Dunker, Slocum headline next class of inductees into Quincy Raceways Hall of Fame

QUINCY — Quincy Raceways will punctuate its 50th anniversary celebration Sunday night by inducting six new members into its hall of fame.

Former track champions Brent Slocum and Tony Dunker headline this year’s class, which also includes Mike Dyche, Jim Gillenwater, Jeff Carter and Wayne Walbring. Those individuals will be inducted during intermission of Sunday’s program. Former track announcer Bob Gough will emcee the festivities.

Slocum was one of Quincy Raceways’ most popular late model drivers during his relatively brief but successful career. Slocum, who won the 2002 IMCA era track championship and was runner-up in 2004, 2001 and 1998, was killed in an incident in the pits at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, in June 2005. He was 28 years old and had been driving for 11 years.

Dunker earned his hall of fame niche through a successful modified career that saw him win five overall track titles. Dunker earned a pair of “B” modified titles in 2003 and 2004, outdueling Wyatt Lantz both seasons in a pair of tight championship points pursuits. 

Dunker also won three straight sport mod championships (2012-14) and finished second once (2011). Dunker’s 27 total victories in the 2012 sport mod season remain a series record, as do his 15 feature wins (2012) and his 12 heat victories (2013, 2012). Dunker’s 196 feature laps led in 2012 remains a sport mod record.

Dunker was also a runner-up in 2008 in the “A” modifieds to champion Michael Long, finishing second by one point. Dunker also finished runner-up in points twice (2005, 2001) in the “B” mods.

Dunker’s five track titles tie him for sixth on Quincy Raceways’ all-time championship list.

Dyche was always regarded as one of the hardest chargers in the late model division in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Gillenwater was one of the most versatile drivers to ever race at Quincy, being competitive in numerous divisions.

Carter, who owns Summy Tire, has been a long-time sponsor of the track and crew member for 16-time late model track champ Mark Burgtorf. Walbring was a long-time track photographer.

Sunday’s induction will be the first since 2016. First-year track owners Jeff and Renee DeLonjay made it a priority to re-establish the importance of the hall of fame, building upon the first six classes that were honored between 2011 and 2016.

Here’s a look back at past classes, which not only honored drivers, but a wide variety of officials that helped make the track one of the crown jewels of dirt-track racing in West-Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri:

2016 — Terry Shclipman, Jerry Weisenberger, Jeff Klingele, Ron Elbe, Terry Meyers, Andy Dittmer, Jerry Powers, Stan Long, Rick Frankel, Jack Walbring, Jim Lieurance, Marie Damon.

“I’ve been here since the day they opened this place (in 1975),” inductee Jerry Powers told the crowd in 2016. “It’s something I love to do.”

“I’ve been around here for 30 years,” said Jeff Klingele, who was serving as not only the father, but crew chief for up-and-coming sport mod standout — and future track champ — Tanner Klingele back in 2016. “I got to drive for enough years and then put helmets on my kids’ heads.”

2015 — Denny Woodworth, Steve Carlin, Mike Karhoff, Gary Wilson, Harold Hyslop, Doug Miller.

2014 — Sam Burgtorf, Sonny Findling, Charlie Milligan, Steve Blickhan, Bob Rhinberger, Blick’s Construction.

2013 — Dick Crane, Tom Long, Lonnie Carter, Maroline Long, Bill Bair, Joe Gower, Gem City Ford.

“I used to score all of the drivers — and argue with them, too — but that’s what made it fun,” said Maroline Long in 2013, a longtime statkeeper at the track, and also the mother of three-time Quincy modified champ Michael Long.

One of the most heart-felt induction speeches was given in 2013 by former driver Lonnie Carter.

“All of you are my family,” Carter told an appreciative crowd.

2012 — Terry Gallaher, Gary Dreyer, Eddie Dieker, Francis “Wild Man” Kelly, Charlie Alderton, Glenda and Paul Altgilbers, Roger and Dorothy Yeager, Rinella Inc.

“I think it’s a solid class, one that again represents the different eras of the track and all the different kinds of people that go into making a race track what it is,” said Charlie Bryson, former head of the hall of fame committee who tried to make sure all aspects of the track were represented. Bryson once worked as a flagman at the track.

2011 — Mark Burgtorf, Hank DeLonjay, Steve Fraise, Scott family, Don Hummel, Refreshment Services Pepsi.

Fittingly, the inaugural class included Burgtorf, DeLonjay and Fraise, who at the time were the three winningest drivers, in terms of championships,- in track history. Burgtorf (16), DeLonjay (13) and Fraise (9) combined for 38 track titles. In recent years, Denny Woodworth has also reached nine career championships.

Big paydays for Sunday night

Weekly racing returns to the track Sunday night after a series of scheduled off nights and unscheduled rainouts that covered much of June. Sunday night’s schedule looks like this:

• Pits open, 3 p.m.

• Gates open, 4 p.m.

• Hot laps, 5:30 p.m.

• Racing starts, 6 p.m.

Five of the weekly series will have increased first-place payouts:

• $1,000 to win crate late models, modifieds, sport mods, Crown Vics and 4-Cylinders. Those classes must field a minimum of 10 cars to be eligible for the increased payouts.

• Street stocks and vintage cars will also be competing. The stock cars will have the opportunity to earn bounty money. Brandon Boden at Ace Auto & Towing in Canton, Mo., is putting up an extra $500 for any driver who can defeat Jacob Rexing, who has won every stock feature this season.