4/30/2024
Lucas Oil MLRA
MLRA Returns to Action Sunday Night At Adams County Speedway(IL)
Wheatland, Missouri (May 1, 2024) – The Lucas Oil Midwest Late Model Racing Association (MLRA) returns to action this Sunday, May 5th, with a $5,000 to win “Cinco de Mayo” spectacular at the Adams County Speedway in Quincy, IL.
Sunday nights event will be just the third MLRA race of the 2024 season after being plagued by multiple rain outs in the month of April. It will also serve as the season opener for promotors Jim & Tammy Lieurance and family, who return for their third season at the helm of the track formerly known as the Quincy Raceways.
The Lucas Oil MLRA will be making their first visit to the ¼ mile slightly banked clay oval since the 2019 race season and just third all-time in series history. In 2019 Oakwood, Illinois driver Bobby Pierce scored the victory in both series visits in Quincy.
Gordy Gundaker enters Sunday’s bullring showdown 5th in MLRA points, as he prepares for his first full season with the series after back-to-back seasons running full time with the World of Outlaws. He will be looking for his first career MLRA victory on a track that he says fits his style.
“I think if you asked anybody across the country what my cup of tea was, they would tell you it’s bullrings. That has always been my kind of MO, I love the little places where you have to be up on the wheel, you have to be 110% focused in. At a place like that you never know what can happen and you make one mistake and next thing you know you lose two or three spots," explained Gundaker.
He describes Adams County as, “A racey joint,” and says he expects it to be exactly that come this weekend. “It’s fun when you get into lapped traffic, that’s how you catch guys. If you don’t win your heat race and you start eighth that’s how you win a race still, by going to racetracks like that where you get caught in lap traffic and you go from first to fourth or fourth to first in one or two laps.”
Not only is the St. Charles, MO driver ready for short track season but this weekend will also serve as a homecoming of sorts for Gundaker which will once again allow him to race close to home and in front of some familiar faces. “Quincy is like my second hometown. I played college baseball in Quincy for four years and I’ve raced there a ton and won a couple of races up there. I’ve always loved going there, the people are great and it’s a great racetrack. It’s been reconfigured I feel like five or six times, you know they had banking went to flatter banking, went back to bigger banking and back to flatter banking, so it’s changed a bunch but every time you go there it always races really good.”
Mother nature has plagued the Quincy area this spring like much of the Midwest, but Gundaker notes that he doesn’t expect the spring weather conditions to affect the racing on Sunday night. “When this race was put on the schedule I was chomping at the bit because I really like going there. Just like any promotor across the county they are going to give it their very best to give us a great surface to race on. Even with the rain they have had the last few weeks I expect it to be really good and be a normal Quincy.”
“That place usually gets real slick, has a good bottom, has a very good top, and you can usually race two to three lanes all over it. Even in situations where the weather might bite them a little and it gets a little choppy, it still races good,” explained Gundaker.
The 2024 season is unlike recent years for Gundaker, as to date he has only recorded four starts thus far compared to the double digit start numbers he had become accustomed to the past couple of seasons. While he acknowledges the lack of racing this spring may have him feeling behind some of the national teams, he feels like his team is still on par with the more regional MLRA teams and capable of contending for the series championship.
“I would really love to do this whole thing with MLRA and I don’t see why at this point we can't. It’s not a super long schedule, the last couple years I have ran an entire national tour. That first night at Wheatland killed us, we had some oil pressure problems that obviously DNF’d us and obviously every lap matters especially when you’re in a smaller schedule season. So, we’re a little bit behind but I’ve got really good faith in our program, all of our great sponsors, and our team to get up there and battle for a championship hopefully by the end of the year.”
MIDWEST SHEET METAL POINT LEADER CHALLENGE STANDINGS
- Chad Simpson--- Mt. Vernon, IA
- Tony Jackson Jr.--- Lebanon, MO -25 pts
- Chris Simpson--- Oxford, IA -25 pts
- Justin Duty--- Molalla, OR -70 pts
- Gordy Gundaker--- St. Charles, MO -80 pts
- Trevor Gundaker--- St. Charles, MO -90 pts
- Dillon McCowan--- Urbana, MO -95 pts
- Jeff Herzog--- Festus, MO -95 pts
- Dustin Hodges--- Centralia, MO -110 pts
- Matt Johnson--- Archie, MO -140 pts
Adams County Speedway: Quincy, IL-- Sunday 5/5/2024
Pit Gates: 2:30pm, Grandstands: 3:30pm
Hot Laps: 5:30 pm
Admission: Adults (16 - 59 yrs.) $25, Seniors 60+/Military $23, Kids (11 – 15yrs.) $10, Kids (10 & Under) FREE
Pit Passes: Adults $45, Kids $25
Support Classes: UMP Mods, Street Stocks, & 4 Cylinders
Website: www.adamscountyilspeedway.com
Article Credit: Billy Rock
Submitted By: Billy Rock
