With the 2013 calender on its last legs, it is time to for a review of what seems like a long ago season.
For the third straight season, though not by design, I made it to the track on 45 occasions. In doing so, I visited 14 different tracks, including three new ones, bringing my total to a rather modest 56.
The new venues included Belle Clair Speedway in Belleville,Il for an opening night special in March which also opened our season. There were June trips to Macon,Il Speedway for NASCAR night with Richard Petty, Tony Stewart, Ken Schrader, and Kenny Wallace, and the UMP Summernationals show at Paducah International Raceway in Kentucky. With late models as always my preferred class, I witnessed 44 late model main events, even though three shows were rained out before hot laps. This was aided by twin feature shows at Davenport, Maquoketa, and West Liberty, Iowa.
Quincy,Il Raceways, where I continued to pen an internet column, led the way with 20 nights, followed by five at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Ia, four each at Pontoon Beach,Il and Pevely,Mo. There was two trips each to Davenport and West Liberty, and single visits to Macon and Belleville, Paducah, Moberly,Mo., and Maquoketa, Independence, Knoxville, and Donnellson, Iowa. The Lee County Speedway in Donnellson was the only show with no late models on the card, but the ever popular Shiverfest offers a neat season ending show. Mark Burgtorf bested 318 late model competitors with five feature victories, followed by Bobby Pierce and Michael Long with four each, and Brandon Sheppard and Shannon Babb with three. Darrell Lanigan took the biggest one night prize at the Knoxville, Iowa late model nationals, while Brian Birkhofer benefited from a Jimmy Owens DQ to take home a cool $20,000 at the rescheduled NDRL show at I-55 Raceway in Pevely.
Along the way, we developed a diverse schedule, taking in many sanctions. There was World of Outlaws, Lucas Oil, NDRL, Mars, ALMS, Cornbelt, UMP weekly and Summernationals, IMCA weekly and Summer Series, ULMA. and MOWA ( 410 sprints.)
The 2014 schedules are being released almost daily, and next week I will offer a look ahead at some of the dramatic changes and some of our tentative plans for the upcoming season. As I pen these thoughts, it is 83 days until our projected season opener on March 15. Check the Positively Racing events calender and start your planning as well.
Until next time, Merry Christmas !
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Shivering Through One More Race
For the first time in a while, the stars were aligned just right, and Darryl, Fred and I were able to take in the marquis event of the Lee County Speedway, Shiverfest. Unlike my Positively Racing colleagues, I braved the elements from the " cheap seats," but we were dressed for the conditions at hand, and an early shift in wind direction helped out.
We arrived early enough to take in all the festivities, including visiting with several drivers on the front stretch as the youngsters went trick or treating from car to car. Special thanks to a driver we had never run across, Jason Rold, from 5 hours away in Avoca, Iowa for the information, picture card, and some chocolate! It was also fun to visit with a driver from the Lynn Richard promoting days at LCS, Ned Beggs, father in law of stock car hotshoe Jason Cook., whose children were involved in the box car races, and former Hawkeye Racing News employee Kelly Underbakke Becker and her sport mod driving husband Aric, who left the Iowa Hawkeye football victory early to make it to Donnellson in time for the pre race festivities.
With all the hoopla, hot laps started only 15 minutes late, and the five classes featuring 127 cars rolled thru warmups in 25 minutes on the perfectly prepared 3/8 mile oval. I have attended dozens if not hundreds of races over the years at Donnellson and have never witnessed a better racing surface!
I will leave it to the others whose pens worked better in the warmth of the booth to do complete recaps and only say that the 23 race program featured some classic finishes. Bill Michel squeaked out a 1/2 car length win over Quincy Raceways track champion Austen Becerra in the sport compact 14 lapper after an entertaining four car battle. Dustin Griffiths continued his mastery of the hobby stock division with a win in the 15 lap affair. One time LCS late model driver Mike Hughes staged a solid run, pitting on a first lap caution, restarting 16th, and dueling side by side with Griffiths late in the race before settling for second. Red hot Curtis Vanderwal started the sport mod affair in row two, took the lead on lap three, and outdistanced Carter Vandenberg for to the checkers. B- main qualifiers Bobby Anders and Derek St Clair had moved to fourth and sixth respectively from their row nine start when the yellow waved with two laps to go. St Clair advanced one spot to fifth at the finish, while Anders got shuffled back to seventh. Jim Lynch carried the left front wheel of his # 566 off of turn two lap after lap in the stock car finale. Corey Stout led early, and made several runs at the hometown driver, but Lynch was a rocket off turn two. Twice the raced was stopped as he booted the tractor tire onto the track in turn two as he ran the low groove, but LCS does not penalize drivers for this, so he kept the top spot each time. Interestingly, Lynch ran a much higher line in turns three and four. The final race of the night, and likely my final one of 2013 was the 24 car modified headliner. And what a race it was, going non stop the entire way! When hot laps began I quickly told the guys that the # 19 would be on victory lane, and Jimmy Gustin made me look smart for once. Although he was pressured throughout by Kyle Brown and later Jeff Waterman, Gustin took the final checkers of the season, with Waterman and Brown nipping at his rear bumper.
Being an unabashed late model fan first and foremost, it had been too long since I had visited one of the tracks of my childhood but the racing and the entire program in general could not have been much better!
The rumor mill usually picks up when the season ends, but with the World of Outlaw World Finals still a week away, there is already plenty going on. Reportedly Clint Bowyer Racing is replacing one controversial pilot, Jared Landers in his # 5 machine with an equally polarizing driver in Don Oneal. The leaves the Mastersbilt house car ride held in 2013 by Oneal open - look for an announcement this coming week on who will fill that seat. Arguably the most popular late model driver in Iowa, Brian Birkhofer, has sold his two MB Customs chassis, a product he helped design, and has ordered two new Rocket chassis. Birky is also looking to downsize his hauler, with his multi car toter currently up for sale. Midwest legend Randy Korte, who continues to battle serious health issues has announced that 2014 will be his farewell season. " King Kong" has spent most of the last couple seasons in one of the # 81 rides for Riggs Motorsports, but he will return to his familiar # 00 for his final go around. And Rousch-Yates is apparently getting out of the dirt racing engine business, leaving driver such as Scott bloomquist to look elsewhere for their power plants. Those of us in northeast Missouri may have another chance to see our hometown boy Justin Jennings in another NASCAR event close to home. Gateway International Raceway near Granite City,Il will make a return to NASCAR, hosting a Camping World Truck Race the weekend of June 14 and 15, 2014. Closer to home, the new management team at Quincy Raceways is putting together a late model special to honor the 40th anniversary of the facility and its founder, the late Albert Scott. Look for the " Scotty 40" sometime in April. In the meantime, it seems like a long time until I will get to see the dirt fly, likely sometime in March, but check back throughout the offseason for facts, rumors and whatever else I can stir up.
Have a great winter!
We arrived early enough to take in all the festivities, including visiting with several drivers on the front stretch as the youngsters went trick or treating from car to car. Special thanks to a driver we had never run across, Jason Rold, from 5 hours away in Avoca, Iowa for the information, picture card, and some chocolate! It was also fun to visit with a driver from the Lynn Richard promoting days at LCS, Ned Beggs, father in law of stock car hotshoe Jason Cook., whose children were involved in the box car races, and former Hawkeye Racing News employee Kelly Underbakke Becker and her sport mod driving husband Aric, who left the Iowa Hawkeye football victory early to make it to Donnellson in time for the pre race festivities.
With all the hoopla, hot laps started only 15 minutes late, and the five classes featuring 127 cars rolled thru warmups in 25 minutes on the perfectly prepared 3/8 mile oval. I have attended dozens if not hundreds of races over the years at Donnellson and have never witnessed a better racing surface!
I will leave it to the others whose pens worked better in the warmth of the booth to do complete recaps and only say that the 23 race program featured some classic finishes. Bill Michel squeaked out a 1/2 car length win over Quincy Raceways track champion Austen Becerra in the sport compact 14 lapper after an entertaining four car battle. Dustin Griffiths continued his mastery of the hobby stock division with a win in the 15 lap affair. One time LCS late model driver Mike Hughes staged a solid run, pitting on a first lap caution, restarting 16th, and dueling side by side with Griffiths late in the race before settling for second. Red hot Curtis Vanderwal started the sport mod affair in row two, took the lead on lap three, and outdistanced Carter Vandenberg for to the checkers. B- main qualifiers Bobby Anders and Derek St Clair had moved to fourth and sixth respectively from their row nine start when the yellow waved with two laps to go. St Clair advanced one spot to fifth at the finish, while Anders got shuffled back to seventh. Jim Lynch carried the left front wheel of his # 566 off of turn two lap after lap in the stock car finale. Corey Stout led early, and made several runs at the hometown driver, but Lynch was a rocket off turn two. Twice the raced was stopped as he booted the tractor tire onto the track in turn two as he ran the low groove, but LCS does not penalize drivers for this, so he kept the top spot each time. Interestingly, Lynch ran a much higher line in turns three and four. The final race of the night, and likely my final one of 2013 was the 24 car modified headliner. And what a race it was, going non stop the entire way! When hot laps began I quickly told the guys that the # 19 would be on victory lane, and Jimmy Gustin made me look smart for once. Although he was pressured throughout by Kyle Brown and later Jeff Waterman, Gustin took the final checkers of the season, with Waterman and Brown nipping at his rear bumper.
Being an unabashed late model fan first and foremost, it had been too long since I had visited one of the tracks of my childhood but the racing and the entire program in general could not have been much better!
The rumor mill usually picks up when the season ends, but with the World of Outlaw World Finals still a week away, there is already plenty going on. Reportedly Clint Bowyer Racing is replacing one controversial pilot, Jared Landers in his # 5 machine with an equally polarizing driver in Don Oneal. The leaves the Mastersbilt house car ride held in 2013 by Oneal open - look for an announcement this coming week on who will fill that seat. Arguably the most popular late model driver in Iowa, Brian Birkhofer, has sold his two MB Customs chassis, a product he helped design, and has ordered two new Rocket chassis. Birky is also looking to downsize his hauler, with his multi car toter currently up for sale. Midwest legend Randy Korte, who continues to battle serious health issues has announced that 2014 will be his farewell season. " King Kong" has spent most of the last couple seasons in one of the # 81 rides for Riggs Motorsports, but he will return to his familiar # 00 for his final go around. And Rousch-Yates is apparently getting out of the dirt racing engine business, leaving driver such as Scott bloomquist to look elsewhere for their power plants. Those of us in northeast Missouri may have another chance to see our hometown boy Justin Jennings in another NASCAR event close to home. Gateway International Raceway near Granite City,Il will make a return to NASCAR, hosting a Camping World Truck Race the weekend of June 14 and 15, 2014. Closer to home, the new management team at Quincy Raceways is putting together a late model special to honor the 40th anniversary of the facility and its founder, the late Albert Scott. Look for the " Scotty 40" sometime in April. In the meantime, it seems like a long time until I will get to see the dirt fly, likely sometime in March, but check back throughout the offseason for facts, rumors and whatever else I can stir up.
Have a great winter!
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
The Dog Ate My Homework - Liberty 100 Notes
Saturday night Fred, Darryl, and I headed out for what is likely our final late model race of 2013. I had every intention of penning a recap on Sunday, but events of the day kept me away for most of the day. And yesterday, the flu bug came to visit and it was not a good day! So this report is late, but I will carry on anyway.
According to announcer Jerry Mackey, the two night Liberty 100 show at West Liberty, Iowa Raceway drew 150 competitors. Among those, several drivers entered in more than one class, and it looked like a couple others may have used the same car in more than one class.
Although we make the journey only on night two, this race is one of my favorites, with the opportunity to see two late model classes in action. And with most of the preliminaries - including 22 heat races - running on Friday, the Saturday format lends itself to plenty of action ending in good time. Even with the program swelling to seven classes this year, we were done around 10:30.
The night started with pole dashes for the top six in each class, with last chance races scheduled next. As it turned out, the car counts were such that the IMCA modifieds ran a position dash to set the remainder of the starting field , as the top nine rows were already set. Only the IMCA late models ran an elimination race, with 14 cars set to take the green to fill six starting spots.
With not so much as a short break the first feature rolled out at 7:10. This marked the first appearance in the fall special for the IMCA sport mods. The 15 lap event ran with only one mid race caution, and second generation driver Andrew Schroeder took a close win over Tyler Sobbe and Janae Gustin, the up and coming female member of the Gustin clan. Reportedly the sport mods will replace the open mods at West Liberty in 2014. Not to diminish the sport mods, but I will truly miss the opens at Liberty, as they consistently stage outstanding battles on the 1/2 mile, even with less than full fields.
David Brandies swept the weekend with a win in the IMCA stock car finale. Again only one caution slowed the action. Tad Payne took second, while Matt Greiner came from last to third behind the wheel of the # 57 driven Friday night by Blaine Doplar.
Kurt Kile took the early lead in the IMCA modified feature. Following a lap three yellow, Richie Gustin used the Delaware restart to grab the lead. It took a couple of tries to get back to racing following a lap nine stoppage, and Dan Chapman took the runner up spot, as Kile fell to fourth. On lap 17, Kile regained the second spot, but Gustin held on for the win. Chapman, Steve Stewart, and Andrew Schroeder filled out the top five, with 23 of 25 starters still running at the checkers.
The ten lap feature for the 4 cylinder cars had the closest finish of the night. Nate Chandler and Cory Sheetz swapped the lead in the early laps. Bill Whelan took second on the fifth circuit, and grabbed the lead two laps later. It was a side by side finish, as Whelan edged Chandler at the line, with Sheetz taking third.
Next came the 50 lapper for the open late models, with 19 cars taking the green, as Brad Stewart did not make the call. The Simpson brothers sat on the front row, and outside polesitter Chris took the quick lead. The yellow waved on lap four, as Nick Marolf was leaking fuel. On the restart, fifth starting Jason Utter moved to second. After a lap nine caution, and a turn three pileup on the restart, Justin Kay took third, with Utter falling to fourth. On lap 12, it was Utter back to third. On lap 21 Brian Harris powered to fourth, four laps later the yellow waved for a debris caution from Harris' car, and before racing resumed, his car lost power, ending his run. On the restart Utter grabbed second and briefly challenged Simpson. As the race stayed green the rest of the way, Chris stretched his lead, taking a flag to flag win. Utter held the runnerup spot ahead of Chad Simpson, Kay, Denny Eckrich, Spencer Diercks, visiting UMP hot shoe Scott Schmitt, and Darrell Defrance, the top eight on the lead lap. Dave Eckrich, Joel Callahan, and Todd Hormel were the last cars running at the checkers.
The open mod 20 lapper was next with 17 starters. Again Kirt Kile had the pole, and led through a lap six caution, the only one of the event. On lap eight Brad Dierks powered past for the lead, holding it to the checkers. Kile held off Bruce Hanford for second, with Ryan Dolan and Chris Zogg rounding out the top five.
The night and season finale was the 24 car IMCA late model 50 lapper. Outside polesitter Jeff Aikey grab the top spot at the green, holding off Denny Eckrich until lap seven. Justin Kay was on the move early, coming from row eight to seventh by lap 15. Around lap 20 seventh starting Chad Simpson in the Diercks # 30 moved to third. The caution flew on lap 22 as Kays' ride appeared to lock up as he tried to get to the pits. As the green waved, 12th starting Andy Eckrich moved to fourth, on lap 25 he took third, and one lap later he was in second. Tommy Elston was also picking off cars, moving to eighth from his row 11 starting slot. As Andy was steadily closing on his brother, his run ended suddenly on lap 44. Denny then cruised to the win, giving him two top fives for the night. Chad Simpson mirrored that with a runnerup finish to add to his third place run. Aikey was third, while Ryan dolan finished fourth on the Dralle # 1 ride. A pair of 15s came next, Kyle Hinrichs fifth and Brian Harris sixth. Elston, Spencer Diercks, Nate Beuseling, and Joel Callahan completed the top ten. For Diercks, it was a sixth and an eighth, and a pair of tenths for Callahan.
Although I hope to get in at least one more race in 2013, if it doesn't happen, this installment of the Liberty 100 would be a fine way to wrap up the season!
According to announcer Jerry Mackey, the two night Liberty 100 show at West Liberty, Iowa Raceway drew 150 competitors. Among those, several drivers entered in more than one class, and it looked like a couple others may have used the same car in more than one class.
Although we make the journey only on night two, this race is one of my favorites, with the opportunity to see two late model classes in action. And with most of the preliminaries - including 22 heat races - running on Friday, the Saturday format lends itself to plenty of action ending in good time. Even with the program swelling to seven classes this year, we were done around 10:30.
The night started with pole dashes for the top six in each class, with last chance races scheduled next. As it turned out, the car counts were such that the IMCA modifieds ran a position dash to set the remainder of the starting field , as the top nine rows were already set. Only the IMCA late models ran an elimination race, with 14 cars set to take the green to fill six starting spots.
With not so much as a short break the first feature rolled out at 7:10. This marked the first appearance in the fall special for the IMCA sport mods. The 15 lap event ran with only one mid race caution, and second generation driver Andrew Schroeder took a close win over Tyler Sobbe and Janae Gustin, the up and coming female member of the Gustin clan. Reportedly the sport mods will replace the open mods at West Liberty in 2014. Not to diminish the sport mods, but I will truly miss the opens at Liberty, as they consistently stage outstanding battles on the 1/2 mile, even with less than full fields.
David Brandies swept the weekend with a win in the IMCA stock car finale. Again only one caution slowed the action. Tad Payne took second, while Matt Greiner came from last to third behind the wheel of the # 57 driven Friday night by Blaine Doplar.
Kurt Kile took the early lead in the IMCA modified feature. Following a lap three yellow, Richie Gustin used the Delaware restart to grab the lead. It took a couple of tries to get back to racing following a lap nine stoppage, and Dan Chapman took the runner up spot, as Kile fell to fourth. On lap 17, Kile regained the second spot, but Gustin held on for the win. Chapman, Steve Stewart, and Andrew Schroeder filled out the top five, with 23 of 25 starters still running at the checkers.
The ten lap feature for the 4 cylinder cars had the closest finish of the night. Nate Chandler and Cory Sheetz swapped the lead in the early laps. Bill Whelan took second on the fifth circuit, and grabbed the lead two laps later. It was a side by side finish, as Whelan edged Chandler at the line, with Sheetz taking third.
Next came the 50 lapper for the open late models, with 19 cars taking the green, as Brad Stewart did not make the call. The Simpson brothers sat on the front row, and outside polesitter Chris took the quick lead. The yellow waved on lap four, as Nick Marolf was leaking fuel. On the restart, fifth starting Jason Utter moved to second. After a lap nine caution, and a turn three pileup on the restart, Justin Kay took third, with Utter falling to fourth. On lap 12, it was Utter back to third. On lap 21 Brian Harris powered to fourth, four laps later the yellow waved for a debris caution from Harris' car, and before racing resumed, his car lost power, ending his run. On the restart Utter grabbed second and briefly challenged Simpson. As the race stayed green the rest of the way, Chris stretched his lead, taking a flag to flag win. Utter held the runnerup spot ahead of Chad Simpson, Kay, Denny Eckrich, Spencer Diercks, visiting UMP hot shoe Scott Schmitt, and Darrell Defrance, the top eight on the lead lap. Dave Eckrich, Joel Callahan, and Todd Hormel were the last cars running at the checkers.
The open mod 20 lapper was next with 17 starters. Again Kirt Kile had the pole, and led through a lap six caution, the only one of the event. On lap eight Brad Dierks powered past for the lead, holding it to the checkers. Kile held off Bruce Hanford for second, with Ryan Dolan and Chris Zogg rounding out the top five.
The night and season finale was the 24 car IMCA late model 50 lapper. Outside polesitter Jeff Aikey grab the top spot at the green, holding off Denny Eckrich until lap seven. Justin Kay was on the move early, coming from row eight to seventh by lap 15. Around lap 20 seventh starting Chad Simpson in the Diercks # 30 moved to third. The caution flew on lap 22 as Kays' ride appeared to lock up as he tried to get to the pits. As the green waved, 12th starting Andy Eckrich moved to fourth, on lap 25 he took third, and one lap later he was in second. Tommy Elston was also picking off cars, moving to eighth from his row 11 starting slot. As Andy was steadily closing on his brother, his run ended suddenly on lap 44. Denny then cruised to the win, giving him two top fives for the night. Chad Simpson mirrored that with a runnerup finish to add to his third place run. Aikey was third, while Ryan dolan finished fourth on the Dralle # 1 ride. A pair of 15s came next, Kyle Hinrichs fifth and Brian Harris sixth. Elston, Spencer Diercks, Nate Beuseling, and Joel Callahan completed the top ten. For Diercks, it was a sixth and an eighth, and a pair of tenths for Callahan.
Although I hope to get in at least one more race in 2013, if it doesn't happen, this installment of the Liberty 100 would be a fine way to wrap up the season!
Monday, September 30, 2013
The final weekend in September gave us a chance for one more two race
weekend, and thanks to yeoman work by the two track crews, we were able
to witness some excellent racing. Despite the forecast, Saturday
morning, Keagan and former late model driver Rick Coats joined me as we
headed for Knoxville, Iowa for the final night of the Lucas Oil Late
Model Nationals. Darryl and Fred were able to take in all three nights
of the event, and we were hoping Saturday would not be a wash out. I
always like to get to Knoxville around noon time for a couple of
reasons. One is to take in as much of the atmosphere as possible, and
two, I am always on the hunt for a parking spot that allows me a base
close to the grandstands and the ability to make a quick exit from the
grounds. It seems that the free parking areas are getting to be less and
less in recent years, with areas where we used to park now roped off.
But with an arrival just after 11:00, we found a good spot and hoped to
wait out the persistent rain, which alternated between drizzle and light
showers. About 3:00, as forecast, the rain was finally gone, and the
track crew went to work. I doubt there is another track closer than
Eldora that could have raced under those conditions, but the Knoxville
guys made it happen. And only 15 minutes late to boot!
The Thursday night car count had been 72, with all but two returning for Friday. On Saturday the number stood at 66 with three preliminary events scheduled to finalize the 32 car starting field. The first 12 rows were locked in, leaving six qualifying spots and two provisionals up for grabs.
First up was the 12 lap D feature, with nine cars making the call. Ely, Iowas Skip Frey took the early lead, soon yielding to Cuba, Ill. pilot Steve Lance Jr. Steve was wheeling brother Tims back up # 48 car that Brian Shirly drove on the UMP Summernationals Tour. The second generation driver took the win, with Frey, Michael Smith , and Dustin Walker in the # 77A normally driven by Justin Asplin also transferring to the tail of the 15 lap C Main.
That race opened with a scary moment, as Charlie McKenna got sideways in turn one, was hit by another car, and bounced in the air, landing atop the # 58 of Ray Guss Jr. Neither driver was injured, both were done for the night. Brian Birkhofer came from row three to take the lead on lap ten and the win, with two of the Eckrich brothers following him to the checkers, Andy second and Dave third. Thler Breuning rounded out the all Iowa top four transfers.
The 20 lap B feature belonged to Texan Morgan Bagley, as he took off from the pole position to capture the win. The third Eckrich brother, Denny powered from row five to make the big show with a runnerup finish. Shannon Babb, Mars champion Tony Jackson Jr., Ryan Unzicker, and IMCA national champion Justin Kay also nabbed transfer spots. Birkhofer made a dramatic charge, coming from the back of the pack to battle with Kay for the six spot. He was eventually able to get around both Justin and Unzicker, only to blow a tire coming through turn four on the final lap. He was forced to get out of the gas as he was headed for the fence, and thus fell from the top six.
Billy Moyer, Jr, and Dennis Erb Jr picked up the provisional starting spots, and with little delay, the 32 car field was on the track for 100 laps, $40,000 going to the winner. Although Dale McDowell had the pole, Josh Richards sat alongside, and the " Rocket Man " had dominated the two $7,000 to win 25 lappers on Thursday and Friday. Richards took the early led, and by lap eight he had caught the back of the pack. 13 laps in,. third starting Darrell Lanigan took the second spot, and seven laps later he took the lead. The first yellow waved on lap 33, and by then the front two had pulled away to a big lead. following another caution seven laps later, fifth starting Jason Feger moved to the third spot. With 59 circuits to go, UMP national point leader Brandon Sheppard was running in tenth when he made contact with the turn three fence ending his run. During the cleanup, sixth running Earl Pearson Jr. saw his night end, as he went pitside. On the restart, Mc Dowell retook third. Billy Moyer was now the man on the move, 14th to fifth as the leaders again began to pull away. Lanigan found separation from Richards, but with 22 to go, Josh mounted a comeback. Moyer charged to third with 20 laps left, and three laps after Richards moved back to the lead. With the front two battling, the red came out with six to go, as Eddie Carrier Jr. rolled his # 28C in turn three. With less than ten laps remaining, the field reset in single file formation. As the green flew, fifth place Don Oneal charged hard into turn one, making contact with Feger, sending Jason flipping hard. Once order was restored and the race went green, Lanigan made a late charge around Richards, to take his first Knoxville win, denying Richards the weekend sweep. Tim McCreadie was strong at the end, racing back to third, 2012 winner Steve Francis came from 22nd to fourth, while Moyer faded slightly to fifth. John Blankenship led the second five ahead of Brady Smith and Scott Bloomquist, by my count the final cars on the lead lap. Jimmy Owens and Chad Simpson completed the top ten.
Knoxville is as close to a " can't miss " race as there is for me, and the 2013 version did not disappoint!
After a late night drive home and a few hours sleep. it was time for season championshop night at Quincy Raceways. Quincy was hit with quite a bit of rain on Saturday, and the track crew worked hard to get both the racing surface and the pits ready for the final night of racing. 73 cars checked in for the five divisions of racing. The track was a bit dusty and one lane in the late afternoon sun, but at intermission the track crew did some reworking, and there were two racy grooves for the features. The three IMCA classes started their main events straight up, but that only meant fifth starting Brandon Savage had some work to do in the IMCA stock car 20 lapper. Brandon used the high side to overtake pole sitter and track champion Abe Huls to pick up his fourth win of the season. Savage raced out to a big lead, with Huls holding off Terry Houston at the finish.
Fast timer, dash winner and points champion Steven Delonjay had the pole for the 22 car UMP modified finale, but it was outside row one starter Rusty Griffaw who shot to the lead. Griffaw kept his # 16 in the high groove until a mid race restart when he changed to the inside line. With about ten laps to go, Justin Reed was able to clear Delonjay using the high groove, and Dave Weitholder, who missed qualifying and started deep in the pack, moved to third. Dave, by the way, found problems with his power plant, ans was running a 6 cylinder engine in his # 05! After a lap 22 yellow bunched the field, a multi car pile up on the backstretch starting up front eliminated several contenders. Griffaw was in front of the mess, and he picked up his second QR win of the season ahead of Delonjay and Robbie Reed.
The UMP late model feature ran next. The 30 laps went caution free. Scott Schmitt made the long tow to QR on Sunday, Scott was leading UMP Illinois state points, and was reportedly fourth in the national points battle. He saet quick time, picked up the dash win, and led the first three laps of the main event.
Mark Burgtorf then took over the top spot, and held on for his third win of the year at his home track. Schmitt took home the second spot, with Rickey Frankel third.
The IMCA sport mod main event hit the 25 minute time limit at about the lap nine mark, then clicked off 11 caution free laps.Point champion Tony Dunker led the distance, his ninth feature win in a row, Brad Holtmeyer and Trever Hagerbaumer followed.
The final race of the 2013 season was the IMCA sport compact finale. The 2013 champion Austen Becerra staged a great duel with Kimberly Abbott until late in the race when Kim drifted up the track, turning the runnerup spot over to Jared Dunker.
My wife is starting to ask how much longer the race season is, so my nights at the track may be numbered. But hopefully there is still a night or two remaining in 2013!
The Thursday night car count had been 72, with all but two returning for Friday. On Saturday the number stood at 66 with three preliminary events scheduled to finalize the 32 car starting field. The first 12 rows were locked in, leaving six qualifying spots and two provisionals up for grabs.
First up was the 12 lap D feature, with nine cars making the call. Ely, Iowas Skip Frey took the early lead, soon yielding to Cuba, Ill. pilot Steve Lance Jr. Steve was wheeling brother Tims back up # 48 car that Brian Shirly drove on the UMP Summernationals Tour. The second generation driver took the win, with Frey, Michael Smith , and Dustin Walker in the # 77A normally driven by Justin Asplin also transferring to the tail of the 15 lap C Main.
That race opened with a scary moment, as Charlie McKenna got sideways in turn one, was hit by another car, and bounced in the air, landing atop the # 58 of Ray Guss Jr. Neither driver was injured, both were done for the night. Brian Birkhofer came from row three to take the lead on lap ten and the win, with two of the Eckrich brothers following him to the checkers, Andy second and Dave third. Thler Breuning rounded out the all Iowa top four transfers.
The 20 lap B feature belonged to Texan Morgan Bagley, as he took off from the pole position to capture the win. The third Eckrich brother, Denny powered from row five to make the big show with a runnerup finish. Shannon Babb, Mars champion Tony Jackson Jr., Ryan Unzicker, and IMCA national champion Justin Kay also nabbed transfer spots. Birkhofer made a dramatic charge, coming from the back of the pack to battle with Kay for the six spot. He was eventually able to get around both Justin and Unzicker, only to blow a tire coming through turn four on the final lap. He was forced to get out of the gas as he was headed for the fence, and thus fell from the top six.
Billy Moyer, Jr, and Dennis Erb Jr picked up the provisional starting spots, and with little delay, the 32 car field was on the track for 100 laps, $40,000 going to the winner. Although Dale McDowell had the pole, Josh Richards sat alongside, and the " Rocket Man " had dominated the two $7,000 to win 25 lappers on Thursday and Friday. Richards took the early led, and by lap eight he had caught the back of the pack. 13 laps in,. third starting Darrell Lanigan took the second spot, and seven laps later he took the lead. The first yellow waved on lap 33, and by then the front two had pulled away to a big lead. following another caution seven laps later, fifth starting Jason Feger moved to the third spot. With 59 circuits to go, UMP national point leader Brandon Sheppard was running in tenth when he made contact with the turn three fence ending his run. During the cleanup, sixth running Earl Pearson Jr. saw his night end, as he went pitside. On the restart, Mc Dowell retook third. Billy Moyer was now the man on the move, 14th to fifth as the leaders again began to pull away. Lanigan found separation from Richards, but with 22 to go, Josh mounted a comeback. Moyer charged to third with 20 laps left, and three laps after Richards moved back to the lead. With the front two battling, the red came out with six to go, as Eddie Carrier Jr. rolled his # 28C in turn three. With less than ten laps remaining, the field reset in single file formation. As the green flew, fifth place Don Oneal charged hard into turn one, making contact with Feger, sending Jason flipping hard. Once order was restored and the race went green, Lanigan made a late charge around Richards, to take his first Knoxville win, denying Richards the weekend sweep. Tim McCreadie was strong at the end, racing back to third, 2012 winner Steve Francis came from 22nd to fourth, while Moyer faded slightly to fifth. John Blankenship led the second five ahead of Brady Smith and Scott Bloomquist, by my count the final cars on the lead lap. Jimmy Owens and Chad Simpson completed the top ten.
Knoxville is as close to a " can't miss " race as there is for me, and the 2013 version did not disappoint!
After a late night drive home and a few hours sleep. it was time for season championshop night at Quincy Raceways. Quincy was hit with quite a bit of rain on Saturday, and the track crew worked hard to get both the racing surface and the pits ready for the final night of racing. 73 cars checked in for the five divisions of racing. The track was a bit dusty and one lane in the late afternoon sun, but at intermission the track crew did some reworking, and there were two racy grooves for the features. The three IMCA classes started their main events straight up, but that only meant fifth starting Brandon Savage had some work to do in the IMCA stock car 20 lapper. Brandon used the high side to overtake pole sitter and track champion Abe Huls to pick up his fourth win of the season. Savage raced out to a big lead, with Huls holding off Terry Houston at the finish.
Fast timer, dash winner and points champion Steven Delonjay had the pole for the 22 car UMP modified finale, but it was outside row one starter Rusty Griffaw who shot to the lead. Griffaw kept his # 16 in the high groove until a mid race restart when he changed to the inside line. With about ten laps to go, Justin Reed was able to clear Delonjay using the high groove, and Dave Weitholder, who missed qualifying and started deep in the pack, moved to third. Dave, by the way, found problems with his power plant, ans was running a 6 cylinder engine in his # 05! After a lap 22 yellow bunched the field, a multi car pile up on the backstretch starting up front eliminated several contenders. Griffaw was in front of the mess, and he picked up his second QR win of the season ahead of Delonjay and Robbie Reed.
The UMP late model feature ran next. The 30 laps went caution free. Scott Schmitt made the long tow to QR on Sunday, Scott was leading UMP Illinois state points, and was reportedly fourth in the national points battle. He saet quick time, picked up the dash win, and led the first three laps of the main event.
Mark Burgtorf then took over the top spot, and held on for his third win of the year at his home track. Schmitt took home the second spot, with Rickey Frankel third.
The IMCA sport mod main event hit the 25 minute time limit at about the lap nine mark, then clicked off 11 caution free laps.Point champion Tony Dunker led the distance, his ninth feature win in a row, Brad Holtmeyer and Trever Hagerbaumer followed.
The final race of the 2013 season was the IMCA sport compact finale. The 2013 champion Austen Becerra staged a great duel with Kimberly Abbott until late in the race when Kim drifted up the track, turning the runnerup spot over to Jared Dunker.
My wife is starting to ask how much longer the race season is, so my nights at the track may be numbered. But hopefully there is still a night or two remaining in 2013!
Monday, September 23, 2013
Perry Cashes In At Quincy
Sunday night was the next to last night at Quincy Raceways for the 2013 season. 66 cars signed in on a pleasant evening in the five divisions. Steven Delonjay set quick time in the UMP modifieds at 15.903 seconds, then rolled a " 2 " to set the dash invert. As qualifying went along, the track improved dramatically, and UMP national late model point leader Brandon Sheppard blistered the .29 mile oval at 13.487 seconds. He rolled a " 3 "to set the late model dash lineup. Following heat race and dash action, the track crew took some time to knock down the cushion, and the feature track was plenty fast.
The IMCA stock cars ran first, and after a false start, Brandon Savage charged to the early lead, building a big advantage. There was a great four car battle for the second spot between Jake Powers, Terry Houston, point leader Abe Huls, and Beau Taylor. Taylor was back after missing several weeks while he repaired his # 2T. A caution on lap ten brought Savage back to the pack, and on the Delaware restart, Huls jumped to second. But the night belonged to Savage, who again opened up a nice lead, taking his third win of the year on his first wedding anniversary. Huls, Houston, Taylor, and Jerry Jansen filled out the top five spots.
All but one of the 20 UMP mods took the green flag, with Delonjay jumping to the early lead. With Dave Weitholder hot on his bumper, the front two pulled away, hitting slower traffic by lap seven. The first caution came on lap 11, as Adam Birck, and visiting David Baldwin from Perrysville, In. got together while lapping slower cars. On the restart, Justin Reed kept the front two in his sights, while Milo Veloz in the # 242 car out of Peoria, and Jake Griffin began a charge towards the front. The yellow flew again two laps later, and on that restart, Danny Lake powered into fourth. Veloz and Russ Coultas swapped the fifth spot on laps 17 and 19, but on lap 22 Veloz headed pitside, as Griffin took over the fifth spot. Delonjay lead flag to flag, but Weitholder pushed him all the way. Reed claimed third ahead of Lake, and Griffin came from row seven to take fifth running the high side of the track. It was win number 12 of the year for Delonjay.
The UMP late models ran next, 11 strong. Baldwin came to town with both a mod and late model, but he was having engine issues in his late model, so he skipped qualifying and his heat race, tagging the tail for the 30 lap feature. Outside pole sitter Denny Woodworth jumped to the early lead, locked in a duel with dash winner Mark Burgtorf. Jason Perry soon joined the fray, and by lap eight he had moved to second as Sheppard made it a four car battle. On lap 11 Sheppard took third, four circuits later Perry muscled past Woodworth for the lead. On lap 16 Sheppard appeared to get in the back of Woodworth, and he then slowed and headed for the pits as the caution came out. On the restart, Jared Schlipman and Bill Genenbacher got mixed up, ending Genebachers run. Michael Long also retired at this time. From there the race stayed green until the end. Perry, the 2012 track champion took his first win of 2013, followed by Burgtorf and Woodworth. Schlipman and John Beck put on a show as they battled for fourth, with Jared taking the spot. Ron Elbe ran sixth, and Baldwin and his sick power plant was seventh, as Rickey Frankel dropped out on lap 19.
The program took a dramatic slowdown as the 14 IMCA sport mods attempted a 20 lap feature.
Cautions too numerous to count dominated the action, with Tony Dunker prevailing for yet another win over Tanner Klingele, Todd Reed, Brad Holtmeyer, and Bob Cowman.
The IMCA sport compacts closed out the night, with Alex Baker leading lap one. Brandon Lambert then took over on lap three but could not hold off the charge of Austen Becerra, who took over for good three laps later. Lambert stayed close to the checkers, with Spencer Coats, Kim Abbott and Alex Baker completing the top five.
Next Sunday will bring the 2013 season to a close at Quincy Raceways, with the new promoters in place for 2014 already. There is still a months worth of racing in the area, so take in as much as you can. I know I will!
The IMCA stock cars ran first, and after a false start, Brandon Savage charged to the early lead, building a big advantage. There was a great four car battle for the second spot between Jake Powers, Terry Houston, point leader Abe Huls, and Beau Taylor. Taylor was back after missing several weeks while he repaired his # 2T. A caution on lap ten brought Savage back to the pack, and on the Delaware restart, Huls jumped to second. But the night belonged to Savage, who again opened up a nice lead, taking his third win of the year on his first wedding anniversary. Huls, Houston, Taylor, and Jerry Jansen filled out the top five spots.
All but one of the 20 UMP mods took the green flag, with Delonjay jumping to the early lead. With Dave Weitholder hot on his bumper, the front two pulled away, hitting slower traffic by lap seven. The first caution came on lap 11, as Adam Birck, and visiting David Baldwin from Perrysville, In. got together while lapping slower cars. On the restart, Justin Reed kept the front two in his sights, while Milo Veloz in the # 242 car out of Peoria, and Jake Griffin began a charge towards the front. The yellow flew again two laps later, and on that restart, Danny Lake powered into fourth. Veloz and Russ Coultas swapped the fifth spot on laps 17 and 19, but on lap 22 Veloz headed pitside, as Griffin took over the fifth spot. Delonjay lead flag to flag, but Weitholder pushed him all the way. Reed claimed third ahead of Lake, and Griffin came from row seven to take fifth running the high side of the track. It was win number 12 of the year for Delonjay.
The UMP late models ran next, 11 strong. Baldwin came to town with both a mod and late model, but he was having engine issues in his late model, so he skipped qualifying and his heat race, tagging the tail for the 30 lap feature. Outside pole sitter Denny Woodworth jumped to the early lead, locked in a duel with dash winner Mark Burgtorf. Jason Perry soon joined the fray, and by lap eight he had moved to second as Sheppard made it a four car battle. On lap 11 Sheppard took third, four circuits later Perry muscled past Woodworth for the lead. On lap 16 Sheppard appeared to get in the back of Woodworth, and he then slowed and headed for the pits as the caution came out. On the restart, Jared Schlipman and Bill Genenbacher got mixed up, ending Genebachers run. Michael Long also retired at this time. From there the race stayed green until the end. Perry, the 2012 track champion took his first win of 2013, followed by Burgtorf and Woodworth. Schlipman and John Beck put on a show as they battled for fourth, with Jared taking the spot. Ron Elbe ran sixth, and Baldwin and his sick power plant was seventh, as Rickey Frankel dropped out on lap 19.
The program took a dramatic slowdown as the 14 IMCA sport mods attempted a 20 lap feature.
Cautions too numerous to count dominated the action, with Tony Dunker prevailing for yet another win over Tanner Klingele, Todd Reed, Brad Holtmeyer, and Bob Cowman.
The IMCA sport compacts closed out the night, with Alex Baker leading lap one. Brandon Lambert then took over on lap three but could not hold off the charge of Austen Becerra, who took over for good three laps later. Lambert stayed close to the checkers, with Spencer Coats, Kim Abbott and Alex Baker completing the top five.
Next Sunday will bring the 2013 season to a close at Quincy Raceways, with the new promoters in place for 2014 already. There is still a months worth of racing in the area, so take in as much as you can. I know I will!
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Deery Series Wraps Up at Davenport
With the weather looking good in both directions, we decided it was time for some IMCA racing on Saturday. So Fred, Darryl, and I headed north to the Davenport, Iowa Speedway to close out the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series season on the big fairgrounds 1/2 mile. The change in lat some tracks combined with some rainouts made this only my second Summer Series event of the year - the first one and the last one. A solid field of 35 IMCA late models headlined by my count a 94 car field in five classes.
The late model heats ran first, as they would be the only class running B-mains. In the first ten lapper, Rob Toland lost the top spot as he tried to put a slower car a lap down, with IMCA national champion Justin Kay getting by for the win. Ironically, the same situation would bite Kay later on. Jeff Aikey took the third and final transfer spot. Heat two saw Dan Shelliam lead the distance, although a mid race bobble brought him back to the field. Andy Eckrich settled for second, while Summer Series champion Brian Harris and Chad Simpson, driving the Diercks # 30 dueled for third before Harris pulled away. Heat three saw Yankee Dirt Track Classic night two winner Joel Callahan race from a row four start to second by lap five, and into the lead one lap later. He outdistanced Jon Poll for the win, with Jay Johnson edging past Joe Ross for third in the final turn. The final ten lapper had Ray Guss Jr and Denny Eckrich in an early battle, with Ray coming out on top. Nick Marolf claimed the third position. All four heats ran without a caution period.
Following eight heat races for the four support classes, it was B-main time for the late models. Simpson checked out in the first ten lapper, besting Darrell Defrance, Kyle Hinrichs, and Ryan Dolan, driving the #1 car. this is apparently a former Moring car now belonging to Rick Dralle - if my information is correct! Jason Rauen ran off with the second consy, while a great battle took place behind him for the next three transfer spots between Ross, series rookie of the year Rob Moss, Brunson Behning, and later Spencer Direcks. Moss took the runnerup spot, with Behning third, and again Ross came up short, this time at the stripe, with Diercks taking fourth. Four provisionals completed the starting grid, including Tommy Elston, Nate Beuseling, Matt Ryan, and Ron Boyse.
The Caseys Pizza redraw came next, with Kay and Shelliam winding up with the front row start.
The 23 car street stock feature came next, and at this point, the swiftly moving show began to have some issues. Several cautions slowed the 12 lap event, but Jeremy Gustaf held on to the top spot flag to flag. Jeremy has had an interesting and up and down season, and Saturday night reflected that, as he won the feature, but suffered a broken front end at the checkers, and had to be towed to the inspection area.
The IMCA modified 15 lap finale saw 16 cars start - all but the # 85, who broke in hot laps and was out the gate early. Veteran Bob Dominacki also missed his heat, but made repairs by feature time. Four early cautions slowed the action, including one car who shall remain nameless who had contact with another car, wound up in the infield, then pulled onto the track and stopped to get a caution flag. At this point, Ray Cox Jr held the lead, and with Dakota Hayden running a close second. But Hayden went to the work area, rejoining the field at the tail. The final 11 laps then went caution free with Cox leading all the way, over Bobby Moyer, the # 25 of Derek Walker, and Hayden, as only eight cars took the checkers.
With the clock ticking - a good time to run the late models? - the 13 4 stock cars came to the track for ten laps. Davenport track champion Aaron Hitt scored an easy win.
Next up it was a five car ten lap feature for the IMCA sport mods. Although only five machines, it took three tries to complete the first lap. When the green finally waved, track champion Bryce Garnhart raced to a 1/4 lap win, and with 10:30 approaching, the post race picture taking and interview was waved off, as the late models came to the track for their 40 lap finale.
Shelliam jumped to the early lead, and he and Kay swapped to top spot in the early laps, as Toland joined the fray. On lap ten, Kay took command, then came up on slower traffic almost immediately. On lap 11, Toland took second, and five laps later Andy Eckrich raced into third. The only caution of the race came on lap 18, when Guss, who had been running in the top six, stopped on the backstretch with a flat tire. The restart saw Aikey, advance from fifth to fourth on the Delaware restart, the one lap later he moved around Andy Eckrich for third. At the same time, Rauen, who started 14th, moved to sixth.
On lap 19, Simpson gave up a top five spot, pulling to the infield. At the halfway mark, Aikey powered around Toland for second, and Rauen moved to fifth. Kay was enjoying a sizable lead at this point, but my notes have a " but " written here, as Aikey seemed to be getting faster. The leader caught traffic again on lap 30, and on lap 32 Kay came upon a mass of cars running the low and middle lanes of the speedway. At this point, second is a good place to be, and Aikey took to the high side to overtake Kay and some slower cars in the process. The lapped traffic that helped Kay in his heat burned him in the money race. Toland began to fade, and Harris, who started 12th, and fell back to 14th at one point had been on the move since the restart. With just a couple laps to go, he charged past Eckrich, fooling even the scoreboard operator and the announcer, neither of whom apparently realized he was in the top five! When the checkers waved, there were ten cars on the lead lap, with the official run down as follows:
Aikey, Kay, Harris, A Eckrich, Rauen, Callahan, Denny Eckrich, who went from 11th to fifth to tenth, to seventh, Toland, 21st starting Elston, and Marolf.
The clock read 11:02 as Fred fired up the van, and all in all it was a good night of racing in Davenport. Congrats to all the winners, and champions, and to car owner Lynn Richard on his first Summer Series title!
Fall is here, but there are still plenty of big events, and the weather is fine, so take in all you can, and maybe I will see you Racin' Down the Road!
The late model heats ran first, as they would be the only class running B-mains. In the first ten lapper, Rob Toland lost the top spot as he tried to put a slower car a lap down, with IMCA national champion Justin Kay getting by for the win. Ironically, the same situation would bite Kay later on. Jeff Aikey took the third and final transfer spot. Heat two saw Dan Shelliam lead the distance, although a mid race bobble brought him back to the field. Andy Eckrich settled for second, while Summer Series champion Brian Harris and Chad Simpson, driving the Diercks # 30 dueled for third before Harris pulled away. Heat three saw Yankee Dirt Track Classic night two winner Joel Callahan race from a row four start to second by lap five, and into the lead one lap later. He outdistanced Jon Poll for the win, with Jay Johnson edging past Joe Ross for third in the final turn. The final ten lapper had Ray Guss Jr and Denny Eckrich in an early battle, with Ray coming out on top. Nick Marolf claimed the third position. All four heats ran without a caution period.
Following eight heat races for the four support classes, it was B-main time for the late models. Simpson checked out in the first ten lapper, besting Darrell Defrance, Kyle Hinrichs, and Ryan Dolan, driving the #1 car. this is apparently a former Moring car now belonging to Rick Dralle - if my information is correct! Jason Rauen ran off with the second consy, while a great battle took place behind him for the next three transfer spots between Ross, series rookie of the year Rob Moss, Brunson Behning, and later Spencer Direcks. Moss took the runnerup spot, with Behning third, and again Ross came up short, this time at the stripe, with Diercks taking fourth. Four provisionals completed the starting grid, including Tommy Elston, Nate Beuseling, Matt Ryan, and Ron Boyse.
The Caseys Pizza redraw came next, with Kay and Shelliam winding up with the front row start.
The 23 car street stock feature came next, and at this point, the swiftly moving show began to have some issues. Several cautions slowed the 12 lap event, but Jeremy Gustaf held on to the top spot flag to flag. Jeremy has had an interesting and up and down season, and Saturday night reflected that, as he won the feature, but suffered a broken front end at the checkers, and had to be towed to the inspection area.
The IMCA modified 15 lap finale saw 16 cars start - all but the # 85, who broke in hot laps and was out the gate early. Veteran Bob Dominacki also missed his heat, but made repairs by feature time. Four early cautions slowed the action, including one car who shall remain nameless who had contact with another car, wound up in the infield, then pulled onto the track and stopped to get a caution flag. At this point, Ray Cox Jr held the lead, and with Dakota Hayden running a close second. But Hayden went to the work area, rejoining the field at the tail. The final 11 laps then went caution free with Cox leading all the way, over Bobby Moyer, the # 25 of Derek Walker, and Hayden, as only eight cars took the checkers.
With the clock ticking - a good time to run the late models? - the 13 4 stock cars came to the track for ten laps. Davenport track champion Aaron Hitt scored an easy win.
Next up it was a five car ten lap feature for the IMCA sport mods. Although only five machines, it took three tries to complete the first lap. When the green finally waved, track champion Bryce Garnhart raced to a 1/4 lap win, and with 10:30 approaching, the post race picture taking and interview was waved off, as the late models came to the track for their 40 lap finale.
Shelliam jumped to the early lead, and he and Kay swapped to top spot in the early laps, as Toland joined the fray. On lap ten, Kay took command, then came up on slower traffic almost immediately. On lap 11, Toland took second, and five laps later Andy Eckrich raced into third. The only caution of the race came on lap 18, when Guss, who had been running in the top six, stopped on the backstretch with a flat tire. The restart saw Aikey, advance from fifth to fourth on the Delaware restart, the one lap later he moved around Andy Eckrich for third. At the same time, Rauen, who started 14th, moved to sixth.
On lap 19, Simpson gave up a top five spot, pulling to the infield. At the halfway mark, Aikey powered around Toland for second, and Rauen moved to fifth. Kay was enjoying a sizable lead at this point, but my notes have a " but " written here, as Aikey seemed to be getting faster. The leader caught traffic again on lap 30, and on lap 32 Kay came upon a mass of cars running the low and middle lanes of the speedway. At this point, second is a good place to be, and Aikey took to the high side to overtake Kay and some slower cars in the process. The lapped traffic that helped Kay in his heat burned him in the money race. Toland began to fade, and Harris, who started 12th, and fell back to 14th at one point had been on the move since the restart. With just a couple laps to go, he charged past Eckrich, fooling even the scoreboard operator and the announcer, neither of whom apparently realized he was in the top five! When the checkers waved, there were ten cars on the lead lap, with the official run down as follows:
Aikey, Kay, Harris, A Eckrich, Rauen, Callahan, Denny Eckrich, who went from 11th to fifth to tenth, to seventh, Toland, 21st starting Elston, and Marolf.
The clock read 11:02 as Fred fired up the van, and all in all it was a good night of racing in Davenport. Congrats to all the winners, and champions, and to car owner Lynn Richard on his first Summer Series title!
Fall is here, but there are still plenty of big events, and the weather is fine, so take in all you can, and maybe I will see you Racin' Down the Road!
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Kid Rocket Tops World of Outlaws at Pevely
Saturday, Darryl, Fred, and I made our fourth and final trip of the year to I-55 Raceway in Pevely,Mo. Two of our previous three stops resulted in postponements as we sat in the car, so we were plenty eager to see some action on the high banked 1/3 mile, one of our favorite facilities. Arriving early, as usual, we were watching track prep, and all agreed that it was 75 degrees out, not 95, and it seemed like they were dumping a lot of water on the oval. But then Pevely is a well run track, and they surely know better than three grumpy old men - except last night. By the time the excess moisture was rolled in, hot laps started just over 30 minutes late, with the 29 AARA sportsman cars and 33 World of Outlaw late models up first. The 37 UMP late models then combined group qualifying with their hot lap session, with four or five cars at a time on the speedway. Unfortunately transponder issues slowed the process, but finally Matt Mevert posted the top time of 13.995 seconds, something over 85 MPH.
The late models timed next, two cars at a time for two laps. Only Shannon Babb had to requalify with transponder problems. The fastest lap went to series points leader Josh Richards at 12.194 seconds. Rickey Frankel was second fastest in group two, but was declared light at the scales, forcing him to the tail of his heat race.
Heat race action began about 8:30. To their credit, track officials made some adjustments to the program to save time. The redraw for late model starting spots for the first four rows that was to be done on the front stretch was scrapped, and no intermission was taken. Three sportsman heats were followed by four for the late models. Heat one got off to a rocky start when outside row one starter Jason Feger got faked a bit on the start and was penalized one row for taking off too soon. His troubles were compounded when he fell out of the action on lap three. Richards led flag to flag from the pole, as did Bub McCool in heat two. The third ten lapper had the most action, with Morgan Bagley coming from outside row two for the win, while Shane Clanton went the distance from the pole in heat four.
Following four mod heats and a sportsman semi, the late models were set to contest two last chance races. In the first, Iowan Charlie McKenna, making his first ever start at Pevely - something on his bucket list - found something on the high side after starting outside row three. " Chargin' Charlie " had struggled in his heat, but was three wide with Michael Kloos and Jason McBride down the backstretch about to make the pass for the runnerup spot when his real estate disappeared, forcing him into the wall and ending his solid run. The second 12 lapper saw late model rookie Jim Shereck from St Charles,Mo, making only his ninth late model start take the early lead, only to have fourth starting Frankel power by in turn two mid race. Shereck held his ground, however, and with Frankels ride pushing up the track in turns three and four, he put his # 17 inside Rickey and won the drag race to the checkers on the final circuit. The 22 qualifiers then had four provisionals - two from WoO including rookie of the year leader Eric Wells, and Feger, and two from the promoter, added to the show. Dewayne Kiefer received one of these, the other went to Tim Manville. When he did not make the call, Jeff Herzog was awarded the spot. It was announced much to our delight that the 55 lap late model headliner would follow the two modified semis, and the officials and drivers did a good job of getting the cars on the track in a quick manner, with no on track introductions.
As the green waved, row three starter Clanton slowed down the backstretch, resulting in a multi car scrum. Fortunately the Georgia driver was the only one unable to continue, as his right front suspension was damaged. On the restart, polesitter Babb jumped to the lead, and opened a commanding advantage. On lap five fourth place starting Richards moved to second as outside polesitter Bagley fell back slightly. Richards chipped away at Babbs lead as the front two began to close on slower traffic by lap 13. The caution waved on lap 24 for a slowing Kloos, with Babb, Richards, and eighth starting Darrell Lanigan the top three. The yellow flew again six laps later for Tim McCreadie, who was running outside the top ten. On the restart, tenth starting Billy Moyer, who had been locked in a duel with his son after the two started side by side in row five,vaulted to fifth, then to fourth, while 16 year old Bobby Pierce, who started in row six and had been stuck there began use both the high and low grooves to charge to sixth. On lap 32 Richards made his move around Babb, although Shannon kept the # 1 Rocket house car in his sights. Row seven starter Brandon Sheppard was now on the move on the high side, as he shadowed Pierce, who took fifth. Another stoppage for Shereck came on lap 34, and on the restart, Sheppard slipped around Pierce. Lap 41 saw Lanigan overtake Babb for second, and on lap 49 Bagley slowed with a flat, slowing his top ten run. At the same time, Feger, who had come from 24th to ninth and was moving quickly forward, stopped in turn four, leaving the action behind the wrecker. With less than ten laps remaining the Delaware restart was no longer in effect, as the cars went single file. Lap 51 saw Moyer get past Babb, and contact followed between Babb and Sheppard as Brandon also got by. Two laps later we saw the result of this, as Babb smacked the turn one wall as something appeared to break on his # 18, and Sheppard headed to the hot pit with a flat tire. This moved Brian Shirley, who had been strong early before fading out of the top ten, then mounting another charge, up to fourth. The two lap shootout to the checkers saw little change, as Richards nabbed the $10,000 top prize. Lanigan, Moyer, Shirley, and Pierce enjoyed top five finishes. The second five included Rick Eckert, Moyer Jr., 2012 winner Dennis Erb Jr, Tim Fuller, and Bagley. It was neat to have Bub ( McCool ), Chub ( Frank ), and " Scrub " ( Eckert ) all in the main event.
We very much wanted to at least stay for the modified feature, but the clock said almost 11:30, late enough for three old guys three hours from home! Congrats to Michael Long for another mod victory, and to Jon Ripperda for his sportsman checkers.
As I type this, it is raining here in Canton,Mo, but not at Quincy Raceways, so if you have plans to take in the show there tonight, be sure and call the hotline. Hopefully, we will see you there!
The late models timed next, two cars at a time for two laps. Only Shannon Babb had to requalify with transponder problems. The fastest lap went to series points leader Josh Richards at 12.194 seconds. Rickey Frankel was second fastest in group two, but was declared light at the scales, forcing him to the tail of his heat race.
Heat race action began about 8:30. To their credit, track officials made some adjustments to the program to save time. The redraw for late model starting spots for the first four rows that was to be done on the front stretch was scrapped, and no intermission was taken. Three sportsman heats were followed by four for the late models. Heat one got off to a rocky start when outside row one starter Jason Feger got faked a bit on the start and was penalized one row for taking off too soon. His troubles were compounded when he fell out of the action on lap three. Richards led flag to flag from the pole, as did Bub McCool in heat two. The third ten lapper had the most action, with Morgan Bagley coming from outside row two for the win, while Shane Clanton went the distance from the pole in heat four.
Following four mod heats and a sportsman semi, the late models were set to contest two last chance races. In the first, Iowan Charlie McKenna, making his first ever start at Pevely - something on his bucket list - found something on the high side after starting outside row three. " Chargin' Charlie " had struggled in his heat, but was three wide with Michael Kloos and Jason McBride down the backstretch about to make the pass for the runnerup spot when his real estate disappeared, forcing him into the wall and ending his solid run. The second 12 lapper saw late model rookie Jim Shereck from St Charles,Mo, making only his ninth late model start take the early lead, only to have fourth starting Frankel power by in turn two mid race. Shereck held his ground, however, and with Frankels ride pushing up the track in turns three and four, he put his # 17 inside Rickey and won the drag race to the checkers on the final circuit. The 22 qualifiers then had four provisionals - two from WoO including rookie of the year leader Eric Wells, and Feger, and two from the promoter, added to the show. Dewayne Kiefer received one of these, the other went to Tim Manville. When he did not make the call, Jeff Herzog was awarded the spot. It was announced much to our delight that the 55 lap late model headliner would follow the two modified semis, and the officials and drivers did a good job of getting the cars on the track in a quick manner, with no on track introductions.
As the green waved, row three starter Clanton slowed down the backstretch, resulting in a multi car scrum. Fortunately the Georgia driver was the only one unable to continue, as his right front suspension was damaged. On the restart, polesitter Babb jumped to the lead, and opened a commanding advantage. On lap five fourth place starting Richards moved to second as outside polesitter Bagley fell back slightly. Richards chipped away at Babbs lead as the front two began to close on slower traffic by lap 13. The caution waved on lap 24 for a slowing Kloos, with Babb, Richards, and eighth starting Darrell Lanigan the top three. The yellow flew again six laps later for Tim McCreadie, who was running outside the top ten. On the restart, tenth starting Billy Moyer, who had been locked in a duel with his son after the two started side by side in row five,vaulted to fifth, then to fourth, while 16 year old Bobby Pierce, who started in row six and had been stuck there began use both the high and low grooves to charge to sixth. On lap 32 Richards made his move around Babb, although Shannon kept the # 1 Rocket house car in his sights. Row seven starter Brandon Sheppard was now on the move on the high side, as he shadowed Pierce, who took fifth. Another stoppage for Shereck came on lap 34, and on the restart, Sheppard slipped around Pierce. Lap 41 saw Lanigan overtake Babb for second, and on lap 49 Bagley slowed with a flat, slowing his top ten run. At the same time, Feger, who had come from 24th to ninth and was moving quickly forward, stopped in turn four, leaving the action behind the wrecker. With less than ten laps remaining the Delaware restart was no longer in effect, as the cars went single file. Lap 51 saw Moyer get past Babb, and contact followed between Babb and Sheppard as Brandon also got by. Two laps later we saw the result of this, as Babb smacked the turn one wall as something appeared to break on his # 18, and Sheppard headed to the hot pit with a flat tire. This moved Brian Shirley, who had been strong early before fading out of the top ten, then mounting another charge, up to fourth. The two lap shootout to the checkers saw little change, as Richards nabbed the $10,000 top prize. Lanigan, Moyer, Shirley, and Pierce enjoyed top five finishes. The second five included Rick Eckert, Moyer Jr., 2012 winner Dennis Erb Jr, Tim Fuller, and Bagley. It was neat to have Bub ( McCool ), Chub ( Frank ), and " Scrub " ( Eckert ) all in the main event.
We very much wanted to at least stay for the modified feature, but the clock said almost 11:30, late enough for three old guys three hours from home! Congrats to Michael Long for another mod victory, and to Jon Ripperda for his sportsman checkers.
As I type this, it is raining here in Canton,Mo, but not at Quincy Raceways, so if you have plans to take in the show there tonight, be sure and call the hotline. Hopefully, we will see you there!
Monday, September 9, 2013
More Big News From Quincy Raceways
The racing program Sunday night at Quincy Raceways was beset with problems, but it may have been an historic night, none the less. The evening was fraught with rumor, and a poorly kept secret was announced on Monday. Pending the final dotting of " I's " and crossing of " T's , " the track is set to be leased to Last Chance Promotion based in Jacksonville,Il. The front man for the three person group is Ken Dobson, who is also the director of the Midwest Open Wheel Association sprint car series. Other members are Mike Wankel and Tom Casson. The group has also promoted racing at the Jacksonville Speedway for the past two seasons. Nothing will be official until papers are signed, but Dobson indicated that late models will continue to headline the program going forward. 2014 will be season number 40 for the Broadway Bullring.
A combination of factors made for a long night on Sunday. First, a morning rain shower put track prep behind, resulting in a late starting show. The rough track was reworked a couple times during the night, but continued to be an issue. Due to " real life " circumstances, some key members of the Sunday night crew were absent, putting a strain on the remaining crew. The ambulance crew was called not once, but twice to the grandstands, well you get the picture. During one delay, the 2013 Quincy Raceways Hall of Fame class was introduced, including former drivers Dick Crane, Lonnie Carter, Joe Gower and Tom Long.
In between, there was some pretty good racing. 13 UMP late models checked in, with Mark Burgtorf setting quick time at 13.843 seconds. Even qualifying was beset by controversy. Seven cars had attempted to qualify, but Burgtorf and visiting Steve Thorsten from Milford,Il both suffered flat left rear tires. The decision was made to check the track, some grading was done, and time trials were restarted. Burgtorf rolled a " three " to set the dash lineup, putting McKay Wenger from Fairbury,Il on the front row alongside UMP national point leader Brandon Sheppard. It was the first ever appearance for Wenger at QR, while B Shepp made the long tow from the World 100 where he finished 15th on Saturday night. Sheppard held off fourth starting Jason Perry to capture the dash after Wenger broke six laps in. The win gave him the pole for the 30 lap finale. Brandon led lap one of the feature before Perry took over on lap two. These two began to check out on the field while Wenger and Burgtorf swapped the third spot a couple of times. On lap 13 Sheppard regained the point as the leaders negotiated slower traffic. A lap 17 yellow bunched the field, but on the restart Sheppard and Perry again built an advantage. The yellow waved for the second time for debris on lap 24 and one lap later Wenger took third back from Burgtorf. One more caution flew on lap 26, and two laps later Burgtorf retired with another flat tire. Sheppard held on for his fourth QR win, tying Michael Long for the track lead. 2012 track champion Perry took second, with Wenger running a strong third. 2013 track point leader Denny Woodworth ran fourth, edging out Jared Schlipman, while Thorsten brought his damaged number 7T home sixth.
The UMP modified count stood at 22, with NASCARs Kenny Wallace posting fast time. Wallace rolled a " six " for the dash invert. Dave Weitholder was able to make less than one lap of the dash after hurting his engine Saturday night at Pevely. Point leader Steven Delonjay also failed to finish after suffering front suspension damage. Delonjay made hasty repairs to start the feature in row 11, while number two point man Weitholder borrowed the sport mod of Trevor Hagerbaumer for the 25 lapper. Justin Reed was back after a nasty crash in the Begley # B4 a couple weeks back, and he took off from the pole as the green waved. Delonjay used a handful of yellows and some aggressive moves to work his way through the field advancing to third by lap 11. It then took him until a lap 23 restart to claim second after a ferocious battle with Chris Spalding. Wallace followed Delonjay around Spalding, but Chris regained the third spot at the checkers. It was a flag to flag win for Reed, who now has both a late model and modified win this season. Robbie Reed completed the top five, as only eight cars took the checkers out of 21 starters.
Abe Huls made the long haul back from a successful run at the Boone Supernationals to pick up win number seven in the IMCA stock car division. After suffering a flat tire on the trailer headed south, the # 30C crew stopped in Carthage just long enough to unload a few suitcases and head for QR. With the IMCA classes not racing for points due to the Boone rain date, a draw, redraw format was used for the stock cars, sport mods, and sport compacts. While Jack Powers took the lead at the green, Jerry Jansen was the leader as lap one was scored, and he held off 2012 champ Terry Houston early. When Houston bobbled on lap four, Powers and Huls roared past. It was lap nine when Abe made his move around Jansen. The three challengers battled behind Abe, with Houston back to second on lap ten. Powers edged Jansen for third in the non stop 15 lapper.
The redraw was kind to defending champion and point leader Tony Dunker in the IMCA sport mod class. Tony drew a front row spot, and led all 20 laps for his 29th consecutive top two finish. The race was red flagged when Brandon Dale clipped one of the tractor tires and went into a series of flips in his #12. The youngster appeared unhurt, but his car was heavily damaged. The time limit hit on lap 16, with Jeff Delonjay the only car in the same time zone as Dunker. Todd Reed and Charles Vanzandt also posted top four runs.
The IMCA sport compacts ran the final feature of the night. 12 of the 13 entrants took the green, and with the draw format, Kimberly Abbott secured the pole position. She led until a lap two restart, when Austen Becerra powered by for the lead and eventual win, I believe his fifth in a row. and yes, it was a different car than the one he destroyed Saturday night at 34 Raceway. Abbott held on for second ahead of Laine Vanzandt and Brandon Lambert.
Quincy Raceways still has three weeks of Sunday night racing remaining. As for me, September racing is one of my favorite times, so maybe we will meet Racin' Down the Road.
A combination of factors made for a long night on Sunday. First, a morning rain shower put track prep behind, resulting in a late starting show. The rough track was reworked a couple times during the night, but continued to be an issue. Due to " real life " circumstances, some key members of the Sunday night crew were absent, putting a strain on the remaining crew. The ambulance crew was called not once, but twice to the grandstands, well you get the picture. During one delay, the 2013 Quincy Raceways Hall of Fame class was introduced, including former drivers Dick Crane, Lonnie Carter, Joe Gower and Tom Long.
In between, there was some pretty good racing. 13 UMP late models checked in, with Mark Burgtorf setting quick time at 13.843 seconds. Even qualifying was beset by controversy. Seven cars had attempted to qualify, but Burgtorf and visiting Steve Thorsten from Milford,Il both suffered flat left rear tires. The decision was made to check the track, some grading was done, and time trials were restarted. Burgtorf rolled a " three " to set the dash lineup, putting McKay Wenger from Fairbury,Il on the front row alongside UMP national point leader Brandon Sheppard. It was the first ever appearance for Wenger at QR, while B Shepp made the long tow from the World 100 where he finished 15th on Saturday night. Sheppard held off fourth starting Jason Perry to capture the dash after Wenger broke six laps in. The win gave him the pole for the 30 lap finale. Brandon led lap one of the feature before Perry took over on lap two. These two began to check out on the field while Wenger and Burgtorf swapped the third spot a couple of times. On lap 13 Sheppard regained the point as the leaders negotiated slower traffic. A lap 17 yellow bunched the field, but on the restart Sheppard and Perry again built an advantage. The yellow waved for the second time for debris on lap 24 and one lap later Wenger took third back from Burgtorf. One more caution flew on lap 26, and two laps later Burgtorf retired with another flat tire. Sheppard held on for his fourth QR win, tying Michael Long for the track lead. 2012 track champion Perry took second, with Wenger running a strong third. 2013 track point leader Denny Woodworth ran fourth, edging out Jared Schlipman, while Thorsten brought his damaged number 7T home sixth.
The UMP modified count stood at 22, with NASCARs Kenny Wallace posting fast time. Wallace rolled a " six " for the dash invert. Dave Weitholder was able to make less than one lap of the dash after hurting his engine Saturday night at Pevely. Point leader Steven Delonjay also failed to finish after suffering front suspension damage. Delonjay made hasty repairs to start the feature in row 11, while number two point man Weitholder borrowed the sport mod of Trevor Hagerbaumer for the 25 lapper. Justin Reed was back after a nasty crash in the Begley # B4 a couple weeks back, and he took off from the pole as the green waved. Delonjay used a handful of yellows and some aggressive moves to work his way through the field advancing to third by lap 11. It then took him until a lap 23 restart to claim second after a ferocious battle with Chris Spalding. Wallace followed Delonjay around Spalding, but Chris regained the third spot at the checkers. It was a flag to flag win for Reed, who now has both a late model and modified win this season. Robbie Reed completed the top five, as only eight cars took the checkers out of 21 starters.
Abe Huls made the long haul back from a successful run at the Boone Supernationals to pick up win number seven in the IMCA stock car division. After suffering a flat tire on the trailer headed south, the # 30C crew stopped in Carthage just long enough to unload a few suitcases and head for QR. With the IMCA classes not racing for points due to the Boone rain date, a draw, redraw format was used for the stock cars, sport mods, and sport compacts. While Jack Powers took the lead at the green, Jerry Jansen was the leader as lap one was scored, and he held off 2012 champ Terry Houston early. When Houston bobbled on lap four, Powers and Huls roared past. It was lap nine when Abe made his move around Jansen. The three challengers battled behind Abe, with Houston back to second on lap ten. Powers edged Jansen for third in the non stop 15 lapper.
The redraw was kind to defending champion and point leader Tony Dunker in the IMCA sport mod class. Tony drew a front row spot, and led all 20 laps for his 29th consecutive top two finish. The race was red flagged when Brandon Dale clipped one of the tractor tires and went into a series of flips in his #12. The youngster appeared unhurt, but his car was heavily damaged. The time limit hit on lap 16, with Jeff Delonjay the only car in the same time zone as Dunker. Todd Reed and Charles Vanzandt also posted top four runs.
The IMCA sport compacts ran the final feature of the night. 12 of the 13 entrants took the green, and with the draw format, Kimberly Abbott secured the pole position. She led until a lap two restart, when Austen Becerra powered by for the lead and eventual win, I believe his fifth in a row. and yes, it was a different car than the one he destroyed Saturday night at 34 Raceway. Abbott held on for second ahead of Laine Vanzandt and Brandon Lambert.
Quincy Raceways still has three weeks of Sunday night racing remaining. As for me, September racing is one of my favorite times, so maybe we will meet Racin' Down the Road.
Monday, September 2, 2013
National Title Chase Resumes at Quincy
The Labor Day weekend show at Quincy Raceways had a different look. With the IMCA Supernationals starting Monday, the sport mods and stock cars were dropped from the card, while the MOWA 410 sprint cars raced for a $2,000 top prize. The four class program was a pleasant change. The start times were pushed back one hour to summer hours due to the heat, there was a lengthy intermission during which the track was reworked, and still the final checkers waved not long after the 9:00 hour. Of course, only having four caution flags total in the four main events made up a lot of time and made for some great racing!
The evening started off with Dave Weitholder setting quick time among the 17 UMP modifieds at 15.283 seconds. The ironic part of that is that both Weitholder and Michael Long were slated to race Sunday at Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach,Il. A late afternoon downpour cancelled that show, and came early enough for both those drivers as well as a couple other mod hotshoes to point north to QR. Dave then rolled a " one, " earning the pole for the six car ten lap fast dash, which he led from flag to flag despite pressure from points leader Steven Delonjay.
UMP national late model points leader Brandon Sheppard turned the fastest lap in qualifying at 13.978 seconds, then rolled a " four " for the dash invert. Jason Perry took the early lead before Rickey Frankel moved to the lead. On lap four, with Sheppard out front, national points runnerup Bobby Pierce pulled a turn four slide job to take the lead and the win, putting the two youngsters on the front row for the feature.
Meanwhile, 16 year old Paul Nienhiser came from row four in his heat race to take second to Joey Moughan. Moughan took the early lead in the dash before Nienhiser blasted past, pulling away to a big win.
The modified feature was up first, with 16 starters. Weitholder took the lead at the green while the back of the pack jammed up. Rusty Griffaw came from row two to second, while outside polesitter Delonjay settled in third. The yellow came out on lap two for Jeff Yates who had been shuffled back on the start and spun on lap two. The race then stayed green, with Delonjay challenging Griffaw in lapped traffic on lap 12. The yellow flew again on lap 22 for a tire kicked out on the racing surface, then again one lap later as Dean Vickers slowed while running seventh. As the laps wound down, Keith Pratt took his ride to the top of the track, moving to fifth. At the checkers, it was Weitholder completing a clean sweep, followed by Griffaw, Delonjay, Chris Spaulding, and Pratt.
The Midwest Open Wheel Association 30 lap sprint car main was up next. All 17 cars took the green, and Nienhaiser took the early lead before the only yellow waved on lap two. MOWA uses single file restarts, and by lap seven, Nienhiser was lapping the back of the pack as he pounded the cushion in turns one and two. Joey Moughan kept the # 9 in his sites, and he closed in in the leader by lap 12 as traffic continued to be a factor. On lap 18 Moughan blasted by on the low side, but two laps later Nienhiser used a breathtaking high side move to regain the point. When the checkers waved, the top two had a straightaway lead over third place A J Bruns, Jarrod Hull, and Jim Moughan.
Bobby Pierce is known to prefer the bottom groove most everywhere he races, and QR is no exception. In contrast, Brabdon Sheppard likes to hit the cushion, so the feature lineup put both drivers in their preferred spot. Pierce led lap one, but Sheppard flew past on lap two. By lap 12 the leaders had caught the back of the pack, but try as he might, Pierce could not get close enough to make the pass, as his car seemed to have a push, especially in turn two. On lap 16, Mark Burgtorf found his way around point leader Denny Woodworth for third. The race went 30 caution free laps, and only the top four finished on the lead lap. Frankel took fifth, followed by Dustin Griffin, Perry, Ron Elbe, and Jared Schlipman. Former driver Justin Jennings made the trip home to wheel his family owned # 56J, but gave up the driving chores to Long when he made it back from Pontoon Beach. Michael dropped out of the feature early, as did first time visitor Dillan White.
Nine of the ten IMCA sport compacts on hand started the 12 lap finale. Kimberly Abbott charged from row three to lead lap one, but on lap three, Austen Becerra made the winning pass. Skip Dunker had actually led part of lap one before falling to sixth, 2012 point champion Seith Woodruff was back in the compacts while continuing to wheel the # 15V modified. Abbott came home second, with Dunker, Woodruff, and Brandon Lambert next in line.
Next week looks like only Sunday night racing for me, but maybe I will see you Racin' Down the Road.
The evening started off with Dave Weitholder setting quick time among the 17 UMP modifieds at 15.283 seconds. The ironic part of that is that both Weitholder and Michael Long were slated to race Sunday at Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach,Il. A late afternoon downpour cancelled that show, and came early enough for both those drivers as well as a couple other mod hotshoes to point north to QR. Dave then rolled a " one, " earning the pole for the six car ten lap fast dash, which he led from flag to flag despite pressure from points leader Steven Delonjay.
UMP national late model points leader Brandon Sheppard turned the fastest lap in qualifying at 13.978 seconds, then rolled a " four " for the dash invert. Jason Perry took the early lead before Rickey Frankel moved to the lead. On lap four, with Sheppard out front, national points runnerup Bobby Pierce pulled a turn four slide job to take the lead and the win, putting the two youngsters on the front row for the feature.
Meanwhile, 16 year old Paul Nienhiser came from row four in his heat race to take second to Joey Moughan. Moughan took the early lead in the dash before Nienhiser blasted past, pulling away to a big win.
The modified feature was up first, with 16 starters. Weitholder took the lead at the green while the back of the pack jammed up. Rusty Griffaw came from row two to second, while outside polesitter Delonjay settled in third. The yellow came out on lap two for Jeff Yates who had been shuffled back on the start and spun on lap two. The race then stayed green, with Delonjay challenging Griffaw in lapped traffic on lap 12. The yellow flew again on lap 22 for a tire kicked out on the racing surface, then again one lap later as Dean Vickers slowed while running seventh. As the laps wound down, Keith Pratt took his ride to the top of the track, moving to fifth. At the checkers, it was Weitholder completing a clean sweep, followed by Griffaw, Delonjay, Chris Spaulding, and Pratt.
The Midwest Open Wheel Association 30 lap sprint car main was up next. All 17 cars took the green, and Nienhaiser took the early lead before the only yellow waved on lap two. MOWA uses single file restarts, and by lap seven, Nienhiser was lapping the back of the pack as he pounded the cushion in turns one and two. Joey Moughan kept the # 9 in his sites, and he closed in in the leader by lap 12 as traffic continued to be a factor. On lap 18 Moughan blasted by on the low side, but two laps later Nienhiser used a breathtaking high side move to regain the point. When the checkers waved, the top two had a straightaway lead over third place A J Bruns, Jarrod Hull, and Jim Moughan.
Bobby Pierce is known to prefer the bottom groove most everywhere he races, and QR is no exception. In contrast, Brabdon Sheppard likes to hit the cushion, so the feature lineup put both drivers in their preferred spot. Pierce led lap one, but Sheppard flew past on lap two. By lap 12 the leaders had caught the back of the pack, but try as he might, Pierce could not get close enough to make the pass, as his car seemed to have a push, especially in turn two. On lap 16, Mark Burgtorf found his way around point leader Denny Woodworth for third. The race went 30 caution free laps, and only the top four finished on the lead lap. Frankel took fifth, followed by Dustin Griffin, Perry, Ron Elbe, and Jared Schlipman. Former driver Justin Jennings made the trip home to wheel his family owned # 56J, but gave up the driving chores to Long when he made it back from Pontoon Beach. Michael dropped out of the feature early, as did first time visitor Dillan White.
Nine of the ten IMCA sport compacts on hand started the 12 lap finale. Kimberly Abbott charged from row three to lead lap one, but on lap three, Austen Becerra made the winning pass. Skip Dunker had actually led part of lap one before falling to sixth, 2012 point champion Seith Woodruff was back in the compacts while continuing to wheel the # 15V modified. Abbott came home second, with Dunker, Woodruff, and Brandon Lambert next in line.
Next week looks like only Sunday night racing for me, but maybe I will see you Racin' Down the Road.
Sunday, September 1, 2013
" King Kong " Korte On Top
With a vacation day in hand and the local high school letting out early, Keagan, Darryl, Fred, and I headed for Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Il for Fan Appreciation night weekly racing. A total of 120 cars in six classes - 115 in five deducting the five Kidz Modz - signed in for the action. The street stock count swelled to 26 as several extra cars were on hand as a tune up for the $3,000 to win special on Sunday. 16 heat races, one B-main and two dashes set the starting grid for the six feature events. The UMP modified dash saw Kody Weisner in one of the three University of Northern Ohio cars on hand jump the tall turn one cushion and flip his # 20 machine hard. He was running in third at the time. Following the restart, track point leader Michael Long was bidding to move up on the high side of the 3/8 mile and was sucked into the turn four wall by the tall cushion, damaging the front end suspension on his ride. Michael made temporary repairs in order to start the feature, completing one lap before heading for the trailer. Intermission was follow by a protracted nickel dash for the kids, then it was finally time for feature racing.During this time, the cushion was knocked down a bit by track workers.
The Kidz Modz eight lapper ran first, with Cade Juenger taking the win.
Next came the street stocks for 15 laps. 23 cars made the call, with the # 63G truck of Richie Gabriel setting the pace early. Modified hot shoe Tim Hancock was wheeling the # 8S car in preparation for the Sunday show, and he powered around Gabriel for the lead. When the caution waved for the first time on lap eight, Hancock had suffered a broken ball joint on his ride. He opted to stay on the track, soon losing the lead to Dave Armstrong on lap ten. Two laps later, Hancock lost the handle, colliding with Wade Glover, ending the night for both cars. All the while, track and national points leader Jason Worley was trying to overcome a heat race problem that relegated him to a row 11 starting spot, and he was now up to eighth. The race stayed green to completion with Armstrong taking the win. Gabriel faded early but came back to run second, while Worley came across in sixth.
The UMP mod 20 lap finale was up next with 22 of the 33 cars on hand taking the green. Rick Conoyer took off from the pole with number two point man Dave Weitholder giving chase. Dave took over on lap four, but a yellow flag negated the pass. On the restart, Weitholder spun in turn two and was hit by another UNOH car driven by Dwight Niehoff, with both tagging the tail on the restart. Yellow fever took over at this point, but when things got going, Brent Mullins began to apply pressure. On lap nine Mullins took the point, bringing Hancock with him. The front two then checked out, and with two circuits to go, Hancock took the lead. At the checkers it was Hancock first - Josh Russell barely nosed Mullins for second, and Tommie Seets Jr edged a charging Weitholder for fourth.
The UMP Pro Crate late models ran next. All 20 cars took the green, with Kevin Cole jumping out from his row one starting spot. Kevin was not entered in the super late model class on Friday. Aaron Heck had finished second to Cole in the first heat, and he quickly locked onto Coles rear bumper as the two pulled away from the pack. About lap 13 - Tri City does not have a working scoreboard - Heck eased by for the lead. He held on for the win in the caution free event ahead of Cole, Kolby Vandenbergh, and heat two winner Tom Krankel.
As the midnight hour drew nearer, the program was then stopped to stage the kids bicycle races that had been scheduled in conjunction with the giveaway of 50 bicycles.
Finally it was UMP super late model time, with 20 cars lining up for 25 laps of action. Randy " King Kong " Korte jumped to the early lead from row two with outside polesitter Michael Kloos in tow. On lap two, Jimmy Miller spun in turn one, collecting Andy Van Jackson, who landed partially on top of Millers # 18. During the clean up, point leader Scott Weber retired to the trailer. On the restart, Korte worked the high side of the still racy oval, while Kloos stayed close running the bottom groove. The race stayed green until the checkers. Billy Laycock started outside row seven and worked his way all the way to the runnerup position before getting caught behind a lapped car, falling to third at the line. Jason McBride started and finished fourth, with Brian Dively advancing two spots to come home fifth. The second five consisted of seventeenth starting Jim Shereck, Paul Bailey, John Beck, Kenny Rumble, and Chris Fetter.
The sport compact feature was pulling to the track as we made our way to the car right at the bewitching hour. Tri City had an excellent racing surface on Friday after less than ideal conditions - i.e.- high heat, plenty of cars, and the $6.00 admission made it easier to ignore the late hour. Thanks to the Gundakers for an entertaining night at the races. Keagan and I will be leaving in a couple hours for Quincy Raceways, where the card will feature MOWA 410 sprints, UMP late models, UMP modifieds, and IMCA sport compacts. The start time has been moved back one hour due to the heat, with hot laps starting at 5:45. One correction from last weeks blog, IMCA stock car driver was a two time feature winner last weekend, as the Carthage hot shoe " only " ran second at Lee County Speedway. Good luck to all the QR " home fries " headed to the IMCA supernationals this week!
The Kidz Modz eight lapper ran first, with Cade Juenger taking the win.
Next came the street stocks for 15 laps. 23 cars made the call, with the # 63G truck of Richie Gabriel setting the pace early. Modified hot shoe Tim Hancock was wheeling the # 8S car in preparation for the Sunday show, and he powered around Gabriel for the lead. When the caution waved for the first time on lap eight, Hancock had suffered a broken ball joint on his ride. He opted to stay on the track, soon losing the lead to Dave Armstrong on lap ten. Two laps later, Hancock lost the handle, colliding with Wade Glover, ending the night for both cars. All the while, track and national points leader Jason Worley was trying to overcome a heat race problem that relegated him to a row 11 starting spot, and he was now up to eighth. The race stayed green to completion with Armstrong taking the win. Gabriel faded early but came back to run second, while Worley came across in sixth.
The UMP mod 20 lap finale was up next with 22 of the 33 cars on hand taking the green. Rick Conoyer took off from the pole with number two point man Dave Weitholder giving chase. Dave took over on lap four, but a yellow flag negated the pass. On the restart, Weitholder spun in turn two and was hit by another UNOH car driven by Dwight Niehoff, with both tagging the tail on the restart. Yellow fever took over at this point, but when things got going, Brent Mullins began to apply pressure. On lap nine Mullins took the point, bringing Hancock with him. The front two then checked out, and with two circuits to go, Hancock took the lead. At the checkers it was Hancock first - Josh Russell barely nosed Mullins for second, and Tommie Seets Jr edged a charging Weitholder for fourth.
The UMP Pro Crate late models ran next. All 20 cars took the green, with Kevin Cole jumping out from his row one starting spot. Kevin was not entered in the super late model class on Friday. Aaron Heck had finished second to Cole in the first heat, and he quickly locked onto Coles rear bumper as the two pulled away from the pack. About lap 13 - Tri City does not have a working scoreboard - Heck eased by for the lead. He held on for the win in the caution free event ahead of Cole, Kolby Vandenbergh, and heat two winner Tom Krankel.
As the midnight hour drew nearer, the program was then stopped to stage the kids bicycle races that had been scheduled in conjunction with the giveaway of 50 bicycles.
Finally it was UMP super late model time, with 20 cars lining up for 25 laps of action. Randy " King Kong " Korte jumped to the early lead from row two with outside polesitter Michael Kloos in tow. On lap two, Jimmy Miller spun in turn one, collecting Andy Van Jackson, who landed partially on top of Millers # 18. During the clean up, point leader Scott Weber retired to the trailer. On the restart, Korte worked the high side of the still racy oval, while Kloos stayed close running the bottom groove. The race stayed green until the checkers. Billy Laycock started outside row seven and worked his way all the way to the runnerup position before getting caught behind a lapped car, falling to third at the line. Jason McBride started and finished fourth, with Brian Dively advancing two spots to come home fifth. The second five consisted of seventeenth starting Jim Shereck, Paul Bailey, John Beck, Kenny Rumble, and Chris Fetter.
The sport compact feature was pulling to the track as we made our way to the car right at the bewitching hour. Tri City had an excellent racing surface on Friday after less than ideal conditions - i.e.- high heat, plenty of cars, and the $6.00 admission made it easier to ignore the late hour. Thanks to the Gundakers for an entertaining night at the races. Keagan and I will be leaving in a couple hours for Quincy Raceways, where the card will feature MOWA 410 sprints, UMP late models, UMP modifieds, and IMCA sport compacts. The start time has been moved back one hour due to the heat, with hot laps starting at 5:45. One correction from last weeks blog, IMCA stock car driver was a two time feature winner last weekend, as the Carthage hot shoe " only " ran second at Lee County Speedway. Good luck to all the QR " home fries " headed to the IMCA supernationals this week!
Monday, August 26, 2013
Long Finishes Second,Gets A Win
There are always a few folks who head for the gate at Quincy Raceways as soon as the late model feature checkers waves. Those who did so last night missed out on some post race drama. Clint Kirkham came from row two to win the ten lap dash, earning the pole for the 30 lap finale. Clint then led the drag race to turn one and kept his # 28 out front for all 30 laps of green flag racing. But despite crossing the scales three times, Clint failed to register the minimum 2300 pounds mandated by UMP. Perhaps most troubling was that he reportedly recorded different weights each time across. Never the less, the other top five cars all hit the 2300 pound mark, and Kirkham saw his first win of 2013 go down the drain. Michael Long had started inside row two, grabbed the second spot on lap one and trailed Kirkham for the distance. Michael was awarded his fourth late model win of the season in the Jennings Racing # 56J. Denny Woodworth passed outside row one starter Jason Perry on lap three, and wound up second after the DQ. The lap three pass by Woodworth was the final position change of the race, as the hot afternoon sun left us with pretty much a one lane track around the bottom groove. Following Perry with top fives runs was Ron Elbe and Jared Schlipman. Perry had set quick time at 14.415 seconds. Mark Burgtorf was a no show as he blew his engine while winning the feature Saturday night at 34 Raceway. Rickey Frankel also suffered engines woes Saturday at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo., and was unable to race on Sunday.
The UMP modified division turned out a solid 22 car field, but when the checkers waved, it was Steven Delonjay once again in victory lane. Yellow flags slowed the event, but the patient Delonjay held on to lead the distance. He had set quick time at 15.437 seconds, rolled a " one " to start up front in the dash, with that win putting him on the feature pole. Dave Weitholder took the second spot from Shawn Deering early, holding on for a runnerup finish. Deering picked up his first ever win the week prior, but retired to the pits while running third on lap 24 of the 25 lapper. Adam Birck, driving a Jody Woods owned # 51 started in row four and came home third, while Keith Pratt ran a steady fourth ahead of Tony Patterson. Derrick Carlson was the only non starter after blowing an engine in his heat race. The rebuilt engine had only four races on it, and this was not the early birthday present the "Murrayville Madman " was hoping for.
Abe Huls picked up his third IMCA stock car feature win of the weekend, coming to the front from a row three start in two laps. Tuning up for the IMCA Supernationals, Abe led the remainder of the event, while various challengers swapped positions behind him. Brandon Savage advance to second following a lap five restart, but lost the spot while trying the high line to get around Huls. Terry Houston claimed the spot on lap 11, but a flat tire knocked him from contention. Stock car rookie Jake Powers took the second spot, with Dave Weitholder outdueling Savage and Jerry Jansen for third.
Tony Dunker made it six wins in a row in the IMCA sport mod finale. 12 cars signed in, but only ten made the feature call. Charles Vanzandt led lap one, Jeff Delonjay took over on lap five, as Dunker moved to third. One lap later, Dunker was second, and he grabbed the lead on lap 11 of the 15 lapper. Delonjay crossed in second, with Tanner Klingele third. Brad Holtmeyer recovered from an early spin to take fourth ahead of Trevor Hagerbaumer.
As always, the final race of the night was the 12 lap IMCA sport compact feature. Alex Baker led lap one, but a fuel leak was discovered on his ride during a caution period. Austen Becerra then nabbed the lead, picking up the win and taking sole possession of the points lead. Skip Dunker rebounded from last weeks crash to finish second, while Kevin Morgan made the long tow from St Peters,Mo to outgun Kimberly Abbott for third.
This coming Sunday, September 1, the MOWA 410 sprints will make an appearance at Quincy. The were scheduled to race the .29 mile oval in May, but that show was rained out. The UMP late models and UMP modifieds will also be on the card, as well as the IMCA sport comapcts. The IMCA stock cars and IMCA sport mods will be off, as the Supernationals begin on Monday. Hot laps will begin at 4:45. There is just over a month of racing left here in the midwest, so be sure and visit a track over the holiday weekend, and say " Hi " if you see me there!
The UMP modified division turned out a solid 22 car field, but when the checkers waved, it was Steven Delonjay once again in victory lane. Yellow flags slowed the event, but the patient Delonjay held on to lead the distance. He had set quick time at 15.437 seconds, rolled a " one " to start up front in the dash, with that win putting him on the feature pole. Dave Weitholder took the second spot from Shawn Deering early, holding on for a runnerup finish. Deering picked up his first ever win the week prior, but retired to the pits while running third on lap 24 of the 25 lapper. Adam Birck, driving a Jody Woods owned # 51 started in row four and came home third, while Keith Pratt ran a steady fourth ahead of Tony Patterson. Derrick Carlson was the only non starter after blowing an engine in his heat race. The rebuilt engine had only four races on it, and this was not the early birthday present the "Murrayville Madman " was hoping for.
Abe Huls picked up his third IMCA stock car feature win of the weekend, coming to the front from a row three start in two laps. Tuning up for the IMCA Supernationals, Abe led the remainder of the event, while various challengers swapped positions behind him. Brandon Savage advance to second following a lap five restart, but lost the spot while trying the high line to get around Huls. Terry Houston claimed the spot on lap 11, but a flat tire knocked him from contention. Stock car rookie Jake Powers took the second spot, with Dave Weitholder outdueling Savage and Jerry Jansen for third.
Tony Dunker made it six wins in a row in the IMCA sport mod finale. 12 cars signed in, but only ten made the feature call. Charles Vanzandt led lap one, Jeff Delonjay took over on lap five, as Dunker moved to third. One lap later, Dunker was second, and he grabbed the lead on lap 11 of the 15 lapper. Delonjay crossed in second, with Tanner Klingele third. Brad Holtmeyer recovered from an early spin to take fourth ahead of Trevor Hagerbaumer.
As always, the final race of the night was the 12 lap IMCA sport compact feature. Alex Baker led lap one, but a fuel leak was discovered on his ride during a caution period. Austen Becerra then nabbed the lead, picking up the win and taking sole possession of the points lead. Skip Dunker rebounded from last weeks crash to finish second, while Kevin Morgan made the long tow from St Peters,Mo to outgun Kimberly Abbott for third.
This coming Sunday, September 1, the MOWA 410 sprints will make an appearance at Quincy. The were scheduled to race the .29 mile oval in May, but that show was rained out. The UMP late models and UMP modifieds will also be on the card, as well as the IMCA sport comapcts. The IMCA stock cars and IMCA sport mods will be off, as the Supernationals begin on Monday. Hot laps will begin at 4:45. There is just over a month of racing left here in the midwest, so be sure and visit a track over the holiday weekend, and say " Hi " if you see me there!
Sunday, August 25, 2013
34 Raceway Crowns Champions
Saturday night Darryl and I made the trip to 34 Raceway for season championship night. It was also Fan Appreciation night, with half price admission, and one of the largest crowds I have seen in sometime came through the gates to watch 101cars in seven classes duel for the hardware. The heat races were mostly uneventful, as near as I could tell, all classes except the UMP late models had their features lined up straight up by points. The three IMCA classes only ran five lap heat races, while the other four ran their normal length. If it sounds a bit confusing, it was, and I wish the announcers would explain it, as there were obviously some first time fans in attendance. It would also help explain why several of the top points cars merely " turned laps ' in their heats, not wanting to risk damaging their cars with their feature starting spot already determined. The most significant development of the 15 heat races took place in the 305 sprints, when Daniel Bergquist ran over the back of another car as the green flag waved, and he endured a series of violent flips in turn one. He quickly climbed from his mangled ride, apparently uninjured.
Following a well stocked candy dash, the IMCA stock cars started off the feature action. Jason Cook and Abe Huls made up the front row, and Huls quickly grabbed the lead. John Oliver Jr. soon overtook Cook and applied pressure to Abe early on, as the caution flag waved a couple times. By mid race, Brett Timmerman had taken over the third spot, and soon the battle was between him and Oliver for second. Huls led the distance, cruising to the win, with Oliver second, while Tom Bowling Jr found his way around Timmerman for third. Cook faded to fifth, but still collected enough points to secure the season championship.
Point leader Bobby Anders took off from the pole position and was never seriously challenged in the IMCA sport mod finale. Sean Wyett finished runner up in the ten car field. Of course, Anders was also crowned the season point champ.
The 22 car 4 cylinder feature was up next, with John Whalen getting to the front quickly and holding off Austen Becerra for the win. Becerra stayed glued to the rear bumper of Whalen, but John made no mistakes. 75 years young Wayne Noble started on the pole, and came home third, good enough to claim the points title. Wayne still wheels his car with his left hand, while grasping the top roll bar with his right!
The race of the night was the 20 lap 305 sprint feature. John Schulz and Donnie Steward sat on row one, only five points separating them in the standings, and they crossed the stripe side by side after lap one before a too quick yellow was thrown for a spinning car in turn two that never stopped. The Delaware restart put Schulz out front. Steward assumed the second spot, but as the leaders worked slower traffic on lap eight, he grabbed the lead. Steward built a sizable lead , but on lap 17, again in slower traffic. Schulz regained the point. Steward was ahead at the stripe as lap 18 concluded, and the battle raged on as Schulz was ahead as the white flag flew. Steward put his # 16HD out front briefly on the final lap, but Schulz regained the lead out of turn two, and then moved up the track entering turn three, where Steward had been particularly strong. It proved to be the winning move, as the veteran Schulz collected both the feature win and the points title. The lap two caution was the only one slowing the action as I believe 17 of the 19 cars signed in took the green flag. Jayson Ditsworth was strong early, moving up to third before fading to fifth behind Justin Newberry and Andy Houston. Still, this was classic two car side by side, no touch battle that had everyone on their feet and cheering at the end!
The 15 car IMCA modified feature had trouble getting a lap in, and on the first false start, row two starter and top contender Bill Roberts JR. headed to the trailer. When lap one was finally scored, point leader and polesitter Mitch Morris was out front. A couple more early cautions saw outside row one starter Jeff Waterman get shuffled back, and following a lap three restart, it was Dennis Laveine and Tyler Glass battling for second. Morris saw his big lead fade awy on a lap 11 yellow, but he took off again on the restart as the duel for second resumed. On lap 13, Glass eased ahead of Laveine, and three laps later it was the veteran Dean Gee overtaking Laveine. At the checkers, it was Morris,Glass, McGee, Laveine, and Waterman. Morris, from Eldridge, grabbed both the win and the track title.
Next came the UMP late model finale. The late models ran the only heat that affected the feature lineup, as the UMP rules dictated a straight up start from the heat finish. Denny Woodworth captured the eight car qualifier, and nabbed the pole, with point leader Mark Burgtorf along side. Mark held the lead as lap one was completed, but Denny grabbed the top spot on lap two. Jay Johnson moved from his row three start to third on lap three, as the two leaders continued a side by side battle for the lead, with Woodworth holding the preferred low line. The action stopped on lap eight for a spinning Bill Genenbacher, and following the restart Burgtorf found an opening down low, grabbing the lead. Mark began to distance himself from the pack, as Woodworth and Johnson battled for the runner up spot. The caution waved for the second and final time on lap 17 for a spinning Jared Schlipman, and on the restart, Johnson used the high line to claim second. He then pulled alongside Burgtorf one lap later, but could not complete the pass. Burgtorf picked up the main event checkers and the track championship. Johnson came home second, followed by Woodworth, Dave Eckrich, Schlipman, who came roaring back after his late spin, Justin Mitchell, Ron Elbe, and Genenbacher.
The mod lite feature would finish off the night, but we headed for the car as the cars came to the track.
Checking the results, I see that Evan Epperson, who was dominate in his heat, picked up the win.
All in all it was a solid night of racing at 34, and we were headed home shortly after 10:30. Many thanks to Denny Woodworth for the special considerations as he was a sponsor of the nights action.
I will be picking up Keagan and heading out in a couple hours for our regular Sunday night of action at Quincy Raceways. If you plan to attend, remember the earlier school year start time, with hot laps now at 4:45. Hope to see you Racin' Down the Road!
Following a well stocked candy dash, the IMCA stock cars started off the feature action. Jason Cook and Abe Huls made up the front row, and Huls quickly grabbed the lead. John Oliver Jr. soon overtook Cook and applied pressure to Abe early on, as the caution flag waved a couple times. By mid race, Brett Timmerman had taken over the third spot, and soon the battle was between him and Oliver for second. Huls led the distance, cruising to the win, with Oliver second, while Tom Bowling Jr found his way around Timmerman for third. Cook faded to fifth, but still collected enough points to secure the season championship.
Point leader Bobby Anders took off from the pole position and was never seriously challenged in the IMCA sport mod finale. Sean Wyett finished runner up in the ten car field. Of course, Anders was also crowned the season point champ.
The 22 car 4 cylinder feature was up next, with John Whalen getting to the front quickly and holding off Austen Becerra for the win. Becerra stayed glued to the rear bumper of Whalen, but John made no mistakes. 75 years young Wayne Noble started on the pole, and came home third, good enough to claim the points title. Wayne still wheels his car with his left hand, while grasping the top roll bar with his right!
The race of the night was the 20 lap 305 sprint feature. John Schulz and Donnie Steward sat on row one, only five points separating them in the standings, and they crossed the stripe side by side after lap one before a too quick yellow was thrown for a spinning car in turn two that never stopped. The Delaware restart put Schulz out front. Steward assumed the second spot, but as the leaders worked slower traffic on lap eight, he grabbed the lead. Steward built a sizable lead , but on lap 17, again in slower traffic. Schulz regained the point. Steward was ahead at the stripe as lap 18 concluded, and the battle raged on as Schulz was ahead as the white flag flew. Steward put his # 16HD out front briefly on the final lap, but Schulz regained the lead out of turn two, and then moved up the track entering turn three, where Steward had been particularly strong. It proved to be the winning move, as the veteran Schulz collected both the feature win and the points title. The lap two caution was the only one slowing the action as I believe 17 of the 19 cars signed in took the green flag. Jayson Ditsworth was strong early, moving up to third before fading to fifth behind Justin Newberry and Andy Houston. Still, this was classic two car side by side, no touch battle that had everyone on their feet and cheering at the end!
The 15 car IMCA modified feature had trouble getting a lap in, and on the first false start, row two starter and top contender Bill Roberts JR. headed to the trailer. When lap one was finally scored, point leader and polesitter Mitch Morris was out front. A couple more early cautions saw outside row one starter Jeff Waterman get shuffled back, and following a lap three restart, it was Dennis Laveine and Tyler Glass battling for second. Morris saw his big lead fade awy on a lap 11 yellow, but he took off again on the restart as the duel for second resumed. On lap 13, Glass eased ahead of Laveine, and three laps later it was the veteran Dean Gee overtaking Laveine. At the checkers, it was Morris,Glass, McGee, Laveine, and Waterman. Morris, from Eldridge, grabbed both the win and the track title.
Next came the UMP late model finale. The late models ran the only heat that affected the feature lineup, as the UMP rules dictated a straight up start from the heat finish. Denny Woodworth captured the eight car qualifier, and nabbed the pole, with point leader Mark Burgtorf along side. Mark held the lead as lap one was completed, but Denny grabbed the top spot on lap two. Jay Johnson moved from his row three start to third on lap three, as the two leaders continued a side by side battle for the lead, with Woodworth holding the preferred low line. The action stopped on lap eight for a spinning Bill Genenbacher, and following the restart Burgtorf found an opening down low, grabbing the lead. Mark began to distance himself from the pack, as Woodworth and Johnson battled for the runner up spot. The caution waved for the second and final time on lap 17 for a spinning Jared Schlipman, and on the restart, Johnson used the high line to claim second. He then pulled alongside Burgtorf one lap later, but could not complete the pass. Burgtorf picked up the main event checkers and the track championship. Johnson came home second, followed by Woodworth, Dave Eckrich, Schlipman, who came roaring back after his late spin, Justin Mitchell, Ron Elbe, and Genenbacher.
The mod lite feature would finish off the night, but we headed for the car as the cars came to the track.
Checking the results, I see that Evan Epperson, who was dominate in his heat, picked up the win.
All in all it was a solid night of racing at 34, and we were headed home shortly after 10:30. Many thanks to Denny Woodworth for the special considerations as he was a sponsor of the nights action.
I will be picking up Keagan and heading out in a couple hours for our regular Sunday night of action at Quincy Raceways. If you plan to attend, remember the earlier school year start time, with hot laps now at 4:45. Hope to see you Racin' Down the Road!
Monday, August 19, 2013
Pierce Wins a Thriller at Quincy
Sunday night it was back to Quincy Raceways for weekly racing, and the .29 mile oval has become showdown central for the UMP national late model championship points race. After last weeks races, leader Brandon Sheppard told us that he would be going to Michigan this weekend to run with the World of Outlaws and may not make it back to QR for Sundays races. But when I saw his name in the results for Pontoon Beach on Friday and Pevely on Saturday, it was obvious that he was planning to go head to head with challenger Bobby Pierce throughout the weekend, scrapping the Michigan trip. Pierce bested Sheppard both nights, including picking up a win on Friday at Pontoon, and Brandon was the only car in the QR pits when Keagan and I rolled in Sunday. The Pierce Posse came through the gate shortly after, and it was " game on " again. I am reminded of the old NASCAR weekly racing days when drivers could collect regional points at any sanctioned track, and UMP is the same. The IMCA system builds more loyalty to home tracks, but as a fan, it is sure fun when you never know who might come through the pit gate, especially this time of year.
The late model count was short, with only 11 cars signed in - Jared Schlipman at the Michigan Sprint Cup race and Rickey Frankel on vacation were among the missing. Pierce topped qualifying with a lap of 13.761 seconds, but rolled a " five " to put himself in row three of the dash. After Dustin Griffin took the heat win, Sheppard started outside row one in the dash and bested polesitter Jason Perry for the win. Jason had led the ten lapper until turn two of the final lap. Pierce managed to work his way to third, meaning he would start the 30 lap main event right behind B Shepp. All 11 cars took the green flag, but Michael Long was a start and parker, having damaged the rear end of the # 56J while leading on the last lap of the heat race. After a false start, Sheppard jumped to the lead, with Pierce on his heels. The yellow waved on lap three, as Cliff Powell came to a stop with broken suspension parts. On the restart, fifth starting Mark Burgtorf moved to third, and he blasted around Pierce on lap four. The bottom groove was the fast way around, and the leaders stayed glued to the bottom. Pierce took a look up high, but soon dropped back down. As the race stayed green, the leader caught the back of the pack on lap 17. On lap 21, Sheppard tried to put Bill Genebacher a lap down, with the # 72 getting turned around to bring out a caution. On the restart, Pierce decided to try the top groove again, and he slipped around Burgtorf on lap 23. He continued to pound the cushion in breathtaking form while Sheppard hugged the inside groove. On lap 28, the two crossed the line side by side, and Bobby may have had a slight edge at the white flag. Very few were sitting down as the two youngsters charged to the checkers, and the electronic scoring told the tail. 16 year old Bobby nosed out 20 year old Brandon by.031 seconds! It was so close that the tech crew checked the transponders in each car to make sure they were installed in the proper location. It was late model feature # 32 for me this season, and the last ten laps were the best yet! Burgtorf finished third, and Denny Woodworth held on to the track points lead with a fourth place run ahead of Perry, Griffin, and Genenbacher. Clint Kirkham was one lap down in eighth, and Ron Elbe was pitside when the checkers waved. We may not see the two challengers next weekend, as Highland, Il Speedway has their rescheduled Summernationals $10,000 to win show on Sunday, but hopefully both will be back Labor Day weekend to continue their battle.
The 19 car UMP modified feature turned in to a double digit caution flag marathon. Point leader Steven Delonjay had set quick time at 15.480 seconds and continued to dominate, as he held a big lead in the feature. But on lap 14 the front end appeared to break as he exited turn two. He became a sitting duck, and was hit hard by Justin Reed and Jake Griffin, ending the night for all three. Dave Weitholder inherited the lead, but on lap 18 there was contact between the # 05 and second place Shawn Deering in turn four that sent Weitholder into a spin. With smoke coming from the back of Weitholders ride, he retired to the pits, and Deering assumed the top spot. Shawn then held on to the checkers, picking up his first feature win at QR in over 130 starts! Mike Vanderiet Jr, Chris Spaulding, Keith Pratt and Adam Birck completed the top five. Pratt had started in row eight after missing his heat race in only his second night in his new modified.
Tony Dunker picked up points feature win number eight - he has nine total -in the IMCA sport mod finale. Tony came from the back to take over the top spot following a lap five restart. Tanner Klingele picked up his third straight runnerup finish. Todd Reed debuted a new sport mod and came home third
Abe Huls continued his charge towards the track point title in the IMCA stock car division, taking over the point on lap six. Brandon Savage made it five top twos in six weeks with the runnerup finish.
Terry Houston nabbed third.
After point leader Kimberly Abbott suffered damage to her # 71 IMCA sport compact in the heat race, her father rounded up some help and hustled back home to get the pink #71 she wheels at 34 Raceway for the feature. But it was Austen Becerra leading flag to flag in the 12 lap event. As a result, he pulled into a tie for the point lead with the third finishing Abbott. Laine Vanzandt filled the second slot. Another title contender, Skip Dunker smacked one of the tractor tires on lap five, sustaining heavy damage to his # 3 machine.
There are still six nights of racing scheduled at Quincy Raceways this season, and beginning next Sunday they will move back to school time hours, with hot laps and qualifying beginning at 4:45 and racing at 5:30. In the meantime, maybe I will see you Racin' Down the Road.
The late model count was short, with only 11 cars signed in - Jared Schlipman at the Michigan Sprint Cup race and Rickey Frankel on vacation were among the missing. Pierce topped qualifying with a lap of 13.761 seconds, but rolled a " five " to put himself in row three of the dash. After Dustin Griffin took the heat win, Sheppard started outside row one in the dash and bested polesitter Jason Perry for the win. Jason had led the ten lapper until turn two of the final lap. Pierce managed to work his way to third, meaning he would start the 30 lap main event right behind B Shepp. All 11 cars took the green flag, but Michael Long was a start and parker, having damaged the rear end of the # 56J while leading on the last lap of the heat race. After a false start, Sheppard jumped to the lead, with Pierce on his heels. The yellow waved on lap three, as Cliff Powell came to a stop with broken suspension parts. On the restart, fifth starting Mark Burgtorf moved to third, and he blasted around Pierce on lap four. The bottom groove was the fast way around, and the leaders stayed glued to the bottom. Pierce took a look up high, but soon dropped back down. As the race stayed green, the leader caught the back of the pack on lap 17. On lap 21, Sheppard tried to put Bill Genebacher a lap down, with the # 72 getting turned around to bring out a caution. On the restart, Pierce decided to try the top groove again, and he slipped around Burgtorf on lap 23. He continued to pound the cushion in breathtaking form while Sheppard hugged the inside groove. On lap 28, the two crossed the line side by side, and Bobby may have had a slight edge at the white flag. Very few were sitting down as the two youngsters charged to the checkers, and the electronic scoring told the tail. 16 year old Bobby nosed out 20 year old Brandon by.031 seconds! It was so close that the tech crew checked the transponders in each car to make sure they were installed in the proper location. It was late model feature # 32 for me this season, and the last ten laps were the best yet! Burgtorf finished third, and Denny Woodworth held on to the track points lead with a fourth place run ahead of Perry, Griffin, and Genenbacher. Clint Kirkham was one lap down in eighth, and Ron Elbe was pitside when the checkers waved. We may not see the two challengers next weekend, as Highland, Il Speedway has their rescheduled Summernationals $10,000 to win show on Sunday, but hopefully both will be back Labor Day weekend to continue their battle.
The 19 car UMP modified feature turned in to a double digit caution flag marathon. Point leader Steven Delonjay had set quick time at 15.480 seconds and continued to dominate, as he held a big lead in the feature. But on lap 14 the front end appeared to break as he exited turn two. He became a sitting duck, and was hit hard by Justin Reed and Jake Griffin, ending the night for all three. Dave Weitholder inherited the lead, but on lap 18 there was contact between the # 05 and second place Shawn Deering in turn four that sent Weitholder into a spin. With smoke coming from the back of Weitholders ride, he retired to the pits, and Deering assumed the top spot. Shawn then held on to the checkers, picking up his first feature win at QR in over 130 starts! Mike Vanderiet Jr, Chris Spaulding, Keith Pratt and Adam Birck completed the top five. Pratt had started in row eight after missing his heat race in only his second night in his new modified.
Tony Dunker picked up points feature win number eight - he has nine total -in the IMCA sport mod finale. Tony came from the back to take over the top spot following a lap five restart. Tanner Klingele picked up his third straight runnerup finish. Todd Reed debuted a new sport mod and came home third
Abe Huls continued his charge towards the track point title in the IMCA stock car division, taking over the point on lap six. Brandon Savage made it five top twos in six weeks with the runnerup finish.
Terry Houston nabbed third.
After point leader Kimberly Abbott suffered damage to her # 71 IMCA sport compact in the heat race, her father rounded up some help and hustled back home to get the pink #71 she wheels at 34 Raceway for the feature. But it was Austen Becerra leading flag to flag in the 12 lap event. As a result, he pulled into a tie for the point lead with the third finishing Abbott. Laine Vanzandt filled the second slot. Another title contender, Skip Dunker smacked one of the tractor tires on lap five, sustaining heavy damage to his # 3 machine.
There are still six nights of racing scheduled at Quincy Raceways this season, and beginning next Sunday they will move back to school time hours, with hot laps and qualifying beginning at 4:45 and racing at 5:30. In the meantime, maybe I will see you Racin' Down the Road.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Pierce Grabs ALMS Win at Quincy
Sunday night the American Late Model Series topped the racing card at Quincy Raceways. It was the second visit by ALMS in 2013, although the first time the event was co sanctioned by the Corn Belt Clash and Mars series. The car count in the late model division was a bit disappointing, with 17 entries, but the racing was top notch. Youngsters Brandon Sheppard, 20, and Bobby Pierce, 16, are locked in a duel for the UMP national points lead, and with ALMS awarding national points, both drivers were in the pits at QR. Sheppard has two wins this season at QR, and he started things off by setting overall quick time at 14.006 seconds around the .29 mile oval. Pierce turned a lap of 14.095, and with the two in different heats, each started on the pole of their ten lap qualifier. Each made short work of the competition, with Pierce taking the first heat ahead of Denny Woodworth, Mark Burgtorf, and Brian Dively. Sheppard nabbed heat two over track regulars Jason Perry and brothers in law Rickey Frankel and Michael Long. When the 40 lap feature hit the track, Pierce got the jump on Sheppard, and on lap two Woodworth slipped around Sheppard for second, pulling alongside Pierce briefly. Top contender Kevin Weaver did not qualify well, and then had heat race issues, relegating him to a row eight start. By lap six, he was up five spots to tenth, and also on lap six Sheppard regained second. When Long headed to the pits on lap ten, Weaver was up to eighth. At the same time, the only caution of the race came out for Jared Schlipman. On the restart Pierce held the lead, while Weaver moved to seventh, and three laps later he eased around Burgtorf for sixth. As the race neared the mid point, Sheppard mounted a charge on the high side, pulling even with the low riding Pierce several times. On lap 20, Weaver cleared Frankel for fifth, and Sheppard bobbled briefly, giving Pierce a chance to pull away. As the front runners worked slower traffic, Weaver began to fade, finally settling in seventh. With no more stoppages, Pierce cruised to the win, lapping up through ninth place, and although he struggled to put Clint Kirkham a lap down, Sheppard could not make up much ground. The win was the first in several tries at Quincy for Pierce. Sheppard came home second followed by track regulars Perry, Woodworth, Frankel, and Burgtorf. Weaver finished seventh ahead of Ron Elbe, Kirkham, and Diveley. Steve Thorsten, Brandon Thirlby and Bill Genenbacher also completed all 40 laps.
Keith Pratt was back on the track Sunday with a new UMP modified, but it was Shawn Deering setting quick time. Terry Gallaher was involved in a qualifying crash with another car - QR time trials three modifieds at a time - and loaded up before other drivers and crew members banded together to get his # 0 back out by feature time. Dave Weitholder outran Deering in the dash, setting the front row for the 25 lap finale, with 18 of 19 cars taking the green. Weitholder took the early lead, with nine time feature winner Steven Delonjay moving up to challenge for the lead by lap four. Weitholder held the smallest of leads before Delonjay slipped past in traffic on lap 14. From that point it was all Delonjay as the mods performed the unlikely feat of running 25 caution free laps. Weitholder, Deering, Chris Spaulding followed, with Justin Reed taking fifth in the Mike Begley # B4.
One need not look much past the mod class to see why QR is a bit short of lated models, with Reed, Pratt, Gallaher, and Jake Griffin all settled in the mod class.
Brandon Savage has been on fire in the IMCA stock car class, and he made it six straight weeks in the top three with his second win of 2013. Point leader Abe Huls started tenth, moving to third by lap three. He then moved to second following a caution period, and was locked in a battle for first with Terry Houston. By lap nine savage had taken the runnerup spot from Huls, and he grabbed the lead for good on lap ten. One more yellow slowed the action, but Savage was not to be denied the win. Houston and Huls battled it out for second, crossing the line in that order.
For the second straight week, a mid race incident in the IMCA sport mod class saw point leader Tony Dunker forced to restart at the back of the pack. And for the second straight week, Tanner Klingele opened up a commanding lead. Dunker restarted ninth, in one lap he was fifth, one more lap saw him in third, and it took another lap for him to take second. And once again, a lap 16 caution wiped out Klingeles straightaway lead. On the restart, Dunker grabbed the lead and the win, giving him 26 consecutive weeks of top two finishes! Klingele held off Brad Holtmeyer for second.
The always entertaining IMCA sport compacts were short in numbers, but still finished the night off with plenty of action. Brandon Lambert led lap one while Austen Becerra came from eighth to second. On lap three Becerra took the lead following a caution for Jeffrey Delonjay. On lap five Laine Vanzandt powered into second, and the two ran side by side all the way to the checkers, with Becerra taking the win. Kimberly Abbott held on to the point lead by edging Pat Dunker for third.
Action continues at QR through the end of September, and Sunday Sepember first will feature both UMP late models and MOWA 410 sprint cars. Starting with the August 25 show, racing will begin one hour earlier, with hot laps at 4:45.
This Saturday will be no racing for me, but I will be reporting on next Sundays action at QR. Hope to see you there!
Keith Pratt was back on the track Sunday with a new UMP modified, but it was Shawn Deering setting quick time. Terry Gallaher was involved in a qualifying crash with another car - QR time trials three modifieds at a time - and loaded up before other drivers and crew members banded together to get his # 0 back out by feature time. Dave Weitholder outran Deering in the dash, setting the front row for the 25 lap finale, with 18 of 19 cars taking the green. Weitholder took the early lead, with nine time feature winner Steven Delonjay moving up to challenge for the lead by lap four. Weitholder held the smallest of leads before Delonjay slipped past in traffic on lap 14. From that point it was all Delonjay as the mods performed the unlikely feat of running 25 caution free laps. Weitholder, Deering, Chris Spaulding followed, with Justin Reed taking fifth in the Mike Begley # B4.
One need not look much past the mod class to see why QR is a bit short of lated models, with Reed, Pratt, Gallaher, and Jake Griffin all settled in the mod class.
Brandon Savage has been on fire in the IMCA stock car class, and he made it six straight weeks in the top three with his second win of 2013. Point leader Abe Huls started tenth, moving to third by lap three. He then moved to second following a caution period, and was locked in a battle for first with Terry Houston. By lap nine savage had taken the runnerup spot from Huls, and he grabbed the lead for good on lap ten. One more yellow slowed the action, but Savage was not to be denied the win. Houston and Huls battled it out for second, crossing the line in that order.
For the second straight week, a mid race incident in the IMCA sport mod class saw point leader Tony Dunker forced to restart at the back of the pack. And for the second straight week, Tanner Klingele opened up a commanding lead. Dunker restarted ninth, in one lap he was fifth, one more lap saw him in third, and it took another lap for him to take second. And once again, a lap 16 caution wiped out Klingeles straightaway lead. On the restart, Dunker grabbed the lead and the win, giving him 26 consecutive weeks of top two finishes! Klingele held off Brad Holtmeyer for second.
The always entertaining IMCA sport compacts were short in numbers, but still finished the night off with plenty of action. Brandon Lambert led lap one while Austen Becerra came from eighth to second. On lap three Becerra took the lead following a caution for Jeffrey Delonjay. On lap five Laine Vanzandt powered into second, and the two ran side by side all the way to the checkers, with Becerra taking the win. Kimberly Abbott held on to the point lead by edging Pat Dunker for third.
Action continues at QR through the end of September, and Sunday Sepember first will feature both UMP late models and MOWA 410 sprint cars. Starting with the August 25 show, racing will begin one hour earlier, with hot laps at 4:45.
This Saturday will be no racing for me, but I will be reporting on next Sundays action at QR. Hope to see you there!
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Checking Out a " New " Track
While many of our racing friends spent the weekend in Knoxville, Darryl and I headed south to check out the renovated and renamed Randolph County Raceway in Moberly,Mo. After going through more than a handful of owners and promoters, the 4/10 mile track which started out as a dirt track, then was changed to asphalt, then back to dirt, had pretty much been left to die. But last year David and Janelle Claypoole purchased it with big plans and high hopes. The first thing they did was take up the dirt surface to remove the asphalt from underneath, then rebuilt the dirt oval. After doing their homework, they settled on a six class Saturday night program for 2013 featuring ULMA late models and USRA modifieds and B mods, as well as USRA stock cars, USRA hobby stocks, and hornets, with several special events such as sprint cars and truck pulls added in. While the " fender " car classes have struggled a bit with car counts, the late models have held their own and the modified classes have thrived. As with most new operations, this old timer likes to give them time to show their stuff before checking things out, but after hearing positive reports from fans, drivers, and announcer Doug Mealy, we picked this week to make our first visit.
The infield pits were filling nicely when we arrived, but the grandstands seemed empty. When hot laps began promptly at 6:30, 88 cars had checked in, and as racing began at 7:00, the spacious bleachers began to fill, and the people kept coming as the heats clicked off, an unusally late arriving gathering, to say the least. With the track, pit, and seating configuration, RCR is a good place to watch racing, the lighting is good, and if you stay off the lower rows, track visibility is 100%.
Following a lengthy intermission, feature racing kicked off just before 9:00 and the passing points format the track uses had point leader Derek Agee on the front row for the nine car stock car 12 lap feature. A first lap melee out of turn two featured two separate hard collisions and knocked out four cars. Another caution waved as lap one was completed, but from that point we stayed green as Derek Agee kept his #14 out front flag to flag to best Chad Walter.
All eight hobby stocks took the green, and following a first lap yellow, the 12 laps went green the rest of the way. Tim Dawson has dominated the class in 2013, and he led all the way from his front row start. Former Quincy Raceway regular Jim Brown came from row three to the runnerup spot.
The ten lap hornet feature came next, with 11 of the 12 cars checked in taking the green. Again, the caution came out on lap one, But following the restart, Robert Winfrey grabbed the lead from his row one start. But Kyle Burton kept his # 20 close, taking over mid race for his second win of the season.
The B-mod 15 lapper was next, 18 of 21 entrants came to the grid. What else, a lap one caution took out three of those starters, and a lap two pileup took out veteran late model racer Gary Wilson, wheeling a # 75M. Cody Erwin was penalized two spots for jumping the restart, turning the lead over to Hedrick,Iowa racer Scott VanBuskirk. Erwin regained the lead and held on through a lap seven caution for debris, with Van Buskirk crossing the line in second.
All 15 ULMA late models came to the grid, but Zeke Langley needed a push off from the front stretch staging area, and his # 23Z would not refire, ending his night. Point leader Vance Wilson started on the pole, with number two point man Kenny Mudd alongside. Vance checked out before a lap 12 caution came out as Brandon Imhoff smacked the turn three outside concrete wall. Meanwhile, Ryan Petersheim, who struggled in his heat and started in the back of the 20 lapper, had his # 86 on the move, and was sixth as the yellow flew. As the lineup was reset, the second running Mudd encountered mechanical issues, ending his run, although he reentered the race on a restart five laps later. Bobby Penney inherited the second spot on the Delaware restart, and stayed within striking distance of Vance through the final caution. With three laps to go, Petersheim, who was running fifth, slowed and appeared ready to pull off the track, when he suddenly got back to full speed. Vance Willson picked up the win ahead of Penney and veteran Tommy Cordray. Vances' brother Terry Wilson started sixth and finished fourth, while crate racer Cliff Powell, another Quincy regular, came from 12th to fifth. Steve Dieckmann, Chris Cox, and Petersheim followed, the top eight all on the lead lap.
The final race of the night was the 23 car 20 lap USRA modified main. Two hard chargers, Matt Dotson and Danny Crane held the front row, and as with every class except the late models, a first lap yellow stopped the action, although the lap was scored with the pile up in turns three and four. Dotson grabbed the lead following another false start and opened a big lead. He continued on through a lap ten stoppage, but during a lap 15 caution, his car quit in turn four with apparent rear end issues. Crane inherited the top spot, surviving a caution one lap later, then another on the white flag lap, setting up a green, white, checkers dash. Throughout the final five laps, Chase Breid and Kevin Blackburn had dueled side by side and back and fourth for the runnerup spot, but following the final restart, Tim Dotson slipped around Blackburn for third at the checkers. Ryan Middaugh completed the top five.
The final checkers waved about 11:10. The crew at RCR did a good job of keeping the show moving, the only negatives would be the too long intermission, and the fact that there was only one wrecker and a roll back on hand. With Moberly being a fast track with concrete walls on both the inside and outside of the track, multiple wreckers are almost a necessity. All in all, it was a good show, and it is great to see this very nice facility coming back to life.
Tonight, Sunday, the ALMS late models are topping the card at Quincy Raceways with a $2,000 top prize. Kevin Weaver leads the ALMS west division points, and we are looking for several top UMP racers to be on hand, including the top two in national points, Brandon Sheppard and Bobby Pierce, coming to challenge our hard charging regulars. UMP modifieds, IMCA sport mods, IMCA stock cars and IMCA sport compacts will also be on hand. Maybe I will see you there!
The infield pits were filling nicely when we arrived, but the grandstands seemed empty. When hot laps began promptly at 6:30, 88 cars had checked in, and as racing began at 7:00, the spacious bleachers began to fill, and the people kept coming as the heats clicked off, an unusally late arriving gathering, to say the least. With the track, pit, and seating configuration, RCR is a good place to watch racing, the lighting is good, and if you stay off the lower rows, track visibility is 100%.
Following a lengthy intermission, feature racing kicked off just before 9:00 and the passing points format the track uses had point leader Derek Agee on the front row for the nine car stock car 12 lap feature. A first lap melee out of turn two featured two separate hard collisions and knocked out four cars. Another caution waved as lap one was completed, but from that point we stayed green as Derek Agee kept his #14 out front flag to flag to best Chad Walter.
All eight hobby stocks took the green, and following a first lap yellow, the 12 laps went green the rest of the way. Tim Dawson has dominated the class in 2013, and he led all the way from his front row start. Former Quincy Raceway regular Jim Brown came from row three to the runnerup spot.
The ten lap hornet feature came next, with 11 of the 12 cars checked in taking the green. Again, the caution came out on lap one, But following the restart, Robert Winfrey grabbed the lead from his row one start. But Kyle Burton kept his # 20 close, taking over mid race for his second win of the season.
The B-mod 15 lapper was next, 18 of 21 entrants came to the grid. What else, a lap one caution took out three of those starters, and a lap two pileup took out veteran late model racer Gary Wilson, wheeling a # 75M. Cody Erwin was penalized two spots for jumping the restart, turning the lead over to Hedrick,Iowa racer Scott VanBuskirk. Erwin regained the lead and held on through a lap seven caution for debris, with Van Buskirk crossing the line in second.
All 15 ULMA late models came to the grid, but Zeke Langley needed a push off from the front stretch staging area, and his # 23Z would not refire, ending his night. Point leader Vance Wilson started on the pole, with number two point man Kenny Mudd alongside. Vance checked out before a lap 12 caution came out as Brandon Imhoff smacked the turn three outside concrete wall. Meanwhile, Ryan Petersheim, who struggled in his heat and started in the back of the 20 lapper, had his # 86 on the move, and was sixth as the yellow flew. As the lineup was reset, the second running Mudd encountered mechanical issues, ending his run, although he reentered the race on a restart five laps later. Bobby Penney inherited the second spot on the Delaware restart, and stayed within striking distance of Vance through the final caution. With three laps to go, Petersheim, who was running fifth, slowed and appeared ready to pull off the track, when he suddenly got back to full speed. Vance Willson picked up the win ahead of Penney and veteran Tommy Cordray. Vances' brother Terry Wilson started sixth and finished fourth, while crate racer Cliff Powell, another Quincy regular, came from 12th to fifth. Steve Dieckmann, Chris Cox, and Petersheim followed, the top eight all on the lead lap.
The final race of the night was the 23 car 20 lap USRA modified main. Two hard chargers, Matt Dotson and Danny Crane held the front row, and as with every class except the late models, a first lap yellow stopped the action, although the lap was scored with the pile up in turns three and four. Dotson grabbed the lead following another false start and opened a big lead. He continued on through a lap ten stoppage, but during a lap 15 caution, his car quit in turn four with apparent rear end issues. Crane inherited the top spot, surviving a caution one lap later, then another on the white flag lap, setting up a green, white, checkers dash. Throughout the final five laps, Chase Breid and Kevin Blackburn had dueled side by side and back and fourth for the runnerup spot, but following the final restart, Tim Dotson slipped around Blackburn for third at the checkers. Ryan Middaugh completed the top five.
The final checkers waved about 11:10. The crew at RCR did a good job of keeping the show moving, the only negatives would be the too long intermission, and the fact that there was only one wrecker and a roll back on hand. With Moberly being a fast track with concrete walls on both the inside and outside of the track, multiple wreckers are almost a necessity. All in all, it was a good show, and it is great to see this very nice facility coming back to life.
Tonight, Sunday, the ALMS late models are topping the card at Quincy Raceways with a $2,000 top prize. Kevin Weaver leads the ALMS west division points, and we are looking for several top UMP racers to be on hand, including the top two in national points, Brandon Sheppard and Bobby Pierce, coming to challenge our hard charging regulars. UMP modifieds, IMCA sport mods, IMCA stock cars and IMCA sport compacts will also be on hand. Maybe I will see you there!
Monday, August 5, 2013
Kay Doubles Up at Maquoketa, Long Gets His Third at Quincy
Family business Saturday landed me in the Quad Cities, and with the opportunity to spend the night available, the temptation to take in a race was too much to pass up. So I borrowed my daughters car and headed north to the Jackson Co. Fairgrounds in Maquoketa,Ia. It had been several seasons since my first and only visit to the 3/8 mile facility, and I had been trying to figure a way to get there as it seemed like the Darkside promoting team of Ryan Duhme and Tim Current had been churning out some good events. For the first time since I don't know when, mechanical issues interrupted my evening, and it was about 7:40 when I finally made my way through the front gate, as intermission was going on. There was a make up late model feature from their fair race on the schedule, and I had thought it odd that it was going to be run in the regular feature rotation rather than first on the card. But as it turned out, i sure was happy it was scheduled that way!
Arriving late, I had a hard time figuring out who was who, especially in the " local " classes, and where I was sitting the announcer was very hard to hear. Unfortunately, he also chose to announce the lineups mostly while cars were on the track. The hobby stocks ran first, 11 starters taking the green in a very entertaining race that saw four different leaders. Gene Ehlers came away with a popular victory, with only sic cars left at the finish. Next up was the 19 car IMCA sport mod main, and the early laps produced multiple cautions. There was a good battle at the front when things stayed green, with Dan Mohr and Tyler Soppe swapping the lead on laps ten and 11. Mohr grabbed the lead for good on lap 11, and held off Soppe for the win. The Midwest Jalopies ran a ten lap caution free11 car feature but unfortunately I can only say that # 38 took the win.
15 IMCA modifieds came to the track for 20 laps. with Mike Weidmann taking the quick lead from his row two starting spot. He lead throughout a couple of cautions, pulling away to the win while Joe Beal and Kelly Meyer swapped the runnerup spot, crossing the line in that order. The 4 stock field was 14 strong, and gave the nice sized crowd their moneys worth. Three and four wide racing, three cars shown the black flag kept things interesting. Jacob Ellithorpe put his # 72 in the winners circle.
It was now time for the make up late model 25 lapper. Brian Beaudry came from row two to grab the early lead. Following a lap ten caution for debris, Joe Ross put his # R19 out front. As Ross stretched his lead, Justin Kay was working his way forward from his row six start. On lap 22, he moved to the runnerup spot, with Ross holding a straightaway lead. However, a spin by fourth running Brian Meiners brought out the caution. Kay had to go back to third , but the Delaware start put him alongside Doug Nigh behind the leader. Ross and Kay went side by side past the flagman on lap 23, but Kay took over the top spot on the white flag lap, and picked up the checkers. Ross and Nigh came next with Fred Remley and Matt Ryan completing the top five.
The Outlaw super bombers then came to the track for a 40 lap $1,000 to win challenge. This race was also scheduled the night before at Tipton Speedway as a two night series, but that portion fell to rain. 17 cars took the green flag, and almost immediately it became a two car race up front between Nate Yoerger and Wayne Hora. Although Hora pushed hard, Yoerger was not to be denied taking home the big check.
The final race of the night was the regular IMCA late model 25 lapper. Rob Toland started on the pole with Jon Poll outside in what was apparently a draw, redraw format. Two false starts before a lap was run damaged some cars and jumbled the field. Kay had started in the eight hole, but came away from the second yellow with a flat, rejoining the field in the 16th spot. Toland took the early lead, with Nigh in tow, but another scrum on lap two knocked out Remley and Joe Zrostlik, with Remley spilling fuel on the track. Back to green, Kay was already back up to eighth. By the end of lap two he was sixth, and up to fourth on lap four. With Ryan getting squeezed on the bottom of the track on lap seven, Kay moved to third and as the leaders crossed the stripe, he was second. Kay and Toland then ran side by side until the yellow flew on lap 11. Following the restart, Kay took the point and stretched out a commanding lead and held on for his second checkers of the night. Toland had a nice run in second with Nigh grabbing his second third of the night. Beudry took fourth with Doug Yates completing the top five.
Thanks to the Darkside for turning a tough night into a fun one!
I got back home on Sunday in time to pick up Keagan and head for Quincy Raceways. Again we were a bit light on cars, but the racing was top notch. The IMCA turnout was 12 strong, although visiting Jeremy Pundt was knocked out in a lap one feature crash. Brandon Savage took the top spot on the restart, but another caution moved him back temporarily. Following the restart, Savage grabbed the lead and began to distance himself from the field. About this time, his left front wheel began to lay over, the result of a damaged A arm. Still he held a commanding lead through two more yellows. But after a stoppage on lap 16, Abe Huls took advantage of the crippled condition of the # 47s, taking the lead, and bringing modified ace Dave Weitholder in the former Brian Hoener # 5 hobby stock car along. Savage held on for third.
The UMP modifieds had the biggest field, 19 strong, and all took the feature green. Steven Delonjay grabbed the lead from the pole, with Michael Long in second. Following a lap two restart, Long bobbled a bit in turn four, dropping to fourth behind Weitholder and Justin Reed, now wheeling the # B4. On lap nine, Long retired to the pits leaving Reed and Weitholder to swap the runnerup spot back and forth. By the time the caution waved on lap 22, Delonjay had lapped up through seventh position. Two late cautions set up green, white, checkers finishes, on the first, Shawn Deering acme to stop while running fourth, and the Reed machine broke at the same time. Weitholder came home second, with Derrick Carlson charging forward for a season best third.
The IMCA sport mods again raced through a caution plagued 20 laps, with Tony Dunker making it 25 straight events of top two finishes at QR, besting Jeff Klingele and Jeff Delonjay.
The UMP late model count was only ten, and point leader Mark Burgtorf lost his engine in hot laps.
Dustin Griffin set quick time at 13.810 seconds, and rolled a " two " to start outside row one in the dash. Denny Woodworth outdueled Griffin for the ten lap win and the feature pole. the late model lawyer took the early lead, but Michael Long blew past in traffic on lap nine. Jason Perry jumped to third before fading late as the 30 laps clicked off caution free. Long became the first to win three late model features in 2013, with Woodworth, Griffin, Rickey Frankel, and Clint Kirkham turning in top five runs.
The IMCA sport compacts completed the night, with Laine Vanzandt and Pat Dunker trading paint the final five laps. Vanzandt took the checkers with Dunker getting out of the groove out of turn four, giving up the second spot to Kimberly Abbott.
Next Sunday night the ALMS late model tour makes at stop at the Bullring for a $2,000 to win show. Among others, young phenom Bobby Pierce has this sop on his schedule. Hope to see you there!
Arriving late, I had a hard time figuring out who was who, especially in the " local " classes, and where I was sitting the announcer was very hard to hear. Unfortunately, he also chose to announce the lineups mostly while cars were on the track. The hobby stocks ran first, 11 starters taking the green in a very entertaining race that saw four different leaders. Gene Ehlers came away with a popular victory, with only sic cars left at the finish. Next up was the 19 car IMCA sport mod main, and the early laps produced multiple cautions. There was a good battle at the front when things stayed green, with Dan Mohr and Tyler Soppe swapping the lead on laps ten and 11. Mohr grabbed the lead for good on lap 11, and held off Soppe for the win. The Midwest Jalopies ran a ten lap caution free11 car feature but unfortunately I can only say that # 38 took the win.
15 IMCA modifieds came to the track for 20 laps. with Mike Weidmann taking the quick lead from his row two starting spot. He lead throughout a couple of cautions, pulling away to the win while Joe Beal and Kelly Meyer swapped the runnerup spot, crossing the line in that order. The 4 stock field was 14 strong, and gave the nice sized crowd their moneys worth. Three and four wide racing, three cars shown the black flag kept things interesting. Jacob Ellithorpe put his # 72 in the winners circle.
It was now time for the make up late model 25 lapper. Brian Beaudry came from row two to grab the early lead. Following a lap ten caution for debris, Joe Ross put his # R19 out front. As Ross stretched his lead, Justin Kay was working his way forward from his row six start. On lap 22, he moved to the runnerup spot, with Ross holding a straightaway lead. However, a spin by fourth running Brian Meiners brought out the caution. Kay had to go back to third , but the Delaware start put him alongside Doug Nigh behind the leader. Ross and Kay went side by side past the flagman on lap 23, but Kay took over the top spot on the white flag lap, and picked up the checkers. Ross and Nigh came next with Fred Remley and Matt Ryan completing the top five.
The Outlaw super bombers then came to the track for a 40 lap $1,000 to win challenge. This race was also scheduled the night before at Tipton Speedway as a two night series, but that portion fell to rain. 17 cars took the green flag, and almost immediately it became a two car race up front between Nate Yoerger and Wayne Hora. Although Hora pushed hard, Yoerger was not to be denied taking home the big check.
The final race of the night was the regular IMCA late model 25 lapper. Rob Toland started on the pole with Jon Poll outside in what was apparently a draw, redraw format. Two false starts before a lap was run damaged some cars and jumbled the field. Kay had started in the eight hole, but came away from the second yellow with a flat, rejoining the field in the 16th spot. Toland took the early lead, with Nigh in tow, but another scrum on lap two knocked out Remley and Joe Zrostlik, with Remley spilling fuel on the track. Back to green, Kay was already back up to eighth. By the end of lap two he was sixth, and up to fourth on lap four. With Ryan getting squeezed on the bottom of the track on lap seven, Kay moved to third and as the leaders crossed the stripe, he was second. Kay and Toland then ran side by side until the yellow flew on lap 11. Following the restart, Kay took the point and stretched out a commanding lead and held on for his second checkers of the night. Toland had a nice run in second with Nigh grabbing his second third of the night. Beudry took fourth with Doug Yates completing the top five.
Thanks to the Darkside for turning a tough night into a fun one!
I got back home on Sunday in time to pick up Keagan and head for Quincy Raceways. Again we were a bit light on cars, but the racing was top notch. The IMCA turnout was 12 strong, although visiting Jeremy Pundt was knocked out in a lap one feature crash. Brandon Savage took the top spot on the restart, but another caution moved him back temporarily. Following the restart, Savage grabbed the lead and began to distance himself from the field. About this time, his left front wheel began to lay over, the result of a damaged A arm. Still he held a commanding lead through two more yellows. But after a stoppage on lap 16, Abe Huls took advantage of the crippled condition of the # 47s, taking the lead, and bringing modified ace Dave Weitholder in the former Brian Hoener # 5 hobby stock car along. Savage held on for third.
The UMP modifieds had the biggest field, 19 strong, and all took the feature green. Steven Delonjay grabbed the lead from the pole, with Michael Long in second. Following a lap two restart, Long bobbled a bit in turn four, dropping to fourth behind Weitholder and Justin Reed, now wheeling the # B4. On lap nine, Long retired to the pits leaving Reed and Weitholder to swap the runnerup spot back and forth. By the time the caution waved on lap 22, Delonjay had lapped up through seventh position. Two late cautions set up green, white, checkers finishes, on the first, Shawn Deering acme to stop while running fourth, and the Reed machine broke at the same time. Weitholder came home second, with Derrick Carlson charging forward for a season best third.
The IMCA sport mods again raced through a caution plagued 20 laps, with Tony Dunker making it 25 straight events of top two finishes at QR, besting Jeff Klingele and Jeff Delonjay.
The UMP late model count was only ten, and point leader Mark Burgtorf lost his engine in hot laps.
Dustin Griffin set quick time at 13.810 seconds, and rolled a " two " to start outside row one in the dash. Denny Woodworth outdueled Griffin for the ten lap win and the feature pole. the late model lawyer took the early lead, but Michael Long blew past in traffic on lap nine. Jason Perry jumped to third before fading late as the 30 laps clicked off caution free. Long became the first to win three late model features in 2013, with Woodworth, Griffin, Rickey Frankel, and Clint Kirkham turning in top five runs.
The IMCA sport compacts completed the night, with Laine Vanzandt and Pat Dunker trading paint the final five laps. Vanzandt took the checkers with Dunker getting out of the groove out of turn four, giving up the second spot to Kimberly Abbott.
Next Sunday night the ALMS late model tour makes at stop at the Bullring for a $2,000 to win show. Among others, young phenom Bobby Pierce has this sop on his schedule. Hope to see you there!
Monday, July 29, 2013
A Big Announcement at Quincy
Sunday night started out like many others at Quincy Raceways, but when I received a call to make sure I came to the drivers meeting, I had a feeling it wouldn't be for anything positive. In fact, co owner Paul Holtschlag actually called a meeting for car owners instead, and he then confirmed the rumor that had made the rounds of late, that being that the track was for sale or lease. He then went one step further, stating that if no one stepped up to buy or lease the facility, there would be no weekly racing in 2014. As I was thinking maybe specials only, he quickly doused that notion by saying that the extremely popular Monster Jam would likely be the only " motorsports " activity of 2014. While a sale price was not discussed, Holtschlag offered up $36,000 as the bottom line lease price. At this time, I have not heard of any individuals ready to step up, although there was some discussion about a possible association being formed. Quincy Raceways has been a part or full time racing destination for me since it opened in 1975, and I have been a fan, a crewman, and a media member throughout the years. Son Brent was track announcer for a dozen or so years, and grandson Keagan now works as a scorer, so obviously I have hope that some group or individual will keep the engines roaring at the Broadway Bullring.
When we got down to the business of racing, we had one of the best prepared surfaces of the season.
UMP national points leader Brandon Sheppard was the first car in the pits fresh off a top ten run at the Prairie Dirt Classic. As was the case last season with eventual national champion Brian Shirley, we are expecting to see a lot of the 20 year old third generation driver at QR for the remainder of the year. QR is the only points paying Sunday night UMP track in the state of Illinois, and Brandon lives less than 100 miles away. He blistered the .29 mile oval with the fastest time trial lap of the season at 13.155 seconds to best the 13 late models on hand. He then rolled a " five " to set the dash invert, putting himself on the inside of row three. He quickly jumped to second in the ten lap dash and put pressure on Clint Kirkham, but settled for second to the # 28. Kirkham was running with a cracked block in his ride, but it was plenty fast enough to earn the pole in the 30 lap finale, with Sheppard on the outside.
The IMCA stock car main event started off feature racing with veteran Jim Powell leading the first half of the 15 laps. Abe Huls began to challenge on lap six, and on lap nine he grabbed the lead. Normally that would be the winning pass, and he took off following a caution on the next lap. However two laps later Abe bobbled in turn four, slipping to third behind Terry Houston and Jake Powers. One lap later Powers and Huls spun in turn three, collecting Gabe Harrison. Last weeks winner, Brandon Savage then took over the second spot, with the yellow waving one more time on lap 13. Houston held on for the win, with Savage second, and Jerry Jansen third, Jerry came back from an early flat tire to put his Ford in the top three. For Savage, it made fours consecutive weeks of top two runs.
The UMP modified count was 20 strong, but only 16 made the feature call. Dave Weitholder had set quick time at 14.837 seconds, but rolled a " six " for the invert. This put 14 year old Jake Griffin up front in the dash, and he grabbed the win and the feature pole. He survived two early restarts, giving up the top spot to Steven Delonjay on lap six of the 25 lapper. On lap eight, Michael Long moved up to challenge for the lead, sticking the nose of the # 18L under Delonjay several times. Several more cautions kept the field close as the leaders hugged the preferred low groove. Meanwhile, Griffin tried the top side, running in the top four. On a lap 13 yellow, Jakes car quit and refused to refire, ending his night with what turned out to be a broken wire. On lap 20, Long made contact with one of the tractor tires in turn four, and when the yellow waved, he went pitside. Delonjay led the final five circuits picking up his seventh points feature of the year. Mike Vanderiet Jr made the long pull from Mexico, Mo to nab second ahead of Shawn Deering and Weitholder.
Tony Dunker grabbed the lead from Greg Uppinghouse on lap three, then survived another caution plagued event to capture the IMCA sport mod 20 lap finale. Jim Gillenwater made the tow from Keokuk, Iowa to pressure Dunker for second, with Tanner Klingele in third.
The UMP late model feature ran next, and Kirkham held a slight lead across the line on lap one before Sheppard took over on the high side. Mark Burgtorf moved around Kirkham as well on the second lap and set his sights on the # B5. This race was all Sheppards, however, as the raced stayed green for all 30 laps. Brandon lapped all the way up to the fourth place car of Rickey Frankel. Burgtorf ran a distant second, with Long rebounding to run third. Kirkham faded early, the came back to run fifth ahead of Denny Woodworth, Bill Genenbacher, Adam Mefford, Jared Schlipman, Mie Hammerle, and Cliff Powell, with Ron Elbe dropping out early with a flat tire, and Kenny Vandorn checking out with heavy smoke rolling off his # 22K.
The IMCA sport compacts wrapped up the evening, and the red flag came out on the start, as Jacob Tournear pounded the guardrail off turn two. On the restart, Laine Vanzandt saw his night end in the backstretch guardrail. When racing finally began, Skip Dunker pulled away for a big win ahead of Austen Becerra, visiting Wes Rensch from Rushville,Il, and Kimberly Abbott.
Racing resumes next Sunday night, and Sunday August 11 the ALMS late models stop by for a $2000 to win special. I have been assured that there are no plans to cut the 2013 season short, so there is still two months of racing action at Quincy Raceways.
Congratulations to former QR regular Justin Jennings on making the field for the NASCAR Camping World truck race at Eldora Speedway. Justin and his # 63 Mittler Brothers LG Seeds truck had lots of camera time, and he completed the event, coming home in 23rd place, his first time on the famed half mile!
This weekend is wide open, so maybe I will see you Racin' down the Road!
When we got down to the business of racing, we had one of the best prepared surfaces of the season.
UMP national points leader Brandon Sheppard was the first car in the pits fresh off a top ten run at the Prairie Dirt Classic. As was the case last season with eventual national champion Brian Shirley, we are expecting to see a lot of the 20 year old third generation driver at QR for the remainder of the year. QR is the only points paying Sunday night UMP track in the state of Illinois, and Brandon lives less than 100 miles away. He blistered the .29 mile oval with the fastest time trial lap of the season at 13.155 seconds to best the 13 late models on hand. He then rolled a " five " to set the dash invert, putting himself on the inside of row three. He quickly jumped to second in the ten lap dash and put pressure on Clint Kirkham, but settled for second to the # 28. Kirkham was running with a cracked block in his ride, but it was plenty fast enough to earn the pole in the 30 lap finale, with Sheppard on the outside.
The IMCA stock car main event started off feature racing with veteran Jim Powell leading the first half of the 15 laps. Abe Huls began to challenge on lap six, and on lap nine he grabbed the lead. Normally that would be the winning pass, and he took off following a caution on the next lap. However two laps later Abe bobbled in turn four, slipping to third behind Terry Houston and Jake Powers. One lap later Powers and Huls spun in turn three, collecting Gabe Harrison. Last weeks winner, Brandon Savage then took over the second spot, with the yellow waving one more time on lap 13. Houston held on for the win, with Savage second, and Jerry Jansen third, Jerry came back from an early flat tire to put his Ford in the top three. For Savage, it made fours consecutive weeks of top two runs.
The UMP modified count was 20 strong, but only 16 made the feature call. Dave Weitholder had set quick time at 14.837 seconds, but rolled a " six " for the invert. This put 14 year old Jake Griffin up front in the dash, and he grabbed the win and the feature pole. He survived two early restarts, giving up the top spot to Steven Delonjay on lap six of the 25 lapper. On lap eight, Michael Long moved up to challenge for the lead, sticking the nose of the # 18L under Delonjay several times. Several more cautions kept the field close as the leaders hugged the preferred low groove. Meanwhile, Griffin tried the top side, running in the top four. On a lap 13 yellow, Jakes car quit and refused to refire, ending his night with what turned out to be a broken wire. On lap 20, Long made contact with one of the tractor tires in turn four, and when the yellow waved, he went pitside. Delonjay led the final five circuits picking up his seventh points feature of the year. Mike Vanderiet Jr made the long pull from Mexico, Mo to nab second ahead of Shawn Deering and Weitholder.
Tony Dunker grabbed the lead from Greg Uppinghouse on lap three, then survived another caution plagued event to capture the IMCA sport mod 20 lap finale. Jim Gillenwater made the tow from Keokuk, Iowa to pressure Dunker for second, with Tanner Klingele in third.
The UMP late model feature ran next, and Kirkham held a slight lead across the line on lap one before Sheppard took over on the high side. Mark Burgtorf moved around Kirkham as well on the second lap and set his sights on the # B5. This race was all Sheppards, however, as the raced stayed green for all 30 laps. Brandon lapped all the way up to the fourth place car of Rickey Frankel. Burgtorf ran a distant second, with Long rebounding to run third. Kirkham faded early, the came back to run fifth ahead of Denny Woodworth, Bill Genenbacher, Adam Mefford, Jared Schlipman, Mie Hammerle, and Cliff Powell, with Ron Elbe dropping out early with a flat tire, and Kenny Vandorn checking out with heavy smoke rolling off his # 22K.
The IMCA sport compacts wrapped up the evening, and the red flag came out on the start, as Jacob Tournear pounded the guardrail off turn two. On the restart, Laine Vanzandt saw his night end in the backstretch guardrail. When racing finally began, Skip Dunker pulled away for a big win ahead of Austen Becerra, visiting Wes Rensch from Rushville,Il, and Kimberly Abbott.
Racing resumes next Sunday night, and Sunday August 11 the ALMS late models stop by for a $2000 to win special. I have been assured that there are no plans to cut the 2013 season short, so there is still two months of racing action at Quincy Raceways.
Congratulations to former QR regular Justin Jennings on making the field for the NASCAR Camping World truck race at Eldora Speedway. Justin and his # 63 Mittler Brothers LG Seeds truck had lots of camera time, and he completed the event, coming home in 23rd place, his first time on the famed half mile!
This weekend is wide open, so maybe I will see you Racin' down the Road!
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