Big News From Quincy Raceways

After much speculation, word came down this afternoon that Quincy Raceways has landed a date to host the World of Outlaw late model show in 2015. Officials have been trying for some time to get a date that they felt would give the .29 ,ile " Broadway Bullring " a chance to be successful. Apparently a schedule changed opened up a date, Thursday, July 23, the night before the first night of the Prairie Dirt Classic at Fairbury,Il. The date corresponds with the Midwest Open Wheel Association Illinois Sprint week, an organization basically headed up by the same folks who put on weekly racing at Quincy. The Thursday date for the 410 sprinters  is usually reserved for Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach,Il. but promoters Kevin and Tammy Gundaker agreed to switch nights, and just like that, Quincy will be hosting the World of Outlaw late models and the MOWA sprint cars on the same night! Final details such as times, ticket prices, etc. are still being finalized, but this will for sure be a can't miss event for area fans. It will, of course, be the first ever visit to Quincy for the Outlaws, featuring the likes of Earl Pearson Jr., Darrell Lanigan, Tim McCreadie, and others that many folks only see on television. The Ciltrak promotion team established a relationship with WoO last season, hosting a World of Outlaw sprint car show at Jacksonville Speedway. The Quincy show will come just over a month after the UMP Summernational Hell Tour Stop for the late models, with that event on Sunday, June 21. Check back here or at the Quincy Raceways website for more info.
 Thanks for reading.

Looking Backwards and Forward

The  2014 racing season came to a close in the midwest  Saturday with the one week delayed running of the Turkey classic in Springfield,Mo. Although I had tried to fit this race in, the weeks delay took away that possibility. That is unfortunate, as apparently the weather was outstanding for November, and the car count for the three class program topped the 125 mark, including 25 late models, with Tony Jackson,Jr. winning the headliner.
 So my 2014 race total was down a bit due to circumstances both under and beyond my control. Still, I managed to get to the track 38 times at 13 tracks in three states. As usual, Quincy Raceways led the way with 17 nights, although I missed a handful of shows for the first time in many seasons. Three race nights each were spent at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa, West Liberty, Ia Raceway, Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach,Il, and I-55 Raceway in Pevely,Mo. Two evenings were spent at 34 Raceway in West Burlington,Ia., and one night each at Knoxville, Ia. Raceway, CJ Speedway in Columbus Jct., Ia., 24 Raceway in Moberly,Mo., the since closed Montgomery,Mo. County Speedway,
Peoria,Il. Speedway, Quad City Speedway in East Moline,Il., and one new track, Lasalle,Il. Speedway.
The spring visit to Lasalle was track number 57 for me.
 The schedules for 2015 are already starting to trickle in, and so far there are some exciting events lining up. Among the " can't miss " shows already set is the Slocum 50 at 34 Raceway on April 18. For the second time, this will be an "open" late model shootout co sanctioned by the Mars/Cornbelt/ALMS late model series. We will once again take a shot at the Lucas Oil late models at Pontoon Beach on May 1, and the following weekend is shaping up to be a season highlight. The MLRA late models are set for a three race swing starting on Thursday, May 7 in Donnellson, and a Saturday, May 9 visit to the Scotland,Co. Speedway in Memphis,Mo. These two $3,000 to win shows less than an hour from home sandwich a Friday night event at the Davenport,Iowa Speedway, creating an opportunity for a big three race weekend. The MLRA guys then make a return to the area in June, repeating last seasons three night swing through Oskaloosa, Iowa on Thursday, June 11, followed by Donnellson on Friday and Moberly on Saturday. The Donnellson and Moberly shows in 2014 were two of the best we witnessed all season! Snippets of the UMP Summernationals schedule are being hinted at, and one rumor has Quincy going back to Sunday night Summernationals race night, with nothing official yet. The Quincy Raceways schedule is currently on hold pending a major race announcement, with details still being worked on. One interesting quirk in 2015 is the fact that Labor Day is nearly a week later than in recent years. This will push the Boone IMCA Supernationals back, effectively eliminating one weekend of racing in the " postseason. " This has already led to some scheduling overlaps, at the present time, the IMCA Deery Brothers finale on the 1/2 mile at Davenport is set to go head to head with the Knoxville Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals. Things could get interesting come September.
 2015 will also be high school graduation year for grandson Keagan, one of my racing companions, so once again, this should be a full summer of activities.
Until next time, stay warm, stay safe, and enjoy the upcoming Christmas season!

A Long Night of Great Racing at Shiverfest

With an unofficial car count of 174, our final race of the year in the state of Iowa was a dandy. Shiverfest at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa has become something of a one day version of the Boone Supernationals. There is really no sensible reason, in either case, for that many cars to show up to race for the amount of money paid out, and yet year after year, the pits are full of  many of the top cars and stars of  IMCA. With the warm start to the day yesterday and no threat of rain (or snow), the pits swelled to the largest car count in several years. And although it was a somewhat late arriving crowd, eventually the front gate became a strong one, as well.
 There will be many stories and articles about the actual 36 races that took place, and I confess that I left my big notebook at home and decided to just enjoy the racing as well as a last visit of 2014 with many friends and family, however I would like to share a few thoughts about the event.
 First of all, congratulations to all the drivers, especially the winners, Cayden Carter in modifieds and stock cars - Jason Cook took the stock car checkers but did not make it through post race tech - Dustin Griffths in hobby stocks, Michael Grossman in sport compacts, and Quincy Raceways regular Joey Gower in sport mods. The racing was superior , with only the hobby stock feature something of a runaway despite being the race plagued with the most cautions. It was good to see Dan Keltner back at the track after being checked out at the hospital following his wild ride in which he flipped over the turns one and two guardrail in the sport mod feature. Also hoping that John Whelen is not too sore today after flipping his sport compact multiple times in the closing laps of the sport compact main event. And kudos to Dave Sapp and race director Mike Van Genderen on a nearly perfect racing surface. This was my third visit to LCS this season, and these guys have had an A plus track all three times. And the pace of shows at Donnellson should be a template for every track in the midwest to follow! Get 'em on the track, get 'off, and get the next ones on!
 I would not want to be too critical of any facility that could offer up 174 race teams on the last Saturday in October in the state of Iowa for a $10.00 ticket, but there were a few things rattling around in my head during the very few minutes of downtime. If my fading memory serves, Shiverfest used to be a late afternoon race - hot laps around the 3:30 or 4:00 hour? I realize things like trick or treating on the track and kids box car races - both important and enjoyable events - have been added, but could they happen two hours earlier? Yesterday was probably as warm as the weather will ever be in Southeast Iowa in late October, but... From personal experience, I know the tower in Donnellson is a pretty comfortable place to watch racing, but despite the fact that the " big guy, " aka the LCS flagman stayed true to his habit of wearing short pants, the announcers might have noticed that folks in the stands did indeed have coats, gloves, and blankets in use. Forget what the thermometer says, it was cold. Part of the original allure of Shiverfest was to start around 4:00, and walk out about 9:00 before the temps dropped to 11:30 levels. Again, I realize that they were likely preplanned, but 32 races would have been moneys worth, 30 minutes devoted to " special " races, not necessarily a crowd favorite. One thing that is both a blessing and a curse at LCS is the fact that the races come in such rapid fire succession that it is nearly impossible to announce the starting lineups before the roar of the engines drowns out the PA. Sometimes an early yellow flag offers up time to offer up more information. I like to think I am fairly knowledgeable concerning area drivers, but there were many cars on this night that I will be surprised to see in the results who the driver was. I have found over the years at many different tracks that I prefer one announcer over two. Too often, a two man team seems to get bogged down with idle conversation or a comedy routine. Maybe I am just too much of a " facts" guy?
 With all that said, Shiverfest 2015 has more or less been confirmed, and the Good Lord willing, I will be there to watch was has truly become a staple of midwest racing.
  I am not sure if my 2014 race season is over, but either way, thanks for reading and check back in as I will be sending out thoughts and opinions as we anxiously await another race season.

Kay Makes a Clean Sweep at Liberty 100

Saturday night we ventured north for night number two of the revamped Liberty 100 at the West Liberty, Iowa Raceway. Around 100 cars signed in for the night, after the Friday night portion of the show had featured two rounds of heat races in the five classes  and the IMCA Deery Brothers Iron Man feature event. Night number two was set to include last chance races and a total of six features, but due to less than full fields in three of the " support " classes, only the IMCA modifieds and late models needed the B-main events. All but the late models would line up their main events by passing points, while the late models qualified the eight heat race winners from Friday, then took six from each of two last chance races Saturday, then filled the field with a hard charger and three provisional starters.
 Two last chance races from the 28 car IMCA modified  field ran first, followed by the two BH's for the lates. Mike Murphy Jr from Colona,Il, and Tiffin, Ia driver Denny Eckrich topped the two 12 lap events.
  The first feature of the night was a 15 lapper for the 16 car IMCA sport mod field. Bryan Brinker and second generation driver Shawn Cooney dueled up front until the caution waved on lap 11. On the restart, Cody Harris blasted to the lead and held on for his first ever feature win. Brinker and Cooney followed, while Friday nighrt heat winner and track champ Aric Becker settled for seventh. A special thanks to Kelly Underbakke Becker for updates from Friday nights show.
 The IMCA stock cars ran next for 18 laps. It is fascinating to me how much variance there is in car counts in the stock cars, and West Liberty is one of the tracks that struggles in this area. Twelve cars checked in, I am sure in no small part due to the two day show at Lee County Speedway.  Even with the low count, they had an unusually high number of cautions, and the 18 laps seemed to take forever. And I say this while admitting that the stock cars are one of my favorite classes. I am not positive, but I think track champ Davis Brandies was a no show on night one, signing in night two to tag the tail of the feature.  Veteran Johnny Spaw started in row two in the second night out in his # 00, taking the lead on  lap three. When the caution waved on lap six, Brandies was up to fifth. On the restart, the # 71 vaulted to third, and two laps later he powered to second on the big half mile. Following a lap 11 yellow, we suddenly had a back and forth three car scrum, with Spaw, Brandies, and Brandon Jay. Jay slipped to second on lap 16, and the battle between him and Brandies kept the focus off Spaw. At the checkers, it was Spaw, Brandies, and Jay in that order.
 The first 50 lap late model feature was up next, and this one would be the final Deery Brothers Summer Series event for 2014. By virtue of starting his heat race on Friday, Justin Kay from Wheatland, Iowa had clinched the series championship, so he would be racing for pride and dollars. The Casey General Stores pizza box redraw between the heat race winners found Ray Guss Jr and Todd Malmstrom on the front row. Guss crossed the stripe first on lap one, with Malmstrom taking over from there. Third starting Todd Beuseling passed Guss for second on lap four. His row two mate, Kay had fell back early, but moved to third on lap 13. As the leaders pulled away, Beuseling took the top spot one lap later.  On lap 16, Kay took over the runner up spot. The first caution waved on lap 21, and following the restart, Beuseling opened a big lead, while Kay had a comfortable margin over the third place car of Andy Eckrich. As the leaders hit slower traffic on lap 30, Kay closed in on the # 46. During the time, row four starter Brian Harris slammed into one of the tractor tires in turn two while taking third from Eckrich. following a lap 33 caution, Harris moved to second, but again Beuseling pulled away. With nine laps to go, Kay regained second, closing in on the leader. Two laps later, he grabbed the point. During a lap 44 yellow, Harris went to the trailer, giving up a third place run. It was though by announcer Jerry Mackey at this point that Kay had a flat left front tire, but a track by track officials determined that it was just very low, and he was allowed to continue. As the green waved, tenth starting Denny Eckrich took over second, but Kay pulled away for the win. At the checkers, it was Kay, D, Eckrich, Beuseling, Colby Springsteen, and series rookie of the year Ryan Dolan, who had started in a provisional starting spot in row 11. 20 cars finished the main event , all on the lead lap. The main reason was the format for the second 50 lapper. all cars finishing on the lead lap would be inverted for the start of feature two. Any lapped cars, of which there apparently were none(?), would line up next, and cars that dropped out - there were four of them - were replaced by non qualifiers from the 34 cars on hand. I should mention here that 38 late models has signed in on Friday, with four not returning.
  As temperatures began to drop, the IMCA sport compact 12 lap finale came to the track, with Shaun Slaughter topping the ten car field.
 Up next was the 25 lap IMCA modified shootout. 24 cars took the green, but a massive seven car pile up in turn one eliminated four cars, with Chris Zogg winding up upside down. Following a lenghthy
red flag period, 20 cars restarted, but two more dropped out after taking the green. Kelly Shryock in a # 44 and track regular Kurt Kile started on row one, with Kile leading lap one. Those two quickly separated from the pack until the third stoppage on lap 16 bunched the field. Scott Dickey and Bruce Hanford were racing hard for third when Dickey spun on lap 19. On the restart the fifth starting Hanford grabbed second, and began to work on Kile. Hanford had the lead as lap 321 was scored, but Kile was back in front on lap 22. The top three were glued together as the checkers waved, with Kile scoring the win, Shryock back in second, and Hanford third. Dickey came all the way back to fourth at the checkers.
  It was now time for the final race of 2014 at West Liberty, the second 50 lap $3,000 to win late model battle. Jeremy Grady and Nick Marolf held the front row.  Matt Ryan was one of the four cars added to this race after setting out the first. Matt had been victimized by a mishap in his B main, and was caught up in a multiple car pile up on lap one in this race, ending a frustrating night. As racing resumed. Grady grabbed the point with Marolf in tow. The two swapped the lead on lap four, the again on lap six. By lap 13, 22nd starting Kay was up to sixth, and when the caution flew on lap 15, he was fifth. As the Delaware restart took the green, he advanced to fourth. Lap 16 saw fifth starting Chad Holladay take the lead, with Kay moving to third. The flying # 15K took second on lap 17, and blew past Holladay two laps later. By the time the caution came out on lap 42, only five cars remained on the lead lap. Even with the field tightened up, Kay had no issues, cruising to his 31st  feature win of 2014, making a $6,000 Liberty 100 clean sweep in the process. Row eight starter Dolan had taken the runner up slot on the restart, adding a second to his fifth in the points feature. Denny Eckrich came from row nine, adding a third to his earlier second. Andy Eckrich followed his older brother, giving him a fourth to go with a ninth in feature one. Holladay was the final car on the lead lap in fifth.
 The long but entertaining night of racing ended around 11:15. Fans and drivers alike missed the info from the electronis scoreboard, which was vandalized since the last race, and could not be quickly repaired. Although no help to the racers, Mackey did his usual outstanding job of keeping the fans informed of the lap count, lapped cars, etc. Thanks, Jerry!
 With the sketchy weather this time of year, I am not sure if there will be more racing in 2014 for me, but there are still a couple of attractive options, including the two day show next weekend in Memphis,Mo., and Shiverfest the following weekend in Donnellson, Ia. Someday I hope to make it to the late November Turkey Classic in Springfield,Mo., maybe 2014 will be the year? So hopefully we will still meet up in 2014, Racin' Down the Road.
 

A Weekend Full of Racing

By now, I am sure everyone who cares has read one of the many reports,recaps,testimonials about the Saturday night finale of the 11th edition of the Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals at Knoxville Raceway. So I will start out with just some random observations. As I always try to do, I was taking notes throughout the night, but when Brian Birkhofer charged around the suddenly slowing car of  Scott Bloomquist coming to the checkers at the end of the 100 lap feature, I knew I might as well toss the notebook, because the only story that mattered happened on that final lap. I have attended the Saturday night portion of the three day affair all 11 seasons, missing the feature only the year wet conditions wiped things out after hot laps and the race was run on Sunday. In all those years, I only remember one race that was something of a yawner. There have also been a couple with as much or more excitement than Saturday night, complete with last lap drama. But those shows did not include such unlikely drama from Iowa dirt racings favorite son. Couple that with his earlier announcement that he was backing away from racing for at least the foreseeable future, and his final turn pass to collect his second nationals win and the $40,000 winners purse, well if that were a movie script, I would call it hokey and not buy a ticket! Add in the bent over salute from Bloomer during driver introductions and Birkys slightly off color response, well if you weren't there, you missed an amazing turn of events!
 During all of this, I was wondering who, if anyone could replace Brian as the new darling of the dirt tracks for the Hawkeye state crowd. Certainly one driver who had a big following at Knoxville was former modified standout and up and coming LM star Ryan Gustin. After a lackluster first two nights, Ryan led flag to flag to win the D-main on Saturday. He then charged into the seventh and final transfer spot in the 15 lap C main, but with seven laps to go, his # 19R suddenly slowed, and he exited the track, ending his run. Another young gun with an Iowa connection through Dad and Grandpa, Billy Moyer Jr led the distance to win the "C."
 The 20 lap B main featured an outstanding 24 car field that I would happily pay to see start a feature event any time, any where. A trio of # 1 cars, Wendell Wallace, Rick Eckert, and Will Vaught staged a high powered duel at the front of the pack. Vaught eventually saw his run come to an end, leaving the other two veterans to slug it out. While Wallace held the edge most of the way, Eckert pulled ahead with three laps to go. However Jason Feger brought out a caution as his # 25 went up in smoke, and Wallace regained the lead on the restart, pulling away for the win. Another home state favorite, Denny Eckrich used a last lap pass of Jason Papich to grab the sixth and final transfer spot to the A main.
The top two in Lucas Oil points, Don Oneal and Jimmy Owens were both forced to run the B, however they used the race as a hot lap session, as both would have points provisional starting spots in the feature. The two leaders in series rookie points, Jason Hughes and Papich both took emergency provisionals, giving us a 34 car starting field. That was still less than half of the original Thursday night gathering of 79 drivers, and just over half of the 67 who took to the big 1/2 mile on Saturday.
 Birkhofer and 2013 winner Darrell Lanigan sat on the front row of the 100 lapper, and they staged a tight battle lap after lap, with Bloomquist eventually joining the fray from his third row spot. Birkhofer never dropped below third, and Lanigan had fallen to sixth when his run ended as he set backwards in turn for with 14 laps to go, setting up the unlikely finish. Bloomquist seemed to be in control, holding about a four car length lead at the white flag. Apparently he knew there was a problem in the drive train of his # 0, and he tried to nurse it home. But Birkhofer was up on the wheel, and he powered to the very top of the track in turns three and four, winning the drag race to the checkers in front of several thousand standing and screaming faithful fans. As often happens at Knoxville, there were some memorable runs. Mike Marlar truly may have had the fastest car in the closing laps, and he came from row 12 to cross the line in third. Jimmy Mars picked up 18 spots to take fourth, while Oneal came from 31st to fifth.
 Knoxville is more than a race, it is a total event, and has become a magnet for fans and racer from literally all across the US and Canada, as well. Whether you go for three nights or one, this race should be a destination for late model fans in 2015 and beyond!
  I had though my Sunday night racing was done for the season, but when Quincy Raceways promoter Ken Dobson added an eight car, 20 lap Pick Your Poison late model invitational to Fan Appreciation night, I knew one more visit to the Bullring was in order. Dobson started at the top of the track point sheet, calling drivers until he had eight commitments from the top 11 on the sheet. Clint Kirkham later cancelled, but Check Mitchell stepped up to fill the field. The late models would time trial, then pick their starting spot, fast qualifier picking first, and so on. the catch was, if the winner came from row one, he would collect $500. Row two was worth $1,000, row three $1,500, and row for, $2,000. Second place on back would take home $200. Jason Perry set quick time and chose inside rown four - runnerup Mark Burgtorf took the outside spot of the same row. Justin Reed picked the outside of row three, while Denny Woodworth took inside row two. Jim Moon wound up on the pole, and he grabbed the early lead, but Perry and Jamie Wilson got together, bringing out the caution. Back to racing, Wilson headed to the trailer, and with Woodworth out fron on lap two, Perry again slowed, and he also headed pitside. Reed slipped around Moon for second on lap four ahead of a debris caution, and we then lost Moon and Trace Westling. Finally we were able to string together some laps, With Reed and Burgtorf applying pressure to the leader. There was a competition yellow at lap ten, but no one took advantage to make adjustments. Mitchell retired, leaving us with three fast hot rods. Woodworth was not to be denied on the hammer down surface, and though Burgtorf and Reed stayed close, the late model lawyer took the win and a cool $1,000.
 The modified feature saw the top two points men, Steven Delonjay and Michael Long start side by side in row one. Michael quickly went to the cushion, where he is at his best, and grabbed the lead, while Steven found himself working to hold off Jared Schlipman for the second spot. By the time Delonjay was able top put some distance between himself and Schlipman, Long had built a sizable lead. Long held on to pick up his third win of the weekend following Friday and Saturday victories at the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis,Mo. Delonjay, Schlipman, and Frankie Wellman filled out the top four.
With the points season over, the rules were opened up in the other three classes, drawing a few new cars to the program. First timer Jace Gay took the early lead in the caution plagued Sport mod/B mod 18 lapper, but Joey Gower grabbed the lead as things began to shake out of lap three. Two laps later Tanner Klingele moved to second and set sail after the veteran Gower. Joey, however, built a nearly half track lead that was wiped out by a yellow on the white flag lap. Gower was up to the challenge, taking the win over track regulars Klingele, Holtmeyer, and rookie Nathan Bringer.
 Eight stock cars checked in, including three UMP type street stock cars. One of those newcomers Josh Smith, led all 18 laps, as the UMP cars seemed to hold a speed advantage over the IMCA regulars. Another visitor, Todd Cummings was able to slip around track champion Abe Huls, the chased Smith to the checkers. Terry Houston completed the top four.
 Kimberly Abbott loaned her " backup " car to her " significant other," track champ Austen Becerra for the 4 cylinder action. Starting on the pole Becerra withstood challenges from Abbott in the non stop 15 lap finale to take the last 2014 checkers at Quincy. Visiting Ricky Carriker stayed close in third, with Thomas Angelo fourth.
 In the drivers meeting, it was announced that the same five classes would be on the card for 2015, with possibly a tweaking of the sport mod rules, ending a certain amount of speculation surrounding the popular facility.
 There are several choices for excellent racing this weekend, the weather looks pretty good for early October, so maybe I will see you out there somewhere!

Late Models Added to Quincy Finale

Promoter Kenny Dobson has decided to add a rather unique late model event to Fan Appreciation night this Sunday, September 28 at Quincy Raceways. The track will host a " Pick Your Poison " invitational, with eight cars running a 20 lap feature only. The eight cars will qualify, and the fastest qualifier can pick his starting spot for the 20 lapper, The catch is, if the winner comes from row one, it will pay $500, row two $1,000, row three $1,500, row four $2,000! After the top qualifier picks his spot, the second fastest will choose, and so on. The top eight in points were invited to participate - three of them were unable to attend, so the start was offered to the next three in points, who all excepted. So the starting field will consist of Mark Burgtorf, Denny Woodworth, Jason Perry, Justin Reed, Jamie Wilson, Jim Moon, Trace Westling, and Clint Kirkham. These will be the only late models racing. Modifieds, sport mods/B mods, stock cars, and 4 cylinders will also be on the card for only a $5.00 ticket price! This will apparently be the final regular race night of the 2014 season at QR.
Hope to see you there, as I will be making my way back from the final night of the Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals at Knoxville Raceway. The forecast for the rest of the weekend looks great, lets go racing!

Kinder and Sheppard on Top at Mod Mania

 In my last blog, I said the weatherman might play a factor in our racing destination this weekebd, and that turned out to be the case. With the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series race in Davenport,Iowa and night three of Mod Mania at Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach,Il as attractive options, we carefully watched the changing forecasts as Saturday afternoon approached. Fred was already in Davenport visiting, so it was left to Darryl and me to decide. With some ugly looking radar north and clearing skies south, we took off for UMP country and our second visit in eight days to Tri City.
 Mod Mania is a three day orgy of racing featuring UMP modifieds as the headline class with UMP late models in support, and maybe an extra class on occasion. Mod counts on Thursday and Friday had been 72 and 71 respectively, with late model numbers of 42 and 50. Between breakage, shrinking finances and other choices, the Saturday night count is usually down a bit, and 2014 was no exception, but 54 modifieds and 31 late models still added up to a quality show. There was also a full program of police and sheriffs officers from various Missouri jurisdictions racing converted police cars for charity.
 Hot laps and group qualifying was a combined effort , with Mike Harrison setting quick time for the mods at 16.235 seconds around the 3/8 mile oval. The track continued to get faster during late model trials with several cars atop the speed chart before one of the last to qualify, Frank Heckenast Jr set the top overall mark at 14.931.
 Six mod heats advancing the top two to the 40 lap finale left 42 drivers to try to come through a C-main and two B's. With several cars on the trailer, the C-main was scrapped when only eight cars came to the track. A pair of B-mains each sent the top seven to the $5,000 to win main event, leaving two provisional spots open in the 28 car starting grid. A dash among the six heat winner set the first three rows, with Hunter Rasdon from Jonesboro,Ar and Chad Kinder from Newton,Il on row one. UMP national late model point champion Bobby Pierce was doing his first racing in a full blown modified this weekend and he would start inside of Michael Long in row two. Controversy and top five runs had been the story for Pierce and Long so far, as well as for Harrison, who started outside Trent Young of Hopkinsville,Ky. in row three.
 Four late model heats were contested, with the top four moving to the 30 lap $2,000 to win finale. All four ten lappers were won from the pole, with Brandon Sheppard besting Randy Korte, Mark Burgtorf, and Austin Rettig in heat one. Heat two went to Tony Jackson Jr. ahead of Billy Laycock,Jason Perry and ageless Bobby Martintoni . Michael Kloos topped Tim Manville,Dillan White, and Allan Murray from San Antonio,Texas in heat three. The final heat checkers went to Heckenast over fifth starting Pierce, Dustin Griffin, and Gordy Gundaker. Justin Asplin won the caution plagued 12 lap B-main over Steve Lance.Jr, Brian Dively,Rick Salter, and rookie Chris Fisher. Veteran Mike Hammerle was awarded the lone provisional in the 22 car starting grid.
 The mod feature was first up, and Kinder shot to the lead at the drop of the green. The first caution waved on lap three as provisional starter Rick Conoyer spun in turn four. At this point Pierce, Rasdon and Harrison trailed the leader, as Long had fallen back to seventh. On lap four Rasdon and Harrison both cleared the fading Pierce, and the yellow waved again on lap five for a fire in the underside of the # Z8 of Max McLaughlin from Mooresville,NC. Back to racing Harrison powered to second on the Delaware restart, but Kinder opened a sizable lead. By lap 14, Harrison was closing, but following another caution, Kinder again took off. When the caution came out, Nick Hoffman had climbed from a row five start to third, and the announcer made sure we were  up to speed concerning the race within the race. Besides a $3000 check on Thursday and $4,000 winner share on Friday ahead of the $5,000 on Saturday, a three day point race is contested for extra cash. Going into the finale, Hoffman, Harrison, Long, and Pierce all had a shot at the title, and by this time it looked like it was down to Haarison and Hoffman, with whoever finished ahead of the other garnering the title. Back to green, Hoffman shot around Harrison, and by lap 22, Rusty Griffaw had methodically worked his way to fourth. He cleared Harrison briefly on lap 23, the fell back to fourth. Hoffman and Harrison then engaged in an entertaining duel, while Kinder again opened a big lead. Lap 30 saw Harrison on second and he began to run down the leader, but a lap 33 caution debris seemed to break his momentum.
The checkers waved for Kinder, who led all the way, and making him the third winner in three days, following Matt Mevert and Harrison. Harrison took runner up honors in the race and the top spot in the mini points chase. Hoffman crossed the stripe third ahead of Young and Griffaw. Long was sixth ahead of Paris,Tn ace Lucas Lee, Pierce, Brian Barber from Greensburg,Ky, and Rasdon. Unofficially Harrison continues to run second in the national points chase to Indiana driver Devin Gilpin, who left after night two to return to his home track in Brownstown,In.
 The late model feature was the final race on the card, with a straight up start putting Sheppard and Jackson on row one. Sheppard, who took the opening night $2,000 check, jumped to the lead, with a lap four yellow slowing the action. At this point, double duty Pierce had moved up three spots to fifth, and he moved to fourth on lap five. By lap ten he was in third, and he powered past Kloos for second on the 13th circuit. B Shepp had opened up a comfortable lead, as his spotter standing by the front stretch wall indicated, but Pierce was pounding the cushion inches from the concrete wall trying to cut into the lead.With traffic now a factor, Pierce had closed the gap by lap 23, and he tried a slide job in turn two on lap 24. He cleared Brandon, but could not get his # 32 to stick, and Sheppard moved his # B5 back ahead. Traffic again got heavy on lap 27, but Pierce could not mount another serious challenge, as Sheppard led flag to flag. With only the lap four stoppage, the leader lapped up to the eighth place car on the still super fast surface. An exhausted Pierce took second, with Kloos holding third. Heckenast turned in a solid fourth, ahead of Friday night winner Korte.  Jackson Jr. topped the second five ahead of Manville, Burgtorf, Laycock, and Perry. Earlier in the evening Korte reaffirmed the at next Friday at Tri City will be his final race, as he continues to battle Myeloma. We wish only the best for the legendary driver of the # 00, his wife Teri, and family.
 There are still plenty of attractive events on the racing calender going forward, but next Saturday should find me in Knoxville,Ia for the $40,000 finale of the Lucas Oil late model nationals. Although I have never been able to make a preliminary night in Knoxville - one of these years...- I have only missed the 100 lapper the year it was rained out and rescheduled for the following day. IF Knoxville is not on your schedule, check the calender on the main page at Positively Racing.com and find a race somewhere. So far, the extended forecast looks good!

Season Championship Night at Quincy

Although the 2014 season is far from over, Quincy Raceways staged their season championship night on Sunday, wrapping up track titles in the five weekly divisions. Ironically, one of the larger UMP late models fields of the season was on hand to compete for the $1200 top prize, with 17 cars coming through the pit gate. Ryan Unzicker sets second in UMP national points, and he made his second visit to the track in 2014, starting the night off with the quickest qualifying lap of 13.706 seconds. Heat race wins went to Jason Perry and national point leader Bobby Pierce, and the 30 lap feature lineup was set to go straight up, with no dice roll invert for the night. There was plenty of local drama as well, with 14 time track champion Mark Burgtorf coming into the night with a one point lead over defending champion Denny Woodworth. Denny tried to improve his chances by bringing along his nback up car with Keith Pratt behind the wheel just in case he had trouble with his ride. When Denny crossed the line second to Pierce in his heat and Mark dropped from the third starting spot in heat one to a fifth place finish, it looked like the late model lawyer had the advantage. When the green waved, Pierce, who had two QR wins already under his belt shot to the lead. As Bobby began to build a lead, Burgtorf looked like he found something, and he needed only three laps to come from his row five starting slot to drive past the third running Woodworth. The first caution came on lap seven as McKay Wenger , in his first visit of 2014 had a problem in turn four. Woodworth was back to seventh on the restart and Burgtorf in fourth. On lap 11 Denny gained one spot, and at the crossed flags he advanced to fifth. But three laps later Mark eased ahead of Perry for third. On lpa 21, Pierce had a big lead, but he suddenly went over the top of turn one. He recovered out of turn two to hold the lead, but Unzicker was now closing fast. Lap 23 saw last weeks winner, Gordy Gundaker go off the backstretch to bring out the caution, ending his night while running sixth. On lap 24 Pierce again flew off the track, this time in turn three, and he headed for the trailer, apparently out of brakes, turning the lead over to the second running Burgtorf. But it was Unzicker on top as lap 25 was scored, and Ryan held on for his second win in two tries this season at QR. As he mentioned in his post race interview, his other win also came when Pierce broke while leading back in May. Burgtorf came home second to secure his 15th track title, but first in the UMP years. Perry held off Woodworth for third, with Justin Reed and Wenger completing the top six.
 There was an equal amount of drama in the UMP modified division, as defending champion Steven Delonjay came into the night on a run of bad luck that saw his lead over Michael Long dwindle to two points. With all eyes on these two, Jared Schlipman went out and set fast time, adding a heat race win to his resume as well. Long started outside row one with Delonjay right behind. Robbie Reed jumped to the lead at the green followed by Long and Schlipman. Jared blasted to second on lap two, Long and Delonjay followed. On lap four, Schlipman passed Reed, and the caution waved one lap later. The restart had Schlipman, Long, and Delonjay out front. On lap nine Delonjay used the low line to overtake Michael for second, and he continued to hug the low line while Long pounded the cushion. As Schlipman clicked off the laps out front, Long eased ahead of Delonjay by the slightest of margins on lap 18. Just as it looked as though Micheal would take the runnerup spot and the title, the caution waved on lap 21. Long elected the inside groove on the Delaware restart, presumably to keep Steven from his preferred low line, but Delonjay won the battle to turn one, then went back to the bottom. Long again went to the cushion, but with his tires now cool, he could not catch the # 35. At the checkers it was Schlipman completing the sweep, with Delonjay cementing his fourth straight title in second. Long, who may have regretted missing one points night, took third ahead of Reed and Shawn Deering.
  There was little intrigue in the IMCA stock car title chase, and when point leader Abe Huls grabbed the race lead from Nathan Hays on lap two, the battle was for second. The only thing to slow Abe down as a lap 11 yellow that bunched the field, but back to racing he opened a commanding lead. Jake Powers powered his way around Brandon Savage and Jerry Jansen to take second on lap 13, and two laps later Savage moved to third. At the stripe, it was Huls,Powers,Savage,Jansen, and first time visitor William Dahl.
  Like Huls, Tony Dunker had another track title in hand in the IMCA sport mod division going into the 18 lap finale. Six cautions in the first five laps marred the action, with Patrick Phillips holding the early lead, while Dunker was caught up in two of the mishaps. Bobby Anders was shadowing Phillips, while Brad Holtmeyer recovered from a trip to the hot pit to pound the cushion and come back into the top five. With two circuits left, Anders spun in turn rwo as he tried to overtake Phillips. Holtmeyers comeback ended at the same time. On the restart, it was now Joey Gower in second, but Phillips held on to put his # 65 in victory lane for the first time. Brandon Dale also recovered from an early  trip to the tail to finish third , meaning the heat winners finished top three in the feature. Adam Birck and Tanner Klingele rounded out the top five, with Dunker an uncharacteristic seventh at the finish.
 Austen Beccerra was also unable to back up his track title with a feature win on championship night  - Huls was the only one - as he ran second to Kimberly Abbott. Kim has been the dominant driver the last month, but still finished a distant second in the points chase. Brandon Lambert, Austin McClean, and Spencer Coats turned in top five runs.
 Next up at Quincy is a visit by the MOWA sprint cars on Sunday the 21st, joined by the King of the Bullring sport mod shootout paying a whopping $1253.00 to win. For details and support classes, visit the Quincy Raceways website.
 We have a couple of interesting possibilities for the coming weekend, and at this point the weatherman may be our deciding factor. Until next time...

Moyer Jr. Continues Family Tradition

With a vacation day in hand and Fred behind the wheel, we two plus Darryl and friend Bill, back from Washington state made the journey to Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach,Il. It was night number one of the St Louis Showdown, back to back $10,000 to win events, with the mini series moving tonight to I-55 Raceway in Pevely,Mo. Tri City was hit with the same type of monsoon that visited our area, as track owner Kevin Gundaker said they received over five inches of rain Tuesday and Wednesday. But the show must go on, enough water was pumped from the infield to make the place raceable, and although there was plenty of mud in the pit area, the vast expanse of ground available left plenty of room. And it was a good thing, because a huge field of 131 cars in three divisions signed in to race. A whopping 57 B-modifieds, a class only added to the Tri City lineup this season checked in to vy for a $1,000 top prize. 35 UMP modifieds were on hand for another $1,000 to win, and a posted number of 39 UMP late models made the trip for the $10,000, although I am pretty sure that supposedly late arriving Jim Moon was a no show, leaving us with 38 competitors. Water was not even the main issue on Friday night, however, as a persistent harsh wind coupled with temps in the low 50's made it feel like late October racing - winter coats and gloves were in use all around! Large car counts are not unusual at Tri City, and hot laps began only about eight minutes late, at 6:38. Unfortunately, 15 hot lap sessions followed by late model qualifying left the track something of a one laner for the 14 heat races. Track record holder Billy Moyer the elder set quick time for the late models at 16.081 seconds, while Moyer Jr turned the next fastest qualifying lap. The father and soon duo both picked up heat race wins, along with local hot shoe Tim Manville, and Jason Feger. Not coincidentally, all four won from the pole position. Tammy Gundaker had stated at the drivers meeting that they would try to run the show with no intermission due to the car count and low temps, but following the heats the decision was made to start changing the program around. The late model dash was scrapped, and a reworking of the 3/8 mile oval began. We were able to duck inside one of the on site rooms and watch the end of the Cardinal game while track work was going on. Following the track prep, it was B-main time for the mods, the it was the two late model B's up next. At this point track conditions were much improved, and Jared Landers came from row three to take the first 12 lapper over Jim Schereck and Don Hammer. Ryan Gustin led the distance in the final preliminary ahead of Randy Korte and Mark Burgtorf. Burgtorf barely edged out ninth starting Brandon Sheppard in the non stop race, as B Shep seemed to totally miss the set up in his heat. Unfortunately, he would be watching the 50 lap showdown from the trailer. Two local provisionals were added to the field, Scott Henseler from Tri City, and Paul Schrempf from I- 55, and the 24 car field was set. Next up was a pair of C-mains for the B-mods, and with the clock ticking it had been decided to push the B-mod B main, and mod feature back in the program and bring the late models out next, much to the delight of the nice sized crowd. Manville shot to the early lead from his pole position followed by Moyers, Jr and Sr. Brian Birkhofer found a seam and powered form outside row four the fourth in the opening lap. Birky then slipped past Moyer for third on the next circuit. By lap nine the leaders hit slower traffic, but by now Manville held a nice lead over Moyer Jr, who had a good margin over Birkhofer, and he the same ahead of Moyer. By lap 15, however, the margin between those four had dwindled, and two laps later Moyer Jr was hounding the leader in heavy traffic. Luck was on Manville side, as the yellow waved one lap later, as Henseler spun in turn four. On the Delaware style restart, Birkhofer jumped to second, and Feger shot around Moyer for fourth. A three car accident in turn two on lap 23 brought out the second caution, and when racing resumed, Moyer Jr. found a bite in the now slickening surface and powered to the lead. One lap later Shannon Babb suddenly slowed, and Jack Sullivan and Billy Laycock stacked up behind him, again bringing out the caution. As racing resumed, Birkhofer also cleared Manville to move to the runner up spot, and national UMP point leader Bobby Pierce was shuffled from eighth back to 11th position. With the race staying green, Moyer Jr opened up a lead, while Birky put distance between himself and Manville, who held a comfortable margin over the next tightly bunched pack of cars. With ten circuits remaining, Birkhofer made his move, closing in on Jr., and when the # 21JR had trouble getting around a lapped car on lap 42, Birkhofer was in position to overtake both cars. However Moyer Jr found an opening, and was then able to hold off the # 15B to the checkers. Manville completed his strong run in third, while a smoking Feger held off Moyer for fourth. Brian Shirley led the second five, besting Dennis Erb,Jr, B main winner Gustin, Korte, and Schereck. Pierce and Gordy Gundaker were next in line, with Laycck completing the group of cars running at the checkers. Two interesting things happened in this race for me, as it was the first time I have seen Moyer Jr in victory lane, and likely the last time I will see the retiring Korte on the track. Best wishes to both going forward. The modified A -main had originally been scheduled to run first, and with Quincy hot shoe Michael Long set to roll off from row three, we were anticipating a good race, but with a B-mod B-main coming to the track next, Darryl with a 6:00 wake up call, and the clocking very close to midnite, we headed for the van. Congrats to Danny Eams on his win in the mods over Rick Conoyer, Steve Picou, Mike Harrison, and Long, and to Ryan Eilers over brother Robbie in the B-mod finale. And thanks to the Gundakers, gracious and friendly as always, for all the hard work to make this show happen. Tonight I will be working my church hog roast and thinking about Pevely - tomorrow night is scheduled to be season championship night in all five classes at Quincy Raceways if " Lake Quincy " has subsided! Where has the season gone?

Gundaker Takes the Cash at Quincy

Quincy Raceways put extra cash on the line Sunday night for the UMP late models, paying $2,000 to win the 30 lap main event. And while the car count was disappointing, the on track action was not! Jason Perry started the night off with a fast qualifying lap of 13.946 seconds. This put the # 27 on the pole for heat one, but it was outside pole sitter Gordy Gundaker who jumped to the lead, taking the win. Mark Burgtorf, in his third week in the Rick Frankel machine led the distance to capture heat two. Gundaker a catcher on the Quincy University baseball team then rolled a " two " for the feature invert, setting himself up on the outside of Burgtorf. A two inch Friday downpour had left the track and pit area a mess, and it took considerable work to even get the .29 mile banked oval in racing shape. Early on, there were a couple of dips in turns two and three, and it was a real crap shoot for the drivers to figure out what lines would be the fastest. And with the sun bringing up some dust, track crews did some watering after the late model heats, so no doubt the surface would change. Then there was more track work at intermission, and the extra work helped, as the dust went away and the holes smoothed out. Burgtorf had bested Gundaker each of the past two weeks, running the high side one night and the low groove the next. So the youngster, just turned 22, shot out to the lead and took off in the high groove, with Mark and Denny Woodworth in pursuit. The caution flew on lap six as Justin Reed s # 1st made an ugly sound and rolled to a stop in turn two. On the restart, Burgtorf fell to fifth, with Woodworth jumping to second. Two laps later, Jamie Wilson powered to third around Jason Perry, but on lap 11 Perry took the spot back. On lap 14 the struggling Burgtorf stopped to bring out the caution and then headed to the hot pit area, restarting in tenth. On the restart Perry moved quickly to the runner up spot, the charged past Gundaker for the lead. He began to open a lead before a debris caution on lap 20, with Burgtorf again going to the work area. On the restart, Gundaker pulled a successful slide job in turn four, but a pile up behind the leaders negated the move, with Wilson going to the hot pit. as the field realigned, Perry was observed with a flat right rear tire. He finally went to the work area, but could not make repairs in his alloted two laps. Racing resumed, and Perry edged up the apron of the track, bringing out the caution and drawing a black flag to end his night. Back to action, Gundaker was in control, with Burgtorf on the move. He quickly advanced to third, but could not get around Woodworth. Gundaker picked up win number two at QR, with Woodworth second and Burgtorf third. Denny closed thr point gap to one behind Mark with one night of late model racing to go. Wilson recovered to finish fourth, and Trace Westling used the bottom groove to turn in his first top five of 2014. Jim Moon was a late arrival, coming thru the pit gate at intermission, and he raced a high as third before crossing the line in sixth. After the race, Burgtorf indicated he had a shock freeze up, necessitating the two trips to the work area. While the UMP late models and modifieds raced for points, the IMCA classes used a non points draw, redraw format for the night. This put Abe Huls up front for the 18 lap feature, and the point leader led from start to finish to pick up the win. The rtacing was tight behind him, wqith the usual slicing, dicing, and position swapping. Terry houston worked hard to try and close the gap, but as he did, Beau Taylor picked his way forward. when the checkers waved, three cars crossed the line side by side, with Taylor claiming second, Houston third, and Brandon Savage in fourth. Huls appeared to run the last dozen or so laps with a possible broken shock, as the left rear showed considerable wobble, but he held on for the victory. With a late start due to the rain and the two breaks to rework the track,time was becoming a factor for me and grandson Parker, as we both had early calls on Monday. The IMCA sport compact feature came to the track,with point leader Austen Becerra jumping to a commanding lead. When the caution waved about half way thru, we regretfully headed for the car, something I normally would not do at Quincy. Checking the results, I see Becerra picked up the win over Kimberly Abbott and Brandon Lambert. The UMP modified point race looked to be all but over a few weeks ago, but leader Steven Delonjay has hit an uncharacteristic run of bad luck. Last night it was an accident knocking him out of the running with a 14th place finish. Coupled with Michael Longs win, and the title will now come down to next weeks season championship night. Steven now hold only a two point advantage, so as with the late models,the title will come down to which of the two finishes ahead of the other in the feature event.Kenny Wallace and Brian Lynn chased Long to the checkers. With no points offered, the sport mod class was opened up to allow other B-mod cars, and a nice field of 26 signed in. The cars seemed surprisingly evenly matched, with IMCA regular Joey Gower taking the win ahead of the B-mod driven by Vance Wilson, and track pint leader Tony Dunker.The sport mods will be racing for a whopping $1253.00 top prize in two weeks - ramrodded by Tony Dunker, thus the payoffs ending in "3" - in conjunction with a return visit by the MOWA 410 sprint cars. Yet another night has been added to the schedule on Sept. 28, and it will be a $5.00 fan appreciation night unless the season championship night this coming Sunday needs to be postponed. Late models will not run if the fan appreciation night goes off as planned. Next up for me looks like a visit to Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach,Il this Friday for $10,000 to win super late models, coupled with a $1,000 payday for both modifieds and B- modifieds. Maybe we will see you there!

Point Leaders Dominate on Hall of Fame Night at Quincy

 Sunday night was the annual Hall of Fame induction night at Quincy Raceways, and one already in the Hall picked up a win while a new inductee came back to race for the first time in many years.
 The IMCA sport mods had the night of as a couple of our regulars were preparing to head to the Boone, Iowa IMCA Supernationals, so the 305 sprint cars were added to the card.
 Jason Perry topped the 13 car UMP late model field with a qualifying lap of 13.770 seconds, and Michael Long led the UMP mod time time trials.
 Nine heat races then ran off in mostly uneventful fashion, with no caution flags until the final modified heat on the multi groove, ever slickening surface. Only a persistent southerly breeze dampened the enjoyment of a nice sized crowd.  Ryan Jamison and Robbie Standridge cruised to sprint heat wins,then birthday boy Brandon Savage, winner of the last three IMCA stock car features, was a no show in his heat with engine troubles. The two UMP late model heats turned in to side by side duels, with Denny Woodworth besting Perry in heat one, while Gordy Gundaker outslugged Mark Burgtorf in heat two. Hard luck Shawn Deering exited the track in turn three on his first mod qualifying lap, and despite a bunch of effort from a group of guys in his pit, he was forced to scratch for the night.
 Six people were nominated for Hall of Fame induction, and at intermission, they were introduced to the fans on the front stretch, with plaques being presented to each. Long time Mr. Everything at the track, Bob Rhinberger, currently a co owner of the facility was a no show, hopefully all is well with Bob, who rarely misses a race night. John Blickhan, owner of Blicks Construction was honored for his years of providing equipment to the track, while longtime popular flagman Steve Blickhan, who retired a few years back, but is still at the track most Sundays, also joined the Hall. Three former drivers received honors, as well.  Quincy native Sam Burgtorf was a dominant  bomber and " A " modified driver, winning three track titles, and staging some great battles with another Hall of Famer, Hank Delonjay before hanging up his helmet while still in his prime. Keokuk, Iowa racer Charlie Milligan was a fixture at the track beginning when the facility opened in 1975. Charlie was a force in the full bodied classes, beginning in hobby stocks, and later the highly competitive sportsman division. His #14, and later # 29 could be found up front on any given Sunday. " Teddy Bear " later advanced to the limited late model class before climbing out of the car for good. The third recipient was late model hot shoe Sonny Findling, from Kirksville,Mo. Sonny was a front runner in the 1980's, finishing second in points I believe four times when the track ran under the NASCAR weekly raciing series banner. Sonny eventually gave up weekly racing to concentrate more on specials and touring series. Although it had been many years since the # 8 circled the QR oval, when he learned he was to be inducted, Findling decided to bring along his super late model and enter the nights races! Sonny now races only a handful of times per year, and said he has tried unsuccessfully to " retire " on a couple of occasions. And it sounds as if he is ready to try again, as he stated Sunday may have been his farewell race. All three drivers received warm welcomes and plenty of applause from fans, friends, and family, young and old alike.
 Following the presentation, we got back to the business of racing, with five features to be contested.
 The 305 sprints were up first, and front row starter Ryan Jamison shot to the early lead. As he stretched his advantage, Caleb Wankel and Johnny Huddleston were battling for second, when Huddleston began to spew a trail of smoke behind his # 8, his night ending soon after on about lap seven. On the restart, Wankel grabbed the lead for one lap before bobbling in turn two, with Jamison moving back out front. Following another yellow, Standridge moved in to challenge, and was scored the leader on lap nine. But two laps later, smoke began to pour from the Standridge machine, and his run came to and end on lap 14. From there, Jamison powered to the win, followed by son Blaine Jamison, Dave Getchell, and Wankel.
 The IMCA stock cars ran next, with a couple early cautions slowing the action. Heat winner Troy Brierton led the early laps, before point leader Abe Huls took over on lap four. Huls slid high one lap later, with Jerry Jansen scored first on lap five. By lap seven, Abe was back in command as the pack sliced and diced behind him in typical stock car fashion. Huls claimed the win, with Jake Powers running a solid second over Beau Taylor and Nathan Hays.
 UMP late models were up next, and with point leader Woodworth rolling a " two " for the invert, he started outside Gundaker on row one. Gundaker jumped ashead at the green, quickly moving to the high side of the oval, with Perry alongside in the low groove. Gordy pulled ahead on lap two, and on lap four, Burgtorf, again in the Rick Frankel owned # 33F, used the low side to take over the runner up spot. One week earlier, Gundaker had led the opening laps running down low, with Burgtorf eventually passing him on the high side. This time, the second generation driver from St Charles,Mo. stayed on the cushion, but the 14 time track champ gained a little each lap on the low side. On lap 11, Burgtorf easwed ahead, and never looked back as the race went 30 caution free laps. The win vaulted Mark back into the points lead. Gundaker ran second, while Perry held third. Mike Vanderiet Jr made his first appearance of the season at QR, started in row six, and finished fourth, while Matt Santel made his first ever stop at Quincy and gained three spots to finish fifth. After an exciting three car battle with Vanderiet Jr. and Santel, Woodworth faded to sixth. Justin Reed, Jamie Wilson, Bill Genenbacher, and Greg Kimmons completed the top ten. Findling was running around seventh when he pulled out mid race, the only car to fall out of the event.
 13 IMCA sprt compacts took the green flag, with Brandon  Lambert taking the early lead. The race was stopped on lap two when Rachall Rager lost a wheel in turn three, ending her night. On the restart, point leader Austen Becerra picked up the chase, and he and Lambert ran side by side and nose to tail for several laps. Meanwhile, Kimberly Abbott cleared traffic and began to run down the leaders. on lap eight, she eased around Becerra for second, and one lap later she powered past Lambert for the lead. Two more circuits saw Becerra in second, but he was unable to mount a serious run at Abbott, who picked up her second consecutive win. Beccera settled for second, followed by Brandon Lambert and Craig Bangert.
The UMP modified 25 lapper was last on the card. Michael Long shot to the lead at the green, building a big margin over last weeks winner Brian Lynn and point leader Steven Delonjay as they contested the second.spot. As Steven took over the runner up position, the caution waved on lap four. On the restart, Long took off on the very top of the track, while Delonjay hugged the inside line. Following a lap seven yellow, Delonjay took over the lead, although Long stayed with him, side by side, lap for lap until a lap 15 caution. Two more stoppages in the next three laps seemed to do in Long, as Delonjay pulled away in the final seven trips around the .29 mile oval. Long took home runnerup honors over Lynn, Craig Spegal, and Rick Conoyer.
 The final checkers waved at 9:00 on what turned out to be a very pleasant evening, weather wise.
 Next Sunday night, the UMP late models will be competing for a $2,000 top prize, as the season quickly winds down around the midwest.

Two First Time Winners at Quincy Raeways

Despite another day of oppressive heat, Quincy Raceways promoter Kenny Dobson made the decision to carry on as normal with the racing program Sunday night at Quincy Raceways. Dobson offered up a couple of new promotions, including discounted admission for anyone bringing a new fan to the track, as well as free admission for that new fan. Details on this promotion are on the track website, and I believe the offer is in place for the balance of the season. Plus late model racer Gordy Gundaker is also a member of the Quincy University baseball team, and all QU students were offered $5.00 tickets to come cheer on Gordy. A group of 25-30 students turned out, and cheered enthusiastically for their classmate.
 The biggest on track news of the past week has been the pairing of car owner Rick Frankel and 14 time track champion Mark Burgtorf. Two weeks ago, Mark broke a rod in his engine, apparently bringing his hard luck season to an early end. About the same time, Rickey Frankel decided to step away from driving for a while. So a call went out, and the new team hit the track this weekend.  The # 33F hit the track for the first time Friday night at Tri City Speedway , collecting a runner up finish. Sunday night Mark followed up with incredibly, his first feature win of 2014. Point leader Denny Woodworth set quick time for the UMP late models, then ran second to Jason Perry in heat one. Justin Reed bested Burgtorf in heat two, then Perry rolled a five to set the feature invert. To the dellight of our university fans, this put Gundaker on the pole, with Burgtorf alongside. Gordy jumped to the early lead, but Burgtorf was ahead at the flag stand. The 30 lap event stayed green throughout, and Mark ran away from the pack, lapping up to the fifth place car. Gundaker ran second the entire distance, while Woodworth edged Perry for third. First time visitor Rich Bell brought his # 21B home in fifth after starting in row six. 
 Nascar and television personality Kenny Wallace made another visit to the track with his # 36 UMP modified. The veteran set quick time, and won his heat race, while Michael long captured the other ten lapper. Wallace then rolled a four, and ever the showman, bemoaned his bad luck at having to start the 25 lap main alongside Long in row two, with point leader Steven Delonjay outside row one. But to the surprise of many, it was polesitter Brian Lynn who stole the show. In only his third trip to QR, Lynn put his # 72 out front and on the cushion, opening a sizable lead, even as Long moved ahead of Wallace to third on lap four. Following the first caution on lap six, Michael used the Delaware restart to move past Delonjay in to second. The yellow waved again on lap eight, but again Lynn held the point. As Long chased Lynn, A great three car battle was going on for third between Delonjay, Wallace, and Rusty Griffaw. On lap 15 smoke spewed for Delonjays ride, and on lap 18, fire erupted on the underside of the # 35, ending his night. Following the restart, Long was able to slide up in front of Lynn, but Brian immediately returned the favor, and that momentum carried him all the way to the checkers. Long settled for second, with Wallace third. Shawn Deering came from row six to edge Griffaw for fourth. 
Kale Foster was the only non starter in the mods, as he took a hard roll at the end of his heat race, going over 2 1/2 times in turn three. He was uninjured.
 The IMCA stock car class plays like a broken record at QR - low car counts and amazing racing! The first attempt at a start was waved off as the field got bottled up. On the second try, Brandon Savage found a seam and charged from row three to lead lap one, bringing point leader Abe Huls along. Following a lap four caution, the two leaders ran nose to tail around the top side of the .29 mile oval. As the leaders slugged it out, Terry Houston began to close the gap on lap ten, but five laps later, it was a two car duel. Huls moved down one line, and the leaders were now running side by side. On the final lap, Abe was able to edge ahead slightly, and moved as high on the track as he could while still giving Savage room to race. Brandon held the line, and was ahead by a bumper at the line. Totally gassed by the heat and the action in victory lane, savage thanked Huls for leaving him room to race. Houston crossed the line third, while Jerry Jansen shook the monkey off his back, finishing fourth. 
 The IMCA sport compact 15 lapper got off to a rocky start, as Bryce Baker and Adam Scott got together, running through the catch fence in turn four. Baker was done for the race, while Scott was able to continue. Point leader and ten time feature winner Austen Becerra suffered a rare mechanical failure, exiting the track on the parade lap. Spencer Coats took off from row one to lead the first two circuits, with two time winner Kimberly Abbott blasting past on lap three. On lap five, former champion Seith Woodruff moved to second and attempted to chase down the # 71. On lap eight Coats reclaimed second, as four cars battled behind Abbott. Woodruff took the spot back one lap later, and the yellow waved on lap 11. Following the restart Coats rolled to a stop in turn two, ending his season best run.
Abbott cruised to her third checkers, trailed by Woodruff, Rachall Rager, and Scott.
 The final feature of the night was the IMCA sport mod showdown, and the 14 starters ran caution free on the smooth, slick track! Adam Birck, wheeling the Van Zandt # 80V paced the field for two trips around before Joey Gower took over. As the laps clicked off, a duel for third developed between Bobby Anders and point leader Tony Dunker. With Anders running the cushion, Dunker used a lower line to attempt the pass. The veteran Dunker found his way to third, but could go no further as the checkers waved for a Gower win. The runnerup finish was a season best for Birck, and Anders held fourth.
The final checkers waved just after 9:00, bring an entertaining night in front of a decent sized 90 degree night crowd to an end. Racing resumes next Sunday at QR, with the scheduled now expanded to end on September 21. There are some scheduling changes, so check the Quincy Raceways website for details.
 Despite this weeks temps, summer is on the way out, so don't miss a chance to take in some racing wherever and when ever you can!
 

Moyer Tops UMP/Mars Challenge

Ignoring the triple digit heat, Fred, Darryl, and I set out Saturday afternoon for the UMP/Mars Challenge super late model race at I-55 Raceway in Pevely,Mo. Promoter Ray Marler elected to push back the start time 30 minutes because of the heat, but it was still an incredibly warm evening, especially in the outer pit area, where the breeze could not reach the competitors. A total of 93 racers braved the oppressive temps to show up for the four class program, including 29 late models racing for $5,000 to win, and 29 UMP modifieds vying for an $800 top prize. The mods started things off with group qualifying, followed by the late models, with veteran Randy Korte, in his farewll season, posting the quickest lap overall at 12.316 seconds around the high banked 1/3 mile oval. Two heat races for the 20 sportsman cars were followed by three mod heats, then four late model eight lappers won by Tony Jackson,Jr, Brandon Sheppard, Brian Shirley, and Billy Moyer. All but Shirley won from the pole, with Brian starting outside row one, and all four scored fairly easy wins on the extremely tacky, fast, and somewhat rough track.  15 4 cylinder cars contested two heats, followed by position dashes for the mods and sportsman cars. The late models would be starting straight up per Mars rules, so the mod consy was up next. 11 cars were called to the track to contest  the final six spots, but when only five answered the call, the race was waved off. The ten lap 13 car late model B-main saw Justin Reed cruise to the win. Justin had finished fifth in heat two, but broke his transmission as the race ended, necessitating quick repairs by dad Mark and grandpa Wally. The top four from the B transferred on, with Mars adding two provisionals and the track also adding two despite a less than packed house, no doubt due to the heat and humidity. This left five cars on the trailer come feature time, although Iowa driver Ryan Gustin never attempted to qualify in time trials, heat, or consy.
 The Pro 4 feature was up first, with Joe Laws taking the win.
 Mods were up next, with Dean Hoffman charging to the lead from inside row two to lead the first circuit. On lap two, outside row one starter Ray Walsh took over the point, and by lap four, polesitter Mark Minor had faded to fourth, while row four starter Michael Long had advanced to third. Minor retired on lap five, and the caution waved two laps later. On the restart, Long dove under Hoffman in turn two, but was not able to clear the # 1D, with Hoffman running up on the rear fender of the # 18L. Hoffman stopped and was unable to continue, and when  Long was instructed to move to the tail of the field, he retired to the pit area, as well. This moved Jim Black to second behind Walsh, with Bobby Bittle alongside for the Delaware restart. Walsh opened a big lead as Rusty Griffaw began working his way forward, moving to third when the yellow flew on lap 11. Griffaw moved to second as the green waved, with another caution on lap 15. Top five running Rick Conoyer went pitside at this point, as the field now had more than half the starters off the track. One lap back under green, Walsh, who had been dominate throughout, came to a stop in turn two, his night over. This turned the lead over to Griffaw, who had started deep in the field. He held on the final four laps, with Bittle claiming second and Black third.
 It was now time for the 40 lap late model finale, with Jackson and Sheppard in row one. Rookie Chris Fisher lined up in his row ten spot, but  went pitside before the green waved, leaving 23 starters. Jackson shot to the early lead ahead of Sheppard and row two starters Shirley and Moyer. On lpa four, Korte passed Moyer for fourth after starting seventh. The caution flew on lap six for a spinning Tim Manville, as row seven starter Bobby Pierce, the national UMP points leader, entered the top ten. One lap back to green, Shirley shot to the runnerup spot and began to reel in the Mars point leader, Jackson. At lap 13, Moyer moved back to fourth, and one lap later Shirley slowed out of turn four, his night over. The Delaware restart saw Sheppard and Moyer line up behind Jackson, and as racing resumed, Moyer out powered B Shepp to take over second. The next lap, the veteran Moyer executed a perfect slide job to take over the lead. He then opened up a sizable lead before a lap 19 stoppage. Michael Kloos, running in sixth, spun in turns one and two, and was hammered by Jason Feger, who had no where to go. Both cars were out of action as a result. Sheppard out gunned Jackson on the restart for second, while Mars points runnerup Justin Asplin made a dandy move in turn four on lap 22 to come from sixth to fourth. On lap 28, Pierce began his charge, reentering the top five, then taking fourth on lap 30. The youngster then ran down Korte, and made several attempts to get by, but the wily veteran used lapped traffic to perfection blocking the passing lanes in turn four, where Pierces car worked best. As the checkers waved, Moyer picked up the win, with Sheppard, strong all night, in second. Korte, Pierce, and Jackson completed the top five. Sixth went to Asplin, ahead of  Manville,Scott Weber in the # 17X usually driven by Matt Santel, Billy Laycock, and Jeff Herzog. As the sportsman cars came to the track, we three hot, tired race fans headed to the parking lot. Reports say Trey Harris took the final race checkers.
 Tonight we will brave the heat again, as I will now prepare for a night of action at Quincy Raceways. If you are in the area, stop in for five classes of action, headlined by UMP late models and modifieds.

Double Features Highlight a Trip to West Liberty

Rain, rain, and more rain washed out any and all racing from southeast Iowa through the St Louis area on Saturday. So Darryl, Fred, and I headed north, determined to catch some late model action. With West Liberty, Independence, and Maquoketa all within driving distance(ugh!), we rolled out early with eyes on the sky. The heavy showers slowed to a drizzle about ten miles north of Donnellson, and by the time we got to exit 80 on highway 27 the skies looked somewhat better, so we headed east towards West Liberty. With our early departure from home, we arrived even earlier than usual at the fairgrounds track, but we enjoyed just sitting in the car outside the pit entrance watching the bulk of the 84 competitors roll in. Jeff has a very thorough recap of the nights action on the " Backstretch," so I will just add that the three of us agreed that it was one of the best shows we had been to all season. Plenty of good racing action, plus double late model features. The program started on time, intermission was only twelve minutes, and the tenderloins were excellent. Andy Eckrich put on a clinic in the make up late model main event, winning from row five. 17 cars were prequalified for the make up show, but drivers who were not in attendance on that June night when the feature was rained out were allowed to buy in for the cost of a second pit pass. Those drivers drew for starting spots behind the original 17 cars. A total of 23 late models signed in, and Brian Harris drew the 23rd starting slot. Undeterred, he wheeled the Lynn Richard # 15R all the way to a sixth place finish. Colby Springsteen, competing in his # 38 with a 1989 retro look of his father Franks car from that season, finished in the runnerup spot, then at intermission was presented with $3700 collected from drivers and fans to aid in expenses incurred when Franks was badly burned while working on Colbys car at Oskaloosa a few weeks back.
 All but two of the 23 late models were able to start the regular feature which wrapped up the program. Ray Guss, who has had an uncharacteristically tough season, started inside row two, and quickly found the top spot. Tenth starting Eckrich broke through mid race and made a bid for the two feature sweep, but Guss was not to be denied on this night. It was still a good night for the youngest of the Eckrich brothers, with a first and a second. Harris followed up his strong run by advancing from ninth to third, and Springsteen added a fourth to his runnerup finish.
 West Liberty has been one of my very favorite venues since I discovered it in the late 60's-early 70's, and Saturday night did not disappoint. Thanks to the Simmons crew for an enjoyable night of IMCA racing in all classes.
 The deluge of rain wiped out any chance of Quincy Raceways hosting the Sprint Invader - ASCS challenge tonight, Sunday. The Ciltrak group which operates QR is looking at making some late season schedule adjustments, so check the website or this column for updates. Maybe we will see you next weekend as we are Racin' Down The Road.

Sheppard Grabs the Big Iron at Quincy

Sunday night it was back to Quincy Raceways for weekly racing. For a while, it looked like Mother Nature might win the night, and with the pit area especially still wet from heavy mid week rains, it would not have taken much to end the nights activities. But the clouds moved on, and we were left with a super fast, smooth racing surface. A total of 59 cars in five classes checked in for the night of racing. Qualifying for UMP late models and UMP modifieds got the show going. Michael Long paced the mods, while Bobby Pierce turned a lap at 13.388 seconds to top the 12 late models. Following his heat race win, Pierce pulled a "5" to set the feature invert for the late models, and first heat winner Keith Pratt drew a "4" to set the mod invert.
 With a lengthy intermission out of the way, the IMCA stock cars came to the track for an 18 lap feature. Only seven stock cars signed in, and Jerry Jansen was a no show, having retired on the first lap of the heat race. Jerry suffered heavy damage last Sunday, and thought he had the # 06 race ready, but it was not to be. But with only six cars, the race was as good as I have seen all season. Nathan Hays led lap one, with Terry Houston taking over on the next circuit. Lap three saw those two, plus Brandon Savage run three wide, and on lap four, Abe Huls powered into second. With those four tightly bunched, Beau Taylor was right there searching for an opening. Savage eased past Huls on lap nine, and on the next trip around, slight contact between Brandon and Houston enabled Savage to take over the lead. Huls eventually move around Houston, and the two leaders ran side by side, Savage on the high side, Huls on the bottom. At the checkers, it was Savage, Huls, Houston, and Taylor, and even I was out of breath just watching!
 With several travelers on hand, the late model 30 lapper ran next. The five car invert had Denny Woodworth and Justin Reed, back after engine woes, up front, with Brandon Sheppard and Jason Perry in row two. Woodworth shot to the early lead ahead of Reed, with Perry moving to second on lap two. Running third, Reed brought out the caution on lap six, as he powered through turn four in a duel with Sheppard. On the restart, Denny stayed on the low side, and B Shepp pounded the cushion to take over the lead. On lap eight Pierce went to the top side, moving to third, then to second on lap 11. By then Sheppard held a straightaway lead. He looked to be on his way to an easy win when Perry contacted the front stretch wall with five laps to go while running fourth. As racing resumed, Sheppard and Pierce both went to the cushion, and Mark Burgtorf, who is suddenly becoming a hard luck driver, exited the track with a puff of smoke. Try as he might, Pierce could not reign in Sheppard, as Brandon picked up his first QR feature win of the season. Pierce, currently leading UMP national points, posted a second to go with his two QR wins of 2014. Woodworth increased his track point lead with a podium finish, followed by Clint Kirkham, Reed, and Evan Fink, as only six cars took the checkers.
 All but one of the 13 IMCA sport compacts took the green, with Bryce Bakers # 27 on the trailer as he sat behind me in the grandstands. Kimberly Abbott suffered heavy damage in her heat race, loaded up, hustled home to get her " back up " car, making it back as the late model feature was rolling out. Austin McClean took the lead at the green, with Brandon Lambert leading lap two. Point leader Austen Becerra soon moved to second, setting up a two car battle for much of the 15 laps. On lap 11, Becerra finally gained the advantage, taking his 32nd win of 2014 ahead of Lambert, Seith Woodruff, and Abbott.
  Only 11 UMP mods were on hand, and even Dave Weitholder, who has not missed a night at QR in several seasons was on the sidelines. Dave reportedly has a hip injury, and the doctors advised him to stay off the track for the night, although he was patrolling the pit area! Craig Spegal and and Michael Long sat on the front row, and they both rocketed to the front on the start, with Michael out front in his
" backup " car. The first yellow waved on lap nine, and on the restart, third starting point leader Steven Delonjay began to apply pressure to Spegal. As Steven took over second, the caution waved again, with Delonjay and Spegal set up behind Long on the Delaware restart. Again Michael jumped out front as Spegal, running his best ever race at QR, continued to hound Delonjay. Spegal rettok the runner up spot briefly, but Delonjay prevailed, crossing the line well  behind Long. Jared Schlipman made his return from engine issues and ran fourth after a good battle with fifth finishing Pratt.
  The last race on the card was the 18 lap IMCA sport mod battle. All 16 competitors came to the grid. Adam Birck paced the opening circuit, with Brandon Lennox taking over to lead the next several trips around. Jim Gillenwater quickly moved to second and on lap four, Tanner Klingele joined the top three. Three caution periods in the next half dozen laps kept things close, and Lennox and Gillenwater completed lap 14 side by side. Gillenwater led lap 15 before the final caution flag flew. On this final restart, Tony Dunker, who had been lurking in fifth, charged to second.  Dunker then out ran Gillenwater on the final lap to pick up the win. Lennox crossed the line in third, but was scored last in the official rundown. I was not around for post race tech, so I am not certain what the issue may have been. Klingele, Brad Holtmeyer, and Bobby Anders rounded out the top five.
  The final checkers waved before 9:00 on what turned out to be a very pleasant night with great racing in all classes. The late models and modifieds are off next week at QR, as the ASCS sprints and Sprint Invaders headline the card along with stock cars, sport mods and sport compacts. The late models and mods return the following Sunday, August 24. The early forecast for this coming weekend is looking a bit dicey, but hopefully we will see you somewhere Racin' Down the Road.

Hess On Top at Peoria

 With Darryl driving and several good choices for a Saturday night of racing, we headed east for our first visit of the year to the Peoria Speedway. Not unlike here at home, it looked as though the track had received a heavy dose of rain, and there was water standing on the low side entrance to turn one when we arrived. But the track crew was working hard, and eventually was able to get the 1.4 mile race ready. Although starting time was pushed back a bit, heat races started at 7:05,  it turned out to be worth the wait! 78 cars signed in to race on five divisions, and much to our delight, a solid field of 21 UMP super late models were on hand, followed by 19 UMP modifieds, 16 hornets, 12 steel block late models and 10 street stocks. As was to be expected, the wet racing surface chopped up a bit in the early going, with the # 26D modified of Derek Doerr rolling his ride in qualifying, ending his night. Late model point leader Todd Bennett set quick time with a lap of 12.300 seconds, while veteran hot shoe Billy Tuckwell paced the modifieds.  Billy Drake looked like he might challenge Bennett for fast time before jumping the treacherous turn three cushion and nearly rolling the # 75 on his qualifying lap. A spectator drew the zero pill for the invert, meaning late model and mod heats would start straight up by times, and the features by heat race finish.
 Track conditions began to improve as the heat races played out. Late model heat three saw the Gardners, John Jr and Bob (brothers?) dueling for the lead, with John in front. Bob tried a slide job with two laps to go, but had to back off when his # 4G slid up the track. As the leaders took the white flag, Bob again tried the move in turn one, but slid into Johm, sending him into a spin. The race was called complete on the white flag lap, and Bob was awarded the win, with John scored as the last car running - sixth - since he was the only one stopped on the track. The decision brought a collective grumble from the by now sizable gathering.
 Following a short intermission while track crews rolled the cushion, a 12 lap late model consy was run to eliminate one car for the 30 lap finale. When Cameron Guidi, who had issues all night with his # 51 pulled to the infield, the race was checkered short of the 12 laps, as the remaining five cars were in the show.
 The 18 lap steel block feature was up first, 11 cars took the green, and Jim Carmody took off from the pole position, leading the first ten laps. Almost from the start, he was pressured by Steve Shannon, one of several racers doing double duty, racing in multiple classes. Coming out of turn two on lap 11, Shannon made contact with Carmody, getting him a bit loose, with Shannon getting around for the lead. The only caution of the race came on lap 15, bunching the field on the Delaware restart. The front two again pulled away, with Shannon hanging on for the win. Carmody came home second, with Brian Crebo third. Shannon was subdued in victory lane, saying he hated to win a race that way.
 Next it was the street stocks, eight starters for 15 laps. Heat winner Chuck Barnes Jr, took off from the pole, leading the distance. Two cautions for spinning cars kept the field close, with Todd Farris shadowing the leader. Following a lap ten yellow, Barry Sauder joined the pursuit, and he moved to second with two laps to go. Sauder made a bid for the win out of turn four coming to the checkers, but came up a 1/2 car length short.
 The UMP modified were up next, 15 cars for 20 laps. Austin May and Eric Bruce made up the front row, with double duty Charley Hess and Tuckwell on row two. It took a couple of tries to get one lap in, on one start May jumped the turn two cushion, but was able to restart on the pole - the UMP lap one forgiveness rule. A major pile up on lap three took out two cars , but after that, things settled down. On that start, Bruce fell back several spots, but on lap six, he made a dandy move out of turn two, moving from fourth to first. As the laps clicked off, Dan Dozard began to challenge the leader. Bruce had been running the high line, but he soon changed to run the low groove in turns three and four, where Dozard was faster. Slower traffic came into play in the closing laps, and Dozard moved alongside Bruce on the final trip around, but  Bruce hung on for his 16th win of 2014. Hess trailed the leaders in third
  Now it was time for the late model finale.Hess and late arriving Mike Provenzano sat on the front row, with Bob Gardner and Bennett in row two. Hess took the early lead, with Gardner claiming second on lap two. By lap five, Drake, who had come from row four in his heat to finish third, had moved from row four in the feature up to fifth. One lap later he blasted through to third. Hess and Gardner hugged the low groove, while Drake pounded the cushion. On lap ten, Hess drifted up the track, and Gardner grabbed the lead. The front two swapped the point over the next couple laps, with Hess regaining the top spot in traffic. I looked up from my notes with ten or so laps to go and saw that I had missed Drake getting around Gardner for the runner up spot. The veteran then chased Hess to the checkers, but Charley was flawless the rest of the way. He looked exhausted in victory lane, having run 20 laps in the mods to a third place finish, then jumping in the late model for a 30 lap win on a track that was surely a challenge. Drake turned a bad start into a good night, bringing the # 75 home in second. Gardner took the third spot ahead of Bennett and Provenzano. Bo Brockway led the second five, ahead of Ryan Little, Greg Kimmons, and unofficially Roger Rebholz and Evan Fink, though those last two may be flip flopped in the final rundown. With the hornet feature in staging, we headed for the car just minutes before the 10:00 hour.
 Our first look at track conditions made us question our choice of tracks, but it turned into a good night of close, competitive racing, with a decent car count. Thanks to the Peoria Speedway staff for working hard to put on a quality show.
  The sun is out and the breeze is blowing, so hopefully we have enough drying going on to get the pits and track ready for racing tonight at Quincy Raceways. Unofficial word has the top two in UMP national points, Bobby Pierce and Brandon Sheppard on the way to slug it out for the title. Come on out if you can!

First Time Winners at Quincy

Two first time winners celebrated Sunday night at Quincy Raceways, as second generation drivers Gordy Gundaker and Tanner Klingele picked up wins.
 First, however, it was the IMCA stock cars taking to the .29 mile oval for their 18 lap main event. Nine cars took the green flag, as Robert Thompson was done after hot laps. Troy Brierton took off from row one, with Jerry Jansen in pursuit. Thr front two were well ahead of the pack when Gabe Harrison lost fire on lap nine. On the restart, on got sideways, creating a multi car scrum. Both he and Jansen, who appeared to have the rear end knocked loose for his ride, were unable to continue. Rather than a side by side restart, third running Jake Powers was given the top spot, but one lap later Brandon Savage eased around Jake for the lead. Terry Houston powered to second on lap 13, but Brandon held on for win number three of the season. Houston, Powers, point leader Abe Huls, and Jim Lynch completed the top five.
  The UMP late models, 12 strong were next on the grid for 30 laps of action. A heat race incident involving Jason Perry and Denny Woodworth saw both cars retire early, with Denny forced to go to his back up car after contact with the turn four wall. This put the two top contenders outside rows five and six on the starting grid. Mark Burgorf and Gordy Gundaker picked up heat race wins, and with the new lineup formula in use, Mark was set to roll the invert dice for the feature. Being a bit short on crew this week, he asked Michael Long, who was rolling for the modifieds to roll for him, and Michael rolled a " five. " This put Rickey Frankel on the pole with Jim Moon alongside. Rickey jumped to the lead at the green, quickly setting up in the low groove. Burgtorf, who had an issue with the engine belt in the heat, took off on the top side, moving past fast timer Dustin Griffin for second on lap six. Two laps later, Mark used the high side to grab the lead, as he searched for his first win of 2014. On lap 11, Griffin, also running the top, jumped the cushion and fell from third to ninth. On the following lap, something went wrong on the # 7B, and Burgtorf, in a puff of smoke, slid over the banking in turn one, ending his night. Frankel now had the top spot again, with Michael Long, Gundaker, Moon, and a hard charging Perry in the top five. Gundaker jumped to the high side on the restart and grabbed the lead just before the half way mark of the race. As the youngster stretched his margin, Frankel slid out of his froove on lap 26, with Perry moving to second. As this was happening, Gundaker was being careful working a slower car, abd Perry made up ground quickly. But the Quincy University baseball standout was able to clear the lapped car, and held on for his furst ever UMP late model win. Perry, Frankel, Moon, and Woodworth rounded out the top five. It was only the second visit to QR for the Gundaker team, as his mom and dad, Tammy and late model legend Kevin keep busy operating Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach,Il. However, the # 11 team has indicated they plan to be QR regulars for the remainder of the season.
 IMCA sport compacts came to the oval for a 15 lap main event next. As has been the case often in 2014, they ran a caution free race, and it took Austen Becerra all of four laps to secure the top spot. Brandon Lambert and Spencer Coats crossed the stripe side by side on lap one, with Lambert easing ahead. Becerra took second on lap three, then moved to the point one lap later. The front two remained that way, with Kimberly Abbott clearing  Craig Bangert late in the race for third. Barry Taft made the haul from Argyle, Iowa to run fifth. It was the 30th overall feature win in 2014 for Becerra.
 Michael Long set quick time for the UMP modifieds, with 17 cars timing in. Bad luck once again struck Shawn Deering, who spun a driveshaft out in his heat race. He started the main event, but retired quickly. Donavon Lodge made the trip to QR Sunday, but had a flat on his hauler along the way, ariving late. He then had mechanical issues with his # 32, actually missing the start of the 25 lapper. However he made it out after a first lap caution. On each of the ensuing cautions, he ducked to the hot pit area, but finally called it a night, credited with a disappointing15th place finish. Keith Pratt took off with the early lead through a flurry of early cautions, and by lap three, Dave Weitholder had moved from a row four start to third, with Long now in second and front row starter Delonjay falling to fourth. Back to green, Long powered to the lead on the high side, and on lap seven Delonjay claimed second. Cautions followed on laps nine and ten, and on the lap ten restart, Delonjay grabbed the lead running the bottom groove. His big lead evaporated with a final caution on lap 16, but he was hooked up and cruised to the win, stretching his points lead. Long, Weitholder, Pratt, and visiting Brian Lynn completed the first five.
 IMCA sport mods had the finale, 13 cars for 18 laps on the smooth, slick track. Adam Birck, subbing in the VanZandt # 80V led the opening laps. Following a lap three yellow, 19 year old Tanner Klingele charged to the lead, holding off Joey Gower as the caution flew for the only other time on lap seven. On the restart, Tanner, with three consecutive runner up finishes, built a sizable lead. Gower continued his pursuit, with Brandon Lennox riding the rim to third place as the laps wound down. Klingele was not to be denied this time, and he celebrated in style his first sport mod feature win. Gower, Lennox, point leader Tony Dunker, and Bobby Anders chased him to the checkers.
  The headline of this piece refers to two second generation feature winner, but in truth, all five are in that category, or close. Gundaker, Klingele, Delonjay, and Becerra all have fathers who raced, and as I have mentioned before, Savage is a grandson of legendary Ramo Stott. The racing bloodlines run deep at Quincy Raceways!

An Action Filled Night at CJ Speedway

 With a vacation day on Friday, and no racing last weekend, I was determined to catch some action last night. Darryl, Fred and I watched the radar throughout the day and decided north looked safer than south. So after a lot of calling and facebooking, we confirmed that CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction,Iowa was racing and late models were on the card. We arrived at the 4/10 mile fairgrounds facility in plenty of time and settled in amongst a good sized crowd.
 The heat races for the six class program actually a few minutes early, and ran off in good time. There was a 25 minute intermission, but the large number of kids in attendance were given hayrack rides through the pits. there were also lots of Little Racer Car Club giveaways. CJ probably has more kids per adult than any track we attend, a good sign for the future of racing in that area.
 The first feature of the night was for the mod lites. I am not sure what has caused the drop in car count in this class, but it seems to be down wherever we see them. Still, the six cars on hand put on a good ten lap show. Collin Ball had things in hand until a lap seven caution erased his nice sized lead. On lap nine, Dan Keltner was able to get past Ball to take the win.
 Next up was the 11 car four cylinder ten lapper. 74 year old Wayne Noble led lap one. Following a restart, Corey Sheetz pulled ahead for one circuit. The two raced side by side on lap three before Noble reclaimed the top spot. Noble, the " Mayor of Newport," cruised to the win with Bill Whelen slipping past Sheetz on lap nine for second.
  Old friend John Richardson had told us on arrival that the growing truck class was the group to watch, and for sure the nine car group seems to lead the track in drama. Austin Kemper led lap one before the first of numerous cautions periods. Jacob Brown took over on the restart as things got interesting. Lots of bumping, banging, black flags and catcalls from the grandstand filled the ten laps of action. Brown obviously had the truck to beat, and I was surprised to learn it was his first win. After an early trip to the tail, Billy Stanford charged back to take second.
 The  11 IMCA stock car took to the track for 15 laps. Travis Finke grabbed the point on the start, leading the first five circuits. On lap six, Dane Fenton slipped past, with Lane Kaufman moving to second. The two leaders had a close battle going before what appeared to be contact on the backstretch on lap 11 sent Kaufman off the track with a flat tire. On the Delaware restart, Kurt Kinsley grabbed the second spot, but Fenton held on from there. It was his first stock car win after a successful career in hobby stocks.
 A dozen IMCA modified checked in, with 11 taking the 15 lap featurgreen. Steve Stewart powered from row two to lead the opening lap, and I said to Darryl, " the race is now for second. " But, wrong, again. Stewart held the top spot through a lap seven yellow, as a pair of # 20s, Dan Albright, and John Fellman battled side by side behind him. On lap nine, Stewart suddenly slowed in turn two, bringing out the yellow. Fellman and Albright restarted side by side, dueling through one more caution period. They completed lap 13 side by side, then Fellman edged ahead for the win.
 Rounding out the night was the 15 lap IMCA rules late model main event. Only four cars checked in this week - point leader Tom Darbyshire and Tommy Elston were a couple of drivers I had called who could not make it on Friday.  Veteran Wappello driver Jay Chenoweth # 6 led the opening trip around the oval, and heat winner " Superman " Sam Halstead  took over on lap two, taking Jonathon Brauns along as Chenoweth bobbled in turn four. Lap six saw Brauns put his # 22B out front, and he built a straightaway lead in the non stop event. As Brauns took the white flag, he slowed and pulled to the infield pit area, handing the lead back to the # 84 of Halstead.  Sam then took the checkers well ahead of Chenoweth, who was locked in a battle with Hal Russell, driving an old Dough Nigh machine, now numbered J6D. Russell, who campaigned several years ago in a # Z2 had been off the racing grid for some time. The word going around was that Brauns was simply testing out his " big " engine and outlaw tires this night, possibly ahead of the open show this Tuesday in West Liberty.
  Thanks to announcer Gene Arnold for the info, and the staff at CJ Speedway for an entertaining night of racing. Tonight, a little Alan Jackson at the Mississippi Valley Fair in Davenport, the tomorrow back to Quincy Raceways for UMP late models and modifieds along with IMCA sport mods, stock cars and sport compacts. Se ya Racin' Down the Road.