Racing notebook: Adams County Speedway promoters working to find perfect starting time

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 program, saw racing not end until 12:39 a.m.

Prior to last week, racing had been scheduled for around 6-6:30 p.m., but track officials opted to push the starting time back an hour (roughly) to better accommodate “summer hours” for fans.

“This week’s time is kind of in the middle of the two,” Lieurance said. “We’ll see how it works and then make a decision.”

Sport mod mania

Look for an even larger field of sport mods Sunday night, thanks in part to the increased purse for the Mike Bowen Memorial feature.

This week’s first-place payout will be $1,060, more than double the customary $500 winner’s check.

Additional extra money will come from lap payouts and “two mystery finishes,” according to Lieurance. Following the race, two finishing positions will be drawn to receive an extra $160.

Each racer who qualifies for the feature will be guaranteed at least $160.

The sport mods have boasted the second-highest average weekly car count all season. The sport mods are averaging 17.5 cars per week, with a high of 24 on May 1. The 4-Cylinder division (21.7) has the highest per-week average, with two rounds of 30-plus entries.

Stevie Dirt DIRTY THIRTY Rankings

Sport Mods

1. Adam Birck: Can Adam withstand the charge of Tanner Klingele in the race for the series points lead? He has seen his once-large advantage shrink to 379-373.

2. Tanner Klingele: Tanner has won all three of his features since May 15, the most of any sport mod driver in that span.

3. Logan Cumby: Logan still has led more feature laps (45) than any other hotshoe in this series.

4. Shane Paris: An uncharacteristic seventh-place feature finish last Sunday.

5. Dakota Girard: Dakota is not only one of the premier drivers in this class, but has one of the sharpest looking rides.

6. Reed Wolfmeyer: A strong runner-up finish in last week’s main event continues Reed’s hot streak. Welcome to the rankings.

Modifieds

1. Austen Becerra: Austen is the track points leader at both Quincy and 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa.

2. Dave Wietholder: Dave searching for his first checkered flag at the Bullring since May 8.

3. Kenny Wallace: How strong is this class when Kenny Wallace is “only” No. 3?

4. Shawn Deering: Don’t look now, but all of a sudden Shawn is resting No. 6 in track points. It’s already been quite a comeback season for one of the friendliest guys in the pits.

5. Mike Vanderiet Jr.: Hopefully, Mike will be returning this week to the Bullring after back-to-back misses. He hung on to his top-five ranking on the strength of those six top-five feature finishes.

6. Levi Long: Levi is in excellent position to move up to as high as No. 4 with a strong showing Sunday night.  

4-Cylinders

1. Jimmy Dutlinger: Jimmy will need a strong rebound week to hold off the challenges from at least three drivers right beneath him.

2. Derrick DeFord: Without a doubt, the hottest driver in the series. His three feature victories place him just one behind Michael Grossman.

3. Michael Grossman: We hear Michael is on his way back to the Bullring after needing to take off the past couple of weeks. Those two absences, however, cost the four-time feature winner the No. 1 ranking.

4. Kim Abbott: Kim has the most top-10 finishes (11) of any driver in any series.

5. Jeffrey DeLonjay:  Granted, the past month has seen some challenges for No. 32, but he’s only one point (402-401) behind Dutlinger for the series lead.

6. Jaden DeLonjay: Last week’s DNF likely cost Jaden the No. 4 position in the track points standings.

Street Stocks

1. Rudy Zaragoza: Not that we’re counting (well, actually we are …) but Rudy has now won three straight features at the Bullring and now holds a commanding points lead. 

2. Steve Grotz: Will Steve become the first driver other than Rudy or Robert Cottom (who is suspended) to win a feature?

3. Beau Taylor: Or will it be this guy, who has looked tremendous in recent weeks?

4. Robert Thompson: One of three drivers to finish in the top 10 in all nine of the points features.

5. Sage Martin: We’re still waiting for that one breakout race from the Perry pilot.

6. Jake Powers: That recent DNF, coupled with missing the previous week, has seen The Snake slip backwards in the rankings. On the bright side, only Zaragoza has more top-five finishes.

Late Models

1. Denny Woodworth:  The crate lates are scheduled for the next three Sunday nights prior to the track taking a week off the final Sunday of July for the Adams County Fair. That means, at his current pace, Denny may have the track title all but wrapped up before August.

2. Tommy Elston: It’s been a solid season for No. 54. Tommy sits atop the Lee County Speedway points standings, and would be much higher at Adams County had he been racing at 8000 Broadway the entire season.

3. Sam Halstead: No. 2 in track points at Quincy, No. 4 at Lee County. 

4. Darin Weisinger Jr.: Are Darin and sister Lee Ann going to tag team the national anthem at some point this season?

5. Jeremy Pundt: Jeremy is not in the points mix at Quincy, but is fifth at Lee County.

6. Mark Burgtorf: If Mark opts to run a full second half of the points season at Quincy, it will be interesting to see where he would rank inside that time frame.