Riley Scott jumped up the all-time win list with four victories at the 2025 Quincy Grand Prix (Photo: Mark Schwigen)

One of the many starts from the 2025 Quincy Grand Prix (Photo: Mark Schwigen)

The 36th edition of the Quincy Grand Prix took place over the weekend – June 28-29 – with karters from all over gathering at South Park in Quincy, Illinois. The 2025 edition was the second time new event promoter Jeff Scott hosted the historic street race with roots dating back to 1970. Once again, the city and region showed their support with thousands of spectators despite rain hitting the region Sunday afternoon. The officials at Quincy and the staff powered through after the 1.5 inches of rain fell and were able to complete the main events prior to darkness. 16 different categories, including karts, vintage karts and mini moto machines roared through the 1.1-mile course in ‘The Park’, battling to claim the wins on the weekend.

“This weekend was one for the memory books,” stated event promoter Jeff Scott. “Nobody will remember who won but they will all remember that storm that came through dropping a ton of rain, and the raging creek of 2025. My track crew led by Chris Olds handled everything that was thrown his way. I wasn’t prepared to have podiums in the dark, but we made it work and created great memories! It was also a weekend of emotions for me. From putting on the event, to winning at The Park for my first time, to hosting the first ever Bob Scott Memorial race. We are looking forward to June 27-28 in 2026 with the goal of making the event bigger and better.”

The highlight of the weekend was the four wins by Quincy’s own Riley Scott. Already a five-time winner in the previous five editions, Scott was able to double up his total by winning four main events on Sunday.

The first win on the weekend came in the Briggs 206 Heavy category that Scott came in as a two-time defending race winner. Matt Krechel was quickest in the qualifying session while Scott was seventh in the order. The Saturday Feature race saw Krechel go wire-to-wire for the win (his second Saturday Feature win in class) as Scott drove up to second, crossing the line 46 thousandths short. Krechel led the first four laps before Huntington Bolton moved to the top spot. Scott slipped back to fourth but worked his way up to second by the white flag, and making a last lap move for the victory to cross the line first by two tenths. Brady Tyler had fast lap of the race to finish second with Krechel in third. Bolton and Cale Carpenter were fourth and fifth.

Riley was able to claim his first career win in the FK100 category. Defending race winner Gage Rucker set fast time in qualifying and defended his Saturday Feature win while Scott was unable to complete a lap. The main event on Sunday saw Rucker jump out to the lead with Scott quickly moving up to second. The two drivers exchanged the top spot over the final laps as Scott reached the checkered flag first by over two tenths. Rucker settled for second with Clay Robbins, Corey Jones and Christian Curry completing the top-five.

Jeff Dolian now sits inside the top-10 of the all-time win list after winning Ignite Masters (Photo: Quincy Grand Prix)

What was supposed to be the last race of the day was the Bob Scott Memorial Pro Briggs, which was moved to the penultimate main event after the rain. In qualifying on Saturday, Aidan Liber put in the quickest lap of the session ahead Evan Stamer and Andrew Coulter in the 30-driver field. It was Stamer that was quickest off the LeMans style grid and led the first eight laps. Scott, who qualified 14th, got himself into the top-five by the halfway mark and was third at the white flag behind Stamer and Matt Krechel. It was a three-wide move midway through the final circuit that helped to move Scott into the lead. At the line, Scott recorded his second Pro Briggs main event victory. Huntington Bolton helped to push Scott to the lead, finishing second ahead of Krechel with Brady Tyler and Liber finishing fourth and fifth.

The fourth victory came in the Margay Ignite Senior category that featured 37 drivers. Two-time class winner Jeff Dolian set fast time in qualifying while Avery Schwalm beat him to the line by 10 thousandths for the Saturday Feature win while Scott was third. With the rain coming in just before the Ignite main event, Quincy GP officials moved their race to the end of the day. Justin Jennings came off the grid with the lead and showed the way for the first eight laps, taking the white flag. The last lap battle ended with Scott coming across the line 96 thousandths ahead of Matt Krechel. Brady Tyler was third with Aidan Liber and Jennings completing the top-five.

“The first thing that comes to mind is that I wasn’t alone in those karts on the weekend,” commented Riley Scott on his four wins. “My grandfather was watching over me the entire time. Our Ionic Edge karts just love this place. I’ve never experienced raw speed in a kart as much as I did this weekend. After the rain delay, I won all four of my races.”

The third largest category of the weekend was the Ignite Masters class with 27 drivers. Justin Vancil set the fast time in qualifying but was shuffled back to second by Matt Krechel in the Saturday Feature. That was until the last lap when Vancil reclaimed the top spot to win the race. Finishing a close third was 2019 class winner Jeff Dolian. Krechel and Dolian led the way through the first eight laps after Vancil slipped back to fourth on the opening circuit. They ran 1-2 until the final lap. At the line, Dolian came across the secure his second career victory in the category. Vancil slipped up to second with Krechel in third, posting fast lap of the race. Two-time Saturday Feature winner Rick Fulks was fourth with Mike Stephenson in fifth.

Matt Krechel won twice on the weekend, including Briggs 206 Medium (Photo: Quincy Grand Prix)

The Ignite Heavy division welcomed its first two-time winner in four years of the class. Buddy Dailey came out of qualifying with the fast time to beat out the 18-driver field for the pole position with defending race winner Avery Schwalm in second. Schwalm grabbed the lead at the start and led the first seven laps with Dailey on his bumper. Prior to the white flag, Dailey retook the top spot heading into the final circuit. On the last lap, Schwalm was able to slip by Dailey, reaching the checkered flag first to win by only 17 thousandths of a second. Bryan Strackeljahn was third ahead of Matthew Zigaitis and Tripp Worley.

In the same race group was the Ignite Legends division for drivers 50 years of age and older. The class was led by the two former class winners – Keith Scharf (2022) and Rick Fulks (2024). Scharf edged out Fulks by 11 thousandths in qualifying for fast time. The main event however was five drivers in the mix, including event promoter Jeff Scott, New York’s Tim Hannen and Mike Stephenson. Scharf was able to fend off the group, claiming his second class victory. Hannen was second at the line ahead of Scott. Fulks put in the fast lap of race to finish fourth with Stephenson in fifth.

The first main event of the event was the Briggs 206 Medium category at 14 drivers battling. Avery Scott – daughter of event promoter Jeff Scott – setting the fast time in qualifying. She edged out multi-time event winner Jeff Dolian by only one thousandths of a second. Dolian and Matt Krechel moved up to the top two spots over the opening lap with Scott falling back to third. They ran that way until getting the white flag on lap 11. Through the final circuit, Krechel was able to come away with the top spot to cross the line first. Krechel earned his first win in the category, fifth for his career. Scott was second with Dolian back to third. Riley Scott was fourth with 2021 winner Tony Neilson in fifth.

Aidan Liber became the inaugural Ignite 100 winner (Photo: Mark Schwigen)

The Briggs 206 Masters class welcomed its fifth different winner over the last six events. Two-time class winner Tony Neilson set the fast time in qualifying to clear the 15 driver field. Matt Krechel led the opening lap but retired on lap two of the Saturday Feature, allowing Neilson to take back the lead. Neilson led up to lap 11 when Rick Fulks took over, only to get shuffled back on the final circuit to fourth. Event promoter Jeff Scott came away with the win, his first time at the Quincy Grand Prix taking the checkered flag first. Neison was second with 2024 winnner Jeff Dolian in third. Scott led the first three laps before Fulks worked his way to the point. From there, Fulks led the rest of the distance to win his first in the category, his seventh career dating back to 1991. Krechel was second, Scott in third, Dolian in fourth and Allen Borntreger completing the top-five after Neilson retired on the opening lap.

Jeff Scott clinched his first main event victory at the Quincy Grand Prix in the Briggs 206 Legends class. Veteran Rick Fulks set fast time in qualifying ahead of 2022 race winner Don Newman with Scott in third. Fulks jumped out to the lead in the 12-lap main event with Scott and Keith Scharf trailing. Scharf went from third to first on lap 10 and led the way at the white flag. On the final circuit, both Scott and Fulks slipped by Scharf and at the line, it was Scott earning his first main event triumph. Fulks was second with Scharf in third as Don Newmand and Chad Miller made up the top-five.

The quickest category of the event was the Pro Open Shifter class. Anthony Ciccone led the way in qualifying before 2022 winner Phillip Smith took control. Smith grabbed the lead in the Saturday Feature on lap two, driving away to a seven-second advantage for the win. It was a wire-to-wire victory in the main event on Sunday, with Smith dropping down to a 1:04.755 lap on a drying track. Smith took the victory ahead of Tim Hannen with Lance Curry in third. Chad Arndt and Justin Curry rounded out the top-five.

Jaiden Beckman became the first Queen of the Park winner (Photo: Mark Schwigen)

New for the Quincy Grand Prix was the Margay Ignite 100 category, featuring the spec K3 chassis with VLR 100 sealed powerplant. Aidan Liber was able to sweep the weekend to earn his first victory at the event. Setting fast time in qualifying, Liber drove to the race win in the Saturday Feature. Former race winner Keith Scharf led the only laps of the main event before Liber took over. At the line, Liber won by over three seconds ahead of Scharf with Ryan Stanton in third. Jaiden Beckman was fourth with Bobby Krug in fifth.

Also new for the 2025 event was Queen of the Park class, designed for female drivers in Briggs 206 karts. Avery Scott added another fast time in qualifying on the day, becoming the inaugural top qualifier in the class. The 12-lap main event was a three driver battle between Scott, Olivia Hofmann and Jaiden Beckman. All three led in the final few laps with Beckman emerging with lead and the victory. Scott was second with Hofmann placing third. Vintage was back again in 2025, featuring 15 karts. Rain on Saturday put a few drivers on the sidelines before the green flag, including top qualifier Christian Miles. This allowed Caleb Roll the opportunity to lead all six laps of the main event, earning the victory. Clayton Roll was second with Austin Kruger in third. Felicity Kruger and Matt Hermsmeier rounded out the top-five.

The 2026 edition of the Quincy Grand Prix is locked in for the June 27-28 weekend.

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