Birck wins sport mod track championship, but twentysomethings pave bright future for series

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 a season-low 10th-place feature finish following an early-race crash that severely damaged the front end of his car, the 46-year-old veteran was in a celebratory mood. After all, he had entered the night with an insurmountable points lead. The track championship, his third in a row but possibly his last, was a foregone conclusion.

Klingele and Cumby, both twentysomethings who are likely an integral part of the future of the series that has emerged as the deepest and arguably most popular at the track, shared much of the in-race drama and post-race high-fiving. 

Cumby drove his hot rod to his fourth main-event win of the season, tying him with Klingele for the series’ most feature victories. And Klingele solidified his runner-up position in the points standings with an impressive climb from 12th to second during a fender-banging 18-lap feature.

“Tanner and Logan were strong all year,” Birck said. “I was probably the most consistent all season.”

There’s little to argue with that observation.

Birck, who had three feature victories, led all sport mod drivers in top-five (13) and top-10 (16) finishes.

“What a class this has been all year,” Birck said. “How many different winners did we have?”

The answer to that question is six. Only one other series, the modifieds, could match that number.

Birck hinted he may not be racing full-time in 2023, that there are “some other things” he wants to do. If his racing schedule is going to be pared back, he would close the full-time portion of his career with three straight sport mod titles. Birck is one of just 18 drivers since the track opened in 1975 to win that many championships, regardless of class.

If Birck will not be pursuing another championship next season, that opens the door for drivers like Klingele and Cumby, plus about a half-dozen others in the talented sport mod series.

“We’re all kind of buddies, so I was glad to see them do well,” said Klingele, lauding both Birck for his championship and Cumby for Sunday night’s victory.

Klingele’s runner-up points finish in the sport mods was the fourth No. 2 spot of his still-young career. Klingele also finished second in 2017 to Brandon Lennox, in 2015 to Joey Gower and in 2013 to Tony Dunker.

Both Klingele and Cumby were victimized by a handful of low feature finishes early in the season. Both, however, finished the year strong.

“The car was set on ‘kill’ tonight, like it has been the last few weeks,” Klingele said.

An excited Cumby wanted to put an exclamation point on the points season to set the stage for next spring.

“(Before this race) I was the most nervous I have been all year,” said Cumby, who started seventh in a 17-car field, but bolted to the lead by the halfway mark and wound up leading the closing 10 laps.

Birck finished with 598 points, followed by Klingele (580), Dakota Girard (559), Cumby (558), A.J. Tournear (525) and Reed Wolfmeyer (518).

Other Sunday night winners were Tommy Elston in the crate late models, Dave Wietholder in modifieds, Jeffrey DeLonjay in the 4-Cylinders and Rudy Zaragoza in street stocks.

Elston led the final 15 laps of the 20-lap late model feature to win his third straight main event and cement his fourth-place points finish behind champ Denny Woodworth (808), Sam Halstead (688) and Darin Weisinger Jr. (665). Elston (484) and Cody Maguire (423) rounded out the top five in points.

“Quincy continues to do a phenomenal job in taking care of the track and the fans,” said Elston, a native of Keokuk, Iowa, who has made the sojourn south for more than a quarter of a century.

The crate late models ended the points season as a solid class, following a sketchy beginning to the year when the first four weeks of the schedule attracted an average of just 5.3 cars. By the end of the season, that average had tripled.

“We want the late model class to continue to grow, and it’s guys like Tommy and Denny who will help make that possible,” track operator Jimmy Lieurance said.

Woodworth’s title was his sixth straight and ninth overall, tying him with Steve Fraise for third place on the track’s all-time championship list. Only Mark Burgtorf (16) and Hank DeLonjay (13) have more titles.

Woodworth’s eight late model crowns date back to 2010. His first championship, however, came in a modified in 1993.

Wietholder ended the points season like he started — with a checkered flag in the modified feature. He led the closing 14 laps after getting past Kenny Wallace, who ran up front the opening six circuits.

“I figured if I could get around Kenny, I could use that momentum (because) the track was awesome,” Wietholder said.

Runner-up Austen Becerra, who won six features in a seven-week span earlier this season, put the finishing touches on his first modified championship and third overall track title. He won sport compact (now 4-Cylinder) crowns in 2014 and 2013.

Becerra ended the season with 901 points, outdistancing Wietholder (859), Wallace (580), Mike Vanderiet Jr. (559) and Levi Long (553).

Jeffrey DeLonjay led the 4-Cylinder feature flag-to-flag to claim his first track title. DeLonjay and Jimmy Dutlinger began the night tied in points following a 10-point penalty to DeLonjay following the previous week’s results. Track officials ruled DeLonjay’s father, Jeff, who was also driving in the Aug. 21 feature, had purposely tried to crash Dutlinger to take him out of the title chase.

Jeffrey DeLonjay ended with 626 points, one more than feature runner-up Dutlinger (625). Three-time series champion Kim Abbott (618) was third, followed by Landon Neisen (500) and Jaden DeLonjay (498).

Jeffrey DeLonjay has won seven features, tying him with street stock driver Robert Cottom for the most in any series.

Zaragoza’s fifth street stock feature victory, also in flag-to-flag fashion, wrapped up his first track crown. He finished with 529 points, well ahead of Jake Powers (475), Robert Thompson (465), Brandon Boden (458) and Steve Grotz (402).

RECENT TRACK CHAMPIONS

(Runners-up in Parentheses)

Last 10 Seasons

SPORT MODS

2022: Adam Birck (Tanner Klingele)

2021: Track closed

2020: Track closed

2019: Adam Birck (Kelly Bartz)

2018: Adam Birck (Justin Bartz)

2017: Brandon Lennox (Tanner Klingele)

2016: Nathan Bringer (Brandon Lennox)

2015: Joey Gower (Tanner Klingele)

2014: Tony Dunker (Joey Gower)

2013: Tony Dunker (Tanner Klingele)

MODIFIEDS

2022: Austen Becerra (Dave Wietholder)

2021: Track closed

2020: Track closed

2019: Dave Wietholder (Josh Newman)

2018: Dave Wietholder (Shawn Deering)

2017: Dave Wietholder (Shawn Deering)

2016: Dave Wietholder (Michael Long)

2015: Michael Long (Dave Wietholder)

2014: Steven DeLonjay (Michael Long)

2013: Steven DeLonjay (Dave Wietholder)

LATE MODELS

Crates

2022: Denny Woodworth (Sam Halstead)

2021: Track closed

2020: Track closed

2019: Denny Woodworth (Darin Weisinger Jr.)

2018: Denny Woodworth (Vance Wilson)

2017: Denny Woodworth (Ricky Frankel)

UMP

2016: Denny Woodworth (Mark Burgtorf)

2015: Mark Burgtorf (Justin Reed)

2014: Mark Burgtorf (Denny Woodworth)

2013: Denny Woodworth (Mark Burgtorf)

4-CYLINDERS

2022: Jeffrey DeLonjay (Jimmy Dutlinger)

2021: Track closed

2020: Track closed

2019: Kim Abbott (David Prim)

2018: Barry Taft (Darin Weisinger Jr.)

2017: Craig Bangert (Brandon Lambert)

2016: Kim Abbott (Brandon Lambert)

2015: Kim Abbott (Brandon Lambert)

2014: Austen Becerra (Kim Abbott)

2013: Austen Becerra (Kim Abbott)

STREET STOCKS

2022: Rudy Zaragoza (Jake Powers)

2021: Track closed

2020: Track closed

2019: Beau Taylor (Michael Larsen)

2018: Jake Powers (Michael Larsen)

2017: Brian Hoener (Jerry Jansen)

2016: Abe Huls (Brian Hoener)

2015: Jim Lynch (Beau Taylor)

2014: Abe Huls (Jake Powers)

2013: Abe Huls (Terry Houston)