Racing notebook: Quincy Raceways owners consider extending season due to high number of rainouts

QUINCY — Nothing is yet cast in stone, but there’s a chance the Quincy Raceways season might be extended due to the number of rainouts over the past month and a half.

The track has seen six recent events washed out and first-year owners Jeff and Renee DeLonjay are considering extending the season beyond its scheduled late September/early October ending.

“We’re definitely looking at doing something, although points racing will still end (in late August),” Jeff DeLonjay told Muddy River News on Thursday. “As long as the fans would support (the extended schedule), we’d definitely look at doing it.”

A final decision will likely be made early in August.

DeLonjay said the first thing that will be changed going into the 2026 season will be not to schedule weeks off, which backfired this year. He said next year’s docket will feature scheduled racing every weekend.

“The only time we will be taking off next year is if the weather is too hot,” he said. “I know it’s no fun sitting on the bleachers when the temperature is like 95 degrees.”

There have only been two Sunday nights of racing since May 25 — June 22 and July 6. 

DeLonjay said another idea currently being considered is trying a combined Friday-and-Sunday night schedule at some point to make up for some of the dates lost to rain. He emphasized, however, that has only been talked about and is not yet officially under consideration.

MARS cars back in town Sunday

The popular Mid-America Racing Series (MARS) late models will be in town Sunday night for their second appearance of the season. 

Jason Feger won the May 16 MARS feature at 8000 Broadway, holding off Ryan Unzicker and Justin Reed. Shannon Babb was the top qualifier on a night that saw the largest crowd of the season, an estimated 3,700.

The MARS modifieds, plus “B” mods and Crown Vics will also be on the schedule.

Hot laps are scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

This will be the fifth MARS stop in Quincy. Other former winners have been Dennis Erb Jr. (2024), Unzicker (2023) and Tommy Sheppard Jr. (2022).

The MARS cars will be the last scheduled major show of the season at the track.

“We’re hoping Mother Nature cooperates on Sunday,” DeLonjay said.

DeLonjay said if Sunday night’s event would be rained out, it is unlikely it would be made up, due to a lack of openings in the MARS schedule. That was what prevented a makeup date when the DIRTcar Summer Nationals Hell Tour race was washed out in mid-June. That was the first Hell Tour event rained out in Quincy since 2015.

Sport mods need to pick up the pace

DeLonjay said he remains hopeful the sport mod division can see an improvement in the number of cars over the final weeks of the season, or the series may have to be dropped for 2026 in favor of adding the “B” mods on a full-time basis. 

That would likely be the only potential change to next year’s weekly schedule. DeLonjay said the crate mate models, modifieds, stock cars, 4-Cylinders and Crown Vics all appear to be solid for a return.

Only once this season have the sport mods attracted a double-figure number of entries — 10 on opening night, April 27. The “B” mods have averaged 15 cars per night in their limited number of appearances.

The sport mods weekly entry numbers have fallen drastically since averaging 21.6 cars in 2022. In 2023, that average tumbled to 15.6 and last year fell again to 11.2. This year, the series is averaging 7.8.