Last-lap pass allows Cottom to run main-event win streak to four at Adams County Speedway

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 lights out on Powers during the final trip around the .29-mile dirt track.

And then the lights went out on everyone.

A power failure at the speedway forced the postponement of the late model and 4-Cylinder features. The modifieds were not scheduled.

The late models were seven laps into their finale when the lights on the east end of track went dark and forced speedway officials to halt the program.

Director of Racing Blake Dotson said details on makeup dates for the postponed features will be made public in the near future.

Cottom became the first street stock driver to win four straight features since Beau Taylor collected five consecutive checkered flags late in the 2018 season. And he did via that last-lap pass coming out of turn two and then holding off Powers down the back stretch and through turns three and four.

“I decided to try something different on that last lap, rather than just follow the leader,” Cottom said. “Traditionally, I’ve been more of a high-side driver, but not so much this year.”

Powers had been locked into the low groove from the onset and was able to repeatedly block Cottom. So Cottom (finally) went high — and it paid off.

Cottom’s $500 payday pushed his division-leading total to $1,625. The street stocks have raced only four times this season. The class was scheduled to be off one week and rained out another.

Finishing third in the street stocks feature was Rudy Zaragoza, followed by Chad Myers.

Cottom has won seven overall features this season, including two at Peoria and one at Davenport, Iowa.

“Usually, I race at least twice a week,” said the 29-year-old Cottom, who has been racing since he was 15.

Until this year, though, Sunday racing had been a rarity for Cottom, but said his friendship with Dotson lured him to Quincy.

“Besides, what else is there to do on a Sunday night?” he said. “I’ll probably be here all season.”

Especially since he’s leading the street stock points and money earnings.

The only other regularly scheduled feature that was completed Sunday night saw Tanner Klingele win his second main event of the season when he, too, emerged victorious from a late battle in the sport mod series.

Klingele was involved in a three-car scrum with Reed Wolfmeyer and Adam Birck on the next-to-last lap to secure his second win in three weeks. Klingele also benefited from a move up the track to get past Birck and Wolfmeyer.

“I had to try something, so I went up high,” Klingele said. “Before that, we were just following the leader.”

Klingele’s $500 payday elevated him to third on the money list behind Logan Cumby ($2,750) and Birck ($1,625). Cumby finished fourth behind runner-up Wolfmeyer and third-place Birck.

Heat winners included Tommy Elston and Sam Halstead in crate late models, A.J. Tournear and Dakota Girard in sport mods, Kim Abbott, Michael Grossman and Nick Johnson in 4-Cylinders and Steve Grotz and Powers in street stocks.

There were actually three features completed Sunday night. Grossman dominated a 4-Cylinders makeup feature that was completed prior to Sunday’s regular program. That main event had been postponed from earlier in the month.

Grossman’s flag-to-flag victory was his second in a row. Derrick DeFord, Jimmy Dutlinger and Jeremy Reed rounded out the top four.

Grossman now leads the four-bangers in money earned (1,500), overtaking sixth-place feature finisher Jeffrey DeLonjay ($1,145).

Points leaders for the three divisions that saw features completed Sunday night:

Street stocks: Robert Cottom 158, Rudy Saragoza 148, Jake Powers 146, Robert Thompson 137.

Sport mods: Adam Birck 231, Tanner Klingele 218, Logan Cumby 213, Dakota Girard 196.

4-Cylinders: Jeffrey DeLonjay 194, Jimmy Dutlinger 182, Nick Johnson 168, Kim Abbott 163.