For the first time in a while, the stars were aligned just right, and Darryl, Fred and I were able to take in the marquis event of the Lee County Speedway, Shiverfest. Unlike my Positively Racing colleagues, I braved the elements from the " cheap seats," but we were dressed for the conditions at hand, and an early shift in wind direction helped out.
We arrived early enough to take in all the festivities, including visiting with several drivers on the front stretch as the youngsters went trick or treating from car to car. Special thanks to a driver we had never run across, Jason Rold, from 5 hours away in Avoca, Iowa for the information, picture card, and some chocolate! It was also fun to visit with a driver from the Lynn Richard promoting days at LCS, Ned Beggs, father in law of stock car hotshoe Jason Cook., whose children were involved in the box car races, and former Hawkeye Racing News employee Kelly Underbakke Becker and her sport mod driving husband Aric, who left the Iowa Hawkeye football victory early to make it to Donnellson in time for the pre race festivities.
With all the hoopla, hot laps started only 15 minutes late, and the five classes featuring 127 cars rolled thru warmups in 25 minutes on the perfectly prepared 3/8 mile oval. I have attended dozens if not hundreds of races over the years at Donnellson and have never witnessed a better racing surface!
I will leave it to the others whose pens worked better in the warmth of the booth to do complete recaps and only say that the 23 race program featured some classic finishes. Bill Michel squeaked out a 1/2 car length win over Quincy Raceways track champion Austen Becerra in the sport compact 14 lapper after an entertaining four car battle. Dustin Griffiths continued his mastery of the hobby stock division with a win in the 15 lap affair. One time LCS late model driver Mike Hughes staged a solid run, pitting on a first lap caution, restarting 16th, and dueling side by side with Griffiths late in the race before settling for second. Red hot Curtis Vanderwal started the sport mod affair in row two, took the lead on lap three, and outdistanced Carter Vandenberg for to the checkers. B- main qualifiers Bobby Anders and Derek St Clair had moved to fourth and sixth respectively from their row nine start when the yellow waved with two laps to go. St Clair advanced one spot to fifth at the finish, while Anders got shuffled back to seventh. Jim Lynch carried the left front wheel of his # 566 off of turn two lap after lap in the stock car finale. Corey Stout led early, and made several runs at the hometown driver, but Lynch was a rocket off turn two. Twice the raced was stopped as he booted the tractor tire onto the track in turn two as he ran the low groove, but LCS does not penalize drivers for this, so he kept the top spot each time. Interestingly, Lynch ran a much higher line in turns three and four. The final race of the night, and likely my final one of 2013 was the 24 car modified headliner. And what a race it was, going non stop the entire way! When hot laps began I quickly told the guys that the # 19 would be on victory lane, and Jimmy Gustin made me look smart for once. Although he was pressured throughout by Kyle Brown and later Jeff Waterman, Gustin took the final checkers of the season, with Waterman and Brown nipping at his rear bumper.
Being an unabashed late model fan first and foremost, it had been too long since I had visited one of the tracks of my childhood but the racing and the entire program in general could not have been much better!
The rumor mill usually picks up when the season ends, but with the World of Outlaw World Finals still a week away, there is already plenty going on. Reportedly Clint Bowyer Racing is replacing one controversial pilot, Jared Landers in his # 5 machine with an equally polarizing driver in Don Oneal. The leaves the Mastersbilt house car ride held in 2013 by Oneal open - look for an announcement this coming week on who will fill that seat. Arguably the most popular late model driver in Iowa, Brian Birkhofer, has sold his two MB Customs chassis, a product he helped design, and has ordered two new Rocket chassis. Birky is also looking to downsize his hauler, with his multi car toter currently up for sale. Midwest legend Randy Korte, who continues to battle serious health issues has announced that 2014 will be his farewell season. " King Kong" has spent most of the last couple seasons in one of the # 81 rides for Riggs Motorsports, but he will return to his familiar # 00 for his final go around. And Rousch-Yates is apparently getting out of the dirt racing engine business, leaving driver such as Scott bloomquist to look elsewhere for their power plants. Those of us in northeast Missouri may have another chance to see our hometown boy Justin Jennings in another NASCAR event close to home. Gateway International Raceway near Granite City,Il will make a return to NASCAR, hosting a Camping World Truck Race the weekend of June 14 and 15, 2014. Closer to home, the new management team at Quincy Raceways is putting together a late model special to honor the 40th anniversary of the facility and its founder, the late Albert Scott. Look for the " Scotty 40" sometime in April. In the meantime, it seems like a long time until I will get to see the dirt fly, likely sometime in March, but check back throughout the offseason for facts, rumors and whatever else I can stir up.
Have a great winter!
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
The Dog Ate My Homework - Liberty 100 Notes
Saturday night Fred, Darryl, and I headed out for what is likely our final late model race of 2013. I had every intention of penning a recap on Sunday, but events of the day kept me away for most of the day. And yesterday, the flu bug came to visit and it was not a good day! So this report is late, but I will carry on anyway.
According to announcer Jerry Mackey, the two night Liberty 100 show at West Liberty, Iowa Raceway drew 150 competitors. Among those, several drivers entered in more than one class, and it looked like a couple others may have used the same car in more than one class.
Although we make the journey only on night two, this race is one of my favorites, with the opportunity to see two late model classes in action. And with most of the preliminaries - including 22 heat races - running on Friday, the Saturday format lends itself to plenty of action ending in good time. Even with the program swelling to seven classes this year, we were done around 10:30.
The night started with pole dashes for the top six in each class, with last chance races scheduled next. As it turned out, the car counts were such that the IMCA modifieds ran a position dash to set the remainder of the starting field , as the top nine rows were already set. Only the IMCA late models ran an elimination race, with 14 cars set to take the green to fill six starting spots.
With not so much as a short break the first feature rolled out at 7:10. This marked the first appearance in the fall special for the IMCA sport mods. The 15 lap event ran with only one mid race caution, and second generation driver Andrew Schroeder took a close win over Tyler Sobbe and Janae Gustin, the up and coming female member of the Gustin clan. Reportedly the sport mods will replace the open mods at West Liberty in 2014. Not to diminish the sport mods, but I will truly miss the opens at Liberty, as they consistently stage outstanding battles on the 1/2 mile, even with less than full fields.
David Brandies swept the weekend with a win in the IMCA stock car finale. Again only one caution slowed the action. Tad Payne took second, while Matt Greiner came from last to third behind the wheel of the # 57 driven Friday night by Blaine Doplar.
Kurt Kile took the early lead in the IMCA modified feature. Following a lap three yellow, Richie Gustin used the Delaware restart to grab the lead. It took a couple of tries to get back to racing following a lap nine stoppage, and Dan Chapman took the runner up spot, as Kile fell to fourth. On lap 17, Kile regained the second spot, but Gustin held on for the win. Chapman, Steve Stewart, and Andrew Schroeder filled out the top five, with 23 of 25 starters still running at the checkers.
The ten lap feature for the 4 cylinder cars had the closest finish of the night. Nate Chandler and Cory Sheetz swapped the lead in the early laps. Bill Whelan took second on the fifth circuit, and grabbed the lead two laps later. It was a side by side finish, as Whelan edged Chandler at the line, with Sheetz taking third.
Next came the 50 lapper for the open late models, with 19 cars taking the green, as Brad Stewart did not make the call. The Simpson brothers sat on the front row, and outside polesitter Chris took the quick lead. The yellow waved on lap four, as Nick Marolf was leaking fuel. On the restart, fifth starting Jason Utter moved to second. After a lap nine caution, and a turn three pileup on the restart, Justin Kay took third, with Utter falling to fourth. On lap 12, it was Utter back to third. On lap 21 Brian Harris powered to fourth, four laps later the yellow waved for a debris caution from Harris' car, and before racing resumed, his car lost power, ending his run. On the restart Utter grabbed second and briefly challenged Simpson. As the race stayed green the rest of the way, Chris stretched his lead, taking a flag to flag win. Utter held the runnerup spot ahead of Chad Simpson, Kay, Denny Eckrich, Spencer Diercks, visiting UMP hot shoe Scott Schmitt, and Darrell Defrance, the top eight on the lead lap. Dave Eckrich, Joel Callahan, and Todd Hormel were the last cars running at the checkers.
The open mod 20 lapper was next with 17 starters. Again Kirt Kile had the pole, and led through a lap six caution, the only one of the event. On lap eight Brad Dierks powered past for the lead, holding it to the checkers. Kile held off Bruce Hanford for second, with Ryan Dolan and Chris Zogg rounding out the top five.
The night and season finale was the 24 car IMCA late model 50 lapper. Outside polesitter Jeff Aikey grab the top spot at the green, holding off Denny Eckrich until lap seven. Justin Kay was on the move early, coming from row eight to seventh by lap 15. Around lap 20 seventh starting Chad Simpson in the Diercks # 30 moved to third. The caution flew on lap 22 as Kays' ride appeared to lock up as he tried to get to the pits. As the green waved, 12th starting Andy Eckrich moved to fourth, on lap 25 he took third, and one lap later he was in second. Tommy Elston was also picking off cars, moving to eighth from his row 11 starting slot. As Andy was steadily closing on his brother, his run ended suddenly on lap 44. Denny then cruised to the win, giving him two top fives for the night. Chad Simpson mirrored that with a runnerup finish to add to his third place run. Aikey was third, while Ryan dolan finished fourth on the Dralle # 1 ride. A pair of 15s came next, Kyle Hinrichs fifth and Brian Harris sixth. Elston, Spencer Diercks, Nate Beuseling, and Joel Callahan completed the top ten. For Diercks, it was a sixth and an eighth, and a pair of tenths for Callahan.
Although I hope to get in at least one more race in 2013, if it doesn't happen, this installment of the Liberty 100 would be a fine way to wrap up the season!
According to announcer Jerry Mackey, the two night Liberty 100 show at West Liberty, Iowa Raceway drew 150 competitors. Among those, several drivers entered in more than one class, and it looked like a couple others may have used the same car in more than one class.
Although we make the journey only on night two, this race is one of my favorites, with the opportunity to see two late model classes in action. And with most of the preliminaries - including 22 heat races - running on Friday, the Saturday format lends itself to plenty of action ending in good time. Even with the program swelling to seven classes this year, we were done around 10:30.
The night started with pole dashes for the top six in each class, with last chance races scheduled next. As it turned out, the car counts were such that the IMCA modifieds ran a position dash to set the remainder of the starting field , as the top nine rows were already set. Only the IMCA late models ran an elimination race, with 14 cars set to take the green to fill six starting spots.
With not so much as a short break the first feature rolled out at 7:10. This marked the first appearance in the fall special for the IMCA sport mods. The 15 lap event ran with only one mid race caution, and second generation driver Andrew Schroeder took a close win over Tyler Sobbe and Janae Gustin, the up and coming female member of the Gustin clan. Reportedly the sport mods will replace the open mods at West Liberty in 2014. Not to diminish the sport mods, but I will truly miss the opens at Liberty, as they consistently stage outstanding battles on the 1/2 mile, even with less than full fields.
David Brandies swept the weekend with a win in the IMCA stock car finale. Again only one caution slowed the action. Tad Payne took second, while Matt Greiner came from last to third behind the wheel of the # 57 driven Friday night by Blaine Doplar.
Kurt Kile took the early lead in the IMCA modified feature. Following a lap three yellow, Richie Gustin used the Delaware restart to grab the lead. It took a couple of tries to get back to racing following a lap nine stoppage, and Dan Chapman took the runner up spot, as Kile fell to fourth. On lap 17, Kile regained the second spot, but Gustin held on for the win. Chapman, Steve Stewart, and Andrew Schroeder filled out the top five, with 23 of 25 starters still running at the checkers.
The ten lap feature for the 4 cylinder cars had the closest finish of the night. Nate Chandler and Cory Sheetz swapped the lead in the early laps. Bill Whelan took second on the fifth circuit, and grabbed the lead two laps later. It was a side by side finish, as Whelan edged Chandler at the line, with Sheetz taking third.
Next came the 50 lapper for the open late models, with 19 cars taking the green, as Brad Stewart did not make the call. The Simpson brothers sat on the front row, and outside polesitter Chris took the quick lead. The yellow waved on lap four, as Nick Marolf was leaking fuel. On the restart, fifth starting Jason Utter moved to second. After a lap nine caution, and a turn three pileup on the restart, Justin Kay took third, with Utter falling to fourth. On lap 12, it was Utter back to third. On lap 21 Brian Harris powered to fourth, four laps later the yellow waved for a debris caution from Harris' car, and before racing resumed, his car lost power, ending his run. On the restart Utter grabbed second and briefly challenged Simpson. As the race stayed green the rest of the way, Chris stretched his lead, taking a flag to flag win. Utter held the runnerup spot ahead of Chad Simpson, Kay, Denny Eckrich, Spencer Diercks, visiting UMP hot shoe Scott Schmitt, and Darrell Defrance, the top eight on the lead lap. Dave Eckrich, Joel Callahan, and Todd Hormel were the last cars running at the checkers.
The open mod 20 lapper was next with 17 starters. Again Kirt Kile had the pole, and led through a lap six caution, the only one of the event. On lap eight Brad Dierks powered past for the lead, holding it to the checkers. Kile held off Bruce Hanford for second, with Ryan Dolan and Chris Zogg rounding out the top five.
The night and season finale was the 24 car IMCA late model 50 lapper. Outside polesitter Jeff Aikey grab the top spot at the green, holding off Denny Eckrich until lap seven. Justin Kay was on the move early, coming from row eight to seventh by lap 15. Around lap 20 seventh starting Chad Simpson in the Diercks # 30 moved to third. The caution flew on lap 22 as Kays' ride appeared to lock up as he tried to get to the pits. As the green waved, 12th starting Andy Eckrich moved to fourth, on lap 25 he took third, and one lap later he was in second. Tommy Elston was also picking off cars, moving to eighth from his row 11 starting slot. As Andy was steadily closing on his brother, his run ended suddenly on lap 44. Denny then cruised to the win, giving him two top fives for the night. Chad Simpson mirrored that with a runnerup finish to add to his third place run. Aikey was third, while Ryan dolan finished fourth on the Dralle # 1 ride. A pair of 15s came next, Kyle Hinrichs fifth and Brian Harris sixth. Elston, Spencer Diercks, Nate Beuseling, and Joel Callahan completed the top ten. For Diercks, it was a sixth and an eighth, and a pair of tenths for Callahan.
Although I hope to get in at least one more race in 2013, if it doesn't happen, this installment of the Liberty 100 would be a fine way to wrap up the season!
Monday, September 30, 2013
The final weekend in September gave us a chance for one more two race
weekend, and thanks to yeoman work by the two track crews, we were able
to witness some excellent racing. Despite the forecast, Saturday
morning, Keagan and former late model driver Rick Coats joined me as we
headed for Knoxville, Iowa for the final night of the Lucas Oil Late
Model Nationals. Darryl and Fred were able to take in all three nights
of the event, and we were hoping Saturday would not be a wash out. I
always like to get to Knoxville around noon time for a couple of
reasons. One is to take in as much of the atmosphere as possible, and
two, I am always on the hunt for a parking spot that allows me a base
close to the grandstands and the ability to make a quick exit from the
grounds. It seems that the free parking areas are getting to be less and
less in recent years, with areas where we used to park now roped off.
But with an arrival just after 11:00, we found a good spot and hoped to
wait out the persistent rain, which alternated between drizzle and light
showers. About 3:00, as forecast, the rain was finally gone, and the
track crew went to work. I doubt there is another track closer than
Eldora that could have raced under those conditions, but the Knoxville
guys made it happen. And only 15 minutes late to boot!
The Thursday night car count had been 72, with all but two returning for Friday. On Saturday the number stood at 66 with three preliminary events scheduled to finalize the 32 car starting field. The first 12 rows were locked in, leaving six qualifying spots and two provisionals up for grabs.
First up was the 12 lap D feature, with nine cars making the call. Ely, Iowas Skip Frey took the early lead, soon yielding to Cuba, Ill. pilot Steve Lance Jr. Steve was wheeling brother Tims back up # 48 car that Brian Shirly drove on the UMP Summernationals Tour. The second generation driver took the win, with Frey, Michael Smith , and Dustin Walker in the # 77A normally driven by Justin Asplin also transferring to the tail of the 15 lap C Main.
That race opened with a scary moment, as Charlie McKenna got sideways in turn one, was hit by another car, and bounced in the air, landing atop the # 58 of Ray Guss Jr. Neither driver was injured, both were done for the night. Brian Birkhofer came from row three to take the lead on lap ten and the win, with two of the Eckrich brothers following him to the checkers, Andy second and Dave third. Thler Breuning rounded out the all Iowa top four transfers.
The 20 lap B feature belonged to Texan Morgan Bagley, as he took off from the pole position to capture the win. The third Eckrich brother, Denny powered from row five to make the big show with a runnerup finish. Shannon Babb, Mars champion Tony Jackson Jr., Ryan Unzicker, and IMCA national champion Justin Kay also nabbed transfer spots. Birkhofer made a dramatic charge, coming from the back of the pack to battle with Kay for the six spot. He was eventually able to get around both Justin and Unzicker, only to blow a tire coming through turn four on the final lap. He was forced to get out of the gas as he was headed for the fence, and thus fell from the top six.
Billy Moyer, Jr, and Dennis Erb Jr picked up the provisional starting spots, and with little delay, the 32 car field was on the track for 100 laps, $40,000 going to the winner. Although Dale McDowell had the pole, Josh Richards sat alongside, and the " Rocket Man " had dominated the two $7,000 to win 25 lappers on Thursday and Friday. Richards took the early led, and by lap eight he had caught the back of the pack. 13 laps in,. third starting Darrell Lanigan took the second spot, and seven laps later he took the lead. The first yellow waved on lap 33, and by then the front two had pulled away to a big lead. following another caution seven laps later, fifth starting Jason Feger moved to the third spot. With 59 circuits to go, UMP national point leader Brandon Sheppard was running in tenth when he made contact with the turn three fence ending his run. During the cleanup, sixth running Earl Pearson Jr. saw his night end, as he went pitside. On the restart, Mc Dowell retook third. Billy Moyer was now the man on the move, 14th to fifth as the leaders again began to pull away. Lanigan found separation from Richards, but with 22 to go, Josh mounted a comeback. Moyer charged to third with 20 laps left, and three laps after Richards moved back to the lead. With the front two battling, the red came out with six to go, as Eddie Carrier Jr. rolled his # 28C in turn three. With less than ten laps remaining, the field reset in single file formation. As the green flew, fifth place Don Oneal charged hard into turn one, making contact with Feger, sending Jason flipping hard. Once order was restored and the race went green, Lanigan made a late charge around Richards, to take his first Knoxville win, denying Richards the weekend sweep. Tim McCreadie was strong at the end, racing back to third, 2012 winner Steve Francis came from 22nd to fourth, while Moyer faded slightly to fifth. John Blankenship led the second five ahead of Brady Smith and Scott Bloomquist, by my count the final cars on the lead lap. Jimmy Owens and Chad Simpson completed the top ten.
Knoxville is as close to a " can't miss " race as there is for me, and the 2013 version did not disappoint!
After a late night drive home and a few hours sleep. it was time for season championshop night at Quincy Raceways. Quincy was hit with quite a bit of rain on Saturday, and the track crew worked hard to get both the racing surface and the pits ready for the final night of racing. 73 cars checked in for the five divisions of racing. The track was a bit dusty and one lane in the late afternoon sun, but at intermission the track crew did some reworking, and there were two racy grooves for the features. The three IMCA classes started their main events straight up, but that only meant fifth starting Brandon Savage had some work to do in the IMCA stock car 20 lapper. Brandon used the high side to overtake pole sitter and track champion Abe Huls to pick up his fourth win of the season. Savage raced out to a big lead, with Huls holding off Terry Houston at the finish.
Fast timer, dash winner and points champion Steven Delonjay had the pole for the 22 car UMP modified finale, but it was outside row one starter Rusty Griffaw who shot to the lead. Griffaw kept his # 16 in the high groove until a mid race restart when he changed to the inside line. With about ten laps to go, Justin Reed was able to clear Delonjay using the high groove, and Dave Weitholder, who missed qualifying and started deep in the pack, moved to third. Dave, by the way, found problems with his power plant, ans was running a 6 cylinder engine in his # 05! After a lap 22 yellow bunched the field, a multi car pile up on the backstretch starting up front eliminated several contenders. Griffaw was in front of the mess, and he picked up his second QR win of the season ahead of Delonjay and Robbie Reed.
The UMP late model feature ran next. The 30 laps went caution free. Scott Schmitt made the long tow to QR on Sunday, Scott was leading UMP Illinois state points, and was reportedly fourth in the national points battle. He saet quick time, picked up the dash win, and led the first three laps of the main event.
Mark Burgtorf then took over the top spot, and held on for his third win of the year at his home track. Schmitt took home the second spot, with Rickey Frankel third.
The IMCA sport mod main event hit the 25 minute time limit at about the lap nine mark, then clicked off 11 caution free laps.Point champion Tony Dunker led the distance, his ninth feature win in a row, Brad Holtmeyer and Trever Hagerbaumer followed.
The final race of the 2013 season was the IMCA sport compact finale. The 2013 champion Austen Becerra staged a great duel with Kimberly Abbott until late in the race when Kim drifted up the track, turning the runnerup spot over to Jared Dunker.
My wife is starting to ask how much longer the race season is, so my nights at the track may be numbered. But hopefully there is still a night or two remaining in 2013!
The Thursday night car count had been 72, with all but two returning for Friday. On Saturday the number stood at 66 with three preliminary events scheduled to finalize the 32 car starting field. The first 12 rows were locked in, leaving six qualifying spots and two provisionals up for grabs.
First up was the 12 lap D feature, with nine cars making the call. Ely, Iowas Skip Frey took the early lead, soon yielding to Cuba, Ill. pilot Steve Lance Jr. Steve was wheeling brother Tims back up # 48 car that Brian Shirly drove on the UMP Summernationals Tour. The second generation driver took the win, with Frey, Michael Smith , and Dustin Walker in the # 77A normally driven by Justin Asplin also transferring to the tail of the 15 lap C Main.
That race opened with a scary moment, as Charlie McKenna got sideways in turn one, was hit by another car, and bounced in the air, landing atop the # 58 of Ray Guss Jr. Neither driver was injured, both were done for the night. Brian Birkhofer came from row three to take the lead on lap ten and the win, with two of the Eckrich brothers following him to the checkers, Andy second and Dave third. Thler Breuning rounded out the all Iowa top four transfers.
The 20 lap B feature belonged to Texan Morgan Bagley, as he took off from the pole position to capture the win. The third Eckrich brother, Denny powered from row five to make the big show with a runnerup finish. Shannon Babb, Mars champion Tony Jackson Jr., Ryan Unzicker, and IMCA national champion Justin Kay also nabbed transfer spots. Birkhofer made a dramatic charge, coming from the back of the pack to battle with Kay for the six spot. He was eventually able to get around both Justin and Unzicker, only to blow a tire coming through turn four on the final lap. He was forced to get out of the gas as he was headed for the fence, and thus fell from the top six.
Billy Moyer, Jr, and Dennis Erb Jr picked up the provisional starting spots, and with little delay, the 32 car field was on the track for 100 laps, $40,000 going to the winner. Although Dale McDowell had the pole, Josh Richards sat alongside, and the " Rocket Man " had dominated the two $7,000 to win 25 lappers on Thursday and Friday. Richards took the early led, and by lap eight he had caught the back of the pack. 13 laps in,. third starting Darrell Lanigan took the second spot, and seven laps later he took the lead. The first yellow waved on lap 33, and by then the front two had pulled away to a big lead. following another caution seven laps later, fifth starting Jason Feger moved to the third spot. With 59 circuits to go, UMP national point leader Brandon Sheppard was running in tenth when he made contact with the turn three fence ending his run. During the cleanup, sixth running Earl Pearson Jr. saw his night end, as he went pitside. On the restart, Mc Dowell retook third. Billy Moyer was now the man on the move, 14th to fifth as the leaders again began to pull away. Lanigan found separation from Richards, but with 22 to go, Josh mounted a comeback. Moyer charged to third with 20 laps left, and three laps after Richards moved back to the lead. With the front two battling, the red came out with six to go, as Eddie Carrier Jr. rolled his # 28C in turn three. With less than ten laps remaining, the field reset in single file formation. As the green flew, fifth place Don Oneal charged hard into turn one, making contact with Feger, sending Jason flipping hard. Once order was restored and the race went green, Lanigan made a late charge around Richards, to take his first Knoxville win, denying Richards the weekend sweep. Tim McCreadie was strong at the end, racing back to third, 2012 winner Steve Francis came from 22nd to fourth, while Moyer faded slightly to fifth. John Blankenship led the second five ahead of Brady Smith and Scott Bloomquist, by my count the final cars on the lead lap. Jimmy Owens and Chad Simpson completed the top ten.
Knoxville is as close to a " can't miss " race as there is for me, and the 2013 version did not disappoint!
After a late night drive home and a few hours sleep. it was time for season championshop night at Quincy Raceways. Quincy was hit with quite a bit of rain on Saturday, and the track crew worked hard to get both the racing surface and the pits ready for the final night of racing. 73 cars checked in for the five divisions of racing. The track was a bit dusty and one lane in the late afternoon sun, but at intermission the track crew did some reworking, and there were two racy grooves for the features. The three IMCA classes started their main events straight up, but that only meant fifth starting Brandon Savage had some work to do in the IMCA stock car 20 lapper. Brandon used the high side to overtake pole sitter and track champion Abe Huls to pick up his fourth win of the season. Savage raced out to a big lead, with Huls holding off Terry Houston at the finish.
Fast timer, dash winner and points champion Steven Delonjay had the pole for the 22 car UMP modified finale, but it was outside row one starter Rusty Griffaw who shot to the lead. Griffaw kept his # 16 in the high groove until a mid race restart when he changed to the inside line. With about ten laps to go, Justin Reed was able to clear Delonjay using the high groove, and Dave Weitholder, who missed qualifying and started deep in the pack, moved to third. Dave, by the way, found problems with his power plant, ans was running a 6 cylinder engine in his # 05! After a lap 22 yellow bunched the field, a multi car pile up on the backstretch starting up front eliminated several contenders. Griffaw was in front of the mess, and he picked up his second QR win of the season ahead of Delonjay and Robbie Reed.
The UMP late model feature ran next. The 30 laps went caution free. Scott Schmitt made the long tow to QR on Sunday, Scott was leading UMP Illinois state points, and was reportedly fourth in the national points battle. He saet quick time, picked up the dash win, and led the first three laps of the main event.
Mark Burgtorf then took over the top spot, and held on for his third win of the year at his home track. Schmitt took home the second spot, with Rickey Frankel third.
The IMCA sport mod main event hit the 25 minute time limit at about the lap nine mark, then clicked off 11 caution free laps.Point champion Tony Dunker led the distance, his ninth feature win in a row, Brad Holtmeyer and Trever Hagerbaumer followed.
The final race of the 2013 season was the IMCA sport compact finale. The 2013 champion Austen Becerra staged a great duel with Kimberly Abbott until late in the race when Kim drifted up the track, turning the runnerup spot over to Jared Dunker.
My wife is starting to ask how much longer the race season is, so my nights at the track may be numbered. But hopefully there is still a night or two remaining in 2013!
Monday, September 23, 2013
Perry Cashes In At Quincy
Sunday night was the next to last night at Quincy Raceways for the 2013 season. 66 cars signed in on a pleasant evening in the five divisions. Steven Delonjay set quick time in the UMP modifieds at 15.903 seconds, then rolled a " 2 " to set the dash invert. As qualifying went along, the track improved dramatically, and UMP national late model point leader Brandon Sheppard blistered the .29 mile oval at 13.487 seconds. He rolled a " 3 "to set the late model dash lineup. Following heat race and dash action, the track crew took some time to knock down the cushion, and the feature track was plenty fast.
The IMCA stock cars ran first, and after a false start, Brandon Savage charged to the early lead, building a big advantage. There was a great four car battle for the second spot between Jake Powers, Terry Houston, point leader Abe Huls, and Beau Taylor. Taylor was back after missing several weeks while he repaired his # 2T. A caution on lap ten brought Savage back to the pack, and on the Delaware restart, Huls jumped to second. But the night belonged to Savage, who again opened up a nice lead, taking his third win of the year on his first wedding anniversary. Huls, Houston, Taylor, and Jerry Jansen filled out the top five spots.
All but one of the 20 UMP mods took the green flag, with Delonjay jumping to the early lead. With Dave Weitholder hot on his bumper, the front two pulled away, hitting slower traffic by lap seven. The first caution came on lap 11, as Adam Birck, and visiting David Baldwin from Perrysville, In. got together while lapping slower cars. On the restart, Justin Reed kept the front two in his sights, while Milo Veloz in the # 242 car out of Peoria, and Jake Griffin began a charge towards the front. The yellow flew again two laps later, and on that restart, Danny Lake powered into fourth. Veloz and Russ Coultas swapped the fifth spot on laps 17 and 19, but on lap 22 Veloz headed pitside, as Griffin took over the fifth spot. Delonjay lead flag to flag, but Weitholder pushed him all the way. Reed claimed third ahead of Lake, and Griffin came from row seven to take fifth running the high side of the track. It was win number 12 of the year for Delonjay.
The UMP late models ran next, 11 strong. Baldwin came to town with both a mod and late model, but he was having engine issues in his late model, so he skipped qualifying and his heat race, tagging the tail for the 30 lap feature. Outside pole sitter Denny Woodworth jumped to the early lead, locked in a duel with dash winner Mark Burgtorf. Jason Perry soon joined the fray, and by lap eight he had moved to second as Sheppard made it a four car battle. On lap 11 Sheppard took third, four circuits later Perry muscled past Woodworth for the lead. On lap 16 Sheppard appeared to get in the back of Woodworth, and he then slowed and headed for the pits as the caution came out. On the restart, Jared Schlipman and Bill Genenbacher got mixed up, ending Genebachers run. Michael Long also retired at this time. From there the race stayed green until the end. Perry, the 2012 track champion took his first win of 2013, followed by Burgtorf and Woodworth. Schlipman and John Beck put on a show as they battled for fourth, with Jared taking the spot. Ron Elbe ran sixth, and Baldwin and his sick power plant was seventh, as Rickey Frankel dropped out on lap 19.
The program took a dramatic slowdown as the 14 IMCA sport mods attempted a 20 lap feature.
Cautions too numerous to count dominated the action, with Tony Dunker prevailing for yet another win over Tanner Klingele, Todd Reed, Brad Holtmeyer, and Bob Cowman.
The IMCA sport compacts closed out the night, with Alex Baker leading lap one. Brandon Lambert then took over on lap three but could not hold off the charge of Austen Becerra, who took over for good three laps later. Lambert stayed close to the checkers, with Spencer Coats, Kim Abbott and Alex Baker completing the top five.
Next Sunday will bring the 2013 season to a close at Quincy Raceways, with the new promoters in place for 2014 already. There is still a months worth of racing in the area, so take in as much as you can. I know I will!
The IMCA stock cars ran first, and after a false start, Brandon Savage charged to the early lead, building a big advantage. There was a great four car battle for the second spot between Jake Powers, Terry Houston, point leader Abe Huls, and Beau Taylor. Taylor was back after missing several weeks while he repaired his # 2T. A caution on lap ten brought Savage back to the pack, and on the Delaware restart, Huls jumped to second. But the night belonged to Savage, who again opened up a nice lead, taking his third win of the year on his first wedding anniversary. Huls, Houston, Taylor, and Jerry Jansen filled out the top five spots.
All but one of the 20 UMP mods took the green flag, with Delonjay jumping to the early lead. With Dave Weitholder hot on his bumper, the front two pulled away, hitting slower traffic by lap seven. The first caution came on lap 11, as Adam Birck, and visiting David Baldwin from Perrysville, In. got together while lapping slower cars. On the restart, Justin Reed kept the front two in his sights, while Milo Veloz in the # 242 car out of Peoria, and Jake Griffin began a charge towards the front. The yellow flew again two laps later, and on that restart, Danny Lake powered into fourth. Veloz and Russ Coultas swapped the fifth spot on laps 17 and 19, but on lap 22 Veloz headed pitside, as Griffin took over the fifth spot. Delonjay lead flag to flag, but Weitholder pushed him all the way. Reed claimed third ahead of Lake, and Griffin came from row seven to take fifth running the high side of the track. It was win number 12 of the year for Delonjay.
The UMP late models ran next, 11 strong. Baldwin came to town with both a mod and late model, but he was having engine issues in his late model, so he skipped qualifying and his heat race, tagging the tail for the 30 lap feature. Outside pole sitter Denny Woodworth jumped to the early lead, locked in a duel with dash winner Mark Burgtorf. Jason Perry soon joined the fray, and by lap eight he had moved to second as Sheppard made it a four car battle. On lap 11 Sheppard took third, four circuits later Perry muscled past Woodworth for the lead. On lap 16 Sheppard appeared to get in the back of Woodworth, and he then slowed and headed for the pits as the caution came out. On the restart, Jared Schlipman and Bill Genenbacher got mixed up, ending Genebachers run. Michael Long also retired at this time. From there the race stayed green until the end. Perry, the 2012 track champion took his first win of 2013, followed by Burgtorf and Woodworth. Schlipman and John Beck put on a show as they battled for fourth, with Jared taking the spot. Ron Elbe ran sixth, and Baldwin and his sick power plant was seventh, as Rickey Frankel dropped out on lap 19.
The program took a dramatic slowdown as the 14 IMCA sport mods attempted a 20 lap feature.
Cautions too numerous to count dominated the action, with Tony Dunker prevailing for yet another win over Tanner Klingele, Todd Reed, Brad Holtmeyer, and Bob Cowman.
The IMCA sport compacts closed out the night, with Alex Baker leading lap one. Brandon Lambert then took over on lap three but could not hold off the charge of Austen Becerra, who took over for good three laps later. Lambert stayed close to the checkers, with Spencer Coats, Kim Abbott and Alex Baker completing the top five.
Next Sunday will bring the 2013 season to a close at Quincy Raceways, with the new promoters in place for 2014 already. There is still a months worth of racing in the area, so take in as much as you can. I know I will!
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Deery Series Wraps Up at Davenport
With the weather looking good in both directions, we decided it was time for some IMCA racing on Saturday. So Fred, Darryl, and I headed north to the Davenport, Iowa Speedway to close out the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series season on the big fairgrounds 1/2 mile. The change in lat some tracks combined with some rainouts made this only my second Summer Series event of the year - the first one and the last one. A solid field of 35 IMCA late models headlined by my count a 94 car field in five classes.
The late model heats ran first, as they would be the only class running B-mains. In the first ten lapper, Rob Toland lost the top spot as he tried to put a slower car a lap down, with IMCA national champion Justin Kay getting by for the win. Ironically, the same situation would bite Kay later on. Jeff Aikey took the third and final transfer spot. Heat two saw Dan Shelliam lead the distance, although a mid race bobble brought him back to the field. Andy Eckrich settled for second, while Summer Series champion Brian Harris and Chad Simpson, driving the Diercks # 30 dueled for third before Harris pulled away. Heat three saw Yankee Dirt Track Classic night two winner Joel Callahan race from a row four start to second by lap five, and into the lead one lap later. He outdistanced Jon Poll for the win, with Jay Johnson edging past Joe Ross for third in the final turn. The final ten lapper had Ray Guss Jr and Denny Eckrich in an early battle, with Ray coming out on top. Nick Marolf claimed the third position. All four heats ran without a caution period.
Following eight heat races for the four support classes, it was B-main time for the late models. Simpson checked out in the first ten lapper, besting Darrell Defrance, Kyle Hinrichs, and Ryan Dolan, driving the #1 car. this is apparently a former Moring car now belonging to Rick Dralle - if my information is correct! Jason Rauen ran off with the second consy, while a great battle took place behind him for the next three transfer spots between Ross, series rookie of the year Rob Moss, Brunson Behning, and later Spencer Direcks. Moss took the runnerup spot, with Behning third, and again Ross came up short, this time at the stripe, with Diercks taking fourth. Four provisionals completed the starting grid, including Tommy Elston, Nate Beuseling, Matt Ryan, and Ron Boyse.
The Caseys Pizza redraw came next, with Kay and Shelliam winding up with the front row start.
The 23 car street stock feature came next, and at this point, the swiftly moving show began to have some issues. Several cautions slowed the 12 lap event, but Jeremy Gustaf held on to the top spot flag to flag. Jeremy has had an interesting and up and down season, and Saturday night reflected that, as he won the feature, but suffered a broken front end at the checkers, and had to be towed to the inspection area.
The IMCA modified 15 lap finale saw 16 cars start - all but the # 85, who broke in hot laps and was out the gate early. Veteran Bob Dominacki also missed his heat, but made repairs by feature time. Four early cautions slowed the action, including one car who shall remain nameless who had contact with another car, wound up in the infield, then pulled onto the track and stopped to get a caution flag. At this point, Ray Cox Jr held the lead, and with Dakota Hayden running a close second. But Hayden went to the work area, rejoining the field at the tail. The final 11 laps then went caution free with Cox leading all the way, over Bobby Moyer, the # 25 of Derek Walker, and Hayden, as only eight cars took the checkers.
With the clock ticking - a good time to run the late models? - the 13 4 stock cars came to the track for ten laps. Davenport track champion Aaron Hitt scored an easy win.
Next up it was a five car ten lap feature for the IMCA sport mods. Although only five machines, it took three tries to complete the first lap. When the green finally waved, track champion Bryce Garnhart raced to a 1/4 lap win, and with 10:30 approaching, the post race picture taking and interview was waved off, as the late models came to the track for their 40 lap finale.
Shelliam jumped to the early lead, and he and Kay swapped to top spot in the early laps, as Toland joined the fray. On lap ten, Kay took command, then came up on slower traffic almost immediately. On lap 11, Toland took second, and five laps later Andy Eckrich raced into third. The only caution of the race came on lap 18, when Guss, who had been running in the top six, stopped on the backstretch with a flat tire. The restart saw Aikey, advance from fifth to fourth on the Delaware restart, the one lap later he moved around Andy Eckrich for third. At the same time, Rauen, who started 14th, moved to sixth.
On lap 19, Simpson gave up a top five spot, pulling to the infield. At the halfway mark, Aikey powered around Toland for second, and Rauen moved to fifth. Kay was enjoying a sizable lead at this point, but my notes have a " but " written here, as Aikey seemed to be getting faster. The leader caught traffic again on lap 30, and on lap 32 Kay came upon a mass of cars running the low and middle lanes of the speedway. At this point, second is a good place to be, and Aikey took to the high side to overtake Kay and some slower cars in the process. The lapped traffic that helped Kay in his heat burned him in the money race. Toland began to fade, and Harris, who started 12th, and fell back to 14th at one point had been on the move since the restart. With just a couple laps to go, he charged past Eckrich, fooling even the scoreboard operator and the announcer, neither of whom apparently realized he was in the top five! When the checkers waved, there were ten cars on the lead lap, with the official run down as follows:
Aikey, Kay, Harris, A Eckrich, Rauen, Callahan, Denny Eckrich, who went from 11th to fifth to tenth, to seventh, Toland, 21st starting Elston, and Marolf.
The clock read 11:02 as Fred fired up the van, and all in all it was a good night of racing in Davenport. Congrats to all the winners, and champions, and to car owner Lynn Richard on his first Summer Series title!
Fall is here, but there are still plenty of big events, and the weather is fine, so take in all you can, and maybe I will see you Racin' Down the Road!
The late model heats ran first, as they would be the only class running B-mains. In the first ten lapper, Rob Toland lost the top spot as he tried to put a slower car a lap down, with IMCA national champion Justin Kay getting by for the win. Ironically, the same situation would bite Kay later on. Jeff Aikey took the third and final transfer spot. Heat two saw Dan Shelliam lead the distance, although a mid race bobble brought him back to the field. Andy Eckrich settled for second, while Summer Series champion Brian Harris and Chad Simpson, driving the Diercks # 30 dueled for third before Harris pulled away. Heat three saw Yankee Dirt Track Classic night two winner Joel Callahan race from a row four start to second by lap five, and into the lead one lap later. He outdistanced Jon Poll for the win, with Jay Johnson edging past Joe Ross for third in the final turn. The final ten lapper had Ray Guss Jr and Denny Eckrich in an early battle, with Ray coming out on top. Nick Marolf claimed the third position. All four heats ran without a caution period.
Following eight heat races for the four support classes, it was B-main time for the late models. Simpson checked out in the first ten lapper, besting Darrell Defrance, Kyle Hinrichs, and Ryan Dolan, driving the #1 car. this is apparently a former Moring car now belonging to Rick Dralle - if my information is correct! Jason Rauen ran off with the second consy, while a great battle took place behind him for the next three transfer spots between Ross, series rookie of the year Rob Moss, Brunson Behning, and later Spencer Direcks. Moss took the runnerup spot, with Behning third, and again Ross came up short, this time at the stripe, with Diercks taking fourth. Four provisionals completed the starting grid, including Tommy Elston, Nate Beuseling, Matt Ryan, and Ron Boyse.
The Caseys Pizza redraw came next, with Kay and Shelliam winding up with the front row start.
The 23 car street stock feature came next, and at this point, the swiftly moving show began to have some issues. Several cautions slowed the 12 lap event, but Jeremy Gustaf held on to the top spot flag to flag. Jeremy has had an interesting and up and down season, and Saturday night reflected that, as he won the feature, but suffered a broken front end at the checkers, and had to be towed to the inspection area.
The IMCA modified 15 lap finale saw 16 cars start - all but the # 85, who broke in hot laps and was out the gate early. Veteran Bob Dominacki also missed his heat, but made repairs by feature time. Four early cautions slowed the action, including one car who shall remain nameless who had contact with another car, wound up in the infield, then pulled onto the track and stopped to get a caution flag. At this point, Ray Cox Jr held the lead, and with Dakota Hayden running a close second. But Hayden went to the work area, rejoining the field at the tail. The final 11 laps then went caution free with Cox leading all the way, over Bobby Moyer, the # 25 of Derek Walker, and Hayden, as only eight cars took the checkers.
With the clock ticking - a good time to run the late models? - the 13 4 stock cars came to the track for ten laps. Davenport track champion Aaron Hitt scored an easy win.
Next up it was a five car ten lap feature for the IMCA sport mods. Although only five machines, it took three tries to complete the first lap. When the green finally waved, track champion Bryce Garnhart raced to a 1/4 lap win, and with 10:30 approaching, the post race picture taking and interview was waved off, as the late models came to the track for their 40 lap finale.
Shelliam jumped to the early lead, and he and Kay swapped to top spot in the early laps, as Toland joined the fray. On lap ten, Kay took command, then came up on slower traffic almost immediately. On lap 11, Toland took second, and five laps later Andy Eckrich raced into third. The only caution of the race came on lap 18, when Guss, who had been running in the top six, stopped on the backstretch with a flat tire. The restart saw Aikey, advance from fifth to fourth on the Delaware restart, the one lap later he moved around Andy Eckrich for third. At the same time, Rauen, who started 14th, moved to sixth.
On lap 19, Simpson gave up a top five spot, pulling to the infield. At the halfway mark, Aikey powered around Toland for second, and Rauen moved to fifth. Kay was enjoying a sizable lead at this point, but my notes have a " but " written here, as Aikey seemed to be getting faster. The leader caught traffic again on lap 30, and on lap 32 Kay came upon a mass of cars running the low and middle lanes of the speedway. At this point, second is a good place to be, and Aikey took to the high side to overtake Kay and some slower cars in the process. The lapped traffic that helped Kay in his heat burned him in the money race. Toland began to fade, and Harris, who started 12th, and fell back to 14th at one point had been on the move since the restart. With just a couple laps to go, he charged past Eckrich, fooling even the scoreboard operator and the announcer, neither of whom apparently realized he was in the top five! When the checkers waved, there were ten cars on the lead lap, with the official run down as follows:
Aikey, Kay, Harris, A Eckrich, Rauen, Callahan, Denny Eckrich, who went from 11th to fifth to tenth, to seventh, Toland, 21st starting Elston, and Marolf.
The clock read 11:02 as Fred fired up the van, and all in all it was a good night of racing in Davenport. Congrats to all the winners, and champions, and to car owner Lynn Richard on his first Summer Series title!
Fall is here, but there are still plenty of big events, and the weather is fine, so take in all you can, and maybe I will see you Racin' Down the Road!
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Kid Rocket Tops World of Outlaws at Pevely
Saturday, Darryl, Fred, and I made our fourth and final trip of the year to I-55 Raceway in Pevely,Mo. Two of our previous three stops resulted in postponements as we sat in the car, so we were plenty eager to see some action on the high banked 1/3 mile, one of our favorite facilities. Arriving early, as usual, we were watching track prep, and all agreed that it was 75 degrees out, not 95, and it seemed like they were dumping a lot of water on the oval. But then Pevely is a well run track, and they surely know better than three grumpy old men - except last night. By the time the excess moisture was rolled in, hot laps started just over 30 minutes late, with the 29 AARA sportsman cars and 33 World of Outlaw late models up first. The 37 UMP late models then combined group qualifying with their hot lap session, with four or five cars at a time on the speedway. Unfortunately transponder issues slowed the process, but finally Matt Mevert posted the top time of 13.995 seconds, something over 85 MPH.
The late models timed next, two cars at a time for two laps. Only Shannon Babb had to requalify with transponder problems. The fastest lap went to series points leader Josh Richards at 12.194 seconds. Rickey Frankel was second fastest in group two, but was declared light at the scales, forcing him to the tail of his heat race.
Heat race action began about 8:30. To their credit, track officials made some adjustments to the program to save time. The redraw for late model starting spots for the first four rows that was to be done on the front stretch was scrapped, and no intermission was taken. Three sportsman heats were followed by four for the late models. Heat one got off to a rocky start when outside row one starter Jason Feger got faked a bit on the start and was penalized one row for taking off too soon. His troubles were compounded when he fell out of the action on lap three. Richards led flag to flag from the pole, as did Bub McCool in heat two. The third ten lapper had the most action, with Morgan Bagley coming from outside row two for the win, while Shane Clanton went the distance from the pole in heat four.
Following four mod heats and a sportsman semi, the late models were set to contest two last chance races. In the first, Iowan Charlie McKenna, making his first ever start at Pevely - something on his bucket list - found something on the high side after starting outside row three. " Chargin' Charlie " had struggled in his heat, but was three wide with Michael Kloos and Jason McBride down the backstretch about to make the pass for the runnerup spot when his real estate disappeared, forcing him into the wall and ending his solid run. The second 12 lapper saw late model rookie Jim Shereck from St Charles,Mo, making only his ninth late model start take the early lead, only to have fourth starting Frankel power by in turn two mid race. Shereck held his ground, however, and with Frankels ride pushing up the track in turns three and four, he put his # 17 inside Rickey and won the drag race to the checkers on the final circuit. The 22 qualifiers then had four provisionals - two from WoO including rookie of the year leader Eric Wells, and Feger, and two from the promoter, added to the show. Dewayne Kiefer received one of these, the other went to Tim Manville. When he did not make the call, Jeff Herzog was awarded the spot. It was announced much to our delight that the 55 lap late model headliner would follow the two modified semis, and the officials and drivers did a good job of getting the cars on the track in a quick manner, with no on track introductions.
As the green waved, row three starter Clanton slowed down the backstretch, resulting in a multi car scrum. Fortunately the Georgia driver was the only one unable to continue, as his right front suspension was damaged. On the restart, polesitter Babb jumped to the lead, and opened a commanding advantage. On lap five fourth place starting Richards moved to second as outside polesitter Bagley fell back slightly. Richards chipped away at Babbs lead as the front two began to close on slower traffic by lap 13. The caution waved on lap 24 for a slowing Kloos, with Babb, Richards, and eighth starting Darrell Lanigan the top three. The yellow flew again six laps later for Tim McCreadie, who was running outside the top ten. On the restart, tenth starting Billy Moyer, who had been locked in a duel with his son after the two started side by side in row five,vaulted to fifth, then to fourth, while 16 year old Bobby Pierce, who started in row six and had been stuck there began use both the high and low grooves to charge to sixth. On lap 32 Richards made his move around Babb, although Shannon kept the # 1 Rocket house car in his sights. Row seven starter Brandon Sheppard was now on the move on the high side, as he shadowed Pierce, who took fifth. Another stoppage for Shereck came on lap 34, and on the restart, Sheppard slipped around Pierce. Lap 41 saw Lanigan overtake Babb for second, and on lap 49 Bagley slowed with a flat, slowing his top ten run. At the same time, Feger, who had come from 24th to ninth and was moving quickly forward, stopped in turn four, leaving the action behind the wrecker. With less than ten laps remaining the Delaware restart was no longer in effect, as the cars went single file. Lap 51 saw Moyer get past Babb, and contact followed between Babb and Sheppard as Brandon also got by. Two laps later we saw the result of this, as Babb smacked the turn one wall as something appeared to break on his # 18, and Sheppard headed to the hot pit with a flat tire. This moved Brian Shirley, who had been strong early before fading out of the top ten, then mounting another charge, up to fourth. The two lap shootout to the checkers saw little change, as Richards nabbed the $10,000 top prize. Lanigan, Moyer, Shirley, and Pierce enjoyed top five finishes. The second five included Rick Eckert, Moyer Jr., 2012 winner Dennis Erb Jr, Tim Fuller, and Bagley. It was neat to have Bub ( McCool ), Chub ( Frank ), and " Scrub " ( Eckert ) all in the main event.
We very much wanted to at least stay for the modified feature, but the clock said almost 11:30, late enough for three old guys three hours from home! Congrats to Michael Long for another mod victory, and to Jon Ripperda for his sportsman checkers.
As I type this, it is raining here in Canton,Mo, but not at Quincy Raceways, so if you have plans to take in the show there tonight, be sure and call the hotline. Hopefully, we will see you there!
The late models timed next, two cars at a time for two laps. Only Shannon Babb had to requalify with transponder problems. The fastest lap went to series points leader Josh Richards at 12.194 seconds. Rickey Frankel was second fastest in group two, but was declared light at the scales, forcing him to the tail of his heat race.
Heat race action began about 8:30. To their credit, track officials made some adjustments to the program to save time. The redraw for late model starting spots for the first four rows that was to be done on the front stretch was scrapped, and no intermission was taken. Three sportsman heats were followed by four for the late models. Heat one got off to a rocky start when outside row one starter Jason Feger got faked a bit on the start and was penalized one row for taking off too soon. His troubles were compounded when he fell out of the action on lap three. Richards led flag to flag from the pole, as did Bub McCool in heat two. The third ten lapper had the most action, with Morgan Bagley coming from outside row two for the win, while Shane Clanton went the distance from the pole in heat four.
Following four mod heats and a sportsman semi, the late models were set to contest two last chance races. In the first, Iowan Charlie McKenna, making his first ever start at Pevely - something on his bucket list - found something on the high side after starting outside row three. " Chargin' Charlie " had struggled in his heat, but was three wide with Michael Kloos and Jason McBride down the backstretch about to make the pass for the runnerup spot when his real estate disappeared, forcing him into the wall and ending his solid run. The second 12 lapper saw late model rookie Jim Shereck from St Charles,Mo, making only his ninth late model start take the early lead, only to have fourth starting Frankel power by in turn two mid race. Shereck held his ground, however, and with Frankels ride pushing up the track in turns three and four, he put his # 17 inside Rickey and won the drag race to the checkers on the final circuit. The 22 qualifiers then had four provisionals - two from WoO including rookie of the year leader Eric Wells, and Feger, and two from the promoter, added to the show. Dewayne Kiefer received one of these, the other went to Tim Manville. When he did not make the call, Jeff Herzog was awarded the spot. It was announced much to our delight that the 55 lap late model headliner would follow the two modified semis, and the officials and drivers did a good job of getting the cars on the track in a quick manner, with no on track introductions.
As the green waved, row three starter Clanton slowed down the backstretch, resulting in a multi car scrum. Fortunately the Georgia driver was the only one unable to continue, as his right front suspension was damaged. On the restart, polesitter Babb jumped to the lead, and opened a commanding advantage. On lap five fourth place starting Richards moved to second as outside polesitter Bagley fell back slightly. Richards chipped away at Babbs lead as the front two began to close on slower traffic by lap 13. The caution waved on lap 24 for a slowing Kloos, with Babb, Richards, and eighth starting Darrell Lanigan the top three. The yellow flew again six laps later for Tim McCreadie, who was running outside the top ten. On the restart, tenth starting Billy Moyer, who had been locked in a duel with his son after the two started side by side in row five,vaulted to fifth, then to fourth, while 16 year old Bobby Pierce, who started in row six and had been stuck there began use both the high and low grooves to charge to sixth. On lap 32 Richards made his move around Babb, although Shannon kept the # 1 Rocket house car in his sights. Row seven starter Brandon Sheppard was now on the move on the high side, as he shadowed Pierce, who took fifth. Another stoppage for Shereck came on lap 34, and on the restart, Sheppard slipped around Pierce. Lap 41 saw Lanigan overtake Babb for second, and on lap 49 Bagley slowed with a flat, slowing his top ten run. At the same time, Feger, who had come from 24th to ninth and was moving quickly forward, stopped in turn four, leaving the action behind the wrecker. With less than ten laps remaining the Delaware restart was no longer in effect, as the cars went single file. Lap 51 saw Moyer get past Babb, and contact followed between Babb and Sheppard as Brandon also got by. Two laps later we saw the result of this, as Babb smacked the turn one wall as something appeared to break on his # 18, and Sheppard headed to the hot pit with a flat tire. This moved Brian Shirley, who had been strong early before fading out of the top ten, then mounting another charge, up to fourth. The two lap shootout to the checkers saw little change, as Richards nabbed the $10,000 top prize. Lanigan, Moyer, Shirley, and Pierce enjoyed top five finishes. The second five included Rick Eckert, Moyer Jr., 2012 winner Dennis Erb Jr, Tim Fuller, and Bagley. It was neat to have Bub ( McCool ), Chub ( Frank ), and " Scrub " ( Eckert ) all in the main event.
We very much wanted to at least stay for the modified feature, but the clock said almost 11:30, late enough for three old guys three hours from home! Congrats to Michael Long for another mod victory, and to Jon Ripperda for his sportsman checkers.
As I type this, it is raining here in Canton,Mo, but not at Quincy Raceways, so if you have plans to take in the show there tonight, be sure and call the hotline. Hopefully, we will see you there!
Monday, September 9, 2013
More Big News From Quincy Raceways
The racing program Sunday night at Quincy Raceways was beset with problems, but it may have been an historic night, none the less. The evening was fraught with rumor, and a poorly kept secret was announced on Monday. Pending the final dotting of " I's " and crossing of " T's , " the track is set to be leased to Last Chance Promotion based in Jacksonville,Il. The front man for the three person group is Ken Dobson, who is also the director of the Midwest Open Wheel Association sprint car series. Other members are Mike Wankel and Tom Casson. The group has also promoted racing at the Jacksonville Speedway for the past two seasons. Nothing will be official until papers are signed, but Dobson indicated that late models will continue to headline the program going forward. 2014 will be season number 40 for the Broadway Bullring.
A combination of factors made for a long night on Sunday. First, a morning rain shower put track prep behind, resulting in a late starting show. The rough track was reworked a couple times during the night, but continued to be an issue. Due to " real life " circumstances, some key members of the Sunday night crew were absent, putting a strain on the remaining crew. The ambulance crew was called not once, but twice to the grandstands, well you get the picture. During one delay, the 2013 Quincy Raceways Hall of Fame class was introduced, including former drivers Dick Crane, Lonnie Carter, Joe Gower and Tom Long.
In between, there was some pretty good racing. 13 UMP late models checked in, with Mark Burgtorf setting quick time at 13.843 seconds. Even qualifying was beset by controversy. Seven cars had attempted to qualify, but Burgtorf and visiting Steve Thorsten from Milford,Il both suffered flat left rear tires. The decision was made to check the track, some grading was done, and time trials were restarted. Burgtorf rolled a " three " to set the dash lineup, putting McKay Wenger from Fairbury,Il on the front row alongside UMP national point leader Brandon Sheppard. It was the first ever appearance for Wenger at QR, while B Shepp made the long tow from the World 100 where he finished 15th on Saturday night. Sheppard held off fourth starting Jason Perry to capture the dash after Wenger broke six laps in. The win gave him the pole for the 30 lap finale. Brandon led lap one of the feature before Perry took over on lap two. These two began to check out on the field while Wenger and Burgtorf swapped the third spot a couple of times. On lap 13 Sheppard regained the point as the leaders negotiated slower traffic. A lap 17 yellow bunched the field, but on the restart Sheppard and Perry again built an advantage. The yellow waved for the second time for debris on lap 24 and one lap later Wenger took third back from Burgtorf. One more caution flew on lap 26, and two laps later Burgtorf retired with another flat tire. Sheppard held on for his fourth QR win, tying Michael Long for the track lead. 2012 track champion Perry took second, with Wenger running a strong third. 2013 track point leader Denny Woodworth ran fourth, edging out Jared Schlipman, while Thorsten brought his damaged number 7T home sixth.
The UMP modified count stood at 22, with NASCARs Kenny Wallace posting fast time. Wallace rolled a " six " for the dash invert. Dave Weitholder was able to make less than one lap of the dash after hurting his engine Saturday night at Pevely. Point leader Steven Delonjay also failed to finish after suffering front suspension damage. Delonjay made hasty repairs to start the feature in row 11, while number two point man Weitholder borrowed the sport mod of Trevor Hagerbaumer for the 25 lapper. Justin Reed was back after a nasty crash in the Begley # B4 a couple weeks back, and he took off from the pole as the green waved. Delonjay used a handful of yellows and some aggressive moves to work his way through the field advancing to third by lap 11. It then took him until a lap 23 restart to claim second after a ferocious battle with Chris Spalding. Wallace followed Delonjay around Spalding, but Chris regained the third spot at the checkers. It was a flag to flag win for Reed, who now has both a late model and modified win this season. Robbie Reed completed the top five, as only eight cars took the checkers out of 21 starters.
Abe Huls made the long haul back from a successful run at the Boone Supernationals to pick up win number seven in the IMCA stock car division. After suffering a flat tire on the trailer headed south, the # 30C crew stopped in Carthage just long enough to unload a few suitcases and head for QR. With the IMCA classes not racing for points due to the Boone rain date, a draw, redraw format was used for the stock cars, sport mods, and sport compacts. While Jack Powers took the lead at the green, Jerry Jansen was the leader as lap one was scored, and he held off 2012 champ Terry Houston early. When Houston bobbled on lap four, Powers and Huls roared past. It was lap nine when Abe made his move around Jansen. The three challengers battled behind Abe, with Houston back to second on lap ten. Powers edged Jansen for third in the non stop 15 lapper.
The redraw was kind to defending champion and point leader Tony Dunker in the IMCA sport mod class. Tony drew a front row spot, and led all 20 laps for his 29th consecutive top two finish. The race was red flagged when Brandon Dale clipped one of the tractor tires and went into a series of flips in his #12. The youngster appeared unhurt, but his car was heavily damaged. The time limit hit on lap 16, with Jeff Delonjay the only car in the same time zone as Dunker. Todd Reed and Charles Vanzandt also posted top four runs.
The IMCA sport compacts ran the final feature of the night. 12 of the 13 entrants took the green, and with the draw format, Kimberly Abbott secured the pole position. She led until a lap two restart, when Austen Becerra powered by for the lead and eventual win, I believe his fifth in a row. and yes, it was a different car than the one he destroyed Saturday night at 34 Raceway. Abbott held on for second ahead of Laine Vanzandt and Brandon Lambert.
Quincy Raceways still has three weeks of Sunday night racing remaining. As for me, September racing is one of my favorite times, so maybe we will meet Racin' Down the Road.
A combination of factors made for a long night on Sunday. First, a morning rain shower put track prep behind, resulting in a late starting show. The rough track was reworked a couple times during the night, but continued to be an issue. Due to " real life " circumstances, some key members of the Sunday night crew were absent, putting a strain on the remaining crew. The ambulance crew was called not once, but twice to the grandstands, well you get the picture. During one delay, the 2013 Quincy Raceways Hall of Fame class was introduced, including former drivers Dick Crane, Lonnie Carter, Joe Gower and Tom Long.
In between, there was some pretty good racing. 13 UMP late models checked in, with Mark Burgtorf setting quick time at 13.843 seconds. Even qualifying was beset by controversy. Seven cars had attempted to qualify, but Burgtorf and visiting Steve Thorsten from Milford,Il both suffered flat left rear tires. The decision was made to check the track, some grading was done, and time trials were restarted. Burgtorf rolled a " three " to set the dash lineup, putting McKay Wenger from Fairbury,Il on the front row alongside UMP national point leader Brandon Sheppard. It was the first ever appearance for Wenger at QR, while B Shepp made the long tow from the World 100 where he finished 15th on Saturday night. Sheppard held off fourth starting Jason Perry to capture the dash after Wenger broke six laps in. The win gave him the pole for the 30 lap finale. Brandon led lap one of the feature before Perry took over on lap two. These two began to check out on the field while Wenger and Burgtorf swapped the third spot a couple of times. On lap 13 Sheppard regained the point as the leaders negotiated slower traffic. A lap 17 yellow bunched the field, but on the restart Sheppard and Perry again built an advantage. The yellow waved for the second time for debris on lap 24 and one lap later Wenger took third back from Burgtorf. One more caution flew on lap 26, and two laps later Burgtorf retired with another flat tire. Sheppard held on for his fourth QR win, tying Michael Long for the track lead. 2012 track champion Perry took second, with Wenger running a strong third. 2013 track point leader Denny Woodworth ran fourth, edging out Jared Schlipman, while Thorsten brought his damaged number 7T home sixth.
The UMP modified count stood at 22, with NASCARs Kenny Wallace posting fast time. Wallace rolled a " six " for the dash invert. Dave Weitholder was able to make less than one lap of the dash after hurting his engine Saturday night at Pevely. Point leader Steven Delonjay also failed to finish after suffering front suspension damage. Delonjay made hasty repairs to start the feature in row 11, while number two point man Weitholder borrowed the sport mod of Trevor Hagerbaumer for the 25 lapper. Justin Reed was back after a nasty crash in the Begley # B4 a couple weeks back, and he took off from the pole as the green waved. Delonjay used a handful of yellows and some aggressive moves to work his way through the field advancing to third by lap 11. It then took him until a lap 23 restart to claim second after a ferocious battle with Chris Spalding. Wallace followed Delonjay around Spalding, but Chris regained the third spot at the checkers. It was a flag to flag win for Reed, who now has both a late model and modified win this season. Robbie Reed completed the top five, as only eight cars took the checkers out of 21 starters.
Abe Huls made the long haul back from a successful run at the Boone Supernationals to pick up win number seven in the IMCA stock car division. After suffering a flat tire on the trailer headed south, the # 30C crew stopped in Carthage just long enough to unload a few suitcases and head for QR. With the IMCA classes not racing for points due to the Boone rain date, a draw, redraw format was used for the stock cars, sport mods, and sport compacts. While Jack Powers took the lead at the green, Jerry Jansen was the leader as lap one was scored, and he held off 2012 champ Terry Houston early. When Houston bobbled on lap four, Powers and Huls roared past. It was lap nine when Abe made his move around Jansen. The three challengers battled behind Abe, with Houston back to second on lap ten. Powers edged Jansen for third in the non stop 15 lapper.
The redraw was kind to defending champion and point leader Tony Dunker in the IMCA sport mod class. Tony drew a front row spot, and led all 20 laps for his 29th consecutive top two finish. The race was red flagged when Brandon Dale clipped one of the tractor tires and went into a series of flips in his #12. The youngster appeared unhurt, but his car was heavily damaged. The time limit hit on lap 16, with Jeff Delonjay the only car in the same time zone as Dunker. Todd Reed and Charles Vanzandt also posted top four runs.
The IMCA sport compacts ran the final feature of the night. 12 of the 13 entrants took the green, and with the draw format, Kimberly Abbott secured the pole position. She led until a lap two restart, when Austen Becerra powered by for the lead and eventual win, I believe his fifth in a row. and yes, it was a different car than the one he destroyed Saturday night at 34 Raceway. Abbott held on for second ahead of Laine Vanzandt and Brandon Lambert.
Quincy Raceways still has three weeks of Sunday night racing remaining. As for me, September racing is one of my favorite times, so maybe we will meet Racin' Down the Road.
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