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Past the Pit Gate.......
by Danny Rosencrans
July 21, 2009
Last Sunday night was the second visit for sprint cars in 2009 at Quincy
Raceways. This time it was the first appearance in two years for the Sprint
Invaders, the 360 cubic inch series that began several years ago in
Burlington, Iowa. The Invaders raced the QR oval in 2006 and 2007, but saw
their 2008 date fall to rain. A solid field of 23 of the winged machines was
on hand on Sunday, and they did not disappoint the big crowd, except maybe
those looking for some upside down action. After three heat races and a
shake up dash, all 23 took the feature green flag. Only a couple of caution
periods slowed the 25 lap event, and there was lots of side by side action.
While the weekly classes tend to favor the high groove of the speedway, the
sprinters worked the lower and middle grooves. That is, except for Decatur,
IL. Hot shoe Kaley Gharst. Driving the # 14P Randy Plath ride out of
Stronghurst, Il. Gharst rolled from a row five start to run down early
leader Jim Moughan of Springfield, Il. He then used the high side to capture
the race lead. After building a sizable lead in nonstop traffic, Kaley slid
over the top of the track in turn three with just a couple of laps to go.
Keeping his cool, he pulled back on the oval in turn four, now trailing
Moughan by several car lengths. Showing his veteran poise, he again ran down
the # 1M, and retook the lead and the win. Farmington, Mo. pilot Mark
Shirshekan slipped by Moughan for second, with Sikeston, Mo. driver Jerrod
Hull, and area favorite Ryan Jamison of Mediapolis, Iowa completing the top
five. The Sprint Invaders are scheduled for another visit on the final night
of the quickly evaporating season, Sunday, September 13, a scant eight weeks
from now.
The hobby stocks ran the first feature of the night, and by all accounts it
was the most trying of the night. An unusually high number of yellow flags
turned the 20 lap race into a 15 lapper, with a green, white, checkers time
limit finish after 13 laps were scored. Although only 13 cars were on hand,
they could not seem to stay out of each others way. It began on the first
lap, when leader Nathan Hayes looped his # 11 in turn three, collecting
Eddie Kamm and point leader Steve Carlin. Kamm's night was over, and Carlin
soldiered on with a badly bent right front wheel, probably the result of a
damaged ball joint or upper control arm. I don't know if it would be
possible to win a track championship and the hard luck award in the same
season, but Carlin has sure had his share of lousy luck while holding on to
the points lead. Andrew Griffin was sidelined with a flat tire while leading
the event, then Travis Booher settled things down by taking the top spot and
holding it until the checkers. Even so, smoke was trailing the # 38 car
throughout. It was the second win in a row for Travis, who had horrible luck
in the first half of '09 as well. Wes Mayfield was on Booher's rear bumper
at the flag, with 14 year old Tanner Klingele turning in his best finish in
his rookie year. Tanner grabbed the third spot to go with his second heat
race win earlier in the night. It looks like we have a good young racer on
our hands. Jim Powell and another rookie, Adam Scott rounded out the first
five. IMCA stock car driver Bobby Anders climbed behind the wheel of Nathan
Anders # 22 and won the first heat. The stock cars had the night off with
the visit by the sprinters.
15 IMCA late models checked in on Sunday, although the night was a short one
for Jason Krigbaum. Out for only the second time in '09 after sitting out
the '07 and '08 seasons, the Hannibal racer suffered mechanical woes in hot
laps and did not get to race his # 11 machine. The remaining 14 entrants
came to the track for the 30 lap finale, but Jerry Weisenberger exited the
speedway during the warm up laps. Outside front row starter Nick Ingalls
grabbed the early lead, but second row starter Matt Bailey quickly took over
the top spot. Despite heavy pressure, Matt held on in the non stop event for
his second feature win of the season. The race was easily one of the best
all year, as Matt’s college roommate Justin Reed worked his way in to second
and began to work the top side of the track. He was soon joined by Matt’s
father, Lonnie Bailey, and Mark Burgtorf, in a nip and tuck four car battle.
The elder Bailey and Burgtorf swapped spots back and forth as Reed tried
everything to get to the front. At the checkers, it was M Bailey, Reed, L
Bailey, and Burgtorf, with Denny Woodworth close behind. Coupled with a one
point gain in his heat race, Lonnie maintained a three point lead in the
championship chase over Reed. Lonnie is looking for his second title, while
Justin chases his first. Keith Pratt and Burgtorf both are within shouting
distance, although only six points races remain for the late models. Lonnie
Bailey is trying to duplicate the trifecta Jason Frankel pulled off in 2008.
Currently he also leads the points in West Burlington, Iowa, and entered the
weekend trailing Quad City driver Kevin Blum in the national rankings. For
his part, Frankel is now focusing on a Summer Series title. He currently
trails veteran Jeff Aikey in series points as the series travels this week
to Oskaloosa, Iowa. The late model tour will be back at QR on Sunday
September 6. After a week off, Ron Elbe was back at the track. The 3 team
tried a new ignition system as they search for more power. Joey Gower was a
no show this week. The # 31 crew was changing engine oil when they found
metal shavings in the old oil, so some engine work is in order.
Another outstanding total of 27 UMP Modifieds came to race on Sunday, and
they provided some good racing in the final feature of the night. The B-main
won by Chad Parsons in his first night out whittled the starting feature
field to 22. After two false starts, the 25 lapper went to lap 12 before the
yellow flag flew. At that point, Liberty, Il ace Ryan Meyer had built a nice
lead over former track champion Robbie Reed. On the restart Reed put his #
28 out front, holding on through three more caution periods. The final
stoppage set up a three lap dash to the checkers, and although Reed had it
covered, the action behind him was wild. Coming out of turn two on the final
lap, contact was made between Meyer and Vance Wilson. From my vantage point,
it looked as though Wilson slowed, but he regained momentum, while Meyer,
who was in third, seemed to lose power. The scramble put Donovan Lodge in
the runnerup position with Justin Reed nabbing third. Wilson rebounded to
take fourth, and Tony Dunker captured fifth, another good night for Team 4.
Incidentally, how about the pink and white color scheme on the newly skinned
Dunker ride. I like it! The shake up finish left J Reed with a big points
lead over Steven Delonjay who was scored well outside the top ten. Justin
still has a shot at two class championships in the same season, a feat never
accomplished at QR. There was again several first time visitors to the
track, as the draw for starting positions UMP format and the ability to add
points gained towards national standings is a great incentive for drivers to
try new tracks at any point during the season. Among the notable visitors
was Mexico, Mo. driver Ronnie Woods, a hot shoe who did not have the best of
nights on Sunday.
This week we will be back to a regular night of racing, featuring IMCA late
models, IMCA stock cars, UMP Modifieds, and QR hobby stocks, with regular
admission prices. Hot laps at 6:00, racing at 6:30. This will be the last
race night for July, as the season creeps away. See you at the races!
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