Monday, May 18, 2015

Burgtorf Outduels Klein for "Scottie 41" Cash at Quincy

For the second time this weekend I arrived at a race track that had endured more than its fair share of rain in recent days. And, just like my Friday night destination, this Sunday night stop would not have even been possible if not for the hard work and perseverance of the promoter and his staff. The Quincy Raceways were wet, very wet actually, but promoter Kenny Dobson knew that by race time the weather would be absolutely perfect and that everybody would be itching to be at the "Bullring on Broadway" that was brought to life forty-one years ago by Albert Scott so the decision was made to do everything possible to get the show in. Late in the afternoon it was determined that more time would be needed so word was put out that the starting time would be delayed by an hour and finally the long line of tow vehicles were allowed to make their way into the pit area having to carefully navigate so as to not get stuck in the mud. I would estimate that about 40% of the pits were unusable and the infield was a quagmire, however the race track wound up to be near perfect allowing for some of the best racing action that I have witnessed at the quarter-mile oval in some time!

The UMP Late Models were the headliner racing for a $2,000 top prize and twenty-one cars were in attendance including several drivers that I had never seen compete before. One of those is Collinsville, Illinois, driver Daryn Klein who was making his first ever appearance at Quincy and he found the place to his liking very quickly setting fast time and then fighting off Mark Burgtorf to win the first heat race. By rolling a two for the invert Klein would start on the outside of the front row of the forty-one lap main event and he powered to the lead at the drop of the green. Burgtorf started right behind Klein in fourth and he quickly moved to second to pick up the chase.

The top two left the rest of the field in their wake as the multi-time track champion here, Burgtorf stalked the newcomer. On lap sixteen the challenger was able pull even with the leader on the inside exiting turn four and when Klein went too wide his right rear slapped the wall near the flagstand launching a portion of his spoiler high into the air. When it landed on the racing surface the caution waved and the field was pulled back together again for the restart with Klein and his right rear quarter panel damage bringing them back to green.

Despite the change in the aerodynamics on his car, Klein was still able to fight off Burgtorf even through lapped traffic where the lead duo were faced with split second decisions on what line to choose to clear the slower cars. With six laps remaining Klein made the slightest of bobble in turns three and four and Burgtorf pounced to drive under him for the lead. Klein fought back though and was able to put a nose under Burgtorf twice in the closing laps, but there would be no passing the most successful Late Model driver in Quincy Raceways history as Mark Burgtorf secured the victory. As his car sat steaming in victory lane Burgtorf noted that this was the kind of hammer down racing that Albert Scott loved and that it was an honor for him to take the win in memory of the track's founder.

Klein was valiant in second, Brian Dively finished third, Jim Moon was fourth and Jamie Wilson completed the top five. Clint Kirkham making his first appearance of 2015 was supposed to start the main event from the pole position, but after a pace lap he waved the field around and started from the rear before dropping out early. Justin Reed fought gremlins all night as he missed qualifying and then spun in his heat before marching from eighteenth to fifth in the feature. The gremlins returned though as he dropped out of the race on lap thirty-one. Moon came from twelfth to fourth and besides Klein some of the new names for me in attendance were Matt Santel, Darrell Moser, Austin Simpson and Cole Swibold.

The IMCA Sport Mods started off the five feature races with a spectacular non-stop 18-lap event that saw the leaders having to pick their way through lapped traffic in the seventeen car field. Adam Birck started on the inside of the second row and found his way to the front on the opening lap. Tanner Klingele had started right behind Birck in fifth and on lap seven he was able to take over the top position. Each time that it appeared that Klingele might pull away Birck would pick a different line through traffic and make up ground and with five laps remaining the leader had a pack five cars racing for position in front of him. Showing patience Klingele went to the high line in turn one and when Birck saw an opening on the inside he dove low and regained the lead down the back straightaway. Once the traffic had cleared though Klingele came right back to again pass Birck in turns three and four just before the white flag and the young driver then completed the final lap to take the win, officially his second of the season here although his win on opening night was the result of a disqualification.

Tanner had definitely earned this one and in victory lane he quickly climbed to the top of his car in jubilation. Birck had a solid runner-up finish, rookie driver Nathan Bringer continued to impress in third, current point leader Joey Gower was fourth and three-time defending track champion Tony Dunker was fifth.

The Stock Cars were up next and while they could not duplicate the caution free status of the Sport Mods, they definitely provided plenty of action throughout. First of all though I must say that it is fantastic to see the car count rising in this division here at Quincy and not only were there thirteen cars in action Sunday night, I think that you could legitimately say that all thirteen are capable of winning on a given night.

The first caution waved on the opening lap as Taylor Lear and Trevor Hagerbaumer tangled on the back stretch. This was a huge break for Troy Brierton who had nearly driven over the top of turn two after starting third falling all the way to the back, but the caution for the other two drivers would now start him on the front row with Michael Larsen. Larsen would go to the lead only to have Brierton stalk him on the outside while fifth row starters Jim Lynch and Abe Huls worked their way to the front. Huls moved to second by lap ten and began to pressure Larsen to the inside and when the two made contact on lap thirteen the right half of the nose piece from Huls' #30c was the debris that necessitated a caution. Knowing where the challenge was coming from Larsen protected the bottom on the restart and when Huls got crossed up a bit in turn four on lap fourteen it was Lynch who spun to keep from making contact and causing the third caution.

When Jake Powers and Jerry Jansen got together in turn three on lap fifteen the caution waved one last time and we were set for a three-lap shootout between Larsen and Huls. Once again Abe was able to stick his nose under "Taco", but Larsen held his line and fought off the challenges to take his first win in the division after giving the Late Models a try in 2014. The adrenaline was definitely pumping for Larsen as he grabbed the microphone in victory lane and gave a very heartfelt thanks to all of those who had helped him reach this goal. Huls would have to settle for second on this night, Beau Taylor took third with Jeremy Buss fourth and Jim Lynch made it back up to fifth at the checkers.

The UMP Modified division at Quincy continues to be owned by Michael Long who went flag-to-flag to win his fourth straight main event here. Long started the night with the fastest qualifying time, then won his heat race, rolled a "one" for the feature invert, started on the pole and led all twenty-five laps to win by more than a half a lap over runner-up David Wietholder. Steven DeLonjay finished in the third position with Robbie Reed in fourth while newcomer Brandon Roberts filled out the top five.

Brandon Ruffcorn won his Sport Compact heat race from the back so he was one to watch from the fifth row as the final feature race of the night started. It turned out to be short race for Ruffcorn though as he ended up smacking the back stretch guardrail hard on the opening lap to bring out the caution. On the restart it was Jeffrey DeLonjay leading lap one and then Brandon Lambert took the top spot on lap two, but the green machine of Michael Grossman was on the fly from the inside of row five and he drove past Lambert on lap six to take the lead. There would be no catching the Keokuk driver from there as Grossman would put an end to Kimberly Abbott's three race win streak here at Quincy. Abbott would take second, Lambert finished third followed by DeLonjay and trent Orwig who still managed a fifth-place finish despite damage to the right rear of his car.

As always I appreciate the hospitality from everybody at the Quincy Raceways and it is always a pleasure to visit with friends on a beautiful Sunday evening: fans, photographers, officials, drivers, Dads of drivers who used to be drivers themselves, fellow writers, etc.

The weather forecast for tomorrow night (Tuesday) in Vinton is actually quite similar as it was last Tuesday when the event was postponed a week, but hopefully the Hawkeye Dirt Tour for IMCA Modifieds will kick off its 2015 schedule at the Benton County Speedway this time. Bring a blanket to sit on and an extra coat to put on when the sun goes down and I hope to see you there on the Back Stretch!

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