Quincy Raceways officials have announced the 2012 season will begin Sunday, April 1, the first of 26 scheduled weeks of racing at the Bullring. The eventual season championship night is Sunday, Sept. 16.

Practice will get under way Sunday, March 25. Additional practice nights at this time are March 27 and March 29.

More news is coming soon, according to one official, and at least two of the announcements will be of the “huge’ variety as the track embarks upon its first season of offering six different weekly classes and UMP sanctioning for its late models.

By the way, if some of you are wondering has happened to the “countdown clock” on this site, we’ll hopefully have it up and running again in the very near future. When we switched to the new website, some of the old elements were unable to be moved to the new site.

Abe Huls has the most second-place feature finishes in the stock car series since 2008.

In the previous blog, I mentioned Denny Woodworth led all drivers with six second-place feature finishes during the 2011 season. Here’s some additional information on that statistic since we started keeping track of the runner-up showings in 2008

CAREER LEADERS SECOND-PLACE FEATURE FINISHES
Late Models
Denny Woodworth, 11
Mark Burgtorf, 11
Justin Reed, 9
Joey Gower, 8
Jason Frankel, 6
Lonnie Bailey, 5
Keith Pratt, 5
Record: Denny Woodworth, 6, 2011

Modifieds
Steven DeLonjay, 12
Jared Schlipman, 9
Dave Wietholder, 8
Tony Dunker, 6
Vance Wilson, 6
Shawn Deering, 5
Wyatt Lantz, 4
Robbie Reed, 4
Record: Steven DeLonjay 5, 2011; Dave Wietholder, 5, 2010; Vance Wilson, 5 2009.

Stock Cars
Abe Huls, 13
Terry Houston, 11
Kevin Tomlinson, 7
Doug Huls, 6
Andrew Griffin, 6
Aaron Brocksieck, 6
John Oliver Jr., 4
Chris Wibbell, 4
Record: Terry Houston, 6, 2010

Hobby Stocks
Steve Carlin, 14
Bobby Anders, 9
Wes Mayfield, 8
Jim Powell, 8
Nathan Anders, 4
James Leffew, 4
Steve Watkins, Jr., 4
Record: Steve Carlin, 5, 2010

Denny Woodworth

Wow … where do you even start to forecast the 2012 late models at the Bullring?

This will be an exciting season of change at old 8000 Broadway. Above all else, it will be the first summer of UMP racing for the oldest series at the track, and one that will start the year with more question than answers.

We won’t know until sometime during the first few weeks or so of the season who will and who won’t be track regulars.

Who will be some of the newbies from outside the immediate area? Will most come from central Illinois, in and around Springfield? Will we see a few now and then from as far away as Decatur? How much of an efffect will Shepp’s Speedway moving its weekly racing to Friday nights have? Quincy is now the only UMP track running on Sunday nights.

And don’t forget the St. Louis and Metro East areas, two UMP strongholds. We’ve seen quite a few of those drivers come north in the past for the occasional UMP shows in Quincy.

The UMP season is a longer grind. How will that affect some drivers’ strategy?

So many questions … and not many answers right now. The speculation this winter will be chock full of (mis)information. A wise man once told me to believe nothing of what you hear and only half of what you see. Remember that in the coming months.

At this point, the following predictions are based solely on Bullring regulars and plans I am aware of:

1. Denny Woodworth: The 2010 track champ will be in the thick of the title chase no matter who is — or isn’t — running. Woodworth has plenty of experience with the big motors and will be a major force is 2012.

CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR
Denny Woodworth led all late model drivers in runner-up feature finishes with six. That figure also led all series in 2011. Here were the track leaders in “almosts” last season:
Denny Woodworth, late models, 6
Steven DeLonjay, modifieds, 5
Joey Gower, late models, 4
Terry Houston, stock cars, 4
Andrew Griffin, stock cars, 4
Steve Carlin, hobby stocks, 4
Todd Nelson, wild things, 4
Seth Woodruff, wild things, 4
Craig Bangert, wild things, 4

2. Mark Burgtorf: The Hall of Famer told me he would have a UMP car ready. I’m just not sure how much his commitment to drive in the IMCA Deery events for Lynn Richard will conflict with Quincy’s Sunday night schedule.

3. Justin Reed: Justincredible was one of the big boosters of bringing UMP to Quincy, so I’m sure he’ll be ready to defend his track championship.

4. Keith Pratt: The Kool Kat went UMP racing 2003-06, so he’s well aware of what lies ahead. And if he can keep his car on all four wheels — and not the lid — he’ll once again be in contention. He missed out on his first track title in 2011 by eight points.

5. Joey Gower: He is now firmly entrenched among track contenders. I doubt if the switch from IMCA to UMP will require much of a learning curve.

Winning back-to-back track championships is always difficult, especially in a class like the modifieds, which in recent years has been the largest at the Bullring. Couple that with a plethora of talent and it’s doubly tough to go back-to-back.

But I think we’ll see a break from the recent norm in 2012. Steven DeLonjay rolled to this year’s title in record-setting fashion — his 161-point margin of victory was the most ever in the series. I would expect the chase to be much closer next summer, but my pick is for a DeLonjay repeat. That’s an impressive operation in the DeLonjay compound. There’s more than 30 years of experience with his dad, 13-time track champ Hank DeLonjay, turning the wrenches. Add to that the natural talent of 19-year-old Steven behind the wheel and that’s going to be a lot for any other team to overcome.

Here are my early picks for the 2012:

1. Steven DeLonjay: If he can avoid the early season DNF(s) that plagued him in 2008, 2009 and 2010, you can engrave his name on another title trophy.

2. Jared Schlipman: I look for the 2010 champion to roar back with a vengeance. Schlipman simply got caught up in the DeLonjay tempest this season. The Mendon hotshoe had a tremendous year in his own right, but DeLonjay was simply in another world.

3. Michael Long: OK, if Michael races the full points schedule this will need recalculated. But I’m guessing he runs “most,” but not all of the schedule and will finish just shy of what would be a third track title.

4. Dave Wietholder: “Sweet Wiet” will be there until the very end. The difference between third (2010) or fourth and first is usually feature victories, and No. 05 got shut out last year. He needs to find a way to wrestle a few of those checkered flags from DeLonjay, Long and Schlipman, who won all 17 main events this season. (By the way, that’s the second straight season those three drivers have won all the features.)

SELFISH?
In recent years, a handful of drivers have dominated the feature wins in the modified series. Here’s a look since the mods went to one class in 2006 on how many different feaure winners there have been each season:
2011: 3
2010: 3
2009: 6
2008: 4
2007: 4
2006: 7

5. Shawn Deering: If Deering could erase that one disastrous month he had this season when everything possible went wrong, he would have finished a strong second in points. Those kind of things usually have a way of evening out the following season, so I’m looking for Deering to be a contender from the first green flag in 2012.

Terry Houston

There have always been two constants with the stock car series at Quincy Raceways:

1. There have never been a whole lot of ‘em.

2. But the ones who are there put on a heckuva show.

This is probably the most balanced class at the track. There simply is not much separation from top to bottom. On any given Sunday night, Abe Huls, Terry Houston, Aaron Brocksieck, Andrew Griffin, Jerry Jansen, Gabe Harrison and a handful of others have demonstrated they can win — and have. I don’t think there’s any reason to expect anything different in 2012.

We’ve never had a repeat titlist in this series, and I don’t think next season will be any different. But I do think we’ll see the first two-time track champ in this class:

1. Terry Houston: He missed by one point of turning in back-to-back championships and will enter 2012 as the No. 1-ranked driver in the four-year history of the series. He has won more races than any other stock car driver — and wasn’t even involved in the inaugural 2008 season. I think we’ll see the pride of Mount Sterling win that second championship come next August.

STILL THE FASTEST
Houston turned a 65.603 mph feature lap in 2009, a speed that still stands as the fastest — by over a mile per hour — in the stock class. Here’s a look at the top five since the 2008 inception of the series:

1. Terry Houston, 65.603 mph, Aug. 30, 2009
2. Abe Huls, 64.586 mph, June 20, 2010
3. Terry Houston, 64.418 mph, Aug. 22, 2010
4. Shawn Johnson, 64.393 mph, July 3, 2009
5. Abe Huls, 64.379 mph, June 6, 2010

2. Aaron Brocksieck: It was incredibly difficult not to pick Aaron to win a second straight title, but what made me place him second was I wasn’t sure which version of the pink car we would see at the outset of 2012. Would it be the dominant one of the first half of 2011, or the one that struggled at times in the second half? What has separated Houston from the rest of the class for most of his three years in the stocks has been that week-in, week-out consistency. That’s why I picked him to win his second championship.

3. Abe Huls: If I were sure No. 30c would be there the entire points season, you could throw a blanket over Houston, Brocksieck and Honest Abe right now. I’m placing him third, expecting a week or two of missed points racing.

4. Andrew Griffin: He’s got the heats mastered. If he can do the same with the features, watch out. His career continues to remind me quite a bit of Jared Schlipman in the modifieds. Schlipman was a terror in the heats his first few years, but could not carry that same consistency over to the main events. And then 2010 happened. Will 2012 be Andrew Griffin’s “2010″?

5. Jerry Jansen: Jansen is an extremely underrated racer. His only downfall is not being able to get one of those feature checkered flags. He finished third in points, despite winning just one (heat) race. That takes a pretty good driver.

Kimberly Abbott ... title bound in 2012?

I have to give the first-year Wild Things some love. The four-cylinder series developed into quite an interesting division as the 2011 summer unfolded. From that first-night melee on the final lap of the feature to Kimberly Abbott’s fast September finish, those crazy little cars continually put on a decent show.

But there’s one problem with a series like this one. Gazing into any sort of crystal ball for any sort of developmental class is always difficult because there’s normally quite a bit of coming and going. For example, Austin Uppinghouse is moving on to sport mods for 2012 — which, by the way, is an excellent decision. If there’s one family in the area that understands a modified it’s the Uppinghouse clan. Austin’s dad, Randy, was an excellent driver, and there are plenty of other family members who have been behind the wheel of a mod who can help out.

If you followed the Wild Things at all in 2011, I’m sure you realize no fewer than five drivers took turns controlling the series — champ Seth Woodruff, Abbott, Casey Kendrick, Todd Nelson and Craig Bangert — and I would imagine we’ll see a similar script come next spring. This an incredibly balanced division and nothing should change in round two. Here’s my picks for the top con-ten-duhs:

1. Kimberly Abbott: I think we just might see our first-ever female track champ at 8000 Broadway. She was the dominant car in the class in September and should do nothing but get better as 2012 evolves.

THE FEMALE FIVE
Five times in track history a female driver has finished in the top 10 in points. Kimberly Abbott was the most recent, with a third-place finish in the Wild Things in 2011. Here’s a look at those top five female finishes:
2011: Kimberly Abbott, 3rd, Wild Things
2008: Sarah Woodhurst, 8th, Stock Cars
2007: Sarah Woodhurst, 5th, Hobby Stocks
2006: Sarah Woodhurst, 3rd, Hornets
1994: Mary Kay Allen, 5th, “A” modifieds

2. Seth Woodruff: You had love his second-half push to the championship. Will that momentum carry over to 2012?

3. Casey Kendrick: 2011 will always be the one that got away for Kendrick.

4. Craig Bangert: At one point last year, I thought he might run away with the championship.

5. Todd Nelson: If Todd could race every week, he would be the favorite. There’s also a good chance he might me moving on to another series.

Steve Carlin: Four in a row in 2012?

We’ll start our early looks at the 2012 classes with the hobby stocks. This class is a crazy mix of grizzled veterans (Steve Carlin, Jimbo Powell) and young guns (Jake Powers, Bobby Anders, Tanner Klingele). How close is this series? The average margin of difference between first and second place in the points at season’s end is 7.6 over the past five years. Next summer should be no different.

1. Steve Carlin: He has this whole points racing thing figured out, arguably better than any other driver at the track. The Captain is not flashy and he doesn’t win an incredible amount of features (outside of that memorable 2007 season) — all he does is win championships. He has five, including the last three … and right now, I see no reason that streak will be interrupted. If Carlin can win his fourth straight, he’s going to join some sweet company — they are all Hall of Famers — when it comes to consecutive track titles won:

FOUR OR MORE CONSECUTIVE TRACK TITLES WON

Mark Burgtorf, late models, 10 (1992-2001)
Steve Fraise, late models, 6 (1979-84)
Hank DeLonjay, “A” modifieds, 4 (2002-05)

2. Bobby Anders: I’m not sure yet if he’s driving again for Wes Mayfield on just going to concentrate on the sport mods. Hopefully, he’ll drive both.

3. Jake Powers: This is a future track champ, make no question about it. But he might still have another year or so of dues to pay.

4. Tanner Klingele: He’s young and he’s talented. He also has a former two-time track champ as his crew chief. The only thing missing from his dossier at this point is consistency.

5. Brandon Symmonds: An extremely smooth driver, Symmonds got his feet wet in 2010 at the Bullring. He should be in the title hunt all season in 2011.

Wild cards: Nathan Anders’ success last year kind of got lost in some of the drama surrounding this class. He gets better each season and it would not surprise me to see him make a serious challenge. He simply needs to get that No. 22 into victory circle come feature time … And never underestimate Jimbo Powell. He’s yet to win a championship, but he’s always in the mix. He and Carlin are the two true veterans in this series.

Starting this weekend, we’ll begin our annual “Countdown” for the various classes, offering our guesses on who will win the 2012 track championships — and why.

Stay tuned …

About a year ago at this time, two Bullring fans who shall remain nameless — we’ll just call them GMF nad JAF — shared with is their thoughts about the “12 Days of a Bullring Christmas.” Twelve months later, I’m still laughing.

So for your early holiday enjoyment, thanks to “Girl Mod Fan” and “Just A Fan” … All together now, uh one, uh two, uh one-two-three …

THE 12 DAYS OF A BULLRING CHRISTMAS
(sung to the tune of — duh! — “The 12 days of Christmas”)

On the 12th day of Christmas,
The Bullring gave to me
12 bumpers bumping
11 helmets tossin’
10 tires popping,
Nine motors revving,
Eight black flags a flyin’,
Seven fingers flashing,
Six beers a clanking,
Five mullets waving,
Four driveshafts dropping,
Three tires wheelin’,
Two cars a blazin’,
And a really large trophy!

– GMF and JAF

To the best of my limited memory, there has only been one other announcement that compared to this in the 13-plus years I have been going to Quincy Raceways. When track officials told us a couple of weeks ago they would be sanctioning Bullring late models with the United Midwestern Promoters (UMP) starting in 2012 it set off a firestorm of celebration.

Ironically, the other announcement that brought the same kind of response was when track leadership let us know the UMP Summernationals were coming to town for the first time.

UMP star Jason Feger -- "The Highside Hustler" -- will likely be one of the new faces to drop in at the Bullring on occasion next season.

The support for this decision was seen in the Stevie Dirt poll that ran for about a week afterward. An overwhelming 77.2 percent of the voters lauded the switch. It’s a bold move, but no more risky than staying with the IMCA. Both are quality organizations, but for late models in this region the movement toward the future is all about UMP, and the track acted in proactive fashion.

Quincy was set to be cast adrift in the IMCA world. Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa, is no longer racing late models, and 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, will likely run a limited schedule. And we’ve beaten to death the Iowa drivers choosing not to come to Quincy thing, so we won’t even get into that again.

If Quincy had stayed with the IMCA for late models, local drivers would have had to make some serious hauls into Iowa to reach other IMCA tracks running that class. Sanctioning with UMP opens up an entire world of new options for local drivers. There are roughly 25 UMP tracks in Illinois, many within 1-3 hours.

And there is the most important element — the UMP sanctioning will draw some big-time names to the Bullring. UMP drivers chase national points, and with Quincy being the only Sunday night track in the region get ready for visits by central Illinois stars such as Jason “The Highside Hustler” Feger, Ryan Unzicker and others at that level.

I have no problem predicting the marriage of UMP and Quincy as the beginning of a great experience. I wish the IMCA well, and will sincerely miss the Deery Brothers races at the Bullring, but a year from now in this space I have a feeling we’ll be asking ourselves, “Why didn’t we make this decision sooner?”

Hands down, the sanctioning of late models with UMP for 2012 was the most important story evolving from Quincy Raceways in 2011. And there wasn’t even a close second.