Steven DeLonjay: Six straight feature victories.

Hank DeLonjay says he always had a sense The Kid would be able “to do OK” behind the wheel of one of those temperamental modifieds.

But there’s quite a difference between doing OK and outright domination.

Steven DeLonjay, the 19-year-old son of “Hank the Crank,” the legendary 13-time Quincy Raceways track champion, has more than proven his dad prophetic — especially this year.

Steven, who will be a sophomore at John Wood Community College when classes start in a couple of weeks, drove to his sixth straight feature victory Sunday night. The win tied the track record of another modified legend, Michael Long, who won six in a row in both 2008 and 2007.

Steven’s potential date with destiny comes next Sunday night in what could be a historic run at the Broadway Bullring. That’s when he attempts to become the first driver to win seven straight in-season features at the track.

“There is no pressure,” Steven insists. “I’ll just come to the track … and let it play out. My confidence is up. Winning races is what it’s all about. The focus is always on getting to the front.”

DeLonjay has done little else but win ever since he got behind the wheel of a car at 8000 Broadway, first in a hornet in 2006-07, then a modified since 2008. His dad retired as a driver after the 2007 season to oversee the career of his talented son.

“He came around right off the bat,” Hank said. “I told everyone before he started he’d be OK.”

Just “OK?”

Hank DeLonjay, shown after winning a 2007 heat race, retired following that season to devote full attention to the career of his son, Steven.

Steven has won 70 races, including 27 features, since his career began in April 2006. Forty-one of those victories, including 17 features, have been in a modified.

The teenager already has two track titles of his own (he won both hornet crowns before that series was discontinued) and has finished no lower than third in points in any of his three previous seasons in a modified.

That first modified title might come this season, considering he now holds an 85-point lead over his closest challenger, defending track champ Jared Schlipman.

“By no means is the points thing over,” said Steven, who did admit, though, it’s much for fun to be the hunted rather than the hunter. In previous seasons he found himself playing catch-up most of the summer after a slow start in April and/or May, but this time around he’s been at or near the top in points right from the outset.

“I’m just going to try and continue doing what I’m doing,” he said.

And in case anyone was wondering, papa Hank has no inclination to want to come out of retirement and join his son on the track.

“Steven has done an excellent job, and just I’m having a blast watching him,” The Crank said.

DeLonjay’s latest victory saw him come from the back of the pack after a lap six crash. Twelve circuits later, he had taken the lead and held on for the final seven laps of a feature that was marred by 10 cautions.

DeLonjay entered the night as part of a four-driver scrum at the top of the standings that also included Schlipman, Dave Wietholder and Shawn Deering. All but DeLonjay were knocked out of the feature by lap six.

DeLonjay (660), Schlipman (575), Wietholder (572) and Deering (546) remain the first four in points, but the gap between DeLonjay and the rest widened considerably Sunday night.

SUNDAY NIGHT FEATURE WINNERS

Late models: Justin Reed (3rd) became the first driver in this series to go back-to-back this season.
Crate late models: Bobby Daughterman was the class of a field fo 10.
Modifieds: Steven DeLonjay (7th) finished 1.95 seconds ahead of Robbie Reed.
Stock cars: Abe Huls (3rd) won for the third time in four weeks.
Hobby stocks: Brandon Symmonds (1st) had been knocking on the door. Sunday night be knocked it down.
Wild things: Seth Woodruff (1st) finally reeled in Casey Kendrick on the 10th lap.

SUNDAY NIGHT HEAT WINNERS

Late models: Keith Pratt (4th), Matt Bailey (2nd).
Crate late models: Bobby Daughterman, Mark Oller.
Modifieds: Jared Schlipman (6th), Shawn Deering (6th).
Stock cars: Andrew Griffin (3rd).
Hobby stocks: Bobby Anders (7th), Jim Powell (1st).
Wild things: Robert Thompson (3rd), Seth Woodruff (3rd).

SUNDAY NIGHT STARS AT THE BULLRING

5 Stars: Steven DeLonjay. Who else?
4 Stars: Justin Reed looks a man possessed in the late model class.
3 Stars: Abe Huls is quietly putting together a monster second half of the season in the stock car division.
2 Stars: Brandon Symmonds not only won his first hobby stock feature, but is second in second-half points with 152. Only Jake Powers (157) has more.
1 Star: The scoreboard. It never looked better! It was the like the return of an old friend. Track officials were finally able to figure out what had knocked it out of commission for the past month.

UNOFFICIAL TRACK POINTS LEADERS

Late models: Justin Reed 201, Keith Pratt 194, Denny Woodworth 194, Lonnie Bailey 188, Joey Gower 187, Matt Bailey 184.
Modifieds: Steven DeLonjayt 660, Jared Schlipman 575, Dave Wietholder 572.
Stock cars: Aaron Brocksieck 260, Terry Houston 255, Kevin Tomlinson 247.
Hobby stocks: Steve Carlin 404, Jake Powers 384.
Wild things: Casey Kendrick 386, Seth Woodruff 383.

SECOND-HALF POINTS LEADERS

Late models: Justin Reed 123, Joey Gower 119, Denny Woodworth 119, Keith Pratt 116, Matt Bailey 114.
Modifieds: Steven DeLonjay 300, Jared Schlipman 235, Dave Wietholder 206.
Stock cars: Terry Houston 147, Aaron Brocksieck 146, Kevin Tomlinson 141, Jerry Jansen 140.
Hobby stocks: Jake Powers 157, Brandon Symmonds 152, Steve Carlin 151, Tanner Klingele 148, Nathan Anders 147.
Wild things: Robert Thompson 153, Seth Woodruff 152, Casey Kendrick 152.

HERALD-WHIG PERFORMANCE POINTS LEADERS

Late models: Denny Woodworth 189, Joey Gower 167, Keith Pratt 153, Justin Reed 152, Lonnie Bailey 146.
Modifieds: Steven DeLonjay 215, Jared Schlipman 178, Dave Wietholder 154, Shawn Deering 149.
Stock cars: Aaron Brocksieck 218, Terry Houston 169, Kevin Tomlinson 163, Jerry Jansen 136, Abe Huls 127.
Hobby stocks: Steve Carlin 173, Jake Powers 164, Bobby Anders 147.
Wild things: Casey Kendrick 176, Seth Woodruff 145, Kimberly Abbott 131, Craig Bangert 131, Todd Nelson 127, Austin Uppinghouse 114.

CAR COUNTS

Late models: 13 (season average 16.4)
Modifieds: 16 (season average 15.4)
Stock cars: 9 (season average 8.3)
Hobby stocks: 12 (season average 11.5)
Wild things: 10 (season average 9.5)

CAUTIONS

Late models: 4
Modifieds: 12 (season high; track record for modifieds is 20 on April 29, 2007.)
Stock cars: 2
Hobby stocks: 3
Wild things: 0 (wild things have had only four cautions the entire season).

It’s Sunday afternoon about 1:45. I’m flipping back and forth between the Brickyard 400 — looks like another yawner at Indy — and some baseball games. But most importantly? The sun is shining … and … absolutely positively no chance of rain.

Bring on the checkers.

See you at the Bullring in a few hours!

1. The track: For the most part, especially once the spring rains were through, the racing surface has received great reviews. The track has been well maintained and provided multi-groove racing, which is exciting for both fans and drivers alike.

2. DeLonjay’s streak: Steven DeLonjay is going for a record-tying six straight feature victories in the modified series Sunday night. Whenever I begin to assess what DeLonjay — who is just 19, remember — has already accomplished in his career I always think back to what fellow modified racer and two-time track champ Tony Dunker said two years ago. One night I asked Dunker what the future held for the modifieds, and he pointed toward DeLonjay, 17 at the time, and said, “There’s the future.”

3. Anders’ streak — and suspension: There was no hotter driver in recent years than Bobby Anders in the hobby stock division during April, May and into June. He appeared to have a chance to establish some incredible records, but on the night of June 12 lost his temper at the conclusion of a race and made a bad decision, ramming fellow hobby stocker Steve Carlin on the cool-down lap. It was the first race he had not won all season. The result of that action was a four-week suspension. To Anders’ credit, he accepted the punishment and has returned to race again, this time in Wes Mayfield’s car. Last week would have been his first race(s) in the new ride, but a mid-afternoon rain wiped out that night’s schedule. Surprisingly, Anders still leads the track in overall victories, so he has plenty of incentive remaining — even though the hobby stock title is out of reach.

4. Positive buzz: Granted, No. 1 has played a big part in the “positive buzz” that has been building this season at 8000 Broadway, but items like Nos. 2 and 3 have helped greatly, too. Along that same thought, have you noticed most of the talk this season concerning Quincy Raceways been about the racing, and not about the drama. That alone shows how much progress has been made.

5. Hall of Fame: After years of talk, the first steps are now being taken to make this a reality. As I said before, won’t be great to be able to say about certain drivers: “Hall of Famer (fill in the blank).”

6. The Modified Four: Steven DeLonjay, Jared Schlipman, Dave Wietholder and Shawn Deering have dominated the modified division and provided us with four months of genuine excitement in doing so.

7. Oh Deer-ing: As successful of a season Shawn Deering has had, it has also been an extremely frustrating summer. He has five runner-up feature finishes, more than any other driver at the track, as he continues his quest for that first-ever main event win.

8. Emergence of Jake Griffin: Jake is 12 years old and is sixth in points in the modified division — and he missed one week of points racing. His improvement since last year has been like night day. Apparently, that jump from 11 to 12 is a big one. His voice is much deeper this year, too.

9. Justin Jennings’ ARCA ride: Quincy regular Justin Jennings landed an ARCA ride two weeks ago for a race at Iowa Speedway and finished a respectable 19th.

10. The stock cars: Slowly, but surely this class if gaining a foothold, partly due to a field that is incredibly balanced. Just about any stock car that takes the track has a legitimate chance to win that week’s feature, led by Aaron Brocksieck. Brocksieck lapped the field early in the season, but the rest of the guys have (almost) pulled even and this is now arguably the most balanced division at the Bullring.

Steven DeLonjay: Six in a row?

Bullring thoughts and predictions for the week:

1. Nice job, Joe: Did you happen to see Joe Bliven’s online comment thanking fans and drivers alike for their support of the track this season? Joe, who works as a tech man on Sunday nights, is a former driver at the track and currently runs a sport mod at Lee County Speedway on Fridays, made some great points. He talked about how past problems have been corrected, how positive the future looks and most of all how much he and others appreciated the fans and drivers who stuck by the Bullring throughout the process. Joe is absolutely right. There is now a positive energy at the track on Sunday nights that was missing. There is a new foundation being built at 8000 Broadway and it will be exciting to see how everything plays out in the next few years.

Joe Bliven

2. The crate debate: Hopefully, there is a credible turnout Sunday night of the crate late models. Last year the most we saw in their visits was (correct me, Dustin Griffin, if I am wrong) seven. That was not a fair amount to judge the class by, which is why I hope we have at least 15 on hand this week. Personally, I think a second late model class at the Bullring would be awesome, and this is definitely a growing division in this area of the country. I would also like to see sport mods added, but I am not sure track officials would go for seven weekly classes. Six classes, however, might be a possibility, with one having an off week every five or six times through the schedule rotation. That way we would have six classes, but only five would be running on any given week.

Bring back the trophy dashes?

3. If not a sixth class in 2012 … : How about a return of the trophy dashes? I miss the dashes and would (still) like to see them in all classes. OK, maybe three classes. There was concern before this season that the program would end too late with the addition of a fifth class and trophy dashes, but the shows have been ending around 9:30 and old late model and modified dashes normally took no more than 10-15 minutes.

4. Good call: One more comment about last Sunday’s decision to cancel. Once again, it was the right call, and it was obvious the large majority of drivers and fans felt that way. The call was made a few minutes after 8, and there was no way the track would have been ready before at least 10 p.m. Sure, it was frustrating to have gone out there, waited for two hours (or in the case of some drivers, four or more hours) only to have to pack up and go home, but you can’t control the storm clouds. I live about five miles from the track and we did not get a fraction of the rain that fell at 8000 Broadway, so when I arrived and saw the racing surface I was shocked. And the mid-afternoon timing of the rain made it difficult for track officials to do anything but hope for the best.

5. Late model pick to click: Lonnie Bailey has been relatively quiet in recent weeks. This will be his Sunday to return to victory lane.

6. Modified pick to click: Steven DeLonjay’s streak reaches a record-tying six in a row.

7. Stock car pick to click: Get outta the way, it’s another checkered flag for Kevin “The Bulldozer” Tomlinson.

8. Hobby stock pick to click: Bobby Anders returns to the active list after a four-week suspension and collects his first checkered flag since early June. Anders will be driving Wes Mayfield’s No. 21 car.

9. Wild thing pick to click: If Todd Nelson is on hand, you can;’t stop him, you can only hope to contain him.

10. Amount of crate late models in the pits: I’m going with 13.

(From Bill Martin, IMCA)

Not only did he accomplish the feat in convincing fashion, Nate Beuseling earned his first Deery Brothers Summer Series victory on one of dirt track racing’s biggest stages. Beuseling started on the pole, checked out early and was rarely challenged in winning Tuesday’s Harris Clash IMCA Late Model tour headliner at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa.

The victory came in Beuseling’s 18th career Deery start and paid $2,000.

Quincy Raceways regular Justin Reed, who was sixth in series points entering the event, finished 10th. He was the only local driver among the 38 who made the haul.

Todd Cooney closed the gap as Beuseling caught up with lapped traffic before midway of the caution-free 35-lapper. Beuseling took a look on the high side before moving back to the preferred inside line and eventually pulled away to take the checkers nearly six car lengths ahead of Cooney.

Rounding out the top five were Mike Garland, with his series career-best third place finish, Jay Johnson and Matt Strassheim.

Beuseling became the fourth first-time series winner of the season, following Matt Ryan, Matt Bailey and Mike Murphy Jr. to victory lane.

Cedar County Raceway at Tipton hosts the next Deery date, on Tuesday, Aug. 2.

DEERY BROTHERS SUMMER SERIES FEATURE RESULTS

1. Nate Beuseling, Silvis, Ill.;
2. Todd Cooney, Bondurant, Iowa
3. Mike Garland, Morrison, Ill.;
4. Jay Johnson, West Burlington, Iowa
5. Matt Strassheim, Morning Sun, Iowa
6. Brian Harris, Davenport, Iowa
7. Ray Guss Jr., Milan, Ill.
8. Nick Marolf, Moscow, Iowa
9. Andy Eckrich, Iowa City, Iowa
10. Justin Reed, Quincy, Ill.
Other notables
11. Tom Goble, Burlington, Iowa
12. Tommy Elston, Keokuk, Iowa
13. Darrel DeFrance, Marshalltown, Iowa
14. Terry Neal, Ely, Iowa
15. Jeff Aikey, Cedar Falls, Iowa
18. Tom Darbyshire, Morning Sun, Iowa
20. Colby Springsteen, Morning Sun, Iowa

Here are the combined late model points leaders between Quincy Raceways and 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa — the Q34 Bonus Bucks program leaders. The following totals are unofficial:

Denny Woodworth, 406 points
Keith Pratt, 396
Lonnie Bailey, 396
Joey Gower, 392
Matt Bailey, 385

The Bullring plays host to the first-year Pro Crate Racers Association Sunday as part of a four-race weekend series that will also involve Tri-City Speedway, Jacksonville Speedway and Peoria Speedway. The four-race schedule starts Thursday.

This is the first season for the PCRA. The crate late models continue to gain in popularity, and a growing organization like this is another sign. Each of this week’s four events pays $1,000 to win and $100 to start. For more information about PCRA, go to the www.pcralatemodelseries.com website.

All five regular weekly series — late models, modifieds, stock cars, hobby stocks and wild things — will also be in action Sunday night. Race time is 6:30 p.m.

Jake "The Snake" Powers is the second-half points leader in the hobby stock series.

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. One of the most interesting set of numbers during the course of any race season involves a driver’s second-half point total. And this year is no different.

Only two of the Bullring’s five overall weekly series points leaders are having the same kind of season in the second half as they did in the first. Modified hotshoe Steven DeLonjay, who is in the midst of a five-feature win streak, is both the season and second-half points leader. So is steady Aaron Brocksieck in the stock cars, but the hobby stocks, wild things and late models are a different story.

Second-half point totals illustrate drivers who may have come around after a slow start, but get lost in the shuffle of the overall points list. The hobbies are a good example, where Jake Powers is the second-half points leader. It’s been pretty obvious how well The Snake has been wheeling Ugly Betty the past month to six weeks, but without the second-half points list he’s just a distant runner-up to Steve Carlin.

The same is true for Todd Nelson in the wild things and Joey Gower in the late models. Both have been red hot in recent weeks, but Nelson missed some races earlier in the season and Gower got off to bad start. The second-half points lists can “reward” these kind of drivers.

Here’s a look at both the second-half and season points leaders in each division, with the defending track champs in bold face:

LATE MODELS

Aaron Brocksieck

Second-half points
Joey Gower, 82
Justin Reed, 81
Denny Woodworth, 80
Keith Pratt, 78
Matt Bailey, 76
Lonnie Bailey, 74

Season points
Justin Reed, 159
Lonnie Bailey, 158
Keith Pratt, 156
Denny Woodworth, 155
Joey Gower, 150
Matt Bailey, 146

MODIFIEDS

Second-half points
Steven DeLonjay, 225
Jared Schlipman, 195
Dave Wietholder, 169
Troy Grotz, 148
Shawn Deering, 145

Season points

Todd Nelson

Steven DeLonjay, 585
Jared Schlipman, 535
Dave Wietholder, 535
Shawn Deering, 510

STOCK CARS

Second-half points
Aaron Brocksieck, 111
Kevin Tomlinson, 109
Terry Houston, 108
Jerry Jansen, 104

Season points
Aaron Brocksieck, 225
Terry Houston, 216
Kevin Tomlinson, 215
Jerry Jansen, 209
Andrew Griffin, 205
Gabe Harrison, 201

HOBBY STOCKS

Second-half points
Jake Powers, 120
Steve Carlin, 112
Nathan Anders, 110
Brandon Symmonds, 110
Tanner Klingele, 108
Nathan Hayes, 106

Season points
Steve Carlin, 365
Jake Powers, 347
Nathan Anders 324
Wes Mayfield, 321

WILD THINGS

Second-half points
Todd Nelson, 119
Robert Thompson, 114
Casey Kendrick, 112
Austin Uppinghouse, 111

Season points
Casey Kendrick, 346
Seth Woodruff, 340
Austin Uppinghouse, 332

Good news, race fans. The Quincy Raceways Hall of Fame concept continues to move forward.

Executive Director Charlie Bryson reports the board of directors includes (at this point) Danny Rosencrans, Lon Tournear, Larry Cookson and Maroline Long.

“I think all of the people have a lot to offer in making decisions and being very objective,” Bryson said.

One of the board’s first tasks, according to Bryson, will be determining the size of the initial induction class. Bryson encourages anyone wishing to be a part of the process to contact him at the qrhallfame@yahoo.com e-mail address.

Charlie’s done an incredible amount of legwork on the project in the past month or so and things are beginning to fall into place. This will be an incredibly interesting project to watch evolve over the coming months. We’ll keep you posted on any developments.

Quincy Raceways officials pulled the plug shortly after 8 p.m. Sunday when track conditions would not allow the program to begin. A mid-afternoon rain was the culprit in the cancellation.

Ticket stubs will be good for next Sunday, July 31. There will be no mid-week makeup.

There were 11 late models, 13 modifieds, 8 stock cars, 13 hobby stocks and 11 wild things in the pits.

The call was disappointing, but it was correct. The track was not going to be raceable and too much expensive equipment would have been torn up.

An interesting matchup that was washed out was the return of Michael Long in the modified class. Current points leader Steven DeLonjay would have been going for a sixth straight feature victory, which would have matched Long’s track record established in both 2008 and 2007.

REGIONAL RECAP

Lee County Speedway, Donnellson, Iowa: Former Quincy “B” modified track champ Wyatt Lantz won the modified feature over Josh Foster, Tyler Cale and Jeff Waterman. Chris Webb took the checkers in the stock car feature over Jason Cook and Matt Greiner.

Tri-City Speedway, Pontoon Beach, Ill.: Two-time Quincy track champ Michael Long won the UMP modified feature and Dustin Griffin was runner-up in the UMP Pro Crate late model main event. Ricky Frankel was third in the UMP late model feature behind Randy Korte and was second in the dash to Korte.

Callaway Raceway, Fulton, Mo.: Jake Griffin, who runs modifieds and non-IMCA late model events at Quincy, leads the limited late model points standings.