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!
Monday, July 30, 2012
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Perry and Long Take Home the Hardware From MMP
It had been 13 days since I had done any racing, so Saturday night it was time! Last Saturday we loaded up the daughter and two grandsons and headed to Gateway Raceway in Madison,Il, where Keagan did the NASCAR ride along that he purcased last winter from the Richard Petty Driving Experience . Three laps in a two seater Sprint Cup machine around the 1.5 mile oval at 165 MPH had him grinning from ear to ear, and was definitely worth the trip! Next season, grandpa may give that a try.As we spent the rest of the day shopping, eating, and go karting our way around St Louis, I received the call that Quincy Raceways had already cancelled for Sunday due to the extreme heat, effectively wiping out any chance at racing for the weekend.
On Friday night, my wife and I took in the Chris Cagle concert at the Adams County,Il county fair, while Keagan passed up the show he had wanted to see for a chance to ride along to Lee County Speedway in Donnellson with IMCA stock car driver Beau Taylor. It was his first shot at " crewing," an opportunity he could not pass up. He would be out of the picture on Saturday but old buddy Gary Lupardus was up for some racing action. The radar did not look too good to the north, so it seemed like the perfect time for my first trip of 2012 to the newly reopened and renamed Montgomery Motorsports Park, just south of I-70 on highway 19 near Montgomery City, Mo.
Arriving early, as I always try to do, I was impressed with the changes the new ownership had made to the grounds as well as the racing surface. With the movement of the pit fence, folks in the grandstand are able to get right next to the pit sign area, and even take in the drivers meeting. This gave us a chance to visit with several drivers and crewmen.
The pit area was populated with over 90 cars in the five classes, including 19 UMP late models and a whopping 29 UMP modifieds.
Hot laps got under way at 7:00, with the first heat rolling out about 7:35. 13 heat races and a mod consy took about 90 minutes at the 1/4 mile facility, then came the only real downfall of the night, a 30 minute intermission last until about 9:30. On the plus side, this gave me a chance to catch up with long time race reporter Jerry West from Jefferson City. I had not seen Jerry in quite a while, and was surprised to learn he just celebrated birthday # 70. He also introduced me to his seat mates, long time late model river Bob Test and his wife. Bob was a spectator after having rolled his # 1 machine the week before in Wheatland,Mo. Former QR racer Victor Wright also stpped by to say " Hi, " so the break was a fun one for me.
The " limited sportsman" class ran the first feature, with 13 cars taking the green. After one early caution, the race stayed green and featured a side by side duek between Dan Kaminski and Jon Ripperda. As the two found lapped traffic, Ripperda picked the right lane and pulled away for the win in his first visit to the track. Bert Jacoby eased by Kaminski on the closing laps to take second.
The Pro 4 class had only eight cars for the finale, with Jordon Martin picking up his second win of the season.
Up third was the UMP late model 25 lapper, with Jefferson City driver Reid Millard and Camp Point,Il ace Dustin Griffin on the front row by virtue of heat race wins. After tow jack rabbit starts, track officials sent them back one row, moving heat three winner Jason Perry, from Payson,Il, and Rich Lawson, from House Springs,Mo to the front. I mentioned to Gary at the time that that might be the move of the race, and that proved to be correct. As this was happening, Jim Moon suffered a flat after being rear ended on one of the starts, and he ducked to the pits, moving him from inside row three to 19th on the restart. Perry shot to the lead, with a yellow waving after one lap for Michael Weir. Back to green, and Perry and Griffin began to check out on the field before a lap 12 caution flew for Andy Scoles and Alan Westling. Five laps later, the caution waved for David Miller, and the track was getting black except around the very top. As the green waved again, Griffin got a run and was around Perry when Perrys teammate, Bill Genenbacher slammed the backstretch concrete, bringing out the final caution. Billy had been running fifth at the time, while Moon had moved all the wat to seventh.
After the wrecker carried the # 72 pitside, Perry again pulled away, and he led the final nine laps for his third checkers of the season at MMP, and second in a row. Griffin took the runner up slot, follwed by Vance Wilson in dad Garys # 155.
Moon used some aggressive driving to move to fourth on the final lap, giving Quincy regulars the top four spots. Lawson, veteran Mike Hammerle, Millard, Casey Montague, Derek Fetter and Craig Bessinger all scored top ten finishes.
Next up was 20 laps of UMP modified racing. The field had been pared to 22 starters, With Troy Grotz from Quincy and Gary Blackburn Jr. from Fulton,Mo.setting the pace, the mods also had a tough time getting started, with a three car pileup at the green sending Bill Baker pitside. A couple more false starts allowed Baker to tag the tail without missing a lap. The younger Grotz led lap one, but fourth starting Michael Long charged to the lead on lap two. Michael was looking for that moisture up high and stretching his lead when he pounded the turn three concrete on lap eight, doing heavy damage to his rear spoiler. Two laps later the caution came out, and we wondered if the damage would come in to play with ten laps still to go. Michael shot out ahead of Grotz on the restart, still using the high groove. with two laps to go, Long encountered Baker out of turn two, and tried to drive below him in turn three as Baker seemed to change his line. As contact was made, the yellow waved for a spinning Tony Patterson, and possible disaster for Long was averted. With a clear track ahead on the restart, Michael flew to the checkers, With Grotz holding off Steven Delonjay for a well deserved second place finish. Dad Steve Grotz used the high line to take fourth, while Blackburn hung around to finish fifth.
As the clock clicked up to 11:00, we made out way to the car as the B-mods prepared to close out the night. According to reports, Mike Floyd took the checkers in that action.
We came away impressed with the racing we saw, and it was well worth the 200 mile round trip. Thanks to announcer Doug Mealy for getting me up to speed on some unfamiliar cars and drivers.
although we have had some light rain, things look like a go tonight for Quincy Raceways, so check back Monday for a recap of that action. Maybe I will see you there!
On Friday night, my wife and I took in the Chris Cagle concert at the Adams County,Il county fair, while Keagan passed up the show he had wanted to see for a chance to ride along to Lee County Speedway in Donnellson with IMCA stock car driver Beau Taylor. It was his first shot at " crewing," an opportunity he could not pass up. He would be out of the picture on Saturday but old buddy Gary Lupardus was up for some racing action. The radar did not look too good to the north, so it seemed like the perfect time for my first trip of 2012 to the newly reopened and renamed Montgomery Motorsports Park, just south of I-70 on highway 19 near Montgomery City, Mo.
Arriving early, as I always try to do, I was impressed with the changes the new ownership had made to the grounds as well as the racing surface. With the movement of the pit fence, folks in the grandstand are able to get right next to the pit sign area, and even take in the drivers meeting. This gave us a chance to visit with several drivers and crewmen.
The pit area was populated with over 90 cars in the five classes, including 19 UMP late models and a whopping 29 UMP modifieds.
Hot laps got under way at 7:00, with the first heat rolling out about 7:35. 13 heat races and a mod consy took about 90 minutes at the 1/4 mile facility, then came the only real downfall of the night, a 30 minute intermission last until about 9:30. On the plus side, this gave me a chance to catch up with long time race reporter Jerry West from Jefferson City. I had not seen Jerry in quite a while, and was surprised to learn he just celebrated birthday # 70. He also introduced me to his seat mates, long time late model river Bob Test and his wife. Bob was a spectator after having rolled his # 1 machine the week before in Wheatland,Mo. Former QR racer Victor Wright also stpped by to say " Hi, " so the break was a fun one for me.
The " limited sportsman" class ran the first feature, with 13 cars taking the green. After one early caution, the race stayed green and featured a side by side duek between Dan Kaminski and Jon Ripperda. As the two found lapped traffic, Ripperda picked the right lane and pulled away for the win in his first visit to the track. Bert Jacoby eased by Kaminski on the closing laps to take second.
The Pro 4 class had only eight cars for the finale, with Jordon Martin picking up his second win of the season.
Up third was the UMP late model 25 lapper, with Jefferson City driver Reid Millard and Camp Point,Il ace Dustin Griffin on the front row by virtue of heat race wins. After tow jack rabbit starts, track officials sent them back one row, moving heat three winner Jason Perry, from Payson,Il, and Rich Lawson, from House Springs,Mo to the front. I mentioned to Gary at the time that that might be the move of the race, and that proved to be correct. As this was happening, Jim Moon suffered a flat after being rear ended on one of the starts, and he ducked to the pits, moving him from inside row three to 19th on the restart. Perry shot to the lead, with a yellow waving after one lap for Michael Weir. Back to green, and Perry and Griffin began to check out on the field before a lap 12 caution flew for Andy Scoles and Alan Westling. Five laps later, the caution waved for David Miller, and the track was getting black except around the very top. As the green waved again, Griffin got a run and was around Perry when Perrys teammate, Bill Genenbacher slammed the backstretch concrete, bringing out the final caution. Billy had been running fifth at the time, while Moon had moved all the wat to seventh.
After the wrecker carried the # 72 pitside, Perry again pulled away, and he led the final nine laps for his third checkers of the season at MMP, and second in a row. Griffin took the runner up slot, follwed by Vance Wilson in dad Garys # 155.
Moon used some aggressive driving to move to fourth on the final lap, giving Quincy regulars the top four spots. Lawson, veteran Mike Hammerle, Millard, Casey Montague, Derek Fetter and Craig Bessinger all scored top ten finishes.
Next up was 20 laps of UMP modified racing. The field had been pared to 22 starters, With Troy Grotz from Quincy and Gary Blackburn Jr. from Fulton,Mo.setting the pace, the mods also had a tough time getting started, with a three car pileup at the green sending Bill Baker pitside. A couple more false starts allowed Baker to tag the tail without missing a lap. The younger Grotz led lap one, but fourth starting Michael Long charged to the lead on lap two. Michael was looking for that moisture up high and stretching his lead when he pounded the turn three concrete on lap eight, doing heavy damage to his rear spoiler. Two laps later the caution came out, and we wondered if the damage would come in to play with ten laps still to go. Michael shot out ahead of Grotz on the restart, still using the high groove. with two laps to go, Long encountered Baker out of turn two, and tried to drive below him in turn three as Baker seemed to change his line. As contact was made, the yellow waved for a spinning Tony Patterson, and possible disaster for Long was averted. With a clear track ahead on the restart, Michael flew to the checkers, With Grotz holding off Steven Delonjay for a well deserved second place finish. Dad Steve Grotz used the high line to take fourth, while Blackburn hung around to finish fifth.
As the clock clicked up to 11:00, we made out way to the car as the B-mods prepared to close out the night. According to reports, Mike Floyd took the checkers in that action.
We came away impressed with the racing we saw, and it was well worth the 200 mile round trip. Thanks to announcer Doug Mealy for getting me up to speed on some unfamiliar cars and drivers.
although we have had some light rain, things look like a go tonight for Quincy Raceways, so check back Monday for a recap of that action. Maybe I will see you there!
Monday, July 16, 2012
Burgtorf First on a Long Night in Quincy
The furnace was up all the way Sunday night at Quincy Raceways, and it was reflected a bit in both car count and attendance. 71 race teams checked in to compete in the six classes. even with the 5:45 start time for hot laps, the track begins to dry out during hot laps. The track crew put some extra water on before the first heat, and unfortunately, the oval got a bit slimy. The tractor was bthen brought out, but broke down, so after some discussion, the late models came out to pack in the moisture. The result was a late start, but a pretty good racing surface.
The IMCA stock car count was down, but Abe Huls was back from vacation, and he wasted no time charging to the front and collected his eighth feature win of the season. Point leader Terry Houston ran second, and late model driver Kevin Tomlinson, who has his # 49 parked for the time being, ran third in the # 48 stock car of Michael Larsen. Larsen is currently in England for his employer, General Mills.
The UMP late models ran the second feature, with heat winners Matt Bailey and Mark Burgtorf filling the front row. With the " open ' engine back in the Richard Realty # 15R, Mark won the drag race to turn one and was never headed in the 30 lapper. Burgtorf was cruising when the caution flew on lap 13, when fifth running Justin Reed slowed on the backstretch. On the restart, Jason Perry blasted by Dustin Griffin for second, and was running down Mark when the yellow waved for the final time on lap 21 for Rickey Frankel. When the green waved again, Burgtorf pulled away, collecting his second feature win in 2012 at QR, and his first in the Richard # 15R. Perry, Griffin, Bailey, and Jim Moon filled the top five spots. Ed Dixon was a first time visitor for 2012 in his trademark # 50. The Hall of Famer was fast in his heat, but made contact with the backstretch fence in the dash, ripping apart his rear spoiler, and he was not a factor in the main before pulling out early. Michael long was scheduled to start the dash in the Jennings Racing
# 56J, but detected a noisy lifter when he fired the engine, and quickly shut it down for the night.
The IMCA sport mods had their smallest turnout of the season, and Tony Dunker had no problem recording his eighth win of the year ahead of Bobby Anders and fast improving second generation pilot Brad Holtmeyer.
The UMP mods had the biggest turnout with 18 entries, and when the green light was on the racing was awesome. Unfortunately the yellow flag waved ten times in the 25 laps, slowing the momentum of the race to a crawl. Jared Schlipman led the early laps before Steven Delonjay took the point. Several drivers took a shot at the youngster, including Vance Wilson, driving Ronnie Woods # 53 for the night. Michael long had the best chance, running down the leader more than once, but his high side moves were not enough. A final charge found him losing second to Schlipman, with Shawn Deering and Dave Weitholder completing the top five. Adam Birck had a nice run his first time at QR this year in the Mike Begley # B4 subbing for Jim Roach, away at son Tylers wedding, before his run ended on lap 19. Ryan Porter did not get to race on Sunday, as his engine let go in hot laps, and Jake Griffin had a similar issue in his heat race.
Tanner Klingele managed only one lap in the sport mod main event, but came back to capture the hobby stock finale over Jeff Delonjay and Jamie Bevil. Both the top two in points, Brandon Symmonds - DNF - and Jake Poewers, sixth - finished outside the top five.
Brandon Lambert looked to be on his way to the IMCA sport compact win before breaking coming to the white flag. Austen Beceera was right there to pick up his fourth win in a row over Kimberly Abbott and Seith Woodruff.
Vance Wilson, who sold his late model earlier this season and purchased a sport mod, has sold it and bought a Harley. Vance is set to race dad Garys # 155 late model beginning next week. Keith Pratt is due back in another couple weeks with a fresh engine in his # 33. Ron Elbe reportedly has a new car, and should also be ready in a week or two. Former driver Justin Jennings, currently enrolled in NASCAR tech school, had a ride in the # 65 NASCAR Camping World truck on Saturday at Iowa Speedway. In his first time out, Justin ran the entire race, recording a 23rd place finish after qualifying 31st. Dad Greg and Uncle Neil were pitside with him, and still made it back to QR Sunday with the # 56J late model. Congratulations to the # 65 team!
This weekend, grandson Keagan is set to do his Richard Petty Driving Experience ride along, so stay tuned for those highlights. Last Friday, he drug me to my first demolition derby in how many years? And it was a good time. Keepin' me young and makin' me old, all at the same time! See ya, down the road.
The IMCA stock car count was down, but Abe Huls was back from vacation, and he wasted no time charging to the front and collected his eighth feature win of the season. Point leader Terry Houston ran second, and late model driver Kevin Tomlinson, who has his # 49 parked for the time being, ran third in the # 48 stock car of Michael Larsen. Larsen is currently in England for his employer, General Mills.
The UMP late models ran the second feature, with heat winners Matt Bailey and Mark Burgtorf filling the front row. With the " open ' engine back in the Richard Realty # 15R, Mark won the drag race to turn one and was never headed in the 30 lapper. Burgtorf was cruising when the caution flew on lap 13, when fifth running Justin Reed slowed on the backstretch. On the restart, Jason Perry blasted by Dustin Griffin for second, and was running down Mark when the yellow waved for the final time on lap 21 for Rickey Frankel. When the green waved again, Burgtorf pulled away, collecting his second feature win in 2012 at QR, and his first in the Richard # 15R. Perry, Griffin, Bailey, and Jim Moon filled the top five spots. Ed Dixon was a first time visitor for 2012 in his trademark # 50. The Hall of Famer was fast in his heat, but made contact with the backstretch fence in the dash, ripping apart his rear spoiler, and he was not a factor in the main before pulling out early. Michael long was scheduled to start the dash in the Jennings Racing
# 56J, but detected a noisy lifter when he fired the engine, and quickly shut it down for the night.
The IMCA sport mods had their smallest turnout of the season, and Tony Dunker had no problem recording his eighth win of the year ahead of Bobby Anders and fast improving second generation pilot Brad Holtmeyer.
The UMP mods had the biggest turnout with 18 entries, and when the green light was on the racing was awesome. Unfortunately the yellow flag waved ten times in the 25 laps, slowing the momentum of the race to a crawl. Jared Schlipman led the early laps before Steven Delonjay took the point. Several drivers took a shot at the youngster, including Vance Wilson, driving Ronnie Woods # 53 for the night. Michael long had the best chance, running down the leader more than once, but his high side moves were not enough. A final charge found him losing second to Schlipman, with Shawn Deering and Dave Weitholder completing the top five. Adam Birck had a nice run his first time at QR this year in the Mike Begley # B4 subbing for Jim Roach, away at son Tylers wedding, before his run ended on lap 19. Ryan Porter did not get to race on Sunday, as his engine let go in hot laps, and Jake Griffin had a similar issue in his heat race.
Tanner Klingele managed only one lap in the sport mod main event, but came back to capture the hobby stock finale over Jeff Delonjay and Jamie Bevil. Both the top two in points, Brandon Symmonds - DNF - and Jake Poewers, sixth - finished outside the top five.
Brandon Lambert looked to be on his way to the IMCA sport compact win before breaking coming to the white flag. Austen Beceera was right there to pick up his fourth win in a row over Kimberly Abbott and Seith Woodruff.
Vance Wilson, who sold his late model earlier this season and purchased a sport mod, has sold it and bought a Harley. Vance is set to race dad Garys # 155 late model beginning next week. Keith Pratt is due back in another couple weeks with a fresh engine in his # 33. Ron Elbe reportedly has a new car, and should also be ready in a week or two. Former driver Justin Jennings, currently enrolled in NASCAR tech school, had a ride in the # 65 NASCAR Camping World truck on Saturday at Iowa Speedway. In his first time out, Justin ran the entire race, recording a 23rd place finish after qualifying 31st. Dad Greg and Uncle Neil were pitside with him, and still made it back to QR Sunday with the # 56J late model. Congratulations to the # 65 team!
This weekend, grandson Keagan is set to do his Richard Petty Driving Experience ride along, so stay tuned for those highlights. Last Friday, he drug me to my first demolition derby in how many years? And it was a good time. Keepin' me young and makin' me old, all at the same time! See ya, down the road.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Doin' Some Week Night Racin'
My particular job does not allow for a lot of week night racing without vacation time, but some opportunities are just too enticing to pass up. Last July when the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series scheduled a return to the West Liberty Raceway after many years, I decided it might be a show to see. Indeed it was, so when the 2012 schedule came out, the two visits to the historic half mile by the series went on my " can't miss " list. And once again on Tuesday, I was not disappointed. Old friend Gary Lupardus joined me for night number 27 on my 2012 schedule, as I took off work early for the two hour plus drive. Arriving plenty early, we were able to watch the cars roll in, and when the last hauler was signed in, 36 late models and 19 open modifieds were ready to contest the two class program. Call me old, but two classes of racing, those were the days!
Racing began a little after 7:00, with four late model heat races on tap. Each had a special storyline, beginning with Colby Springsteen and Justin Kay getting together at the beginning of heat one. On the restart,outside front row starter Tom Goble tried to outdrive polesitter Jonathon Brauns through turns one and two. Youngster Brauns held his ground, and the veteran Goble wound up spinning his # 69, earning a trip to the back. It was basically the end of the night for Goble, who started deep in his B-main and could not advance to the top four qualifying spot. Brauns led six laps before eventually falling out of the top three transfer positions, with Nick Marolf, out for the first time in a new Victory Circle chassis by Billy Moyer coming from row three for the win. Kurt Kile shot to the lead in heat two from a front row start, but bobbled slightly on lap seven, tightening the field. Jay Johnson had a chance to take the lead, but had to hit the brakes, giving Kile time to recover and take the win. Heat three saw Gary Webb start at the tail with engine issues, and also saw the 2012 debut of Brian Harris in a # 5J machine, different from the # 5J wheeled by Jeff Mitrisan. Trying to catch the pack on a restart, Harris smacked the # 32c of Chad Holliday, a former West Liberty regular making a comeback to late model racing. Rumor in the grandstands is that Chad purchased some equipment from Jim Brokus. Harris was carted off the speedway by two wreckers, but made a return for his B-main, qualified third, then retired to the pits after advancing from 18th to tenth in the feature. Tommy Elston led heat three until lap four, when Darrell Defrance took over in what seemed to be a bit treacherous turn two. As A side note, Defrance kept his streak alive, entering his 394th series race, never having missed one! Darrell took the win ahead of series points leader Mike Murphy, and Tyler Breuning edged Elston for the final spot at the checkers.
Heat foue began with Kevin Kile making a nifty low side move in turn two to advance from eighth to fourth, eventually moving up to second behind race leader Mike Garland. Joel Callahan started seventh and followed Kile through the pack. Coming out of turn four for the final time, Jay Chenoweth and Kyle Hinrichs were side by side dueling for the front row of the B-main start when contact sent them both towards the berm and tractor tire in turn one. Kyle ended up on his roof, with Jay shoved up against him. After several minutes, the # 15 had to be rolled over before Hinrichs could get out of his ride. He was done for the night, while Chenoweth made a couple laps in the B-main.
The mods were split into three heats, a mistake in my mind with 19 cars on a big half mile, and sure enough, two scratches in heat one gave us a four car, ten lap heat where all four made the redraw. Still the mod field was stacked with outstanding drivers, and particularly heat two was a dandy. Visiting Zack Vanderbeek ran off with the win, but behind him Bruce Hanford, Ryan Dolan, Justin Speers and Todd Hansen staged a great battle. Scott Dickey took advantage of a bobble by Johnny Spaw in heat three, and the feature field was set.
Two late model B-mains were contested, with outside row one starter Denny Eckrich taking a flag to flag win in the first twelve lapper. Elston took off from row one in the second consy, only to give up the lead to veteran Ron Boyse. Elston again took the top spot, but Boyse made a move to the front on the final lap for a popular win.
A lengthy intermission included a Little Racers Car Club event followed by the card draw and exchange among the top twelve late model qualifiers used this season by the series to set the first six rows. The open mod drivers also made a pass through the stands to collect funds for the family of mod driver Tim Sands who lost his life in a racing accident early last month at nearby Columbus Junction. The 48 year old Sands had also raced for many years at West Liberty. When all was said and done, over $2100 was collected.
The mod feature finally kicked off about 9;10, with 17 cars taking the green. Double duty Kurt Kile shot out to a big lead, before slowing to bring out the first caution with six laps in the books. Going pitside, he made it back out to tag the tail of the field, as Dickey outraced Vanderbeek to turn one on the side by side restart.
another outstanding battled dveloped behind the top two between Hanford, Noah Coppes, Dolan, and Brad Dubil. Vanderbeek made it a side by side duel on lap 19, and had a nose out front at the 20th pass. Dickey led lap 21, but on lap 22 he was back in second, tried an inside move and looped his # 40. Anther side by side restart had Vanderbeek and Todd Hansen up front, but Hansen dropped back quickly, with Hanford powering to second. Meanwhile, Kile had moved up to restart sixth, and moved to fourth on the restart. Vanderbeek held of Hanford for the win, while Kile came all the way back to third ahead of Coppes and Dubil.
Ray Guss Jr. had captured the spring series event at Liberty, and his pole position start made him the favorite in the 35 lapper. After the exciting preliminaries, the feature had little dramatics. Guss was the class of the field, and had lapped eight cars by the time the only caution waved 26 laps in for a smoking Webb, who made the race on a points provisional. Marolf provided the most excitement, moving from a row three start to third by lap seven, then passing Andy Eckrich for second on lap eleven. At that point nick looked like the fastest car on the track, but he could not get close to the masrerful Guss. He had his chance with the lap 27 restart, but Guss quickly distanced himself from the pack. Jeff Aikey made a dandy move to come from eighth to fourth after taking the green in ninth, while Denny Eckrich advanced to sixth from his seventh row starting spot. Guss took the win ahead of Marolf, A. Eckrich, and Jay Johnson, who found his way around Aikey. D. Eckrich led the second five followed by Defrance,Kurt Kile, Murphy, and Jason Utter. The final checkers fell moments after 10:00.
I am very rarely disappointed in a trip to West Liberty, and indeed, Tuesday was another good night of racing!
Racing began a little after 7:00, with four late model heat races on tap. Each had a special storyline, beginning with Colby Springsteen and Justin Kay getting together at the beginning of heat one. On the restart,outside front row starter Tom Goble tried to outdrive polesitter Jonathon Brauns through turns one and two. Youngster Brauns held his ground, and the veteran Goble wound up spinning his # 69, earning a trip to the back. It was basically the end of the night for Goble, who started deep in his B-main and could not advance to the top four qualifying spot. Brauns led six laps before eventually falling out of the top three transfer positions, with Nick Marolf, out for the first time in a new Victory Circle chassis by Billy Moyer coming from row three for the win. Kurt Kile shot to the lead in heat two from a front row start, but bobbled slightly on lap seven, tightening the field. Jay Johnson had a chance to take the lead, but had to hit the brakes, giving Kile time to recover and take the win. Heat three saw Gary Webb start at the tail with engine issues, and also saw the 2012 debut of Brian Harris in a # 5J machine, different from the # 5J wheeled by Jeff Mitrisan. Trying to catch the pack on a restart, Harris smacked the # 32c of Chad Holliday, a former West Liberty regular making a comeback to late model racing. Rumor in the grandstands is that Chad purchased some equipment from Jim Brokus. Harris was carted off the speedway by two wreckers, but made a return for his B-main, qualified third, then retired to the pits after advancing from 18th to tenth in the feature. Tommy Elston led heat three until lap four, when Darrell Defrance took over in what seemed to be a bit treacherous turn two. As A side note, Defrance kept his streak alive, entering his 394th series race, never having missed one! Darrell took the win ahead of series points leader Mike Murphy, and Tyler Breuning edged Elston for the final spot at the checkers.
Heat foue began with Kevin Kile making a nifty low side move in turn two to advance from eighth to fourth, eventually moving up to second behind race leader Mike Garland. Joel Callahan started seventh and followed Kile through the pack. Coming out of turn four for the final time, Jay Chenoweth and Kyle Hinrichs were side by side dueling for the front row of the B-main start when contact sent them both towards the berm and tractor tire in turn one. Kyle ended up on his roof, with Jay shoved up against him. After several minutes, the # 15 had to be rolled over before Hinrichs could get out of his ride. He was done for the night, while Chenoweth made a couple laps in the B-main.
The mods were split into three heats, a mistake in my mind with 19 cars on a big half mile, and sure enough, two scratches in heat one gave us a four car, ten lap heat where all four made the redraw. Still the mod field was stacked with outstanding drivers, and particularly heat two was a dandy. Visiting Zack Vanderbeek ran off with the win, but behind him Bruce Hanford, Ryan Dolan, Justin Speers and Todd Hansen staged a great battle. Scott Dickey took advantage of a bobble by Johnny Spaw in heat three, and the feature field was set.
Two late model B-mains were contested, with outside row one starter Denny Eckrich taking a flag to flag win in the first twelve lapper. Elston took off from row one in the second consy, only to give up the lead to veteran Ron Boyse. Elston again took the top spot, but Boyse made a move to the front on the final lap for a popular win.
A lengthy intermission included a Little Racers Car Club event followed by the card draw and exchange among the top twelve late model qualifiers used this season by the series to set the first six rows. The open mod drivers also made a pass through the stands to collect funds for the family of mod driver Tim Sands who lost his life in a racing accident early last month at nearby Columbus Junction. The 48 year old Sands had also raced for many years at West Liberty. When all was said and done, over $2100 was collected.
The mod feature finally kicked off about 9;10, with 17 cars taking the green. Double duty Kurt Kile shot out to a big lead, before slowing to bring out the first caution with six laps in the books. Going pitside, he made it back out to tag the tail of the field, as Dickey outraced Vanderbeek to turn one on the side by side restart.
another outstanding battled dveloped behind the top two between Hanford, Noah Coppes, Dolan, and Brad Dubil. Vanderbeek made it a side by side duel on lap 19, and had a nose out front at the 20th pass. Dickey led lap 21, but on lap 22 he was back in second, tried an inside move and looped his # 40. Anther side by side restart had Vanderbeek and Todd Hansen up front, but Hansen dropped back quickly, with Hanford powering to second. Meanwhile, Kile had moved up to restart sixth, and moved to fourth on the restart. Vanderbeek held of Hanford for the win, while Kile came all the way back to third ahead of Coppes and Dubil.
Ray Guss Jr. had captured the spring series event at Liberty, and his pole position start made him the favorite in the 35 lapper. After the exciting preliminaries, the feature had little dramatics. Guss was the class of the field, and had lapped eight cars by the time the only caution waved 26 laps in for a smoking Webb, who made the race on a points provisional. Marolf provided the most excitement, moving from a row three start to third by lap seven, then passing Andy Eckrich for second on lap eleven. At that point nick looked like the fastest car on the track, but he could not get close to the masrerful Guss. He had his chance with the lap 27 restart, but Guss quickly distanced himself from the pack. Jeff Aikey made a dandy move to come from eighth to fourth after taking the green in ninth, while Denny Eckrich advanced to sixth from his seventh row starting spot. Guss took the win ahead of Marolf, A. Eckrich, and Jay Johnson, who found his way around Aikey. D. Eckrich led the second five followed by Defrance,Kurt Kile, Murphy, and Jason Utter. The final checkers fell moments after 10:00.
I am very rarely disappointed in a trip to West Liberty, and indeed, Tuesday was another good night of racing!
Monday, July 9, 2012
A Long Night of Racing At Quincy
Following a successful Friday night of UMP Summernationals racing at Quincy Raceways, we were right back at it on Sunday. My first thought was that attendance may be down, but the cooler(?) temps brought out a nice gathering of both cars and fans. Unfortunately, a stiff southerly breeze resulted in a dried out race track, and following heat races for the modifieds, sport mods and late models, the track prep crew came out and spent 45 minutes or so reworking the track. The result was less dust, but the cushion never really came up, and most of theracing was around the bottom of the .29 mile track. The UMP mods and UMP late models tied for the lead with 17 cars in each class to lead the 81 car field. In addition, the KIDZ MODZ made an appearance, but only two showed up to race.
The mod feature was up first, and all 17 took the green flag. Steven Delonjay won the drag race into turn one over Michael Long, and whoever says you don't win a race on the first lap was wrong tonight. Steven survived five caution periods in the 25 lapper to pick up the victory. Long and Dave Weitholder swapped the runnerup spot early, but Michael settled into second, unable to overtake Delonjay. Weitholder ran third, with Shawn Deering fourth. The night started off poorly for Jared Schlipman when his # 42 would not fire in the staging lane prior to his heat race. As a result of needing a push, Jared was on the tail of the heat, and started deep in the feature field. He battled his way forward, crossing the line in fifth.
With last weeks winner Vance Wilson a fan in the stands on sunday, Tony dunker marched to yet another IMCA sport mod win, taking the lead after a lap eleven restart in the 15 lap finale. Second generation drivers Tanner Klingele and Brad Holtmeyer, as well as Bobby Anders all spent time at the front, but trailed Dunker in that order at the checkers.
The UMP late models ran third, and again, Justin Reed out raced Dewayne Kiefer to turn one at the green, and from there on the race was for third on back. Kiefer, who made his third visit to QR all the way from St Genevieve, Mo. inched closer to Reed as the two worked lapped traffic in the non stop event, but JR was up to the task. Dustin Griffin battled his way to third, with Michael long and Brian Dively rounding out the first five. Jason Perry entered the night leading the points, and competed in teammate Bill Genebachers # 72 after hurting the engine on his
# 27 on friday. He led the second five ahead of Jim Moon, Mark Burgtorf, first time visitor John Beck from Springfield, and Clint Kirkham. Jason frankel made his season debut in brother Rickeys # 33F , but started near the tail and ran just outside the top ten.
The IMCA stock car class count was up a bit at eleven. The word had been out that point leader Abe Huls would miss the night of racing while on vacation, so when we passed the # 30c hauler enroute to the track, I thought I had bad information. A quick look found no Abe in the hauler, and at the track we learned that Tony Dunker would be behind the wheel. For a time it looked like " Bones " would take the car to victory lane, but it was not to be. Aaron Brocksieck started shotgun on the filed, and patiently worked his way past Dunker on lap twelve. Tony then looped his ride while running second, and after a two week layoff, Aaron rolled his for sale # 40A into victory lane for his first win since April 8. Gabe Harrison, Michael Larsen, and Terry Houston were next in line.
Austen Becerra topped the 15 car IMCA sport compact filed for the third week in a row, besting Seth Woodruff, Brandon Lambert, and Kimberly Abbott.
A correction to my last blog, as Brandon Symmonds of Keokuk entered the night as the points leader. Brandon hung around the front all night in the 20 lap finale, but Brian Hoener had the hot set up and picked up the win. Tanner Klingele and Jeff Delonjay completed the top four.
We were excited to learn last night that former late model competitor Justin Jennings, a recent high school graduate from right here in LaGrange, who last fall entered the NASCAR driving school, has earned a ride in this weekends Camping World truck series race at Iowa Speedway. Justin will be in either the # 63 or # 65 truck, so if you get a chance, watch the race and root this nice young man on!
Next up Racin' Down the Road is headed to West Liberty for the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series race tomorrow night. If you see me, say " Hi! "
The mod feature was up first, and all 17 took the green flag. Steven Delonjay won the drag race into turn one over Michael Long, and whoever says you don't win a race on the first lap was wrong tonight. Steven survived five caution periods in the 25 lapper to pick up the victory. Long and Dave Weitholder swapped the runnerup spot early, but Michael settled into second, unable to overtake Delonjay. Weitholder ran third, with Shawn Deering fourth. The night started off poorly for Jared Schlipman when his # 42 would not fire in the staging lane prior to his heat race. As a result of needing a push, Jared was on the tail of the heat, and started deep in the feature field. He battled his way forward, crossing the line in fifth.
With last weeks winner Vance Wilson a fan in the stands on sunday, Tony dunker marched to yet another IMCA sport mod win, taking the lead after a lap eleven restart in the 15 lap finale. Second generation drivers Tanner Klingele and Brad Holtmeyer, as well as Bobby Anders all spent time at the front, but trailed Dunker in that order at the checkers.
The UMP late models ran third, and again, Justin Reed out raced Dewayne Kiefer to turn one at the green, and from there on the race was for third on back. Kiefer, who made his third visit to QR all the way from St Genevieve, Mo. inched closer to Reed as the two worked lapped traffic in the non stop event, but JR was up to the task. Dustin Griffin battled his way to third, with Michael long and Brian Dively rounding out the first five. Jason Perry entered the night leading the points, and competed in teammate Bill Genebachers # 72 after hurting the engine on his
# 27 on friday. He led the second five ahead of Jim Moon, Mark Burgtorf, first time visitor John Beck from Springfield, and Clint Kirkham. Jason frankel made his season debut in brother Rickeys # 33F , but started near the tail and ran just outside the top ten.
The IMCA stock car class count was up a bit at eleven. The word had been out that point leader Abe Huls would miss the night of racing while on vacation, so when we passed the # 30c hauler enroute to the track, I thought I had bad information. A quick look found no Abe in the hauler, and at the track we learned that Tony Dunker would be behind the wheel. For a time it looked like " Bones " would take the car to victory lane, but it was not to be. Aaron Brocksieck started shotgun on the filed, and patiently worked his way past Dunker on lap twelve. Tony then looped his ride while running second, and after a two week layoff, Aaron rolled his for sale # 40A into victory lane for his first win since April 8. Gabe Harrison, Michael Larsen, and Terry Houston were next in line.
Austen Becerra topped the 15 car IMCA sport compact filed for the third week in a row, besting Seth Woodruff, Brandon Lambert, and Kimberly Abbott.
A correction to my last blog, as Brandon Symmonds of Keokuk entered the night as the points leader. Brandon hung around the front all night in the 20 lap finale, but Brian Hoener had the hot set up and picked up the win. Tanner Klingele and Jeff Delonjay completed the top four.
We were excited to learn last night that former late model competitor Justin Jennings, a recent high school graduate from right here in LaGrange, who last fall entered the NASCAR driving school, has earned a ride in this weekends Camping World truck series race at Iowa Speedway. Justin will be in either the # 63 or # 65 truck, so if you get a chance, watch the race and root this nice young man on!
Next up Racin' Down the Road is headed to West Liberty for the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series race tomorrow night. If you see me, say " Hi! "
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Hot on the Hell Tour
The UMP Summernationals rolled in to Quincy on Friday night greeted by temperatures well into the triple digits. For me it was the unofficial start of the second half of the season, and night # 25 of racing. Of the five people who had planned to come with me, the heat scared off all but Keagan. When we arrived at the speedway after I got off work, there was a nice early crowd, but the bulk of the large crowd arrived as we got closer to qualifying time. 31 UMP late models ran hot laps about 7:00, the the smaller than expected field of 16 UMP modifieds combined hot laps with time trial qualifying, with four cars at a time on the speedway. Track point leader Dave Weitholder set quick time for the mods with a lap of 15.284. The top eight in time had been set to be locked in to the feature event, but of course with 16 cars, all would start the $650 to win 30 lap finale. The two groups of eight ran what amounted to position races. Nine hobby stocks were on hand to contest a heat race and a 15 lap feature.
Late model qualifying followed the mods,, with the cars time two at a time. The very first pair on the track were series points leader Brian Shirley and local racre Robby Warner. Shirley blasted around the 029 mile oval at 13.73 seconds, a time that would hold up throughout qualifying. In fact no one else broke the 14 second barrier, with track regular Clint Kirkham second quick at just over 14 seconds. In comparison, the 410 sprint cars racing last Sunday recorded a quick time of 11.7 seconds.
Shirley, Ryan Unzicker, former track regular Brandon Sheppard, and two time QR Summernationals winner Shannon Babb picked up heat race wins, while Mie " Opie " Spatola edged weekly competitor Jim Moon for the B-main win in which only two of 12 starters moved on. Surprise visitor Matt Furman, who we watched over the years at West Liberty Raceway and other Iowa tracks before he moved to Columbus, Ohio, put on the show of the night, running the high line we expected from Jason Feger and Jason Rauen. Unfortunately, the usual tall cushion at QR never developed, and Matt found himself over the bank at each end of the track as the night went along, and he did was not able to run down the top two before the laps ran out.
Track officials tried to keep the show moving along, as the clouds began to build around the speedway. The hobby stocks were originally set to run a 20 lap main event, but with the car count and threatening weather, it was cut to 15 laps. Track point leader Jake Powers had suffered a hard crash on Sunday that sent his # 0 to the frame shop and created several late nights in the shop for his father, ace car builder Jerry Powers. Dad was not sure the car was ready, but wanted Jake to try it out in a non points situation before this Sunday. All the youngster did was bring home the win, crossing the line in a side by side shootout with hard charging Jeff Delonjay.
The 40 lap late model feature rolled out next with Shirley and Sheppard in row one. Brian beat Brandon into turn one, and from there the racing was back in the pack. Sheppard put his new Rocket house car ride close to the Pierce chassis of the " Squirrel " on a couple of occasions, but could not make the pass. With 20 laps in the books and Babb working on Unzicker for third as both were pressured by Feger, a lightning strike knocked out the newer quartz lights in turns three and four. After a delay in the 20 minute range while the lights cooled down the came back up, a couple of stray raindrops fell as we went back to green, one lap shy of an official race. Babb was able to get around Unzicker for third, the the top five remained the same. Dennis Erb Jr, a feature winner at the track earlier this season, had a spirited battle for sixth with Jason McBride, while Jon Henry and Mark Burgtorf in the Richard Realty # 15R dueled behind them. Track provisional Justin Reed followed B main winner Spatola through the pack, finishing tenth and eleventh. Of the 22 starters 14 took the checkered flag.
With the renegade rainstorm now seemingly headed our way, the mods came to the track for a scheduled 30 laps. The front row saw dash winner Michael Long on the pole with Steven Delonjay on the outside. Steven grabbed the early lead, with Long taking over with a strong move on lap six as the rain fell. The caution came out on lap seven as Derrick Carlson lost a driver shaft in his # 367x car. Derrick suffered heavy damage earlier in the week at Jacksonville,Il, and with his # 7x down, he is wheeling his father-in - law Steve Theivagts' # 36. On the restart, defending national champion Mike Harrison took the second spot, and one lap later, the red flag came out. although only eight laps had been completed, track and UMP officials realized it would be difficult for several of the drivers to return to Quincy on sunday, so the race was called complete, with Long, Harrison, Delonjay, Donovan Lodge and Weitholder in the top five slots.
Despite the heat, there was one of the largest crowds in recent memory at QR, and although I have yet to talk to track officials, I would think the night was a success. so hopefully QR will be back on the " Hell Tour " schedule in 2013.
Check back on monday for a rundown of Sunday nights action at QR.
Late model qualifying followed the mods,, with the cars time two at a time. The very first pair on the track were series points leader Brian Shirley and local racre Robby Warner. Shirley blasted around the 029 mile oval at 13.73 seconds, a time that would hold up throughout qualifying. In fact no one else broke the 14 second barrier, with track regular Clint Kirkham second quick at just over 14 seconds. In comparison, the 410 sprint cars racing last Sunday recorded a quick time of 11.7 seconds.
Shirley, Ryan Unzicker, former track regular Brandon Sheppard, and two time QR Summernationals winner Shannon Babb picked up heat race wins, while Mie " Opie " Spatola edged weekly competitor Jim Moon for the B-main win in which only two of 12 starters moved on. Surprise visitor Matt Furman, who we watched over the years at West Liberty Raceway and other Iowa tracks before he moved to Columbus, Ohio, put on the show of the night, running the high line we expected from Jason Feger and Jason Rauen. Unfortunately, the usual tall cushion at QR never developed, and Matt found himself over the bank at each end of the track as the night went along, and he did was not able to run down the top two before the laps ran out.
Track officials tried to keep the show moving along, as the clouds began to build around the speedway. The hobby stocks were originally set to run a 20 lap main event, but with the car count and threatening weather, it was cut to 15 laps. Track point leader Jake Powers had suffered a hard crash on Sunday that sent his # 0 to the frame shop and created several late nights in the shop for his father, ace car builder Jerry Powers. Dad was not sure the car was ready, but wanted Jake to try it out in a non points situation before this Sunday. All the youngster did was bring home the win, crossing the line in a side by side shootout with hard charging Jeff Delonjay.
The 40 lap late model feature rolled out next with Shirley and Sheppard in row one. Brian beat Brandon into turn one, and from there the racing was back in the pack. Sheppard put his new Rocket house car ride close to the Pierce chassis of the " Squirrel " on a couple of occasions, but could not make the pass. With 20 laps in the books and Babb working on Unzicker for third as both were pressured by Feger, a lightning strike knocked out the newer quartz lights in turns three and four. After a delay in the 20 minute range while the lights cooled down the came back up, a couple of stray raindrops fell as we went back to green, one lap shy of an official race. Babb was able to get around Unzicker for third, the the top five remained the same. Dennis Erb Jr, a feature winner at the track earlier this season, had a spirited battle for sixth with Jason McBride, while Jon Henry and Mark Burgtorf in the Richard Realty # 15R dueled behind them. Track provisional Justin Reed followed B main winner Spatola through the pack, finishing tenth and eleventh. Of the 22 starters 14 took the checkered flag.
With the renegade rainstorm now seemingly headed our way, the mods came to the track for a scheduled 30 laps. The front row saw dash winner Michael Long on the pole with Steven Delonjay on the outside. Steven grabbed the early lead, with Long taking over with a strong move on lap six as the rain fell. The caution came out on lap seven as Derrick Carlson lost a driver shaft in his # 367x car. Derrick suffered heavy damage earlier in the week at Jacksonville,Il, and with his # 7x down, he is wheeling his father-in - law Steve Theivagts' # 36. On the restart, defending national champion Mike Harrison took the second spot, and one lap later, the red flag came out. although only eight laps had been completed, track and UMP officials realized it would be difficult for several of the drivers to return to Quincy on sunday, so the race was called complete, with Long, Harrison, Delonjay, Donovan Lodge and Weitholder in the top five slots.
Despite the heat, there was one of the largest crowds in recent memory at QR, and although I have yet to talk to track officials, I would think the night was a success. so hopefully QR will be back on the " Hell Tour " schedule in 2013.
Check back on monday for a rundown of Sunday nights action at QR.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Quincy Raceways changed things up Sunday night as the UMP late
models and IMCA stock cars took the night off, and the Midwest Open
Wheel Association 410 sprint cars took center stage for a $2,000 top
prize. 23 of the open wheelers joined four weekly classes for the night
of racing before a nice sized crowd. Due to the heat, officials pushed
the start time back to 7:30. Jerrod Hull topped qualifying around the
.29 mile oval at 11.786 seconds. Three heat races and a dash set the
starting field for the 25 lap finale. A J Bruns blasted to the lead, but
the only caution of the race waved on lap 2. Following the restart,
Bruns was again the class of the field, leading for 24 and 3/4 laps.
Forced to slow a bit as he worked lapped traffic, second running Jimmy
Hurley Turned up the wick, catching the # 44 in turn three. The two
drivers made contact, with Bruns sliding through the infield, and Hurley
charging to the checkers, Bruns recovered for second, with Joey Moughan
and Jim Moughan in hot pursuit. Ben Wagoner completed the first five.
The UMP modifieds ran in support of the sprints, and Michael Long completed a trifecta weekend, with his third feature win in three nights, following victoies at Fulton, Mo., and Pevely, Mo. Jarrod Schlipman took runner up honors, and first timers Donovan Lodge and Ray Bollinger sandwiched Dave Weitholder in fourth.
NASCAR veteran Kenny Wallace dropped by with his UNOH # 36 mod, finishing tenth. Tanner Klingele topped Brandon Symmonds in the hobby stocks, while local celebrity Skipp Dunker added $100.00 to the top spot in the IMCA sport mods and IMCA sport compacts. Vance Wilson recovered from a lap five spin to best point leader Tony Dunker - Skipps brother for the sport mod win, while Austin Becerra edged Chuck Fullenkamp for the 4 cylinder checkers.
Friday night, the UMP Summernationals come to QR , highlighted by a $7,500 top prize, supported by the UMP Summit modifieds and the QR hobby stocks.
Check out my previous blog for highlights of the tour race last Saturday at I-55 Raceway.
The UMP modifieds ran in support of the sprints, and Michael Long completed a trifecta weekend, with his third feature win in three nights, following victoies at Fulton, Mo., and Pevely, Mo. Jarrod Schlipman took runner up honors, and first timers Donovan Lodge and Ray Bollinger sandwiched Dave Weitholder in fourth.
NASCAR veteran Kenny Wallace dropped by with his UNOH # 36 mod, finishing tenth. Tanner Klingele topped Brandon Symmonds in the hobby stocks, while local celebrity Skipp Dunker added $100.00 to the top spot in the IMCA sport mods and IMCA sport compacts. Vance Wilson recovered from a lap five spin to best point leader Tony Dunker - Skipps brother for the sport mod win, while Austin Becerra edged Chuck Fullenkamp for the 4 cylinder checkers.
Friday night, the UMP Summernationals come to QR , highlighted by a $7,500 top prize, supported by the UMP Summit modifieds and the QR hobby stocks.
Check out my previous blog for highlights of the tour race last Saturday at I-55 Raceway.
Hot On and Off the Track
With temperatures slated to hit the 100 mark on Saturday, buddy Fred and I were having a hard time getting motivated to go racin.' Then I got an e-mail from another friend, Lane Evans - not the politician - asking if perhaps we were going to the UMP Summernationals race at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo. When Lane said he had never been to the Ken Schrader and Ray Marlar owned facility, I could not pass up the opportunity to show off one of my favorite venues. So minus Darryl, who will be out of commission for a while, and Keagan, who was camping, we headed down the road. It is about a 2 hour 45 minute trip from our meeting point, but Lane had over an hour on the road before meeting up with us! After a small, but unexpected issue with the Sonota, which took all three of us to remedy, we were on our way! Several tracks to our east and south simply cancelled races due to the heat, but I-55 moved their start times back one hour, so we knew it would be a late night. The crowd was somewhat better than I expected, and the car count was solid, with 34 UMP late models, 31 UMP modifieds, 20 AARA sportsman, and 22 " Pro 4s", all racing for extra money. Indeed the late model winners check would be for $10,000, while the Summit modifieds were dueling for $1,000.
The modifieds time trialed, four at a time during their hot laps, with track regular Mark Miner, who also races late models weekly, setting the pace at 13.920 around the 1/3 mile high banked oval. Late model qualifying was next, and Shannon Babb saw his night get off on the wrong foot as he clipped the wall in turn four, then jumped the turn one cushion, doing a slow roll in his # 18. Ohio driver Jon Henry set fast time at 12.632.
The first race hit the speedway at 8:57, with 13 heat races followed by B- mains for the mods and lates. The fourth late model heat had everyone on the edge of their seat, as the field ran four wide! All four late model heat winners came from the front row, with Henry, Brian Shirley, Billy Moyer, and " Rocket Shepp " Brandon Sheppard scoring wins. Popular local Randy Korte loaded his # 00 after time trials, but Brant Kehrer turned over his # 92Kto the veteran. Randy did not transfer through his heat, but made adjustments to capture the B-main ahead of Babb, who showed no ill effects of his earlier rollover.
The only " downer " off the night was the 10:45 intermission, but shortly after 11:00 24 modifieds came to the track. Quincy ace Michael Long started on the pole by virtue of his heat win, and he took off on the start. Matt Mevert, who had been in victory lane the night before in Paducah, came from row two to take up the charge. Long led through a lap 3 caution, but jumped the turn one cushion on lap 11, letting Mevert by. The two encountered lapped traffic two circuits later, and what a show they put on, running side by side, Mevert high and Long low. On lap 19, Michael had a slight lead when Matt got a run off turn four. Unfortunately, a lapped car appeared, and the # 22 had no where to go, turning down into Long. Michael was able to drive on, but Matt connected with the front stretch wall, ending his run. On the second and final restart, Long went to the bottom and held off Ray Walsh for the big win.
The promoters made most everyone happy by then bringing the 24 car late model field out next. Billy Moyer took off from his pole position, and led all 40 laps for the win, but there was plenty to watch behind him. The caution waved on lap four,
then the leaders hit lapped traffic on lap 15. A lap 17 yellow ended the night for Billy Moyer Jr.,and by then Brian Birkhofer, who started eleventh, had moved to fifth, 16th starting Jason Feger to seventh, and B-mainers Korte and Babb to the top ten. Shirley took second on the restart, and as the laps clicked off, Babb was the man on the move. Following a lap 27 yellow, Babb moved to fourth, and the caution waved again on lap 33 when Henry slammed the backstretch concrete, ending his run. Nothing could slow the veteran Moyer, who outlasted Shirly, Birkhofer, Sheppard, and Babb. The second five included Feger, Korte, Kevin Cole, Dennis Erb, Jr, and 24th starting Frank Heckanast Jr.
With the clock nearing midnight, we headed home with two features still to be run.
The modifieds time trialed, four at a time during their hot laps, with track regular Mark Miner, who also races late models weekly, setting the pace at 13.920 around the 1/3 mile high banked oval. Late model qualifying was next, and Shannon Babb saw his night get off on the wrong foot as he clipped the wall in turn four, then jumped the turn one cushion, doing a slow roll in his # 18. Ohio driver Jon Henry set fast time at 12.632.
The first race hit the speedway at 8:57, with 13 heat races followed by B- mains for the mods and lates. The fourth late model heat had everyone on the edge of their seat, as the field ran four wide! All four late model heat winners came from the front row, with Henry, Brian Shirley, Billy Moyer, and " Rocket Shepp " Brandon Sheppard scoring wins. Popular local Randy Korte loaded his # 00 after time trials, but Brant Kehrer turned over his # 92Kto the veteran. Randy did not transfer through his heat, but made adjustments to capture the B-main ahead of Babb, who showed no ill effects of his earlier rollover.
The only " downer " off the night was the 10:45 intermission, but shortly after 11:00 24 modifieds came to the track. Quincy ace Michael Long started on the pole by virtue of his heat win, and he took off on the start. Matt Mevert, who had been in victory lane the night before in Paducah, came from row two to take up the charge. Long led through a lap 3 caution, but jumped the turn one cushion on lap 11, letting Mevert by. The two encountered lapped traffic two circuits later, and what a show they put on, running side by side, Mevert high and Long low. On lap 19, Michael had a slight lead when Matt got a run off turn four. Unfortunately, a lapped car appeared, and the # 22 had no where to go, turning down into Long. Michael was able to drive on, but Matt connected with the front stretch wall, ending his run. On the second and final restart, Long went to the bottom and held off Ray Walsh for the big win.
The promoters made most everyone happy by then bringing the 24 car late model field out next. Billy Moyer took off from his pole position, and led all 40 laps for the win, but there was plenty to watch behind him. The caution waved on lap four,
then the leaders hit lapped traffic on lap 15. A lap 17 yellow ended the night for Billy Moyer Jr.,and by then Brian Birkhofer, who started eleventh, had moved to fifth, 16th starting Jason Feger to seventh, and B-mainers Korte and Babb to the top ten. Shirley took second on the restart, and as the laps clicked off, Babb was the man on the move. Following a lap 27 yellow, Babb moved to fourth, and the caution waved again on lap 33 when Henry slammed the backstretch concrete, ending his run. Nothing could slow the veteran Moyer, who outlasted Shirly, Birkhofer, Sheppard, and Babb. The second five included Feger, Korte, Kevin Cole, Dennis Erb, Jr, and 24th starting Frank Heckanast Jr.
With the clock nearing midnight, we headed home with two features still to be run.
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