand was a fascinating mix, of World of Outlaw, Lucas Oil, MLRA, Mars, UMP,SLMR,CBC and independent racers, including some I had not had the pleasure of seeing race in several seasons, and some I had only read about and never seen. In addition, I finally got to see in action a late model # 62, the only
" regular " number I had never seen on a late model. In fact, " Lightning "
Leon Zeitner had possibly the best looking car in the pit area.
Ed Kosiski stated after the checkers flew, that he would have an announcement this week concerning the possibility of the Silver Dollar Nationals returning in 2012. If they do, I would certainly recommend attending!
We were able to make it back home in plenty of time to switch cars and head to Quincy,Il Raceways for weekly Sunday night racing. Helping up along was a starting time pushed back one hour to beat the heat. Despite several calls to the track and assurances that racing would go on as planned, we arrived to find a pit road and area so muddy that none of the
big rigs were allowed in, instead being directed to the east parking area. Track personnel, with help from the drivers attempted to make the racing surface rolled in, but the decision finally was made about 8:00 that the top side would not come in, and it would be too dangerous and too hard on equipment to race on. With that, the stands along with the regular and makeshift pits emptied out. There will be no midweek make up, with action resuming next Sunday night.
Check your calenders, the last weekend in July is upon us, lets go racing!

The Heat Is On

As old as I am getting, you would think I would be used to contrary weather, but 2011 has been just flat irritating. One week ago tonight, Keagan, Fred and I decided to ignore the clouds and the so-so forecast and make the three hour drive to Independence, Iowa for the World Of Outlaw late model special. After all, Fred and I were burning vacation days, so nothing to do but go, right? the closer we got, the rainier it looked, and we arrived at the fairgrounds with intermittent showers falling. When the rain quit, we made our way to pit road to sneak a peek at who was already there and who was rolling in. As we stood under the big tree, the rain picked up, and as Chris Simpson rolled through the gate, a track official walked up to tell him that the race had been postponed to August 8. as much as i would like to support this big event, I will not be able to make it back, but best of luck to Cam Granger and Rick Hartzell in this ambitious venture.
Friday and Saturday nights were filled with family time, and Sunday, Keagan and I - with Keagan behind the wheel - headed for my weekly stop at Quincy Raceways. Once again, heat was the dominant word, and QR is obviously not alone in in seeing both fan and car count down a bit in the oppressive conditions. Still, the track was good, and so was the racing. The UMP modifieds were not on their best behavior, staging something of a marathon main event. When the checkers flew, second generation racer Steven Delonjay showed why he is a threat to assault some of his Dads impressive stats. Steven captured his fifth straight QR feature win, besting an 18 car field. Two more second generation drivers were in the top four. Jared Schlipman took second , and following Tony Dunker in third was the beat and battered # B1 of Vance Wilson in fourth. Before the races, Tonya Weitholder, wife of Dave told me not to get too close to their # 05 without a tetanus shot. She then said Dave told her the would hang a new body on the car after 50 races. When I asked how close they were, Dave said Sunday was night # 46, so it should happen in the next week. They are true racers, to say the least!
Abe Huls grabbed an entertaing IMCA stock car feature ahead of the pink # 40 of Aaron Brocksieck, while Jake Powers grabbed his first ever feature win in the hobby stocks in front of early leader Nathan Anders and point leader Steve Carlin.
Denny Woodworth assaulted the top side of the .29 mile oval to blast into the lead, looking like he would run away with the 30 lap IMCA late model finale. Soon, however, Justin Reed began closing the gap on the very bottom of the track as the cushion disappeared. Woodworth then moved down the track, but His # 45DW would not hold the bottom groove, and Reed slipped by for the lead. From there, Justin stretched it out over the late model lawyer, grabbing his second win of 2011 at QR. Joey Gower, Keith Pratt, son Matt and father Lonnie Bailey - all previous feature winners this season, completed the first six. The last car to check in for the late models was Justin Jennings, # 56J. Justin still had a big smile after a sucessful Saturday at Iowa Speedway. The 18 year old had put together a last minute deal to enter the ARCA 200 at Iowa Speedway, a natural progression of his budding asphalt ( as well as dirt ) career. Justin entered the race with two goals - finish the race, and do so in the top 20. Despite the intense heat, the diminutive teenager realized both goals when he took the checkered flag in 19th position. He hopes to perhaps make a couple more ARCA starts before he enrolls in NASCAR school this fall.
The final race of the night saw a bit of QR history. Like many tracks these days, QR has had a steady flow of " lady " racers. Unfortunately, none had seen victory lane before or since A modified driver Mary Kay Allen took a feature checkered flag at the age of 22 in 1993. Mary Kay finally gained some company on Sunday when " veteran " teenage racer Kimberly Abbott snagged a win in the 4 cylinder Wild Thing feature. Kimberly, who lives just a short distance from the speedway has been a regular for several seasons at Lee County Speedway, and started racing her # 71 at QR this season when the Wild Things were added to the card. A further bit of trivia, Mary Kay " retired " a couple seasons after her win to start a family, handing the driving chores to husband Ted. They now burn up the highways watching her " little " brother, Michael long, win races around the midwest.
As it stands now, this weekends plans are a Saturday visit to I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Nebraska, for the final night of the $ 25,000 to win late model Silver Dollar Nationals along with the USMTS modifieds. Then it will be back to QR on Sunday - if Mother Nature will cut us some slack! Wherever you are, Dog Days are here early, so take in a race while the heat is on!

Back in the Saddle

The good news is, the rains finally have eased up. The bad news is, between racing working, and other obligations, this blog has taken a bit of a back seat the last 10 days or so. since my last installment, I have been able to attend five races in a span of eight days. As some of those results are a bit old by now, i won't go into detail, but, but i will say i have seen some excellent racing. The run started with the second and final visit of the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series to Quincy Raceways on Sunday, July 3. A stout if somewhat short field of 27 cars signed in, and the 42 minute 40 lap main event was part marathon, and part odyssey. Several early cautions - six in the first six laps - scrambled the field, and saw 14 time track champion Mark Burgtorf suffer front end damage that rendered him a non factor, and sent defending series champ Ray Guss Jr. pitside for a tire change. Mike Murphy Jr. paced the field until he broke a ball joint on one of the restarts. Things finally settled down, with Terry Neal pacing the field. Denny Woodworth was flying to the front before making contact with a lapped car. As the laps clicked off, Guss made a charge through the field. While Neal ran multiple lanes around the two groove track, Guss worked the bottom to perfection. At the checkers, he was on the heels of the 28c, but it was Neal picking up second QR series win, with the first coming in 2005. Series points leader Andy Eckrich rolled home third.
The following night Darryl and I bit the bullet and headed for the UMP Summernationals show at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, full well knowing that the alarm would go off early on Tuesday morning. Thankfully, track owners Amy and Jeff Laue seemed to be aware of this very dilemma, and had the enthusiastic crowd on the road well before 10:00. Some folks seemed surprised at the car count for the $5,000 to win show, but history tells us that the Summernationals drivers seem to have an aversion to crossing the Mississippi river, with Pevely, Mo. the lone exception. Still the 26 car field was more than enough to fill a 23 car starting grid, and there were plenty of big names on hand. Much to the delight of the crowd, " homegrown " favorite Brian Birkhofer brought his " A " game, sweeping time trials - 15.502 - his heat race, and the 40 lap feature. Arkansas driver Jack Sullivan, in the GRT house car made a couple of runs at Brian, but could not nmake a serious challenge. Dennis Erb Jr. had been in a bit of a slump, but came home third ahead of Michigans Jeep Van Wormer, and the " Highside Hustler, " Jason Feger, who started 13th. Central Illnois hotshoe Ryan Unzicker was scheduled to start fifth, but could not get his 24 ready in time. after the green flag flew, Ryan rolled out of the pits in Sullivans back up car, made a couple of laps, and pulled back in, I assume to secure his points and start money. In contrast to the previous night, the finale went caution free, taking just over 13 minutes to complete!
By now the time had come to pay some bills, so it was back to work on Tuesday. I had already promised to take my wife, daughter and two oldest grandsons to the St Louis Zoo on Friday, and had scheduled a vacation day to do so. When Simmons Promotions and IMCA made the decision to move the Deery Brothers Summer Series race at West Liberty, Iowa to Thursday, away from The World of Outlaw date at Independence, Iowa, I was able to beg out of the office a couple hours early. I had been waiting 21 years for another Summer Series race at " Lib, " and was thrilled I did not have to choose which race to attend. Grandson Keagan had been planning to join me in west Liberty, but the Justin Moore country music concert at the Lee County Fair in Donnellson, Iowa was too much of a lure. So Grandma stepped up and went to the concert, and I headed north by myself for some 1/2 mile racin'. Before I had driven 10 miles from home, the rain was coming down in buckets, so i made a call to buddy Bob Litton in Iowa City who assured me things looked good up his way. Sure enough, the closer I got, the more the skies cleared, and while Mary and Keagan waited out intermittent showers in Donnellson, I was high and dry in West Liberty.
A solid field of 38 cars signed in, and after four heats and two B-mains, we waited as the top 12 drew for their starting spots on the front stretch. When series points leader Andy Eckrich drew the outside pole position everyone knew he would be difficult to beat on his home track. Still, long time Liberty hotshoe Ray Guss Jr. drew the number three, so... From the start, Andy looked unstoppable. Just as the leaders encountered lapped traffic, a caution flag gave Eckrich an open track. Meanwhile, Guss was dealing with a challenge from Brian Harris. Brian was racing for the first time in a ride from the Diercks Motorsports stable, a black machine with a # 27H on the side. Although Guss regained the second spot on a lap 24 caution, Harris soon took the spot, but still Eckrich was in charge. In the closing laps, Harris cut in to Andys lead, and on the final lap, made a low side move in turn two, easing ahead and breaking the momentum of the # 56 just a bit. Still Eckrich led entering the final turns, but he took the high groove. Brian took the low side, and with the crowd on their feet, he took the win by half a car length stunning those in attendance. Guss took third, with Tyler Bruening fourth. Kevin Kile entered his first series race, at least in the spec motor era, and came from 17th to fifth. Mike Klinkhammer recovered from a lap 24 spin while running sixth to finish tenth.
The 19 car modified win went to Gus Hughes, who had quite a night. Hughes showed up well after the draw, started tenth in the second heat, and came through the field in both his heat and the feature. The win was not an easy one, as he and Bruce Hanford had a great duel for the top spot.
Six hours sleep, and off to a day at the zoo, where a nice breeze made the 90 degree temps mostly bearable, although the bears sure looked hot!
Saturday started with a stop back at the Donnellson fair, then Keagan and I convinced Grandma to visit the race track for the first time in 2011, with the Jake McVey concert at 34 Raceway in west Burlington the attraction.
The car count was down in the late models, with only eleven on hand, and with only four classes in competition again the races ended well before 10:00. The sport mods were an addition to the card, and Keokuk, Iowa Jim Gillenwater demolished the 16 car field. Jim Mueller was again the class of the IMCA stock cars. the race of the night was in the IMCA modifields with Dusty Kraklio, slipping past Darin Thye on the final lap for the win. Darin had led 19 laps in the # m50 machine.
" Superman " Sam Halstead has been enduring a challenging season, but finally put it all together Saturday, leading all 25 laps for his first feature win of the season. Tom Goble threatened early, but settled for second, while Joey Gower, Matt Bailey, and Jeff Guenferich in the Lynn Richard
# 15 rounded out the first five.
Thanks to the Laues for coming up with something to entice my wife to the track!
Another short night, and the weekend wrapped up with a weekly show at Quincy, Il. Raceways. Oppressive heat was a challenge for drivers and spectators alike, and track officials waited as long as they could before starting hot laps, then rolling them off quickly, with heats beginning about 10 minutes after the advertised start time. With a $2,000 to win UMP modified special 80 miles away in Moberly, Mo., the car count was down a bit, but track officials did a splendid job of offering up a two groove track, and the racing was quite good come feature time. The UMP mod feature turned in to a three car scrum, with Steven Delonjay picking up his fifth win of the nine race season. It was especially rewarding for the second generation driver, as his # 35 sustained heavy damage the night before at Macomb, Il. Another second generation ace, Jared Schlipman took second, with Dave Weitholder third. The IMCA stock cars staged the best race of the night, another three car battle. Kevin Tomlinson, Terry Houston, and Andrew Griffin raced three wide before Griffin spun on the final lap. Tomlinson took the win over Houston and Aaron Brocksieck. The 11 car IMCA feature ran next, with Denny Woodworth overtaking early leader Dustin Neese on lap seven, becoming the first repeat winner in nine nights at QR in 2011. Joey Gower, Justin Reed, point leader Lonnie Bailey, and Keith Pratt trailed Denny to the flag. Another second generation racer, Tanner Klingele took the hobby stock win over Brandon Symmonds, and Todd Nelson made it two in a row in the 4 cylinder Wild Things.
Late model driver Justin Jennings has secured sponsorship and will enter the ARCA race at Iowa Speedway next Saturday. The 2011 high school graduate is in his second season of racing both a dirt and asphalt late model, and just last week picked up a second place finish on the dirt at Memphis, Mo. on Thursday, and a second to Tony Jackson, Jr. on the Lebanon, Mo asphalt on Saturday. He finished off the week with an eighth place run on the dirt at QR. He will be in the LG Seeds # 23 in the ARCA event.
As I finish these ramblings, I have one eye on the 10:00 weather, as tomorrow is another vacation day, and Keagan and buddy Fred are set to join me as we head to the World of Outlaw late model/IMCA modified extravaganza at Independence, Iowa Speedway. There has been a lot of chatter on the message boards about this race, especially about the $30 ticket price. I can't help but think about how many seasons I perused the racing papers looking at results for series like Hav-A-Tampa, and later WoO and Lucas Oil, wishing these series would come close enough to the area that I could take in a show and sleep in my own bed. Well, people like the Laues at 34 Raceway have taken the leap to bring us the Lucas series, and now Cam Granger and Rick Hartzell are taking the gamble to bring in the outlaws. Will I pay the $30? You bet, I will, happily so. Weekly racing is very important to our area, but when the big dogs come around, we need to show up then, as well. If you see me at Indy, say " Hi! " Lets go racin'.