McCarl Tops MOWA Sprints at Quincy

The Midwest Open Wheel Association 410 sprint cars made their only scheduled stop at Quincy Raceways Sunday night before a packed house. It was supposed to be night three of a weekend swing, but the Saturday show at Pevely,Mo fell victim to the weather. So 27 of the winged warriors signed in at the Bullring to battle for a $2,000 top prize. With specials galore in the area, the other classes were light on cars, but it was a stellar field for the sprint fans to enjoy. Youngster Ryan Robinson from the state of California set quick time in qualifying with a lap of 11.741 seconds around the .29 mile oval, with Jason Perry topping the UMP super late models with a time of 13.197 seconds. Eight heat races and a B-main for the sprints followed by a reworking of the dry slick track surface took us to feature time. The IMCA stock cars were up first, only four cars signed in on this holiday weekend, and Jake Powers was unable to answer the bell for the shortened ten lap event. Dean Kratzer jumped to the early lead, with Jerry Jansen staying close. The two veteran ran side by side for several laps before Kratzer opened up a lead. Coming to the white flag, last weeks winner Brian Hoener brought out the yellow with a spin in turn one setting up a dash to the checkers. Jansen powered ahead on the restart, but bobbled slightly in turn four, with Kratzer charging back to the lead at the stripe. Hoener also got by for second. The sprints were up next for 25 laps. Chris Urich grabbed the early lead for his front row start. On the third circuit, third starting Terry McCarl advanced to second. By lap six the leaders had caught the back of the pack, but the caution flew at a this time. On the single file restart, McCarl pulled a successful slide job to grab the lead and the future Hall of Famer - he will be inducted next Saturday - began to stretch his lead. The red flag came out on lap nine, as Logan Faucon flipped his ride between turns three and four. McCarl again built an advantage on the restart, catching the tail end cars by the half way mark. He was running the high line near the tall cushion, but had to move around the track to negotiate lapped traffic. Urich began to cut into his margin by lap 18, but the red waved again on lap 20 for a collision on the backstretch that saw Jeremy Standridge flip a couple of times. Paul Nienhauser slipped past Urich for second on the restart, but Urich returned the favor ahead of another caution. Back under green for the final six laps, McCarl cruised to the win, holding off Urich, the popular Nienhauser, Joe B Miller, and Jim Moughan. The racing surface was now hard and slick as the UMP late models came to the track for 25 laps. Heat race winner Gord Gundaker, looking for his third win in a row at QR, pulled a four for the invert, putting hard luck Rickey Frankel on the pole alongside Perry. Frankel shot to the lead with his # 33 glued to the bottom line. With the pack dueling behind him, Frankel began to stretch his lead. With the leaders running the preferred low groove, Dustin Griffin moved up the track on lap seven, two laps later Gundaker followed suit. Gundaker took over the runner spot on lap twelve, but two laps later Perry regained the spot. Meanwhile the pair of # 20s, Griffin and Alan Westling ran side by side behind them. Griffin damaged his front end on about lap 17, retiring to the trailer. With no cautions to bunch the field, Frankel cruised to his first win of 2017. Gundaker was second at the checkers over Perry, Westling was solid in fourth, and Denny Woodworth eased past Jamie Wilson at the flag stand. The IMCA sport compacts ran next for 15 laps. Kimberly Abbott looped her ride in turn three on the opening circuit, collecting three other cars, with David Primm heading to the trailer. Back under green, it was Brandon Lambert jumping to the lead. The only other caution came on lap three for Darin Weisinger Jr with a flat on his # 11. Lambert stayed in charge from flag to flag, besting Craig Bangert, Brandon Reu, Barry Taft, and Casey Lambert. The UMP Pro late models and the UMP modifieds had the night off, so the final feature of the night was for the IMCA sport mods. All 16 cars came to the green for 18 laps of action. Bobby Anders shot to the lead from the pole, as Vance Wilson in the Chuck Ancell # 28 powered to second. Brandon Lennox was also on the move, taking second on lap four. One lap later, Lennox stuck his nose under Anders coming off turn four, and the end result saw Wilson go hard into the front stretch fence, and Lennox with heavy damage to the right side of his mount. Both drivers were done for the night. Back to racing, it was now a two car breakaway with Anders and Tony Dunker out front. A yellow flag waved on about lap ten, and back to racing Justin Ebbing joined the front pack. However contact from Austin Howes sent Ebbing for a spin, with both cars going to the tail of the field on the restart. Bak to green, Dunker charged to the lead as Anders bobbled abit, and Dunker was able to open a comfortable advantage. One more caution slowed the action with three circuits remaining, but there would be no catching Dunker. Tanner Klingele made a late race charge to second, Ebbing and Howes rebounded for third and fourth, and Anders settled for fifth. Next Sunday, the UMP super lates and IMCA stock cars are scheduled to have a night off, with 305 sprints set to join the UMP Pro lates, UMP modifieds, IMCA sport mods and IMCA sport compacts on the card. First though, I will be attempting to pull off the MLRA super late model trifecta starting Thursday in Memphis,Mo., then Friday in Donnellson, Iowa, and Saturday in Moberly,Mo. The rumor mill has Show Me 100 winner Bobby Pierce headed to Donnellson, at least! Come on, weatherman, give us a break! Hopefully we will see you somewhere Racin' Down the Road!

Another Beautiful Night at Donnellson

While cranky Mother Nature wiped out racing in most of eastern Iowa, the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson escaped with comfortable temps and a gorgeous sunset. Between the rainouts and the addition of the Sprint Invaders and vintage cars, the pits were jammed with race cars. A total of 18 heat races, including three for the 11 vintage cars, A sprint B-main and shake up dash set the stage for feature racing, with no intermission needed or taken. First up was the 15 lapper for the IMCA sport compacts. All 20 cars took the green, with outstanding rookie Daniel Fellows jumping to the lead from row two. With Brandon Lambert in hot pursuit, those two broke away from the pack. On the fifth lap, Lambert found his way to the lead. Meanwhile the father son duo of Mike and Brandon Reu raced side by side, lap after lap for third. Barry Taft had issues in his heat race, forcing him to start in row nine, but he quickly charged to seventh. With no caution periods, Taft was forced to settle in behind the leaders. Lambert held on for the win, followed by Fellows, Mike Reu, Brandon Reu, and Kimberly Abbott. All but one of the 15 IMCA stock cars rolled out of staging for their 18 lap main event. Jim Remon grabbed the lead from row one. with Dean Kratzer on his bumper. Jason Cook was an also ran in his heat race, but powered quickly to third. Following a lap six caution and a Delaware restart, John Oliver Jr. took fourth, and one lap later, Cook took the lead. The front pair put some distance on the field, while Shane Paris and Kratzer battled for third. Cook was running the low line, while Oliver ran the top side., and with five laps to go, it was a side by side duel. Oliver edged ahead at the line with three to go, but Cook fought back down the backstretch. Oliver was ahead by a nose as the white flag waved, and he also won the drag race out of turn four to the checkers by inches. Paris came home third ahead of Jeremy Pundt and Redmon. The preliminary events whittled the 27 car 360 sprint field to 20 for the 25 lap feature. Future sprint car Hall of Famer Terry McCarl was a surprise entrant, and he showed his special talent by winning his heat and the shake up dash. Curiously, to me at least, the Invaders put the top two finishers from the three heats in the dash, but it seems to be meaningless, as the winner, instead of earning the pole position for the feature, then draws for his spot. McCarl drew a six, putting him outside, row three. Jamie Ball jumped to the early lead, opening a sizable lead running the high line, before encountering slower traffic by lap six. Chris Martin was now closing on Ball, while McCarl had moved quickly to third, and was biding his time there. The only yellow of the race came on the tenth circuit, but the single file restart saw no changes up front. Randy Martin appeared to be the fastest car for a few laps after the restart, as he moved to fourth. Meanwhile, McCarl was searching for a line lower on the track as the leader pounded the cushion. Traffic again became a factor just past the half way mark, with the younger Martin and McCarl closing in on Ball, with McArl finding a line to take second. The leaders were running next to and sometimes touching the guardrail, but when Ball bobbled slightly with three to go, McCarl drove around for the lead, and the sweep of his events. Ball settled for second, followed by the Martins, Chris and Randy. The UMP Pro Crate late models were up next for 20 laps, with Tommy Elston drawing the pole position next to Sam Halstead. Tommy jumped to a large lead followed by " Superman " Sam, with seventh starting Denny Woodworth moving to fourth behind Jeff Guengerich on lap three. While Elston had a big lead, Halstead put distance between himself and Guengerich before a lap nine caution for Chase Frank. The Delaware restart saw Guengerich take second, but the caution waved one lap later when Brandon Savage and Brian Crebo got together between turns one and two. Back under green, Elston again pulled away, while Guengerich and Woodworth locked into a side by side battle for second. Lap 13 saw Todd Frank spin in the same corner, with son Gunner Frank taking evasive action to avoid Dad. Unfortunately, Brandon Ruffcorn in his first night out this season, got the worst of the deal, suffering race ending front end damage. Again Elston shot to a big lead, while the pack sliced and diced behind him. Guengerich held second, with Halstead taking third on lap 14. At the checkers, it was Elston with his first LCS win of 2017 followed by Guengerich, Halstead, Woodworth and a rebounding Todd Frank. Next came Matt Strassheim, piloting a second car from the Lynn Richard stable, which looks like the car driven two weeks prior by Greg Kastli. Savage, Gunner Frank, Crebo, and Chase Frank completed the top ten, with Ruffcorn credited with 11th. John Oliver Jr doubled up by putting the Cossell racing #15 out front from flag to flag in the IMCA sport mod feature with no serious challenges following a caution about lap seven. Tony Dunker raced his way to second, with Brandon Lennox coming home third. IMCA modifieds saw 21 cars sign in. UMP hot shoe Michael Long has added IMCA racing to his resume on occasion, and he was one of several surprised entrants on Friday. Michael showed his prowess by cruising to a heat race win, then coming from row three to nab the early lead and pick up the main event win. Hunter Marriott was unable to run down the # 18L, settling for second, followed by Colby Springsteen and Brandon Banks, as visitors dominated the class on the fast smooth 3/8 mile oval. A long day at work, and I was on the road before the vintage cars finished off the 25 event program. Sunday night, the MOWA 410 sprint cars will take center stage at Quincy Raceways along with UMP super late models, IMCA stck cars, sport mods and sport compacts, with the UMP Pro late models and UMP modifieds getting the night off. Then next weekend will kick off early as the MLRA super late models head back to the Tri State area for a three night swing, Thursday night at the super fast Scotland County Speedway in Memphis,Mo., Friday night in Donnellson, and Saturday night at the Randolph County Raceway in Moberly,Mo. Hopefully, I will be able to catch all three shows, and I hope to see you there!

Repeat Winners at Quincy

With pretty much the entire Midwest rained out this weekend, Quincy Raceways worked diligently to get racing action in on Sunday night. All six classes were on the card, but the counts were lower than might have been expected. Those who came to watch were not short changed, however, as the heavy weekend rains left us with a hammer down track with breathtaking speeds. Qualifying began with Michael Long topping the 14 UMP modifieds with a lap of 14.270 seconds. Dustin Griffin made his season debut in the UMP late model division and paced the ten cars with a lap of 12.802 seconds. Heat race action was interesting in that the inside groove proved to be the quick way around the .29 mile oval, a marked departure from the norm. Feature racing began with the IMCA sport compacts. Brandon Lambert took off in the lead, soon challenged by Barry Taft, and the two ran the inside lane. Meanwhile Daniel Fellows came from row four using the middle line and powered to the lead about lap five. He began to stretch his advantage before the only caution waved on lap eight for debris. Back under green Fellows held the lead while Taft cleared Lambert for second. The order stayed the same to the checkers, as the rookie Fellows picked up his second QR win of the young season. The UMP mods were up next, with all but visiting Todd Bates coming to the track. But on the parade lap, Kevin Blackburn could not keep his # B4 running, so it was a dozen cars under green. Michael Long came from row two to pace the opening lap before Dave Weitholder got sideways in turn one, collecting Frankie Wellman bringing out the yellow. Visitor Brian Wolfmeier was running second when he looped his #37 on lap three, stacking up three more cars. Weitholder was back to fourth when racing resumed, and Wellman was also on the move. The caution flew one more time, but nothing would hold Long back on this night, as he picked up his second straight win at QR. Peoria Speedway regular Allen Weisser made the trip down with his mod and his Pro crate late model, and he turned in a runner up finish to Long. Weitholder powered back to third, with Wellman and Wolfmeier completing the top five. The UMP super late models were up next with heat winners Griffin and McKay Wenger on the front row. Lap one saw those two go three wide with row two starter Gordy Gundaker. By now a hole had developed in turn one and two, and Denny Woodworth and Rickey Frankel got together ending Frankels run. Racing again, Gundaker grabbed second as the top three broke from the pack. A debris yellow flew on lap six, and under green, Wenger and Gundaker swapped the runner up spot. The caution came out again about lap ten as Alan Westling had a tire go down. Back under green, Griffin exited the track with a broken rearend about lap twelve. Gundaker was now in charge, and fourth starting Jason Perry, who had fallen back early, jumped from fifth to second. Lap 16 saw Rusty Griffaw break a wheel, and he was late coming back from the hot pit, coming out well behind the leaders. Meanwhile Wenger retook second as we stayed green for the final nine laps. Wenger challenged Gundaker, and the two made contact off turn two, slowing there momentum, letting Perry back in the fray. At the checkers it was Gundaker also making it two wins in a row. Wenger came home second, followed by Perry, Derek Fetter, Griffaw, and visiting Bill Kettering Jr. The largest field of cars was in the sport mod class, and 15 of the 17 on hand came trackside for the 18 lap feature. Originally the sport mods were scheduled off this week, but they were added late, so it was a non points race with the rules opened up to allow USRA b mods to compete. Austen Becerra jumped out front from the pole position. By lap three, Justin Ebbing was out front with Brandon Lennox hot on his heels. With Lennox moving to the lead, the caution waved on lap five, putting Ebbing back out front. Becerra took over on the restart, but another yellow negated the move. Another try saw Lennox in charge, with Becerra staying close before he bobbled in turn four. After another pair of yellows, the field was set single file for the final four laps. Lennox picked up his first QR win of 2017. Western Illinois University graduate Tanner Klingele charged to the second spot followed by Ebbing, Vance Wilson, and Joey Gower. The UMP Pro Crate late models had a disappointing season low seven cars sign in. Weisser had captured the heat win, and he sat on row one for the feature with Tommy Elston. Elston jumped to the early lead and began to open a comfortable margin over the field. Meanwhile seventh starting Woodworth, who had suffered a flat tire in the heat moved to third on lap five, and cleared Weisser on the eighth circuit. As Elson encountered slower traffic in the non stop race he was forced to slow his pace, and Woodworth began to eat into his lead. Although Denny got close, Tommy was never really threatened as he picked up his second QR win of the year. Woodworth settled for second, flowed by Weisser, Brandon Savage, the Vanzandts, Charles and Laine, and Trent Grotz. Brian Hoener also went back to back in the IMCA stock car finale after getting around Dean Kratzer just past the half way mark. This coming Sunday, the MOWA 410 sprints will be racing for a $2,000 top prize at Quincy. The schedule also includes the UMP super late models, IMCA stock cars, sport mods and sport compacts. The late models may be racing for extra money, check the Quincy Raceways website later this week for details. Also, the 360 Sprint Invaders will join the regular classes this Friday at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson. Hopefully I can catch both of these shows. I would like to offer condolences to the family of one of my favorite "old timers," Mike Niffeneger. RIP, Mike.

Great Weather, Good Racing at Donnellson

Friday night, I headed straight from work to the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson for my only racing this weekend. Hot laps started on time, concluded quickly, and we actually had down time waiting for race time. The heats ticked off quickly, followed by the briefest of intermissions. First in the feature lineup was the 15 lap IMCA sport compact finale. All but one of the 15 cars signed in took the green flag, with Jake Dietrich on the trailer. Daniel Fellows took the early lead from his front row starting spot. followed by Brandon Lambert and third row starter Barry Taft. By the second lap, Fellows and Taft were racing side by side for the lead, with row four starter Kimberly Abbott closing in third. The third trip around saw Taft out front with Abbott in second. Lambert took the second spot on lap six, but drifted high in turn two, falling to fourth. With the front duo leading the way, Fellows and Lambert staged a great battle for third. Abbott kept up the pressure, but the front pair swapped spots from the week before, with Taft taking the checkers ahead of Abbott, Lambert, Fellows, and Travis Demint. The race went non stop. The most competitive class at LCS week in and week out has been the IMCA stock cars, and Friday was no exception. The car count again was down a bit, but all 13 on hand took the feature green. Jason Cook powered from row two to lead the first lap, with row three starter Abe Huls jumped to second. Cook was running the high line in turns three and four and the low groove through one and two, while Huls used the inside line all the way around the 3/8 mile oval. As the laps clicked off, Abe moved his line higher, meanwhile John Oliver Jr was on the move, coming from row five to fifth on the sixth circuit. Cook stretched his lead until the caution waved just before halfway, on lap nine. On the Delaware restart, Huls and Jason See ran side by side for second while Oliver took over fourth. With five trips around remaining, Oliver used the top groove to charge to second, but by now Cook had opened a nice lead. Oliver whittled down the margin, but it was Cook first to the checkers. In victory lane, he said it was 17 years to the day since his first feature win. Meanwhile, it was said the 44 years ago to the day, John Oliver Jrs grandpa Jim picked up the feature win on the old Donnellson half mile! Pretty sure I was there for that one, too...Oliver, Huls see, sixth row starter Dustin Griffiths and Jeremy Pundt followed Cook to the checkers. The UMP Pro late models ran next. A dozen cars took the green flag, with Chase Frank on the trailer after smacking the front stretch guardrail in his heat, and Derek Liles also failing to make the call after running third in his heat. Jeff Guengerich started outside row one and took the early lead. But fourth starting Denny Woodworth applied pressure early as the two veterans ran side by side for laps two through four. Woodworth was losing ground coming off turn two, and by lap five, Guengerich had pulled slightly ahead. A lap six yellow bunched the field, and the yellow waved again one lap later for debris. Again Woodworth applied pressure, with another caution at the halfway mark on lap ten. Back under green, third starting Sam Halstead, who had fallen back a bit, rebounded to challenge Woodworth for second, while row five starter Tommy Elston powered to fourth. Again, Guengerich was dominant coming off turn two, and while Woodworth made it close, the # 15R lead the distance for his first win of the season. Woodworth cdame home in the runner up spot, followed by Halstead, Elston, and IMCA hot shoe and first heat winner Nick Marolf. Brandon Savage led the second five ahead of Todd and Gunner Frank, veteran IMCA racer Greg Kastli, trying out a crate engine, and Charles and Laine Vanzandt. Derek Sammons was the only DNF in the main event. With the high paying special this weekend in Farley,Iowa, both modified classes were down a bit, but a dozen cars took the green in the IMCA modified finale. Dennis Laveine grabbed the point from row two to lead early. Jeff Waterman came from row four to third on the second circuit, taking second one lap later. Lap six saw Waterman take the lead in the battle of # 71s. Jeff opened a big lead, while Laveine also held a sizable advantage over third running Dakota Simmons. With no cautions to slow the action, Waterman cruised to the win. Laveine claimed second, while Blake Woodruff out ran Simmons for third. Dean McGee completed the top five. With two full days of graduation activities for grandson number two ahead, I took my leave before Austen Becerra outdueled Tony Dunker to take the 12 car IMCA sport mod win. As I write this, area racers competing at Farley include Brandon Lennox on the front row of the $20,000 to win sport mod event at Farley tonight, with Michael Long rolling off in row five of the $50,000 to win modified headliner. Good luck to both! A quick reminder that Quincy Raceways will be idle this Sunday for Mothers Day. For those wanting a racing fix, the IMCA Deery Brother late models will be in action at East Moline, always a fun and action packed track, and The MARS late models will be battling for a $5,000 top prize at Spoon River Speedway near Banner,Il. I am not sure yet how next weekend will go for me, but hopefully it will include a nigft or two of racing!

Gundaker Makes Triumphant Return to Quincy

One week after a very low car count at Quincy Raceways, the entry list swelled to 90 on Sunday night. The first visit by the UMP Big Ten super late model series certainly helped, but 21 cars in the UMP modified class was a pleasant surprise. Promoter Ken Dobson made a mid week decision to add the UMP Pro Crate late models to the card, and with late notice, ten cars showed. The night started with Ray Bollinger setting a new modified track qualifying record with a fast lap of 14.218 seconds. Jason Perry then topped the super lates with a lap of 13.303 seconds on a track that would produce multiple grooves throughout the night. 14 heat races followed with an unusual number of cautions, but after a brief intermission, it was feature time. Tommy Elston and Denny Woodworth topped the crate heats and they shared the front row for the 18 lap feature. A lap one mixup forced Trent Grotz to take evasive action, and he suffered front end damage to his # 2HA. Still he managed to restart the event. Back to racing, Woodworth grabbed the lead, but five laps in Elston found an opening under Woodworth and the two raced side by side. A lap six caution set up a Delaware restart, with third running Sam Halstead retiring to the pits at this time. Woodworth was careful to protect the low groove after that as the top two checked out. Denny picked up his second crate win, besting Elston for the second straight wee after Tommy won on opening night. Brandon Savage ran a solid third followed by Guy Taylor,the Vanzandts, Laine and Charles, and Grotz. Next is was IMCA stock car time, with 11 cars on hand. Rudy Zaragoza failed to start the feature with his crate late, but he sat on the pole with his stock car, jumping to an early lead. As he exited turn four on lap two, he suddenly darted sideways - possibly due to a flat tire - jamming up the field. Michael Larsen was caught in no mans land and barrel rolled his # 48 twice in front of the charging pack. As the carnage was being sorted, Michael climbed back in his ride and drove it to the infield, although it may never again be race worthy. Abe Huls and Jerry Jansen also saw their night end with major damage, Zaragoza went to the trailer, and Dean Kratzer took his suddenly sick sounding ride to the pits. With five cars left to restart the 18 lapper, it quickly became a two car race. Brian Hoener eventually broke free, cruising to the win as no more cautions ensued. In his first night out in 2017, Beau Taylor rolled home in second. The UMP modified field was a strong one, but the 20 laps became a caution fest. Following a first lap multi car scrum, Michael Long charged from row three to take the early lead. Meanwhile, Rick Conoyer went to the high groove, charging to the lead on the third circuit. Following a lap seven caution, Long grabbed the lead, but another yellow put Conoyer back out front. A couple cautions on lap eight mixed the field, with Dave Weitholder and Bollinger easing past third running Donovan Lodge. On lap ten, Long did a slide job to take the lead, with Conoyer deciding to jump on the brakes off turn two. Mid pack starter Kevin Blackburn was now on the move, and when the caution waved with six laps remaining, Weitholder was now second and Blackburn third. Still more cautions followed, and with five laps to go, Blackburn took second as Weitholder and Conoyer battled for third. In the closing laps, Weitholder jumped the cushion in turn three, spoiling his good run. Blackburn closed on the leader, and with the crowd standing, Long and the # B4 crossed the line in a virtual dead heat. The scoring loop gave Long the advantage and the win. Conoyer, Lodge, Shaun Deering and Bollinger followed. It was now time for the Scottie 43 late model feature, honoring the Scott family, the original owners of the track. The race was actually 40 laps this year, the 43rd anniversary of the facility. Heat one winner Michael Kloos pulled a four for the invert, putting Rickey Frankel and heat three winner Gordy Gundaker on the front row. Frankel shot to the early lead, with Gundaker and heat two winner Rusty Schlenk hot on his heels. The caution waved for Ron McQueery, and on the Delaware restart, Gundaker chose the inside line in second. As Frankel continued to lead, the hard charging Schlenk rolled a tire off the rim on lap four and headed for the trailer as the yellow waved. Back to racing, it was Frankel and Gundaker in the low groove, third running Kloos up top, and Peery low and Woodworth high dueling for fourth. As slower traffic came into play Gundaker made his move to the lead., while Frankel made contact with Mike Hammerle. A caution just before the half way mark ended the night for Dewayne Kiefer, and on the restart Kloos moved to second. With the front pack now running the low groove, Gundaker opened a nice lead, and the second generation driver, a Quincy fan favorite, took the win and the $2,000 check home to St Charles,Mo. Kloos, Frankel, Woodworth and Jamie Wilson turned in top five performances, while Rusty Griffaw eased past Perry late for sixth. Derek Fetter, Jason Suhre and Matt Shannon complted the top ten. The clock now read nearly 10:00, so I regretfully headed to the car with two races remaining. Austin Howes topped the IMCA sport mod feature over Austen Becerra, Tanner Klingele and Tony Dunker. The IMCA sport compact finale apparently had some upside down action as well, with Brandon Lambert taking the checkers. Quincy Raceways will not be in action next Sunday, Mothers Day, and this will work out well for me, as my middle grandson, Parker will be graduating from high school. So plans for now are to take in the action Friday at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa. Maybe we will see you there!

Extra Cash Creates Extra Excitement at Donnellson

The Lucas Oil owned Midwest Late Model Racing Association made their first of two stops at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa on Thursday night, featuring a $3,000 to win 40 lap main event. And always the showman, promoter Mike Van Genderen also had added money in the four " support " classes, with a cool $1,000 to win in the IMCA classes of modifieds, sport mods, and stock cars, with the IMCA sport compacts slugging it out for A $300 top prize. Even with this race being run on a work night/school night, a large crowd was still on hand for the 6:45 hot laps, which started right on time. 124 race teams piled into the pit area, with group qualifying for the 33 late models up first, four cars at a time on the 3/8 mile oval. I will echo the sentiments of the " boss, " Jeff Broeg when I say I much prefer the passing points format used by the MLRA before this season, but at least time trialing gives us a good look at the cars in small groups. Overall fast time went to series star Terry Phillips from Springfield,Mo. with a lap of 15.358 seconds. With the straight up start in the heats, the fastest qualifier in each ten lapper picked up the win - Iowa drivers Chris and Chad Simpson, Dave Eckrich, and Phillips, as 16 cars were locked in to the feature. One B-main, with 15 of 17 eligible cars taking the green, with Paton Looney leading the six cars qualifying for the main event. Two series provisionals would complete the 24 starters. The track was hammer down fast as the first feature came to the track, 24 IMCA stock cars for 20 laps. The stock car heats had been epic, and the feature lived up to the challenge. Third generation driver John Oliver Jr. came from row two to grab the early lead, and he stretched out a comfortable advantage as the field sliced and diced behind him. As the laps clicked off, sixth row starters Damon Murty, a stock car standout from northern Iowa, and former track champ Jeff Mueller worked their way forward, with Mueller finally winning the battle for second. Olivers # 05 appeared to be getting " tight," and he seemed to be slowing considerably in the corners as he fought to hold onto the preferred low line. On the White flag lap his lead had evaporated, and entering turn three Mueller poked the nose of his # 77M inside of Oliver, setting up a drag race to the checkers. From my vantage point towards turn one, I thought Mueller may have nudged ahead, but the official scorers confirmed it was Oliver prevailing at the line. These two southeast Iowa veterans have had many a close battle, but none closer than this one! Murty had the best seat in the house in third, followed by Mike Hughes, and local favorite Jeremy Pundt. Oliver remembered to congratulate grandpa Jim Oliver Sr on his 85th birthday in his post race interview, and yes, the family patriarch knew his way around the speedway in his familiar # 41. Besides being a promoter and a race driver, Van Genderen is also surely a race fan, and understands that the bulk of his crowd came to see the high powered super late models, with many coming from a good distance away on a work night. So the 40 lap highlighter came to the track next. Slocum 50 winner Chris Simpson would start from the pole, with Phillips alongside. A first lap pileup in turn one reset the field, and it would prove to be the only stoppage in the race. Back under green, Simpson rocketed to the lead, with brother Chad coming from row two to second. Along with Phillips and Tony Jackson Jr., the front four put some distance on the pack. Phillips, who has one Donnellson win to his credit, tried to build a groove on the high side of the track, but found himself drifting back from the leaders. Jackson moved past on lap five, as seventh starting Jimmy Mars closed on the lead pack. Mars cleared Phillips on the 12th circuit, and Jackson slipped by Chad Simpson on lap 16. Mars also moved around Chad on lap 22, as Chads car appeared to be a bit too " tight." With lapped cars a factor, Jackson was poised to strike around lap 30, but a dandy move by Chris around the cars of Looney and Brent Larson gave him the breathing room he needed, and he cruised to his second Donnellson MLRA win in a row. Jackson Jr. was strong in second, while Mars seemed to have one of the faster cars at the end. Chad held on for fourth, while dirt hall of famer Billy Moyer came from eleventh to fifth. Although I was struck with the thought, it still seemed strange that it was the Iowa natives first time ever to race at Donnellson. Phillips led the second five ahead of Iowans J C Wyman,Tyler Bruening, Eckrich, and Oklahoma rookie of the year contender, Raymond Merrill. Son Brent and I decided we had probably not seen Merrill race since the 2000 season at Kentucky Lake! With a vacation day on Friday, I settled in for the remaining three features. The upcoming $50,000 to win modified feature at Farley Speedway likely brought out some extra mods for R and D, and I would have expected the same for the sport mods, with the Farley prize of $20,000 for the class, but only 18 signed in even though this is often the larf=gest weekly class at LCS. No complaints here, though, as the action was intense. Cater Vandenberg outran fellow front row starter Tony Dunker to the early lead. Following a caution about lap six, Dunker pounded the cushion, using his momentum off turn two to grab the lead. Logan Anderson moved to second as the laps wound down. With fours trips around to go,the third running Vandenburg slowed, bringing out the caution, ending his night. Back under green, Brandon Lennox challenged Anderson, briefly taking second. But the race belonged to Dunker, who says he is in his farewell season. Anderson claimed second ahead of Lennox and Jim Gillenwater. The 29 car modified field was whittled down to 24 starts for their 25 lap finale. Veteran Kelly Shryock sat on row one with Jacob Murray, but to say that Shryock led the distance would not do this race justice. The # 3 opened a nice lead, but as lapped traffic came into play, Murray closed the gap. Meanwhile, Hunter Marriot, a more than occasional visitor to LCS came from mid pack to take over second with seven laps remaining. As the race stayed gren from start to finish, Marriot pulled even with the leader with four laps to go. Hunter nosed his # 62 ahead on lap 23, but Kelly was equal to the task. It was yet another edge of your seat finish, with Shryock collecting the big check. Marriot settled for second ahead of Murray and Richie Gustin. Much of the large crowd was on the way home as the 20 sport compacts came to the track. Josh Barnes shot to the early lead from his row tow starting spot, but lap three saw polesitter Kimberly Abbott nose her way to the lead. Behind the lady racer, the action was intense. Jake Dietrich took over second on lap four, and Barry Taft entered the top three one lap later. It then became a three car scrum, with Taft taking second on lap ten. Two circuits later Taft edged ahead, and for the rest of the non stop 15 lapper, Abbott and Taft raced door to door. At the checkers, it was Kimberly taking the win and the $300 check. Taft led Dietrich and Barnes across the line. Kimberly was jubilant in victory lane, as she appears to have conquered some recent health issues, as well. The entire qualifying and 22 race program was done by 10:45! The MLRA late models move on to the Davenport, Iowa Speedway on Friday and Independence, Iowa on Saturday, but my next race will be Sunday at Quincy,Il Raceways, as the UMP Big Ten super late models will headline the Scottie 43, racing for a $2,000 top prize. I am also looking forward to Saturday, May 20, when the estate auction for Hall of Fame racer Don White,a legend from my hometown of Keokuk, Iowa will beheld starting at 9:00. There is an incredible collection of tools, equipment and memorabilia to be sold at his race shop just outside of Keokuk. Anyone interested can go to www.yourauctionpage.com/sargent for details.