2017 in Review and a Look Ahead

As 2017 winds down here in the frigid midwest, it is time to take a look back at my racing season. The year started out with a pair of March rainouts at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa, before things got rolling in April. In the end, I was able to make it to 48 nights at 16 tracks in three states. As usual, Quincy Raceways was the leader, with 18 total nights. Next was Lee County, with 12 nights. Then came two visits each to 34 Raceways in West Burlington, Iowa, West Liberty,Iowa Raceway, Scotland County Speedway in Memphis,Mo., and Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach,Il. Single visits came at Bloomfield, Knoxville, and Tipton, Iowa, Peoria, Spoon River Speedway in Banner, LaSalle, and Jacksonville, all in Illinois. Moberly, Missouri was my destination one time, and with an assist from Jeff Broeg, I capped off the season with first time visits to a pair of new venues, the Springfield,Mo. Raceway, and the Dome in St Louis,Mo. I might add here that I count any night that I make it to the track, even if a cancellation occurs after I arrive. Fortunately that happened only two times in 2017. If you are a regular reader, you probably know that although I enjoy all types of dirt track racing, late models are my class of choice, and I was entertained by 53 feature events covering a host of rules and sanctions, everything from steel blocks at Peoria to the high powered Lucas Oil late model series at Knoxville, and everything in between. Along the way, I enjoyed a variety of action, including sprint cars, midgets, modifieds, stock cars, hobby stocks, and yes, even mod lites, and 4 cylinder competition. Having retired in late summer, I hope to be able to change things up a bit in 2018 and hopefully take in a few more week night shows in addition to being able to travel more on Fridays and burn the candle a bit more on Sundays. With this in mind, I am anxiously awaiting the release of the schedule for the Deery Brothers IMCA late models. Like me,the legendary series will see big changes in the coming year. The tracks in Farley, West Liberty, and Dubuque, Iowa have been series strongholds for many years, indeed making up just over half the 2017 schedule. However the Farley Speedway Promotions group has decided to go a different direction with their late model rules, adopting a package that opens the class to a variety of engine packages. Apparently the Independence, Iowa Speedway, another long time series supporter,is also switching to these same rules. Also at this time, it is uncertain if any events will be held at West Liberty in the coming season. Although this was no doubt a setback for the Deery series, it looks as though officials have regrouped and are now in the process of putting together a more diversified schedule. Nine tracks hosting ten races have been identified in a preliminary press release, with more supposedly in the works and a full schedule is due out in January. One change of note thus far is the event originally announced at 34 Raceway has been moved to Tuesday, July 3. This should result in a solid car count and hopefully a packed grandstand for new owners Brad Stevens and Jessi Mynatt. Crate late models have replaced the IMCA cars on the March 31 date at 34 along with the Sprint Invaders. As noted earlier, this will be the first full season of operation at Quincy Raceways for Jason and Robert Goble, and I saw even more improvements to the facility in a visit earlier this month. UMP crate late models will share the spotlight with 305 sprints in 2018, so keep an eye on the schedule for the Sunday night races. Scotland County Speedway is adding events to the new season. While again hosting race nights in March and again in the fall, and also during the county fair, they will be adding some dates when the Lee County Speedway takes a few nights off. With Mike Van Genderen the man in charge at both tracks, this should be a seamless and successful endeavor. The Midwest Late Model Racing Association, MLRA, continues to make inroads in this part of the midwest. Along with returning to Lee County, the series has a pair of dates at the Davenport, Iowa Speedway, and several trips to LaSalle,Il on tap. As of now, they do not show return trips to Scotland County, or Moberly, but it is still early. And perhaps the biggest feather in their cap is the sanctioning for the first time of the Slocum 50 at 34 Raceway. It will I believe,be year number ten for the memorial event which pays $10,555 to the winner. Because of the change in sanction, the race has been pushed back one week to April 21. The change comes after the controversial happenings in 2017, when the MARS series pulled out of the event at the last minute, citing weather concerns, and leaving the Cornbelt Clash group as a lone sanction. With a rough first season for the fledgling owner of the MARS series, it has been announced that Chris Tilley has purchased the operation. He is working on putting together a schedule for this coming season, no small task considering the foothold the MLRA has gained to the north and the Comp Cams series to the southwest. Tilley has plenty of experience in operations, including working with Ray Cook and his Southern Nationals series, as well as owning a late model and modified series on his own, so perhaps he can have success rebuilding the MARS brand. With the late model drivers heading to Arizona next week for the Wild West Shootout ahead of Speedweeks in February in Georgia and Florida, there really is no such thing as an " off season " anymore. Driver - owner changes, new chassis, etc. are being done on the fly. Of course the move by Bobby Pierce away from his family operation will be one closely watched in these parts. Bobby was something of a semi regular for several seasons at Quincy Raceways along with Brandon Sheppard, and both of these young stars have huge followings in this area. Along with its many unique aspects, racing at the Dome served to shorten my off season. Still with a howling wind and temps in the single digits, it seems like a long way to March! Thanks for reading.