First Time Winners at Quincy Raceways Finale

    The season began as Adams County, Il. Speedway but on Sunday the final 2024 checkered flag waved over Quincy Raceways. In such an unprecedented and crazy year, it seemed only appropriate that first time winners would be in victory lane on this final night. UMP Dirtcar Modified champion Austen Becerra would tow his #22 Late Model to the track for the first time and drive away from the field for his first Quincy win in that division. Multiple time track champion Justin Reed drove the Begley #B4 to victory in the Modified class for the first time. Dyllan Bonk debuted a sharp looking #98, winning the most hotly contested race of the night in the Dirtcar 4 Cylinder class, and former track champ Terry Houston came out atop the first year Crown Vic division. The hybrid Sport Mod, Bmod, E Mod mash up on this night saw Tanner Klingele make it four wins in a row, while Jake Powers added to his victory total in the Street Stocks.

   Although things started well, it was a bit of a rocky night for the new promotions team, with intermission followed by the back stretch lights temporarily going out, a delay for a medical call in the grandstands, and more than the usual number of spins and crashes as drivers raced with full abandon on this closing night. 

   Responding to somewhat dwindling car counts of late in the Sport Mod class, on this night drivers competing at other venues as a B Mod or E Mod were welcomed to the speedway. Fifteen competitors checked in, and they would open feature racing with a scheduled fifteen lapper. Tanner Klingele redrew the pole position and as he paced the parade laps, the back stretch went dark. Fortunately track officials had brought in some extra portable lights, and with some redirection racing began, with the bank of lights eventually coming back to full strength. An early caution period was followed by a four car pile up on the front stretch. Back to racing, Klingele would open a commanding lead ahead of another yellow flag with twelve laps scored. As the field reset, the red light came on for the medical call to the stands. With the time limit now in play, the race ended with a two lap green, white, checkers. Klingele drove on to his fourth consecutive win to close out the season. Visiting B Mod second generation hot shoe Damian Kiefer ran second ahead of A.J. Tournear, fifteenth starting Michael Goodwin, and former track champion Eddie Dieker in a Dave Weitholder #05 machine. 

   Dave Weitholder and Justin Reed lined up in row one for a fifteen lap main event. The caution flag flew as the field attempted to complete lap one, and back under green, the two veteran drivers took off from the pack. Behind the leaders, Shawn Deering and Frankie Wellman battled side by side for third. A final stop came with eight laps in the books, and back to racing Reed and Weitholder again raced well ahead of the field. The checkers waved over Reed, followed by Weitholder, Wellman, Deering and Joey Gower. 

   It was now Late Model time, battling for twenty five circuits. With Vance Wilson already headed home, ten cars were left to take the green flag. Rookie Jackson Frankel shot to the front with Austen Becerra and Denny Woodworth in pursuit. On lap four Frankel misjudged the cushion in turn one, falling to third behind Becerra and Woodworth. The first caution came at lap seven for Matt Kay, and by the half way point of the race Becerra was checking out. At lap fifteen a second and final yellow flag came for Bill Berghaus, and back to racing heavy contact between Frankel and Woodworth ended the night for Jackson, while Denny continued on with sheet metal damage. Becerra cruised to the win ahead of Woodworth, Darin Weisinger Jr., Jason Oenning and Sam Halstead. Jeffery Delonjay, Mark Enk and Berghaus rounded out the cars still running at the checkers. 

 Again the Street Stock class was short on entries, but quickly an intense three car battled developed between Rudy Zaragoza, Jake Powers and Beau Taylor. As Powers and Zaragoza ripped around the .29 mile oval, Jake moved to the lead on lap six. Zaragoza then jumped the tricky turn one and two cushion, allowing Powers to pull well out front. A single caution five laps from the finish brought Powers back to the pack, but he had no problem driving to the fifteen lap win. Zaragoza came home second while Brandon Boden outgunned Taylor for third. Braydon Rich completed the top five. 

   Fifteen laps would be the distance for the 4 Cylinder main event. Following the original start being called back by a caution flag, Spencer Coats, Dyllan Bonk and Jaden Delonjay did a three car breakaway from the field. Coats and Bonk battled side by side while Delonjay lurked behind looking for an opening. With Bonk edging ahead by a nose, the lone yellow flag came with nine laps scored. Back to racing, Delonjay moved around Coats on lap eleven, but he could not overtake Bonk, who drove the #98 to victory lane to the delight of his considerable cheering section. Delonjay took runner up honors over Coats while Kimberly Abbott made a late race move to fourth. Landon Neisen completed the first five. 

   Houston grabbed the final checkered flag of 2024 with a win in the combined Crown Vic, Mini Hauler Truck division. While the Mini Haulers were a late addition to the lineup, only three signed in, so they were mixed in with the dozen Crown Vics. Glen Wiley chased Houston to the checkers trailed by Alex Hatfield, Jordon Zummalt and Brian Kaylor. Randy Ronner in ninth was the top finishing Mini Hauler. 

   While the on track action in Quincy for 2024 is complete, this will be an off season yielding lots of rumors mixed with hard news. Considerable updates are planned for the 50 year old facility, and indications are that 2025 will be celebrated for a half century of operation. And of course the big decision, not yet official will be the regular night of operation for racing. Along with our other travels, I will do my best to keep up with any announcements coming from new owners Jeff and Renee Delonjay and new promoter Chance Bailey, so stay tuned!

   A class reunion for good ol' Keokuk High and some family activities will keep me away from the track for possibly two weekends, but our season is far from over, so check back for updates along the way and thanks for reading!

Alberson Doubles Up at Corn State Nationals

    Saturday it was back to Davenport for night two of the Corn State Nationals. Once again MLRA Super Late Models would be the featured division, this time vying for a $10,000 top prize. IMCA Modifieds were looking for a $5,000 payday, and a late sponsor stepped up to swell the late added IMCA Sport Mods purse to a $1,000 winners share. Outlaw Street Stocks would once again try for a $500 payoff. 

   The total car count for the evening sat at ninety two, four higher than the opening night show. Thirty six Super Late Models topped the bill, with five new entrants off setting three drop outs. The early cancellation of the MARS Late Model program brought in a handful of hard chargers, including World of Outlaw points leader Brandon Sheppard. The IMCA Modified count sat at a healthy thirty one, while the Sport Mod numbers fell by eight to seventeen and the Outlaw Street Stocks continued their soft turnout with eight signed in. 

    I had seen a post earlier in the day that hot laps had been moved up by 45 minutes, however this did not seem to be the case as action kicked off at the original time of 6:30. Whether a bogus post or track officials were wary of the rain falling in all directions, I am unsure. But although we drove through a  worrisome shower on the way north, and rain eventually stopped racing just to the north in Maquoketa, only a few renegade drops dotted the pavement in Davenport. 

    Late Models again time trial qualified two at a time, and the early draw proved most fortunate, as the first car out, Tyler Bruening would set overall quick time at 13.449 seconds. Four heat races would then set the first eight rows of the Late Model feature. Only the third eight lapper bucked the trend of front row winners. Pole sitters Bruening and Garrett Alberson captured heats one and two, but it was Dennis Erb Jr. breaking through for the win in heat three. Sheppard then powered from outside row one to top the final qualifier. Once again a pair of B mains set the next three rows, with victories going to Tim Simpson and Curt Schroeder. On this night the provisional starters increased by two, giving us a twenty six car starting field. 

    IMCA Modifieds staged three eight lap heats to determine their feature line up, with wins going to double duty Chris Simpson, temporarily out of retirement Bruce Hanford and Ben Chapman.

    Things seemed to be moving along at a smoother pace than on Friday, but once again their was a lengthy delay ahead of the features for track prep. And when cars finally hit the track, it was the eight Street Stocks give the assignment of rolling in the surface after a  heavy dose of water had been added.

    By the time the green flag waved for the fifteen lap Street Stock feature, only six cars remained on the track. Cary Brown took the early lead ahead of Blake Woodruff and Jesse Owen as those three battled for position. As the race approached the mid point, Woodruff moved to the front and began to stretch his advantage. The caution flag would come with four laps remaining, and back to racing Owen drove to the high line in turn one as Woodruff moved up the track, and contact between the two sent Owen over the top of the cushion, bringing the yellow flag out once again. After clean up only two cars were left on the track for the final four circuits. Cary Brown would find himself with his second win in two nights while Tyler Roth crossed the line in second. 

   It was now Late Model time, and perhaps to further "run in" the racing surface, the field would circle the quarter mile oval many times before the green flag would finally start the action. Bruening would take off from the pole with Erb Jr., Sheppard, Alberson and series points leader Chad Simpson in hot pursuit. Tyler Erb would soon join the chase in fifth, and the lead pack caught slower traffic about lap nine. Bruening had opened a nice cushion when the only yellow of the race came a dozen laps in. Top contenders Simpson and Dillon McCowan sat in the infield as the green flag waved once again. Bruening continued to pace the field while Alberson and Sheppard battled behind him and Tyler Erb and Dustin Sorensen contested fourth before Dustin slipped off the top of the tricky turn three. By lap twenty two of the forty lapper, Alberson had closed the gap on the front runner, and one lap later he was scored the leader. Slower traffic again came into play around lap twenty five, as Sheppard cleared Bruening for second. Working the lapped traffic to perfection, Alberson pulled away temporarily, but by lap thirty three Sheppard had found speed on the high line of the track and moved in to make a challenge for the top spot. However Alberson was not giving up, and seven laps later he completed a Davenport sweep to go along with his runner up finish Thursday at Tipton. Sheppard would complete his strong run in second followed by Bruening in third, both making their only appearance of the three night swing. Tyler Erb and another "newcomer," McKay Wenger in the Quad City based Curless Racing #99 would round out the top five. Tony Jackson Jr. gained four positions to sixth ahead of Trevor Gundaker, Frank Heckenast Jr., Sorensen and Erb Jr. 

   Although we had not set a "hard" curfew, it was now approaching 10:30, and with all three of us facing early Sunday commitments, we decided to head for the car and catch the televised action on the drive home. 

   The Sport Mod main event clicked off in fine fashion, with Tony Olson bringing home the win from the pole position in front of Friday winner Logan Veloz, Rayce Mullen, Cole Stchter and California racer Tyler Bannister. Olson and Veloz would trade the top two spots from the Friday finish while Mullen collected his second top five.  

   Thirty one laps would be the distance for the IMCA Modified finale. Austen Becerra charged to the front from outside row one and led the majority of the race. Becerra was ripping around the top of the speedway and soon had Ben Chapman alongside racing the inside line. With a liberal dose of caution periods, fifth starting Trevor Fitz soon took up the chase, also working down low. Although Becerra attempted to switch his line, his #22 did not seem to like the low groove, and eventually Fitz found his way to the front. The Camarillo, California driver who has been a 2024 regular on the Iowa ovals would pick up the $5,000 check, besting Becerra, Chapman, Eric Barnes and twelfth starting Chris Zogg. 

   It was an entertaining end to our three day northern swing, and now the plan is to wrap up our long racing weekend close to home tonight at the "reborn" Quincy Raceways.

   Thanks to SR Promotions and their team as well as MLRA officials for a fun Saturday night, and a special thanks to Tina at the pit shack for her friendly assistance. Also thanks to Jeff for hauling two old guys up and down the road! 

  The clock is ticking on 2024, so get to a track near you soon!

Alberson Tops Night one of the Corn State Nationals

     On Friday we followed the MLRA Late Models as they began their two night "Corn State Nationals" on the quarter mile at the famed Davenport Speedway. This opening night event would match the $5,000 prize from the night before. Also on the Friday card were IMCA Late Models and IMCA Modifieds, both competing for a $1,000 to win plus Outlaw Street Stocks racing for a $500 top prize.

    The addition of several competitors swelled the Super Late Model count to thirty four, backed by nineteen IMCA Late Models, twenty five IMCA Sport Mods and nine Outlaw Street Stocks. The time trial format on this night saw two cars at a time trip the clock, and qualifying went smoothly with Las Cruses, New Mexico driver Garrett Alberson pacing the field with a lap of 13.780 seconds. Alberson, who wheels the Quad City based Roberts Motorsports #58 would later make a clean sweep of the evenings' events, but unlike Tyler Erb the night previous, his pathway there was not an easy one. 

   Four ten lap heat races would set the first eight rows of the feature line up for the MLRA stars, with Alberson, Dillon McCowan, surprise entrant Dennis Erb Jr. and Frank Heckenast Jr. all collecting wins from the pole position. A pair of B mains added to the field, with Chris Simpson rebounding from heat race woes and Arizona racer Steve Stultz both victorious from outside row one. Two series provisionals would round out the twenty four car field. 

   As we had seen previously, there seemed to be some glitches in the MLRA procedures, but with all preliminary action in the books, the track crew went to work prepping the surface for feature racing. A generous helping of H2O required quite a bit of track packing before the Sport Mods could line up for fifteen laps, and by now it was "check your watch time" with the ever present city curfew looming.    

   Fortunately the full field of twenty five were on their best behavior. Jason Roth would shoot to the early lead ahead of Todd Dykema, with fifth starting Logan Veloz taking up the chase on lap two. Along with Tony Olson, those four would soon separate from the pack, catching slower traffic on lap six. As Dykema slipped back a bit, Veloz grabbed the lead just past the halfway mark. A pair of yellow flags came with ten laps scored, and following the Delaware Style restart Olson climbed to second while twelfth starting Brayton Carter threw his hat in the ring in fourth. Veloz would then race to the checkers first, followed by Olson, Roth, Carter and Rayce Mullen. 

   With the time crunch in evidence, post race festivities were postponed until all racing was completed, and the two dozen high powered Late Models came to the track for thirty laps. The first attempt at a start was called off when young Kayden Clatt spun in turn one. As luck would have it, that would be the only caution period of the race. Alberson powered to the lead only to be overtaken by Erb Jr. on lap two. Off like a shot, Erb Jr. quickly opened a commanding lead, catching the tail of the field on lap eight. Flying around the top of the speedway, the leader worked the lapped cars to perfection, with the best battle going on between Heckenast Jr. and Dustin Sorensen for third. But as the lap counter clicked past twenty and to the surprise of the gathered onlookers, Alberson began to quickly reel in the front runner. With five circuits remaining, he was in a position to challenge for the top spot, and on lap twenty seven he executed a successful slide job to clear Erb Jr. for the lead. Garrett would then drive on to the win in front of Erb Jr., Heckenast Jr., series points leader Chad Simpson and Sorensen. Tyler Erb would gain five spots to finish sixth, topping McCowan, Hilsabeck, Tony Jackson Jr., and Wisconsin visitor Chad Mahder.

    Again, to the surprise ( and relief, I would think), of all, the post race hoopla was postponed as the Street Stocks came to the track for fifteen scheduled laps. Jesse Owen led Cary Brown ahead of a caution flag with one lap in the books. Back under green it was Allen Provenzano coming from his row four start to the front, taking along Landen Chrestensen in second. Chrestensen would soon move to the lead and as the front duo raced hard, apparent contact sent the leader for a 360 degree spin, bringing out a yellow flag with five laps to go. I am not exactly sure what then transpired, but suddenly all the cars headed for the pits and the race was called complete and the two front runners disqualified. This would give the victory to Brown over Blake Woodruff and Owen. 

   Only the IMCA Late Model event remained, with all but Matt Ryan lining up for twenty five laps. Pole sitter Jay Johnson charged ahead of his row one mate, Bryce Garnhart. The first caution came on lap three, and back to racing Johnson maintained his lead in front of a four car scrum for second involving Garnhart, Cruz Birkhofer, Nebraska visitor Cory Dumpert and row seven starter Travis Denning. Seven laps in Dumpert finally cleared that group for second with Denning taking command of third. By lap ten the top three were nose to tail and side by side, with Denning moving to the runner up position. He continued his charge, clearing Johnson for the lead one lap later. Dumpert would soon move to second, but by then Denning had stretched out to a considerable advantage. As the laps wound down tenth starting Jesse Bodin began to make his presence felt, and with only a pair of laps remaining he cleared Dumpert for second just ahead of a late caution. One more lap was scored before the yellow flag waved a final time, but despite Denning again brought back to the field, he remained out front for the green, white, checkers finish. Dumpert would regain the runner up spot at the checkers trailed by Bodin, Evan Miller and Joe Beal. Birkhofer finished where he started in sixth, besting Mitch Morris, fifteenth starting Chris Lawrence, Anthony Guss and Johnson.

   Again, major kudos to the track staff for managing to complete the program in fine fashion against the ticking clock. Thanks to SR Promotions for their hospitality, with a special shout out to the very friendly and helpful lady at the pit shack! Tonight we will head back to Davenport for night two of the Corn State Nationals, and night three of four of our planned "racing staycation."

Erb Claims MLRA Hawkeye Land 40, Janssen, Richards and Bannister Also Tops at Tipton

   Thursday night we joined the MLRA Late Models as they began a three night competition in the Hawkeye state. This opening night venue, dubbed the Hawkeye Land 40, would be the quarter mile Cedar County Fairgrounds Raceway in Tipton, Iowa, nine miles north of Interstate 80 in the east central part of the state. Three IMCA classes, Modifieds, Sport Mods and Stock Cars would fill out the card. $5,000 would go to the Late Model winner, $1,000 to the Modified victor, a $750 top prize for Stock Cars and $500 for first place in the Sport Mods. The event was Co promoted by Kay Promotions and Darkside Promotions.

   A manageable total of eighty nine cars signed in for racing led by twenty nine Super Late Models and twenty seven Modifieds, with hot laps kicking off right on time at 6:30. However, the first glitch appeared when officials encountered problems with the automatic timing loop. As a result, the Late Models had to qualify one car at a time under the stop watch as opposed to the usual three or so. Overall fast time and the accompanying $500 bonus went to Texas racer Tyler Erb. The other classes would use a draw - redraw format for heat race action.

    Drama ensued during Late Model time trials when series points leader Chad Simpson was unable to complete a lap due to rear end issues with his #25. But when heat race time came, it was brother Chris Simpson who found his #32 unable to make the call. Fortunately, his back up machine was already qualified with Jason Rauen set for competition. With Chris vying for the series championship, Rauen would turn the wheel over, giving up a front row start in the first eight lapper. It would seem that this would present no problem, with Rauen out and the others moving up. But for whatever reason, after a considerable delay, cars were added and deleted, apparently based on times. Eventually we went racing, with the four heats captured by Erb, Jeff Herzog, Garrett Alberson and Dillon McCowan, all from the front row of the "straight up" starts. Both Simpsons found themselves starting near the back of heat three, and that produced some of the best racing of the night as they battled side by side for the fourth and final qualifying position. Chad would find himself failing to make the transfer, however his outside row one start in the twelve lap B main would result in a victory, putting him inside row nine for the forty lap finale. 

   Heat race action was followed by a few minutes of down time as the track crew manicured the top of turn two, then it was feature time.

   IMCA Northern Sport Mods would go first, sixteen cars for twenty laps. Pole sitter Ryan Reed would pace the opening circuit with his row one mate Tyler Bannister, Bakersfield, California, taking over the next trip under the flag stand. Fourth starting Justin Becker would take up the chase on lap three ahead of a pair of yellow flags on laps three and four. As the field reset, ninth starting Jarrett Franzen had already entered the top five for the Delaware Style restart. Franzen moved to fourth as Becker used a slide job to grab the lead. But Bannister quickly retook the top spot. Still on the move, Franzen powered to third on lap seven, then to the runner up position one lap later. The race stayed green until lap sixteen, when a final caution reset the field one more time. With the leaders mostly glued to the inside groove, Tony Olson worked the high line to try and improve his fourth position. As the checkers waved, it was Bannister with the win ahead of Franzen, Becker, Olson and Reed. 

   Erb and Alberson would bring the twenty four car MLRA field to green. However the pace setter appeared not to fire in turn four, stacking up the field with cars back in the pack facing all directions. In fact the #67 of Jimmy Vanzandt wound up partially underneath the #15C of Curt Schroeder. The delay to clean things up was a lengthy one, but when racing resumed only Vanzandt could not continue. With Erb out front of Alberson and Herzog, the yellow flag would fly three more times in the first six laps. But from then on, it was green flag racing. Early on it was Alberson and McCowan battling side by side foe second before McCowan fell back a bit and Frank Heckenast Jr. took over the third spot. The leaders caught the back of the pack about lap fourteen, and as the race neared the halfway point Alberson pulled alongside Erb on a couple of occasions. However he was unable to make the pass, and as the laps clicked off Erb gradually increased his advantage. The big mover in the second half of the race was fifteenth starting Tony Jackson Jr. He was able to overtake row seven starter Chris Simpson in the closing laps, crossing the line in fourth behind Erb, Alberson and Heckenast Jr. McCowan faded to sixth, finishing ahead of Dylan Thornton, Chad Simpson, Daniel Hilsabeck and Aaron Marrant. 

   With post race activities finally complete, sixteen IMCA Stock Cars lined up for twenty laps. Second generation driver Casey Shelliam raced side by side with third starting Riley Hanson in the opening lap, then led the field through an early caution. It was fifth starting Gage Neal soon claiming the runner up spot, but the driver on the move was ninth starting Braden Richards who put his #11R out front about lap five. Following another yellow flag, an intense four car battle developed behind Richards ahead of a final caution for a spinning Shelliam with six laps scored. Now it was Dustin Vis moving up to challenge the leader while tenth starting Joe Zrostlik charged to third. As the laps clicked off, Richards drove off from the field, cruising to the win over Vis, Zrostlik and Neal. Matt Picray eased ahead of Hanson to round out the first five. 

   IMCA Modified action closed out the night racing for twenty five circuits. Drew Janssen redrew the pole position, and that proved to be the move of the race. Following a first lap mix up, Janssen would lead throughout to pick up the win. Another Bakersfield, California racer Jerry Flippo, who along with Janssen and Ryan Maitland picked up a heat race win, would finish in the runner up slot after a row two start. Matt Werner filled out the podium ahead of a pair of hard chargers. Jeff "Bone" Larson gained eight spots to finish fourth, while Jeremiah Hurst came from inside row thirteen all the way to fifth. 

   The track was fast all night, treating the large crowd to plenty of action. An added bonus for us was the discovery that long time Late Model racer Bob Helm and his family were sitting behind us in the grandstands, and Bob regaled us with great stories throughout the night. His family was on hand to watch grandson Dalon Helm, who now calls the state of Oklahoma home race his Late Model #4X. 

   Thanks to Brenda and the Kay Promotions team as well as Ryan Duhme and Timmy Current with Darkside Promotions for their hospitality. The Darkside group now moves to Maquoketa Speedway for the Kelly Meyer Challenge and All Star Classic over the next two nights. We will follow the MLRA Late Models to Davenport Speedway for the two night Corn State Nationals paying $5,000 to win on Friday with a $10,000 top prize on Saturday. The weather looks great, so turn off the television, get off the couch and head to a race track near you!

It's Back! Quincy Raceways Wins to Woodworth, Weitholder, Zaragoza, Klingele, Abbott, Johnson

   Sunday evening marked the return of the iconic "Quincy Raceways" moniker to the historic race track on the far east side of Quincy, Il. New owner Jeff Delonjay and promoter Chance Bailey kicked off the latest chapter at the fifty year old speedway. With many improvements, some complete and many others underway, it was a bit of a different atmosphere. While the kitchen undergoes renovations, there were food trucks on hand, and as the new owner works towards a liquor license, personal coolers were in abundance! But most importantly, there were six divisions of race cars pitside, ready to do battle, with passing points the order of the day now that the points season has concluded.

   Not unexpectedly with no points and one day after the conclusion of Super Nationals, the car count was a bit light. But Steve Grotz and his crew had the .29 mile oval in tip top shape, and even with several obstacles in their way, the promotions team hit the ground running in fine fashion. Hot laps kicked off RIGHT ON TIME at 5:30 followed by heat race action. Intermission came at 7:00 P.M., and with most of the technical issues out of the way, feature racing kicked off about 7:35 in front of a nice sized crowd on an increasingly chilly evening.  

  Late Models were up first, with several participating in the optional "Topless" night, giving the cars a bit of an odd look, perhaps hearkening back to the long ago days of racing convertibles! Beginning a theme for the night, the caution waved on the first lap as Mark Enk went sideways in turn one after contact from another car. On the original restart, Denny Woodworth charged from inside row three to lead the opening lap, a position he never relinquished. A second and final yellow flag came with one lap scored as Vance Wilson exited the speedway, and it was followed by twenty four laps of green flag racing. Front row starters Tommy Elston and Jason Perry, sporting an apparent new ride, chased the Racing Attorney throughout. In the early portion of the race, Elston stayed close running high on the track while Woodworth stayed glued to the bottom. But the low line proved fastest, and soon it was Woodworth, Elston, Perry and Sam Halstead in the Barton #7B racing around the inside tire barriers, while fifth place Jackson Frankel attempted to gain ground in a higher line. Eventually Woodworth drove off to a full straightaway lead, cruising to the win. Following the top five it was Jeffery Delonjay, also in a "new" ride, chased by Jason Oenning and Matthew Kay. Terry Wilson and Enk were credited with the next two spots. Last weeks' winner, Braden Bilger went up in smoke on the first lap of his heat race and was done for the night. 

 Modifieds came next, fourteen cars for twenty laps. A brake check as the cars came to the green flag stopped the action, and on the restart pole sitter Dave Weitholder shot to the front ahead of his row one mate Justin Reed and Rick Conoyer. As Weitholder held the top spot, Reed and Conoyer battled, with Rick moving to second on lap three. As Weitholder and Conoyer pulled away, Rick was able to use an inside move to grab the top spot on lap nine. But one lap later, a pair of slower cars got together in in turn one, and with nowhere to go, Conoyer slammed into the #1LH of Lane Huff. While the cars of Huff and Matt Diaz were going on the hook, track workers removed the front bumper from the Conoyer #14, and he was able to restart at the back of the field. This put Weitholder back out front ahead of Reed and seventh starting Steve Meyer. Back under green, Meyer missed his mark exiting turn two, fading out of the top five. "New" flagman Joe Bliven would wave the white flag, then replace it with the yellow as Jadin Fuller spun in turn four, ending his night. This would set up a green, white, checkers single file finish, but Weitholder was up to the task, picking up the win over Reed, Michael Vanderiet Jr., Shawn Deering and a rebound by Conoyer.

   Only four cars signed in for Street Stock action, and they would run a non stop fifteen lap feature. Rudy Zaragoza would lead all fifteen circuits, gradually pulling away from Jake Powers and Codey Smith. Brandon Boden was an early exit with mechanical issues.

   The theme of first lap cautions resumed in the Sport Mod fifteen lapper, as Michael Goodwin looped his new looking #1 machine. Back to racing, Tanner Klingele drove to the front from his pole position followed by third starting A.J. Tournear. A three car mix up came with one lap scored, but from that point the green light remained on. Klingele was able to hold serve, while Tournear did the same in second. Logan Cumby rebounded from a sick engine in hot laps and his heat race to start in the back and race his way to third. Quinton Shelton and Cody Henderson completed the top five. 

    As the track was being cleared from post race festivities for the Sport Mods, Landon Neisen would come charging through the pit gate with his #05 4 Cylinder on his open trailer. Track officials took just an extra couple minutes to allow Landon to drive through the pits and tag the tail of the twelve lap 4 Cylinder feature. What a story that would have been had he come through for a win. But that would not be the case on this night. Visiting Danny Oates and Spencer Coats filled out row one, with Coats taking the early lead in front of Jaden Delonjay. Kimberly Abbott started in row three, and eased around Delonjay for second on lap three. She then moved up to challenge for the lead, taking command with an inside move on lap five. Soon it was a two car battle, and although Coats stayed close he was unable to mount a serious challenge, with Kimberly picking up the win in the non stop event. Coats took runner up honors ahead of Delonjay, Devin Harrell and Coosada, Alabama driver Jay Kunce. 

   Crown Vics would round out the program, ten cars for twelve laps. Again it was a caution calling off the original start. Dalton Tournear grabbed the early lead as racing resumed, but the yellow flag would wave again on lap two. Yet another caution came on the restart and then red flag was displayed as there was an apparent injury in the grandstands perhaps from a flying mud clod off the track. With a possible lengthy delay coming, I headed for the parking lot, with the clock reading 9:00 straight up as I started my vehicle. My Race Pass results show Austin Johnson taking the win, besting Jacob Jones and Jordon Zummalt. 

   All in all I would say it was a successful first night for the new regime with things moving along at a steady pace. Thanks to the Delonjays, Chance and crew for their hospitality on Sunday! 

   There will be one more night of racing for Quincy Raceways this season, as the six regular classes will be in action next Sunday, September 15. Note that the Extreme Midgets were removed from the original schedule for that night, with the new group still getting settled in. Although the 2024 season is winding down, there is still plenty of racing to be had, and I am hoping to rejoin the MLRA Late Model series as they visit the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Iowa on Thursday followed by two nights at Davenport Speedway. Both of these venues produce excellent racing, hope to see you there!

MLRA Invades Moberly for 4th Annual Weiner Nationals

    Once again it was a carnival atmosphere at Moberly, Missouri Motorsports Park for the 4th running of the "Weiner Nationals." MLRA Late Models would headline the racing with a $10,000 to win feature event. Sandwiched in amongst an Elvis impersonator, a $1,000 to win hot dog eating contest, entertainment by singer Ruby Leigh and more, the four regular classes from the tracks' unique Trophy Tuesday Poweri summer series would also be in action featuring qualified competitors from among the top dozen or so points earners. This is the 4th year of what is a one of a kind event in mid west short track racing at the facility now owned by part time racer Reid Millard. Moberly Motorsports Park operates as a non profit facility with each Weiner Nationals earmarking a specific charity. The 2024 version would raise money for the Cars4Heroes campaign with the presentation of a car made during the evening. 

   There was already a sizable crowd on hand when we arrived several minutes before the advertised hot lap time. However extra track prep pushed things back about 45 minutes with the extra watering proving beneficial as a stiff  - and very cool - northerly breeze pushed dust into the packed grandstands throughout the evening. The Poweri classes were limited to hot lap/qualifying with fifteen lap features for all except Hornets who staged a ten lap event. 

   MLRA ran two lap time trials, with points leader Chad Simpson the overall fast timer with a lap of 16.686 seconds around the high banked four tenths mile oval. Four eight lap heat races were contested, with Billy Moyer Sr., Gordy Gundaker, Simpson and Aaron Marrant all winning from the front row. A B main was scheduled, but with three early scratches it was dropped, and twenty seven cars took the green flag for thirty laps and the $10,000 top prize. As a bit of house keeping, there were twenty one MLRA Late Models on hand, with nine of the eleven invited Poweri Late Model competitors "double dipping," to create a thirty car field for the headline division. 

   Nine of the eleven Poweri Late Models took the green flag as the first of the five features. The red flag would fly at the end of lap one as a three car pile up in turn four resulted in Ashley Lancaster doing a complete roll over. She was uninjured, but the accident ended her two class effort. Chad Walter had charged from outside row one to the early lead ahead of fast qualifier Matt Becker. Walter opened a big lead before a lap five caution reset the field. Chase Breid briefly grabbed the runner up spot on the restart, with Becker retaking the spot on lap seven. One more lap was scored before a final caution, then the final seven laps went caution free. Walter cruised to a convincing win followed by Becker, Breid, Trace Melloway and Curt Potter. 

   Thirteen B Mods came next. Cody Agee shot to the front from outside row one taking along pole sitter Dawson David in second. The front pair quickly put distance on the field before a caution at the mid point brought them back to the pack. Chris Spalding mounted a challenge as racing resumed, but the race belonged to Agee. David held off Spalding for second followed by Derrick Agee and Clayton Smith. 

   After some more extra curriculars eleven Hornets lined up for their main event. Kyle Burton sat outside row one and he paced the early laps chased by Jeremy Bell and Ryan Lewis. The only caution came with two laps scored, and back under green Burton and Bell raced in tight formation, Bell grabbed the lead as they crossed under the flag stand on lap eight, then held on to the checkers. But something apparently went awry in tech, as Bell is listed a a DQ in the final rundown. This put Burton on top, with Lewis, Chaz Bell, Emery Crow, and Tony Bell completing the first five. 

   Only eight A Mods were still running come feature time. Following a pair of false starts, the front row was moved back to row two and we went racing. Jon Melloway took the lead with the yellow flag waving with two laps down. On the restart fifth starting Ryan Middaugh powered to the lead, taking along Preston Dawson in second. Middaugh drove off into the Randolph County night, and with just a pair of laps to go, Chris Spalding charged to the runner up position. At the checkers it was Middaugh, Spalding, Richard Kimberling, a fading Dawson and Kelly Smith scoring top fives. 

   Driver introductions and a fireworks display with a couple of welcomed warming fireballs preceded the nights' finale. Moyer and Chad Simpson filled out row one, but after Chad fired off a bit early the start was called back and he was moved back to row two, putting Marrant alongside the ageless veteran Moyer. Moyer paced the field as the green flag flew, and early on brothers Chad and Chris Simpson swapped the runner up spot. With those three quickly gaining separation, slower traffic came into play by lap six, light at first, then 5 o'clock freeway heavy by lap eight. Eleven laps in Moyer was momentarily caught behind one of the slower cars and Chad sailed around for the lead. Moyer fought back to the lead one lap later when contact with a lapped car slowed Chad for a bit. The caution flag then waved, giving the leaders a clear track ahead. As the green flag waved on the Delaware Style restart, Chad attempted a slider in turn two, but Moyer crossed him back over. In turn four Simpson repeated the move, and this time was successful, retaking the lead. Slower traffic again came into play about lap twenty three but Simpson was patient and smooth, holding onto his lead. A final yellow flag came with four laps to go as Marrant was forced out of a top ten run with a flat tire. The field then went single file on the restart, but Dillon McCowan found extra speed and cleared Moyer for second. However this race belonged to Simpson, who crossed the line with a healthy advantage. It was McCowan, Moyer, Tony Jackson Jr. and Chris Simpson recording top fives. Trevor Gundaker outran brother Gordy for sixth, while Jeff Herzog gained eight positions to finish eighth. Mason Oberkramer was next, and Arkansas racer Jon Kirby started 26th and advanced sixteen positions to round out the top ten. Although My Race Pass results showed seventeenth on back as "did not start," that was incorrect, as twenty seven cars took the initial green. In a rather curious but mostly insignificant scoring decision, Richard Kimberling actually took the first green flag, pulled off as the start was called back, then was scored behind Kyle Graves, one of the three non starters. Just a little fodder for you stat geeks (like me)!

   Even with a late start and all the hoopla, the final checkers came just after 10:30, a marked improvement over past Weiner National events. As a side note, apparently the Oscar Meyer "Weinermobile" was involved in an accident somewhere along the line, and was unable to make an appearance, likely a disappointment to the many youngsters in the big crowd. 

   With family activities planned we will likely not be at the track until next Sunday, but hopefully everyone will find a race to attend this week! Enjoy the holiday!

Becerra Doubles Up - Takes Drive For Five Victory at Lee County

    Saturday night the regular season wrapped up at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson with the running of the UMP Dirtcar Pro Crate Late Model "Drive for Five" finale. Drivers had the opportunity to chase a $5,000 payday in the fifty lap feature by attending a predetermined number of the $1,000 to win qualifying events throughout the season. Competitors in action on this night not eligible for the top prize could still take home $2,000 with a win. Nine names appeared on the list of those vying for the five grand. All six regular weekly classes were on the card for this final night of action ahead of the fall specials in October. Rains earlier in the week caused extra track prep, but everything was good to go by race time.

   Due to a number of factors, car counts were down across the board, with many track regulars at or headed for the IMCA Super Nationals at Boone.

   It took a bit of track packing by the competitors, but action still kicked off about 7:10, with heat race action clicking off quickly aided by zero yellow flags, leading us into feature racing.

   Hobby Stocks were up first for fifteen laps, and Dustin Griffiths kept his unbeaten streak in tact. The veteran driver jumped from row two on the opening lap, then cruised to yet another main event win in the non stop race. Darin DeZwarte took runner up honors while Jason Schutterle nosed out James Pilkington in a tight battle for third. Visiting Paul Markhardt, Barneveld, Wisconsin completed the top five. 

   Sport Compacts came next with fifteen laps again the distance. Barry Taft powered to the early lead followed by Kimberly Abbott. The first caution of the night came two laps in for debris. Back under green, Taft methodically opened a commanding lead until a second yellow flag with just one lap to go when Harrison Horn stopped near the turn four guardrail. This set up a green, white, checkers finish and Abbott mounted a strong challenge, racing side by side with Taft. As starter Kevin Eggleston waved the double checkers, it was Taft with a half car length advantage over Abbott in the closest finish of the night. Blaine Lambert grabbed third followed by Robert Harding Jr. 

   Cole Gillenwater paced the opening circuit of fifteen for the Sport Mods, with Tom Bowling Jr. driving by to the front on lap two. The veteran Burlington driver then held serve throughout another non stop event. Gillenwater recorded his best finish in second, besting Cole Vanderwal, visitor Jackson Carey, Nashua, Iowa, and Jason Van Zomeren. 

   The twenty lap Stock Car feature saw outside front row starter Beau Taylor rocket to the front as the green flag waved with fourth starting Dustin Griffiths in pursuit. As Taylor stretched his lead, pole sitter Kelly Buckallew continued to hound Griffiths in the battle for second. With no yellow flags to slow the event, Taylor continued to hit his marks, opening more than a full straightaway lead as he collected his first ever Lee County feature win. Griffiths closed out another strong night with his runner up effort followed by Buckallew, visiting Dalton Markhardt and Jeff Hollenbeck. 

   Austen Becerra suffered the loss of his father, Tony, a former top notch racer himself, during the week. Austen had his Modified adorned with a #2 in the shape of a snake, a tribute to the design on Dads' Hobby Stock. Driving with even more of a purpose, he quickly shot to the lead in the twenty lap event. Donnellson driver Levi Smith gave chase on lap one before Jarrett Brown took up the pursuit one lap later. Again the race remained caution free, and as the laps wound down Austen had opened a full straightaway advantage. When the checkers flew, it was Becerra with an emotional victory. Brown crossed the line in second chased by Smith, Dakota Simmons and Matt Diaz. 

   The headline event of the night, the fifty lap Drive for Five finale would cap off the evening. As the cars came to the track, the #33 of top contender Nick Marolf would not fire and he was pushed to the pits unable to take advantage of his row two starting spot. Denny Woodworth and rookie Jackson Frankel filled out the front row. Denny would pace the opening lap before Jackson took command on lap two. Austen Becerra had lined up in third and on lap three he drove around Woodworth for second. Along with Frankel, the top two pulled well ahead of the pack running nose to tail and side by side before Becerra used an inside move to grab the lead on lap twelve. As Becerra built his lead, Frankel stopped in turn three on lap sixteen with a flat tire. For this special event, crews were allowed to come to the infield to make repairs under yellow, and Frankel quickly rejoined the tail of the field. On the restart, third running Darin Weisinger Jr. got shuffled back in the pack, although I could not tell if there was contact involved. One lap was scored then as contact sent Jeremy Pundt spinning in turn three. Back to close quarters racing, Spencer Havermale spun into the infield off turn two with the race staying green. Again Becerra checked out from the field ahead of the scheduled "competition caution" at lap twenty five. This was a fifteen minute break in which teams were allowed to make adjustments on their cars on the front straightaway. Most anything could be done, but if a driver changed tires, he would have to restart in the rear of the field, so everyone elected to stay with the tires they had. Only eight cars were around for the restart, and once more Becerra proved to be the class of the field on this night. No more did the caution wave in the final twenty five laps, and with five to go he was enjoying a half lap lead! Austen would drive home to his second win of the night, collecting $2,000 as he was not eligible for the big money. C.J. Horn muscled his way from row four to the runner up position trailed by Woodworth, track champion Tommy Elston and Weisinger Jr. Pundt, Frankel, and rookie Jayden Johnson in his first night racing Lee County rounded out the finishing cars. 

   The rains during the week had made for a "heavy" speed dominate track, putting passing at a premium all night long. Still it was a fun night of racing, and a big thanks to Neal, Patrick and the crew for doing the extra work to make racing possible. Although the fairgrounds will be busy in September, it will be October before circle track racing returns. Friday and Saturday, October 4 and 5 will feature all classes in two separate shows dubbed the "Harvest Hustle," and October 26 will be something like year twenty six for the event known now as "Shiverfest."