Kirkham,Powers,Lennox and Taft Top Quincy

Despite a late afternoon shower and cold temps, Quincy Raceways managed to pull off an unprecedented Monday night show. At the noon hour, the sun was out, the breeze was blowing, and the temperature was in the high 60's. Everything looked good for the rescheduled Sunday night show. Then as I was preparing to leave home about 4:00, a rogue shower came up, staying with me throughout most of the 35 minute drive to Quincy Raceways, where it was obvious that the rain combined with an already wet surface had put the crew behind the eight ball. There was no doubt that the advertised start time for hot laps of 7:00 was in jeopardy, but nearly all of the small but hearty group of racers and fans hung around for one more night of racing. The exception was the handful of mod lite travellers, who headed for home. As the track crew kept at it, the 7:00 hour came and went, but the .29 mile oval was slowly coming around. The racers helped out with track packing, and eventually the Pro late models came out for hot laps, followed by stock cars, sport mods, and sport compacts. During hot laps it was announced that we would forego heat races and run features only, a concession to the time and uncomfortable chilly breeze, no doubt. However, the number of laps were increased for each of the four classes. First up was a 30 lapper for the late models. Tommy Elston and Denny Woodworth drew the front row, with Elston jumping to the early lead, with Woodworth and Sam Halstead trailing. As the leaders powered down the back stretch, Woodworth headed for the pits, his night done. Elston built a nice lead, while fifth starting Clint Kirkham, wheeling the Charles Vanzandt #80V challenged Halstead for second. On the eighth lap, Clint took the runner up spot, but Elston was well out front. As Tommy tried to put Rudy Zaragoza one lap down, Kirkham was able to close the gap on the leader. Meanwhile, just past the halfway mark, Brandon Savage began to pressure Halstead for third. With Kirkham shadowing the leader, Elston again encountered Zaragoza on lap 22. When he tried to put the #67R another lap down using a highler line in turn one on lap 23, Kirkham found an inside line, overtaking both the lapped car and the leader. From there,he stretched a several car length lead, capturing his first win in a limited 2017 campaign. An unhappy Elston settled for second, while Savage wrestled third away from Halstead. Vance Wilson camd home fifth, with Zaragoza still running at the checkers for sixth. Woodworth was credited with seventh. Next it was stock cars for 20 laps. Jake Powers jumped to the lead from his row one start. As lap one was scored, Beau Taylor was forced to the pits with apparent suspension damage on the right front of his machine. Jerry Jansen kept Powers in his sights, but did not mount a serious challenge as the event went green to checkers with no cautions. Nathan Hays came home third, with Taylor scored fourth. It was win number two of the season for the newlywed Powers. Eight sport mods took the green flag for 30 laps. During a false start on lap one, there was fuel coming from the back of the Mike Goodwin car. He ducked to the work area, but his crew apparently could not locate the missing fuel cell cap, and the race went green with Tanner Klingele inheriting his front row spot. Tanner powered to the early lead, followed by John Renier and row two starter Brandon Lennox. On the next circuit, Lennox moved to second, and things quickly evolved into a two car battle for the lead. As the leaders came upon the car of Gary Stephenson on lap seven, Lennox took an inside line around both the #24S and Klingele, then pulled away to a sizable lead. The only mid race yellow of the night came on lap 13, as visiting Tyler Burton stopped on the top side of turn two. Back under green, Lennox was able to build a big lead as Klingele had his hands full of AJ Tournear, who used every line he could find on the narrow racing surface to try and take the runner up spot. At the checkers it was Lennox with another feature win, followed by Klingele, Tournear, and Renier. I believe it was Stepenson scored fifth, as he dropped out soon after the caution period. The final event of the night was the 25 lap main event for the sport compacts. All but one of the seven entries took the green. Jeffrey Delonjay took the lead from row one, with Darrin Weisinger Jr. in second. Meanwhile Barry Taft was on the move, taking third on lap three, then finally slipping past Weisinger on lap nine after an entertaing duel. While Taft tried to close on the leader, Weisinger headed to the trailer on lap eleven, giving up the third spot. The leader found slower traffic on lap 17 of the non stop event, but it was five circuits later before Taft made his move. The front pair ran side by side for a couple of laps, with Taft scored the leader on lap 23. The checkers waved for Taft, with Delonjay claiming a solid second. Kimberly Abbott found herself running most of the race on open track and finished third, with Jaden Delonjay and Jordon Jones completing the top five. The new owner - operator team at QR has scheduled one more night of circle track racing this coming Sunday, October 29. The featured class is open modifieds for a $1,000 top prize, along with stock cars, sport mods, sport compacts, and D2 midgets. With a less than favorable early forecast, I would advise drivers and fans to check before leaving home, but hopefully mother nature will ease up for one more night. As for me, my Friday night plans for a final visit to Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach,Il. are off, as the $5,000 to win late model show has been cancelled in anticipation of inclement weather. At this time, Shiverfest on Saturday night at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa is still a go, and along with QR, the make up features for the Fall Bash at the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Iowa on Sunday starting at noon are possiblities. So bundle up, and lets go racing one more time!