Weitholder Borrows and Wins at Quincy

  With temperatures in the 90's and a southerly breeze blowing, Quincy Raceways officials spent a good part of the evening trying to keep enough water on the .29 mile oval Sunday night. A special MWDET four wheeler event on Saturday left the track in less than desirable condition, as the surface was very uneven during modified qualifying and the heat races. Seven classes were on the card, with the UMP crate late models added to make up for the cancellation the previous week. However, only one 305 sprint car signed in, so it was in effect a six division program. The heat combined with Fathers Day activities made for a sparse crowd as the action got under way, but there was a decent gathering as things moved along. Unfortunately, the car count remained on the light side, again with the heat no doubt a factor.
   UMP modified time trials opened the program, with point leader Dave Weitholder setting the pace with a lap of 14.86 seconds. Spencer Havermale did not make the call for qualifying, and was loaded up and gone by heat race time.
  The IMCA sport mods were up first for heat races. In the first eight lap qualifier, Gary Stephenson climbed the backstretch guardrail, rolling his car one and a half time, landing on his roof. Gary appeared to be uninjured, but his #24S suffered what looked like heavy damage.
  In UMP modified action, Weitholder was leading his heat race when he came to a sudden stop in turn three with what was perhaps a locked rear end.
  The IMCA sport compacts elected not to run their heat race, so with the feature fields set, track owner/promoter Jason Goble brought out the grader in a successful attempt to improve the racing surface for the features. The remaking of the track approached the one hour mark, but allowed for plenty of bench racing for the remarkably patient gathering. For my part, I enjoyed an informative conversation with  Lance Getz. Lance is a former schoolmate of my son, a former late model racer, and owner of Quincy Auto Supply, who now resides in Troy.Mo.
  The sport mods kicked off the feature races, with only Stephenson missing from the 15 car field. A jam up on the backstretch on lap one saw Austin Howes go for a spin. Adam Birck ducked to the hot pit for repairs, but both cars were able to rejoin the tail of the pack. Michael Goodwin led the opening circuit, with row three starter Tanner Klingele in tow. Austen Becerra rocketed from the fifth row to third on lap two, while row six starter and point leader Brandon Lennox entered the top five. Following a lap three caution, Klingele took the lead, and one lap later, Lennox was in second. Becerra slipped past Lennox on lap five, and the two veterans ran side by side and nose to tail for several laps behind Klingele. Becerra finally broke free, and on lap 13 he took the lead. Klingele appeared to go into turn two a little too hot, spinning to bring out the yellow. Back under green, Daniel Fellows charged to the runner up spot, while Birck moved to third. A lap 14 caution saw fourth running Lennox head to the work area. He was able to rejoin the pack, which now lined up single file with less that five laps remaining in the 18 lapper. One more time the yellow waved on lap 15. For the final three circuits, Fellows pushed Becerra, but Austen held on for the win. Birck ran third, and Lennox rebounded to come home fourth.
  The IMCA stock cars were up next, five cars for 18 laps. Beau Taylor shot to the lead as the green flag waved, and stayed there for all 18 laps. Jake Powers grabbed the second spot on lap four. Taylor held a commanding lead when the caution came out on lap five for Michael Larsen. Back to racing, Taylor again opened a sizable advantage as Powers and Jerry Jansen staged a spirited battle for second. Taylor cruised to the win, followed by Powers, Jansen, and Larsen.
  With Weitholders #05 out of action, it seemed that the UMP modified 20 lapper was up for grabs. But Dave was able to call in a favor. Veteran driver Ben Huff had spent a few nights piloting Weitholders back up car before debuting his new ride on this night. So he handed over his #1 machine to Weitholder, who lined up at the tail of the field. Kevin Blackburn was out front as lap one was scored, with visiting Steve Meyer Jr. in second. When the third lap was scored, Meyer was out front, while Weitholder had powered to third. The caution came out for debris on lap three, and Weitholder charged to first on the restart. Blackburn and Meyer staged a fierce battle for the runner up spot before another debris caution on lap eight. As the laps wound down, Blackburn put the heat on Weitholder, but could not make the pass. Meyer stayed close in third, with Kevin Morrow finishing fourth. Seven of the ten cars signed in took the feature green.
   The late models were up next, six cars for 20 laps. Denny Woodworth parlayed his pole start to pace lap one ahead of Vance Wilson. Tommy Elston cleared Wilson on the second circuit, and the race quickly became a two car battle. Elston took command on lap six and slowly stretched his lead. As the race approached the halfway mark, Wilson and Sam Halstead were in a tight battle for third. With Halstead taking the spot on lap twelve, Wilson looped his ride in turn one. Back under green, Wilson again lost the handle in turn three on lap 14. The final six circuits clicked off incident free. The two dominant drivers from 2017, Elston picked up the win, followed by Woodworth. Halstead took third place honors, Wilson was fourth, and Cliff Powell came home fifth. Melvin Linder wheeled the backup Woodworth car, going pitside with a couple laps left, and was credited with sixth.
  Darin Weisinger Jr. paced lap one of the 4 car IMCA sport compact feature, with Alyssa Steele in second. Weisinger suddenly slowed coming out of turn two on lap four, with Steele nearly colliding with his #11. Alyssa then took over the top spot on the restart, with Kimberly Abbott on her bumper. Barry Taft made his move to second on the seventh circuit, and one lap later he grabbed the lead out of turn four. Taft then opened up a lead as the ladies battled behind him. At the checkers, it was Taft taking the win, while Steele edged Abbott by inches for second.
  The final race was the five car Double Trouble two person cruiser feature. In a nod to the glory days of the class, following a mid race caution, Goble turned the cars around, making them run several laps backwards. From the grandstands, it looks like the cars are actually faster making the right hand turns, but perhaps it just seems that way. The team of Kevin Tomlinson and Brandon Lennox took the win in their gold Mustang. The car count is slowly building in the novelty class, it is now a matter of getting everyone there on the same night!
  The crate late models will be the featured class again next Sunday, and the car count should improve, as it will be a regularly scheduled night for them. It is only three weeks until the much anticipated UMP Summernationals Hell Tour invades the Broadway Bullring. As for me, I hope to check back in with the Summernationals Wednesday night at the Jacksonville,Il. 1/4 mile.
  Shannon Babb dominated week one of the tour, winning three of five races. The series will take today, Monday, off before kicking off week two at the Belle Clair Speedway in Belleville,Il. on Tuesday ahead of the Wild Man Kelly memorial Wednesday at Ken Dobsons' Jacksonville speedplant.
  Thanks for reading!