Cool Temps, Hot Action at Quincy

After a week off, Quincy Raceways returned to action Sunday night with six classes of cars. The UMP late models were competing for A $2,000 top prize, although the UMP Big Ten sanction was dropped after the previous weeks cancellation. Unfortunately, the car count was light, with the UMP Summernationals series likely a factor. With heat races setting the feature lineups, the IMCA stock cars were up first. Dean Kratzer had the sharp new wrap on his #4k, and he jumped to the lead, although it was point leader Brian Hoener on top as the first lap was scored. Abe Huls made the long haul back from a weekend of racing in Wisconsin, arriving after the heats and tagging the tail of the feature. Abe quickly moved up to challenge Michael Larsen for second, taking the spot on lap eight.. He was closing the big lead Hoener had fashioned when the first caution came on lap twelve. With four laps remaining, Hoener slid up a bit from the low groove, and Huls nosed inside to take the lead. Larsen was pounding the cushion in third. The final yellow came with two laps remaining, but it only delayed Huls trip to victory lane. Hoener held second, while Jake Powers passed Larsen for third. Jerry Jansen edged Troy Breierton at the line to complete the top five. Ray Bollinger had set quick time for the UMP modifieds at 14.912 seconds, and he started the main event outside of Shaun Deering in row one. Bollinger jumped to the first lap lead with row two starter Dave Weitholder in tow. But fellow row two starter Michael Long jumped to the high line, taking second on lap two. Bollinger was racing a wide line, and Long was trying crossover moves to try to take the lead. On the sixth circuit, Michael found an opening on the inside line, charging to the lead. A lone caution came on lap twelve, but Long was in command, and he opened a big advantage over the final eight laps. Bollinger ran in the runner up slot ahead of point leader Weitholder, Frankie Wellman, and Deering. The $2,000 to win UMP late model headliner was next. Heat winner Rickey Frankel took off from the pole position to lead lap one. Fast Qualifier Jamie Wilson - 13.853 seconds - hooked his ride to hard in turns one and two on the second lap, bringing out the only caution of the 25 lapper. Back under green, Frankel hugged the inside line, with Denny Woodworth on his bumper while Jason Perry ran up top. Wilson quickly joined the front four, and an entertaining three car battle developed for fifth between Matt Shannon, Derek Fetter, and Jeff Riddell,#09, who made the four hour pull to Quincy. Woodworth and Perry swapped the runner up spot on laps 13 and 15, then Denny took the spot again on lap 18. On the 20th trip around, he made slight contact with the leader, and it caused the #45DW to fall to fourth. Wilson eased past Perry with three laps to go and closed on Frankel, but at the checkers it was Rickey with a flag to flag win. Wilson took second, with Woodworth getting back around Perry for third. Shannon scored a top five, with Riddell sixth and Fetter was credited with seventh from the pits. A dozen IMCA sport mods ran next. Vance Wilson paced lap one, with a caution coming at the end of the circuit. On lap three, Wilson contacted the tractor tire in turn four and was clipped by Austen Becerra. Back to racing it was now Tanner Klingele out front followed by Brandon Lennox, Justin Bartz, and Tony Dunker. Dunker took third on lap five, but by now Klingele and Lennox had put some distance on the field. Lennox moved to first on lap six, by the next lap Becerra was back in the top five. Justin Ebbing took third on the eighth circuit, even as Lennox opened a commanding lead running the inside line. The rest of the front pack fell in line, with Lennox cruising to the win. Klingele finished with runner up honors, while Ebbing edged Dunker for third. Becerra completed the first five. Woodworth and Tommy Elston paced the UMP Pro Crate late model 20 lapper. Woodworth was the first lap leader, but Elston made a low side pass the next trip around the .29 mile oval. Elston stretched his advantage while Woodworth put distance over third running Brandon Savage. The caution waved on lap seven, and back under green, the leaders elected the low groove. Just past halfway, Todd Frank powered around Savage to take third, and Mark Burgtorf followed him to fourth. Burgtorf was wheeling the # 73R Lynn Richard machine, with the #3 taped off to give us...#7! One more caution brought Elston back to the pack, and Woodworth took one last shot up high on lap 13, to no avail. Burgtorf used the restart to grab the third spot from Frank. Elston picked up the win ahead of Woodworth, Burgtorf, Frank, and Savage. Laine Vanzandt grabbed sixth ahead of Gunner Frank, Charles Vanzandt, and Derek Sammons. IMCA sport compacts closed out the program, with Brandon Lambert the early leader from a row two start. Darin Weisinger Jr kept the pressure on the leader, but with the top three running the bottom, Craig Bangert moved up the track on lap six, taking third on lap nine, then second two laps later. The only caution came with a pair of laps left, and Bangert grab the lead on the restart. But Lambert fought back, taking the lead back coming out of turn four to the checkers. Bangert, Weisinger Jr., Kimberly Abbott and David Primm turned in top five runs. The final checkers came just after 9:00. Quincy Raceways will be quiet this coming Sunday, July 2, before the much anticipated visit by the UMP Summernationals on Monday July 3. As of yesterday, UMP modifieds and IMCA sport mods were also on the card, check the Quincy Raceways website for updates. Meanwhile I will be watching the forecast before making a decision on when and where to go ahead of the Monday $5,000 to win extravaganza. Maybe I will see you, Racin' Down the Road.

Familiar Faces in Victory Lane at Donnellson

Tommy Elston, Jeff Waterman, John Oliver Jr. Brandon Lennox and Josh Barnes all picked up wins Friday night at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson,Iowa on a cool, breezy evening. A nice sized crowd was on hand to watch the nine heat races click off in good time with the exception of a delay for the IMCA modified # 3T, as Robert Thompson backed it in to the turn one guardrail. The car became entangled in the steel, and it took several minutes to extricate his ride. He was able to start the feature later in the evening. The IMCA sport compacts ran first in the feature lineup, with all but one of the twelve cars taking the green for 15 laps. Josh Barnes put his # 13B out front on the opening circuit, with Daniel Fellows and Mike Reu in hot pursuit. Although Barnes opened a commanding lead at one point, Fellows began to chip away by mid race. As the front three held their spots, the action came further back, with Barry Taft, Brandon Reu and Brandon Lambert sliced and diced for fourth through sixth positions. With no cautions to slow the action, Barnes held on for the flag to flag win. Fellows, Mike Reu, Taft, and Brandon Reu completed the top five. IMCA sport mods turned out the biggest field of the night, 15 strong, with all taking the feature green. After a false start, John Oliver Jr led Vance Wilson as lap one was scored. The next time around, eighth starting Brandon Lennox had joined the leaders, and following a lap three caution, Lennox took advantage of the side by side behind the leader Delaware restart to move to second. Austen Becerra also joined the fray after the restart, taking third from Wilson on lap five. While those two waged a battle for third, Lennox pulled alongside Oliver for laps seven and eight, finally gaining an advantage on the ninth trip around the 3/8 mile oval. After a caution on lap eleven, Oliver drifted too high on the cushion, and Becerra sneaked past into the runner up spot. Now it was those two slugging it out as Lennox stretched his lead. With five laps to go, Becerra lost the handle, spinning his #22 in turn two and bringing out the caution. Back to racing, ninth starting Tony Dunker powered from fourth to second. Again Lennox stretched his margin, but one more yellow gave Dunker a chance. He used a dandy high to low line move in turns one and two to challenge for the lead, but at the checkers, it was Lennox who prevailed. Dunker was a close second followed by Wilson, Oliver and Kyle Hill, who turned in a strong performance. A dozen IMCA modifieds came to the oval next, with a multi car mix up bringing out a lap one yellow. Rich Smith took off from row one on the retry, ahead of Dakota Anderson and Bill Roberts. The second lap saw Roberts take over second and Dennis Laveine move to third. One more trip past the flag stand had Laveine in second, and Jeff Waterman joining the front group in fourth. Laveine grabbed the top spot the next time around, and Waterman charge to second. Smith looped his ride in turn two, a trouble spot all night, on lap five, bringing out the caution as he was hit by the # 33 Fuller machine. The restrart saw Laveine and Waterman running nose to tail on the low line while Roberts searched the top side for some traction. About lap eight, Waterman moved to the top side and powered to the lead, immediately putting distance on the rest of the field. One more caution with nine laps to go bunched the field, and back under green, Dean McGee moved up two spots to third. But the night belonged to Waterman, who cruised to the win over Laveine, McGee, Jerad Fuller, and Roberts. The IMCA stock car turn out was light, only nine cars, but again the action was intense. Jason Cook led the opening circuit from row one, with a caution at the end of the lap. Back to racing, an intense four car scrum developed for second between Oliver Jr., Jeremy Pundt, Jason See, and Corey Strothman. Cook ran the bottom groove, with Oliver running the high line. At about the half way mark, Oliver Charged to first, three laps later the leaders all moved to the higher line behind the #. Cook then returned to the lower line, and soon found himself in third as See move to the runner up spot. See closed the gap as the white flag waved, and the front duo split a lapped car out of turn four coming to the checkers, See low and Oliver high. But Oliver carried enough momentum to cross the stripe first. Cook, Pundt, and Strothman rounded out the top five. Last up it was the ten UMP Pro late models. Sam Halstead took off from the pole to lead the first lap, with Denny Woodworth on the bottom and Tommy Elston up higher in pursuit. The two ran side by side on lap two, with Elston jetting to the lead on the next trip around. Meanwhile, an entertaining battle for fourth developed between the father and son duo of Todd and Gunner Frank, with Gunner actually putting a slide job move on Pop in turn four! With four laps to go, Derek Liles had a good run spoiled when he spun in that treacherous turn two - Brandon Savage had smacked the guardrail there earlier in the race. On the restart, Woodworth cleared Halstead for second, but could not run down Elston. The final rundown was Elston Woodworth, Halstead, Todd Frank and Jeff Guengerich. Gunner Frank was sixth, followed by Chris Richard in the # 73R, Savage, Liles, and Derek Sammons. Although the show ended about 10:12, it was a choppy program, unusual for LCS. A 360 sprint car was on hand and was given three separate hot lap sessions totaling about 25 laps, and Austin Howes was also granted a pair of solo sessions in his outlaw modified. along with a 30 minute or so intermission for slip and slide contestants, the down time saw a fair amount of the nice crowd depart early. Next up for me is the rescheduled $2,000 to win UMP Big Ten late model show Sunday at Quincy Raceways.

Kay Doubles Up at West Liberty

Tuesday night I made my first trip of 2017 to the West Liberty Raceway with buddy Fred doing the driving. It was a perfect set up for a week night show, two classes only, the IMCA Deery Brothers late models and the IMCA Arnold Supply Hawkeye Dirt Tour modifieds. Following the trend we are seeing of late, the car counts were down a bit, but the 22 late models and 25 modifieds consisted mostly of top notch cars, and there was plenty of action! Three heat races in each division set the feature lineups, although the front stretch stage was the setting for the redraw, the mod drivers picking, then trading oil filters and the late model top twelve doing the same with pizza boxes. Modified heat number one saw track regular Chris Zogg out front when he suddenly rolled to a stop, bringing out the caution. Zogg went pitside and was the only car in either division to not take the feature green flag. In modified heat three, Colby Springsteen and Justin Kay came from row four to finish third and fourth to qualify for the redraw, and it was Kay winding up with the number two starting spot, outside Todd Shute on row one. Kay took off, leading the first of the 30 laps on the multi grooved 1/2 mile oval. Richie Gustin powered to second on lap two, and this front pair opened up a lead on the field as Shute and Cayden Carter battled for third. As the leaders approached slower traffic, the yellow waved for Stumpy Brockert, trailing smoke behind his #30 machine. Carter was challenging Gustin for second when the yellow came out again one lap later. Back under green, Kay took advantage of the intense battle for second, stretching his lead before Carter took command of the runner up spot just before the half way mark. The Oskaloosa youngster then closed the margin quickly, pulling alongside Kay on lap 18. Carter actually crossed the line with a slight advantage about lap 20, but Kay regained the spot, and again slower traffic came in to play on the 23rd circuit. Kay was dominant on the restarts, and he shot out to a lead following a caution on lap 26 and another one lap later. Meanwhile, Joel Rust used the restarts to move to third, then second after a side by side duel with Carter. With three laps to go, Gustin saw his night end, and it was now Rust taking up the charge. But Kay and his #15K were more than up for the challenge, as he powered to the win. Carter regained the second spot, with Rust in third. Kurt Kile quietly charged to fourth, with Kelly Shryock completing the top five. Nick Marolf, Chad Holladay and Kay captured the late model heats, but the redraw was unkind to all three, with Holladay starting eighth and Marolf and Kay sharing row six. Track regular Kyle Hinrichs and series point leader Jesse Sobbing rolled off from the front row, with Sobbing, the driver from southwest Iowa taking the early lead. By the fourth of the forty laps. Sobbing had a sizable lead over Hinrichs. But Kay was the man on the move, as he entered the top ten on lap four, took over eighth on lap six, the gained two more spots before the caution came out on lap nine for Kevin Kile whos #88 gave up as he tried to clear the speedway. Another yellow waved on the restart for a three car scrum in turns one and two, and following the next Delaware restart, third starting Denny Eckrich took over second, with Kay jumping to fifth. Kay used a power move to claim third on lap eleven, then three trips around later, he was in second. By now Sobbing had opened a big lead, but by the halfway mark, Kay was nipping at his heels. The leaders caught traffic on lap 22in what was now a two car battle. Justin was patient, found his opening and took the lead for good on the 26th circuit. With no more stoppages,it was then "bye,bye" time, as he pulled away to a dominant win. Sobbing held off a persistent Denny Eckrich to claim runner up honors. Matt Ryan was also closing as the laps ran out, and finished fourth ahead of Hinrichs. Holladay paced the second five over row seven starter Andy Eckrich, row nine starter Jeremiah Hurst, Darrell Defrance, and Ron Boyse completed the top ten. The final checkers waved well before 10:00! This will likely be the end of my racing week,as I have other commitments on Friday and Saturday. And it was announced on Tuesday that Quincy Raceways has cancelled racing for this Sunday, June 18. Promoter Ken Dobson has made the decision to tear up the racing surface before the UMP Summernationals event on Monday, July 3, and said there was not time to complete the project this week. As of now, plans include staging the $2,000 to win UMP Big Ten late model show on Sunday, June 25. There will be no racing on Sunday, July 2, then the Summernational tour will run on July 3. Check the Quincy Raceways website or Quincy Raceways on Facebook for updates. Until next time, thanks for reading!

Midseasson Championships - Already? - At Quincy

Sunday night was midseason championship night at Quincy Raceways, even though it seems a s if the season has barely begun. More high heat and a stiff southerly breeze made for less than ideal conditions and no doubt helped hold down the car count, although a nice crowd was on hand. With the addition of the UMP Pro Crate late models, all six regular classes were on the card. Dave Weitholder paced qualifying for the 15 UMP modifieds with a lap if 15.238 seconds. Unfortunately, hot laps wiped out three of the entrants, including Kevin Blackburn, Steve Grotz, and Mike Parsons, none of whom made it to time trials. With only five UMP super late models signed in, they did a pill draw for starting positions rather than time trial. The first seven heat races were mostly uneventful, but the first lap of the IMCA sport compact six lapper saw David Primm roll his #01 on the front stretch. While Primm returned to start the feature, Brandon Lambert suffered enough damage to end his evening. The track was reworked at intermission, and the surface was indeed better for the six features. IMCA stock cars rolled off first for 18 laps. Back from vacation, Abe Huls shot to the lap one lead from row two. By the third circuit, Brian Hoener had pulled alongside Huls, moving to the lead as the front pair pulled away from the field. Michael Larsen totaled his ride a few weeks back, but purchased a car from fellow competitor Dean Kratzer, and made his return on Sunday. Larsen watched Huls try to work under Hoener before Brian opened a lead, then Michael eased in to challenge Abe for second. With three laps to go, Larsen slowed and exited the track with a broken trailing arm. Hoener cruised to the win, with Huls in second. Beau Taylor was closing on the leaders in third as the checkered flag waved. Jerry Jansen and Kratzer completed the top five. The Pro Crates were up next for 18 laps of action. Denny Woodworth Charged to the opening lap ,lead from from two before visiting Kyle VanDorn spun in turns one and two on lap two. Back under green, Fourth starting Tommy Elston drove around Brandon Savage for second, and one lap later, Elston took over the top spot. Elston and Woodworth have led every feature lap in the class in 2017, and tonight was more of the same, as the front duo pulled away. By lap six, Woodworth had moved to the high line of the track and was challenging for the lead when Derek Sammons spun his ride. On the restart, Elston held the low line in turns three and four, moving to the middle line in turns one and two. Woodworth stayed loyal to the high side, with another yellow ending the night for VanDorn on lap eleven. Clint Kirkham was out for the first time this year in his # 28 after rolling the car early in the season at Jacksonville, and following his heat race win, he battled with Savage for third. With Elston taking the white flag, Laine Vanzandt brought out a final caution, setting up a green, white, checkers finish. There were no position changes in those two laps, with Elston collecting his fourth feature of 2017 at QR. Woodworth held second, Savage crossed in third, with Kirkham and Charles Vanzandt rounding out the top five. The dozen UMP modifieds still in action were up next for their main event. Weitholder and Shaun Deering shared the front row, with Deering leading after one lap. Weitholder took over the following trip around, and the first caution came on lap four for Darin Weisinger Jr, making his modified debut. Weitholder held serve on the restart, and he had opened a sizable advantage by the time he encountered slower traffic on lap 14. With no more stoppages, Weitholder cruised to the win. Deering ran second ahead of Donovan Lodge, Spencer Havermale, and Russ Coultas. All twelve cars were still running at the finish. The super lates were up next. Heat winner Jason Perry powered to the early lead for row two. Jamie Wilson looped his ride on lap six to bring out a yellow flag. Under green, Woodworth charged around Rickey Frankel in to second. Again using the high groove, Denny was poised to take the lead when Matt Shannon spun, bringing out the yellow. When racing resumed, Woodworth could not regain his momentum, falling behind Frankel, and also Wilson. As those three battled, Perry opened a half straightaway advantage. With a pair of laps remaining, Frankel retired to the pits. Perry picked up his first feature win of the season, followed by Wilson, Woodworth, and Shannon. All but one of the 14 IMCA sport mods started their 18 lap main event. Dalton McKinney led the opening round, with Brandon Lennox coming from row three to challenge before a lap three caution period. Lennox powered to the lead on the restart, and on lap four, seventh starting Tanner Klingele moved to third. Following a lap six yellow, Klingele took second. The lead pack now all hugged the low line, so fifth running Tony Dunker tried the top line. Another pair of cautions followed, and then just before a caution with five to go, fifth starting Vance Wilson took over the runner up spot, taking along Dunker to third. Klingele came roaring back before McKinney spun, ending his strong run. With three laps remaining, the field was lined up single file. Klingele now tried the high line, but Dunker took the inside groove to third. Lennox captured the win, Wilson was runnerup. Dunker, Klingele, and Mike Goodwin rounded out the top five. The IMCA sport compacts finished off the card, eight cars for 15 laps. Jeffrey Delonjay paced lap one, with Craig Bangert moving to second one lap later. The fifth trip past saw Bangert turn up the heat, taking over the top slot just before the half way mark. With no stoppages, Bangert cruised to the win. Delonjay held second, with Barry Taft, Weisinger Jr and Kimberly Abbott turning in top five runs. Up next will be a Tuesday stop at West Liberty Raceway for the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series and Hawkeye Dirt Tour modifieds, the back to QR next Sunday for the UMP Big Ten late models battling it out for a $2,000 top prize.

Correction to the headline.

Apologies to Barry Taft and Daniel Fellows for the incorrect headline on the LCS article.

Woodworh,Waterman,Cook,Dunker,Fellows Post Wins at Donnellson

The weather was nearly perfect Friday night at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, and A large, enthusiastic crowd was on hand. Free Passes from B&B Propane and Jet Gas helped to swell the crowd, and the racing action should be enough to make new fans want to come back! Hot laps started promptly at 7:00 and concluded at 7:20, creating a ten minute delay before the advertised race time. If only all tracks operated this way... The car count was a bit light in all classes, but the eight heat races ran off in just 35 minutes. There was some action in the UMP Pro late model heats. In the first eight lapper, Derek Liles looped his ride in an apparently somewhat slippery turn two, and was hit by 14 year old Chase Frank, sending both to the pits. In the second heat, Derek Sammons backed his # 22 hard into the guard rail between turns one and two, ending his run in the event. After an intermission when drivers came through he stands, helmet in hand to take donations for a fireworks display later this month, it was feature time. All IMCA sport compacts except Travis Demint, who also scratched from his heat, started the 15 lap main event. Ron Kibbe paced the opening circuit, with Daniel Fellows in pursuit. Lap two saw Brandon Reu move up to challenge Fellows for second. By the fourth trip around, it was Kibbe and Fellows side by side for the lead. Fellows took over on lap five with Barry Taft moving in to battle with Kibbe. Fellows opened a commanding lead, with the race now a three car duel for fourth through sixth. With the white flag poised to wav, Kimberly Abbott, who was in that battle, clipped one of the tractor tires, spinning to bring out the only caution of the race. On the restart, Kibbe, now in fourth, could not get up to speed, ending his good run. With the green, white, checkers finish, a three wide duel developed for the lead. Taft took control, and grabbed the win. Fellows crossed the stripe in second, ahead of Brandon Reu, Brandon Lambert, and Darin Weisinger Jr. Ten IMCA stock cars came to the 3/8 mile oval for 18 laps. Heat winner Jason Cook jumped from row two for the lap one lead, with John Oliver Jr. advancing from row three to second. Meanwhile, Jeremy Pundt and Abe Huls battled for third. The caution waved on lap seven as Scott Jordon smacked the guardrail. Back under green, the leaders hugged the low line, while fourth running Huls and fifth place Jason See tried the high line. By lap ten, Huls had advanced to second, and See to third. But three laps later, Huls suddenly slowed, and Oliver Jr contacted the turn four guardrail. Now it was See running the low line in second, while Pundt moved to the middle line to challenge for the spot. In the closing circuits, those two ran side by side behind Cook. When the checkers waved, it was Cook, Pundt, See, and a resurgent Huls holding off Oliver Jr. Matt Strassheim and heat one winner Denny Woodworth lined up in row onw for the eleven car, 20 lap late model feature. After a false start, Strassheim was scored the leader as a three car scrum brought out the caution at the end of the first lap. Todd Frank moved up to challenge Strassheimm on the restart, and the two veterans were side by side as lap three was scored. Frank paced lap four through six, with Strassheim, Woodworth, and Sam Halstead in a breakaway. Woodworth took over the top spot on lap seven, as Frank suddenly pulled out. On the same lap, son Gunner Frank, age 16, made contact with the guardrail, bringing out the yellow. Back to racing, Todd rejoined the tail of the field for one lap, before going back to the pits. Tommy Elston was now third after starting eighth. On lap ten, Sammons spun in turn four, and a combination of issues with the caution caused Woodworth to slide into the stalled Sammons. Although the # 45DW suffered heavy body damage, the performance of the car was not affected. The race then stayed green to the end. Woodworth picked up his third LCS win of 2017, followed by Halstead, Elston, Jeff Guengerich, and Bandon Savage in fifth. Chase Frank and Liles completed the cars running at the checkers. Dugan Thye led the eleven car IMCA modified field through a firdt lap caution. Dennis Laveine moved to the runner up slot on lap two, as Jeff Waterman bounced off the turn four fence, falling from fourth to eighth. By the seventh trip past the flagstand, Waterman had rebounded to third, and one lap later he powered his # 71W to second. It was one more lap before he took the lead, with a a good battle for spots two through five developed. Chris Zogg had finished second the week before, and had been running mid pack, when he suddenly caught fire. With the laps winding down, he pulled a dandy move, threading the needle between a pair of cars in turn four to move to second. A caution bunched the pack with two laps remaining, but Waterman was equal to the challenge, picking up the win over Zogg, Dakota Simmons, Laviene, and Thye. Wrapping up the program was 18 laps of IMCA sport compact racing for the ten cars signed in. after a false start, row tow starter Jim Gillenwater topped the first lap followed by two class racer John Oliver Jr. Tony Dunker and Vance Wilson, who started the season in a late model, soon joined the leaders before a lap four caution. Back under green, Dunker charged to the lead, settling into the middle groove, while Wilson used the cushion to take third on lap six. Oliver then rebounded to third on the top side of the tack, and we soon had a three car battle for second , with Oliver running high, Wilson in the middle, and Gillenwater in his patented low groove. As Dunker stretched his margin, Oliver and Wilson ran side by side as Gillenwater faded back. Wilson and Oliver dueled lap after lap before John took the spot on lap 15, as the final yellow waved. Although Dunker saw his big lead wiped out, he was able to hold serve to the checkers for the win. Wison regained the runner up spot ahead of Oliver Jr, Brandon Dale, and Blaine Webster. I did not check my watch at the checkers, but when I started mt car to head home, the clock read 9:56, with a great night of action in the rear view mirror! Next up is mid season champion ship night Sunday at Quincy Raceways, with all six regular classes now on the card following the addition of the UMP Pro late models. Ken Dobson, the front man for promotion group Clitrak announced on Saturday that the group will not be back at QR in 2018, so we will see what the future holds for the storied facility. Until then, scheduled racing will continue as is, with a July 3 visit by the UMP Summernationals. As more information develops, I will keep everyone informed. Thanks for reading!

Wagoner Best in 305 Sprints at Quincy

Quincy Raceways has mixed up the offerings in 2017, giving the regular classes some nights off and giving the fans a chance to see some different offerings. On Sunday night, it was 305 sprints added to the card along with UMP Pro late models, UMP modifieds, IMCA sport mods, and IMCA sport compacts. The car count was a bit light, but the nice sized crowd seemed to enjoy the action despite the heat and somewhat dusty conditions created by a southerly breeze. The highlight of heat race action may have come in the Pro late models, as Tommy Elston and Brandon Savage crossed the line in a dead heat, with Elston winning by inches after Savage lead most of the way. Feature time started with the sport compacts, with all but one of the 13 cars on hand taking the green flag. Darrin Weisinger Jr paced the opening lap as Brandon Lambert and Kimberly Abbott battled behind him. Meanwhile, Daniel Fellows was on the move from his row four starting spot, as he moved to third behind Weisinger and Abbott on lap two, the took over the lead two laps later, taking Abbott along. He then opened a commanding lead, while Craig Bangert took over the runnerup slot just past the halfway mark of the 15 lapper. Barry Taft took over third on lap ten, the ran side by side with Bangert three circuits later. With no caution periods after a first lap false start, Fellows picked up win number three at QR, followed by Banger, Taft, Abbott and Lambert. Up next it was the visiting 305 sprint cars. 13 cars checked in, with twelve making the feature call. Ben Wagoner jumped to the front from outside row one with Jeff Wilke in tow. The first yellow came on lap two, but following the single file restart, Wagoner opened a nice lead. Meanwhile, it was Jarrod Schniederman taking up the chase in second.. The leader caught the back of the pack on lap nine, and Schneiderman had whittled down the lead by lap 14, although Wagoner was making excellent moves through the slower cars. Just as the white flag waved, a spinning car in turn two erased Bens lead and set up a green, white , checkers finish. Two more cautions followed, including a spin by third running Nathan Charron. Finally we were able to stay green for two laps, with Wagoner collection the flag to flag win. Schneiderman took second over Ryan Jamison and Matt Kreiger. It was now UMP modified time. Michael Long had set quick time at 14.605 seconds, and took the heat race win. The redraw put Dave Weitholder and Kevin Blackburn in row one, with Long and Shaun Deering in row two. Long powered to the first lap lead, and contact between Weitholder and Blackburn on lap two saw Weitholder loop his ride and earn a trip to the tail. The yellow flags came fast and furious, five in all. Through it all, Long maintained a huge lead after each one, with a half track advantage in the closing laps. Blackburn, Deering, and a resurgent Weitholder swapped positions behind the leader, crossing the stripe in that order, while Josh Newman came home in fifth. The UMP Pro late models continue to struggle to build a car count in this, their first season at Quincy. The class has been dominated by Elston and Denny Woodworth, and when they drew the front row for the 18 lap feature, it looked like a matter of which veteran was faster this night. It was Elston getting the jump with Woodworth and Savage on his heels. Following a lap four caution, Savage took the high line to move around Woodworth but a slower car was running in the upper groove, causing Savage to lift for a second. That was all Woodworth needed to take back the spot, and he then moved to a higher line. Elston lead the distance to capture his third QR win of the year. Woodworth came home second, with Savage third, Charles Vanzandt fourth, and Derek Sammons fifth. The IMCA sport mods closed out the action, with Vance Wilson shaking off his hard crash from the week before to pick up his first win of 2017. Vance came from row two to best Brandon Lennox, Justin Ebbing, Tony Dunker and Tanner Klingele. It was great weekend of racing for this writer, four nights in a row at four different tracks. Now it is time to pay some bills, but we should be back at it Friday night at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson before mid season championship night next Sunday in Quincy, featuring the return of the UMP super late models. The forecast looks good, so get out and enjoy some racing, wherever you are!

Phillips Scores at Moberly

Saturday was the final night of the MLRA swing through the Tri State area, with the Randolph County Raceway 4/10 mile high banks near Moberly,Mo. hosting the high powered late models. B mods, street stocks, and 4 cylinder cars were also on the card. RCR is running on a part time schedule in 2017, but still managed to draw a decent car count in two if the three support classes, with 17 B mods, 13 4 cylinders and six street stocks joining the 18 touring late models. Group qualifying for the late models saw Tony Jackson Jr. with the fastest lap overall, turning the oval in 17.188 seconds. JC Wyman was the only car not timing in, but he was able to tag the tail in his heat race. One of two drivers making his first stop on the weekend swing, Tim Manville, could not get his # 33 to fire for heat one, but he would later start from the back of the 40 lap feature. In that first of two heats, Rodney Sanders and Brantlee Gotschall got together in turn two, with Gotschall making contact with the outside concrete wall that goes all the way around the track. Back to racing, Jackson and Jesse Stovall battled for the lead before Sanders joined in. Contact between Sanders and Stovall sent Sanders to the pits, and he quickly instructed his crew to pull out his backuo car and get it ready for the feature. Stovall took the heat win over Jackson Jr., Brent Larson, and Matt Furman. The second heat saw the caution flag fly on lap four when Justin Duty rolled to a stop after contact with the backstretch wall. Under green, Chad Simpson and Terry Phillips battled for the top spot. Phillips tried a slide job coming to the white flag, but Simpson held him off. One lap later, however, the slider worked, and Phillips was first by a nose at the line. Following intermission, the street stock 15 lap finale was first up. Following a caution on lap one, a two car duel developed between Ricky Girard and Kyle Morton before Morton spun in turns three and four on lap ten. Following the restart, Girard pulled away, taking the win ahead of Ted Welchmeyer and Morton. The B mods were up next for 15 laps, with Jace Gay and Brandon Lennox starting up front. Following a yellow flag on the first lap, Tyler Lewis shot to the lead. After two more early cautions, Lewis and Lennox began to distance themselves from the field. A caution on lap twelve for third running Cody Agee, who was attempting to run down the leaders set off a flurry of late stoppages, with the now third running Gay out with a flat with only two laps to go. Lewis held serve through it all to pick up the win ahead of Lennox, Dalton McKinney, a resurgent Agee and Tim Dawson. It was now the 4 cylinders for 15 laps. Street tock winner Girard sat on the pole, but pulled to the infield pit area on the parade lap. A scary moment occurred mid race when two cars got together on the backstretch, with both tumbling over several times. Neither driver was injured, although clean up took a while. Robert Winfrey meanwhile, led flag to flag for the win ahead of Devin Still. The MLRA headliner was last on the card. Simpson and Stovall lined up in row one, but it was Phillips joining Stovall up front as the green flag waved. By lap six the front pair had put distance on the pack, but a caution fo0r Sanders on lap ten bunched the field. Lap 14 saw Jackson Jr slow, bringing out the yellow and ending his run. It was now a three car battle with Stovall running the top line, Phillips in the middle and Simpson down low. Phillips seemed to have the faster car, and he put a slide job on Stovall in turn four of lap 21 to take the lead. He quickly pulled away, but the caution came out again on lap 23. Back to racing, Simpson took second before another yellow for Gotschall. Phillips opened a straightaway lead before another caution period on lap 34 for Wyman. As racing resumed, Stovall tagged the turn two wall, dropping back several positions. At the same time, Manville, who started in row nine, was up to eighth, having been as high as seventh, but his run ended with mechanical issues. Another pair of yellows came quickly, one for Furman, and one ending the night for Rickey Frankel, who was running a strong third before he contacted the turn two wall. The final laps went clean and green, with Phillips taking the win after a pair of frustrating performances on the mini tour, with Simpson collected his second runner up finish in his two nights on the swing. Larson collected his second top five and third top ten of the weekend in third, Randy Timms had his first top five in fourth, while Gotschall had a tour best fifth. Stovall hung around in sixth ahead of Dave Eckrich, first timer Bryon Allison, and Furman. Frankel was credited with tenth. After victories the first two nights, Chris Simpson headed home to get ready for the $100,000 to win 100 lap late model Dream this coming weekend at Eldora Speedway near Rossburg,Ohio. Meanwhile, this old man will try to make it four nights in a row tonight with my regular stop at Quincy Raceways for UMP Pro late models, UMP modifieds, IMCA sport mods, IMCA sport compacts, and a visit by the 305 sprint cars. Promoter Ken Dobson on Saturday announced a special pricing discount, so come on out!

Simpson Brothers Tops at Donnellson

The MLRA late models made their second and final visit to the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson,Iowa to join to five regular classes on a warm Friday night. It was the second night of a three night swing through northern Missouri and southern Iowa for the southern Missouri based series. Oxford,Iowa driver Chris Simpson was coming off the feature win Thursday night in Memphis,Mo., and was the defending winner at Donnellson.He started the evening by setting overall fast time in group qualifying, topping the 25 car field with a lap of 16.019 seconds to earn the pole position for heat one, which he lead from start to finish over popular visitor Bobby Pierce,Rodney Sanders, and Spencer Diercks. Heat two saw polesitter Raymond Merrill spin his car in front of the pack in turn two on lap two. While most of the trailing cars avoided contact, Dick Weber was not so lucky, as he drilled the #12M car hard, ending his night. Row two starter Chad Simpson picked up the win ahead of Tony Jackson Jr., Randy Timms, and Dave Eckrich. Jordan Yaggy captured heat three from the pole, besting Brent Larson, Jesse Stovall, and Matt Furman. The IMCA sport compacts ran the first of six features, 14 cars strong. David Primm paced the opening lap, and a wild mixup on lap two shuffled the field. The only caution of the race came on lap three, although the cars were having some trouble negotiating the reworked and somewhat slick track. Back under green, Travis Demint and Barry Taft applied pressure to the leader.. On lap six, Demint and Taft moved around Primm and began to pull away from the pack, although Brandon Reu tried to keep the leaders in site. As the race stayed green, Demint picked up his second win of 2017 ahead of Taft, Brandon Reu, and Daniel Fellows. Although Josh Barnes crossed the line in fifth, he was penalized for contact earlier in the race, turning fifth over to Mike Reu. The IMCA stock cars were up next. As the green flag flew, John Oliver Jrs #05 did not take off, as he broke a gear, ending his night. Corey Strothman jumped to the early lead, with Jeremy Pundt taking second from Dean Kratzer on lap two. On the fifth trip around, David Brandies took the high line to the lead, and Pundt fell off the pace as his power steering went away. Lap nine saw visiting Michael Jaennette, who started near the back, suddenly snag the runner up spot. Soon it became a two car race as the leaders ran side by side and nose to tail. Behind the leaders, a solid battle developed for the third position. At the checkers, it was Brandies, Jaennette, Strothman,and Jason Cook over Jason See in a photo finish. The MLRA 40 lapper was up next. The top three drivers from each heat had redrawn for their starting spots in a rather bizarre format with the heat winners drawing for spots one through three, second place four through six and third place seven through nine. Chris Simpson and Yaggy started in row one, and Simpson immediately shot to the lead, while Chad Simpson challenged Yaggy for second. The leader caught the back of the field on lap ten, and found cars running side by side for position. After plotting his course, he was able to split a pair of cars, and from then on, he was never challenged. Although the second through fourth place cars ran nose to tail, the low groove was the preferred line, and the race unfortunately became pretty much a follow the leader affair. With no cautions in the 40 laps, Chris Simpson picked up the $3,000 check, followed by brother Chris,Yaggy, Larson, and Stovall in the top five. Pierce started and finished sixth ahead of Jackson Jr, Sanders, Eckrich and Timms. Although The drivers prefer time trial qualifying, there is no doubt that the passing points format used in 2016 produced far more action for the high powered late models. The IMCA sport mod field was unusually short at ten cars. Under green, a three car battle for the lead was featured on the opening circuit, but John Oliver Jr soon dropped back, leaving Austen Becerra and Brandon Lennox fighting for the top spot. The caution waved on lap three for the first of two spins by class rookie Jeffrey Delonjay, out for his first time after moving up from the sport compacts. Lennox paced the restart, with Becerra and Tony Dunker moving to a higher groove. Dunker grabbed the third spot, then moved back to the low side to challenge Becerra. He took the spot on lap nine. Lap eleven saw Austin Howes move to third, but by now Lennox had a big lead. A caution with four laps to go bunched the field, with Dunker choosing the inside line for the Delaware restart. Howes powered to the lead as Lennox fought back on the high side. Howes, crossed the stripe in first, but was later disqualified for illegal seals on his crate engine, turning the win over to Lennox. Dunker moved up to second, Becerra was then third, and Dan Keltner was scored in fourth. A dozen UMP Pro late models checked in and they were up next for the 20 lap feature. Denny Woodworth redrew for the pole position after a heat race win, and quickly jumped to the lead. The caution waved on lap three and again on the following lap, as fifth starting Tommy Elston moved up one spot on the slick track. With Woodworth in command on the low groove, Elston pulled to the infield on lap twelve. Sam Halstead was trying to track down the leader, but with five laps to go, he made hard contact with the lapped car of Derek Sammons, bringing out the caution. Sammons went on the hook, and after having his front end checked out, Halstead stayed on the track in second. One more caution period came for a barrier tire on the track, and on the restart, Derek Liles was shuffled from third to fifth. Woodworth picked up the win, followed by Halstead, Todd Frank, who ran in both late model divisions, Jeff Guengerich, and Liles. Brandon Ruffcorn Matt Strassheim, and Gunner Frank completed the on track car competitors. The final race of the night was the IMCA modified main event. Dugan Thye set the pace early from the front row ahead of Dennis Laveine. Last weeks winner Michael Long started outside row three, and was up to fourth on lap two when he tried to squeeze under another car in turn four. He clipped the utility tire, damaging his front end, ending his night. Thye held the lead on the restart, and the yellow waved again on lap four. Blake Woodruff slipped past Bill Roberts for second back under green, and on lap seven, Roberts retook the spot. At this time, From row starter Cayden Carter powered to third. One lap later, Carter took second, and Chris Zogg moved to third. On the tenth trip around, Carter took the lead, and Thye spun on the front stretch. The yellow waved again on the restart, but back to racing, Bruce Hanford took third with eight laps to go. With Carter in charge, there was a good battle for the cars running fourth through seventh. At the final checkers, it was Carter, Zogg, Hanford, Roberts, and Woodruff. Tonight, we will join the MLRA cars and stars at the Randolph County Raceway in Moberly,Mo., then we will make it four in a row at Quincy Raceways on Sunday. Maybe we will see you there!

Simpson Rolls On at Memphis

Chris Simpson picked up another MLRA win Thursday night as the touring series made a stop at the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis,Mo. It was the first of a three night swing through the area for the high powered late models. 21 cars headlined a field of about 77 cars in five divisions for the week night special. The MLRA has abandoned passing points for group time trials, and Minnesota driver Brent Larson set overall quick time with a lap of 17.033 seconds around the fast 3/8 mile oval. With the heats starting straight up - fastest on the pole - Jesse Stovall came from row two to claim the first eight lapper ahead of fellow row two starter JC Wyman, Larson, and Raymond Merrill. There was a scary moment when veteran Sonny Findling rolled to a stop on the front stretch with fire coming from under the hood of his machine. It was quickly extinguished, and Sonny was able to make repairs by feature time, as was Matt Furman, who dropped a drive shaft in the same heat. Tony Jackson Jr. came from the outside pole to win heat two ahead of polesitter Jordon Yaggy, Texan Rodney Sanders and Spencer Diercks. The third nheat went to polesitter Chris Simpson over Terry Phillips, Randy Timms, and Dave Eckrich. The first feature of the night saw 14 stock cars running for a $1,000 top prize. Cayden Carter wwas the early leader, but it was John Oliver,Jr cashing the big check. Sport mods were up next for 15 laps. Austin Howes led the first half of the race before contact from second running Brandon Lennox in turn two sent Howes for a spin, resulting in both drivers going to the tail for the restart. Carter Vandenberg inherited the lead on the restart, but veteran Jim Gillenwater used the low line to take the top spot and the win. Jason McDaniel used a higher line to claim the runnerup slot. The late model 25 lap headliner was up next. Following on track driver introductions, the drivers came through the stands to collect donations for two local firefighters who suffered a tragic accident earlier in the week. When the green flag dropped, Simpson shot from the outside pole to the lead, with Jackson coming from row two to take second ahead of outside row one starter Stovall. The two series regulars then staged a good battle for the position, with Stovall retaking the spot on lap four. The only caution of the event came with 20 laps scored, when Todd Frank went over the top of turn three. On the single file restart, Phillips used the high line on the track to power from sixth to fourth as the leaders ran the lower groove. Simpson had maintained a comfortable lead as he negotiated slower traffic, and with a clear track ahead on the restart, he cruised to the win to go along with a victory last month when the MLRA visited the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson. In the interim, he had destroyed a car at I-80 Speedway in Nebraska, so it has been an up and down month for the Oxford, Iowa driver. Stovall, Jackson Jr, Phillips, and Sanders completed the top five. Yaggy came home sixth ahead of Wyman, Larson, Diercks, and Merrill. Due to a personal matter, I had to leave the track with a pair of features still to run. I am told that Michael Long, who took just over a lap to come from the third row to first in his heat, captured the $1,000 prize for the modifieds, and Brandon Reu topped the sport compacts. The racing weekend led by the MLRA continues today, Friday, with another visit to the Lee County Speedway, racing along with the five weekly classes, UMP Pro late models and IMCA modifieds, stock cars, sport mods, and sport compacts.Show Me 100 winner Bobby Pierce is scheduled to make his first ever appearance at LCS. The mini tour then moves to the Randolph County Raceway in Moberly,Mo. on Saturday. Then Sunday night we will be back at Quincy Raceways for UMP Pro lates, mods, sport mods,sport compacts and the first 2017 visit of the 305 sprint cars. The weather is great, so get out and enjoy some racing, wherever you decide to go!