Back on track: 16-time champion Burgtorf returns after 17-month recovery following pelvis surgery

QUINCY — A familiar face is back on the track at Quincy Raceways.

Veteran driver Mark Burgtorf is once again behind the wheel of the No. 3 modified. His return followed a 17-month recovery following surgery to remove a tumor in his lower pelvis.

“It feels great to be back,” he said. “That was a long 17 months.”

Burgtorf is far from totally healed from a surgery “that was treated like cancer” and saw six doctors assisting at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. An arduous rehabilitation has followed. 

“It will be a two- to three-year healing process,” Burgtorf, who says he only has about 60 percent usage/strength in his left leg now.

Burgtorf has been racing at Quincy since 1984 and owns 16 super open late model championships. He does not compete in the current crate late model division, preferring the 900 horsepower of the open division to the 450 horsepower of the crates. The 700 horsepower of the modifieds allows him a workable middle ground, he said.

Burgtorf said he has nothing but praise for Natalie Stratton of Advanced Physical Therapy, who has been guiding through much of his rehab.

“Natalie’s done a great job resurrecting my whole body,” said Burgtorf, who will be making regular trips back to the Mayo Clinic “for the next few years” for physicians there to monitor his progress.

Burgtorf is again driving the No. 3 modified for 88-year-old Bill Baker Sr. of Hannibal, a retired driver himself who competed for 62 years. Burgtorf looks forward to racing regularly at the refurbished Quincy Raceways. He likes what he has seen of the facility and believes the new racing surface will make for a fast, competitive track.

Now 59 years old, Burgtorf had originally planned to retire from driving at age 60. That plan will probably change now that he has his health back, which is evident in both his approach to racing and life in general.

“I’m very optimistic about the future,” he said.