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!