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Past the Pit Gate
by Danny Rosencrans
May 19, 2009
Whoever has been doing the rain dance at Quincy Raceways this season was on
hand to tease again this week. Somewhere between a clear Sunday morning and
the 20 mile trip to the speedway, "no chance of rain" turned in to a pesky
drizzle. Once again, track personnel were quick to respond, and things got
under way about an hour or so late. Heat races in the support classes were
again cut to eight laps, now lets just keep it there. Although the rut
returned that has plagued turn one, and will probably continue until we get
some dry weather, the drivers were able to negotiate that pretty well.
Instead, most of the action occured at the opposite end of the track, where
three of an amazing four roll overs took place. I have not seen that many
cars off their wheels in one night since the early days of the two man
cruisers!
The first car to get upside down came in the IMCA stock car feature, when
Abe Huls, who picked up a Saturday night win at West Burlington, wound up on
the wrong side of Levi long, collected the guardrail on the backstretch and
did a 1 3/4 roll. It was all part of an unusually rough night for the stock
cars, as 14 of the 15 on hand started the main event, with only six taking
the checkers. Jerry Jansen put his #06 out front for much of the event, but
Chris Larson dogged him throughout, finally getting around late in the 20
lapper. Chris kept his #67 in the top spot for his first ever stock car win
after several years of wheeling modifieds. Former QR track champion , Larry
Larson, his father, was on hand to celebrate with the Keokuk, Iowa pilot.
Chris Wibbell made a late charge to the runner up spot, followed by Long,
Jansen, point leader Kevin Tomlinson, and Burlington, Iowa driver Joe Gerdes.
Tomlinson survived a flat tire and a late crash, doing what it takes to win
a championship - finish races. For the second straight week, Steve
Steinkuhler had trouble with his # 04s, and was the only no show come
feature time. Sarah Woodhurst made it to the track after a 2:00 PM high
school graduation ceremony and picked up a heat race win with a heavily
smoking car.
All 15 IMCA late models started their 30 lap main event, and Mark Burgtorf
continued to cash in on his early season engine woes. Marks low point
average landed him on the pole of both his heat and the feature, and
although he appeared underpowered in the heat, the finale was a different
story. Burgtorf led all 30 laps, surviving three caution periods to pick up
his fourth QR win in six nights of action, to go with his two no starts. It
was the second win of the weekend for the #7B after a Saturday night win in
West Burlington. Lonnie Bailey again played bridesmaid, charging from the
fourth row to take second ahead of Justin Reed, Jason Perry, and Joey Gower.
For Reed, the finish was enough to give him the point lead in an extremely
tight race. Keith Pratt was coming through the pack after starting in row
seven, when he broke a wheel, ending his night. K.P. is a serious racer, for
sure, running his # 33 late model three nights every weekend. There was some
excitement at the end of the event when Ron Elbe spun with a little help on
the white flag lap, giving us a green, white, checker finish in what was
technically a 31 lap feature. Clint Kirkham continued to impress, picking up
his first heat win, and leading the trophy dash before jumping the cushion
in turn three. Jason Frankel again fell out early, missing the top ten by
one spot. Denny Woodworth has his IMCA engine back, and should be rejoining
the show in the near future.
The hobby stocks saw 16 cars start the 20 lap finale, with only the
returning Eddie Kamm failing to make the call. Young Nathan Anders put his #
22 out front at the drop of the green, and held on through 17 fast laps. In
the meantime, rookie Matt Englund of Basco took a wild tumble off turn four,
the second car to get upside down. James Leffew pushed Anders, and finally
made the pass, leading the final three laps and grabbing a big win, helping
ease the pain of a long night the week prior. What started as a special
night for Anders ended badly, when he and Jim Powell got together coming out
of turn four to the checkers, with neither driver making it across the line.
Steve Carlin finished second, and the parade around the stalled cars
included Adam Scott in third, followed by Larry Powell and Wes Mayfield.
Although Wes struggled somewhat during the race, perseverance paid off, and
he is now atop the points.
The final event on the card was the UMP modified 25 lapper, with 19 of the
22 competitors taking the green. With UMP using the draw, redraw format
every week, the starting line up can take on an interesting look, and on
Sunday, a lot of the heavy hitters were near the front. Michael Long, who
was indeed on hand, was not so lucky, starting 11th.Things got worse
quickly, as Michael dropped out on lap six, credited with 18th place. On the
restart, Donovan Lodge also went pit side. It was lap 12 when Aura Griffith
wound up on his side in turn four, creating the third red flag of the night.
At the same time, the ambulance was needed to check on Vance Wilson, who had
the wind knocked out of him in the ensuing melee. Three laps later, Wyatt
Lantz, running in the front pack, launched off turn three, flipping wildly.
Wyatt also needed some medical attention before the race restarted. Through
it all, Steven Delonjay distanced himself from the pack each time, taking a
big win. Only one week earlier, it was the 17 year old upside down in his #
35 on the front stretch.
The 35 crew had to haul the crippled car to car builder Bob Pierce in
Danville, Il. to have the back half re-clipped on Monday, the brought it
home for five more nights of burning the midnight oil. What a payoff for
them on Sunday! Dave Wietholder had a second place run going when he pulled
out late, setting up an amazing finish. There was a four car battle for
second, and in lapped traffic, Justin Reed made a go for broke move to take
second. Vance Wilson, Ryan Meyer, and Tony Dunker were all nipping at Reeds
heels to the final flag. With the runner up finish, Justin now holds a
position that may have never been held in the history of QR - he is leading
the points in two classes. All this while maintaining full time college
student status, and campaigning his late model at Donnellson and West
Burlington!
Former late model track favorite Jamie Wilson was behind the wheel of cousin
Terry Wilson’s # 15 modified on Sunday. Terry suffered a rib injury in a
four wheeler accident, and Jamie got the call. After making several set up
changes on the car, Jamie had the engine let go in his heat race. Vance
Wilson sported a brand new body on his # 1, but by nights end, little of it
was left. In fact, Vance ran the feature " topless " after ripping the roof
off his ride. Jared Schlipman suffered heavy front end damage in the trophy
dash, made quick repairs, but exited the feature early. Robbie Reed was a no
show again on Sunday. The Fulton, Mo. track, where Robbie is the points
leader, ran a make up event from an earlier rainout, and the # 28 may have
been there.
Jason Frankel was planning to travel to the Summer Series midweek race in
Allison, Iowa, we will check on that later.
This Sunday the Modifieds get the night off, as the 410 Sprints as well as
the modlites join the late models, stock cars and hobby stocks as part of
the holiday weekend show. I think we can plan on a few extra cars, and some
warm, dry weather would be welcome, as well! See you at the races.
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