Rainout Number One

Although our plans were to start the 2012 season at Quincy Raceways on opening night April 1, the continued beautiful weather proved too nice to ignore. After reading the results of the Friday night opener at Bell Clair Speedway in Belleville,Il., we decided it was time to go racing. Saturday was to be night two of a double header combo, with the UMP late models moving down the road to Highland,Il. Each night featured a $ 1500 to win 40 lap main event with a $1000 bonus to sweep both shows. If no driver won both nights, the bonus would be split among the top three points finishers. Plus the UMP modifieds were running for $750 to win each night, and each track had two weekly support classes. Belleville had a healthy late model count of 29, with the mod count seemingly a bit low at 15. Veteran Kevin Weaver, defending UMP champion Ryan Unzicker and St Louis area hot shoe Michael Kloos topped the Shamrock 40, with many other big dogs in the field, enough to make the 170 plus mile trip to Highland look attractive. The forecast Saturday morning looked less than perfect, and as we prepared to leave, it was literally changing by the minute. The besr guess looked like we would drive through some showers, but it should all be out of the Highland area by 5:00PM. So if the showers were not too heavy...Sure enough, the rain began north of Troy,Mo, and was coming down in sheets as we drove through St Louis. A pair of calls to the speedway were answered with the good news that it was not raining and indeed had not. And we could see clear skies in their direction. By the time we arrived at the track - way too early, as usual,- the sky looked good. But as we scoured the pits from the hillside high above, the clouds began to build in the west. By 5:00PM, when the rain should have been coming to a close, it was obvious the track was going to get wet and the question became how soon and for how long. I'm not sure of the answer to either question, but I do know it was enough to force postponement of our first action of the 2012 season. Heavy rain and sharp lightning was still present as we started the drive home. For those who have never been to the Madison County track, both the pits and the track set in something of a canyon, and although there is a paved road up the hill from the pit area, it looks a bit challenging to get everyone out in those conditions. Even as the weather worsened, cars continued to roll in and I was able to identify a dozen late models including the top finishers from Friday night. Plus there were several big rigs who never bothered to unload, and I would guess the actual count was two or three higher when the rains came. It also looked as though the mod count would easily surpass that of Friday night. Although not totally unexpected, it was still a disappointing start to the season, especially in light of current fuel prices, which could very well curtail our traveling as the summer arrives. Indeed, the race has been rescheduled for next Saturday, March 24, and although we likely won't be able to return, it should be a good show for someone looking for a March race. One big name that probably won't return is Randy Korte, who will be taking some time off as he fights a blood disorder and some residual spinal issues, presumably from his back surgery a while back. " King Kong " anticipates a full recovery, but will not be behind the wheel of his # 00 for a period of time.
Although we were not able to see any action, we want to offer thanks to these tracks for taking a chance on March racing within reasonable driving distance, and we wish Highland success next week and throughout 2012.

Showin' Off the New Rides

The weekend marked the annual Quincy Raceways show at the Quincy,Il Mall. A record 38 cars spread out through the six classes jammed the mall, with lots of fans checking out the machines and talking to the competitors. The top preseason story of 2012 is the switch to UMP sanction for the late model class. Ten teams had their machines on display, and as expected there were some interesting story lines. Defending point champion Justin Reed was quick to mention that the open rules package was new to him, and he would likely have a learning curve. Justin has mapped out a 50 odd race schedule he would like to undertake in 2012. Conversely, point runner up Denny Woodworth has done a lot of open racing for several seasons, and should have a bit of a comfort level. Matt Bailey will begin the season with an IMCA spec engine, competing on Saturdays at 34 Raceways, then swapping out wheels and tires to run at his hometown track on Sundays. Dustin Griffin will be back on his hometown dirt after capturing the UMP Pro Crate national championship in 2012. Meanwhile, his 13 year old cousin, Jake Griffin, back from Speedweeks racing has mapped out an ambitious schedule. Jake will be racing Friday nights with the asphalt late models at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids, with an assist from veteran driver Johnny Spaw. Plans are to race modifieds, perhaps both A and B, at Spoon River Speedway on Saturday, then the youngster will hit the QR bullring on Sundays with both his UMP late model, and UMP modified. Vance Wilson is back in a late model for this season after spending 2011 in the modified division.
A nice group of 15 modifieds, split between UMP A's, and IMCA sport mods were on hand. Veteran Tony Dunker displayed a car for each division, although he has traded his trademark # 4 for #3 in the sport mods. Dave Weitholder is already on his second body after a couple of weeks of hard racing in Florida! Points champ Steven Delonjay will be back to defend his A mod title.
The big story in the IMCA stock car class was the appearance of a car unfamiliar to many QR fans. Ty Hill, who is a regular at the Boone Speedway had his # 3H ride in the show. Ty is originally from the Quincy area, and has raced in Quincy during stock car specials. With his parents still living just a few miles from the track, Ty has made tentative plans to be at QR for at least half the shows in 2012.
Those who read this column know that I am a big late model fan, but it was a hobby stock that stole the show for me. Rounding a corner at the far end of the mall from where I started, I came upon the # 1 of Richie Wagy. Richie has been an off and on racer for many seasons at QR, but his new ride will make him a legend among us old timers. Richie spent the winter putting together a 1957 Chevy to compete with hobby stocks. Seeing this machine took me back to the days when my hair was black, and guys I knew actually made money racing. It would not be appropriate for me to root for Wagy to win every Sunday, but i will sure be rooting for him to do well enough to keep the old Bel Air on the track all season!
Racing in the area kicked off Saturday with Jack Sullivan taking the checkers ahead of 29 other late models at Springfield,Mo Raceway. This weekend, the UMP cars will battle, weather permitting in a two night combo series at Belleville and Highland, Il. Quincy Raceways will drop the green flag on April 1 with a full program. Let's hope the weather holds!

Sunday Feb 19 Update

Quincy Raceways modified drivers had another good day on Sunday at Volusia, Florida. Michael Long turned in another top ten run by nabbing fifth, while Dave Weitholder made the big show, unofficially finishing 14th!

OneTrack Gone, Another Back?

I was dismayed at the news that Shepps Speedway near Alexander,Il was closing. Because the tracks regular race night had been Sunday for the three seasons of its existence, I had only been there a handful of times, as my Sunday nights are spent at Quincy Raceways. However races such as the UMP Summernationals, held on nights other than Sunday had given me the opportunity to make the trip of just over 100 miles, and each time I came away impressed. Due to a very limited area between the old highway and the railroad tracks, the set up for the tight 1/4 mile was a bit unique, but the facility was still more than satisfactory, and the racing was of the edge of your seat variety, especially when the ground pounding super late models took the green flag. With the early off season announcement by track owner Steve Sheppard Jr. that the track would be switching to Fridays and would at least occasionally host the super lates, I had already penciled in a few flying trips to the east after work on Fridays. So the abrupt press release announcing the track not only would not open, but would become the new home of the family salvage business only added to the sinking feeling regarding the many tracks within driving distance of my home that were either shuttered completely or running a limited schedule. So when word came late this week that an interested party from Wentzville,Mo. had applied for a special use permit with the intention of refurbishing and reopening the Montgomery County Speedway near the junction of Highway 19 and I-70 at Danville, Mo., I wanted to share the news. Not unlike Shepps, MCS is a tight 1/4 mile that offered up some breathtaking super late model and A modified action in the mid to late 2000's before closing a few seasons ago. It had been my understanding that the track fixtures were being sold off and the land around it would be otherwise developed, but based on what I assume are recent photos, the track, grandstands and other buildings appear to remain. Just recently news broke that a drag strip is being developed just down the road from the oval track, so there is reason for optimism that the permit will be granted. At this time no other details have been released, but at least there is reason to hope that another dirt oval will come back to life!
Combined with the plans for a " specials " schedule at Memphis, Mo., a return to full time racing at Bloomfield, Ia, and confirmation of racing again this season at Columbus Junction, Ia., brings hope of the beginning of a return to health for area tracks!
Quincy Raceways has been weel represented at Speedweeks, with regular competitors Michael Long, Dave Weitholder, and Jake Griffin all competing in modified action. Long has enjoyed considerable success, with several top ten finishes, including a second to NASCAR veteran Kenny Wallace. Weitholder had mechanical issues early, then had an outstanding qualifying effort washed out by rain. 13 year old Griffin had success in the Bullrush dash before losing an engine. Jake is looking to branch out this season, as he will be competing not only at Quincy with his UMP late model and UMP modified, but also on Friday nights at Hawkeye Downs in the asphalt late model division. The diminutive youngster has made great strides in his dirt program, and will be someone to watch as he tackles pavement racing.
While our 2012 season is set to kick off the last weekend in March, Belleville, Il Speedway and Highland, Il Speedway have schedule a two night event March 16 and 17 for the UMP late models, paying $1500 to win each night, plus a bonus to sweep both nights. If the weatherman cooperates, I might have to change my thinking...

I Shoulda Waited

Looks like I jumped the gun just a bit on the Quincy Raceways schedule. After discussions held at the UMP banquet last weekend, the dates for the two Northern All Stars $2,000 to win events at the speedway have changed. Both Sunday visits have tentatively been moved up one week, with the first visit on April 15, and the second on May 20. This second date make moew sense, as Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach,Il - the track commonly known as
" Granite City" - has a $10,000 to win UMP late model special on Sunday,
May 27. From the sounds of things, the AllStars may be making another stop in the area in 2012, but we will wait for further word on this. In the meantime, the countdown to the 2012 season continues!

Quincy Raceways Releases Schedule

Quincy Raceways released their preliminary 2012 schedule today, Friday January 6. After the banquet on Jan.21, the next event will be the Quincy Mall car show on Saturday and Sunday, March 10 and 11. Three practice nights will be held for all six classes on March 25,27, and 29. The season and points opener is set for Sunday April 1, with racing every Sunday night through September 23. With the switch to UMP late models for 2012, the two Deery Brothers Summer Series races have been replaced by two visits of the Northern All Stars Series. Both events pay $2,000 to win, and are scheduled for April 22 and May 27. In addition the MOWA 410 sprint car series, which enjoyed a successful first season in 2011, will make a stop on July 1. This will be the only night the late models will have off in 2012. Mid season championships will be June 10, season championships on Sept. 16, and a King of the Hill/Front Row Challenge will close things out on Sept. 23. QR has made a wise decision to start racing action one hour earlier during the cooler months/school nights, with hot laps at 4:45 and racing at 5:30 during April, May, and September, while June, July, and August racing will see the action start one hour later. Six classes will compete on regular nights, including UMP late models and modifieds, IMCA stock cars, sport mods, and sport compacts, along with track rules hobby stocks. Stock cars and sport mods will be off on the Northern All Stars nights, while late models and stock cars will sit out when the sprints come to town.
The Positively Racing crew will keep you up to date as more schedules are released, and be sure and check out the special events calender on the home page. " Only " 85 days until my first planned road trip!

Year End Review

While my 2011 racing season ended just over two months ago, I like to hold out just in case that one last race comes along. Unfortunately, that last chance turned out to be the Thanksgiving weekend event at the Springfield, Mo. Raceway, which was cancelled by less than favorable weather. Not sure if we could have made the trip, but we were sure looking at it, as it would have made the off season a lot shorter than the 161 days from our last race to a projected March 31 opener.
The cancellation should have been no surprise, as the weatherman was not very cooperative for a large part of the 2011 season. For the second year in a row, I finished with 45 race nights, including three that were rained out before a green flag waved. My travels this season included visits to 13 tracks in four states. Two of those tracks I attended for the first time, I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb., and Callaway Raceway in Fulton,Mo. The August visit to Fulton was my 50th track all time, leaving me well behind several of my fellow Positively Racing cohorts. I confess to being a bit of a creature of habit, and over the years, I tended to frequent tracks I enjoyed. I have also spent several years as a track reporter at a couple of different tracks, and served as my son Brents sidekick for several years of Saturday night reporting at Lee County Speedway. In fact, quite a few of those 50 tracks have been added since the turn of the century! Jeff Broeg referred to me as a late model fan in one of his columns, and I confess that the full bodied machines are my first love. In fact, I attended only one event in 2011 that did not include late models, that being the season ender at Scotland County Speedway 60 miles up the road in Memphis,Mo. I was rained out of my only visit to a World of Outlaws show this season, at Independence, Iowa, but I did get to witness shows by the Lucas Oil series, MLRA, ULMA, IMCA weekly and Summer Series, UMP weekly and Summernationals, as well as several non sanctioned high dollar shows, MOWA sprints and Sprint Invaders, and an outstanding USMTS modified show at I-80. In addition to the venues already mentioned, my travels this year also took me to Knoxville, Davenport, West Liberty, West Burlington, and Donnellson, Iowa, Pevely, Mo., Pontoon Beach and Alexander,Illinois, as well as my home base in Quincy,Illinois, where weather held them to only 18 full nights. There were several memorable shows, and I am sure I will leave out some dandies, but Shannon Babbs' late race charge at the May Day Classic at West Liberty, Brian Harris doing the same at the first IMCA Derry Brothers show in more than 25 years at West Liberty, and Don Oneal dominating the last part of the $25,000 to win 80 lapper at I-80, then using late race dramatics to capture the $40,000 top prize at the Knoxville Nationals remain vivid memories.
As we look ahead to 2012, there are a lot of changes afoot, as we might have expected given the economic struggles of the past year. Quincy Raceways got things started by ending their 14 year late model affiliation with IMCA by announcing a switch to ULMA sanction, then a change in the ownership group followed by another change to UMP late models, all within a span of a few days. At this time, I am cautiously optimistic that car counts in the premier division will increase, especially after track officials announced that the late model feature will now pay $1,000 to win. It looks as though a small number of QR regulars may opt to race away from home with IMCA, but there appears to be at least an equal number of area drivers " coming home. " Plus there are 12-15 UMP cars within 100 miles of Quincy, and with Shepps Speedway in Alexander switching to a Friday night program, hopefully we will see the weekly travelers that we have not seen the last few seasons with IMCA. QR will also host UMP modifieds, IMCA stock cars and sport mods, as well as track rules hobby stocks and 4 cylinder Wild Things. QR track photographer Dewaine Hulett has been named race director at the Lee County Speedway under new owners Dave and Yvonne Sapp, and they are going to kick off 2012 with a 4 cylinder show on Saturday Feb. 11. Check the website for details. It also sounds as though LCS and 34 Raceway in West Burlington are looking to work together in 2012, which should be good for the tracks and fans alike. At this time, there appears to be nothing shaking at Memphis, Mo, or 24 Raceway in Moberly, Mo, as well as Jacksonville,Il., Bloomfield, and Eldon, Ia.All these venues are within 100 miles of my home, and there has also been nothing announced for Columbus Junction, Iowa, which sets about 104 miles away. So that is eleven tracks - including Fulton - within a two hour drive, six of which are not scheduled to open at this time. It would sure be nice to see at least a couple of these tracks running, as I have certainly seen some great racing at all of them over the years!
As the schedules are being released we are trying to put together a working schedule for 2012. With the time it takes to travel to and from many tracks, most of the weekday races require two vacation days, so most of our traveling will again occur on the weekends, and we will have to pick and choose those week night races carefully. But for now, we are focused on Saturday, March 31, with the second night of the World of Outlaws Illini 100 to the east at Farmer City,Il, the UMP opening night to the south in Pevely, Mo., and the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series opener to the north in Farley, Iowa. I have a feeling the weatherman will have a lot to say about our choice. Quincy Raceways is scheduled to open the UMP late model era the following night, Sunday, April 1. The QR banquet is three weeks away, on Saturday January 21, so I will hopefully have some gossip and maybe some real news to report at that time! Until then, Happy New Year, and heres to a successful racing season in 2012!