Sunday evening the 360 cubic inch Sprint Invaders made their first of two scheduled appearances of 2022 at the Adams County, Illinois Speedway just east of Quincy off Highway 104. Three of the regular weekly classes at the track, UMP modifieds, IMCA sport mods and 4 cylinders would fill out the card, with Pro late models and street stocks off for the night. This would be a "one off " show for the Burlington, Iowa based series, as their scheduled Saturday night show at Peoria Speedway fell victim to the heavy rains that moved through the area.
A solid field of seventy five cars were on hand, with twenty three modifieds and twenty sprints leading the way. Most surprising was the appearance of national standout Nick Hoffman in the pits with his NOS Energy #2 modified. While scheduled to race in Pennsylvania over the weekend, an unfortunate death in his family brought him to the St Louis area instead. Following Invader hot laps, Hoffman then flirted with the track record for mods, topping qualifying with a lap of 14.227 seconds around the .29 mile oval.
The sprinters were divided into three heat races, and they struggled to get them in the books, with numerous yellow and red flags slowing the action. Seventeen year old Chase Randall, a Waco, Texas native spending the race season in the mid west topped heat one.Series points leader Cody Wehrle, from Burlington grabbed heat two, and "local boy" Jake Griffin, who literally grew up at the track drove a brand new #0 to a popular heat three win.
In the star studded modified field, Hoffman ran off with heat one and Michael Long, back after a lengthy absence from the speedway, dominated heat two. Kenny Wallace also made his return to Quincy and captured heat three.
A pair of qualifying heats for the sport mods and 4 cylinders came next, followed by the Shake Up Dash for the sprints. Randall was also victorious in this event, which as I understand it pays both purse money and championship points. Normally the winner then pulls a number one through six spoon to set the first three rows for the feature lineup. On this night a junior fan did the honors, pulling a three, putting Griffin and Tanner Gebhardt on row one and Randall lining up in the number three position.
With intermission next, it was decided to change the running order with the twenty five lap Invader feature first. All but two of the entrants were able to make the call. Paul Nienhiser and Randall shot to the front as lap one went in the books and by the time that duo caught the back of the pack on lap five it had become a two car race. Nienhiser was riding the cushion while Randall searched for a lane to move to the front, but on lap seven Nienhiser bobbled slightly in turns three and four, allowing Randall to drive underneath him for the lead. Now Randall was able to put his #9 in the top groove and when the first caution came just before the halfway mark, the front pair had a nearly straightaway lead. Sprint Invaders use a single file realignment procedure, but only one more lap was scored before a second and final caution period. Back to racing, Randall pulled out to a solid advantage while Nienhiser also put distance on the battle for third between Gebhardt, Wehrle, and Bret Triplett. Nienhiser was able to close the gap a bit as slower traffic again came into play with four laps left, but Randall quickly regained his lost ground, cruising to the win and the clean sweep on the night. Nienhiser chased him to the checkers with Wehrle in third. Steven Russell, who started in row seven made a last lap pass of Gebhardt to take fourth, while Triplett rode home in sixth. Colton Fisher ran seventh, Veteran Ryan Jamison recovered from the lap twelve caution to finish eighth. Tyler Lee and former Quincy modified regular Dugan Thye completed the top ten.
The modified twenty lapper was up next. Spencer Havermale was the lone no show, with Hoffman and Long on row one. Hoffman quickly charged to the lead with Wallace clearing Long for second. The first yellow flag waved for second generation driver Damian Kiefer with three laps scored. Track points leader Austen Becerra had started in row four, but was now in fifth for the restart. He moved to fourth three laps later and when the yellow flag came again one lap before halfway, Austen had jumped to third. Long gave up his top five run at this point, retiring to the pits. Hoffman again pulled well ahead of a close battle for second between Wallace, Becerra, and Dave Wietholder. Hoffman was negotiating heavy traffic with three laps to go, but one more late caution left him with a clear track ahead. Although the single file restart yielded one more quick caution, it did nothing to slow the trip to victory lane for the #2. Wallace took runner up honors, while Becerra barely held off Wietholder at the line for third. Mike Vanderiet Jr. was solid in fifth while Mark Burgtorf brought his IMCA legal ride home in sixth.
Sixteen IMCA sport mods would check in next for eighteen laps. An early yellow flag came as pole sitter John Reiner raced his new #113 to the early lead. Tanner Klingele lined up in row three, survived an early altercation where he made contact with Michael Goodwin, who looped his machine, then charged to the front on a lap four restart. The top six cars raced in tight formation before contact from behind sent Reiner for a spin with seven in the books. This time, the offending driver, second heat winner Quinton Shelton, was sent to the tail with Reiner getting his spot back. Points leader Adam Birck had moved from row five to second by this time, and with eight laps left he nosed ahead of Klingele for the lead, damaged spoiler and all. One lap later, however, Tanner was able to retake the position just ahead of another caution. Back under green, Dakota Girard powered past Birck while fifteenth starting Logan Cumby charged to fourth. With just four circuits remaining, Girard went for a spin, with Cumby sent to the tail, much to the dismay of some in the large crowd, some of whom also showed their displeasure! With the race now green to the finish, Klingele cruised to victory, completing a sweep on the night. Girard held off Birck for second while Reed Wolfmeyer recovered from a trip to the tail to finish in fourth. A. J. Tournear kept his nose clean all race long and advanced seven spots to complete the top five.
Those who headed for home ahead of the fifteen lap 4 cylinder feature missed an eventful conclusion to the evening. With sixteen cars coming to the track, outside pole sitter, heat two winner Kimberly Abbott led a five car battle before giving up the lead to first heat winner Jaden Delonjay on lap three. On the next lap, Kimberly spun into the infield, with Jimmy Dutlinger, who I believe was the points leader as racing began, charged with the caution. Jeffery Delonjay moved to the lead on the restart, with another caution at lap five. As Dutlinger worked his way forward, he was collected by Jeff Delonjay who was sent to the pits, with eight laps remaining, and Dutlinger also headed to the pits where a discussion apparently ensued. As the race headed to its' conclusion, the appearance of Adams County and Illinois State law enforcement arrived to sort out the "action" from the final two races. Meanwhile on the track, Jeffery grabbed the checkered flag and the points lead. Jaden came home second, trailed by Abbott, Davenport, Iowa visitor Trent Lebarge, and Kyle Weisenberger.
So it was an unusually active night at the track, hopefully things will calm down a bit ahead of season championship night next Sunday! There is lots of racing to be had in the next few weeks, so let's make the most of it. And hopefully we will see you as we go Racin' Down the Road!
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