Racing notebook: Becerra’s dominance in modified series shows in victories and money won

QUINCY — There are two ways to examine Austen Becerra’s overall dominance in the modified series at Adams County Speedway.

Since the track reopened for the 2022 season, Becerra has won 20 features. The rest of the modified drivers have won a combined 27 in that same span. Those two numbers, more than anything else, explain why Becerra is zeroing in in his third straight track title in that division.

But there is another statistic that also illustrates Becerra’s dominance — money won.

Barring some sort of unexpected mechanical disaster between now and the end of the season in mid-September, Becerra will easily eclipse his own record for money earned in the modified series. He’ll also rank near the top of the overall track record for all series.

Becerra enters Sunday night having won $11,370 this season, which is just $250 shy of the modified record of $11,620 that he totaled a year ago.

If Becerra would happen to run the table and win the final six features of the season he would end with $16,170, leaving him only a little more than $1,000 short of Mark Burgtorf’s $17,510 in 2006. (For the record, modified feature winners earn $800.)

Here’s how the top five single-season money earnings look:

1. Mark Burgtorf, $17,510 in 2006 (late models)..

2. Mark Burgtorf, $15,020 in 2009 (late models).

3. Mark Burgtorf, $13,715 in 2007 (late models).

4. Mark Burgtorf, $12,535 in 2008 (late models).

5. Austen Becerra, $11,370 in 2024 (modifieds).

Becerra has cashed track checks worth more $32,000 over the past three years, averaging more than $10,000 per season in earnings. No driver since Burgtorf in the late models in the mid-to-late 2000s has managed that feat.

One streak ends, who will be next?

When Denny Woodworth won last Sunday’s late model feature, that ended an uncustomary 15-feature winless streak for the late model lawyer. Woodworth, a nine-time track champ, had last won a main event on Sept. 10, 2023.

So who might be the next driver, with at least one track championship to his/her credit, to end a winless slide? Here are some possibilities:

Kim Abbott, 4-Cylinders: The three-time track champ is winless in her last 26 main events, and has won just one feature since the 2022 reopening, but that one was a dandy. Abbott collected the $4,545 payday when she won the 2022 season-ending Chad McCoy Memorial feature.

Jake Powers, stocks: Jake the Snake’s last checkered flag came 21 features ago on June 18, 2023. Powers has two track titles to his credit, the most recent coming last year. 

Dave Wietholder, modifieds: Wietholder, who has won five track crowns during his career, has not reached victory lane since Aug. 6, 2023, a span of 18 features. 

Rudy Zaragoza, stocks: It’s been 16 features (Aug. 6, 2023) since Zaragoza crossed the finish line first. Zaragoza won the 2022 track title.

Feature flags

Speaking of feature wins — or lack thereof — here’s a division-by division look at which drivers have won the most main events since the lights were turned back on in 2022:

Late models

Tommy Elston, 15; Denny Woodworth, 10; Jason Perry, 5.

Notes: Elston won nine main events a year ago en route to his first track title … Elston and Woodworth are the only drivers to have won at least one feature in each of the last three seasons … No late model driver has won back-to-back features this season.

Modifieds

Austen Becerra, 20; Dave Wietholder, 5; Jacob Rexing, 3.

Notes: Becerra is the lone driver with at least one win in the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons … Shawn Deering and Wietholder could join that select club if they can manage a victory between now and the end of the season … Becerra has had two streaks of four consecutive feature wins in each of the last two campaigns. He’s also led a track-best 121 feature laps. Robert Cottom (68) is a distant second in the stocks.

Sport mods

Tanner Klingele, 10; Logan Cumby, 8; Adam Birck, 7; Reed Wolfmeyer, 5.

Notes: No driver has won more than two consecutive sport mod features over the past three years. Klingele has done it twice … Klingele, Cumby and Birck have all won at least won main event in each of the three seasons since the track reopened … A.J. Tournear could join that club with a feature victory between now and end of season.

Stocks

Robert Cottom, 21; Rudy Zaragoza, 9; Jacob Rexing, 6.

Notes: Even though Cottom has won five features and Rexing four this season, neither has posted back-to-back victories … The only driver other than Cottom and Rexing to win a feature this year is Rickey Frankel III on July 21 … Cottom is one of three drivers to reach the 20-win mark since 2022, joining 4-Cylinder hotshoe Jeffrey DeLonjay (26, including two in a Crown Vic) and modified ace Austen Becerra (23, including three in a sport mod).

4-Cylinders

Jeffrey DeLonjay, 24; Jaden DeLonjay, 6; Derrick DeFord, 4; Michael Grossman, 4.

Notes: This series has been one extreme or another. Jaden DeLonjay is the only driver this year to win back-to-back features. A year ago, older brother Jeffrey DeLonjay won nine in a row … The DeLonjay brothers are the only 4-Cylinder drivers to win at least one feature in 2022, 2023 and 2024 … Jeffrey DeLonjay’s 24 career wins in this series over the last three seasons represents more than half of the total features run (46) in that time.

Sunday night schedule

Racing is scheduled to start around 5:30 p.m. Sunday. All weekly classes are on the docket.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The start time for Sunday’s races was incorrect in an earlier version of this story.