Saturday afternoon, Darryl, Fred and I loaded up and headed for night number three of Mod Mania at Tri City Speedway in Granite City,Il. Over the past twelve years, this has become a premier event in the Midwest, and the Saturday finale drew a whopping 74 UMP modifieds and 38 UMP late models, with the mods racing for a $5,000 top prize and the late models vying for a $3,000 check. Amazingly Saturday was not even the highest car counts, as the mods had 80 cars sign in on Friday, while the late models saw 43 teams on Thursday, with all three nights stand alone shows with increasing purses.
Bobby Pierce was looking for a three night sweep as he paced qualifying for the lates with a lap of 15.094 seconds around the 3/8 mile, while Chad Kinder led the mods with a lap of 16.312. Following eight mod heats, only the winners were qualified for the position dash and the 40 lap feature. A pair of C-mains and two B- mains rounded out the A- main lineup. For the late models, it was four ten lap heats and two twelve lap B-mains, plus a pair of provisionals setting the 22 car 30 lap finale.
The mod heat winners drew for their starting spots in the dash, with Trent Young and Mike Harrison setting on row one. On the opening lap, UMP national point leader Michael Long made it three wide in turn three, and he came out on the short end with a flat tire. Young took the win followed by Harrison.
In the first mod B-main, Jeremy Payne spun while running in a transfer position, and Shannon Babb claimed the final spot in B-main two coming out of turn four to the checkers.
In the first late model B. Jeff Herzog was shuffled out of a transfer spot following a caution, and in the second twelve lapper, Kolby Vandenbergh had the same problem, however he was able to rebound to claim a spot.
As the modified main took the green, Harrison pounded the turn two wall, falling back several spots. However, the caution waved for debris, and the 24H was able to restart outside row one. Back to racing, Young paced the opening lap with Lucas Lee in second. After babying his ride for a few laps, Harrison jumped to the high line, overtaking Lee on lap six, and Young one lap later. As he stretched his lead, Long entered the top five before a lap eight caution. on the Delaware restart, Long moved to fourth, but all eyes were on Babb, who was flying through the field. By the mid point, Long began to fade, and traffic became an issue on lap 25. The caution waved again on lap 28, and Babb, now seventh after starting 21st, looped his ride, and retired to the pits. On lap 30, fifth running Nick Hoffman smacked the turn four wall., ending his charge. It was now local favorite Josh Russell on the move. He had started alongside Babb, and was flirting with the top five following a lap 36 restart. But the race belonged to Harrison, who celebrated his birthday with his second win of the three night show, closing within three points of Long in the national title chase. Lee took the second spot, followed by Young, who is third in national points, Kenny Wallace, Brent Mullins, and Russell.
The modifieds move on to Eldora next weekend to settle the championship, with a $20,000 top prize on the line.
Next up was a ten lap non qualifiers event won by Steve Mulenberg, leaving only the late model feature to go.
The late models started straight up, with heat winners Jason Feger and Tanner English in row one, with double duty Babb and Pierce in row two. Feger paced the opening lap, but Babb was making a move when the yellow waved. Shannon elected for the outside line on the restart, but Pierce used the low line to grab the second position. Pierce stayed on the inside line, with Feger one groove higher. Pierce was ahead slightly as lap four was scored, but the front pair continued to run side by side lap after lap. Feger was out front at lap seven, and it was Pierce again on lap eight. With slower traffic coming into play on lap ten, Pierce began to build a lead. Meanwhile Feger worked the barlet there cushion, making contact with the concrete wall, damaging his rear spoiler. By the 16th circuit, Frank Heckenast Jr. was putting pressure on Feger for second. By now, the leaders were all running the low line, and after Heckenast took second, Babb found a way around Feger on lap 27. At the checkers, it was Pierce sweeping the weekend, followed by Heckenast, Babb, Feger, and Jim Shereck.
Although the show moved right along, it was past the midnight hour when the checkers waved, and this old head hit the pillow just after 03:00!
A bit more than twelve hours later, I was pulling into Quincy Raceways for championship night. Abe Huls had already wrapped up the IMCA stock car title, and Denny Woodworth was well on his way to the UMP late model title despite not winning a feature all season. With Michael Long absent, Dave Weitholder had his first UMP modified title in hand, and when only five IMCA sport mods checked in, Kimberly Abbott had another championship. But the IMCA sport mod title was wide open, however it would be the final race of the night before that would be decided.
The night began with qualifying, and McKay Wenger with a now smaller cast on his broken arm, set quick time for the late models at 13.543 seconds. Weitholder paced the mods at 15.132 ticks of the clock. Following heat race action, Rudy Zaragoza jumped to a big lead, with Dean Kratzer grabbing second on lap two. Soon a three car battle for second developed , with Huls taking the spot on lap six. A lap eleven yellow saw Huls challenge for the lead before looping his ride. Back under green, Brian Hoener and Michael Larsen took up the chase, but no one could catch Zaragoza, who picked up his first win of 2016. Larsen took the runnerup honors ahead of Hoener, Kratzer and Huls.
First heat winner Wenger sat on the pole for the late model 25 lapper. To his outside was Michigan driver Eric Spangler making his first ever visit to QR , as he looked for national points in his # 27.
McKay jumped to the lead running the low line. On lap nine, Wenger made contact with a slower car, bringing out the caution, however he kept going and was restarted out front. As the green waved, Mark Burgtorf jumped to the high line, moving to second. Meanwhile, Alan Westling in the Jim Moon backup car charged from his row four starting spot to third on lap twelve, and even edged ahead of Burgtorf on lap 14 running the low line. Lap 20 saw Burgtorf regain second and he was closing on the leader when the caution came out just as the white flag was about to be displayed. It was now a green, white checkers finish, and again it was Wenger and Westling running the low line and Burgtorf up top. As the leaders came to the checkers, Wenger moved to block the on coming Burgtorf, earning his third win of 2016 at QR, gaining enough points to move into second in the national title chase. Burgtorf crossed the line in second, with Westling in a QR career best third. Spangler came home fourth, with Clint Kirkham fifth in the Vanzandt # 21V. Woodworth wrapped up the track title in sixth ahead of Trace Westling, Terry Wilson, Trent Grotz, and Charles Vanzandt.
Darin Weisinger Jr. led the early laps in the sport compact 15 lapper, but Brandon Lambert took over the top spot, racing to the win. But he fell short in the title chase to Abbott, who took the checkers in second ahead of Weisinger Jr. and Darin Weisinger Sr.
Weitholder sat on the pole of the modified main, and he soon opened a commanding lead. Shaun Deering and Frankie Wellman staged an entertaining duel for second as Weitholder soon led by a straightaway. The race ran caution free, with Wellman winning the battle for second over Deering, Gary Bentley, Joey Gower, and first time visitor Dugan Thye.
A solid field of 17 sport mods took the green flag for 18 laps of action. Nathan Bringer held a slim point lead over second half sensation Brandon Lennox. Justin Bartz led lap one, with a caution waving on lap two. Justin Ebbing grabbed the lead following the restart, with Austen Becerra taking second on the fifth circuit. Bringer nabbed fourth on lap 8 as traffic came in to play. Lennox entered the top five on lap eleven. One circuit later, Lennox moved to fourth and Bringer fell to sixth. Following another restart, Lennox took third, but Tony Dunker was on the move on the high side. Lennox lost one spot, as Bringer was shuffled back mid pack. Again the caution flew as the white was ready to be shown, creating another green, with checkers finish. It was Dunker moving to the front and picking up the win, with Ebbing in the runnerup position. Todd Reed scored a third, Becerra ran fourth, and the fifth place run for Lennox secured the track title for Bringer.
Promoter Ken Dobson has announced one more race night at Quincy, Sunday, October 9, running in conjunction with a Saturday night show at Jacksonville,Il Speedway. as of now, classes running are late models, modifieds, sport mods and stock cars. There is still plenty of racing to be had, and the weather forecast will help us decide where we will land this weekend.
Monday, September 26, 2016
Monday, September 19, 2016
Schlenk On Top at Quincy
Quincy Raceways enjoyed a near perfect night weather wise on Sunday, the next to final night of weekly racing. A solid field of 65 race teams signed in, led by 21 UMP modifieds and 15 UMP late models, with both classes seeing some out of town drivers in search of national points. Noticeably absent was modified national point leader Michael Long, who suffered extensive damage to his # 18L on Saturday night in Peoria,Il.
Modified qualifying was paced by Kevin Blackburn with a lap of 15.235 seconds, while Rickey Frankel topped the late models at 14.365 ticks of the clock.
Following heat race action, the first feature was for the ten IMCA stock cars. Rudy Zaragoza jumped out to a big lead before a lap eight caution. On the restart, point leader Abe Huls grabbed the lead ahead of a lap nine yellow for heat one winner and fourth running Jerry Jansen. On the restart, Huls was deemed to have tried to decoy the field with a " jack rabbit " start, and he was penalized one position, putting Zaragoza back out front. Back to racing, Michael Larsen used the high line to move to third. Five laps from the end of the 18 lapper, Zaragoza pushed just a bit up from his low line, and Huls was able to regain the lead. It was now a four car battle, with Abe and Brian Hoener running the bottom, Zaragoza and Larsen up top. Rudy switched lines, looking to find a way by Huls, but to no avail. At the checkers, it was Huls, Zaragoza, Larsen, and Hoener.
The late model 25 lapper was up next. The four car invert put point leader Denny Woodworth and Justin Reed on row one, with heat winners Rusty Schlenk and Frankel in row two. Reed jumped to the lead, followed by Woodworth, Frankel, Schlenk, and Mark Burgtorf. On lap eleven, Schlenk cleared Frankel for third, now Reed and Schlenk ran the high line, with Woodworth hugging the bottom groove. Denny then found his way to the lead in traffic on lap 19, and the first yellow waved one lap later for Jamie Wilson. By now, McKay Wenger, who failed to qualify when he broke a break caliper and started in row seven, had charged to fifth. At the same time, Dewayne Kiefer, who cracked an oil cooler in hot laps and also started last, had advanced to seventh. On the Delaware restart, Reed elected the outside line , forcing Schlenk to the inside. However the caution waved for Terry Wilson before a lap was scored, and this time, Reed took the inside line. Still Schlenk grabbed the second spot on the restart, and on lap 21 the Jackson, Michigan traveler grabbed the lead. At the same time, Reed headed to the trailer, and Wenger moved to third. Schlenk kept his # 91 out front for his first QR win of the season, with Woodworth in second. Frankel got back around Wenger for third. and Kiefer finished off his strong run in fifth. Clint Kirkham wowed everyone by running sixth with the Lee County rules crate engine Vanzandt # 21V, ahead of Burgtorf, Jamie Wilson, Trace Westling, and Terry Wilson.
The IMCA sport compact class turned out only six cars. Darin Weisinger Jr paced lap one, giving way to Brandon Lambert. along with point leader Kimberly Abbott, and Craig Bangert, a four car battle soon developed. Abbott moved to second on lap four, and grabbed the top spot one lap later. As the sixth lap was scored, Bangert was second, and the front two pulled away, running side by side. At the checkers, Kimberly prevailed for the win over Bangert. Lambert edged Weisinger by a bumper for third.
Robards, Kentucky pilot David Mitchell was unable to make the feature call, leaving 20 UMP modifieds to take the green. Wentzville,Mo. ace Rick Conoyer jumped to the front from his pole position start, with Dave Weitholder in second. The first yellow came on lap two. Back to racing, the front two were joined by Blackburn in a three car battle, with Weitholder putting pressure on the leader on lap six. Conoyer was riding the middle and high lines, while Weitholder moved between the low and middle lines looking for a way to the front. Traffic came into play by lap ten, when the caution waved. Back to racing, action on the backstretch saw Weitholder spinning and Blackburn into his rear quarter. I cannot say for sure what happened, but both cars were sent to the tail. Ray Bollinger also stopped to avoid Weitholder, but he was able to keep his spot, and he was now fourth, with Shaun Deering and Crofton,Kentucky hot dog Trent Young restarting behind Conoyer. It was now a three wide battle for second behind Conoyer, with two more cautions on laps 13 and 14. Following the lap 14 restart, a pile up slowed the action, with Blackburn heading to the trailer. Back under green, Deering secured the runnerup spot, as Conoyer opened up a lead. As the checkers flew, Conoyer had his second QR win of the season, followed by Deering, Bollinger, and Young. Weitholder recovered to take fifth, and unofficially took over the point lead with one night of racing remaining.
It was now time to head to the car, and I had to miss Tony Dunker grabbing a win in the 18 lap IMCA sport mod finale, over Austin Howes, Kevin Tomlinson, and Brandon Lennox.
There is still plenty of racing ahead as the season winds down, so get to the track somewhere and maybe the Positively Racing crew will see you there!
Modified qualifying was paced by Kevin Blackburn with a lap of 15.235 seconds, while Rickey Frankel topped the late models at 14.365 ticks of the clock.
Following heat race action, the first feature was for the ten IMCA stock cars. Rudy Zaragoza jumped out to a big lead before a lap eight caution. On the restart, point leader Abe Huls grabbed the lead ahead of a lap nine yellow for heat one winner and fourth running Jerry Jansen. On the restart, Huls was deemed to have tried to decoy the field with a " jack rabbit " start, and he was penalized one position, putting Zaragoza back out front. Back to racing, Michael Larsen used the high line to move to third. Five laps from the end of the 18 lapper, Zaragoza pushed just a bit up from his low line, and Huls was able to regain the lead. It was now a four car battle, with Abe and Brian Hoener running the bottom, Zaragoza and Larsen up top. Rudy switched lines, looking to find a way by Huls, but to no avail. At the checkers, it was Huls, Zaragoza, Larsen, and Hoener.
The late model 25 lapper was up next. The four car invert put point leader Denny Woodworth and Justin Reed on row one, with heat winners Rusty Schlenk and Frankel in row two. Reed jumped to the lead, followed by Woodworth, Frankel, Schlenk, and Mark Burgtorf. On lap eleven, Schlenk cleared Frankel for third, now Reed and Schlenk ran the high line, with Woodworth hugging the bottom groove. Denny then found his way to the lead in traffic on lap 19, and the first yellow waved one lap later for Jamie Wilson. By now, McKay Wenger, who failed to qualify when he broke a break caliper and started in row seven, had charged to fifth. At the same time, Dewayne Kiefer, who cracked an oil cooler in hot laps and also started last, had advanced to seventh. On the Delaware restart, Reed elected the outside line , forcing Schlenk to the inside. However the caution waved for Terry Wilson before a lap was scored, and this time, Reed took the inside line. Still Schlenk grabbed the second spot on the restart, and on lap 21 the Jackson, Michigan traveler grabbed the lead. At the same time, Reed headed to the trailer, and Wenger moved to third. Schlenk kept his # 91 out front for his first QR win of the season, with Woodworth in second. Frankel got back around Wenger for third. and Kiefer finished off his strong run in fifth. Clint Kirkham wowed everyone by running sixth with the Lee County rules crate engine Vanzandt # 21V, ahead of Burgtorf, Jamie Wilson, Trace Westling, and Terry Wilson.
The IMCA sport compact class turned out only six cars. Darin Weisinger Jr paced lap one, giving way to Brandon Lambert. along with point leader Kimberly Abbott, and Craig Bangert, a four car battle soon developed. Abbott moved to second on lap four, and grabbed the top spot one lap later. As the sixth lap was scored, Bangert was second, and the front two pulled away, running side by side. At the checkers, Kimberly prevailed for the win over Bangert. Lambert edged Weisinger by a bumper for third.
Robards, Kentucky pilot David Mitchell was unable to make the feature call, leaving 20 UMP modifieds to take the green. Wentzville,Mo. ace Rick Conoyer jumped to the front from his pole position start, with Dave Weitholder in second. The first yellow came on lap two. Back to racing, the front two were joined by Blackburn in a three car battle, with Weitholder putting pressure on the leader on lap six. Conoyer was riding the middle and high lines, while Weitholder moved between the low and middle lines looking for a way to the front. Traffic came into play by lap ten, when the caution waved. Back to racing, action on the backstretch saw Weitholder spinning and Blackburn into his rear quarter. I cannot say for sure what happened, but both cars were sent to the tail. Ray Bollinger also stopped to avoid Weitholder, but he was able to keep his spot, and he was now fourth, with Shaun Deering and Crofton,Kentucky hot dog Trent Young restarting behind Conoyer. It was now a three wide battle for second behind Conoyer, with two more cautions on laps 13 and 14. Following the lap 14 restart, a pile up slowed the action, with Blackburn heading to the trailer. Back under green, Deering secured the runnerup spot, as Conoyer opened up a lead. As the checkers flew, Conoyer had his second QR win of the season, followed by Deering, Bollinger, and Young. Weitholder recovered to take fifth, and unofficially took over the point lead with one night of racing remaining.
It was now time to head to the car, and I had to miss Tony Dunker grabbing a win in the 18 lap IMCA sport mod finale, over Austin Howes, Kevin Tomlinson, and Brandon Lennox.
There is still plenty of racing ahead as the season winds down, so get to the track somewhere and maybe the Positively Racing crew will see you there!
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Marlar Dominates at Knoxville
Saturday Keagan and I headed for Knoxville, Iowa for the final night of the Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals. A total of 69 race teams had participated in one or both of the two qualifying nights, taking their best nights finish to determine their starting spot for the big show. Time trial qualifying plays a big part in the preliminary nights, which are a part of full shows culminating with $7,000 to win feature races. Nine drivers were absent for the final night, leaving us with 60 cars to compete in a C main, B main, and the 100 lap finale.
The evening began with a 19 car 15 lap C main on the big fairgrounds half mile oval, with national hot shoe Morgan Bagley and Iowa standout Joel Callahan on row one. Five cars were set to transfer to the B-main event. Bagley took the early lead on the tacky fast surface, taking row two starter Rob Toland along. Just after the half way mark, Toland slowed, with heavy smoke pouring from his # 39, ending his second place run. During the caution, another local Iowa racer, Nick Marolf, also forfeited a transfer spot as he headed to the trailer. With Bagley firmly in control, the caution came out once more for a slowing Justin Duty, setting up a one lap dash to the finish. Bagley held on for the win over former Iowan Matt Furman, Mason Ziegler, Ray Guss Jr., and Rich Bell in the transfer positions. Lucas Oil rookie of the year contender Colten Flinner tagged the tail of the race, taking a few laps, as he was locked into the A main with a series provisional.
Next came the 20 lap B main, with six cars headed to the tail of the A main along with Flinner and a highest point not in the show provisional. Gregg Satterlee took off from the pole, fairly cruising to the win. The real battle came for the final transfer spot. with Jason Rauen edging Frank Heckenast Jr and R C Whitwell for sixth. In between, Chad Simpson took second followed by Chad Mahder, Tim Lance, and Kent Robinson. Spencer Diercks received the second provisional spot.
I am sure the folks at home watching the live telecast of this event gleaned some interesting info from the talking heads, but it just feels like unnecessary down time sitting in the grandstands. Interestingly, series officials did decide to run all 32 A main cars through a pre race check of rear deck height, and apparently several cars did not pass. They were allowed to return to the trailer to make adjustments.
Finally it was race time, with Josh Richards, who scored a Friday night sweep, and Jimmy Owens on row one. Owens took the early lead ahead of Richards and third starting Dale McDowell. The leaders hit slower traffic by lap eight, and three circuits later, Richards grabbed the top spot. Following a lap 14 caution, McDowell moved to second on the Delaware restart, with Owens falling back a bit. About lap 18, Tennessee driver Mike Marlar, who started fourth, wheeled his yellow # 157 to third using the high line around the speedway. On the next trip around, Marlar grabbed the second position. Lap 23 saw traffic come into play again, and with Marlar closing, Richards was forced to move up the track to negotiate the lapped cars. The move benefitted Richards, as he increased his lead running the higher line. Two more yellow periods came before lap 30. with Marlar briefly taking the lead down the backstretch. With 70 laps to go, sixth running Shannon Babb came to a stop with a flat tire. Back to green, McDowell retook third, and Billy Moyer, in his final night at Knoxville ahead of retirement, advanced to fifth. Five laps later, Moyer grabbed fourth, and Texas teenager Tyler Erb, who started in row nine, powered to sixth. Lap 38 saw Richards trapped behind a pair of lapped cars running for position, and Marlar blasted to the lead. Chase Junghans brought outa caution on lap 45 as he lost a wheel in turn four, and Chris Simpson went to the work area giving up a top ten spot. A three car battle for second developed back under green, with McDowell slipping around Richards, as Owens rejoined the fray. But just as he moved into contention, the engine appeared to let go on his # 20. Richards powered back to second, and now Scott Bloomquist, advanced to fourth, running around the bottom of the track. Just past the halfway mark, Richards was challenging Marlar, but Tyler erb slowed in turn two, with the yellow flying. Back under green, Bloomquist moved to second, and eighth running Brandon Sheppard entered the top five. Marlar continued to drive the high line, with Bloomquist on the bottom, as McDowell faded to tenth. on a lap 59 yellow, McDowell retired to his pit. The restart saw Bloomer move in to challenge for the lead. Meanwhile, tenth starting Bobby Pierce, who had been lurking outside the top five before falling to 13th, reentered the top five. Following a lap 63 caution, Pierce, the World 100 winner, took fourth. But he smacked the turn four wall on lap 67, damaging his spoiler, losing several positions. Marlar had built a nice lead before Bloomquist started his push with 25 to go. A caution at this point was followed by Sheppard moving to fourth, soon losing to spot to a now surging Pierce. On lap 84, Sheppards top five run ended, and back under green, the two leaders ran side by side. But four circuits later, Richards powered around Bloomer to second, with Marlar well out front. With four laps to go, Richards bad Knoxville luck reared its ugly head, as he ducked to the pits. But there was no catching Marlar, who added his name to the list of prestigious Knoxville winners on this 13 edition of the late model nats. Bloomquist, apparently running with no power steering, came up one spot short of his third nationals win. Pierce crossed the line in third. Moyer suddenly slowed with less than two laps to go, holding on for fifth as Shane Clanton took fourth as the pair exited turn four coming to the checkers. Jimmy Mars came home sixth, ahead of Tim McCreadie, Florida driver Kyle Bronson, Dennis Erb Jr., and Darrell Lanigan. By my count, 13 cars were still running at the checkers. with Don Oneal, Mahder, and Lance rounding out the finishers.
The final checkers fell around 10:00 on what turned out to be a nearly perfect evening, weather wise. Although it was a relatively large margin of victory for Marlar, there was plenty of great racing, as this show never disaapoints, and has been on my " can't miss " list for 13 years.
Tonight, it will be back to Quincy Raceways for the next to last night of weekly racing for 2016. I am expecting some extra cars in the UMP late model and modified classes, as the points season winds down. Hope to see you there!
The evening began with a 19 car 15 lap C main on the big fairgrounds half mile oval, with national hot shoe Morgan Bagley and Iowa standout Joel Callahan on row one. Five cars were set to transfer to the B-main event. Bagley took the early lead on the tacky fast surface, taking row two starter Rob Toland along. Just after the half way mark, Toland slowed, with heavy smoke pouring from his # 39, ending his second place run. During the caution, another local Iowa racer, Nick Marolf, also forfeited a transfer spot as he headed to the trailer. With Bagley firmly in control, the caution came out once more for a slowing Justin Duty, setting up a one lap dash to the finish. Bagley held on for the win over former Iowan Matt Furman, Mason Ziegler, Ray Guss Jr., and Rich Bell in the transfer positions. Lucas Oil rookie of the year contender Colten Flinner tagged the tail of the race, taking a few laps, as he was locked into the A main with a series provisional.
Next came the 20 lap B main, with six cars headed to the tail of the A main along with Flinner and a highest point not in the show provisional. Gregg Satterlee took off from the pole, fairly cruising to the win. The real battle came for the final transfer spot. with Jason Rauen edging Frank Heckenast Jr and R C Whitwell for sixth. In between, Chad Simpson took second followed by Chad Mahder, Tim Lance, and Kent Robinson. Spencer Diercks received the second provisional spot.
I am sure the folks at home watching the live telecast of this event gleaned some interesting info from the talking heads, but it just feels like unnecessary down time sitting in the grandstands. Interestingly, series officials did decide to run all 32 A main cars through a pre race check of rear deck height, and apparently several cars did not pass. They were allowed to return to the trailer to make adjustments.
Finally it was race time, with Josh Richards, who scored a Friday night sweep, and Jimmy Owens on row one. Owens took the early lead ahead of Richards and third starting Dale McDowell. The leaders hit slower traffic by lap eight, and three circuits later, Richards grabbed the top spot. Following a lap 14 caution, McDowell moved to second on the Delaware restart, with Owens falling back a bit. About lap 18, Tennessee driver Mike Marlar, who started fourth, wheeled his yellow # 157 to third using the high line around the speedway. On the next trip around, Marlar grabbed the second position. Lap 23 saw traffic come into play again, and with Marlar closing, Richards was forced to move up the track to negotiate the lapped cars. The move benefitted Richards, as he increased his lead running the higher line. Two more yellow periods came before lap 30. with Marlar briefly taking the lead down the backstretch. With 70 laps to go, sixth running Shannon Babb came to a stop with a flat tire. Back to green, McDowell retook third, and Billy Moyer, in his final night at Knoxville ahead of retirement, advanced to fifth. Five laps later, Moyer grabbed fourth, and Texas teenager Tyler Erb, who started in row nine, powered to sixth. Lap 38 saw Richards trapped behind a pair of lapped cars running for position, and Marlar blasted to the lead. Chase Junghans brought outa caution on lap 45 as he lost a wheel in turn four, and Chris Simpson went to the work area giving up a top ten spot. A three car battle for second developed back under green, with McDowell slipping around Richards, as Owens rejoined the fray. But just as he moved into contention, the engine appeared to let go on his # 20. Richards powered back to second, and now Scott Bloomquist, advanced to fourth, running around the bottom of the track. Just past the halfway mark, Richards was challenging Marlar, but Tyler erb slowed in turn two, with the yellow flying. Back under green, Bloomquist moved to second, and eighth running Brandon Sheppard entered the top five. Marlar continued to drive the high line, with Bloomquist on the bottom, as McDowell faded to tenth. on a lap 59 yellow, McDowell retired to his pit. The restart saw Bloomer move in to challenge for the lead. Meanwhile, tenth starting Bobby Pierce, who had been lurking outside the top five before falling to 13th, reentered the top five. Following a lap 63 caution, Pierce, the World 100 winner, took fourth. But he smacked the turn four wall on lap 67, damaging his spoiler, losing several positions. Marlar had built a nice lead before Bloomquist started his push with 25 to go. A caution at this point was followed by Sheppard moving to fourth, soon losing to spot to a now surging Pierce. On lap 84, Sheppards top five run ended, and back under green, the two leaders ran side by side. But four circuits later, Richards powered around Bloomer to second, with Marlar well out front. With four laps to go, Richards bad Knoxville luck reared its ugly head, as he ducked to the pits. But there was no catching Marlar, who added his name to the list of prestigious Knoxville winners on this 13 edition of the late model nats. Bloomquist, apparently running with no power steering, came up one spot short of his third nationals win. Pierce crossed the line in third. Moyer suddenly slowed with less than two laps to go, holding on for fifth as Shane Clanton took fourth as the pair exited turn four coming to the checkers. Jimmy Mars came home sixth, ahead of Tim McCreadie, Florida driver Kyle Bronson, Dennis Erb Jr., and Darrell Lanigan. By my count, 13 cars were still running at the checkers. with Don Oneal, Mahder, and Lance rounding out the finishers.
The final checkers fell around 10:00 on what turned out to be a nearly perfect evening, weather wise. Although it was a relatively large margin of victory for Marlar, there was plenty of great racing, as this show never disaapoints, and has been on my " can't miss " list for 13 years.
Tonight, it will be back to Quincy Raceways for the next to last night of weekly racing for 2016. I am expecting some extra cars in the UMP late model and modified classes, as the points season winds down. Hope to see you there!
Monday, September 12, 2016
Burgtorf Bags the Big Check at Quincy
A solid field of 75 cars came through the pit gate Sunday night at Quincy Raceways, led by 22 UMP modifieds and 20 UMP late models. With the IMCA Super Nationals wrapping up on Saturday, points in the three IMCA classes cannot be awarded, so track promoters opened up the rules to allow URSA B-mods to run with the sport mods and UMP street stocks to compete with the stock cars. Several of the regular sport mod drivers took the night off, and the count in the three support classes was eleven in each.
Heavy rains during the latter portion of the week created a somewhat rough racing surface for the heat races, but grading during intermission left us with a lightning fast .29 mile oval come feature time.
All but one of the stock cars took the feature green flag, With Michael Larsen winning the drag race into turn one. With no points being given, Brian Hoener turned over driving duties in his # 66 to former track champion Aaron Brocksieck. Even though Aaron has not been a regular competitor for several seasons, he picked up where he had left off, winning his heat race and starting alongside Larsen in the front row. Brocksieck grabbed the top spot before lap one was scored, and before Jake Powers brought out the caution on lap two. Back under green, Brocksieck was hugging the inside line, although Larsen was looking for racing room inside the # 66. As the leaders dueled, Rudy Zaragoza joined the hunt running a higher line. On lap eight, first time visitor Mike Hardwick in one of the three Jacksonville, Il team 67 cars wound up on his side with Dean Kratzer pointing skyward atop the Hardwick car. An engine fire in Kratzers car added to the drama, but both drivers were uninjured, and soon we were back under green. Zaragoza took over the runner up spot, and laps 11 - 13 saw the leaders running side by side. On lap 14 Brocksieck opened a bit of a cushion, and Larsen tried to get underneath Zaragoza, who slid sideways trying to hold the spot. Point leader Abe Huls took advantage of the mix up to move into the runnerup spot, but this night belonged to Brocksieck. Zaragoza recovered to take third, followed by Brandon Savage and Jerry Jansen.
The UMP Big Ten late model $2,000 to win headliner was up next. Dewayne Kiefer was unable to make the call after running third in his heat, so 19 cars came to the track. Dustin Griffin had set quick time at 13.513 seconds, and outdueled Rickey Frankel in heat one. For Frankel it was his third race and first at Quincy since the hauler crash early in the year that had sidelined him with a shoulder injury. Mark Burgtorf had bested track point leader Denny Woodworth in heat two, while traveler Kevin Weaver, chasing UMP points, topped Jason Perry in the third ten lapper. The top six were then inverted for the 25 lap feature, putting Perry and Woodworth on the front row. It took three tries to get one lap in, as first Bo Brockway, the two time winner McKay Wenger had issues that brought out the caution and sent them to the back of the grid. When racing finally got under way, Perry jumped to the lead taking Weaver along as Woodworth was shuffled back. By lap six Perry was encountering slower traffic, and appeared to make contact with Mike Hammerle, sending the veteran spinning, and bringing out the caution. Back to racing, Burgtorf advanced to fourth, and two laps later he moved to third. The 14th circuit saw Brockway slow as his ride bellowed smoke bringing out another yellow. Under green, Frankel lost several spots, and the yellow flew again on lap 17 for debris. On each Delaware restart, Wever had chosen the inside, leaving the top line to Burgtorf, and on the lap 17 restart, the 16 time track champion took over the second spot. However Griffin lost the handle, in turn three, collecting Chuck Mitchell before the lap was scored. Back under green, Burgtorf again had the runner up spot. Lap 18 saw another caution, as Vance Wilson, subbing in brother Terrys car in the feature, made contact with the front stretch wall. Woodworth was forced to the hot pit with a flat, rejoining the back of the pack. As the green waved, Weaver retook second, and on lap 21 Frankel headed to the infield with rear end problems. Lap 22 saw Shaun Deering, making his late model debut subbing for injured Cliff Powell, slow on the front stretch as the caution waved again. With three circuits to go, a melee occurred on the backstretch as Perry got out of shape, contacting Weaver as he tried to make the pass. Burgtorf was able to fly by, but Weaver did a pair of 360 degree spins in front of the pack. Brian Diveley was actually the only car stopping on the track, and with the caution out, track officials were obviously befuddled with what to do. The cars circled the oval for several alps, and a couple drivers stopped I presume to offer " suggestions." Finally it was decided that all cars would get there spot back as they were scored on the previous lap. Honestly, I am not sure what my call would have been, so I will give officials a pass on this one. With three laps remaining, Burgtorf charged around Perry, to pick up his second win of the season. Perry held off Weaver for second, Wenger came back to score a fourth place finish ahead of Justin Reed. Diveley led the second five, topping Derek Fetter, Woodworth, Wilson, and Clint Kirkham, who caught a ride in the Laine Vanzandt # 21V.
Next up was the sport compact feature, with eleven starters. Jeffrey Delonjay and point leader Kimberly Abbott sat on row one, with Delonjay taking the early lead. On lap four, as Alyssa Steele entered turn one, the throttle stuck on her # 55s, causing a multi car scrum. Brandon Lambert took a roll in his # 14L, while Steele hammered the guard rail separating the track from the turn two pit area. With a long delay in the works and the clock nearing 9:30, I regretfully took my leave to head across the river. Congrats to Abbott on her win over Craig Bangert and Brandon Herron.
Another driver chasing UMP points, Ray Bollinger already had one UMP modified feature win under his belt at QR this season, and he knocked Michael Long off his streak of quick qualifying time. But feature time was a different story, as Michael picked up another win followed by Bollinger, and another prior winner, Rick Conoyer.
The hottest driver at the track not named Long is Brandon Lennox, and he scored another sport mod win ahead of Tony Dunker and Joey Gower.
QR has two more race nights on the schedule, and following a trip to the Knoxville, Iowa late model nationals, I will hopefully be on hand next Sunday as we count down the 2016 season.
Heavy rains during the latter portion of the week created a somewhat rough racing surface for the heat races, but grading during intermission left us with a lightning fast .29 mile oval come feature time.
All but one of the stock cars took the feature green flag, With Michael Larsen winning the drag race into turn one. With no points being given, Brian Hoener turned over driving duties in his # 66 to former track champion Aaron Brocksieck. Even though Aaron has not been a regular competitor for several seasons, he picked up where he had left off, winning his heat race and starting alongside Larsen in the front row. Brocksieck grabbed the top spot before lap one was scored, and before Jake Powers brought out the caution on lap two. Back under green, Brocksieck was hugging the inside line, although Larsen was looking for racing room inside the # 66. As the leaders dueled, Rudy Zaragoza joined the hunt running a higher line. On lap eight, first time visitor Mike Hardwick in one of the three Jacksonville, Il team 67 cars wound up on his side with Dean Kratzer pointing skyward atop the Hardwick car. An engine fire in Kratzers car added to the drama, but both drivers were uninjured, and soon we were back under green. Zaragoza took over the runner up spot, and laps 11 - 13 saw the leaders running side by side. On lap 14 Brocksieck opened a bit of a cushion, and Larsen tried to get underneath Zaragoza, who slid sideways trying to hold the spot. Point leader Abe Huls took advantage of the mix up to move into the runnerup spot, but this night belonged to Brocksieck. Zaragoza recovered to take third, followed by Brandon Savage and Jerry Jansen.
The UMP Big Ten late model $2,000 to win headliner was up next. Dewayne Kiefer was unable to make the call after running third in his heat, so 19 cars came to the track. Dustin Griffin had set quick time at 13.513 seconds, and outdueled Rickey Frankel in heat one. For Frankel it was his third race and first at Quincy since the hauler crash early in the year that had sidelined him with a shoulder injury. Mark Burgtorf had bested track point leader Denny Woodworth in heat two, while traveler Kevin Weaver, chasing UMP points, topped Jason Perry in the third ten lapper. The top six were then inverted for the 25 lap feature, putting Perry and Woodworth on the front row. It took three tries to get one lap in, as first Bo Brockway, the two time winner McKay Wenger had issues that brought out the caution and sent them to the back of the grid. When racing finally got under way, Perry jumped to the lead taking Weaver along as Woodworth was shuffled back. By lap six Perry was encountering slower traffic, and appeared to make contact with Mike Hammerle, sending the veteran spinning, and bringing out the caution. Back to racing, Burgtorf advanced to fourth, and two laps later he moved to third. The 14th circuit saw Brockway slow as his ride bellowed smoke bringing out another yellow. Under green, Frankel lost several spots, and the yellow flew again on lap 17 for debris. On each Delaware restart, Wever had chosen the inside, leaving the top line to Burgtorf, and on the lap 17 restart, the 16 time track champion took over the second spot. However Griffin lost the handle, in turn three, collecting Chuck Mitchell before the lap was scored. Back under green, Burgtorf again had the runner up spot. Lap 18 saw another caution, as Vance Wilson, subbing in brother Terrys car in the feature, made contact with the front stretch wall. Woodworth was forced to the hot pit with a flat, rejoining the back of the pack. As the green waved, Weaver retook second, and on lap 21 Frankel headed to the infield with rear end problems. Lap 22 saw Shaun Deering, making his late model debut subbing for injured Cliff Powell, slow on the front stretch as the caution waved again. With three circuits to go, a melee occurred on the backstretch as Perry got out of shape, contacting Weaver as he tried to make the pass. Burgtorf was able to fly by, but Weaver did a pair of 360 degree spins in front of the pack. Brian Diveley was actually the only car stopping on the track, and with the caution out, track officials were obviously befuddled with what to do. The cars circled the oval for several alps, and a couple drivers stopped I presume to offer " suggestions." Finally it was decided that all cars would get there spot back as they were scored on the previous lap. Honestly, I am not sure what my call would have been, so I will give officials a pass on this one. With three laps remaining, Burgtorf charged around Perry, to pick up his second win of the season. Perry held off Weaver for second, Wenger came back to score a fourth place finish ahead of Justin Reed. Diveley led the second five, topping Derek Fetter, Woodworth, Wilson, and Clint Kirkham, who caught a ride in the Laine Vanzandt # 21V.
Next up was the sport compact feature, with eleven starters. Jeffrey Delonjay and point leader Kimberly Abbott sat on row one, with Delonjay taking the early lead. On lap four, as Alyssa Steele entered turn one, the throttle stuck on her # 55s, causing a multi car scrum. Brandon Lambert took a roll in his # 14L, while Steele hammered the guard rail separating the track from the turn two pit area. With a long delay in the works and the clock nearing 9:30, I regretfully took my leave to head across the river. Congrats to Abbott on her win over Craig Bangert and Brandon Herron.
Another driver chasing UMP points, Ray Bollinger already had one UMP modified feature win under his belt at QR this season, and he knocked Michael Long off his streak of quick qualifying time. But feature time was a different story, as Michael picked up another win followed by Bollinger, and another prior winner, Rick Conoyer.
The hottest driver at the track not named Long is Brandon Lennox, and he scored another sport mod win ahead of Tony Dunker and Joey Gower.
QR has two more race nights on the schedule, and following a trip to the Knoxville, Iowa late model nationals, I will hopefully be on hand next Sunday as we count down the 2016 season.
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