Birck Scores the Hat Trick at Quincy

 Back on April 28, the IMCA sport mod feature at Quincy Raceways was halted by rain with ten laps left to go. With the MLRA late model special on tap for the following week, track officials decided to finish the race as part of the Sunday, May 12 program. But that show was rained out. And so was May 19. And so was May 26. Finally tonight, June 2, it was dry enough to go racing. So the final ten laps from five weeks prior was first on the card. Adam Birck was out front of the thirteen cars that returned from that show, and he held on for the win. Bobby Six was in the runner up spot when he spun with six laps to go, with Tanner Klingele coming home in second. Justin Ebbing, Terry Wilson, and A J Tournear completed the top five. Following a re watering of the very dusty track and the make up feature for the two person cruisers, it was time to begin the regular program.
  A season high sixty four cars signed in, and it took eleven heat races to set the feature fields for the six divisions.
  The UMP Pro Crate late models were up first. Eight cars lined up for twenty laps, but Darin Weisinger Jr. had transmission woes, and exited the track following a lap one caution. Tommy Elston shot to the front from inside row two, leading Sam Halstead and Denny Woodworth as lap one was scored. Woodworth cleared Halstead for second on lap five and set out to catch the leader. Elston caught the back of the pack on the twelfth circuit, giving Woodworth a chance to move to his rear bumper. But that was as far as the late model lawyer could go, and Elston led all twenty laps for his second win of 2019 at QR. Woodworth settled for second ahead of Halstead, Andy Minnet, Melvin Linder, Graham Fate, and Cliff Powell.
  All but one of the ten IMCA sport compacts lined up next for twelve laps of action. David Prim, who now pilots the #11 car formerly driven by Darin Weisinger Jr., grabbed the early lead over Isaiah Penton. By lap five, Barry Taft, wheeling a Jacob Houston #72 machine was closing on the leaders. The only caution came when Penton slowed on lap eight, exiting the track. On the restart, both Taft and Jeffrey Delonjay powered around Prim in turn four. Taft held on for the win. Jeffrey Delonjay ran second, while Jaden Delonjay slipped around Prim for third. Jason Ash completed the top five.
  Ten stock cars were up next for eighteen laps. Rudy Zaragoza, driving a UMP street stock in what is now a hybrid class at QR, took off from the pole, with Beau Taylor trailing in his IMCA stock car after starting in row two. The front pair began to put distance on the pack when Taylor used an inside move to grab the lead on lap six. As Beau began to stretch his advantage, Zaragoza went too hot into turn one on lap ten, spinning to bring out the caution flag. Shane Richardson used the Delaware restart to drive around Michael Larsen for second, and once again Taylor pulled away. A mixup in turn four stopped the action even as as the leaders were taking the white flag. With the green and white waving together, Zaragoza tried to go four wide into turn one, bringing out a final yellow. On the final try, Taylor came first to the checkers, followed by Larsen. Brian Gaines also cleared Richardson, who fell two spots on the final lap. Steve Dieckmann was fifth.
  Fast qualifier and heat one winner Dave Weitholder sat on the pole of the UMP modified twenty lapper, with heat two winner Rick Stevenson on his outside. Weitholder jumped to the lead, trailed by Vance Wilson and Josh Newman, while Stevenson was shuffled back to sixth. But just as quickly, Stevenson, making his first visit of 2019, found the bottom groove of the track to his liking, powering to second as lap five was scored, and putting a nose ahead of Weitholder at the line for lap six. The first of two yellows came one lap later, and on the restart, veteran Steve Grotz moved to third. The final stoppage came for a Newman spin on lap eight. Back under green, Grotz also hugged the low line to take second, while Vance Wilson pounded the cushion in taking third. Stevenson continued to run the now faster low line, with Grotz in his footprints, and Wilson searching up top. At the checkers, Stevenson made the trip from Ofallon, Missouri worth the effort, scoring the victory. Grotz ran a season best second, Wilson was third, and Weitholder held off Frankie Wellman, making his season debut in fifth.
  The IMCA sport mods now came to the track. sixteen strong, for eighteen laps. Tournear charged to the front from row two to lead lap one, while Birck  came from row two to second one lap later. The first of five cautions on lap three found Klingele third after starting in row four. Birck took the point as racing resumed, while Tournear and Klingele battled behind him. Following a lap five caution, Ebbing moved to third.Birck and Klingele began to put distance on the field, but now all eyes were on Six. His hard luck from the first feature carried over to his heat race, but he was now on the move. On lap seven, he had come from a row eight start to the top five. The next lap saw contact send the third running Ebbing for a spin. The yellow waved for debris on the restart, and now the field was lined up single file. One more stoppage, and it was back to racing. Six took third following the green flag. Birck was spending his energy on the top side of the oval, while Klingele testing multiple grooves in his pursuit. Soon Six was challenging for the runner up spot, and Birck was able to stretch his margin. The checkers waved for Birck, giving him two features wins, plus a heat victory, racings' version of the Hat Trick. Klingele scored his second runner up finish, with Six taking third. As they had in the make up event, Terry Wilson and Tournear ran forth and fifth.
  With six of the seven cars scheduled to go in the two person cruiser finale, and the clock clicking past 10:00 PM, I headed to the car knowing I had a full plate lined up for Monday.
  As always, thanks to Jason Goble and his staff  for their hospitality. Quincy Raceways will be off next Sunday as the go karts will be racing in the park in Quincy. And in two weeks, the fledgling Iowa Sprint League non wing cars will be the featured attraction at the .29 mile QR oval. I am not sure where my next racing adventure will be, but wherever it is, I will offer my insights here at Racin' Down the Road. Thanks for reading!