Holiday Racing in Macon

   With other commitments, I staked out Sunday as my one racing night for the Memorial Day weekend. However Mother Nature had other ideas. First the Quad City Speedway in East Moline canceled the Deery Brothers Summer Series show, but Quincy Raceways decided after two consecutive rain outs to try and work in the track and pits for their weekly show. Their efforts were unsuccessful, but by the time they pulled the plug mid afternoon, unlike my Positively Racing colleagues Jeff Broeg and Brian Neal, I decided to hunker down at home. But all was not lost, as there was still a pair of possible destinations for Monday racing, so Darryl, Fred, grandson Peyton and myself agreed to let the weatherman point us towards either Peoria,Il for the Joe Wagner Memorial UMP modified and late model special, or Macon, Il. for the Miller Lite Twin 50's featuring UMP Big Ten late models and Pro modifieds. It soon became clear that Macon stood the better chance of missing Mother Natures' wrath, so Macon it would be!
   I had not been to the 1/5 mile bullring south of Decatur since 2013, so anticipation was high for some high powered side by side slam bang action, and I was not disappointed.
 Six classes were on the card, and 120 cars signed in for a full night of racing. The late models and both the modified and Pro mod classes qualified through time trials, while the street stocks, hornets and micro sprints drew for their starting spots in the heat races.
  Rusty Schlenk topped the late models with a quick lap of 10.490 seconds, Kenny Schrader paced the modifieds, and Tim Hancock Sr. took Pro mod honors.
  Sixteen heat races set the feature fields, and following a brief intermission, twenty  street stocks led off main event action. Nick Macklin set the early pace as we suffered through four caution periods in the first four laps. Terry Reed stalked the leader, and made a pass for the lead that was negated by a lap nine yellow flag. Reed then made a final attempt as the fifteen laps wound down, but slipped to fourth in the process. One final caution came as the white flag waved, setting up a green, white, checkers finish. Macklin stayed out front for the flag to flag win ahead of Bobby Beiler, Darrell Dick, and Reed.
  Twenty micro sprints then lined up for twenty laps, with Gabe Verardi pacing the field through a lap two caution. When the yellow again flew at lap ten, the leader suddenly pulled to the infield, his night finished. It was now Andy Bishop out front, and he survived one more stoppage on lap eleven. Joe B Miller, who will drive anything with four wheels and a wing, started sixth and pressured the leader, running the top line around the tacky track, but could not make the winning pass. At the checkers, it was Bishop, Miller, Luke Verardi, and Riley Goodno.
  All but one of the sixteen UMP modifieds took the green for twenty laps. Schrader and Allen Weisser lined up in row one, with Weisser using the high side to grab the early lead. The front duo pulled away from the field ahead of a lap four caution for debris. Back to racing, Weisser opened a lead as Schrader soon found himself fighting off a challenge from Tommy Sheppard Jr. One more caution slowed the action on lap twelve, and four laps later Sheppard Jr. found his way to the runner up spot. Weisser remained in command, leading all twenty laps for the win. Sheppard Jr. Schrader, late arriving Ray Bollinger, and Kenny Wallace completed the top five. In his victory lane interview, Weisser stated he had planned to race close to home in Peoria, but made what proved to be the correct decision to come to Macon instead. With his late arrival, I am guessing Bollinger also had his plans changed, as well as the Gardner late model team. All three of these competitors brought along two cars each.
  Quite honestly, we were hoping the fifty lap late model headliner might be up next ahead of the Pro mods, but unfortunately, that was not the case. I say unfortunately, because the twenty two car Pro mod event was completed in something close to fifty minutes, while enduring ten caution periods. In the midst of the marathon, there were a couple of judgement calls that resulted in drivers retaining their running positions after being involved in caution periods, while early leader Billy Knebel retired to the pits after being sent to the back following the ninth caution four laps from the end. The final stoppage came with one lap to go, and this time the green and white waved together. Rob Timmons took home the big trophy followed by Tim Hancock Jr. and a pair of double duty drivers, Tommy Sheppard Jr., and Tim Hancock Sr., who was forced to start at the tail of the field after having mechanical issues in his heat race following his quick qualifying time.
  Next up, all nineteen late models came to the track for fifty laps. Heat race winners Mark Voigt, Ryan Unzicker, and Rusty Griffaw held the top three spots, with Schlenk flanking Griffaw in row two. Unzicker jumped to the early lead with Griffaw in tow ahead of a lap two yellow when Cody Maguire, Adam Tischauser, and Blake Demery got together. Lap four saw Schlenk clear Griffaw for second, and it now became a two car battle, as he and Unzicker found slower traffic by lap eight. Thinks got dicey as Unzicker came upon cars racing for position, allowing Schlenk to pull alongside just ahead of a lap nineteen caution for debris. On the restart, seventh starting Jason Feger used the low line to move to third, and just before the halfway mark, Brian Shirley, his rear spoiler in disrepair, charged to fourth. As the laps clicked off, Unzicker was using a low line in turns one and two, stretching his advantage with Schlenk pounding the cushion. But the leader was running the top line in turns three and four, leaving the middle groove open for Schlenk, who would pull alongside down the front stretch. A lap thirty six caution slowed the action, with no change in the top four, and a final break came six laps from the end when Maguire and Braden Johnson got hooked together, creating a bit of a delay. Schlenk kept up the pressure over the final laps, even as Feger worked the bottom to pull alongside Schlenk out of turn four. When the checkers waved, it was Unzicker taking the $1,500 top prize in flag to flag, if not easy, fashion. Schlenk took runner up honors, followed by Feger, Shirley, and double duty Weisser. Griffaw led the second five over Myles Moos, Brian Diveley, Tischauser, and Greg Kimmons. Bob Gardner was, I believe, the final car on the lead lap in eleventh.
 With the hornet feature still to go, we headed for the parking lot, and the clock read 10 P.M. as we pulled from the facility. Reports have Aaron Garcia topping the final feature.
  Despite having only one way in and out of the pit area, Macon Speedway does a good job of transitioning from one race to the next with very little delay, a concept I wish more tracks would employ. Thanks to Bob Sargent and his team for a fun night of racing!