Racing notebook: Heading into season’s homestretch, intriguing storylines continue to evolve

QUINCY — The calendar does not lie. The dirt-track racing season is rapidly winding down.

So before we’re knee deep in high school football and/or the MLB playoffs, let’s go over what I feel are 10 worthy storylines and/or points of discussion regarding Adams County Speedway.

1. Sale of the track: No question, when Jeff DeLonjay and his family bought the track a few weeks ago it became the most-talked about item concerning 8000 Broadway in quite some time.

Facebook and other forms of social media were overwhelmed during the ensuing days. I personally watched almost a dozen sites where the conversation went on for days.

Improvements began immediately and will continue into next season. It will be truly exciting to see what the track that originally opened in 1975 looks like on opening day 2025.

2. The perfect marriage: Lost by some, I think, in the unfolding of this new era at the track is the job Jim and Tammy Lieurance did over the past 2 1/2 years in keeping racing alive at the site. Now that they can concentrate solely on promoting — and not have to worry so much about other aspects — it should be exciting to watch the facility regain the standing it enjoyed for all of those years when the Scott family oversaw operations.

I don’t know of another track in the Tri-State region that will have a team like the Lieurances and DeLonjays running operations. This could truly be a perfect business marriage that benefits Quincy race fans for years to come. 

3. Fridays … or Sundays?: The hottest topic since new ownership took over the speedway was an announcement that race night would be switching from Sundays to Fridays next season. The reasoning was sound and I had no problem with it, but I also understood those who disagreed, pointing out that Quincy has traditionally been a Sunday night track.

The DeLonjays are listening to both sides, and that idea about racing on Friday evenings might not have been cast in stone.

4. Another idea for the right race night: This is just an opinion of my own, but I have bounced it off a number of interested individuals. If the decision to move racing to Friday night is kept, what about switching to Sunday nights for whatever races would be scheduled in September and October? That way the track would not be going head-to-head with high school football on Friday nights.

5. Name change?: I think there’s a good chance the name of the track will be changed back to Quincy Raceways for 2025. Personally, I like the sound of both the old and new, but there’s a large group out there that grew up with “Quincy Raceways” and any other name just doesn’t sound right.

When Adams County Speedway was adopted as the name in 2022, it was a perfect time for such a switch — the “old” track had been closed for two years and the track’s new start deserved a new name. Years later, however, there’s a strong sentiment to bring back “Quincy Raceways.”

6. Continued rise of the crate lates: The class that continues to be the fastest-growing is the crate late models, and I would not be surprised if that division is AVERAGING 20 cars per night come next season. For a class that was all but on its death bed not long ago, the crate lates are a success story like no other at the Broadway Bullring.

7. Cause for concern?: No one seems to have any concrete reasoning on why the sport mods have fallen off this season, averaging only 11.5 cars, compared to 21.6 in 2022. But it should certainly be a main topic of scrutiny in the offseason. 

8. Breakout class in 2025: I think a year from now we’ll be talking about how big the Crown Vic class has become. This season was designed as a formative year, but in 2025 I think we’ll be seeing a regular weekly turnout of close to 20 cars. 

9. Qualifying reward: How about qualifying for all six classes each Sunday night? The fastest qualifier earning $50, or maybe even a $100 (I don’t mind spending other people’s money. Honestly, I don’t). I would guess a little marketing could come up with season-long sponsorships for this.

10. Resurrection of the hall of fame?: A historical element that was lost during the track’s slide into a slow death prior to its two-year closing was its hall of fame. Maybe at some point in the coming year it would be a good time to resurrect this tribute to past drivers and contributors.

Sunday night

There are two weeks of points racing remaining in all six classes — crate lates, modifieds, sport mods, stocks, 4-Cylinders and Crown Vics.

Racing is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start Sunday. Hot laps are at 5:30 p.m.

Single-night high car counts for each class this season have been:

Crate lates: 32 for the UMP Hell Tour, June 19; 19 for the weekly series, June 23 and June 30.

Modifieds: 22, May 5 and June 19.

Sport mods: 13, June 19, July 5 and July 14.

Stocks: 18, May 5.

4-Cylinders: 16, June 2.

Crown Vics: 11, Aug. 4 and Aug. 11.