Chris Simpson Nabs Davenport Dollars

 The only MLRA race I witnessed in 2017 that Oxford, Iowa driver Chris Simpson did not win was one he did not attend. So it was no surprise that he grabbed the $5,000 top prize Friday night at the Rebel 5K contested on the historic monster 1/2 mile at the Davenport Speedway.
  Although it had only been three weeks since our first ( and only ) race of the season, it seemed like another mini off season, so we arrived in Davenport early and just enjoyed bench racing as the haulers pulled in to the pit area.
  The 1/2 mile track is brought to life usually only once or twice per season and is not a favorite of most of the drivers, especially the " locals." It is blessed or cursed, depending on your perspective, with long straightaways conducive to high speeds, and tight narrow corners, and reminds me of a shortened version of the Springfield,Il. one mile fairgrounds track in that way. That combined with an early start time - apparently the city of Davenport is getting serious about a 10:15 curfew - no track points, and a regular purse for the local classes perhaps persuaded more than a handful of the local IMCA modified, IMCA sport mod and local street stock drivers to set out on this night and wait for regular season action next week on the 1/4 mile. So just over half of the field belonged to the high powered late models, with a solid group of 35 signed in.
  My favorite qualifying method, draw for heats and passing points was used for the late models on this night, with the top 16 in passing points in the heats locked into the feature, and just by chance, it happened that the top four in each of the four heats raced their way in, something that does not always happen. Rickey Frankel drew a number three to start the night, started pole in the first heat and although somewhat under powered with a " small " engine, held off Nebraskan Tad Pospisil to capture the opening eight lapper. Chris Simpson gave us a taste of what was to come by coming from row four to overtake race long leader Rob Toland in the final turn to grab the second heat, with brother Chad Simpson also clearing Rocket Rob for runner up honors. Frank Heckenast Jr.went flag to flag in heat three, with Brian Shirley moving up four spots to claim second. Tony Jackson Jr, bested pole sitter Jonathon Brauns in the final heat.
  With all heats in the books, the late models dumped the remaining 19 cars into one twelve lap B main, with the top six heading to the feature. Four cars remained on the sidelines, as Jordon Yaggy came from row two to lead Payton Looney to the checkers, and J C Wyman made a late race move around Kolby Vandenbergh following a caution to take the last transfer spot. A pair of series provisionals were added to the starting field, and Mason Oberkramer used an emergency provisional, setting a 25 car starting grid for the 30 lap finale.
  Following a late race pass of Jeremy Gustaf, Jeff Struck Jr. captured the street stock heat, then survived a side by side battle with Jesse Owens to nab the twelve lap feature event.
 After a bit of a delay due to a change in the running order, the modifieds came to the track for 20 laps, with 14 starters. A pair of cautions in the first two laps saw double duty Toland fall to the tail of the field. Back to green, all eyes quickly went to Justin Kay. The 15K machine started well back in the field, but as the race stayed green, he used a perfectly handling car and a ton of corner speed to over take leader Eric Barnes at the midway point. Kay then pulled away to victory by a comfortable margin over Barnes, a rebounding Toland, and Jeff " Bone " Larson.
  If was now late model time. Rewarded by the passing points for their solid  heat race performances, Chris Simpson and Shirley sat on row one. Shirley, fresh off a win in a rare Tuesday night event in Brownstown, Illinois, got the jump at the drop of the green, but the yellow waved as the pack crossed the line for lap one, with Jesse Stovall coming to a stop in turn four. Earlier in the evening, a lap was scored under similar circumstances, but this time we went back to a complete restart. A second try was waved off, and on the third try, Simpson was ready, grabbing the advantage into turn one. Chris opened up a lead of several car lengths, but caught slower traffic on lap nine, allowing Shirley to close to his rear bumper. But another yellow left the #32 with a clear track, and he shot ahead as Shirley contended with Jackson on the Delaware restart. Lapped traffic again came into play on lap 17, but Simpson remained in charge. Meanwhile, brother Chad Simpson had closed the gap on Shirley. The pair split a slower car going into turn one on lap 23, and with Chad on the high side, something seemed to go awry with his #25, and he smacked the concrete wall, ending his run. The final eight laps clicked off with Chris in charge, but there was movement behind him. While Shirley held second, Tyler Bruening powered through the field, starting in row six and climbing to third at the finish. Jackson scored the fourth spot, while a pair off B-main cars came next, with Looney and Jason Feger both making strong runs, with Looney taking to fifth spot late. Yaggy also came from the consy to run seventh ahead of another pair of B- mainers, Rich Bell and Wyman. Heckenast completed the top ten. As one would expect, there was a fair amount of attrition on the big ole half mile, but still 15 cars were running at the checkers. Interestingly, Looney, Feger, Bell and Wyman all advanced 13 spots in the feature.
  A red flag situation for a fire during the sport mod finale sent us to the exits, but I see this morning that Tony Olson held on to his lead to score the win over Keith Blum and Dustin Schram.
  The track and MLRA officials put on an efficient and well run show, with time to spare. Thanks to Bob Wagner and crew, with a special thanks to Carrie Rouse for the hospitality shown to me, and I anxiously await the return of the MLRA to the racy 1/4 mile at Davenport in two weeks! Meanwhile, I shall start preparations for a return trip to 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa tonight as new owners/promoters Brad and Jessi and the Slocum Foundation present the tenth annual Slocum 50. For the first time, these same MLRA hot shoes will compete for the $10,555 to win, $750 to start purse. I do not think it unreasonable to guess that the field will grow to more than 40 entrants for tonight. The 305 sprint cars will battle for a $1,000 check and the always entertaining IMCA stock cars will shoot for $555. Hot laps at 6:00, the weather looks good, so come out, support the new owners, honor the memory of a special man and racer, and take in some great racing action. Hope to see you there!
 

One Race Night in the Books

A capacity crowd enjoyed balmy conditions Saturday night at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa. Now that we have the April fools joke out of the way...The thermometer registered 68 degrees when my ride left Quincy Saturday afternoon, and 46 degrees accompanied by a stiff breeze when we arrived at the 3/8 mile facility. The new owner/promoter team of Brad Stevens and Jessi Mynatt were well prepared for their first night of racing, the track was in excellent condition, and the coffee was hot! With the less than favorable weather forecast in mind, the program had been moved up one hour, with hot laps set for 5:15 and racing at 6:00.

With only two classes in action on this opening night, warmups for the 23 360-cubic-inch Sprint Invaders and eleven UMP Pro Crate late models went off without a hitch, and we actually had a few minutes of down time waiting for race time. By this time, what I would consider a nice size crowd considering the far from ideal conditions had settled in for the action.

First on the card was a pair of late model heats, with Chuck Hanna in what I believe was an IMCA spec engine car with a restrictor plate leading flag to flag to capture heat one, with Tommy Elston wheeling his crate engine machine to the win in heat two. The top three from each heat would redraw for their starting spot in the 20-lap feature.

The Sprint Invaders are using a passing points system for the first time in 2018, with the top six from the heats, in this case the top two from each of the three heats, running a dash to set the first three rows of their 25-lap feature. Due to the rapidly falling temperatures, Stevens decided there would be no B-main, and all cars would be qualified for the main event. Daniel Bergquist topped heat one, with Jon Agan scoring heat two, and Jake Blackhurst capturing the final eight-lapper. Agan also won the dash, but drew a number three pill to start inside row two, putting Blackhurst on the feature pole.

A brief intermission followed the third sprint heat as the top two prepared for the dash, and with that event in the books, the late models came trackside for their feature. Hanna had drawn the pole position, and shot to the lead in his #65 at the drop of the green, with Jay Johnson in pursuit. The only late model caution of the night came on lap two, involving Chris Richard and Gunner Frank, with Frank retiring to the pits. On the Delaware style restart, sixth-starting Elston vaulted to fourth, and third-starting Tim Simpson powered to second. Lap seven saw Elston slip past Johnson for third, and two laps later Denny Woodworth and eighth-starting Vance Wilson took fourth and fifth. Woodworth mounted a challenge for third on lap eleven, with Wilson joining the fray on the 13th circuit. Neither could overtake Elston, but now it was eleventh starting Andy Nezworski moving through the pack. With the race staying green, Hanna cruised to the win with a comfortable lead over second running Simpson. Elston, Woodworth, and Wilson completed the top five, followed by Nezworski, Johnson, Sam Halstead, Richard, and Todd Frank.

Although I did not go pitside to talk to the drivers after the races, based on last year's set-ups, I believe there were seven crate cars in the field, with Hanna, Simpson, Nezworski, and Johnson using the spec engine package.

All but one of the 23 entries lined up for the Invaders main event, with Colton Fisher not making the call. Blackhurst shot to the early lead, with Agan in hot pursuit. The leaders caught slower traffic by lap six, and Blackhurst was able to stretch his advantage. The first yellow came on lap nine. The single file restart gave Blackhurst a clear track, as he lead Agan, John Schultz and Chris Martin. Agan found a line around Blackhurst one lap later, but another caution flag for a spinning car negated the pass. This proved to be a double whammy for Agan, who was penalized one spot on the restart, I believe for driving inside the restart cone.

Back under green, the second-running Schultz began applying pressure, but Blackhurst regained his momentum, and was in lapped traffic again by the 15th circuit. He had a commanding lead when the yellow waved again on lap 17. Following the restart, the #4 car of Agan, now running fifth, went up in smoke, ending his run. After a lap 19 caution, Cody Wehrle jumped to the runner up spot. One final stoppage came on lap 21, but again Blackhurst stretched his lead. While Wehrle and Schultz exchanged slide jobs in turns three and four, Joe B Miller found his way around both to claim the second spot. At the checkers, it was Blackhurst with the win over Miller, Schultz, Wehrle, and Chris Martin.

The temperature was a brisk 36 degrees and the wind chill registering 29 when we headed for the car, somewhere close to 7:45! It was solid first night for the new team, if there were any glitches, it was not apparent to the hearty and brave crowd, and they should be commended for being big enough race fans to even go ahead with this show in such adverse conditions.

As of now, the forecast for next weekend looks just as bad, or worse, and the snow is piling up outside my window here in Northeast Missouri. Hopefully, spring will show its head, and we can get back to the track soon.

The calendar is filling up, with many of the postponed early season specials piggybacking the already many attractive offerings on the April docket. The IRA and MOWA 410 sprint cars are on tap next Saturday at 34 Raceway, with the Slocum 50 for MLRA late models three weeks away on April 21. Meanwhile, Quincy Raceways will open the 2018 next Sunday night, April 8, and the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo., will try again next Friday and Saturday nights. Check the specials calendar at Positively Racing.com, and make plans to get to a track near you.

Here's remembering Brent Slocum on his birthday, and Happy Easter to all.

Almost Race Day

Despite what the weatherman seems to think, racing season is nearing in this corner of the world. As we wait on a decision on the two day Spring Nationals this weekend at the Scotland County Speedway in Memphis,Mo., a pair of tracks will kick things off with car shows. The Quincy,Il. mall will be the scene for the Quincy Raceways preview this Saturday and Sunday. New track owner/promoter Jason Goble has been busy preparing for his first full season after hitting the ground running with a handful of shows last fall. Quincy Raceways will kick off the season on Sunday, April 8 following a pair of practice nights. The track will be rotating several classes during the season, with 305 sprints cars on the card opening night and UMP crate late models debuting the following Sunday. 34 Raceways in West Burlington, Ia. also has new owners in 2018, and Brad Stevens and Jessi Mynatt have spent many hours getting the 3/8 mile track in shape. They will host a car show this Sunday at Deery Brothers in West Burlington. Opening night at 34 will be Saturday, March 31, with the 360 Sprint Invaders and crate late models topping the card. At this time, it looks like my first night at the track will be the second night of the Spring Extravaganza at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa, which is set to take place on Friday and Saturday March 23 and 24. The Illini 100 featuring World of Outlaw late models is also set for that weekend, and the MLRA two day show at LaSalle,Il., is on tap March 30 and 31, as well as another two day program at the Scotland County Speedway. On Friday, the 30th, Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach,Il. will host their 2018 opener. It has not been so many years ago that we had to scramble to find a race within driving distance in March, yet now it comes down to several good choices! Of course, there is hardly an off season any more, and while Jeff Broeg was taking in the action last Saturday in Beatrice, Ne., the Springfield, Mo. 1/4 mile hosted the Comp Cans late models, with veteran Jack Sullivan topping a 21 car field. It was the first visit of the series to Springfield, as this race has previously been sanctioned by the MARS Dirt Car series. Unfortunately, the MARS series had several issues in 2017, including a last minute pull out of a pair of races in Iowa. Just when it looked as though the series may be no longer, promoter Chris Tilley purchased the brand. Although he got a late start, Tilley has managed to build an abbreviated schedule for this season, beginning with the annual two day Toilet Bowl event at Clarksville,Tn. at the beginning of March. Twenty plus late models were checked in at Clarksville, so hopefully Tilley can revive the MARS brand. With the MARS problems last season coupled with a dispute at LaSalle between promoter Tony Izzo and the World Racing Group, the Lucas Oil MLRA late model series has swooped in to grab a foothold well north of their former target area. After sanctiong the late March show in LaSalle, they will come back with a pair of shows in Davenport, Iowa, including one night of action on the 1/4 mile and another on the big 1/2 mile. Davenport was one of the tracks left hanging by MARS in 2017. And the new owners at 34 Raceway also reacted to the MARS snafu by bringing in the MLRA folks as the sanctioning body for the popular Slocum 50 on Saturday, April 21. The Lee County Speedway in Donnellson will host the MLRA one time in 2018, on Thursday, May 3. I would urge you to take advantage of the special events calendar on the Positively Racing home page, as I have hardly scratched the surface of early season specials for both " fender car " and open wheel fans. And as always, check with the particular track before leaving home. See you at the races!

2017 in Review and a Look Ahead

As 2017 winds down here in the frigid midwest, it is time to take a look back at my racing season. The year started out with a pair of March rainouts at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa, before things got rolling in April. In the end, I was able to make it to 48 nights at 16 tracks in three states. As usual, Quincy Raceways was the leader, with 18 total nights. Next was Lee County, with 12 nights. Then came two visits each to 34 Raceways in West Burlington, Iowa, West Liberty,Iowa Raceway, Scotland County Speedway in Memphis,Mo., and Tri City Speedway in Pontoon Beach,Il. Single visits came at Bloomfield, Knoxville, and Tipton, Iowa, Peoria, Spoon River Speedway in Banner, LaSalle, and Jacksonville, all in Illinois. Moberly, Missouri was my destination one time, and with an assist from Jeff Broeg, I capped off the season with first time visits to a pair of new venues, the Springfield,Mo. Raceway, and the Dome in St Louis,Mo. I might add here that I count any night that I make it to the track, even if a cancellation occurs after I arrive. Fortunately that happened only two times in 2017. If you are a regular reader, you probably know that although I enjoy all types of dirt track racing, late models are my class of choice, and I was entertained by 53 feature events covering a host of rules and sanctions, everything from steel blocks at Peoria to the high powered Lucas Oil late model series at Knoxville, and everything in between. Along the way, I enjoyed a variety of action, including sprint cars, midgets, modifieds, stock cars, hobby stocks, and yes, even mod lites, and 4 cylinder competition. Having retired in late summer, I hope to be able to change things up a bit in 2018 and hopefully take in a few more week night shows in addition to being able to travel more on Fridays and burn the candle a bit more on Sundays. With this in mind, I am anxiously awaiting the release of the schedule for the Deery Brothers IMCA late models. Like me,the legendary series will see big changes in the coming year. The tracks in Farley, West Liberty, and Dubuque, Iowa have been series strongholds for many years, indeed making up just over half the 2017 schedule. However the Farley Speedway Promotions group has decided to go a different direction with their late model rules, adopting a package that opens the class to a variety of engine packages. Apparently the Independence, Iowa Speedway, another long time series supporter,is also switching to these same rules. Also at this time, it is uncertain if any events will be held at West Liberty in the coming season. Although this was no doubt a setback for the Deery series, it looks as though officials have regrouped and are now in the process of putting together a more diversified schedule. Nine tracks hosting ten races have been identified in a preliminary press release, with more supposedly in the works and a full schedule is due out in January. One change of note thus far is the event originally announced at 34 Raceway has been moved to Tuesday, July 3. This should result in a solid car count and hopefully a packed grandstand for new owners Brad Stevens and Jessi Mynatt. Crate late models have replaced the IMCA cars on the March 31 date at 34 along with the Sprint Invaders. As noted earlier, this will be the first full season of operation at Quincy Raceways for Jason and Robert Goble, and I saw even more improvements to the facility in a visit earlier this month. UMP crate late models will share the spotlight with 305 sprints in 2018, so keep an eye on the schedule for the Sunday night races. Scotland County Speedway is adding events to the new season. While again hosting race nights in March and again in the fall, and also during the county fair, they will be adding some dates when the Lee County Speedway takes a few nights off. With Mike Van Genderen the man in charge at both tracks, this should be a seamless and successful endeavor. The Midwest Late Model Racing Association, MLRA, continues to make inroads in this part of the midwest. Along with returning to Lee County, the series has a pair of dates at the Davenport, Iowa Speedway, and several trips to LaSalle,Il on tap. As of now, they do not show return trips to Scotland County, or Moberly, but it is still early. And perhaps the biggest feather in their cap is the sanctioning for the first time of the Slocum 50 at 34 Raceway. It will I believe,be year number ten for the memorial event which pays $10,555 to the winner. Because of the change in sanction, the race has been pushed back one week to April 21. The change comes after the controversial happenings in 2017, when the MARS series pulled out of the event at the last minute, citing weather concerns, and leaving the Cornbelt Clash group as a lone sanction. With a rough first season for the fledgling owner of the MARS series, it has been announced that Chris Tilley has purchased the operation. He is working on putting together a schedule for this coming season, no small task considering the foothold the MLRA has gained to the north and the Comp Cams series to the southwest. Tilley has plenty of experience in operations, including working with Ray Cook and his Southern Nationals series, as well as owning a late model and modified series on his own, so perhaps he can have success rebuilding the MARS brand. With the late model drivers heading to Arizona next week for the Wild West Shootout ahead of Speedweeks in February in Georgia and Florida, there really is no such thing as an " off season " anymore. Driver - owner changes, new chassis, etc. are being done on the fly. Of course the move by Bobby Pierce away from his family operation will be one closely watched in these parts. Bobby was something of a semi regular for several seasons at Quincy Raceways along with Brandon Sheppard, and both of these young stars have huge followings in this area. Along with its many unique aspects, racing at the Dome served to shorten my off season. Still with a howling wind and temps in the single digits, it seems like a long way to March! Thanks for reading.

One More Night at the Track

After an abbreviated first ever visit to the Springfield,Missouri Raceway for the rescheduled Turkey Bowl, I was working on putting a wrap on my 2017 season. But an offer from "the Boss" to ride along to night number two of the Gateway Dirt Nationals at the Dome in St. Louis was too good to pass up. For a host of reasons, including inclement weather, I had passed on the inaguaral event in 2016. But the chance to attend my first ever indoor race and my first ever race in December while someone else did the driving sounded like a deal. After a trip to "the Hill" and some outstanding barbeque, we made our way to the in door arena along with north of 10,000 like minded fans for a full late afternoon and night of open late model and modified racing action on the 1/5 mile oval constructed over a two week period under the direction of Kevin Gundaker at the behest of promoter Cody Sommer. 107 UMP style modifieds signed in for Thursday night qualifying, and while I did not keep a count on Friday, I would guess all returned for Friday. 93 late models took time trials on Thursday and all returned, plus Billy Stiles, who broke down on the way to Missouri from Pennsylvania, but was allowed to tag the tail of a heat race on Friday, swelling the count to 94 super late models. As always, Jeff Broeg has a spot on recap of the nights action on the Backstretch elsewhere on this blog page, so I will just add some observations in this report. As a stand alone event at a regular racing venue, the Dirt Nationals would be open to more than a little criticism. But when you take into account the uniqueness of this event, much of the criticism melts away. To come into an enclosed facility with obvious space constraints, bringing everything from the dirt itself to the walls and everything else needed for a race program of such a large magnitude, is an amazing undertaking. I think it is important to understand the this be viewed an an "event" more than a racing program. As I said, it may not compare favorably to say the Dream, the World 100 or the Knoxville Late Model Nationals, but it is racing in the midwest in December! I do not do the extensive traveling that many of my friends in the racing world are able to do, but I was able for the first time to see dozens of drivers in both divisions that I have never had the opportunity to see in person, while at the same time watching them compete against drivers I watch on a regular basis. And if you are going to have the extended amount of down time required to filter the air - and do track maintainence - what better place than indoors where you can visit with friends you have not seen for a couple of months. Unfortunately for them and me, the modified drivers I am able to watch every week at Quincy Raceways, Michael Long and Dave Weitholder did not have good results, and while local late model standouts Jason Perry and Dustin Griffin were preentered, neither made the trip, at least not with their cars. I was able to give Dustin a scolding for showing up as a bench racer, like myself! The new owner/promoters from Quincy Raceways and 34 Raceways, as well as veteran race director Mike VanGenderen were among the attendees, all taking notes,and receiving advice, I am sure. After hearing some horror stories from the 2016 event, we did pack overnight bags "just in case," but the action began on time at 3:00, and the final checker waved at 9:55. Second generation driver Hudson Oneal was a popular winner in one of the two 20 lap $5,000 to win late model features, and there is no doubt he has a bright future ahead. The same can be said for the winner of the second main event, Gordy Gundaker, a St Charles,Missouri native, who calls Quincy his " second home" after graduating from Quincy University as an outstanding catcher on the baseball team. Gordy was a two time feature winner at Quincy Raceways in 2017, and I just realized he is living my childhood dream, a baseball player and stock car racer! It was my first time to see modified driver Tanner Mullins, and he was impressive capturing the $5,000 modified top prize. A couple of other drivers who have spent more than one night in victory lane at Quincy, Bobby Pierce in his #32 late model and Ray Bollinger wheeling his #77 modified collected the big checks on Saturday while I was up the street at the Scottrade Center benefitting from some free tickets while watching the St Louis Blues defeat the Winnepeg Jets in NHL action! After two successful runs on the third weekend in December - following the PRI race show in Indianapolis, I see the 2018 Dirt Nationals date has been set for November 29,30 December 1. What this means for the competitors and the fans remains to be seen, as there were mumblings about a possible open wheel type show as well. But what I can say is I came away happy to have been in attendance and looking forward to a possible return trip next year. Now that my 2017 season is truly over, I will be back soon with a recap of my year. Thanks for reading, and Merry Christmas to all!

News and Notes

Although there are still a couple of races left for 2017 here in Missouri, the " off season " news marches on. New 34 Raceway owners/promoters Brad Stevens and Jessi Mynatt have released a preliminary schedule for their inagural season at the storied West Burlington, Iowa facility. Racing is set to begin on Saturday, March 31 featuring the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series late models and the 360 Sprint Invaders. This was my first race of 2017, with a solid field of cars, including 33 late models. The following week, April 7, the IRA sprints are on the card. The tenth annual Slocum 50 late model event has been pushed back one week to Saturday April 21 for 2018. The reason for this appears to be due to the securing of a first time sanction by the Midwest Late Model Racing Association. The MLRA has a record of sucessful shows over the last several seasons at area tracks, and should bring in a solid field of drivers from Iowa, Illinois, and their home base of Missouri, as well as some other national standouts. They will be coming off a two day show the week prior at the Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland,Mo. Other highlights of the schedule include the Sprint Invaders featured again on May 27 and for their season championship on September 29. Also, Tony Stewarts All Star Sprints are on the card for July 29. At this time, the management team is stil working on more possible specials, as well as fleshing out the lineup for the weekly Saturday night shows. Meanwhile, there is good news for the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa, as race director Mike VanGenderen has signed on for three more seasons, through the 2020 campaign. Mike has consistently provided a crisp, efficient Friday night program at the fairgrounds 3/8 mile facility, including a pair of highly sucessful MLRA shows the past couple of years. Speaking of the MLRA, my sources tell me that they will abandon time trial qualifying in 2018 and go back to the passing points format that had worked for them previously. It is no secret that the biggest names in dirt late model racing prefer time trials, with the top qualifiers then starting up front. Unfortunately, this often produces little passing up front, both in the heats and features. The " follow the leader " action also usually robs us of a multi groove track come feature time. I don't know if I am in the majority or not, but I much prefer passing points over qualifying. At any rate, I think it is safe to assume the the $10,000 plus winners check for the Slocum 50 will still draw plenty of heavy hitters. The full MLRA schedule is due to be released this Saturday, November 18. Quincy,Il. Raceways has already released a preliminary schedule, with more special dates to be announced. In the meantime, the new owners of the .29 mile bullring have scheduled an informational meeting for this coming Sunday, November 19 at the speedway concession stand at I believe 1:00 to discuss the possibility of reintroducing a two person cruiser class. The Gobles are proposing this as a truck class, and they have received positive responses, as well as calls for the revival of the two person car class, which enjoyed a successful run of five or so seasons several years ago. Anyone interested should check out Quincy Raceways on Facebook. As I mentioned at the beginning, there are still a pair of races to be had withing driving distance in 2017. This Saturday, November 18 will be the running of the eleventh annual Turkey Bowl at the Springfield,Missouri Raceway. The late afternoon event features open late models and modifieds, as well as B-mods, Midwest mods and Legend cars. Then the second annual Race at the Dome extravaganza in St Louis will feature late models and modifieds on the indoor track. With area racers traveling to Arizona in January, then to Florida and Georgia in February, I guess " off season " is a loosely defined term!

Some News, Some Thoughts

The new owners of Quincy Raceways have released a tentative schedule for 2018. As might be expected, there was a lot of reaction, both positive and negative, but I will leave it at that. Highlights of the schedule include a loose rotation of eight classes along with a September 16 visit by the Sprint Invaders. The season is set to kick off with a Quincy Mall car show on March 17 followed by a couple of practice nights. Racing is set to begin on Sunday, April 8 with UMP modifieds, IMCA sport mods, IMCA stock cars, IMCA (I assume) sport compacts, and mod lites. One week later, the crate late models make their first appearance of the season, followed one week later with 305 sprints as the featured class. Beginning in May, the crate late models and 305 sprints will basically rotate Sunday nights through the month of August, with things changing up a bit in September. Midgets also make a few appearances on the schedule. The owners will also be working on a date for the UMP late model Summernationals, with more information to follow. The schedule appears on the Quincy Raceways Facebook page. A post on a racing forum this week concerning the name of an upcoming event got me to thinking - plenty of time for that now that I am retired and racing season is winding down. The poster was pointing out that the first running of an event should not be called the 1st Annual and I started to think about ads for races in general, which led me to consider what I look for when searching for information. So here is what I look for: 1- where is the race? I have seen tracks use ads that apparently appeared in the local paper, and the track location is not given 2- when is the race, date and time, including hot lap and race times? 3- what classes (and sanctions) are running, and if it is a multiple night show, what classes on which night? 4- what is the cost of the event, grandstand and pit prices? 5- some information about the purse, just so I have an idea of who might be inclined to show up 6- is there a pre entry list? 7- if the event has been held in the past, who was last years winner? 8- contact information, especially for race day in the event of inclement weather. Did I miss anything? Then there are the things I do not care about 1- What the promoter chooses to name his show. The release of the Quincy Raceways schedule is just the first salvo of what figures to be an intriging off season, so buckle up, here we go!