Racing notebook: Quincy’s dirt track holds special memories for super late model driver

QUINCY — The Reaper will always remember Quincy quite well, specifically the dirt track at 8000 Broadway.

McKay “The Reaper” Wenger smiles when his No. 42 super late model approaches the flagman’s stand at Adams County Speedway.

After winning a feature in Quincy in 2016, and moments after accepting the checkered flag in victory lane, the Fairbuy, Ill., resident made a decision that changed the rest of his life.

“That’s when I asked Kelsey to marry me,” the 35-year-old Wenger said.

Obviously, Kelsey said yes, and the Wengers have lived happily ever after.

There’s another part of that memorable night few race fans know about.

“I raced with a broken wrist,” said Wenger, who finished seventh behind winner Tommy Sheppard Jr., of New Berlin, Ill., in last Sunday’s MARS special at the track.

The broken wrist never slowed him down that season, although some of those left turns were a bit more difficult. Dirt-track racers don’t have time for injuries.

“There’s never really any off time,” Wenger said. “We work on the car(s) 12 months a year. There is always work to be done on the car(s).”

Unlike many of the super late model drivers, racing is not Wenger’s chief form of employment. He’s a parts manager by day, and mechanic/driver by night.

“We’re always trying to get ready for the next race.”

Track record still standing 

Wenger just missed the late model track record during last Sunday’s qualifying when he toured the .29-mile semi-banked surface in 12.862 seconds, or 81.169 mph.

Still holding the track record is Will Vaught of Crane, Mo., who posted a 12.669 lap (82.406 mph) in 2009 during a Hell Tour qualifying session.

Feger the answer to Adams County trivia question

Unlike Wenger, Jason Feger is a full-time super late model racer. The 44-year-old resident of Bloomington, Ill., has been plying his trade for 20 years with no plans to slow down anytime soon.

But what if Feger was not a full-time hotshoe?

“I don’t know … I’d probably be some kind of fabricator,” he said. “I come from a family of racers.”

Feger, who finished third last Sunday, is also the answer to one of the Adams County Speedway’s great trivia questions.

Back in July 2006 on the night of the first-ever UMP Summer Nationals Hell Tour event in Quincy, Feger’s rig was the first in line, waiting for the pit gate to open. He didn’t fare well that night, finishing well behind winner Randy “King Kong” Korte of Highland, Ill.

Feger’s newest pride and joy — besides the slick No. 25 hot rod he pilots — is the newest member of his family. He has a 6-week-old baby girl named — drum roll, please — Wynn (as in “win”).

Wallace reveals future

St. Louis modified driver Kenny Wallace, a longtime favorite in Quincy who grew up at the Adams County track as a youngster pitting for older brother Mike, said this is his last year of full-time racing.

“I’m going to wean myself off it next year in a part-time type of schedule,” the 59-year-old former NASCAR Cup driver and TV analyst said. “All of my current equipment is already sold at the end of the year. This is my last year of traveling.”

Wallace says it’s time to concentrate more on family life.

“I’ve never missed a birthday or big event in the lives of my grandkids or anything like that, but (racing) can be a gypsy type of lifestyle,” said Wallace, who was a NASCAR rookie the same year as Jeff Gordon and Bobby Labonte.

All the late nights on the road traveling home from whatever dirt-track port of call may have drawn him in recent years will soon be coming to an end, he said.

“Dirt-track racing is like a cult, a special niche,” Wallace said. “For some people, it’s their bridge club or some other special kind of interest.”

Wallace’s farewell tour is certainly off to a good start. He already has four feature wins and had won three in a row prior to finishing fifth Sunday night in Quincy behind winner Kyle Steffens of St. Charles, Mo.

Wallace realizes two things about his dirt-track comrades. He knows his NASCAR background is an attraction for others wanting to compete against him.

“The other racers love it when I’m here — as long as I don’t win,” he said.

First-year race director ecstatic

First-year Adams County Speedway race director Blake Dotson admitted he was nervous leading up to last Sunday’s MARS event at the track. Not only was it the first major race on the 2022 schedule, but it was his first as a race director and the first for track operators Jim and Tammy Lieurance.

After 91 cars and about 3,000 fans turned out, all involved parties let go with a major sigh of relief.

“I couldn’t have been happier with the way things turned out,” Dotson said.

Most of all, Dotson is happy with the reputation the track is re-establishing after being shut down for two years and the negative comments it received the last two years it was open.

“The track had a bad name,” Dotson said.

That, however, has all changed.

“Tommy Sheppard told me after he won Sunday’s feature that if we raced super late models on a regular basis he’d be here every week,” Dotson said. “He told me he had doubts about even coming after all the bad stuff he had heard about Quincy, but he thought the track was great.”

Dotson said the one concern more than a month into the season remains the pro crate late models, or lack of them. While the track’s other four classes are flourishing well beyond all original forecasts, the crate lates are struggling. There has yet to be even 10 crates in the pits for any weekly show.

“The late models are a concern, but counts are down all across the region,” Dotson said.

Dotson insists patience is a key, not only for that division but the track as a whole.

“This year is important as we re-establish Quincy as a prime destination for racers,” he said. “It will take time.” 

Sunday night schedule

On tap Sunday night are four of the five regular classes, plus a makeup feature. In action will be the crate late models, sport mods, street stocks and 4-Cylinders. The modifieds are off, allowing them to run at a big-money show in Spoon River.

This week’s makeup feature from the three rained out May 15 will be the 4-Cylinders. Other makeup dates are for the street stocks June 5 and the modifieds June 12.

Sunday’s hot laps start at 5:30 p.m., with racing to follow.