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!