Sunday I settled in at Adams County, Illinois Speedway for the ninth time in 2022. It was a short turnaround for the facility after hosting the UMP Summernationals Tour on Wednesday, but long enough to make temporary repairs to the P.A. amp that the television crew apparently fried, leaving half of the grandstands silent and disabling the scoreboard, which was also back in operation on this night.
Car counts suffered a bit with the quick turnaround, and that combined with the World of Outlaw late model show an hour down the road in Jacksonville likely sliced into the fan count a bit, but it was still an okay turnout of both on a beautiful summer evening. It does not often happen, but the nice northerly breeze at our backs was a big plus, and a few jackets and sweatshirts were called into service.
Time trial qualifying for the UMP modifieds was led by Kevin Blackburn, #B4 at 14.316 seconds, then eleven heat races clicked off in a timely fashion. With this being designated mid season championship night, an extended intermission saw the top three in points for each of the five regular classes invited to the front stretch for introductions and presentations, then we were finally ready for feature racing.
UMP Pro Crate late models were up first, and in the "you can't please everybody" category, I had one competitor bemoan being first in the running order, while another indicated that he decided to make the trip for that very reason!
Heat winners Sam Halstead and Darin Weisinger Jr. sat on row one for the twenty lap shootout, but it was row two starter Denny Woodworth shadowing Halstead as lap one was completed. Fifth starting Tommy Elston and eighth starting Jeremy Pundt quickly moved forward and began a side by side battle for third. Elston finally took command of the position and moved up to challenge Woodworth for second as the race neared the mid point. Woodworth edged ahead, and as the leaders exited turn four to complete lap fourteen, Woodworth executed a successful slide job to grab the top spot. Two circuits later Elston was able to get around Halstead for second just ahead of the only caution of the race for a slowing Weisinger Jr. The final four laps saw no changes in the running order, as points leader Woodworth picked up his fourth win of the season at the track. Elston claimed second over Halstead, while Pundt turned in a late model career best fourth. Mark Burgtorf filled in as a "shake out" driver in the Lynn Richard #15R, nosing out Cody Maguire at the line for fifth. Spencer Coats and Weisinger Jr. came next, and Melvin Linder in the second Woodworth car was a DNF.
After a non stop feature last Sunday, the IMCA sport mods reverted to more normal activities this week. Seven yellow flags turned the eighteen lap race into a painful marathon. All eighteen cars took the green flag, with Cody Agee and Justin Bartz out front early. Agee pulled out to a commanding lead, but following three cautions in the first five circuits, Dakota Girard took over the point. After a lap seven stoppage, Shane Paris jumped to second, and then grabbed the lead just ahead of a lap ten caution. From that point it was single file restarts, and Paris held on through two more cautions, cruising to the win. Girard ran a steady second, chased by Logan Cumby, Tanner Klingele, and Agee. An early stack up on a restart saw point leader Adam Birck realign at the back of the pack, and he could only advance to an eighth place finish.
The 4 cylinders restored order as the ten cars raced fifteen laps with only one caution. Jaden Delonjay and Derrick DeFord sat on the front row and quickly pulled away from the field with Jaden out front hugging the inside tire barriers while Derrick searched the middle and high grooves for a way to the front. The lone yellow came as Landon Neisen slowed with four laps remaining, and back to green DeFord was able to squeeze inside the #3 car as he drifted a bit off the bottom with about two laps to go. The Canton, Illinois driver then held on for the win, with Delonjay settling for second. Peoria racer Jimmy Dutlinger broke a tie atop the points with Jeffery Delonjay with a third place run while apparent engine woes sent Jeffery to the pits early with a tenth place finish. Kimberly Abbott and Justin Stevenson also turned in top fives.
Ten modifieds lined up for twenty laps, with Kenny Wallace and Midlothian, Texas driver Chase Allen leading the way. It took four trips past the flag stand for fourth starting Dave Weitholder to clear Allen for second. ahead of a Drake Stevenson spin. Following the restart, Wallace ran the low line while Weitholder operated on the cushion, the two veterans running side by side as the race came to the halfway mark. A second yellow flag came at lap ten, and Weitholder grabbed the lead as racing resumed. But another quick yellow saw Allen moved out of the groove, costing him several positions. Again Weitholder and Wallace pulled away, and with seven laps to go, Wallace retook the top spot. He then hugged the inside line to the checkers. Weitholder came home second, points lead Austen Becerra bounced back from heat race problems to climb nine spots to third. A strong run by Frankie Wellman and a rebound by Allen finished off the first five.
Street Stocks would round out the night, nine strong for fifteen laps. Heat winner Steve Grotz and Beau Taylor filled row one, but point leader Rudy Zaragoza cleared Taylor for second on the opening circuit. Those three quickly separated from the field, with Rudy grabbing the lead on lap five. Taylor followed in second one lap later, and those two began to put distance on the rest until a caution three laps from the checkers. One more lap was scored before another caution, which was followed by a pile up on the next attempt. A green, white, checkers restart saw Taylor elect the outside line, and Grotz was able to jump to second behind Zaragoza. Robert Thompson came home fourth, while rookie Sage Martin nosed out Pete Stodgel for fifth under the sticks of fill in flagman Darin Weisinger Sr.
Final checkers came just ahead of the 9:30 mark. There is discussion of moving start times back one hour as the setting sun becomes an issue for drivers on the front straightaway. If this happens, hopefully the show can move along quickly, as an early end to the program has been a leading factor in the number of out of town racers making the Sunday night drive to Quincy. It was announced this week, that due to tire shortages, the MOWA 410 sprint portion of the show for next Sunday has been scrapped, however it will still be a night of open wheel action, check the track website for times and classes.
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