Correction

One correction to the previous post, the Quincy Raceways Banquet will be held on Saturday, January 12, not January 8th! Hope to see many of you there!

A Look Back and a Peek Forward

As the days of another year winds down, it is time to take a look back at yet another racing season. Despite more than a fair amount of interference from Mother Nature in what eventually turned out to be a very dry year overall, and serious medical issues for one of my racing companions, 2012 ends with some pretty typical stats. When all was said and done, I attended 46 events at 15 different venues in five different states. As usual, Quincy Raceways led the way, as I was on hand there 21 times, missing only one show due to a family obligation. Next up was four shows at I-55 Raceway in Pevely,Mo., followed by three trips to West Liberty, Ia. Two nights each are in the books for Columbus Junction and
34 Raceway in West Burlington, in Iowa, Montgomery Motorsports Park in Montgomery Co., Missouri, Highland, and Peoria in Illinois, and Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. One visit each was made to Farley and Knoxville,Iowa, Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach,Il, Lakeside Speedway and Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, and a season ending visit Scotland Co. Speedway in Memphis,Missouri. Three new tracks dotted the schedule, as the year included first time visits to Peoria, and the two Kansas tracks. The weekend in Kansas was my first visit to a Nascar track since the mid 1980s and confirmed my belief that dirt tracks are where I belong. With that being said, I do have some grandsons that probably deserve to make that decision on their own, so maybe in 2013...
 There have been several blogs devoted to the writers top races of the season. Perhaps I just appreciate the racing more as I get older, but thinking back, I find it difficult to pick out five, or even ten top races in 2012. There were a couple of yawners here and there, but very few times did I leave the track unhappy with the racing. All but three of my events featured my first love, late models, with 384 different drivers in competition. I suspect part of the reason it was such an enjoyable season was the variety of drivers and sanctions I was able to watch. UMP,IMCA, MLRA,MARS, Lucas, plus several non sanctioned late model shows, as well as two MOWA sprint events, the Nascar race and the season ending special at Memphis made for a satisfying line up.
  While Dustin Griffin lead the way with five late model feature wins, one more than Mark Burgtorf, the most memorable winners circle ceremonies centered around Jake Griffin. The now 14 year old made amazing strides in his dirt racing program, picking up wins at Montgomery Co., then Quincy, and wowing the crowd at night two of the Liberty 100, with back to back strong showings in the open late model and open modified features.
  As we look ahead to 2013, many tracks and series have released schedules, and the early part of our season is starting to come together. Next up, however, is the Quincy Raceways banquet on Saturday, January 8, where trophies will be awarded from a very successful first season of UMP sanctioned late models. The QR season is set to begin on Sunday, April 14, by that time we hope to have a few races in the books, including  one of our " can't miss " events, the IMCA Derry Brothers Summer Series Slocum 50 at 34 Raceway on Saturday, April 6.  The fifth annual special will pay a whopping $5,000 to win and $500 to start. This will apparently be the only IMCA late model show at the 3/8 mile facility this season, as the ownership group headed by Amy and Jeff Laue is following Quincy Raceways by switching to UMP late models for the new season. They will open with a UMP/ MARS/ Cornbelt co sanctioned event on April 20, and follow up with another nine or so late models races throughout the summer, including a July 13 stop on the Summernationals tour.
 For their part, QR will host the Summernationals on Tuesday, July 2. Keep an eye on the calender here at Positively Racing.com for updates and any possible changes.
 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Racin' Down the Road!

Opening Night at Scotland County

Race number 46 of my 2012 season was race number one of the year at Scotland County Speedway in Memphis,Mo. The fall special at the 3/8 mile track has become something of a tradition, so even though the fairgrounds oval hosted no circle track action during the summer, the fairboard found a way to get October racing scheduled. Part time racer Mike Van Genderen was recruited to direct what became the third and final installment of what became known as the Fall Extravaganza. Van Genderen just completed his rookie season directing the action at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa, concluding the season there with the Fall Extravaganza. He was subsequently hired on as the new race director at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa, and last weekend hosted part two of the series. Originally scheduled as a two day show on Friday and Saturday with a Thursday practice day at Memphis, plans changed early last week due to the unfavorable forecast. Instead, Friday became the practice night, with Saturday and Sunday racing as two separate one day shows, with the purse broken down into two paydays, the Sunday portion paying more than Saturday. In addition, start times were moved up, with hot laps set for 2:30 and racing for 3:00. The changes proved to be the right move, as mid week rains would have wiped out any Thursday practice. And the forecast for cool temps was correct as well. As Fred and I rolled through Memphis about 2:20 on Saturday, the bank registered 42 degrees! 
 Six classes of cars were set to do battle, and hot laps clicked off on good time, wrapping up about 3:00, with a drivers meeting following before a somewhat sparse, but hearty crowd. By my count, 106 cars participated in the 14 heat races, led by 23 sport mods, 23 stock cars, and 22 modifieds, all using IMCA rules.
 Sportmod heat race number one saw Quincy Raceways regular Dave Weitholder, who was competing in two classes after converting one of his # 05 machines, start deep in the field and finish third while racing with a broken left front suspension.  In stock car heat two, Jason Cook came from eighth to pick up the win. The night ended quickly for Memphis native Eric Glass, who rolled his IMCA type hobby stock hard in turn four in the first heat for his class.
 During what became a lengthy intermission, the track crew worked to improve a hole in turn one. Indeed, the work continued throughout the features, and the condition of the turn did indeed get better. Ironically, the drivers had little trouble in that turn, with most of the problems elsewhere on the oval.
 The sport compact feature ran first, with Trent Orwig leading the first nine laps of the ten lap finale. On the final circuit, Keokuk, Iowa racer Mike Hornung Jr. charged past Orwig, taking his first feature win by inches.
  Next up came the outlaw hobby stocks, a weekly class in 2012 at Quincy and 34 Raceway in West Burlington. Within days of each other, both tracks announced they were dropping the class for 2012 due to low car counts. As if to drive the point home, only seven cars signed in to do battle, five from QR and two from 34. Based on the count, the feature was cut from twelve laps to ten, but that was still enough for Jake Wenig to overtake his father Dan to grab the win. Brandon Symmonds also eased by the senior Wenig late for second, with Brian Hoener recovering from a mid race flat to cross the line in fourth.
 The sport mods were up next for 18 laps. Curtis Vanderwal opened a big lead, but saw it disappear following an early caution, the only one of the race. On  the restart, Vanderwal again pulled away, catching slower traffic at the halfway point. But not even the lapped traffice could slow the # 1V, as he recorded the mose dominant win of the evening. Bill Gibson charged through to finish second, while Carter Vandenberg and Jim Gillenwater staged a great side by side duel for third, with Carter winning that battle. Derek St Clair came home fifth.
 The 20 lap stock car main event was up next. Jason Cook quickly moved to the top spot, before the red flag waved on lap nine. Howard Gordon Jr. made contact with the backstretch guard rail, rolling his # 409 machine. On the second attempt at a restart, second running Nathan Wood clipped the turn four tractor tire, sending him airborne. His # 52 snapped rolled about four times, somehow the field bearing down on him was able to avoid contact. Still the machine that announcer Tony Paris said had been purchased about four weeks ago received heavy damage. From that point the race stayed green, and Cook cruised to the win. Michael Jannett - hope I spelled that correctly! - ran second, while Jim Lynch came from deep in the field to nab third. Mike Harward and Todd Phillips also turned in top five runs.
 The IMCA type hobbys saw 15 of the 18 cars on hand take the green for twelve laps of action. Missouri hot shoe Tim Dawson drew the number five pill on the redraw, but numbers one and three both failed to make the call, giving Dawson the pole. As he held the lead, Dustin Griffiths powered his way to second, only to go pitside during a caution with a flat. With three laps to go, Mike Hughes put his badly beaten # 18 into the lead, and picked up the win. Dawson settled for second over AJ Johnson and Jason Gruebel.
 The final event on the card was the 20 lap modified main event. Lonnie Heap paced the first circuit before yielding the top spot to Josh Foster. Matt Gilbertson,  from Montevideo, Mn. made the tow last weekend to Lakeside, Kansas Speedway where we saw him race. On Saturday, he was hooked up at Memphis, and was running second with six laps to go. But Quincy point champ Steven Delonjay, who converted his UMP car to the IMCA specs moved to the runner up spot at that point. He then began to run down Foster, and the two ran the final laps side by side. In fact, Delonjay had the lead as the two took the white flag, but Foster had the better line through turns three and four, taking the checkersand the night one win. And so we found ourselves on our feet for what is likely our final lap of racing for 2012! Gilbertson held on to third, with Mike Schulte and Cayden Carter recording top five finishes. As we visited afterwards with Foster, he said he had no idea Delonjay had caught him until the # 35 pulled alongside.
 The final checkers waved around 8:00, about 30-60 minutes past the target time, but nonetheless a good effort considering the extra track prep. In fact the downtime gave us a chance to do some bench racing with old friends. Kudos also to flagman Ryan Burgerson who moved the show along quickly, wasting no time on the silly
" next lap we will start " concept, and giving competitors until the last second to get restarted following a spin before throwing the yellow. All in all, it was a very good show for what looks to be our final race of 2012. Usually at that point we spend the drive home discussing maybe looking for one more race, but the 36 degree reading on the bank left us more interested in a hot cup of coffee than another night of racing. At least for now...
  The silly season has already begun, and I think their will be enough off season fodder to keep this blog active, so check back often for news, notes, and a season recap to come later. If you can find another race or two, like my buddy Bob Litton,keep the fire burning. As for me, I anxiously await the 2013 schedules!

A Lirttle Dirt, A Little Asphalt

With a lot of cooperation from Mother Nature, we were able to enjoy one more full weekend of racing as October winds down.
 Saturday, Darryl, Fred and I set sail for Kansas City, as I looked forward to my first visit to Lakeside Speedway, which would also be my first race in the state of Kansas. After settling in our motel, we headed for the track, arriving in time to tour the pits before the call came to vacate so they could sell pit passes for the second night of the Clyde Ellis Memorial Showdown. As it turned out, it would also be the final MLRA late model event staged under the direction of Alan " Cowboy " and Harriet Chancellor, as the announcement was made mid week that the association had been sold the the Lucas Oil group. On this, the final night of racing for 2012 at Lakeside, 51 open modfieds signed in for a $2,000 top prize, and the late model count was 45 for a shot at a $5,000 check. Two late models from the Friday night show, Randy Reynolds, and Iowa driver Kevin Sather, did not return, but newcomers Junior Coover, Scotty Phillips, and Jason Rauen joined the fray.
As mentioned, it was my first time at the black dirt 1/2 mile speedplant just inside the Kansas border, and while the facility looked a bit rag tag from the outside, once through the gate, my opinion changed. Everything was bright and clean, the lighting was good, and much to my delight, the PA system worked quite well. It was announced the hot laps would begin at 6:45, and the clock on the scoreboard would not lie. Sure enough, the first of three groups of mods hit the track at 6:45, followed by the late models. With hot laps over before 7:10, there was some downtime, but sure enough, at 7:27 the invocation and national anthem began, and the first mod heat rolled out at 7:30. NASCAR veterans Ken Schrader and Kenny Wallace captured the first two of the six mod heats, and after a yellow flag for a false start to begin heat two, we stayed green until a caution debris during heat five. Kerry Davis, Kelly Shryock, Nick Bidinger, and Mark Dotson were the other heat winners.Six eight lap heats in exactly 30 minutes, with two yellows - if only our " local " mods could pull that off!
 The MLRA late models then contested five ten lap qualifiers, with the first three going caution free. Justin Asplin outdueled young Grant Junghans in heat one, Eric Turner topped Kyle Berck in heat two, and Brad Looney led the distance in heat three to defeat series point champion John Anderson. Polesitter Kevin Coyne brought out the first yellow in heat four, but it was no problem for Tony Jackson Jr., who edged Iowan Chris Simpson for the win. Missouri ace Will Vaught drew the highest number on the night, and started ninth in the final heat. He was up to fifth when he was involved in a three car altercation, sending him again to the back of the pack. But he was able to again charge through to take the win over the double duty driver,Mark Dotson. With the late models using my favorite qualifying format of passing points, the win earned Vaught the pole for the 40 lap finale that would end the nights racing.
  Next up was a C-Main for the mods, with the top two moving on to make a 20 car B-Main. Don Crnkovich and Cody Agler took the spots in a caution plagued event. Following an intermission, the 15 lap mod B-main took to the track. Amazingly the final qualifier went flag to flag, with the top six moving on to the 24 car finale. Local racer Jake Richards took the win, while Ron Jones, who made the trip south from Minnesota, earned a third pace finish. Another double duty driver, Iowan Ryan Gustin had collected the $1500 win on Friday, but nearly missed the cut on Saturday. Ryan ran seventh and eighth throughout most of the " B " charging to fifth on the white flag lap.
  Two twelve lap late model B-main were up next. Nebraska pilot Bill Leighton survived a challenge for Davenport, Iowa youngster Spencer Diercks and fellow Nebraskan Tommy Weder Jr, to take the first win, while Iowacitian Rob Moss came from row two to take the lead on the white flag lap of a caution free race to
claim a victory over Jason Bodenhammer and Sonny Findling to round out the feature field.
  When the green flag waved for the mods, Shryock charged from row three to the lead, but by lap four, Dotson had moved in to challenge. The two then ran a great side by side duel, Kelly up top and Mark down low, as the pulled away from the pack. By lap twelve the track was slicking up, and the leaders began to catch slower traffic. Schrader used his experience to ease into third on lap 18, but gave it up to USMTS ace Jason Hughes. On lap 23, disaster dtruck Shryock, as his fule pump belt failed, and he slowed on the top side, never stopping, and allowing the race to stay green as he ducked into the outside pits. From there, it was Dotsons race. Zack Vanderbeek chased Hughes, but settled for third, while Gustin came from 23rd to fourth on the white flag lap. Schrader completed the top five in the caution free 30 lapper.
  The final race of the night was the 40 lap late model showdown, with Vaught and Dotson setting on the front row. Vaught shot to the front, and the caution waved on lap three. By then Looney had powered from row four to third, and he grabbed the runnerup slot on the restart., with Dotson falling to fifth. The yellow waved again on lap six, as Chad Simpson, who was involved in the first caution, ducked to the pits with a flat tire. During the caution, Anderson came to a stop on the front stretch as the drive shaft failed on his # 2J. With the extra time, Chad was able to rejoin the field. On the restart, brother Chris Simpson nabbed fourth, and by lap ten, he was third, with Berck on his heels. The leaders found themselves in traffic on lap 15, and Gustin, who started 14th, entered the top five on lap 17. On lap 26, Berck eased around Simpson for third, the last pass inside the top five. At the checkers, it was Vaught in a flag to flag win, ahead of Looney, Berck, Chris Simpson, and Gustin. Eric Turner led the second five ahead of David Turner, Weder Jr., Jesse Stovall, and Chad Simpson. By edging out Dotson by three positions, Stovall finished second to Anderson in the season points chase.
 The final checkers waved on the 96 car field at 10:35, leaving me more than eager to return to the track in the near future.
 As a retirement gift, Darryl had received tickets to the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, so we three dirt trackers were off to see what gets our pavement brethren so excited. It had been more than 30 years since I had watched the big boys of NASCAR duel in person, and were it not for having three grandsons who deserve and want an up close look, I could likely be happy sticking to the dirt. I don't know if the unusually warm weather, or the repaving of the 1.5 mile track created issues, but a speedway record 14 cautions dampened my enthusiasm. I know time is passing me by, but the price of concessions, as it does at all major sporting events, also puts a dent in my enjoyment of the product. After surveying the situation as to how long it would likely take to get back to the interstate after the race ended, and with a long drive home, we made the decision to leave early. When we did, Matt Kenseth was leading and he did pick up the victory, so I guess we did not miss too much!
 There are still a handful of races throughout the midwest, and the Fall Extravaganza set for next weekend as the only event in 2012 at Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo. looks appealing as I look outside now at 70 plus degree temps. Unfortunately, the forecast for the weekend does not look too promising, so we will see if we can add to 2012 memories, or if a season recap is up next.
 The off season is already in high gear at Quincy Raceways, as the owners have announced that the hobby stock class will be dropped for 2012 and the IMCA stock cars will return, a decision that caught many in both divisions off guard. The awards banquet will be on January 12, the Quincy Mall car show on March 16 and 17, and opening night 2012 on Sunday, April 14.
 The former 24 Raceway in Moberly, Mo. has been sold and plans are to open in 2012 as Randolph County Raceway. The new owners intend to remove the dirt surface, then remove the asphalt racing surface below it and replace the dirt, hopefully before the snow flies. Unconfirmed reports have them leaning towards a USRA affiliation, with A mods as their top class, but nothing is official at this time.
Congratulations to both Morgan and Kyle Broeg on their recent engagements, Jeff  will be getting off the hook easy with a couple of rehearsal dinners to pony up for.
Now if he can just get the weddings scheduled away from racing season...

Two For the Price of One

The forecast for Saturday was less than ideal, and unfortunately the weatherman was right on. But after all, it is October, and if Simmons Promotions was willing to go on with the Liberty 100 at the West Liberty Raceway, I was pretty sure I could find enough clothes to at least keep semi warm. So Darryl and I headed out for night two of one of my favorite events of the racing season. 50 laps of open late models and 50 laps of IMCA late models, each paying a cool $3500 to win.
On top of that, the open modifieds dueled for 25 laps, the IMCA mods and the stock cars contested 18 laps, and the IMCA sport compacts ran 12 laps on the big half mile.
The night began with the only B-mains needed to complete the field, two ten lappers for the IMCA late models, as they were the only class with more than 22 entries. B main one went to polesitter Nate Beuseling, while Nick Marolf charged for seventh to the runnerup slot. The second consy saw Brett Diercks and Doug Yates make hard contact on lap two, ending Diercks night. Third starting Spencer Diercks took the win ahead of Darrell Defrance. With four cars on the trailer following the consys, it was time for the six pole dashes.  Ray Guss Jr, captured the open late model dash ahead of Chad Simpson, and Kevin Kile outran Brian Harris in the IMCA six lapper. In that race, fifth starting Denny Eckrich appeared to lose an engine, knocking him out of the big show. Denny was one of  seven drivers competing in both late model classes , while 13 year old Jake Griffin entered both the open late model and open mod events. The late model drivers had to enter separate cars in each class.
 The officials were committed to moving the show along, and the six features began at 7:02 as the stock cars hit the oval. David Brandies checked out on the field in a borrowed # 44 machine. One caution period mid race bunched the field, but when the green waved, Brandies again ran away from the pack. Andrew Burk and Mark Massey dueled side by side for the second spot, with Burk winning that duel.
 Nate Chandler took an early lead, then held on for the win in the sport compact division, surviving the only caution in that 12 lapper.
  Next up was the IMCA modifieds, and they ran a caution free 18 laps. Mark Schulte took off from the front row, and seemed to have things under control. Schulte was masterful in traffic, but with just four laps to go, Bobby Moyer powered by for the lead and the win. Ray Cox turned in a solid performance for third.
  The open lates were then set for 50 laps, with Guss and Chad Simpson setting the pace. Simpson checked out early, stretching his lead following cautions on lap three and lap seven, both for Kurt Kile, who seemed to have engine woes. As Chad led brother Chris, he suddenly went pitside on lap 18. With Andy Eckrich moving to the front, our attention was focused on Jake Griffin. We had been told that the youngster had struggled on night one with a loose race car in his first visit to the big half mile. The Saturday adjustments were working however, as Jake started in row eight and used the high side of the track to charge to fourth behind Eckrich, Chris Simpson, and Dave Eckrich by lap 28, when the yellow waved again. On the restart, Guss charged to second, and Brian Harris, making his first open start in the Lynn Richard # 15R, rolled to third. Griffin faded to sixth, as his tires seemed to be going away. The yellow waved ten laps later, just after sixth running Dan Schleiper, out all of 2012, went to the trailer, and Chris simpsons third place run ended with a flat. Andy Eckrich then led the parade to the checkersm followed by Guss, Harris, 15th starting Skip Frey, and Dave Eckrich. Justin Mitchell eased by Griffin on the final lap for sixth, and Spencer Diercks, Nick Marolf, and Rob Moss completed the lead lap cars, and the top ten.
 The open mods were next on the grid, and Griffin had to climb out of the late model and into the mod for another 25 laps. After a first lap caution, Dean Mahlstadt jumped to the lead from his row one start. The yellow waved on lap eleven, then again on lap 17, by which time Brad Diercks had moved from row eleven to fifth, the restarted fourth as Ryan Dolan headed to the trailer. On the restart, veteran Bruce Hanford seemed to come from nowhere to overtake the leader. Hanford saw his lead evaporate with two laps to go when the final caution flew, but he held off Mahlstadt for the win. Diercks advance 19 spots to third, Johnny spaw took fourth, and eighth starting Griffin climbed as high as fourth before crossing the stripe in fifth.
  The final race of the night and of the season at West Liberty was the 50 lap IMCA late model main. Harris, in his second night in the Richard # 15R spec engine ride, took off from the outside pole, and the race was for second. The caution waved on lap 21 for Jay Chenoweth, and on the second attempt at a restart, a major pileup in turn four damaged the cars of Mike Klinhammer, Jay Johnson, Matt Ryan and Matt Strassheim. When racing resumed, Harris again checked out, but the racing for spots four through nine was thrilling to watch. A battle for second soon developed between veteran Jeff Aikey and dirt racing rookie Kyle Hinrich. Hinrich took the second spot on lap 35 , but Aikey reclaimed it for good four laps later. Harris was a happy guy in victory lane, as he led Aikey, Hinrich, Andy Eckrich, and Guss to top five finishes. Jason Utter nabbed sixth ahead of Kevin Kile,Defrance, and Beuseling, the final car on the lead lap. Jeremiah Hurst completed the top ten.
So A. Eckrich, Guss, and Harris all scored top fives in both classes.
 The final checkers waved at exactly 10:00, and what I would think was a better than expected crowd all stayed until the end! Darryl said it was easily one of our best nights of racing of the season, and I had to agree. 47 late models in two divisions on a cold night in October! Thanks to SPI for a fun night at one of my favorite tracks!
  Racing for 2012 is winding down quickly, and the forecast in these parts is not too promising for this weekend. However there are still races to see, and we will be looking to outfox Mother Nature one more time! So grab the hat and gloves, and let's go racin'!

A Doubleheader Weekend to Close September

For the first time in the history of the Knoxville Late Model Nationals, I found myself heading up the road alone for the Saturday night finale. Along with the internet updates, buddies Darryl and Fred had been there for the two preliminary nights, so I had a good feel for what had been going on when I pulled into the fairgrounds about noon. The open pit area until 3:00 PM always gets me there early, and with only myself to entertain, I even worked in a mid afternoon nap!
Even with the guys saving me a row 19 seat, the lure of the storied 1/2 mile drew me inside a full hour before hot lap time. After all, there is always old friends to see and new ones to meet at Knoxville!
 There were still 71 entrants on hand from the 80 that signed in on Thursday night, with the 66 car cap of the last several seasons being lifted, and no support classes competing. So that meant there would be four events on the card, and I did not hear much complaining.
 With 24 drivers already locked in to the 100 lap $40,000 to win main event, we were left with 47 cars vying for six remaining spots, and whatever provisionals the Lucas Oil series deemed necessary.
  First up was the 12 lap D main, with ten of the scheduled 16 starters still on hand. The plan was to advance the top four to the C Main, but with three C Main qualifiers not racing, the top seven moved up. On lap one, Colorado standout Scott Lewis pounded the turn four guardrail after contact from another car, ending his run. While central Illinois ace Steve Lance Jr, and Ohios' John Mason dueled up front, ninth starting Chad Chenoweth from Huron, SD, was on the move. He was going for fourth on lap five when he looped his # 7. Lance took off agin on the restart, leading all 12 laps for the win. Mason, local favorite Darrell Defrance, and Skip Frey followed. Chenoweth, Curt Schroeder, and Alonzo Grosse also moved on.
 A false start plagued the C, and on the restart, Chenoweth again spun his ride. New father Chris Simpson jumped to the lead form the pole position, with the top four in the 15 lapper headed to the B-Main. Eighth starting Tyler Breuning was on the move, rolling past outside pole starter Tim Lance for fourth on lap six. Four laps later, Tyler took over third. With three to go, fourth running Jason Utter stopped on the track, with another false start on the Delaware restart. Illinoian Mike Spatola faded out of the top four in those closing laps, with Simpson leading the distance. Breuning came home second, Lance rebounded for third, and Ryan Unzicker, in his first nationals appearance, barely edged Rob Moss for the final transfer spot.
  Donnie Moran took the early lead in the 20 lap B-Main, with Dennis Erb alongside, and Erb led lap two. With 14 to go, the yellow waved for Jesse Stovall, who had a flat tire. On the restart, Erb opened a big lead, with ninth starting Don Oneal charging to fifth. Austin hubbard moved around John Blankenship for the sixth and final transfer spot, while Jared Landers faded from contention. Eric Wells moved up to challenge Hubbard, but fell short. Erb outlasted Moran, Tim McCreadie, Chad Simpson, Oneal, and Hubbard to move to the big dance.
 With the race now being sanctioned by the Lucas Oil series, Blankenship, Landers, and Wells were all awarded provisionals, giving us a 33 car starting field.
   After on track introductions, Earl Pearson Jr. could not get his # 44 to fire, and was pushed to the hot pit area. Pearson would rejoin the field 13 laps later following a caution period. it had been a bad battery that betrayed Pearson.  Scott Bloomquist and  Jimmy Owens held the front row, and Owens took the early lead. Bloomer led lap three following a nifty slide job, and Brady Smith and Brian Shirley grabbed the next two spots. Before ten laps were down, Steve Francis moved to third, and Brian Birkhofer to fifth. But it was now Smith on the move, as he took the lead. The yellow on lap 13 was for Shirley, who lost an engine. Mark Burgtorf also retired with suspension damage at the same time,ending his time in the Lynn Richard # 15R On the restart, Birkhofer jumped to second. Friday night winner Mike Marlar was on the move, taking fith with 80 to go. A restart five laps later saw Birky lead one lap, before Smith took back the top spot, and Francis moved back in to third. The caution waved with 66 to go for McCreadie, and on the restart, Francis took second, Marlar moved to fourth, and 29 th starting Oneal put the Moring Motorsports # 71 in to the top ten. As Smith opened a sizable lead, Birky and Francis raced side by side, lap after lap. Several more cautions slowed the action, but each time, Smith opened a comfortable margin. As is often the case, several drivers made runs into the top ten, only to fade back. The top three had things in hand, and with 40 to go, Smith contacted Austin Hubbard as he tried to put him a lap down. That may have been Bradys downfall, as his lead began to shrink, and ten laps later, Francis turned up the wick, and took the lead. The leaders battled in traffic, before the Kentucky Colonel pulled away for his first Nationals win. Smith was a bit disappointed, but picked up a nice check for second. Birkhofer held third, Bloomquist took fourth, and Owens rebounded to fifth. Marlar drove a steady race to grab sixth, and Oneal moved to seventh with 16 to go, advancing 22 spots! Billy Moyer came home eighth, Chad Simpson moved up 19 spots to ninth, and Will Vaught completed the top ten.
  The 100 laps took about one hour to run, with the final checkers at a very respectable 10:30. Some Nationals features are better than others, but I have yet to leave disappointed, and when Francis called this his biggest and best win, calling Knoxville the premier track in the country for late models, I could not disagree!
  After bunking in Knoxville, we all headed back on Sunday for the season finale at Quincy Raceways. QR had added an extra night of racing, in part to aid the UMP late model championship chasers. That battle never developed, as Kevin Weaver had a disappointing weekend, and Shirley lost an engine. So the final determination for national UMP late model champ will happen in October at Eldora, but it looks like Shirley will capture the title.
  77 total cars checked in at Quincy, with 19 UMP modifieds the largest class. The non UMP classes were given a " cheaters night, " and stock car driver Terry Houston set the standard with a sprint car wing on his # 97. The point champion started things off with a flag to flag feature win over Michael Larsen and Jacksonville Raceway driver Brian Gaines. Tony Dunker continued his sport mod dominance, outlasting former track regular Joe Hooper in Bobby Anders car, and Lee County hotshoe Rick Barlow,Jr.
 The late model field was 12 strong, and fast qualifier Dustin griffin notched his fifth late model win of 2012 in a non stop 30 lapper. Denny Woodworth, rejuvenated since moving to a Griffin car, took second, followed by Burgtorf in his # 7B. Jerry Lierly took fourth in his first run since breaking his arm in a crash in July, while Jim Moon took fifth. Modified ace Jared Schlipman took a ride in Woodworths # 45DW, and stock car pilot Michael Larsen took his first latr model tour in Kevin Tomlinsons # 49. the surprise visitor on the final night was Michigan hot shoe Rusty Schlenk, who dropped out while running fourth.
 Jeff Delonjay picked up his first hobby stock win of 2012 edging out Jim Brown and point champ Jake Powers. The UMP mods took five tries to complete one lap, and suffered through eight caution flags in 25 laps. Despite the stoppages, vastly improved Craig Spegal recoded his first QR feature win. Burgtorf moved to second in the Mark Van Winkel # 24V, while point champ Steven Delonjay held off Jake Griffin for third.
 For the final race of 2012, track officials decided to run the sport compacts 40 laps, 40 minutes, or three cars ledt on the track. To be fair, there was some extra cash on the line. 13 of the 14 cars signed in took the feature green, and when the final checkers flew, four cars remained on the track. Austen Becerra took another win, although Laine VanZandt pushed him hard. Kimberly Abbott and Bryce Baker followed.
  There is still a month of racing in the area, so pull out the sweatshirt, and we will see you somewhere down the road.

Shirley Closer to Title After Another Win

It was a chilly night at Quincy Raceways on Sunday, but UMP super late model  national point leader Brian Shirley was on fire. " Squirrel " set fast time at 13.943 seconds around the .29 mile oval. He then rolled a " six " to sentence himself to a row three start in the ten lap fast heat/dash. Jake Griffin outdueled Jim Moon in that race, with Shirley racing to third, earning a row two starting slot in the 30 lap finale. By feature time, the lower groove seemed to be the preferred line, and Griffin took off from the pole, leading around the bottom as Shirley faded to fifth. Around lap five, Brian decided to take a look in the top groove, and he charged to second behind Griffin. The veteran and the youngster than ran side by side for several laps before Shirley nosed ahead on lap eleven. Jake stayed close until the leaders caught slower traffic on lap 18. with the pack running the bottom groove, Shirley had the clear path, and stretched out his lead in what was a non stop event. Dustin Griffin outlasted Michael Long for third, with Moon in fifth.
It was Shirleys second win at Quincy, and he had been well on his way the week before until dropping a drive shaft. Shirley was the only " traveler " on Sunday, as a season low eleven late models checked in. Track points ended the week prior, and several regulars sat out this Sunday.
  Steven Delonjay was the beneficiary when UMP modified fast qualifier Craig Spegal also rolled a " six, " and the track champ led all 25 laps off the main event, besting a 22 car field. Jake Griffin completed his bridesmaid night with another runner up finish, as he pounded the top side of the track two races after watching Shirley make the high line work. The 13 year old picked off  Mark Burgtorf in the Mark Van Winkle # 24V for third on lap22, then nosed past Dave Weitholder at the checkers. Jared Schlipman also slipped by Burgtorf late for fourth.
  The IMCA stock car count was low, but they once again ran a clean, close, non stop 15 lapper. Michael Larsen took the early lead and held off Abe Huls for his second win of the year.
  The IMCA sport mod feature was all Bobby Anders until he encountered a slower car on the final lap. Anders seemed unsure what line to take, and made contact, bringing out the yellow. This set up a green, white, checkers finish, and just when it looked like Tony Dunker would settle for a third place run, he used the restart to power past Joe Bliven for the win.
  Justin Bevill drove around Richie Wagy and his 1957 Chevy hobby stock on lap six and held off Brian Hoener and Tanner Klingele for his first win of the season.
  The night ended just before 9:00 with Austen Becerra racing past track champ Seith Woodruff to grab another IMCA sport compact 12 lap finale.
   Quincy has one more night of racing scheduled for this coming Sunday, with all six classes in action, and UMP late model and mod national points up for grabs.  While the season is for sure winding down, there is still a month of good racing in the area, so dig out the stocking cap and gloves, and lets keep going racin' down the road!

Apologies to " Grady "

In my blog covering the weekend, I listed the new Hall of Fame inductees for 2012 at Quincy Raceways . Somehow, I inadvertently left off one outstanding driver, bomber and B-mod standout Gary " Grady " Dreyer. A popular fihure at area tracks, Gary did not let his paralysis stop him, as he drove with hand controls, picking up numerous track titles at Quincy Raceways. congratulations to Dreyer and all the other inductees!

Racing Far and Near

After challenging the weather the week prior and losing out, we decided to go with a safe bet this Saturday. So when the forecast for the World of Outlaw late model special at Pevely,Mo was upgraded to 60-85% chance of rain, Darryl, Fred, and I set out for Farley, Iowa, and the headline night of the Yankee Dirt Track Classic. I am ashamed to admit that after attending possibly every Yankee run at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids, I had never been to one at Farley. It seems there was also a closer alternative, and even with mostly four lane roads and higher speed limits, it is still a cool 3 1/2 hours from my front door. But the time had come!
As we like to do, we arrived early to walk the grounds, check out the full pit area, and visit with some old friends. Once things got started, it was neat to see 150 or more cars all on the track at one time, but, hey, how about some racin? The four pole dashes for hobbys, stocks, sport mods and sport compacts riolled out on the 3/8 mile beginning at 6:20, then it was time for heat races for the IMCA Hawkeye Dirt Tour modifieds followed by the Deery Brothers IMCA Summer Series late models. With the mods running first, it was obvious that the announced intention of having the 75 lap late model feature on the track at 10:00 or soon after was not going to happen, but, hey, we were racin'!
 The modified field was 42 or 43 cars strong, and the fourth heat was the pick of the five, with Ron Barker using a dandy move on the white flag lap to grab the win after starting sixth. Only the top two in the heats transferred to the $2,000 to win feature, necessitating three B-mains later on.
 The 50 car late model field then contested five ten lap heats, on the 1/2 mile track, as were the mods. In heat one, Jason Rauen, driving a Joel Callahan # 40 spun in turn two of the first lap, giving the pole to Ray Guss Jr on the restart. Ray then outdistanced track regular Luke Goedert, and Jay Johnson to the checkers, as the top three transferred, with the top two in the redraw. Tyler Breuning charged fromrow three to take heat two over Mark Burgtorf and fifth starting Denny Eckrich. Friday night winner Nick Marolf captured the third heat ahead of Darrell Defrance and ninth starting Justin Kay. In heat four, Jeff Mitrisin had a big lead, but smacked the turn two wall on lap seven. Sixth starting Joe Zrostlik then grabbed the checkers over Colby Springsteen and Curt Martin. In the final heat, Matt Strassheim jumped the cushion on lap one, falling back from his third row start, but powered his way back to second behind Dan Shelliam and just ahead of Brian Beaudry, driving a Justin Kay machine.
  It was announced that there would be three transfers out of the 12 lap B-mains, but the format changed after the drivers meeting. A third B-main was added, with only the top two advancing. Jeff Aikey topped Andy Eckrich in the first one, with Mike Murphy then besting Kurt Kile. Ryan Griffith held off Randy Foote in the final preliminary, with provisionals going to Callahan, Mitrisin, and Dean Wagner.
  At this point, we still had the 25 lap non qualifiers race to run ahead of the 75 lap feature, and all other main events were pushed off except the 20 lapper for the hobby stocks, which would run after the non qualifier race. In that 25 lapper, the top two finishers had the option of taking the $500 check and loading up, or forfeiting the money to tag the tail of the main event, which also paid $500 to start. Both winner Larry Harris, in a car purchased from the Roberts Racing/ Ray Guss team, and runnerup Mike Garland said they wanted to keep racing!
   Following the hobby finale, the 26 car starting field took the green at 11:06 for 75 laps, as Keagan texted me results from Lee County Speedway in Donnellson. Polesitter Zrostlik led lap one, with Goedert pacing lap two. On lap three, Breuning moved to second, and ninth starting Burgtorf advanced to sixth. As Mark picked up another position on lap six, Goedert and Breuning ran side by side., and on lap seven , Tyler took the top spot. By lap ten, Springsteen was challenging for second, and he took the spot one lap later. On lap 13, Burgtorf moved to fourth. The first caution came one lap later, with Goedert leaving on the hook. The Delaware restart format was used, and it would have a dramatic affect as the night went on. Burtorf shot to second on the restart, with Shelliam moving to third. Lap 16 saw twelfth starting Denny Eckrich climb to fourth, and seven laps later, to third. By the one third point of the race, Burgtorf was closing fast on Breuning, but following a lap 33 restart, Eckrich took the runnerup spot away. Andy Eckrich also moved to seventh at this point after starting in row ten. Ten circuits later, Guss, who had been lurking in the top six, stopped on the track with a flat tire. Following the restart, it was now Marolf on the move, and he took over fourth on lap 45. A caution on lap 47 saw Burgtorf and Marolf emerge in a duel, while 17 th starting Murphy jumped to fifth. Murphy then used a lap 52 restart to grab third, Burgtorf fell to fifth, and Strassheim, who started fifth and dropped to 14th was now back to seventh. The next stoppage on lap 57 saw Kay move to fourth. By lap 67, Guss was back to tenth, and with three to go, Eckrich caught Breuning in traffic. One good pass separated the leaders, and Breuning became a repeat winner of the Yankee. D Eckrich, Murphy, Kay, and Burgtorf followed, with the rest of the top ten being Strassheim, Marolf, Aikey, A Eckrich, and Guss. 
  Although passing seemed challenging on the tacky surface, it was amazing to watch so many guys make a run at different times. Burgtorf later told me that tire wear played a part in his losing three spots from his high of second, and I am sure this was true for others as well. As Breuning crossed the scales, the midnight hour was near and we three old timers regretfully passed on the four features still to be run to begin the long trek home, happy we the racing we saw.
  After what seemed more like a nap than a nights sleep, it was off to Quincy Raceways for Sunday night action, two grandsons in tow. As Keagan whizzed past the I-336 overpass, we saw the bright green hauler of Brian shirley, headed for the track, and now I was awake! Shirley holds a slim lead in the UMP national late model points battle over Kevin Weaver, and as we entered the pits, sure enough, Weaver was already there. At that point, former great Bob Pierce cruised by on his 4 wheeler, so we knew young Bobby was also in the house! In total, 18 late models and 18 UMP modifieds checked in as part of a six class 81 car field on season championship night.
  Shane Richardson and Alex Buffington made their first appearances of 2012 at QR in the IMCA stock car class, but it was point champion Terry Houston who took home the honors on Sunday. Darin Weisinger  pushed Houston hard on the tacky, fast .29 mile oval, but settled for runnerup honors. The eventual point champion also came out on top in the IMCA sport mods, as Tony Dunker collected feature win number twelve over point runnerup Bobby Anders, and Jake Powers claimed his first title with a main event win over Brandon Symmonds following a season long tussle between the two. Seith Woodruff took the first ever IMCA sport compact point title over Kimberly Abbott, who lost any chance at the top spot with engine woes in the finale. Austen Beccerra claimed the 12 lap feature ahead of Woodruff.
  The UMP modified championship had already been clinched by Steven Delonjay, his second in a row, with fast qualifier Jared Schlipman second. Come feature time however, Delonjay was forced to pit on lap ten, and Dave Weitholder took over from there, looking like the man to beat. In the closing laps, however, 13 year old Jake Griffin, fresh off a win last Sunday in the late models, laid his # 08 on the cushion, and charged to the front on lap 21. Jake took top honors, with Weithloder and Schlipman trailing.
  Shirley had set fast time earlier in the evening, scorching the oval with a lap of 13.727, and after rolling a " one ' for the invert, lead outside row one starter Michael Long, in the Frankel # 33F to the fast heat/dash win. The 30 lap finale got off to a rocky start, with a false start causing a traffic jam, and sending Jason Frankel and his # 0F to the pits with front end damage. It was later determined that Jason, whose season started just a week ago,  likely suffered a broken wrist in the mixup. When things got going on the tacky, fast,  but somewhat rough track, Shirley opened a half straightaway lead. But on lap eleven, bad luck came his way, as he popped a drive shaft on the back chute, ending his run. Dustin Griffin had taken the second spot from Long briefly, but a this point, Michael was back in the runnerup slot, and after inheriting the lead, he had no intention of giving it up. Griffin kept the # 33F in his crosshairs, but could not make a pass. Burgtorf settled into third, before Weaver challenged late for the spot after starting ninth. But as the laps would down, the engine let go in the # B12, putting both national top guns on the trailer. Pierce, who started eleventh, gave Burgtorf and his 3 7B a look, but settled for fourth ahead of Jim Moon. Denny Woodworth parked his # 45DW and climbed in a Griffin back up ride, coming home sixth, ahead of track point champion Jason Perry. D Griffin, Burgtorf, Justin Reed, and Moon rounded out the top five in points. Reed started the night second, but engine woes ended his night in his heat race, dropping him to fourth. Moon also captured the points at Montgomery,Mo. Motorsports Park, where hard luck Keith Pratt rolled his # 33 on Saturday.
  While the track points season is over at Quincy, there will be two more weeks of regular racing, with state and national UMP points up for grabs. The track cannot give IMCA national points, as they did not apply for an extension soon enough.
  During intermission on Sunday, we also added nine people as the second Quincy Raceways Hall of Fame class, including drivers Terry Gallaher, Eddie Dieker, and Francis " Wild Man " Kelly.
  Heres' hoping for another five  - ten races, weather permitting! 
 

One is Better than None

With September rolling around and racing opportunities winding down, last Friday looked particularly enticing. So I took a vacation day and decided to let the weatherman dictate where I would go. after all, there were four tracks racing within 2 1/2 hours, surely someone would get a show in... Fulton, Mo. and Davenport, Iowa pulled the plug early, so along with Darryl and Fred, I headed towards the St Louis area. None of us had been to Bell Clair Speedway in Belleville, Il., where the UMP late models were running for $1500 to win, and Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach,Il had a regular weekly show. As we motored through St Louis, the skies opened, and both tracks were forced to cancel within minutes of each other.
  A church function kept me away from the tracks on Saturday, but after two weeks of rain outs, Quincy Raceways roared back to life on Sunday.
  A nice total of 91 race cars filled the pit area, including 20 UMP super late models and a season high 25 UMP modifieds. Sunday was the first night for the new format which added time trial qualifying to the program, eliminating heat race passing points. The mods timed in groups of three during their hot lap session, while the late models did the same after hot lapping. There are some issues with qualifying three at once on a 1/4 mile - one late model actually got passed, but for the most part, it worked okay. Matt Dotson made the trip up from Sturgeon, Mo. and paced the mods with a fast lap of 15.512, while Micheal long wheeled the Frankel Racing # 33F to a quick time of 14.067. The fast six were set to be in a heat race by themselves, and that would set the first three rows of the feature, making it sort of a heat race/dash combo. The top qualifiers then rolled a dice on the front straightaway to determine the heat race invert. Dotson rolled a two, while Long put himself in row three with a six.
  Fourteen races set the feature lineups, and after a brief intermission, we were ready to go.
  The IMCA classes all ran draw - redraw shows, as Sunday was held as the rain date for the Boone Supernationals - kind of amazing if you think about it, and the stock cars ran feature number one. Only six cars took the green, with Terry Houston bringing out an early caution as he stopped in turn one. Gabe Harrison held the top spot until contact with Michael Larsen sent both cars to the back. Houston assumed the lead on the restart, but Abe Huls quickly moved to the front. Houston held on to second, and Larsen worked past Darrin Weisinger to come home third. It was feature win number ten for Huls.
  The IMCA sport mods were up next, and Tony Dunker took the lead right awy, cruising to win number eleven. Dunker has finished first or second in 17 of 18 features this season. Two time winner Bobby Anders went to the back after an early caution, but worked his way back to the runner up spot after Vance Wilson, piloting Jamie Fierges # J2, pulled out while running second on a lap seven caution. Anders also retired early during a lap 13 stoppage. Joe Bliven then outdueled Brandon Dale and Tanner Klingele for the second spot.
  The 20 UMP late models then took the green, with first time visitor Steve Thorsten from Milford, Il setting on the pole in his # 7T by virtue of the fast heat win. A first lap melee at the front of the pack resulted in a complete restart, and a false start came next, with Vance Wilson going pitside. As we went green, outside polesitter Mark Burgtorf shot out front in his # 15R, with 13 year old row two starter Jake Griffin in pursuit. As the field passed by the flagstand completing lap one, Griffin eased ahead, and Thorsten retired to the infield. Jake, sporting a new ride and a new look on his # 08, began to open a lead as cousin Dustin Griffin moved to third on lap six from his seventh starting spot. As we stayed green, Dustin shot by Burgtorf four laps later, and ninth starting Kevin Weaver advanced to sixth. Jake continued to lead Dustin, and on lap 13, Weaver moved to fourth with a highside move and began to challenge Burgtorf. As Jake caught slower traffic, Dustin closed the gap, and the younger Griffin seemed to get a bit tentative.
Once he made his first move through the back of the pack, he seemed to get comfortable, and with no cautions coming, he threaded the needle, picking up his second UMP super late model win of 2012 and first ever at his hometown track.
D, Griffin took second, while Burgtorf held off Weaver for third. Long used a late pass of brother in law Jason Frankel for fifth. Jason was out for only the second night in his sharp new # 0F, having debuted the ride the night before in Pevely, Mo. Jim Moon, track points leader Jason Perry, Clint Kirkham, and Keith Pratt completed the top ten.
  The hobby stocks were up next, and things started slowly as Jeremy Buss broke a front end on lap one. Jeff delonjay then led lap one, before second half hotshoe Brian Hoener took over on lap two. Hoener held serve throughout the 20 lap event, with point leader Jake Powers and number two points man Brandon Symmonds filling the next two spots. Delonjay came  home in fourth.
   The UMP modifieds were up next, and with all 25 cars taking the green flag, well...  Dotson had led the fast heat/dash for the first eight laps before Dave Weitholder took the spot. Dave then spun on the final lap, was hit by Dotson,  and Robbie Reed drove by for the win and the feature pole. As it turned out, that was the move of the night, as Robbie would not give up the spot throughout the caution plagued feature. Steven Delonjay started in row four, moving to fourth on lap five, the to second following a lap 16 restart. Weitholder followed Steven through, grabbing third on the same restart, but Dave again lost the handle two laps later. Mercifully, the time limit had expired, with the race called complete seven laps short of the scheduled 25. Dotson took third behind Reed and Delonjay, and Jake Griffin completed an excellent night by claiming fourth.
  The sport compacts finished the night, running ten green flag laps before the yellow waved, setting up a two lap shootout. With the draw format, Austen Becerra started up front and powered to his seventh feature win in the second half of the season. Brandon Lambert challenged Becerra, but settled for second, while Kimberly Abbott, back from her first year of competition in Boone, took third. Casey Lambert rounded out the top four.
 The final checkers waved around 9:30.
  Two more race nights are scheduled at QR, with season championships next Sunday along with Hall of Fame inductions, and the season will conclude with a King of the Hill show on September 23.

Aikey Wows the Crowd at 34 Raceway

The owners and employees of 34 Raceway in West Burlington deserve congratulations for doing the hard work to get the 3/8 mile oval ready for the 2012 installment of the Pepsi USA late model nationals. For the first time, the race was scheduled for one night only, with the winners share set at $5,000 for a 50 lap main event. Ironically, the weather likely would have dictated this set up, even if it had remained a scheduled two day show. As it was, the original Saturday night had to be pushed to Sunday. For this writer, a scheduling conflict dissolved early, as the Quincy area received about five inches of much needed rain on Friday and Saturday, and it was obvious when I visited Quincy Raceways  on Saturday that Sunday racing would not happen. So the next order of business was to wait for the text messages from 34to see if racing would happen on the Sunday rain date. The weatherman cooperated enough to allow that to happen, and although their was some muddy areas in the pits, the high banked oval rolled in pretty well. There were some rough spots, but two inches of rain will do that, and the clay oval was multi grooved and fast.
 The car count for the 400th installment of the Summer Series was a bit disappointing, with 27 IMCA late models signing in, but threatening weather combined with three other late models shows in Iowa already scheduled for Sunday certainly had an affect. The IMCA sport mod count was also down a bit at 15, but after the Saturday rainout, 34 promoters made the night non points so as not to conflict with the potential Quincy event. With Quincy cancelled and 34 non points, a few drivers left early for the Boone, Iowa Super Nationals. The 4 cylinders came in at 18 strong, and 14 305 sprints filled out the four class program.
 Two sport mod heats were followed by three ten lap qualifiers for the late models, with Tom Bowling Jr leading flag to flag in heat one. The caution was waved on the start when Tom Darbyshire suffered suspension failure in the rearend of his # 42, sending him into the front stretch wall, ending his night. The remainder of the late models heats went off caution free, With both Andy Eckrich and Colby Springsteen winning from the front row. After three heats of 4 cylinders and two sprint heats, the top twelve heat finishers were brought to the front straightaway, where they played the card game used this season to set the first six rows of the 50 lap finale. When the card trading was done, the winner of the spring race at 34, Mike Murphy, Jr. had the pole position  and  the bonus prize of a free set of cylinder heads from Brodix. The twelve lap B- main ran next, with Mark Burgtorf coming from row two to take the win over polesitter Justin Kay.With 21 starters qualified, three high points provisional starters were added, filling out the 24 car field, and sending three cars to the trailer. With Darbyshire already scratched, only Andy Nezworski, and Willie Gammill not making the field. If you are unfamiliar with Gammill, as I was, it is because he is from Siloam Springs, Arkansas, and competes at the Monett, Missouri Speedway. the team was on their way to Boone when they found out about the 34 rescedule and diverted to West Burlington.
   After a rather lengthy intermission, the sport mods came to the track for their 15 lap main event. The lead was swapped several times, with several cautions slowing the action. With about six laps remaining, Quincy Raceways regular Bobby Anders took the lead for good in his # 20BA. Bobby held on for what became a somewhat easy victory, his first at 34. another Quincy regular, Joe Bliven took second, with Derek St Clair, Sean Wyatt and Dean Kratzer completing the top five.
   The 4 cylinder were up next, with another Quincy regular, Austen Becerra grabbing the checkers over Mike Hornung and Chuck Fullenkamp.
   The 305 sprints came next, with their feature slated to go 25 laps. The event was red flagged after 13 laps when Harold Pohren belched smoke and fire from his # 50P. At the time, Justin Parrish had the lead, but Daniel Bergquist had just charged to the runnerup spot and looked poised to run down Parrish. On the restart, however, Parrish jumped out to a big advantage, and his only real test came in traffic in the closing laps. Bergquist closed the gap, but settled for second, with Ryan Jamison, Matt Krieger, and Corey Timmerman chasing the top two to the checkers.
  We then waited patiently as the 24 late model starters came to the front straightaway, climbed from their cars and were introduced - in the case of the top twelve, reintroduced -  to the crowd. Finally it was time to race, with Murphy and Eckrich on the front row. Murphy shot off from the pole, encountering lapped traffic by lap seven. Meanwhile, eighth starting Jeff Aikey, who had proclaimed in the pre race introduction that he was " going to the front " moved to sixth on lap two, and fifth on lap four. The yellow flew on lap eight for Jay Chenoweth, and on the Delaware restart, Jay Johnson, winner of the first ever Summer Series race, which also took place at 34, moved in to second. One lap later, Aikey rolled to fourth, and on lap 13, he powered his way to third ahead of Eckrich. On lap 16, as Murphy again caught lapped traffic, bobbling slightly, but staying  in control. Aikey gained the second spot on lap 18. On lap 20, Murphy clipped the turn three wall, damaging his rear spoiler and dropping to fourth in the running order, handing the lead to Aikey. It then became a two car race between the # 77 and Johnson. A lap 32 caution for Matt Ryan bunched the field again, giving the leaders a clear track. The yellow waved fours laps later following contact between Darrell Defrance and Tom Goble, with Darrell showing his displeasure before rejoining the tail of the field. At this point, Murphy went pitside. One lap later, the final caution waved for Tyler Breuning, who suffered a flat tire. Aikey was not to be denied, however, picking up the big payday. Eckrich found his way around Johnson in the closing laps, with Matt Strassheim fourth and tenth starting Ray Guss Jr, fifth. The second five included Jason Utter, Springsteen, Joel Callahan, Goble and Defrance.
 Aikey, Johnson, and Defrance all competed in that very first Summer Series race in April of 1987, yep, I was there, and all three recorded top five runs in race
# 400. And of course, Defrance has been entered in all 400 of them!
  The final checkers waved just before 10:00.
  The forecast looks dicey again this coming weekend, but hopefully we can all get in some racing!
  

Daring the Rain Pays Off

 I just finished reading fellow blogger Ryan Clarks' account of the rain at Independence, Ia. last night, and he was exactly right. Earlier in the week, we made plans to take in the MARS vs UMP $5,000 to win late model show at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo. Checking the weather forecast on Thursday and Friday, it showed a 30% chance of rain, certainly not a deal breaker. Again on Saturday morning that was the case, as I checked before my wife and myself took our weekly shopping trip. Arriving home around 1:00, things had changed completely, and there was now a 100% chance of rain at 6:00, with hot laps set for 6:30! But Lane Evans was already headed down from Mt Pleasant to meet Darryl, Fred and I in Taylor, Mo., so after off I went for our 2:15 meet up. My wife said the radar looked a bit more promising away from Pevely, but we decided to head that way, knowing we could also check in at Montgomery, Co. if I-55 pulled the plug. About 15 miles from the track, around 4.:45, the skies opened up. We stopped for a bite to eat to wait out the rain, which continued to stop and restart. Arriving at the speedway about 5:45, we were greeted with a mostly empty grandstand, a whole bunch of folks waiting outside the gate,a packed pit area, and no rain. When the drivers meeting was called, we decided to go on in.  The track was pretty much ready to go, and hot laps began about 6:38 with the AARA  sportsman cars. 26  sportsman, 27 UMP modifieds, 21 Pro 4's signed in to compliment the 36 super late models. Late model hot laps came second, and late model time trials - one lap per car - began about 7:00. Group qualifying was used, with Brian Shirley, Bobby Pierce, and Shannon Babb paced the first three groups before Billy Moyer scorched the 1/3 mile high banks in group four with an overall fast lap of 12.409 seconds. The 6:00 hour had passed with dry skies, and racing began with three sportsman heats at 7:30. The four late model heats came next, and the lightning fast track boasted a top side that was the place to be. Unfortunately, the small cushion also wanted to suck the high flyers into the turn two concrete wall. Tim Manville was the first victim on lap four of heat one, and on the restart, defending track champion Jeff Johns took advantage of the Delaware restart to slip by Jason Feger for the fourth and final qualifying spot behind Shirly, Jack Sullivan, and Billy Moyer Jr. In the second heat, it was polesitter Pierce who tagged the wall while running third, although he was able to recover to finish fourth behind Jason McBride, Randy Korte, and Dane Dacus. Terry Phillips lost a third place run in heat three thanks to the same issue, and he collected Ed Dixon and Dewayne Kiefer in the process. While Phillips recovered in time to take a MARS feature provisional, Dixon was done for the night. Kiefer had a damaged machine, and slammed the turn four wall coming to the white flag. Outside polesitter Michael Kloos took the win over Babb, Michael Long in the Frankel # 33F, and Mark Voigt, in a race that featured a ton of back and forth racing, slide jobs included!
In comparison, the final heat was a mostly uneventful, with Moyer outlasting Brandon Sheppard in his own # B5, MARS points leader Jesse Stovall, and second generation driver Tanner English.
 Three modified heats ran next, and the sprinkles began, on and off. There were three 4 cylinders heats up next, and when three cars piled up in turn four of heat one, I thought our night might be coming to an end. After a lengthy cleanup, however, the sprinkles eased up and the heats came to an end. The late model B mains came next, with the first ten lapper showing only six of the ten starters on the track. It potentially could have been a whale of a race, but Kiefer, Phillips, Manville, and Dixon all missed the call. The two transfer spots went to Feger and Adam Tischhauser. The final qualifier was ten cars strong, with Tony Jackson Jr. taking an easy win, while local racer Ron McQueery slipped by MARS regualr Justin Asplin for the runnerup spot. Asplin, however, was awarded the second
provisional.
 The off and on sprinkles would not give up, and track officials made the sparse crowd happy by calling the late model feature to staging as the modifieds ran their B -main. They then drew another round of applause, when a backstretch accident pared the eight car field down the five after one lap, with the top six eligible to transfer. After one false start, the checkers waved, and the late models hustled to the track.
  The green flag waved for the 40 lapper at just before 10:00 - no intermission! - and Shirley shot to the front from the pole, with Moyer in pursuit. On lap five, Sullivan moved to fourth, and Korte to fifth as the top two began to put distance on the field. The first caution waved on lap eleven, as Long spun in turn three while running tenth. He collected Sheppard, who showed displeasure with being sent to the tail with Long. On the restart, Korte took third, as Feger advanced into the top ten.. Moyer Jr entered the top five now as Shirly on the top and Moyer in the middle raced side by side. On lap 20, the younger Moyer took the fourth spot, and five laps later, as the leaders split the lapped car of Tischauser, Moyer gained the lead but Shirly contacted Tischauser with the # T4  coming to a stop in turn one, bringing out the caution and giving the point back to the # 3s. After the restart, Moyer led lap 26, with Shirley the leader with 27 down. One lap later, Moyer Jr grabbed third, challenging his father for second. With 29 in the books, Long was back to eleventh, but came to a stop to bring out the final caution. On  the final restart, Babb moved to fourth, and Moyer charged to the lead out of turn four on lap32. With three circuits remaining, Moyer Jr found his way around Shirley, giving the Arkansas family a one, two finish. In his victory lane interview, daddy Bill said Jr may hay had a better car, and might have one, but chastised Shirley, for what he thought were blocking maneuvers. " Squirrel " came home third, with Babb and Korte completing the top five. Six through ten went to Pierce, who started fourteenth, Stovall, Sullivan, Feger, who started seventeenth, and 22nd starting Phillips. The final checkers waved about 10:15, and as the sportsman cars came to the track, we headed to the car. So even with a 100% chance of rain at hot lap time, the powers that be not only refused to cancel, but had the track ready to go, and ran the program as quickly and efficiently as possible, doing all they could to get the premier class feature completed. In short, it was a clinic on how to manage a special show with threatening weather. Thanks, I-55!
  There is rain in LaGrange as I type this morning, if it passes quickly, there will hopefully be racing tonight at Quincy Raceways. Check back later for news and notes from the Broadway Bullring.

Eight Features Fill the Card at Quincy Raceways

Last Sunday family matters took me out of town, my first missed night at Quincy Raceways this season. As it turned out, I did not even miss an entire show, as rain washed out the final nine laps of the hobby stock main event as well as the 12 lap IMCA sport compact finale. So the night began with the nine remaining hobby stocks lined up for the final nine laps. Tanner Klingele led the Delaware style restart, andheld the lead until turn four of the final lap, when Brian Hoener gathered momentum on the high side and edged Klingele at the stripe. The top two in points, Jake Powers and Brandon Symmonds trailed the top two.
  Next up was the 4 cylinder make up, with Eleven returning starters. The fast track created some carnage, and a hard crash in turn two took out our two lady racers, as Kimberly Abbott got sideways and was hit hard by Kelsey Paisley. When things finally settled down,  Brandon Lambert turned in a dominant performance for the win over Pat Dunker, Austin Becerra and points leader Seth Woodruff.  As the regular race program began, the Abbott crew, assisted by uncle Jeff Waterman tried to make repairs on the # 71, as Kim was a close second in the points chase. When it became obvious that the damage was too severe, Pat Dunker turned over his # 5 to Kimberly for the rest of the night. Kudos to " Skippy. "
  The stock cars started out the regular show, and Beau Taylor, who Keagan accompanied on Saturday night for his first ever visit to Bloomfield Speedway, picked up the heat race win. Unforunately, Beaus' feature run ended early. The 15 lapper belonged to Michael Larsen who  survived a couple early cautions, and dominated the field for his first feature win of the season. Abe Huls suffered a flat in the heat, then worked his way through the feature pack to nose out Gabe Harrison at the checkers for second. Jerry Jansen ran fourth.
  There were a couple new cars in the IMCA sport mod class, but the end result stayed the same. After a false start, Charles VanZandt led lap one, Bobby Anders took over on lap two, but by lap five, it was Tony Dunker out front. The ten car field ran caution free until the final lap. With Dunker coming through turns three and four, a slower car spun in turn four. Incredibly, the yellow came out instead of the checkers, and the field was reset for a green, white, checkers finish. I kept thinking how unhappy I would be if I were in Dunkers spot, but he simply pulled away to pick up his eleventh win in 16 nights. Anders took runner up honors, while Tanner Klingele edged past Joe Bliven for third.
   The UMP late model field was 17 strong, with Michigan driver Brandon Thirlby making his first visit of 2012, and national points runner up Kevin Weaver back for the second time. The first heat had been a true battle, with Mark Burgtorf taking the win, while seventh starting Weaver and ninth starting Michael Long charging side by side through the pack to finish third and fourth behind Kevin Tomlinson. With the # 56J down for a bit, Long has taken over the driving chores of the # 33F car normally driven by his brother in law, Rickey Frankel. Michael was coming off a feature win Saturday at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo. Thirlby nabbed the second heat win, and started in the front row with Long in the dash, as Michael gained enough passing points in his heat to gain the dash pole. Long then charged to the six lap win, with Burgtorf in second. With the track slicked up by feature time, it seemed the race to turn one might decide the race, and Long won that battle. However, Burgtorf took over on lap two, and quickly opened a straightaway lead. By lap twelve he was in lapped traffic, but no one is better in traffic at QR than Burgtorf. On lap 14, one lap short of the halfway point, fourth starting Weaver took over the second spot. Although he tried to run down the
# 15R, the caution flag never waved, and Burgtorf remained in control. Weaver, who took the checkers in his other visit to Quincy, held second ahead of Long. Justin Reed advanced from row four to take fourth late from Clint Kirkham. Robby Warner led the second five ahead of Matt Bailey and point leader Jason Perry. Dustin Griffin broke a fifth arm in the first heat, started 16th and finished ninth, the final car on the lead lap.
  The UMP modifieds broke the streak of quick main events. All but one of the 18 cars signed in started the 25 lapper, which surely came close to the time limit.  The open wheelers just could not seem to get ahold of the slick surface. Several newcomers from the St Louis area made for some interesting battles, as Rob and Joe Pendergrass and Mark Enk ventured north. QR is a tough track to tame if you have never been there, and the battle up front was dominated by familiar faces. Jared Schlipman led the first nine circuits, with points leader Steven Delonjay taking over after one of the many restarts. A lap 19 restart helped Dave Weitholder get around Schlipman for second, and another caution two laps later saw Jake Griffin grab the third spot. Shawn Deering found himself at the tail after the lap nine mixup, but took advantage of the cautions to charge back to fifth.
  In the regular hobby stock 15 lapper, Klingele took off from the pole, and this time was not to be denied. The racing was intense behind him, with Hoener, Symmonds, and Powers pushing hard. However, it was Nathan Hayes who found the fast line, and moved up to third. Symmonds bobbled late, dropping to sixth, but on the final lap, Powers and Jeff Delonjay got together in turn one. Powers was scored ninth, and Delonjay was penalized to tenth. Symmonds benefitted with a fourth place finish.
  The survivors of the 14 car sport compact field took the green falg in the evenings finale. A lap one collision sent second half sensation Austin Becerra to the tail. bucky Gallaher led the first two circuits before Josh Barnes took over. the two dueled until  a lap eleven caution set up a green, white checkers finish. On the restart, Becerra powered to third, then charged past Barnes out of turn four at the
checkers for the win. Barnes held second, while Tony Becerra picked up third in his first visit to the track. Abbott moved to fourth late in the borrowed car, ahead of point leader Woodruff.
 Despite the 21 race card, the final checkers waved just before 10:00. And much to my delight, the start time has been moved up one hour starting next week until seasons end. Hot laps begin at 4:45, and racing at 5:30. Also, the family of  PhotoBilly is scheduled to be on hand with his QR photos this Sunday.

Familiar Faces in Victory Lane at MMSP

While many racing friends headed to Knoxville on Saturday, Darryl and I headed south to the Montgomery,Mo. Motorsports Park. Having suffered a partial rainout the week before, the night was to begin with the final 13 laps of the A modified feature as well as the late model main event, followed by a complete show for the five regular classes. Steve Stotler looked like the man to beat as the mods took off on a still somewhat slick track. " Big Block " Tim Hancock was lurking in the second spot when his # 44 ride went up in smoke on lap16. Dave Weitholder, and Kelly Smith, driving Bill Bakers # 03 tagged Hancock, but both got their spots back. Following a green, white, checkers finish two laps later, Stotler took the win, with Weitholder second and 13 year old Jake Griffin in third. As Stotler picked up his trophy, young Griffin climbed in his # 08 late model, part of the 13 cars that returned from the prior weeks 15 car field. As the high powered UMP cars took off, the caution flew on lap two for Reid Millard. On the restart, Jerry Lierly grabbed the lead over Jason Perry. On lap four, the top two made contact, sending them both to the pits. After another false start, the race was red flagged as the EMS crew was summoned to the pit area. It was several hours later that we learned the reason - Lierly had suffered a broken arm in the collision. He eventually went by private vehicle to the hospital in Hermann, Mo., returning with the diagnosis of needed surgery. Dave Jumper then assumed the lead. After a lap twelve caution, Dustin Griffin moved to second, and proceeded to run side by side with Jumper. On lap 23 the two made contact, ending Jumpers run. D Griffin led the final two circuits to take the win over Jim Moon, while cousin Jake Griffin recorded anothe third place finish. Mike Hammerle and Robby Warner completed the first five, as only seven cars finished.
  The action then rolled over to the regular show, and with late arrivals, the field swelled to 91 total cars, led by 33 UMP modifieds, 20 UMP late models, and 20 B- mods. As the night got off to a bit of a late start - 7:45 - it was decided to cut the support class heats to six laps, and the late models I believe, ran eight. The Griffin boys stayed hot, with Jake winning his mod heat and scoring a second to Perry in his late model heat. Dustin grab late model heat three, while Keith Pratt made a successful return to the track by grabbing heat one. KP missed about three months with engine issues.
  The feature races in the support divisions also had laps shaved off, with the 4 cylinders scheduled for eight laps. As it turned out, that may have been plenty for Rodney George, who ran the last couple laps with his right rear wheel throwing sparks as it wobbled precariously. Buddy Lowery scored the ten lap sportsman main, with the B'mods also set for ten circuits. Unfortunately, on the ever slickening track, the B's looked like the proverbial hogs on ice. After too many cautions to count, the time limit hit with only three laps scored, and the race went to green, white checkers. The final two laps went caution free, and Hallsville, Mo. driver Larry Winn, a nearly 40 year veteran, nabbed the win.
  A 22 car starting field of A-mods were next for 15 laps. By virtue of his heat win, Jake Griffin had the pole, but during the parade laps, veteran Steve Grotz noticed a problem in the rear suspension of Jakes ride. Grotz, who is from Quincy, competes against Jake at MMSP, then often helps him in the pits at Quincy Raceways. Track officials took a look at the # 08, and sent Jake pitside. It took four tries to get the mods started, and by then Jake was able to rejoin the back of the pack for the now single file start. Visiting Brian Beilong took the early lead, running the low groove, while Grotz, who started in the sixth slot, decided to try the cushion. Grotz grabbed the lead briefly, but a lap five caution relegated him to second. On the restart, " Mack Daddy " again went upstairs and retook the point. Although he had a couple of close calls on the top in three and four, Grotz held on for an emotional victory. It was the first for the 63 year old since his rollover accident a couple years back in an IMCA late model left him on a halo for the summer with the prediction that his racing career was over. Mike Vanderiet Jr. slipped past Beilong for second in the closing laps.
  Last on the tack was the regular feature for the late models. Although it was announced the race would be cut to 20 laps, I am preety sure it went the full 25.
Pratt and Perry shared the front row, with Perry grabbing the lead. The caution waved twice on lap three, and when we got back to racing, third starting Dustin Griffin powered around Perry. Bearing down Jason looped his # 27, forcing him to the tail. As he headed back forward, he again lost the handle, bringing out the yellow, and ending an unusually bad night for him. Although D Griffin looked to be in control, cousin Jake took Grotz' line on the restart, pounding the cushion, and pulling alongside his cousin. By lap 13, Jake had the top spot, and although Dustin got close a couple of times, Jake held on for his first late model win of 2012 in what his dad Danny said was race # 116! The 13 year old did a NASCAR style burnout on the front stretch, to the delight of the crowd, and was an incredibly excited young man in the post race interview, and in his pit afterwards. Grotz, crew chief Tony Warner, and dad Danny were nearly as excited as the youngster.
  Dustin held the second spot, as the cousins took home  a big share of the nights payout. Pratt was pleased with a third place run in his return, Hammerle recorded another fourth, and Moon rolled home fifth. Warner, Jumper, Rich Lawson, Vance Wilson, and Lance Getz completed the top ten.
  The final checkers waved just before midnight, due in no small part to the outstanding efforts of the flagman. He almost refused to waste time and laps with the silly raised flag, " next time we will start" signal. The restarts lined up in turn four, and the next trip by, the green was out. Why every track does not do this is a complete mystery to me!
  My second trip to Montgomery Motorsports Park was another good experience, as the reopened facility has their act together, although there was that 20 mnute intermission...
   Family matters took me out of town on Sunday, and I missed my first night of racing this season at Quincy Raceways. According to reports, several nice tributes were held in memory of the track photographer, " PhotoBilly " Haffer, who lost his life last week in a car accident while returning from a race in Oskaloosa, Iowa. He was a friend of everyone who knew him, and will be sorely missed.
   Four features were contested before rain washed out the final nine laps of the hobby stock main, and the IMCA sport compact 12 lapper, which will start the program next Sunday. Congratulations to Dustin Griffin, Steven Delonjay, Terry Houston, and Tony Dunker on their wins.
  Also congrats to Ray Guss Jr. following his induction Saturday into the National Dirt Racing Hall of Fame!
 

Dirt Track Racing Loses a Great Friend

Sad news received today that racing photographer " Billy " Haffer, also known as " Photo Billy " lost his life early Tuesday morning in an automobile accident. Billy was riding in a car with two friends when they experienced mechanical issues near Ottumwa, Iowa and there car was rearended by a semi tractor. Billy and another man were killed, and the driver was taken to the hospital. Although from the St Louis area, they were apparently headed back to Quincy after Billy had taken photos at the sprint car race at Oskaloosa. Billy took photos at several UMP tracks, and this was his first season as photographer at Quincy Raceways. He was a genuine nice guy, a dedicated race fan, and someone who never met a stranger. Quincy Raceways will honor him Sunday night, and Griffin Motorsports will have memorial stickers for sale, with the proceeds going to the families. Billy was only 44 years young. RIP, my friend.

UMP Points Leaders Focus on Quincy

When Quincy Raceways made the decision during the off season to switch to UMP late models, one topic of discussion was the difference in how points are awarded compared with IMCA. With IMCA , track points are crucial, and track championships play a key roll in national championships. It is a formula established to help build track loyalty. UMP takes more of a " every man for himself " approach, and points earned at any sanctioned track can be added to a drivers total. I apologize that I do not know exactly how many starts are counted towards a drivers total, but I think there is a maximum amount, at which time you can begin to toss out poor finishes and count better ones, a practice IMCA also uses. But track loyalty is more of an afterthought in UMP, and when you are the only Sunday night late model track in Illinois, you wait... until now. Sunday nifght, as Keagan and I walked down pit road, it was impossible to miss the bright green hauler already in the pits. Yes, it was national points leader Brian Shirley. Before making our first pass, we checked in at the pit shack, and learned that the third place driver in points, Kevin Weaver, was also on hand for the first time this season. This is exactly what we had anticipated as we talked on a cold January Saturday night!  The two big guns, along with sometimes visitor Brian Dively gave  us a solid car count of 18, even as several of our track regulars were missing.
  After two IMCA stock car heats, the late models ripped off three ten lappers, with Dustin Griffin, Mark Burgtorf, and Weaver collecting wins., Burgtorf taking the checkers with a flat rear tire.Two IMCA sport mod heats ran before track officials decided to bring out the maintainer to try and improve the rough conditions in turns one and two. A lengthy delay followed, but when racing resumed, the surface was much improved. Heat races were completed in the remaining three classes, and it was time for the six car, six lap late model dash. Burgtorf and Weaver shared the front row, as the six spots are determined by heat race passing points. Although Burgtorf had the pole, Weaver blasted to the lead, and put on a clinic around the .29 mile oval to gain the pole for the 30 lap finale.
  Intermission was skipped, and the IMCA stock cars hit the speedway for 15 laps. Nine time winner Abe Huls took only four laps to advance from row four to the lead, then held off a persistent point leader, Terry Houston, to chalk up win number ten. Only a missed week has kept Abe from making a shambles of the points chase. Michael Larsen followed up his ninth heat win of the season with a third in the feature.
  Sixteen late models then took the green flag, as Dively was already on the road home after heat race issues, and Bill Genebacher kept his smoking ride pitside. This time, Weaver blasted off from the pole, with Burgtorf in tow. The race stayed green for 19 laps, as the " Flatland Flash " diced his way through lapped cars. The caution bunched the field, but also gave Weaver a clear track. By now, ninth starting Shirley had muscled his way into the top five. The only other stoppage came two laps later, and Jason Perry now took up the chase from second. Shirly powered his way to third, but this night belonged to Weaver, who lapped up to the seventh place car. Perry held off Shirley for second, while Griffin eased by the # 7B of Burgtorf for fourth. As we enter the final weeks of points racing, it is likely these two and possibly other top points chasers will make the Sunday pull to QR.
  Bobby Anders slowed the juggernaut that is Tony Dunker by winning his second IMCA sport mod feature of the season. When the checkers waved, Dunker was 1/2 a car length from his tenth win of the year. At last report, Tony was third in IMCA sport mod national points, and the second place run may have helped his standing. Joe Bliven came home third.
  The UMP modifieds were up next, and again had a bit of trouble with caution flags and heavy attrition. Dave Weitholder took the initial lead, but went to the infield on lap two with drive train problems. Steven Delonjay shadowed Jared Schlipman until midway through the 25 lapper, when he grabbed the lead. On lap 14, Schlipman and third running 13 year old Jake Griffin made contact. Jake held on to take second, with Jared slipping to fourth, behind Shawn Deering, who had restarted at the back on lap eight. Delonjay then ran the low groove, while young Griffin slammed the cushion. Griffin was faster out of turn four, but Delonjay held the edge in one and two. On the final lap, Jake aired it out up top, but Steven held on for a .058 second margin of victory. Schlipman, Deering and Craig Spegal completed the top five. Aura Griffith saw his night end early as he took a nasty roll on the front stretch in heat one, a mishap that also sent Kevin Blackburn to the trailer with damage.
  Tanner Klingele and Jake Powers ran side by side for most of the 15 lap hobby stock main event, with Tanner taking the top prize.
  After having his four race win streak snapped last Sunday, Austin Becerra was back in victory lane in the IMCA sport  compact finale, topping Brandon Lambert and Kim Abbott.
  Congratulations to former track regular Justin Jennings. Justin drove his first NASCAR Nationwide race on Saturday night at Iowa Speedway, coming home 26th in the Jimmy Means # 52. More importantly, JJ ran the entire race, and brought his mount home in one piece! Way to go, Justin!

Springsteen Runs the Table at CJ

The stars lined up well on Friday night, as I was able to get out of work on time, so I picked up Keagan and Fred, and we hot footed it up the road to CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction, arriving just as the late models wound up the hot lap sessions. It was my second trip this season to the 1/10 mile Louisa County Fairgrounds facility, and for Keagan it was another " new " track, his 25th.
 It was also the last of four visits by the IMCA rules late models. When Darryl and I visited in May, Colby Springsteen led every lap of the late model feature. On Friday, the young man duplicated the feat. This time around, the # 38 came home third in the lone heat race, but redrew the outside pole for the finale. Muscatine driver Chad Holladay, who only recently made his return to late model racing, took off from the pole, but Colby took the lead down the backstretch, and was never headed. One of the race co sponsors, Tommy Elston, challenged early from his row two starting slot, but could not make a pass. The only caution came on lap 12 for a slowing Jonathon Brauns. At the same time, Tom Bowling Jr. retired to the pits, while Brauns rejoined the field as the green waved again. On the restart, local ace Jason Utter, who had been running fourth, did a slingshot move around Holladay. Five laps later, Utter, who had won the heat, powered around Elston in turn four for second. He closed the gap a bit on the # 38, but with no further cautions, Springsteen cruised the win. Utter, Elston,Holladay, Matt Strassheim, Sam Halstead, and Ron Boyse came across in that order, with Brauns pulling out in the closing laps.
  The features had kicked off with the stock cars running what was the best race of the night. All twelve cars took the green for the 15 laps, with Travis Finke taking the early lead.  Kirk Kinsley climbed the bank on the backstretch, but recovered, and moved to the runnerup spot. Nathan Wood had advanced to third  when he suddenly veered off the track in turn four. Restarting on the tail, Wood was back to seventh when he again left the racing surface in turn two on lap seven with apparent steering issues ending his night. A four car battle insued up front with Finke and Kinsley hotly pursued by  Brandon Jay and Sky Griffith. As the laps would down, Griffith used the inside groove to make his move, and he powered by Finke at the flagstand as the white flag waved.. He then held on for his second win in a row. He was very complimentary towards Finke in his post race interview. Kinsley held on for third ahead of Jay.
   Eight of the nine modifieds on hand started the twelve lap finale, with Dustin Fenton a scratch in both the heat and feature. I don't know if he broke before we arrived, as we never caught a glimpse of the # 3D. Rod Statts led lap one, but Steve Stewart cam from row two to take over on lap two, and began to open a comfortable lead. Wade Leee took over second on lap four, but could not run down the # 17. The yellow waved on lap nine when Clayton Jensen slowed, but on the restart, Stewart again opened a big lead. Lee held on to second , followed by Dave Imming and Mitch Morris.
  The mod lites had nine cars take the green,  with Paul Hallet a no show. The first yellow came on lap two, with Rob Conklin out front. On the restart, heat two winner Evan Epperson took the point,  with heat one winner Troy Philpott quickly moving to second. On lap six, Philpott put his # 11 out front. the yellow waved for a second and final time on lap eight, but " Stinky " was not to be denied. He led Epperson to the checkers, with Jonathon Huston and Rob Guss in tow.
  Seven of the eight registered 4 cylinders ran a caution free main event, with Tyler Whalen taking the win over Bill Whalen Jr., Corey Sheetz, and Kody Bass.
  The final checkers waved about 9:45, making for a quick, well run program.
  Although I had experinced the same thing on my first visit, I was still amazed at the low turn out of late models for the $1,000 top prize. The payout down was not bad, and with Davenport not running on Friday, it just seems more cars should have come to CJ for a draw, redraw show. Most racers like to say they prefer purse over points, but their actions do not show it. The track on Friday was smooth and fast, with 2 grooves in turns one and two, and three in three and four, and the folks at the speedway are as nice as you will find. I hope they find a way to run the late models again in 2012 and that a few more drivers will support the program.
  It was fun to visit with former racers Brian Hetzler, now the flagman at CJ, and John Richardson, who was a fan in the stands. Also a thank you to the track announcer, whose name I do not know, for the plug for this blog, and Thanks to Dianna Winkel for tipping him off!
  Tonight it is back to Quincy Raceways for UMP late models. Check back tomorrow for more on that.

 

Streaks and Stuff at Quincy Raceways

It was a night of numbers at Quincy Raceways. Streaks started, extended, and ended. And along the way, a pair of brothers took turns in victory lane with last lap passes. Tony Dunker, with eight wins already in the IMCA sport mod class looked like his streak would end, as Brad Holtmeyer led lap one, only to give up the top spot to Joe Bliven on lap two. On lap four, Bobby Anders took the point. the first caution on lap eight saw Bliven retake the lead, with Dunker moving up to third. On lap twelve, Dunker grabbed the second spot, just ahead of a lap14 yellow. At that point, Anders went pitside, but Bliven remained in control for the next five laps. But coming to the checkers out of turn four, Joe slowed just a bit, and Dunker charged by on the inside for win number nine of the season. Track officials performed a pump and whistle on the # 3 in post race tech, and everything proved legal. Rick Barlow Jr. grabbed third in his first visit to the track in a couple months.
  After cheering on his brother for the first half of 2012, Pat Dunker came out of "retirement," building a sharp looking IMCA sport compact. And on Sunday, Pat broke the four race win streak of Austen Becerra, picking up his first checkers of the year. Dunker took the top spot on lap three, but gave it up to Robert Thompson on lap nine of the twelve lap finale. But much like the sport mod ending, Thompson lost power on the final lap, with Dunker there to take advantage. Becerra settled for second at the checkers ahead of Kimberly Abbott.
  Abe Huls extended his winning streak to two after missing a week for vacation in the IMCA stock car class. Abe also tied the feature win record in the class, tying Jeff Mueller with his ninth checkers of the season. Heat winner Michael Larsen led early and held on to the runnerup spot ahead of point leader Terry Houston.
  A couple of feature races could only be described as just plain ugly. Twelve hobby stocks took the green flag for 20 laps, with Jeff Delonjay grabbing the early lead, and swapping the top spot with Jake Powers. After retaking the point, Delonjay broke, handing the lead back to Jake. With attrition already taking a toll, a four car pileup on lap ten eliminated each of them, and during the caution, Brandon Symmonds headed to the trailer and Jim Brown limped to the infield, leaving only three cars for the restart. At that point, it was decided to cut the race to 15 laps, and the top three ran the final five circuits caution free. Point leader Powers took the win over Jaime  Bevill and Justin Bartz.
  All but two of the 18 entrants took the green in the UMP modified feature, and to be honest, I quit counting after eight caution periods. Mercifully, the time limit was eventually invoked, and actually drew applause from the nice sized fan appreciation night crowd. Sixth starting Michael Long moved to second on lap three, and took the lead for good on lap six.. Early leader Jared Schlipman spun while running second, but was able to work his way back to third with the help of the numerous yellows. Steven Delonjay extended his points lead with a runnerup finish. Long scored a very impressive streak of his own, taking feature wins Friday at Tri City Speedway, Saturday at Montgomery County Motorsports Park ,and Sunday night at Quincy Raceways.
  Perhaps the most interesting streak is that of late model driver Mark Burgtorf. After two nights chasing the Corn Belt series in the Richard Realty # 15R, Mark brought his # 7B machine to QR and bested the 15 car field. The win was Marks second in a row, but his prior victory was in the # 15R. The veteran missed a sweep of the nights events, running second to Dustin Griffin in the first heat before capturing the dash and the 30 lap  finale after dueling early with Griffin. Back from the UMP Summernationals and the Corn Belt tour, Jerry Lierly started seventh on the grid and charged to the runnerup spot. Lierly looked like he might have something for Burgtorf after moving to second, but could take his Bloomquist chassis no further. Bill Genenbacher came back from a hard crash the night before at Montgomery to record a season best third, while Justin Reed took over the points lead by recording a fourth, while top contenders Griffin and Jason Perry watched from the trailer. after checking out early. Robbie Warner came home fifth, while Ron Elbe and crew worked hard all night on their new Rocket car , recording a sixth place run. Ron said they really should have waited one more week, but the racing bug won out. For the second straight night, Michael Long took a big hit in the points race, this time pulling out after a mixup on the initial start.
All the news is not bad for the # 56J team, however. Former driver Justin Jennings, who just a few weeks back landed a ride in the Camping World truck series race at Iowa Speedway, will be back in action this Saturday in the NASCAR Nationwide race at the Newton track. The teenager will be behind the wheel of Jimmy Means # 52 machine. Good luck, JJ!
  There are lots of events going on this time of year competing for attention, but  there is plenty of good racing opportunites as well. so maybe I will see you at a track this weekend!