Fireworks and Controversy at Quincy Raceways

 Sunday night started as just a normal race night at Quincy Raceways, but took a dramatic turn early on. Following nine heat races and a brief intermission it was time to go feature racing.
  First up was the 18 lap finale for the 14 IMCA sport mods. When the green flag dropped, point leader Adam Birck "made the move of my life," charging from outside row three, splitting several cars and crossing the line second at the end of lap one. Birck then powered around Brandon Niekamp, as the lead pack crossed the start finish line for lap two and the red light came on for a medical emergency. While the situation on the spectator side was brought under control, it was announced that there would be a complete restart to the race, with no explanation given. Now it was outside row two starter Austin Howes leading Niekamp on lap one, with Birck rolling to the runner up spot on the next circuit. It quickly became a two car race until Austen Becerra worked his way up from a row five start to join the leaders on lap seven. One lap later Birck clipped one of the boundary  tires, spinning  to bring out the yellow flag. Birck rejoined the race at the tail, but front end damage sent him to the pits a couple laps later. Another caution period on lap twelve bunched the pack, and on the restart, Becerra muscled his way under Howes to take the lead. Quickly recovering, Howes powered out of turn four and showed his displeasure by slamming into Becerra, bouncing off him and into innocent bystander A J Tournear. Both Howes and Becerra were sent to the pits, with Becerra scored as a DQ in the final results. The melee saw Tournear now out front, with heavy body damage apparently his only handicap. It was then announced that the race time limit had expired and the race would end at 18 laps or the next caution. One circuit later, lap 13, the yellow flag was displayed for a spin, and Tournear found himself in victory circle for the first time in 2018. Tanner Klingele started seventh and took runner up honors, while Brandon Symmonds made the trip down from Keokuk to grab third. Brandyn Ryan wheeled Darin Peters #28DP to fourth ahead of  Brandon Niekamp.
  Things calmed down as the UMP Pro Crate late models lined up for twenty laps. Tommy Elston had picked up the heat race win coming from row three, and he took off from the pole to lead lap one. Point leader Denny Woodworth followed Elston across the stripe, and the pair of veterans went nose to tail on the inside of the oval. Vance Wilson slipped around Clint Kirkham on lap two, and he worked the top side as he tried to run down the front duo. As Elston and Woodworth searched the low and middle grooves for the fast line, Wilson closed in with the help of slower traffic at the halfway mark. As lap 14 was scored, Elston suddenly slowed in turns one and two, with Woodworth and Wilson moving around before Elston came back up to speed. With no caution periods before or after, Woodworth picked up the win. Wilson held off Elston for second, with Kirkham and Laine Vanzandt completing the top five. Melvin Linder in the second Woodworth car and Cliff Powell rounded out the field.
  Twelve laps of IMCA sport compact racing was up next. Jake Dietrich had picked up the win Friday night at Lee County Speedway, and he charged to the lead from the pole position. Jeffrey Delonjay drove past the leader on lap two, and the front pair gained separation from the pack. Lap seven saw point leader Barry Taft grab the third spot, and he closed in on the leaders with two laps to go. As the white flag waved, Taft made his move around Dietrich down the backstretch. Delonjay picked up the win, with Taft, Dietrich, Kimberly Abbott, and Darin Weisinger Jr. trailing.
  Eleven UMP modifieds saw the first caution on the opening circuit. Fast timer Shaun Deering and Steve Grotz made contact down the backstretch, but the yellow was for a Ronnie Yelton spin in turn one. Grotz grabbed the lead on the complete restart with Deering and point leader Dave Weitholder in tow. As those three pulled away from the pack, Weitholder used the high line around Grotz to nab the top spot on lap six while Deering faded a bit. Lap eight saw fifth running Michael Vanderiet Jr. spin after being clipped from behind. Three more laps saw another yellow flag, and Mark Enk worked his way to third while Vanderiet was already back to fifth. The second place run for Grotz ended with a spin on lap 13, as he became a victim of broken steering. The field was now realigned single file, and Weitholder was cruising out front ahead of one final caution with three laps to go. As the checkers finally waved, Weitholder had another win. Enk, the St Ann, Mo. driver turned in by far his best ever performance at QR, besting Deering, Vanderiet, and Josh Newman at the line.
  Michael Larsen had suffered heavy damage to his ride the week before, but was able to make repairs and survive a four wide group to top the first of the 18 lap IMCA stock car main event. However it was Brandon Savage taking over following a lap two caution. A second stoppage came at lap four involving three cars, with Steve Mast charged with the yellow. Beau Taylor had not been penalized after stopping to avoid the caution, and he now vaulted to the runner up spot. Two more circuits, and Taylor used his preferred inside line to grab the lead from Savage. One final caution came at lap seven, and back under green, Taylor, Savage and Larsen ran nose to tail. As Taylor began to pull away, Larsen suffered mechanical woes, dropping out with four laps left. Taylor cruised to his fifth win of the season ahead of Savage, Dean Kratzer, point leader Jake Powers, and Jerry Jansen. The win had been an especially satisfying one for Taylor, who was forced to scratch from the heat race with engine problems. However with an assist from Kratzer, he was able to start at the back of the nine car field and come through for the victory.
  The two person cruisers main event wrapped things up with the Delonjay team taking the win over three other cars.
   Racing action again started right on time, and even with the delays still wrapped up before 9:30. An intermission of only about 15 minutes helped the night along. It was good to have IMCA official (and currently inactive) fellow Positively Racing blogger Ryan Clark on hand on Sunday to view the action and share in some "bench racing."
  Although the season is winding down at many tracks, QR will be racing through September and possibly even into October. They will be taking at least one Sunday off in September to host Monster Truck action, so check the schedule and make plans for some "postseason" racing.