Persistent showers on Saturday caused Quincy Raceways officials to reschedule night number two of the inaugural Kenny Pratt Memorial to Sunday afternoon. When I arrived at the track at noon, it was obvious that start times would be delayed, as the pit area as well as the track itself had received considerable moisture. The track crew proved to be up to the task, and on track action began soon under sunny skies and sixty degree plus temps.
Drivers in all three classes had indicated their desire for time trial qualifying, and this time there was no issues with the transponder system, with the forty six cars on hand each receiving one qualifying lap around the .29 mile oval. Steve Dieckmann paced the outlaw stock cars, Friday night feature winner Jose Parga topped the Pro Crate/ IMCA late models, and Rich Bell turned a lap of 13.538 seconds to lead the super late models.
There was still an issue with a bit of standing water at the bottom of turns two and three narrowing the racing surface as heat races began, but thanks to several adventurous competitors, the track was soon widened out. Still, in typical Quincy Raceways fashion the high side was dominate for the ten lap heats.
Robert Cottom came from outside row one to capture the first stock car heat, with veteran Larry Winn topping heat two from his pole start.
Limited late model qualifier victories went to pole sitters Parga and Dakota Ewing, both UMP Pro Crate regulars.
Sixteen super lates were split into three heats. Outside row one starters Mike Spatola and Jeremiah Hurst claimed wins, with the final ten lapper going to pole sitter and Friday night feature winner Dennis Erb Jr.
The Pratt family was recognized during intermission, with track owner/promoter Jason Goble indicating his desire to continue to grow this event going forward.
Feature races would all be fifty laps, with the stock cars having a fuel stop at the half way mark.
Fast qualifier Dieckmann had dropped out of his heat, and he was the only one of the fifteen drivers to not take the feature green flag. Cottom took off from his pole position ahead of a lap one caution. Back to racing, Cottom, Winn , and sixth starting Shane Myers in his " grocery getter " station wagon soon gained separation from the field. Cottom caught slower traffic on lap eleven, putting several cars between himself and Winn just ahead of yellow number two for a B J Thompson spin. As the field was reset, Winn headed to the pits, his night over. Cottom then dove to the hot pit turning the lead over to Myers. A tall and heavy cushion got the best of Myers in turn three on lap fiften, as he nearly slipped over the top, and Rudy Zaragoza charged to the lead. On the following circuit Myers retook the point, even as Zaragoza faded to fourth. Only eight cars remained following the fuel stop at the halfway mark. On lap thirty, the turn three cushion again bit Myers, and now it was row two starter Tyler Gilmour grabbing the lead. Two more cautions interrupted the action even as Myers and Dennis Wernle staged an entertaining battle for second, allowing Gilmour to build a comfortable lead. Five cars remained as the checkers flew, with the Peoria driver Gilmour taking the win. Wernle won the battle for second, followed by Myers, Zaragoza, and Michael Larsen. The win was worth a cool $1,000 for the winner.
As the sun began to disappear behind the trees in turn one, the moisture in the track came to the surface, and lap times actually increased during the Pro Crate/ IMCA main. Parga shot to the early lead, with third starting Jeff Tharp, making the long tow from Sherrill, Iowa with his IMCA ride, following in second. The first of nine cautions came on lap four, as Sam Halstead saw his night come to an end. On lap eight the caution waved as Melvin Linder went for a spin, Keith Pratt in the Weisinger #11 left the track taking evasive action while Parga jumped the cushion in turn four. Parga and Pratt retained their positions on the restart, while Linder was sent to the tail. Parga was now showing rear spoiler damage after tagging the front stretch wall, and it seemed to slow his momentum. As racing resumed, Tharp jumped to the lead, with third running Denny Woodworth also clearing Parga for second. After a lap thirteen yellow for a Tristan Bainter spin, Woodworth charged to the front. The Quincy Raceways track champion then held serve through several more cautions, at times opening a wide lead only to see it evaporate as the yellow flag waved. Woodworth and Tharp made it a two car race after a lap thirty six caution while Friday runner up Andy Nezworski chased the front pair in third. With three circuits to go, Pratt, Chuck Hanna, and Parga had been locked in a back and forth battle for fourth when contact sent Parga for a spin, bringing out the final yellow. Woodworth was not to be denied, claiming the win and the $2,000 payday. Tharp was solid in second, followed by Nezworski, Pratt, and Hanna. Tucker Finch topped the second five in front of Roben Huffman, Linder, Parga, and Ewing. Ewing lost his sixth place run, jumping the turn three cushion on the final lap, making him the final car still running at the end.
It was now time for the $5,000 headliner for the open late models.
Spatola took off from the pole to lead lap one, with Erb Jr. moving to the front one lap later. Meanwhile, Jamie Wilson and outside pole sitter Hurst were already headed to the trailer. The caution came out at lap seven for a Scott Bourland spin, and shockingly, Erb headed pit side, his shot at a weekend sweep over. Spatola now found himself again out front, with McKay Wenger and Bell side by side behind him for the restart. Bell took the runner up spot from Wenger on lap twelve, with eighth starting Brent Larson moving to third on the next circuit. The top three caught slower traffic at lap eighteen, but a pair of cautions in the next couple of laps left eleven cars still on track. After another caution just before halfway, with the leaders now running a low line around the oval, Wenger began pounding the treacherous cushion. When the caution waved at lap twenty nine, Spatola, Bell, Wenger, and Larson were involved in a dog fight for position. Spatola used the now single file restart to open an advantage, as Bell and Wenger now dueled for second. While Wenger continued to run the high line, Bell was moving around the track, holding the runner up spot. At lap forty, Wenger had a run as the pair entered turn one, and contact sent Bell for a spin. He then ducked to the hot pit, quickly rejoining the race and offering a greeting to Wenger before taking his spot at the back of the pack. As Bell attempted to charge back towards the front and Spatola went on cruise control, Larson cleared Wenger with five laps to go. Spatola, the driver known as " Opie, " collected the big check in what he said was his first time actually getting to race at QR after having been rained out previously. Larson turned in his second top five of the weekend, with former track semi regular Wenger in third. Rusty Griffaw added a fourth to his third place run on Friday, and Quincy native Matt Bailey, who now calls Highland, Illinois home scored a fifth at his former home track. Bell was able to charge back to sixth, and sixteen time track champion Mark Burgtorf was seventh in front of Derek Fetter and Quincian Joey Gower. Brian Wolfmeier was credited with tenth after dropping out late in the fifty lapper.
The inaugural Kenny Pratt Memorial must be considered a success, even with the challenging weather, and I look forward to this hopefully becoming an annual event. Planning did not begin until late August, so perhaps an earlier date in 2020 could be considered, as many drivers ( and fans? ) had already put a wrap on the racing season.
Although I will not be able to attend this year, there is one more weekend of racing close by, as the C J Speedway in Columbus Junction, Iowa will expand their Turkey Dash to a pair of separate events next weekend, with action starting at 4:00 on Saturday and 1:00 on Sunday. A mods, sport mods, stock cars, and sport compacts will be in action.
Looking forward, I hope to make it to the annual Turkey Bowl in Springfield, Missouri on November 23 and of course hoping for good weather for the Gateway Dirt Nationals at the Dome in St. Louis December 19-21.
Thanks for reading!
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