Adams County Speedway gearing up for Sunday’s season-opening night of racing

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 as operators of the .29-mile facility that dates to 1975.

Opening night was originally set for April 2, but inclement weather forced the two-week delay. The track was not scheduled to be open Easter Sunday on April 9.

“To have to postpone was disappointing, but the extra week or so it gave us for track preparation was exactly what was needed,” Lieurance said. “It was what Mother Nature needed to take her course.”

Lieurance said with school still in session, track start times have been pushed up about an hour for early-season dates. Hot laps Sunday will begin at 4:30 p.m., with heat races set to go around 5:15. Gates will open around 2:30.

The same lineup of classes will be featured as a year ago when the track re-opened following two years of being shut down due to Covid-19 (2020) and lack of an operator (2021). Lieurance expects at least 80 cars for opening night, spread across the crate late model, modified, sport mod, stock and 4-Cylinder divisions. 

As the season progresses that average weekly car count should approach or surpass 100, mirroring how the second half of 2022 played out. The high-water mark last year was a pair of late-season dates that drew 122 and 113 cars, respectively.

“And all five classes should be wide open,” Lieurance said. “There are at least three or four guys in each division that could win the championship.”

Defending track champs are Denny Woodworth (late models) of Mendon, Austin Becerra (mods) of Carthage, Adam Birck (sport mods) of Canton, Mo., Rudy Zaragoza (stocks) of Jacksonville and Jeffrey DeLonjay (4-Cylinders) of Quincy.

Lieurance reported almost 40 cars were on hand for a weekend practice, including several from as far away as St. Louis.

The 4-Cylinder (22.2 cars) and sport mod (21.6) divisions had the highest weekly averages last season. Lieurance said he expects the biggest increases in the crate late model and modified series.

A year ago, the late models averaged 11.3 cars, a figure that is mildly misleading because of early season struggles when the track was still in the process of re-establishing itself. The first two months of the 2022 season saw the late models average just 5.3 per week. For most of the season, that weekly count is in the neighborhood of 15.

The modifieds averaged 17.3, and that class, too, was hurt by a poor start. For most of the second half of the season, the mods averaged well over 20 cars per week.

“After last season, there’s a lot of good vibes out there now about the track,” Lieurance said. “We’re being contacted from people in St. Louis and other areas who have never been here but have heard about what’s going on in Quincy. I think fans are going to see a lot of new faces this season.”

The regular weekly payouts this year will be $800 for modifieds, $700 for crate lates, $600 for sport mods, $400 for stocks and $350 for 4-Cylinders.

Admission prices this year are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $5 for kids 6-13. Children 5-under are free. Pit passes will be $35.