‘I love racing here’: Entertaining races, joy and support of fans highlight Adams County Speedway’s opening night

QUINCY — The man they call “Superman” provided the perfect punctuation for a perfect night.

Moments after “Superman Sam” Halstead outdueled Denny Woodworth to win the season-opening late model feature at Adams County Speedway — formerly known as Quincy Raceways — he delivered a loud and oh-so-clear message Sunday night to the raucous crowd of 2,500-plus.

Those in attendance had waited for more than two years for dirt-track racing to return to the Broadway Bullring, and Superman’s words were music to their collective ears.

“I’ll tell ya … dammit, I love Quincy and I love racing here,” said Halstead, raising his fist in the air. “I want to see even more cars here so I can kick their asses, too!”

Hallstead, a resident of New London, Iowa, who has raced at 8000 Broadway for more than a quarter of a century, addressed the crowd following his victory. He held a microphone in one hand and raised a clenched fist in the air with the other.

Adams County Speedway is in the early stages of re-establishing itself after nearly disappearing from the West-Central Illinois landscape. The .29-mile speedway was shut down in 2020, due in part to the pandemic, and never opened in 2021 when then-operator Jason Goble left the area.

First-year track promoters Jimmy and Tammy Lieurance, who drew a loud ovation prior to the start of racing, thanked the fans for their support. 

Jimmy Lieurance, wearing his emotions on his sleeve, talked to the turnout during a brief pre-race welcome. His voice cracked a couple of times as he thanked area race fans for their support in the ongoing project of bringing back the Bullring.

“I am so …  happy … to see everyone here,” said Lieurance, whose family has been involved with the track for more than 40 years.

Tammy Lieurance echoed the thoughts of her husband.

“This is our home track, and we are so excited,” she said.

So are others.

“This is one the best days of my life,” said longtime race fan Pat Dunker. “Finally, dirt-track racing has come back.”

Race director Blake Dotson surveyed the big crowd and could not help but smile.

“The support is overwhelming,” he said. “We will continue to work on the car count and keep moving forward. We want people to be proud to call this place home again. There are so many hopes here, so many dreams.” 

There were 65 cars in the pits for opening night, dispersed over the late model, modified, sport mod, street stock and 4-Cylinder divisions. Race staff feels a weekly average of 80 or better is viable as the season progresses.

Halstead was joined by Dave Wietholder (modifieds), Shane Paris (sport mods), Robert Cotton (street stocks) and Jeffrey DeLonjay (4-Cylinders) as feature winners.

Wietholder’s victory was arguably the most interesting of the evening. He actually finished second to Michael Long at the checkered flag in a closely contested main event that also included Austen Becerra battling for the lead.

Long, however, was disqualified for driving out of bounds at several intervals of the race. Dotson ruled Long had cut (some) corners too close, driving inside the boundary tires, and ruled Wietholder the winner, Becerra second, Mike Vanderiet third and Brandyn Ryan fourth.

Long disputed the call and said afterward he would likely not be returning to Quincy.

“It’s the same crapola,” said Long, who held track records for most features (16) and overall races (36) won in a season when the facility was Quincy Raceways. 

Long said track conditions made it necessary for him to the corners.

“I’m not coming back,” Long said.

Wietholder said he was surprised when he saw Long’s path.

“I wondered what he was doing there (out of bounds),” said Wietholder, who felt the track was in “great shape” for this point in the season and having not been used for two years.

“Hopefully (the track workers) will keep up the good work,” he said. “It was a good racing surface.”

Becerra was the most upset about the incident, feeling Long had also cut him off and nearly caused a crash.

“The track was really good, and we had a car that could have won (the feature),” Becerra said.

Paris dominated the sport mods, leading all 12 laps of a feature shortened by six laps due to time constraints. There were 10 cautions in the sport mod main event, which saw Dakota Girard, Tanner Klingele and Adam Birck round out the top four.

Paris, who was apologetic for the sport mod class afterward and said it was a shame the drivers were involved in so many crashes, was another driver who praised the work of the track staff.

“It’s amazing to see all the fans out here,” he said. “These guys have done a tremendous job. The track was in great shape for not having any racing for two years.” 

Cottom led flag-to-flag in the 15-lap street stock main event, outdistancing Jake Powers, Leremy Jackson and Beau Taylor.

DeLonjay took control of the 4-Cylinder feature, leading the closing nine laps after early frontrunner Michael Grossman bowed out six laps into the race. Jimmy Dutlinger, Cyle Hawkins and Jaden DeLonjay completed the top four.