Hurst First in Deery Return to Quincy

 Sunday night, the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series late models made their first visit to Quincy Raceways since 2011. The long running late model tour visited the " Broadway Bullring " twenty six times beginning in 1998, but not since the track switched to UMP for their late model class. IMCA is still the sanctioning body for the four cylinder Sport Compacts, which were also on the card on Sunday, along with outlaw stock cars, another class that began 2019 with IMCA affiliation before being opened up mid season in hopes of increasing car counts.
  Heavy rain on Saturday morning turned the facility into a muddy mess, but the track crew worked all day Sunday to get the .29 mile oval into racing shape, and although it was still challenging conditions, by feature time, there was plenty of action.
  Eighteen IMCA late models checked in to do battle, plus one misguided UMP Pro Crate driver who neglected to check the schedule before towing to QR for the first time. Although he was not legal to race, track officials did give him a hot lap session before he headed for home. In addition, eleven stock cars and ten sport compacts rounded out the field.
  Stock cars started off the racing action, and things turned ugly in heat one as Michael Larsen lost a drive shaft coming down the front chute and drove off turn one, rolling his #48 as he contacted the pit gate. He was uninjured and would return in a borrowed ride for the feature. Abe Huls captured that ten lapper, while Steve Myers drove his #15 station wagon to the heat two win.
  The late models were up next, with outside pole sitter Matt Ryan topping heat one over Joe Zrostlik, QR Hall of Famer Mark Burgtorf in the Lynn Richard #15R, and Ray Raker. Veteran Curt Martin captured the second heat ahead of Tommy Elston, Darrell Defrance ( who has entered all 497 Summer Series races! ), and Jay Johnson. Pole sitter Andy Nezworski led the distance in the final qualifier in front of Matt Strassheim, Joel Callahan and Jeremiah Hurst.
  Heat race action wrapped up as rookie Landon Neisen and Dylan Schantz scored sport compact wins.
  As track prep work was done, the top twelve late model drivers came to the grandstand side to do the Caseys' pizza box draw for feature starting positions.  When the picking and trading was complete, Hurst and Nezworski would be starting in the front row for the forty - shortened to thirty - lap main event.
  First, however, it would be twenty laps for the stock cars. The redraw found Beau Taylor and Andy Gaines lining up in row one. Taylor shot to the lead, with row two starter Steve Dieckmann and sixth starting Abe Huls in pursuit. As Taylor continued to lead, Dieckmann and Huls battled for second ahead of a lap five caution. Back under green, Huls went hard into turn one, losing the handle on the #30C , collecting Myers and Cletus Coats. After a trip to the work area, Huls returned to the lineup. As mentioned previously, Michael Larsen jumped in the Pete Stodgell #82, tagged the tail of the feature, then charged to the runner up spot on lap nine. At the same time, Huls headed to the trailer, his night over. Taylor opened a sizable lead, but Larsen began to reel him in, closing on his back bumper with four laps to go. Continuing to hit his marks, Beau picked up his eighth win of 2019 at QR. Larsen crossed in second followed by Dieckmann, Jake Powers, Gaines, Myers, and Coats. However Larsen apparently failed to go to the tech area after the race, and was subsequently disqualified.
  It was now late model time. Hurst led the charge into turn one, with Nezworski and fourth starting Martin nipping at his heels. The leaders worked the low line of the speedway ahead of the first yellow for a slowing Elston with nine laps scored. On the restart, Martin, winner of the series race at QR in 1999, decided to look at the high line. He was challenging for the lead, but the top seemed to suddenly " go away, " and by lap sixteen he had fallen to fourth behind Nezworski and Ryan. Although track conditions had improved, there was a treacherous bump off turn two that would sometimes result in the cars bouncing through the hole. A second caution came at lap twenty two as Raker tried to exit the track, only to become mired in the mud in turn one. As the field reset, Hurst was trailing smoke from his Roberts Racing #58. Ryan took advantage of the Delaware restart to vault into second. As the laps wound down, Johnson and Burgtorf, who had both been running outside the top five, decided to give the top side another look. And voila, the idea worked! Johnson moved to third, then tucked back to the low side, while Burgtorf, who knows QR better than anyone, advanced to fourth before the laps ran out. As the checkers waved, Hurst scored the flag to flag win. Ryan came home second, besting Johnson, nine time QR summer series winner Burgtorf, and Nezworski. Callahan led the second five, followed by Martin, Zrostlik, Defrance, and Strassheim.
  The final race on the card was the fifteen lap event for the sport compacts. The rookie Neisen paced the opening circuit, with Chance Bailey taking over on lap two. Craig Bangert put his #99B out front as lap four was scored, opening a commanding lead ahead of a debris caution at lap eleven. One more lap was counted before a second and third yellow for more debris. As racing resumed, former track champion Kimberly Abbott charged to second, and as the leaders came to the white flag, she powered to the front. Running the middle line, Kimberly was first to the checkers, besting Bangert, Bailey, Quinton Shelton, and Jared Heule in a Schantz racing #73.
  With a lot of hard work under less than ideal conditions, the Quincy Raceways crew was able to offer up a night of racing that wrapped up about 9:15. As always, thanks to Jason Goble and his team for their efforts.
  As weekly events begin to wind down, there is still plenty of racing to be had. For me, next weekend is still in the planning stages, although the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series race at the famed West Liberty, Iowa Raceway is on my wish list!
  Thanks for reading!