Wilson’s opening-night performance at Quincy Raceways earns him first 10-star award of season

QUINCY — The first weekend of the dirt-track season at Quincy Raceways produced a number of solid showings.

At the top of those impressive performances was late model driver Jamie Wilson, who earns the first 10-star achievement of the season. Each week in this space we’ll rank the top 10 driver showings from the previous Sunday night on a 10-to-1 (star) scale.

Here’s this week’s breakdown:

• 10 stars: Jamie Wilson, crate late models. The veteran had a perfect night — literally. He was the fastest qualifier, won his heat race and led flag-to-flag in the opening feature of the season. There was nothing more he could have done. Oh, and his new paint scheme might very well be the sharpest in the division, but more about that in a minute. Wilson should be a bona fide title threat this season.
• 9 stars: Kyler Girard, sport mods. Girard, who won the 2023 season opener, outdueled defending series champ Tanner Klingele and Logan Cumby for his best showing two years. If the Moberly, Mo., driver competes on a regular basis this summer, the sport mod pennant pursuit will likely be a five-man challenge featuring Klingele, Girard, Cumby, Reed Wolfmeyer and A.J. Tournear.
• 8 stars: Jackson Frankel, crate late models. The youngster started 10th in the feature and effectively worked his way to a runner-up finish. Frankel also has a sharp-looking ride.
• 7 stars: Chase Holland, modifieds. I’m not sure if the Success, Miss., driver will be a full- or part-timer at the Bullring this season, but like last year, you’ll know it when he’s around. Holland’s modified series victory saw him turn back both Justin Reed and Kenny Wallace. 
• 6 stars: Kruze Miles, crate late models. Here’s another young, developing hotshoe to watch as the season unfolds. His third-place feature finish and heat-race win were signs of even bigger and better things to come. Keep an eye on brother Christian Miles, too. 
• 5 stars: Jacob Rexing, stock cars. Dominating, just like last year when his 122 feature laps led were 49 more than his closest rival. Rexing’s opening-night win was the likely the first of many for the defending series champion.
• 4 stars: Derrick DeFord, 4-Cylinders. If opening night was any indication, DeFord might just be the man to beat in the 4-Cylinders. He also possesses one of the top new wraps for 2025.
• 3 stars: Tanner Klingele, sport mods. The 2024 series champ did not win either a feature or heat (he was second in both), but rest assure that No. 73 will again be a championship threat. You don’t win a track title and finish runner-up in points four times by accident.
• 2 stars: Logan Cumby, sport mods. Week in, week out, Cumby, Klingele and Reed Wolfmeyer will be vying for positions on the medal stand. Cumby was third in last Sunday’s feature and won a heat race.
• 1 star: Garrett Russell, Crown Vics. His series debut provided feature and heat wins. Like Girard in the sport mods, if Russell becomes a regular there’s no reason to believe he won’t be a title contender based on his first showing.

Best-looking cars

As always, the cars are the stars, especially on opening night before their pristine looks incur the slings and arrows of outrageous dirt-track fortune.

Here’s our picks for the best looks of the new season.

• Crate late models: Jackson Frankel’s black-blue-white No. 2 is one of the sharpest-looking cars among the crate lates in many years. Jamie Wilson and Kruze Miles also get major points for most improved look.
• Modifieds: Kenny Wallace’s car has the same style and number font, but a different color scheme makes the overall package really pop. Hats off to the veteran. Shawn Deering gets major props, too, for a new design sandwiched around last year’s zebra stripes. Deering’s car is easily the most improved look. A tip o’ the dirt track hat also goes to Quinton Shelton, who ranks just behind Wallace and Deering in both of those categories.
• Sport mods: Reed Wolfmeyer earns kudos for both best looking and most improved. That No. 2 is one sweet ride. The light blue, orange and white are a perfect combo for the overall design.
• Stocks:Eddie Dieker’s sleek black-and-white No. 33 was gorgeous. Levi Long gets the nod for most improved. 
• 4-Cylinders: Derrick Ford’s overall look is extremely solid, while Dyllan Bonk’s No. 2B is the most improved.
• Crown Vics: Brian Kaylor is our choice for the top look in this second-year series. Glen Wiley gets most improved for changing his number to 911 — no explanation needed.

We’ll update our picks as more drivers make an appearance. 

Rough start

The roughest start to the season goes to modified driver Dave Wietholder, hands down.

FIrst, Wietholder (the top mod qualifier) experienced trouble with his primary ride and didn’t start his heat race. The veteran hopped in his truck and hurried home to Liberty, packed up the family’s back-up entry and got back to the track in time for the feature. That was the good news.

Unfortunately, Wietholder was involved in a five-car crash as the feature lineup was taking the green flag. His night was over before he had run even one lap.

There was, however, a silver lining. Opening night was not a points night, so Wietholder isn’t in a huge hole.

Wietholder won four straight pre-Covid modified track championships (2016-19) and one in the now-defunct bomber class (2001). He also finished runner-up four times in the modified division, most recently in 2024. 

Notes

• Hopefully, we’ll be seeing Justin Reed most of the season in that No. 4 modified, and I think we will. Reed would add another strong entry to a division that already includes Austen Becerra, Dave Wietholder, Rick Conoyer, Jacob Rexing, Shawn Deering and Kenny Wallace (on many nights). That’s assuming Becerra, who has won the last three mod titles, will be racing regularly at 8000 Broadway. Becerra was not in the pits last Sunday.
• Crate late stalwarts Jason Perry and Tommy Elston were missing last Sunday. Perry will reportedly be sharing the No. 27 car with his son, Aidan, and not contending for the track title. Elston’s status is uncertain. Jason Perry is the defending crate late champ. He also won the 2012 championship when the series was under the UMP flag and was runner-up in 2010 when Quincy was an IMCA track. Elston won the 2023 crown and finished runner-up in 2024 and 2017.
• It was great to see Mark Burgtorf back on the track, driving the No. 3 modified. Burgtorf missed the 2024 season due to illness. He won a track-record 16 titles in the old super late model series and finished second in points three times. Burgtorf’s last track title came in 2015.
• Nine-time track champ Denny Woodworth was another beneficiary of no points being awarded last Sunday. Woodworth was forced from the feature due to mechanical woes and had to settle for a 15th-place finish. He has eight late model track crowns and one modified track crown on his resume. His most recent championship was in 2022. His first was in 1993 in the old “A” modified series. Woodworth also has three runner-up points finishes in the late model division.