Racing notebook: Cumby making his rookie season at Adams County Speedway look easy

QUINCY — Obviously, the kid is a natural.

Actually, Logan Cumby is only a “kid” in a dirt-track racing sense, but the 26-year-old is rapidly opening eyes in his sport mod rookie season at Adams County Speedway.

Cumby won his first feature in just his second try at the Broadway Bullring, warding off a deep and talented field in last Sunday’s 24-car main event. He’s No. 2 this week in the sport mod portion of the Muddy River Sports Dirty Thirty rankings.  

Cumby, who lives less than five minutes from the track, outdistanced a long list of big names in the sport mod division that included No. 1 Shane Paris, No. 3 Logan Anderson and about a half-dozen others.

“(Winning the feature) didn’t really sink in until afterward,” said Cumby, who admitted trying not to think about who he was leading, preferring to concentrate on what he needed to do behind the wheel. “I went into the race just hoping to be consistent and hoping for a top five.”

Cumby said he tried to focus on not overdriving his No. 8C, which started third. After Cumby was able to get past first-lap leader A.J. Tournear, he went on to lead the final 17 circuits of the 18-lap feature.

“Slower can be faster,” he said. “Patience is a key.”

This is Cumby’s third year in a sport mod, having spent the past two years traveling to Iowa tracks in Donnellson, West Burlington, Moline, Davenport and Dubuque, plus occasional junkets to Memphis, Mo., and Granite City, Ill.

Those long hauls have made him especially thankful Adams County Speedway is operating again. The track was closed after the 2019 season.

“I never thought it would re-open again,” said Cumby, who spent many of his formative years at the Bullring helping friends and family members in the pits. “It’s exciting, especially when you see 85 cars in the pits like last Sunday. The owners have done a heckuva job there. The racing surface is great and so are the pits.”

Cumby’s uncle, Joe Bliven, has long been a familiar name at the track and won the 2011 sport mod championship when the facility was known as Quincy Raceways. He’s also extremely proud of Cumby.

“Logan’s been at the track since he was 3 or 4 years old,” said Bliven, who came out of retirement a year ago to drive a sport mod owned by fellow Quincy driver Bob Cowman. “I think Logan’s going to be one of the top drivers in the region. I see a lot of the same drive and determination in him I had 20 years ago. Logan also has a level head on his shoulders.”

Bliven said Cumby’s long friendships with fellow drivers Tanner Klingele, Austen Becerra and Jason Frankel have also helped.

“Logan was hooked on racing at a very young age,” Bliven said.

Becerra and Klingele have helped Cumby with things like setting up his gears and chassis, while Bliven has been the go-to guy for engine work.

The assistance of his race friends has also helped Cumby to better refine his driving skills. As a driver, Cumby says his principal goal remains to gain knowledge about the overall racing process. Learning everything possible, he emphasized. 

“You can never quit learning,” Cumby said. “If it was easy, everyone could do it.”

Sunday schedule

Street stocks will have Sunday night off, replaced by the D2 Midget cars. Filling out the lineup will be the Crate Late Models, Modifieds, Sport Mods and 4-Cylinders.

Racing will start at approximately 6 p.m.

Super Late Model MARS cars on the way

The first special of the season is scheduled for May 22 when the MARS cars invade 8000 Broadway. The Mid-America Racing Series for Super Late Models will have a $7,000-to-win purse.

Brian Shirley, Jason Feger and Ryan Unzicker were the top three in 2021 MARS points. All three were regulars at Quincy for major events of the past.

Muddy River Sports Dirty Thirty rankings

Sport Mods

1. Shane Paris: If he races full-time this season at the Bullring, this is probably your driver to beat in this division.

2. Logan Cumby: But don’t tell Cumby that.

3. Logan Anderson: Another wild card at the moment in the title hunt. It’s not clear yet whether or not he plans to make the weekly haul from Eddyville, Iowa.

4. Dakota Girard: He’s probably Northeast Missouri’s top hope for a title in this division.

5. Adam Birck: He won the final two sport mod titles (2018-19) when the track was known as Quincy Raceways.

6. Tanner Klingele: If you want a semi-dark horse pick to win this class, this is your guy. If he can avoid those dreaded DNFs, No. 73 will be in the championship mix all summer.

Modifieds

1. Dave Wietholder: My pick for the top rivalry this summer is Wietholder vs. Austen Becerra.

2. Austen Becerra: Both Austen and Dave are not afraid to exchange a little paint, especially in turn four.

3. Mike Vanderiet Jr.: Vanderiet, Wietholder and Becerra each have posted back-to-back top fives in the feature.

4. Cris Spalding: When Spalding showed up last Sunday for the first time this season, he immediately enlarged the list of bona fide title threats by one.

5. Brandyn Ryan: The Coatsburg driver is one of the most improved drivers since we were last racing at the Bullring in 2019.

6. Levi Long: And this guy is another.

Late Models

1. Denny Woodworth: That was an impressive feature victory last Sunday night.

2. Sam Halstead: Hopefully, “Superman” is a regular all season at the Bullring.

3. Darin Weisinger Jr.: I don’t think any driver enjoys being behind the wheel more than Weisinger.

4. Rick Coats: Coats and Weisinger could be battling all season for that No. 3 position in points. And if Halstead misses some weeks, the door will be open for that runner-up spot behind the late model lawyer.

5. Ray Raker: Raker, Jeremy Pundt and Ed Hollenback were the first of what is expected to be a sizable turnout of crate late model drivers from southeast Iowa who will eventually call Quincy home on Sunday nights.

6. Jeremy Pundt: He was a familiar face during the latter years of the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series races at the Bullring.

4-Cylinders

1. Jeffrey DeLonjay: He’s definitely established himself as the driver to beat. 

2. Cyle Hawkins: For those wondering, his first name is pronounced “Kyle”.

3. Michael Grossman: The four-bangers are popular in southeast Iowa, and Grossman, a Keokuk resident, is one of the best.

4. Jimmy Dutlinger: He’s one of four drivers in this class to post back-to-back top-10 finishes.

5. Kim Abbott: Kim had three track titles and three runner-up points finishes before the Bullring closed its doors after 2019. Obviously, she’s a threat to win the first 4-Cylinder crown at Adams County Speedway.

6. Nick Johnson: Not many Bullring fans are familiar with Johnson. They will be as the season progresses.

Street Stocks

1. Robert Cottom: The Galesburg hotshoe has completely dominated this series the first two weeks

2. Leremy Jackson: No. 2 in the rankings, No. 1 in the coolest name department.

3. Rudy Zaragoza: Rudy may be the hardest charger of any driver in any class.

4. Robert Thompson Sr.: When he last raced at Quincy in 2019, Thompson was not a championship threat. The Colchester driver most certainly is now.

5. Jake Powers: He would like nothing better than another championship trophy to bookend with his 2018 hardware.

6. Steve Grotz: “Grotzy” is the frontrunner for the sharpest-looking car in this division. That No. 22G is one sweet-looking ride for The Mack Daddy.

Dis-N-Data

Average car counts

All classes: 75.0 (high of 85, May 1)

4-Cylinders: 26.5 (high of 28, May 1)

Sport Mods: 21.0 (high of 24, May 1)

Modifieds: 12.0 (high of 16, May 1)

Street Stocks: 10.0 (high of 10, May 1, April 24)

Late Models: 5.5 (high of 7, May 1)

Muddy River Sports Performance Points

Points are awarded on a 25-20-15-12-10-8-6-4 for top eight finishers in feature, 3-2-1 in heats.

Late Models: Danny Woodworth 51, Sam Halstead 50, Darin Weisinger Jr. 25, Rick Coats 25.

Modifieds: Dave Wietholder 50, Austen Becerra 38, Mike Dandriet Jr. 31, Cris Spalding 12, Brandyn Ryan 12.

Sport Mods: Shane Paris 59, Dakota Girard 32, Logan Cumby 30, Adam Birck 29, Logan Anderson 23.

Street Stocks: Robert Cottom 55, Jake Powers 22, Leremy Jackson 15, Steve Grotz 14, Beau Taylor 14.

4-Cylinders: Jeffrey DeLonjay 54, Cyle Hawkins 39, Michael Grossman 32, Jimmy Dutlinger 24, Kim Abbott 18.

Victory Leaders

Late Models

Total: Denny Woodworth 3.

Feature: Denny Woodworth 1, Sam Halstead 1.

Heats: Denny Woodworth 2.

Modifieds

Total: Dave Wietholder 2, Kenny Wallace 2.

Feature: Dave Wietholder 1, Kenny Wallace 1.

Heats: Three with 1.

Sport Mods

Total: Logan Cumby 2, Shane Paris 2.

Feature: Logan Cumby 1, Shane Paris 1.

Heats: Six with 1.

Street Stocks

Total: Robert Cottom 3.

Feature: Robert Cottom 1.

Heats: Four with 1.

4-Cylinders

Total: Jeffrey DeLonjay 3.

Feature: Jeffrey DeLonjay 2.

Heats: Michael Grossman 2.

Money Earned

Late Models: Denny Woodworth $1,100; Sam Halstead $1,100, Darin Weisinger Jr. $700, Spencer Coats $675.

Modifieds: Dave Wietholder $1,000, Austen Becerra $675, Kenny Wallace $600, Mike Vandriet Jr. $500.

Sport Mods: Shane Paris $600, Logan Cumby $475, Adam Birck $325, Dakota Girard $325, Logan Anderson $300.

Street Stocks: Robert Cottom $750, Rudy Zaragoza $375, Jake Powers $375, Leremy Jackson $300.

4-Cylinders: Jeffrey DeLonjay $500, Cyle Hawkins $250, Jimmy Dutlinger $230, Kim Abbott $155.

Feature Improvement Points

Late Models: Ray Raker 4, Darin Weisinger Jr. 2, Sam Halstead 1, Rick Coats 1.

Modifieds: Levi Long 5, Brandyn Ryan 5, Spencer Havermale 3, Scott Bryant 3.

Sport Mods: Tanner Klingele 11, Justin Bartz 11, Logan Anderson 10, Rex Widmer 9, Quinn Shelton 8, Adam Birck 7, Kelly Bartz 7.

Street Stocks: Rudy Zaragoza 5, Leremy Jackson 4, Robert Cottom 3, Robert Thompson Sr. 3.

4-Cylinders: Justin Stevenson 16, Jaden DeLonjay 13, Brandon Cornwell 5, Jeremy Lee 5, Dyllan Bonk 5.

Feature Laps Led

Late Models: Denny Woodworth 34, Sam Halstead 2.

Modifieds: Kenny Wallace 20, Dave Wietholder 10, Michael Long 9, Austen Becerra 1.

Sport Mods: Logan Cumby 17, Shane Paris 12, A.J. Tournear 1.

Street Stocks: Robert Cottom 30.

4-Cylinders: Jeffrey DeLonjay 19, Michael Grossman 8.

Caution Flags

All classes: 38, 19.5 average (high of 20, April 24)

Sport Mods: 15, 7.5 average (high of 11, April 24)

Modifieds: 9, 4.5 average (high of 7, May 1)

Street Stocks: 8, 4.0 average (high of 4 May 1, April 24)

4-Cylinders: 5, 2.5 average (high of 3, May 1)

Late Models: 1, 0.5 average (high of 1, April 24)