Sunday, July 6 was induction night for the 2025 class of the Quincy Raceways Hall of Fame. New inductees featured the late Brent Slocum, retired drivers Mike Dyche and Tony Dunker as well as former Bomber champion and current Sport Mod competitor Jim Gillenwater. In addition, long time sponsor and racing photographer the late Wayne Walbring and "man of many faces" Jeff Carter filled out the lineup. Special recognition also went out to Jeff Scott and the entire Scott Family who opened the famed facility in 1975 and promoted it through the glorious NASCAR Winston Racing Series era. Fans also got the opportunity to meet several past inductees who came in support of the new class, as well as many family members and friends. In addition there were tables of memorabilia from the 50 years of Quincy Raceways. And oh yeah, there was even some racing going on!
A purse featuring $1,000 to win for Pro Late Models, DirtCar Modifieds, Sport Mods, Sport Compacts and Crown Vics. was on the line sponsored by Parrish Truck Lines. Street Stocks and a special appearance by the Vintage Cars filled out the racing card.
Heavy rains overnight left the grounds wet, but the track crew stepped up to get everything ready. Also the racing surface was not in prime condition due to the precipitation, but the crew worked hard, regrooming the oval during the awards break at intermission.
Eighty four teams signed in to do battle, with the IMCA Northern Sport Mods the first feature to hit the track. Tanner Klingele shot to the front early in the fifteen lapper, and soon it was a two car tussle between the yellow #73X and Reed Wolfmeyer #2W. The third and final yellow flag came with just two laps remaining and although Wolfmeyer made it interesting, a very excited Klingele drove off into victory lane. Logan Cumby raced home third in front of the battle scarred #00 of Kyler Girard. A.J. Tournear completed the top five.
The sixteen Vintage cars were split into a pair of twelve lap features. Seventy nine year old Allen Guthrie from Raymore, Mo. out dueled Steve Tanner, Richmond, Mo. to take feature one, while Ronny Bunn, Nevada, Mo. ran off from the field in his Six Pack (the movie) #49 tribute ride in feature two. Fans also got to see another QR Hall of Famer, Terry Gallaher in action in his #0 Vintage machine.
A dozen DirtCar Pro Late Models checked in, but top competitors Jackson Frankel and Aiden Perry were no shows come feature time. First heat winner Denny Woodworth used his pole position starting spot to jump ahead, with third starting Austen Becerra soon nipping at his heels. The lone caution came with eleven of the twenty five laps scored when Becerra made contact with the turn four concrete, ending his run. Jamie Wilson had dropped out of his heat race and lined up at the tail of the feature, and after steadily moving up he vaulted to third on the restart behind Woodworth and fifth starting Jeffrey Delonjay. But there would be no catching Woodworth, as the Late Model Lawyer picked up another win. Following Delonjay and Wilson it was Darin Weisinger Jr., rookie Benet Duesterhaus, Jason Oenning, and Rickey Frankel III, the only cars still running at the checkers.
DirtCar UMP Modifieds would go at it for twenty laps, and for nineteen and a half it looked as though Dave Weitholder would score another win. The many time track champion maintained a steady pace out front through three caution periods before a final yellow came as the white flag appeared. This final restart was single file and Weitholder hit his marks well. But Justin Reed, who had chased the leader throughout, went for broke in turns three and four, and with the big crowd now on their collective feet, crossed the finish line inches ahead to steal the win. A trio of St. Louis area drivers, Rick Conoyer, Kenny Wallace and Drake Stevenson rounded out the top five.
Although the Modified finish would probably make the highlight reel, surprisingly the Street Stock main event may have been the race of the night. Surprisingly because only four cars were left to take the green flag, with the laps cut to a dozen. And only three laps in Eddie Dieker saw his night come to an end. One lap later, leader Rudy Zaragoza got crossed up exiting turn two, creating contact with the two remaining cars and eliminating Levi Long. So we were left with only Zaragoza and Jake Powers. But those final laps saw the pair racing side by side, never more than a car length apart, exchanging slide jobs with multiple lead changes. When the checkered flag waved, it was Zaragoza with the win.
All but one of the eleven DirtCar 4 Cylinder drivers took the feature green for fifteen laps. Following a mix up on the start, Michael Grossman charged to the front from outside row one, with Jaden Delonjay chasing in second. Following another early caution Delonjay powered to the top spot exiting turn two on lap four. Jaden maintained his advantage until an apparent flat tire sent him into the turn four concrete just before the halfway mark. Grossman retook command, leading through a final caution with six laps to go. But one circuit later his night came to an abrupt halt. Jay Kunce, who calls Coosada, Alabama home, but races weekly in Quincy assumed the lead all the way to the big payday. The battered machine of Dyllan Bonk took the runner up honors ahead of Kimberly Abbott and Aden Watkins, as the only cars left standing.
Crown Vics would round out the night. With a top prize several times more than normal, this might have been expected to be a slam bang affair. Correct. I will confess to gathering up my stuff and heading to the car after about the third caution near the mid point of the fifteen laps. Apparently I missed some unnecessary on track drama! Hat tip to My Race Pass, which shows the win going to Jake Etter, followed by Brian Kaylor, Jacob Jones, Glen Wiley and Levi Brierton.
Besides being a small part of the Hall of Fame ceremonies, I was happy to have grandson Keagan and his lovely bride Megan join me in the grandstands. Even more special, it was the first race night for great grandson Chester, who just turned five years old last Tuesday. He was trooper who was still going strong as the clock moved past 9:30, so maybe (hopefully) I will have another generation of race fan to carry on!
Among the many on hand, it was good to visit with Brad Stevens and Jessi Mynatt, as we plan to attend the Lucas Oil Late Model extravaganza this coming Thursday at their southeast Iowa showplace, 34 Raceway in West Burlington. Then it will be back to Quincy Raceways for a special Friday night, July 11 program featuring the Pro Late Models racing for a $1,000 to win. There are also special county fair racing events next weekend at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Ia. and Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo., so no excuses, get to the races!
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