Racing notebook: Crown Vics to debut Sunday, giving Adams County Speedway six weekly classes

QUINCY — With a little cooperation from the weatherman, Sunday evening will be a record-setting night at Adams County Speedway.

For the first time in track history, which dates to 1975, there will be six regular series in action at the track. The Crown Vics’ much-anticipated debut as a member of the weekly lineup will provide dirt-track fans with a half-dozen series, joining the crate late models, modifieds, sport mods, stock cars and 4-Cylinders.

“I’ve been at the track since 1979 and this is the biggest lineup of classes ever,” said Jim Lieurance, who with wife Tammy have served as track operators since it re-opened in 2022. “Now, we just need a little help from the weather.”

Sporadic rain has been forecast for parts of Friday and/or Saturday. The track saw its scheduled April 28 opener washed out, along with last Sunday’s fourth annual Chad McCoy Memorial Race, which has been rescheduled for July 3.

Car counts

Prior to the start of the season, Lieurance was confident the six-series weekly car count would average around 100, but that estimate has been revised slightly until possibly later in the season.

Right now, it appears the six-series average will likely be around 85.

The sport mods and 4-Cylinder counts have been lower than anticipated during the first month, especially the sport mods, a class that had been exceptionally solid the past two seasons. Lieurance feels there are more sport mods on the way, but admits he is concerned about the 4-Cylinder cars. There were only eight four-bangers on hand at the last weekly running on May 19.

The 4-Cylinders began to tail off in the second half of 2023, ending with a 13.3 weekly average car count. In 2022, the 4-Cylinder average weekly entries were a track-best 22.2.

Lieurance emphasized he knows of sport mods that were “not ready” to race early in the season that “will be coming”. In 2022, the sport mods had the second-highest weekly average (21.6) of cars. 

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the crate late models continue to build and appear headed to reclaiming the No. 1 position at the track — a spot late models owned for decades at 8000 Broadway. The crate lates averaged 12.8 cars a year ago and 9.2 in 2022. So far this year the class is averaging 17.5.

July 3 makeup a ‘good fit’

That July 3 makeup date for the Chad McCoy Memorial Race should work out well for the speedway, racers and fans alike. It’s a Wednesday night and the day before a holiday, which should allow for more out-of-town and out-of-state racers to be on hand for the big-money show. 

“We noticed there was no other (major) racing in the area that night, so we jumped on it when we started to look for a good makeup date,” Lieurance said. “We’re excited. It looks like a good fit.”

The Chad McCoy Memorial is the track’s highest-paying modified show of the season, awarding $4,545 to win, $2,045 for second and $1,045 for third. The total modified purse is a little less than $20,000, and just earning a spot in the feature guarantees a driver at least $445.

Trevor Neville of Mackinaw, Ill., who has become a semi-regular at the speedway, won last year’s 45-lap Chad McCoy race. Neville already has one win in Quincy this season, taking the May 19 feature.

What we’ve seen so far

Granted, we’re just a month into the season, but there have been some noticeable surprises and trends in all five of the series that have competed to date:

Crate late models: This division is completely wide open, with more title threats than any of the other weekly series. That’s a first for this division. Normally in this class, it’s relatively easy to pick the title favorite a week or two into the season — not so anymore. Veterans like Jamie Wilson, Jason Perry, Denny Woodworth, Tommy Elston and Sam Halstead, coupled with aspiring newcomers like Spencer Havermale and Jackson Frankel, promise to make every Sunday night a legitimate crapshoot.

Modifieds: To date, the biggest surprise has been how fast two-time defending series champ Austen Becerra went from the outhouse to the penthouse. What looked to be a disastrous 20th-place feature finish on opening night was quickly erased over the ensuing two weeks. Becerra again is the man to beat.

Sport mods: Tanner Klingele, Reed Wolfmeyer and defending champ Logan Cumby were the preseason picks for the end-of-the-year medal stand, but another driver appears to have crashed the party — A.J. Tournear. Those four have separated themselves from the rest of the pack at this point. 

Stock cars: This is another class with far more balance than in recent years. Jacob Rexing, Robert Cottom and Rudy Zaragoza are the frontrunners, but keep an eye on Rickey Frankel III and Levi Long. This division is beginning to resemble its early years back when names like Jeff Mueller, Abe Huls, Terry Houston and Aaron Brocksieck were among the weekly entrants.

4-Cylinders: At this point, the only real question appears to be how many records two-time defending champ Jeffrey DeLonjay can set (before he moves full-time to the crate lates?). A year ago, DeLonjay won 14 features, which tied for the third-most in track history in all divisions. Michael Long (16, 2007 modifieds), Tony Dunker (15, 2012 sport mods) and Long (15, 2008 mods) are the only drivers ahead of that total since 1999.