First Time Winners Lead the Way at Quincy Raceways

 Drivers in three of the five classes picked up their first wins of 2014 Sunday night as the rain stayed away from Quincy Raceways. Some early sprinkles threatened the program, and may have kept a few cars away, but there was plenty of action at the .29 mile oval. The track was a bit choppy during the heat races, but a rework of the surface during intermission resulted in five fast paced main events.
 The running order was changed up a bit this week, with the caution plagued IMCA sport mods moved to last on the grid, and the normally last IMCA sport compacts getting the first call.
 The change was a good one for Pat " Skip " Dunker, as he was able to bring Austen Becerras 13 consecutive feature win streak to an end. Austen had not lost a main event since last July, but he crossed the line in the runnerup spot on Sunday night. Brandon Lambert held the lead early before Dunker blasted to the top spot in his # 3 machine. He opened up a sizable lead in the caution free 15 lapper before Becerra was able to move into second. Becerra caught Dunker on lap twelve, but could not find a way around. Kimberly Abbott slipped past Lambert late after an entertaining battle for the third spot, and Bryce Baker came home in fifth.
  Next up it was the IMCA stock cars doing battle for 18 laps. The car count was low, but in usual stock car fashion, the action was intense. Nathan Hays had led flag to flag in the heat race, and he shot out from the pole in the main event. On lap two, former champions Terry Houston and Abe Huls got together, and point leader Jim Lynch charged to the second spot, applying pressure to Hayes. The first feature caution flew on lap nine, and on the restart, Brandon Savage went to work on Lynch. Soon, however, it was Huls moving to third, and on lap 13 he moved to second. Abe dogged the # 1 of Hayes for the final five laps, but the youngster did not miss his marks, collecting his first ever stock car win by less than a car length. Houston recovered to grab third followed by Savage and Jake Powers.
 Twelve UMP super late models lined up next to duel for the $1.200 top prize. Track officials changed the format for the UMP classes this week, using time trials to set up two heat races rather than a fast car dash and a " slow " heat. The late model and modified fast qualifiers then did a feature invert roll based on heat race finishes. Late model fast timer Denny Woodworth sent fellow racer Dustin Griffin out to roll for him, and " D Griff " rolled a one, for a straight up start. This put heat winners Woodworth and Griffin on the front row for the 30 lapper. Woodworth, the late model lawyer jumped out to the lead at the green, taking row two starter Justin Reed along with him. the two raced side by side as they completed lap two, but by lap four, Denny was pulling away. As Woodworth stretched his lead, Reed, Griffin, and Mark Burgtorf got together in turn one on lap seven, with all three continuing on. Burgtorf now held the third spot, and he staged a fierce duel with Reed for several circuits. Mark finally claimed the second spot one lap before the half way mark, but by now the 45DW had a straightaway lead. On lap 23, an ominous plume of heavy smoke came from the Woodworth machine, and he seemed to slow ever so slightly. Still he continued on, as the smoke lessened. Burgtorf closed on the leader a bit, but as the race stayed caution free, Denny took the win by a comfortable margin. In his post race interview, he said he blew a power steering line, and drove the last seven or so laps without power steering. It was the first feature checkers of the year for Woodworth, who swept the nights events. Burgtorf ran a strong second, followed by Reed, Griffin, and Rickey Frankel. Jamie Wilson led the second five ahead of Bill Genenbacher, Ron Elbe, Chuck Mitchell, and John Beck.
  The UMP modifieds had extra cash on the line, with a $750 top payout, but the car count was the lowest of the season. Dave Weitholder captured the second heat win with his back up 6 cylinder power plant in his # 05 machine. The feature invert was six, with Shawn Deering unable to make the call with apparent broken suspension. The yellow waved on lap one as Dylan Hoover spun in front of the pack, and on the restart, Keith Pratt grabbed the lead, while Michael long charged from a row three starting spot to second. The caution waved again on lap two for Russ Coultas, and on the ensuing restart, Ryan Meyer took a scary ride in turn three. Ryans # 82M became airborne, flipping wildly high above the racing surface. Incredibly, there was no contact made as the field charged by, and after some anxious moments the new father emerged from his bent race car apparently only a bit shaken. When racing resumed, Long grabbed the top spot and began to pull away as Weitholder did all he could to hold off a persistent Steven Delonjay. On about lap 17 of the 25 lapper, Delonjay was able to take the second spot and at almost the same time, Long ducked to the infield with mechanical woes. The remaining laps ticked off caution free, and Delonjay cruised to the win. Weitholder nabbed the runnerup honors, while much improved Shane Lewis edged Pratt on the final lap for third. Hard luck Jared Schlipman was able to keep his mount together for 25 laps and came home fifth after falling out of his heat race.
 The last feature of the night was the IMCA sport mod 18 lapper. Lap one saw four wide racing behind lead Trevor Hagerbaumer. The battle for second shaped up between Aaron Brocksieck and Tanner Klingele, before Brocksieck lost the handle on the # 05 on lap five. The caution waved again one lap later, and on that restart, Hagerbaumer looped his ride, collecting Klingele and  sending both to the hot pit. Joey Gower was the new leader, and he held the spot as the race stayed green. Bobby Anders began to mount a challenge on lap 16, but the veteran Gower kept his # 31 out front for the checkers. Tony Dunker raced home in third ahead of Brad Holtmeyer and Klingele.
 The final checkers waved about 9:11 wrapping up an enjoyable night of racing at the Bullring.
  It may be a while before my next race, with family matters taking precedence this weekend. Still, the month of June is chock full of big events, including the UMP Summernationals Hell Tour stop at Quincy on June 19. And for you open wheel fans, the USAC and Power I midgets will be in Quincy this Thursday, June 5. Thats all for now!