Speedway
QUINCY — Earlier this season, Trevor Neville said he had heard a lot of good things about Adams County Speedway. So the modified driver from Mackinaw, Ill., which is close to three hours away from Quincy and sits between Bloomington and Peoria, made the journey to Adams County for what he felt would be some…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Finally. The long wait officially ended Sunday night for Tommy Elston, who won his first crate late model track title at Adams County Speedway. Elston has been an on-again, off-again semi-regular at the Broadway Bullring since about the mid-1990s, but had never come closer to a championship than a runner-up points finish in…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Tommy Elston has moved another step closer to his first late model track title at Adams County Speedway. Elston rolled to his sixth feature win of the season Sunday night — his fourth in the last six shows — to take a five-point series lead over Denny Woodworth into the final night of…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The biggest news Sunday night from Adams County Speedway actually occurred off the track. Track operator Jim Lieurance said the facility would “definitely be open” for business in 2024. Lieurance said he felt it important to make that clear to fans, sponsors and drivers. Lieurance and his wife, Tammy, have operated the .29-mile…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Former NASCAR driver Ken Schrader dominated the sport mod/”B” mod feature Sunday night at Adams County Speedway. Schrader finished well ahead of Joe Rudy, Patrick Phillips and Dakota Girard. For the second straight week, the sport mods and visiting “B” mods were combined with no track points awarded. A number of local sport…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Tommy Elston’s late-season surge appears to have put him in the catbird’s seat when it comes to the pursuit of the Adams County Speedway crate late model championship. The veteran driver from Keokuk, Iowa, who has been a late model mainstay at the dirt track at 8000 Broadway for much of a career…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Austen Becerra is approaching the homestretch of what has been a breakout summer as a modified driver. Becerra further accented his ascent to dirt-track nobility with a scintillating feature win Sunday night at Adams County Speedway. The 29-year-old Bowen resident, who has won 24 overall features this season while racing at tracks sprinkled…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Paul Nienhiser’s comment might wind up proving prophetic. Nienhiser, one of the Midwest’s more accomplished sprint-car drivers, won Sunday night’s Sprint Invaders feature at Adams County Speedway. “Hopefully, we can race more in Quincy,” Nienhiser said after his relatively easy flag-to-flag dominance in the 25-lap main event. Nienhiser, who has been racing in…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Operators of Adams County Speedway said Sunday night there likely will be some scheduling changes due to low attendance during July. Jim and Tammy Lieurance, the husband-wife team that has operated .29-mile dirt track at 8000 Broadway since its 2022 re-opening, told Muddy River News the weekly series will probably be cut from…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Jeffrey DeLonjay moved closer to a second straight Adams County Speedway track championship Sunday night. DeLonjay collected his seventh straight — eighth overall — feature victory in the 4-Cylinder division. Barring some sort of major meltdown over the ensuing two months, he should be able to comfortably clinch the championship well before the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Tanner Klingele says it’s one thing to reach the proverbial mountain top, but staying there is another story in itself. Klingele, the points leader in the super-competitive sport mod division at Adams County Speedway, solidified his No. 1 position Sunday night with a thrilling — and that’s likely a major understatement — victory…
Read Full Article QUINCY — It’s getting to the point that Austen Becerra has won so many modified features this season it’s becoming difficult for him to remember the exact number. Such was the case Sunday night at Adams County Speedway. “This was No. 21 … or maybe it’s No. 22,” he said, trying to add up the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — It’s never too late, right? For Adam Birck to defend his sport mod track championship at Adams County Speedway, the longtime driver from LaGrange, Mo., will need a dominating second half of the season. Birck took the first step toward that goal Sunday night, rolling to a definitive feature victory for his first…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Adams County Speedway will play host to the UMP Summer Nationals Super Late Model Hell Tour on Wednesday, always one of the season’s most anticipated shows at the venerable dirt track at 8000 Broadway. There was no racing last Sunday, allowing track workers some extra time to fine-tune the facilities for an event…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Austen Becerra is a busy guy, but he has no complaints. Along with working full time, the reigning modified track champ at Adams County Speedway races three nights per week and works on his ride for three hours or so on each of the remaining four evenings. Oh, he’s married, too. “You only…
Read Full Article QUINCY — We’re now deep enough into the dirt-track racing season to start making some assessments concerning the five weekly series at Adams County Speedway. That will be this week’s approach to our familiar Dirty Thirty Thoughts about the modifieds, sport mods, crate late models, stock cars and 4-Cylinders. Modifieds Championship favorite: Austin Becerra is…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Sam Halstead has been racing at Adams County Speedway for more than 25 years, and has long carried the nickname “Superman” for his driving abilities. That nickname was truly befitting on a rather windy and unseasonably chilly Sunday night at 8000 Broadway. Halstead emerged from a four-car scrum on the final lap to…
Read Full Article QUINCY — As hard as it is to believe, the local dirt-track racing season is already one-third of the way toward completion. That’s what all of those early rainouts can do. All of that wet weather aside, the five Sunday nights of racing we have seen have provided some early insights. If the season ended…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Now THAT was close. Veteran driver Dave Wietholder reached victory lane for the first time this season when he edged Rick Stevenson to win Sunday night’s 18-lap modified feature at Adams County Speedway. And the term “edged” hardly does that final verdict justice. Wietholder’s margin of victory was just 0.01 of a second.…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Welcome to this week’s Dirty Thirty and a trip through each of Adams County Speedway’s five weekly classes, plus some miscellaneous observations. Five classes. Five notes, quotes and anecdotes. Five at-large thoughts. The math all adds up to 30, as in Dirty Thirty. Modifieds • The top modified qualifying time so far this season…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Dirty Thirty is back, bay-bee. We took some time off last week to take a closer look at the upcoming MARS late model special — and what a special it was, right?! — but now we’re back into the regular-season grind tied to the late models, modifieds, sport mods, street stocks and…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The second verse was highly reminiscent of the first. The same three super late model drivers occupied the podium Sunday night, only in a different order from a year ago. Ryan Unzicker, Jason Feger and Tommy Sheppard dominated the Mid-America Racing Series main event in front of a crowd of about 2,700 at…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The MARS cars are on the way. Adams County Speedway hosts its first major event of the season Sunday when the MARS (Mid-America Racing Series) super late models arrive for their second visit in as many years to the Broadway Bullring. The 2022 MARS show drew an enthusiastic crowd of about 3,000, and…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Slowly, but ever so surely, the Adams County Speedway dirt-track racing season is beginning to take shape. Hopefully, the weatherman will cooperate Sunday night and for the first time this year we’ll have back-to-back weeks of sheet-metal mayhem at the Broadway Bullring. Until Sunday evening, here’s this week’s Dirty Thirty — 30 thoughts…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Now that’s more like it. Both Austen Becerra and Adam Birck looked more like defending track champions Sunday night, rolling to dominant feature victories at Adams County Speedway. Becerra and Birck stumbled out of the gate on opening night back on April 23, having to drop out of their respective main events with…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here are this week’s Dirty Thirty dirt-track thoughts. You now the drill — the usual five reflections per class, plus five miscellaneous meanderings — all involving Adams County Speedway: Modifieds • Defending series champ Austen Becerra will be trying to dig out of a big points hole following his seventh-place feature finish the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Four active drivers entered the current season with No. 1 all-time Muddy River Sports rankings among the five weekly classes at Adams County Speedway. Dave Wietholder is No. 1 in the UMP modified series, which has been a weekly class at 8000 Broadway since 2009, while Denny Woodworth is atop the crate late…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The wait is almost over. For the past six months, dirt-track race fans have been anticipating what Sunday night will bring at 8000 Broadway — the first green flag of the season at Adams County Speedway. “Everything is a go,” said Jimmy Lieurance, who with his wife, Tammy, will begin their second season…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Dirt track racing guru Steve Eighinger offers his insight into each of the five classes which will be featured at the Adams County Speedway this season, beginning with this season’s lid-lifter Sunday night: LATE MODELS Defending champ: Denny Woodworth. Best bet to dethrone the king: Tommy Elston. Dark horse to watch: Darin Weisinger…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Adams County Speedway season will start a bit later than scheduled. Track officials have postponed Sunday night’s scheduled opening until April 16. The track was scheduled to be off April 9 in honor of the Easter holiday. “The track is extremely soft, and with more bad weather likely this week we felt…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The excitement in Tanner Klingele’s voice made it perfectly clear the dirt-track racing season is drawing close. Klingele, who will be a contender in the rugged sport mod class at Adams County Speedway, was one of the drivers on hand Saturday at the first day of the annual preseason race show at the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Local dirt-track race fans will soon get their first glimpse of the rapidly approaching season at the annual Adams County Speedway preseason show. About 40 cars and drivers will be on hand Saturday and Sunday at the Quincy Town Center, formerly the Quincy Mall. Fans will have the opportunity to get up close…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The countdown to the start of the 2023 dirt-track racing season is officially underway. Adams County Speedway operators Jim and Tammy Lieurance have announced opening night is scheduled for Sunday, April 2, which is now less than three months away. “We learned a lot last year and are anxious for year two,” Jim…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The curtain had barely fallen late Sunday night on the 2022 dirt-track season at Adams County Speedway when talk began about what lies ahead in 2023. “We have a busy offseason planned,” said Jim Lieurance, who along with his wife, Tammy, had just completed their first year of operating Adams County Speedway. The…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Camp Point driver Kim Abbott knew her left rear tire was flat and that her car was overheating. Oh, and she was also pretty sure that her rattling hood was about to fly off. So what did Abbott do? “Well, first I had some choice words,” she said. And after that little inner-car…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Finding any fault with Colson Kirk’s assessment of the night would have been difficult. “It was a tough start,” he said, pausing to take a deep breath, “but it all worked out.” Yes it did. And it was not so much that Kirk, who made the 4-hour haul from Urbana, Mo., won Friday…
Read Full Article QUINCY — It’s safe to say this will be the biggest weekend in the long and storied history of the dirt track 8000 Broadway. Adams County Speedway will be hosting the Chad McCoy Memorial, which is rapidly becoming known as the Quincy Nationals, on Friday and Saturday. Sunday is being saved as a rain date,…
Read Full Article QUINCY — On this particular Sunday night, the emphasis was not on racing at Adams County Speedway. Drivers and fans alike gave from their collective heart — and wallets — in support of modified driver Nick Hoffman, who has posted two feature victories this season at the track, the most recent on August 21. The…
Read Full Article QUINCY — This year’s champions have been crowned, so let’s dissect the just-completed points portion of the season while starting to look toward 2023 at Adams County Speedway. Sport Mods Driver of the Year: Adam Birck. Consistency wins championships, and no driver in this or any other division illustrated that better than Birck. If he…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The past, current and future of the sport mod series was on display during the post-feature celebration Sunday night at Adams County Speedway. The trio of Adam Birck, Tanner Klingele and Logan Cumby each had reason to raise their fists in exultation on Championship Night at 8000 Broadway. Even though Birck struggled to…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is a look at the statistical leaders at Adams County Speedway heading into the final Sunday night of points racing: Money Earned Late models: Denny Woodworth $6,025, Tommy Elston $4,425, Sam Halstead $4,125, Darin Weisinger Jr., $3,675. Modifieds: Austen Becerra $7,790, Dave Wietholder $6,180, Kenny Wallace $4,875, Mike Vanderiet Jr. $2875. Sport mods: Adam Birck…
Read Full Article QUINCY — What might have been an otherwise ho-hum wrap-up to the points racing portion of the Adams County Speedway season could very well end with an exclamation point. Race director Blake Dotson informed Muddy River News late in the week that Jeffrey DeLonjay and Jimmy Dutlinger will enter Sunday night’s final round of points…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Looking back, Tanner Klingele will readily admit there are some feature finishes he would like to have the opportunity for a do over. Specifically, two finishes. Only twice this year has the 27-year-old sport mod driver wound up outside the top 10 in the series’ 15 main events at Adams County Speedway. And…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here are this week’s Adams County Speedway statistics: Money Earned Late models: Denny Woodworth $6,025, Tommy Elston $4,425, Sam Halstead $4,125, Darin Weisinger Jr., $3,675. Modifieds: Austen Becerra $7,290, Dave Wietholder $5,780, Kenny Wallace $4,275, Mike Vanderiet Jr. $2,575, Mark Burgtorf $2,200. Sport mods: Adam Birck $4,715, Logan Cumby $4,545, Tanner Klingele $3,495. Street stocks: Rudy Zaragoza…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Some dirt-track reflections as the inaugural Adams County Speedway season begins to wind down … Here is one observer’s thoughts about the frontrunners for some awards that we’ll be monitoring quite closely over the final two weeks of points racing the final overall six weeks of competition: Driver of the Year Austen Becerra’s…
Read Full Article QUINCY — In all likelihood, a year from now Jeffrey DeLonjay will be well into his rookie season behind the wheel of a crate late model. Before that, however, he hopes to close the book on his stay in the 4-Cylinder division with his first track championship at Adams County Speedway. The 21-year-old DeLonjay moved…
Read Full Article DIRT TRACK STATS Money Earned Late models: Denny Woodworth $5,600, Sam Halstead $3,825, Tommy Elston $3,425, Darin Weisinger Jr. $3,400, Chase Osterhoff $3,100. Modifieds: Austen Becerra $7,290, Dave Wietholder $5,780, Kenny Wallace $4,275, Mike Vanderiet Jr. $2,575, Mark Burgtorf $2,200. Sport mods: Logan Cumby $4,470, Adam Birck $4,215, Tanner Klingele $3,295, Shane Paris $2,760, Reed Wolfmeyer $2,110, A.J.…
Read Full Article QUINCY — I’ve been covering dirt-track racing at 8000 Broadway for almost a quarter of a century. I have not missed a night of racing at Adams County Speedway in more than 15 years, and less than five total since 1999. The only reason I mention this is I feel I have at least a…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Above all else, Logan Cumby was able to remain patient. Cumby sat tantalizingly close to the lead in the sport mod feature Sunday night at Adams County Speedway, but instead of trying to be proactive he chose to be reactive. That was a wise decision. He sensed there would be trouble between race…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Adams County Speedway returns to action Sunday night following last week’s scheduled break before the home stretch of points racing begins. There are just four Sunday nights remaining prior to track champs being crowned August 28. Here’s all you need to know, numerically speaking, when the cars return to the dirt, starting at…
Read Full Article QUINCY — There will be no racing Sunday night at Adams County Speedway — hey, we all deserve a week off now and then — so it’s a good time to examine the five weekly series as they head toward the final four weeks of points racing. The track champs will be crowned Aug. 28,…
Read Full Article QUINCY — This may have been Austen Becerra’s signature victory at Adams County Speedway. The 28-year-old driver from Carthage, who already has two track titles to his credit in the old sport compact class and appears headed toward a third in this year’s loaded modified division, literally brought most of the Sunday night crowd to…
Read Full Article QUINCY — It’s never too early to start planning for 2023 if you are Blake Dotson, the director of racing at Adams County Speedway. Since the weatherman was unkind last weekend when some heavier-than-expected overnight showers washed out Sunday’s program, Dotson had some extra time to look down the road with an eye toward not…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is a look at this week’s Muddy River Sports Leaderboard for drivers competing at Adams County Speedway: Muddy River Sports Performance Points Points are awarded on a 25-20-15-12-10-8-6-4 for top eight finishers in feature, 3-2-1 in heats. Late Models: Denny Woodworth 189, Sam Halstead 113, Darin Weisinger Jr. 86, Tommy Elston 70.…
Read Full Article QUINCY — We’re a little past the midway point of the dirt-track racing season at Adams County Speedway, and it’s safe to say there is one name that stands out when it comes to breakout drivers of 2022. Reed Wolfmeyer has emerged as a legitimate threat in an already-loaded sport mod series. At times, Wolfmeyer,…
Read Full Article QUINCY — So long, frustration. See ya later, winless streak. Hello, checkered flag! Adam Birck bid adieu to two months of sport mod exasperation Sunday night when he won his first feature since May 8 and did so in exclamation-point fashion. Birck spent the first 17 circuits of the 20-lap main event in pursuit of…
Read Full Article Here is the Muddy River Sports Leaderboard for the first week of July: Muddy River Sports Performance Points Points are awarded on a 25-20-15-12-10-8-6-4 for top eight finishers in feature, 3-2-1 in heats. Late Models: Denny Woodworth 171, Sam Halstead 99, Darin Weisinger Jr. 83, Tommy Elston 70. Modifieds: Austen Becerra 175, Dave Wietholder 167,…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Jimmy Lieurance says Sunday night’s starting time at Adams County Speedway is a matter of “splitting the difference.” The first-year promoter will be trying for a starting time around 6:30 p.m. That decision follows last week’s scheduled 7:30 p.m. start, which combined with a delay caused by a power outage midway through the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The sport mods arguably have been the most competitive class this season at Adams County Speedway. Sunday night — and early Monday morning — helped cement that claim. Tanner Klingele and Dakota Girard collected sport mod feature victories before an appreciative July 4 weekend gathering that saw six classes and a whopping 103…
Read Full Article QUINCY — So far, so good. That more or less sums up the first half of the dirt-track season at Adams County Speedway. “I think we’ve probably already exceeded all expectations in the first year back,” race director Blake Dotson said. The track set vacant and overgrown for two years before promoter Jim Lieurance and…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is a look at this week’s Muddy River motorsports leaderboards: Stevie Dirt DIRTY THIRTY Rankings Sport Mods 1. Adam Birck: No. 112 has not collected a checkered flag since May 8 … can you say overdue? 2. Shane Paris: He leads the series with three feature victories. 3. Logan Cumby: Have you…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Kenny Wallace has long had a love affair with Quincy in general and Adams County Speedway in particular. That relationship was never more evident than Sunday night. Not long after he had outdueled four-time modified track champion Dave Wietholder for a hard-earned checkered flag in an 18-lap midseason championship feature, Wallace wanted the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Austin Becerra continues to set the bar higher. Much higher, in fact. Becerra won his second straight modified feature Sunday night at Adams County Speedway. This triumph, however, was not so much how he accomplished the feat (like he did June 5), but rather who he did it against. Becerra led the final…
Read Full Article QUNCY — We’ve reached the equivalent of the one-third mark in the dirt-track season at Adams County Speedway. With no racing scheduled Sunday — the track is off to allow race fans to attend the Grand Prix of Karting at South Park — it’s a good time to sit back and reflect. Here’s one man’s…
Read Full Article Here is the Muddy River Sports Leaderboard for the second week of June: Stevie Dirt DIRTY THIRTY rankings Sport Mods 1. Adam Birck: He’s established himself as the steadiest driver in the series. He leads in both track points and Muddy River Performance Points. 2. Tanner Klingele: There are two sport mod drivers with five…
Read Full Article QUINCY — So, how in the world did Austen Becerra win that race? Becerra, with his modified trailored for the night after a series of mechanical issues earlier Sunday evening, asked a friend if he could borrow his ride for the feature at Adams County Speedway. But Becerra wasn’t just asking to borrow another modified.…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The most fascinating accomplishments in the long and storied history of Adams County Speedway? That, of course, is a topic that might earn a hundred different answers from a hundred different dirt-track fans — myself included. While you contemplate your own responses, here are a few of mine from the 24-plus years I…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The streak lives. Robert Cottom continued his early season domination at Adams County Speedway with a scintillating Sunday night street stock feature win. Cottom claimed his fourth straight main-event victory, fueled by a last-lap pass of Jake Powers. Cottom had been the pursuer the first 17 laps of the feature before turning the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Reaper will always remember Quincy quite well, specifically the dirt track at 8000 Broadway. McKay “The Reaper” Wenger smiles when his No. 42 super late model approaches the flagman’s stand at Adams County Speedway. After winning a feature in Quincy in 2016, and moments after accepting the checkered flag in victory lane,…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is a look at this week’s Adams County Speedway leaderboards: Stevie Dirt Dirty Thirty rankings Sport Mods 1. Logan Cumby: That second dominating feature win catapulted him back to the top spot. 2. Adam Birck: He’s the only Missouri sport mod driver in the rankings. Birck also extended his string of consecutive…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Tommy Sheppard Jr. saved his best for last. Actually, the last four laps. Sheppard dazzled Sunday night’s big turnout at Adams County Speedway with a late-race charge that admittedly stunned frontrunners Ryan Unzicker and Jason Feger. Sheppard, who had been a bottom feeder throughout the 40-lap MARS super late model special, spent most…
Read Full Article QUINCY — That friendly, almost folksy voice that permeates the grounds of Adams County Speedway is always a welcome greeting for fans and drivers alike. When the deep, baritone sounds of announcer Doug Mealy are first heard Sunday evenings, everyone knows racing is not far behind at the dirt track tucked away off the entrance…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Tanner Klingele was living the high life. Literally. Normally, the 27-year-old driver prefers to work his way around the low groove at Adams County Speedway, but Sunday night saw Klingele take to the high line to eventually outlast Adam Birck, Joe Bliven and Nicholas Profeta in a dandy four-car battle for the checkered…
Read Full Article QUINCY — A.J. Tournear mirrors the feelings of most drivers and fans alike who have found their way back to Adams County Speedway, which in its former lifetime was known as Quincy Raceways. Tournear’s emotions can be felt through his responses. “Dirt-track racing is everything to me,” said the driver behind the wheel of the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Obviously, the kid is a natural. Actually, Logan Cumby is only a “kid” in a dirt-track racing sense, but the 26-year-old is rapidly opening eyes in his sport mod rookie season at Adams County Speedway. Cumby won his first feature in just his second try at the Broadway Bullring, warding off a deep…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The comeback track has another fan. Former NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace, a St. Louis native who these days keeps himself busy driving a dirt-track modified, showed up unannounced Sunday night at Adams County Speedway. Wallace knew of the track’s recent troubled past — it had been shuttered since late 2019 — and felt…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Jimmy Lieurance is the first to admit there were some hiccups. But not many. “I was totally blown away by the community’s response,” said Lieurance, who with his wife, Tammy, are one week into their first year of operating Adams County Speedway, the .29-mile dirt track that had been shut down for two…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Jimmy Lieurance has his fingers crossed. And so do about 100 racers and a few thousand dirt-track fans. “If we don’t get any more rain, we’ll be able to race Sunday,” said Lieurance, the 62-year-old first-year promoter at Adams County Speedway. Realistically, that might be a big “if.” “There’s a 38-percent chance of…
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