Mike Spatola

Mike McKinney

Kyle Anderson

Tommy Duncan

Chris Tippit

Results | Story & Pictures by Rocky Ragusa

Slide jobs, last lap passes, and three and four wide racing. It was just another typical Saturday evening at the Fairbury Speedway. Tool’s Auto Sales and Detailing, along with Hotrod Septic Treatment, presented the action that saw Mike Spatola (Late Model), Mike McKinney (Modified), Kyle Anderson (Stock Car), Tommy Duncan (Sportsman), Chris Tippit (Hobby Mod), and Hagen Langley (KidModz) make their way to the winner’s circle.

Metamora’s Jay Sparks turned a lap at 13.120 seconds giving the veteran campaigner fast time as 24 Late Model drivers vied for a starting position in their 30-lap race. Three heat races saw Jeffrey Ledford, Kevin Weaver, and Eric Smith taking the wins. Scott Schmitt, in a new ride, earned his way into the feature by winning the b-main. Starting on the inside of the second row, Smith snuck into the lead with Ledford in close pursuit. Both wheelmen exchanged track position with slide jobs, before Ledford was able to settle in as the race leader. Track points leader Mike Spatola took second on the 14th lap and cut into Ledford’s straightaway lead. Once on Ledford’s bumper, both drivers tried slide jobs on each other with neither able to gain a clear-cut advantage. On the white flag lap, Spatola slid Ledford, making it stick, and crossed the line for his fifth FALS Cup win. Mike Mataragas finished in third, with Smith, Weaver, 16th starter Schmitt, Derek Chandler, Sparks, and Logan Moody in the top ten. “I am worn out after that race,” an exhausted Spatola commented. “Fairbury breeds some great drivers. I had better get these wins, because Jeffrey is going to be tough to beat. I shot the moon on that last lap. My car got tight. I didn’t know if I needed to slide him or leave him room.”

Debuting a new MBR chassis, Pontiac’s Michael Ledford clipped a lap of 13.983 seconds as 23 Modified drivers looked to take home a FALS Cup trophy. Three heat races saw Steven Brooks, Nick Allen, and Mike McKinney taking the wins. Polesitter Brooks led the first two laps of the race before McKinney took the lead and checked out on his competition. Ledford and Nick Seplak had a tremendous battle for second place exchanging the position back and forth before Ledford took the runner-up spot on the last lap. Brooks was fourth, AJ Meiferdt charged through the field from his 16th starting position for fifth. The rest of the top ten were Treb Jacoby, Nick Clubb, Caden McWhorter, Nash Hilmes, and Mark Brucker.

Currently second in DIRTcar Stock Car national points, Attica, Indiana racer Megan Erwin’s time of 15.807 seconds gave her fast time over 17 other drivers. Track points leader Adam Williams and Kyle Anderson took heat race wins. Williams led the field to the green flag as Anderson had to fend off a challenge from Don Hilleary in a battle for second. Anderson was able to break away from Hilleary and closed to within a car length of Williams before a caution fell on lap six. On the restart, Anderson overtook Williams for the lead and turned back repeated challenges from Williams to take his first win of the year. “Adam is a great competitor,” Anderson said. “I knew I could race him clean and we had a hard-fought race.” Williams settled for second, followed by Austin Hubbard, Joe Brown, Cody Clubb, Michael Schomas, Hilleary, Josh Hetherington, and 17th starter Erwin.

Fairbury’s Lyndon Whitfill led 13 other CR Towing Sportsman competitors in qualifying with a lap of 14.824 seconds. Freshman driver Landen Miller and Springfield area racer Wes Odell won their respective heat races. Starting in the third position in the 15-lap feature, points leader Tommy Duncan overtook Miller and Odell on the start and pulled away from the field in recording his fifth Fairbury win of the season. Miller and Whitfill dueled each other all race long before Whitfill edged Miller on the last lap for second. Jim Farley, Joel Ortberg, Ken Kelley, Dan Flessner, Shane Kelley, Makinzi Semmens, and Tom Davidson completed the top ten. “We had a good car tonight,” spoke Duncan. “We will keep working on it and try to make it faster.”

14 Hobby Mod drivers took to the ¼ mile dirt oval in time trials for their 12-lap feature race. Roselawn, Indiana driver Chris Tippit set fast time with a lap of 15.146 seconds. Luke Gebhardt and Ty Stutzman won their respective heat races. Tippit took the lead on the start leading all the way in claiming his second straight win. Michael Pockrus finished in second, followed by Mike Petersen, Sawyer Prosser, and Ryan Kohler. Jake Green, Scott McDonald, Jace Gall, Payton Semmens, and Stutzman rounded out the top ten. “This is the third night out in our new car,” Tippit said. “I am just trying to get seat time and figure it out. So far so good.”

The Kid Modz Racing Series brought two entries for a 10-lap feature race. Brenden Heizer took the heat race. Hagen Langley took the lead at the halfway mark to earn the victory. Langley, 9 years old, is the current series points leader in a class designed for drivers 8-16 years of age looking to further their racing careers.

Kyle Larson

Kyle Larson

Kyle Larson

Kyle Larson

Nick Hoffman

Hoffman Holds off 17th Starter Weisser to Claim $5,000 Modified Nationals Win

Story by Mike Warren, WoO - Photos by Rocky Ragusa & WoO

Kyle Larson has made several trips to Victory Lane in his career on both dirt and asphalt. But he celebrated like it was the first time after winning the 31st Prairie Dirt Classic Saturday at Fairbury Speedway. The Elk Grove, CA driver, climbed to the roof of his car, grabbed two checkered flags, and waved them back and forth with excitement after holding off Bobby Pierce for the $50,000 prize.

“Yung Money” methodically worked his way to third from his seventh starting position, making his move for the lead on a Lap 27 restart. He dove to the bottom of the speedway, sliding up in front of Pierce as the Fairbury Speedway crowd let out a thunderous roar. Even though Larson led the final 70 laps of the Morton Buildings Feature, Pierce tried to chase him down until the end. The Oakwood, IL driver started closing in during the last 15 laps before Larson moved up a lane and drove away.

“I saw the big screen, and [Pierce] was getting close to me, so I knew I had to get up on the wheel,” Larson said. “I didn’t want to run the cushion all the way around the corner because I kept hitting the wall the last two days. So, I just decided to slide myself, and gosh, my car was really good.” The Prairie Dirt Classic triumph is Larson’s first career World of Outlaws Late Models win, adding to an already impressive 2021 season. He’s the only driver to win a Feature with both the World of Outlaws Late Models and World of Outlaws Sprint Cars.

“It’s definitely been a good year,” Larson said. “You know last year I won a lot of races, but I didn’t get a chance to run in the legit big ones. It was awesome to run Kings Royal and get a win there, and I didn’t get the win at “The Dream,” but I had a lot of fun. To come to the PDC, a race that I never thought I’d get the opportunity to race at, it feels awesome. To win a Crown Jewel in Late Models after winning my first Crown Jewel in Sprint Cars a couple of weeks ago, it’s awesome.“

Pierce held on for second after trying to catch Larson in the race’s final stages. The “Smooth Operator” stated he still needed to be perfect toward the end, even though he carried a lot of momentum. “Once we got going, I built my momentum up, I was catching him, and every lap was getting closer and closer,” Pierce said. “I thought if he stays down, we might have a shot, but I have to hit my marks perfectly. In that timeframe of me catching him, I think I was just hitting it perfect every corner, and he moved up. One lap later it could’ve been interesting.”

Shannon Babb, from Moweaqua, IL finished third, coming up short in his quest for a fourth Prairie Dirt Classic win. He hoped lap traffic would work in his favor allowing him to catch the top two. “The track changed a lot tonight, and we knew our car was going to be good on the bottom, but it was good everywhere,” Babb said. “We could definitely gain ground there at times, but we were just waiting to see what was going to unfold if the lap traffic would block them guys in.”

Chris Madden crossed the line fourth after charging into the top-five during the second half of the race. “Smokey” waited for the right moment to pounce and move up through the field until a late-race caution stopped his momentum. “I planned on just biding my time and not wearing my stuff out and letting them guys go to begin with,” Madden said. “We just picked them off here and there and had a really good race car, but I kind of let my right rear seal up on me [under caution], and I couldn’t get back going after that.”

Three-time and defending Series champion Brandon Sheppard finished fifth. The New Berlin, IL driver, was disappointed with how the night went, despite grabbing another top-five finish. “Really late in the race when my car came to me, I was a few spots too far back,” Sheppard said. “We just had to make the most out of it and made a few passes on the restarts and just came up short. It’s disappointing because we had a better car than where we finished.”

The Prairie Dirt Classic isn’t Kyle Larson’s first win, nor will it likely be his last. But taking the checkered flag at Fairbury Speedway is a feeling “Yung Money” will remember, as he tastes World of Outlaws Late Model glory for the first time.

RESULTS

Morton Buildings Feature (100 Laps) – 1. 6-Kyle Larson [7][$50,000]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce [1][$15,000]; 3. 18-Shannon Babb [6][$10,000]; 4. 44-Chris Madden [9][$6,000]; 5. 1-Brandon Sheppard [10][$5,000]; 6. 49-Jonathan Davenport [8][$4,000]; 7. 42-Mckay Wenger [16][$3,750]; 8. 2s-Stormy Scott [4][$3,250]; 9. 76-Brandon Overton [20][$3,000]; 10. 9-Devin Moran [19][$2,750]; 11. 28-Dennis Erb [24][$2,500]; 12. 32S-Chris Simpson [13][$2,400]; 13. 18C-Chase Junghans [12][$2,300]; 14. 16-Tyler Bruening [15][$2,200]; 15. 19R-Ryan Gustin [3][$2,175]; 16. 0E-Rick Eckert [14][$2,150]; 17. 24-Ryan Unzicker [27][$2,125]; 18. 12-Ashton Winger [22][$2,100]; 19. 7-Ricky Weiss [23][$2,080]; 20. B1-Brent Larson [31][$110]; 21. 97-Cade Dillard [29][$110]; 22. 99JR-Frank Heckenast [17][$2,020]; 23. 0-Nick Hoffman [18][$2,000]; 24. 59-Garrett Alberson [21][$2,000]; 25. B12-Kevin Weaver [26][$2,000]; 26. 89-Mike Spatola [25][$2,000]; 27. 20-Jimmy Owens [5][$2,000]; 28. 99B-Boom Briggs [30][$110]; 29. 71-Hudson O’Neal [2][$2,000]; 30. 3S-Brian Shirley [11][$2,000]; 31. 25F-Jason Feger [28][$2,000]Hard Charger: 28-Dennis Erb[+13]

Last Chance Showdown 1 (20 Laps) – 1. 99JR-Frank Heckenast [1][-]; 2. 76-Brandon Overton [3][-]; 3. 7-Ricky Weiss [4][-]; 4. 14-Wil Herrington [9][$300]; 5. 97-Cade Dillard [6][]; 6. 22-Chris Ferguson [7][$450]; 7. 11H-Spencer Hughes [15][$375]; 8. T2-Todd Bennett [5][]; 9. 11-Gordy Gundaker [2][]; 10. 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh [12][$325]; 11. 7S-Jay Sparks [8][$110]; 12. 26M-Brent McKinnon [13][$110]; 13. 1M-Mike Mataragas [10][$110]; 14. 24-Ryan Unzicker [17][$110]; 15. 4G-Bob Gardner [11][$110]; 16. 3-Dale Markham [16][$110]; 17. T4-Adam Tishhouser [14][$110]; 18. 354-Chris Nash [19][$110]; 19. 35-Austin Simpson [20][$110]; 20. 79W-Greg Wagner [18][$110]

Last Chance Showdown 2 (20 Laps) – 1. 0-Nick Hoffman [1][-]; 2. 59-Garrett Alberson [9][-]; 3. 1st-Johnny Scott [13][-]; 4. B1-Brent Larson [5][$300]; 5. 10-Scott Schmitt [12][]; 6. 41-Jeremiah Hurst [2][$450]; 7. 25B-Mike Benedum [8][$375]; 8. 12C-Jeff Curl [15][]; 9. 51-Matt Furman [7][]; 10. 73-Ryan Weistart [16][$325]; 11. 162-Logan Moody [18][$110]; 12. B14-Victor Benedetto [19][$110]; 13. 40B-Kyle Bronson [17][$110]; 14. 35C-Derek Chandler [3][$110]; 15. 116-Torin Mettille [11][$110]; 16. 12Q-Brandon Queen [14][$110]; 17. B12-Kevin Weaver [6][$110]; 18. 20RT-Ricky Thornton [4][$110]; 19. 11T-Trevor Gundaker [10][$110]

Last Chance Showdown 3 ( 20 Laps) – 1. 9-Devin Moran [1][-]; 2. 12-Ashton Winger [7][-]; 3. 25F-Jason Feger [3][-]; 4. 61-Allen Weisser [4][$300]; 5. 28-Dennis Erb [6][]; 6. 45-Kyle Hammer [2][$450]; 7. 10S-Taylor Scheffler [15][$375]; 8. 89-Mike Spatola [9][]; 9. 99B-Boom Briggs [5][]; 10. 6S-Blake Spencer [14][$325]; 11. 111-Steven Roberts [13][$110]; 12. 9S-Eric Smith [10][$110]; 13. 2-Mike Chasteen [18][$110]; 14. 18L-Jeffrey Ledford [19][$110]; 15. 10J-Joseph Joiner [11][$110]; 16. 84-Myles Moos [16][$110]; 17. 25-Shane Clanton [8][$110]; 18. 9Z-Lyle Zanker [12][$110]; 19. 76S-Titus Sneed [17][$110]

Hoffman Holds off 17th Starter Weisser to Claim $5,000 Modified Nationals Win

Story by Jordan DeLucia, DIRTcar - Photo by Rocky Ragusa

Nick Hoffman has had one incredible weekend at FALS. Just days after getting the phone call to drive Dirt Late Model Hall-of-Famer Scott Bloomquist’s Drydene Team Zero Race Cars #0 in the 31st Prairie Dirt Classic, the three-time DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals champion went out and dominated the Modified competition Saturday night at Fairbury Speedway for his 19th tour victory of the season and second Modified PDC title of his career. “It’s just really cool to win here,” Hoffman, of Mooresville, NC, said. “It really shows – this deal is 63 of the best guys in the country, as far as UMP Modifieds go, and to come out on top just shows how good our racecar is and how good of a season we’ve been having.”

Just as he did back in June, Hoffman sailed his Elite Chassis #2 around the quarter-mile high banks with ease, leading all 40 laps en route to the $5,000 payday and his 57th career Summit Modified triumph. Hoffman set quick time in Qualifying on Friday night and won his Showdown Feature from the pole, setting him up for an outside-pole redraw result for Saturday’s Feature. He wasted zero time in getting out front at the drop of the green, muscling the lead away from polesitter Frank Marshall on Lap 1.

Hoffman was never seriously challenged for the lead until the closing stages, when a 17th-starting Allen Weisser made his presence known by zooming through the top-five on the very bottom of the racetrack. With the laps winding down and Hoffman several car-lengths ahead, Weisser’s comeback was running out of time to mount a charge for the lead. But then, a real shakeup. A caution flew for a slow car on the front stretch. Weisser lined up right behind Hoffman for the restart and gave it one last-ditch effort. Hoffman got the jump, but Weisser stayed within striking distance as he motored even harder around the bottom.

Hoffman knew Weisser was behind him, waiting to strike at the slightest mistake. So, he moved down a groove to protect the inside line and secure the victory. “I think I might’ve had something for him, but he just got such a good restart on that last run that he pulled me a little bit and it took me a lap or two to get going again,” Weisser, of Peoria, IL, said. “If we could’ve got a better restart, I think we would’ve had something for him.”

“Allen was really good around the bottom, which he always is here, if there’s just a little bit of grip down there. So, I moved down a little bit and ran the bottom in Turns 1-2 and the [top-middle] in 3-4,” Hoffman said.

Further on back, Tyler Nicely was in the thick of a battle for the final podium spot between he, Mike McKinney, Bobby Stremme and Kyle Steffens. Nicely had worked his way up to second, at one point, from seventh and looked to be competitive for the runner-up spot. However, he got hung out on the outside, a place he’s not often found racing, and drifted back a few positions.“We tried a few things this weekend, and I don’t think I was a big fan of it,” Nicely said. “We’re all out here trying a bunch of stuff, trying to catch Nick. “At the end, I just had to get up on the wheel on the top and see what I could do. That usually isn’t my cup of tea, but sometimes you’ve got to do it.” Nicely was able to get the third spot back before the checkers with a steady line on the middle-top groove, beating out Stremme and Steffens, who each rolled the bottom.

After putting in 40 laps worth of work in the Modified Feature, Hoffman strapped into the famed Drydene, Scott Bloomquist Racing, Team Zero Race Cars #0 for another grueling 100-laps around the high banks. He was victorious in Last Chance Showdown #2, punching his ticket into the big show and making him the only driver in the pit area to start both Features. Despite his split-attention throughout the event, Hoffman made it very clear where his focus was this weekend. “This was the opportunity of a lifetime to drive that #0 car, so the #2 car here was kind of on a stand-still,” Hoffman said. “Throughout the weekend, I probably spent 5-10 minutes on [the Modified]. I didn’t spend much time at all.”

RESULTS

Summit Racing Equipment Feature (40 Laps) – 1. 2-Nick Hoffman[2]; 2. 25W-Allen Weisser[17]; 3. 25-Tyler Nicely[7]; 4. 53S-Bobby Stremme[10]; 5. 8-Kyle Steffens[8]; 6. 96M-Mike McKinney[16]; 7. 99-Hunt Gossum[11]; 8. 7A-Justin Allgaier[3]; 9. 8K-Levi Kissinger[13]; 10. 3L-Jeff Leka[18]; 11. 28M-Frank Marshall[1]; 12. 1S-Brian Shaw[20]; 13. 757-Bradley Jameson[19]; 14. 5CS-Curt Spalding[4]; 15. T6-Tommy Sheppard Jr[21]; 16. 59R-Jacob Rexing[22]; 17. 77-Ray Bollinger[12]; 18. 4-Victor Lee[14]; 19. 24H-Mike Harrison[5]; 20. 242-Brandon Bollinger[6]; 21. 1W-Bob Pohlman[9]; 22. 37-Michael Ledford[23]; 23. 22C-Nick Clubb[15]; 24. 9H-John Demoss[24]

Last Chance Showdown 1 (15 Laps) – 1. 25W-Allen Weisser[1]; 2. 757-Bradley Jameson[10]; 3. 5-Steven Brooks[2]; 4. T6-Tommy Sheppard Jr[7]; 5. 7-Tim Nash[13]; 6. 84-Ryan Toole[11]; 7. 24B-Brent Weaver[9]; 8. 0-Travis Kohler[22]; 9. 32-Mason Duncan[17]; 10. 35-Ethan Weber[21]; 11. 64-Dawson Cook[19]; 12. 62PAP-Kim Edington[20]; 13. 71R-Troy Ricketts[18]; 14. 11S-Nick Seplak[5]; 15. 83-Kasey Schrock[24]; 16. 96-Curtis Rodenhaber[15]; 17. 59R-Jacob Rexing[3]; 18. 15-Chris Smith[4]; 19. 48-Adam Pockrus[6]; 20. 12-Wyatt Harms[8]; 21. (DNS) 36-Eric Vaughan; 22. (DNS) 1L-Dave Lilja; 23. (DNS) 27C-Justin Cundiff; 24. (DNS) 463-Daniel Sanchez

Last Chance Showdown 2 (15 Laps) – 1. 3L-Jeff Leka[2]; 2. 1S-Brian Shaw[4]; 3. 9H-John Demoss[1]; 4. 88S-Alan Stipp[7]; 5. 21D-Danny Schwartz[19]; 6. 82- Jacob Poel[15]; 7. 34W-James Walters[6]; 8. 777-Trevor Neville[16]; 9. 19-Travis Thrasher[13]; 10. 14-Caden McWhorter[5]; 11. 0J-Garrett Jameson[10]; 12. K67-Ian Keller[22]; 13. 28-Rodney Standerfer[23]; 14. 3-Mike Brooks[12]; 15. 18-Jarrett Stryker[20]; 16. 99W-Chris Arnold[8]; 17. 17-Mike Mosier[18]; 18. 37-Michael Ledford[14]; 19. 42-Bob Baldwin[21]; 20. 121-Deece Schwartz[3]; 21. (DNS) K19-Will Krup; 22. (DNS) 61-Chris Osborne Jr; 23. (DNS) 1-Nash Hilmes

Marshall, Spalding, Hoffman, Allgaier Take Modified Nationals Victories

Ryan Gustin

Bobby Pierce

Stormy Scott

Hudson O'Neal

Story by Mike Warren, WoO - Photos by Rocky Ragusa

The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models kicked off the 31st Prairie Dirt Classic at Fairbury Speedway in style Friday, with more than 70 cars fighting for 16 spots in Saturday’s 100-lap finale. Ryan Gustin, Bobby Pierce, Stormy Scott, and Hudson O’Neal collected each $3,000 by winning one of Friday’s four Showdowns and have the chance to start on the pole for the Morton Buildings Feature.

SHOWDOWN #1
World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year contender Ryan Gustin has never been afraid to run the outside at any speedway. He used that experience to his advantage Friday, leading all 25 laps to score the $3,000 prize. The Marshalltown, IA driver also swept the night, winning his Showdown and setting Slick Woody’s Cornhole Co. Quick time. Gustin received advice from a DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals driver to help him get around Fairbury Speedway. “Mike Harrison has been helping me out a little bit, telling me what lines to run and stuff,” Gustin said. “He’s got a million laps around [Fairbury Speedway], so I really got to thank him and everyone else that helps.” Shannon Babb, a three-time Prairie Dirt Classic winner, finished second after starting 13th. Chris Madden crossed the line third, and Chris Simpson grabbed the fourth and final transfer spot.

SHOWDOWN #2
Bobby Pierce was one turn away from winning the Prairie Dirt Classic in 2019 before Brandon Sheppard passed him for the win on the final corner. The “Smooth Operator” proved he’s wasting no time in his quest for redemption, winning Friday’s second Showdown. The Oakwood, IL driver chased down early race leader Jonathan Davenport and pulled an epic slide job in traffic to take the lead away from “Superman” with six laps to go. Pierce stated he should’ve tried to make the pass a few laps sooner. “I was kind of kicking myself in the butt for not pulling the trigger on the slider I was thinking about a few laps before that,” Pierce said. “Right place right time with the lap car, and it kind of set the pick for me, so I went right there and capitalized on it.” Davenport settled for second, followed by Brian Shirley and Tyler Bruening.

SHOWDOWN #3
Kyle Larson started on the pole for Friday’s third showdown, hoping to find Victory Lane for the first time at the Prairie Dirt Classic. But Stormy Scott had other ideas, sneaking by Larson on the bottom to grab the $3,000 prize. The Las Cruces, NM driver, bested a field of former Series champions, including Brandon Sheppard and Rick Eckert. The trip to Victory Lane caught him by surprise, knowing the competition he was facing. “If you had asked me if I thought we were going to be here before this deal started, I would’ve told you no way; I just would’ve been happy to get into the show,” Scott said. “I’m more thrilled for my crew than myself to finally put an entire night together for these guys because they deserve it, and they work their butts off.” Larson, Sheppard, and Eckert grabbed the final three transfer spots into Saturday’s race.

SHOWDOWN #4
Hudson O’Neal wasted no time driving away from the rest of the field in Friday’s fourth showdown, leading all 25 laps. The Martinsville, IN driver, started on the inside and made sure he beat Jimmy Owens to Turn 1 to carry his momentum to the top. “I knew that the top was going to be okay, and I wanted to get up there to where I had some momentum built up where if somebody showed me the nose underneath, I could at last do something with him,” O’Neal said. “I didn’t want to get caught on the top and have no momentum built up, so that was kind of just where I stayed for the whole race.” Owens crossed the line second, followed by Chase Junghans and Allan Weisser. Weisser was penalized three positions due to a post-race infraction, moving Mckay Wenger into the fourth and final transfer spot.

RESULTS

Drydene Heat #1 – Flight (A) (25 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer-1. 19R-Ryan Gustin [1]; 2. 18-Shannon Babb [13]; 3. 44-Chris Madden [2]; 4. 32S-Chris Simpson [3]; 5. 99JR-Frank Heckenast [8]; 6. 41-Jeremiah Hurst [4]; 7. 25F-Jason Feger [10]; 8. T2-Todd Bennett [7]; 9. B12-Kevin Weaver [9]; 10. 12-Ashton Winger [18]; 11. 14-Wil Herrington [16]; 12. 11T-Trevor Gundaker [6]; 13. 10J-Joseph Joiner [17]; 14. 26M-Brent McKinnon [14]; 15. 12Q-Brandon Queen [19]; 16. 10S-Taylor Scheffler [12]; 17. 24-Ryan Unzicker [5]; 18. 162-Logan Moody [11]; 19. 18L-Jeffrey Ledford [15]

Drydene Heat #2 – Flight (A) (25 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer-1. 32-Bobby Pierce [2]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport [1]; 3. 3S-Brian Shirley [6]; 4. 16-Tyler Bruening [3]; 5. 0-Nick Hoffman [10]; 6. 45-Kyle Hammer [8]; 7. 7-Ricky Weiss [4]; 8. B1-Brent Larson [7]; 9. 28-Dennis Erb [13]; 10. 7S-Jay Sparks [5]; 11. 59-Garrett Alberson [15]; 12. 9S-Eric Smith [9]; 13. 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh [11]; 14. 1st-Johnny Scott [12]; 15. 6S-Blake Spencer [17]; 16. 3-Dale Markham [18]; 17. 40B-Kyle Bronson [14]; 18. 2-Mike Chasteen [16]

Drydene Heat #3 – Flight (B) (25 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer-1. 2s-Stormy Scott [3]; 2. 6-Kyle Larson [1]; 3. 1-Brandon Sheppard [6]; 4. 0E-Rick Eckert [5]; 5. 9-Devin Moran [8]; 6. 76-Brandon Overton [11]; 7. 20RT-Ricky Thornton [7]; 8. 99B-Boom Briggs [14]; 9. 22-Chris Ferguson [2]; 10. 25B-Mike Benedum [10]; 11. 89-Mike Spatola [9]; 12. 4G-Bob Gardner [13]; 13. 10-Scott Schmitt [16]; 14. 111-Steven Roberts [12]; 15. 11H-Spencer Hughes [4]; 16. 73-Ryan Weistart [17]; 17. 76S-Titus Sneed [18]; 18. 354-Chris Nash [19]; 19. 35-Austin Simpson [15]

Drydene Heat #4 – Flight (B) (25 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer-1. 71-Hudson O’Neal [1]; 2. 20-Jimmy Owens [2]; 3. 18C-Chase Junghans [3]; 4. 42-Mckay Wenger [8]; 5. 11-Gordy Gundaker [6]; 6. 35C-Derek Chandler [5];7. 61-Allen Weisser [4]; 8. 97-Cade Dillard [10]; 9. 51-Matt Furman [12]; 10. 25-Shane Clanton [9]; 11. 1M-Mike Mataragas [11]; 12. 116-Torin Mettille [13]; 13. 9Z-Lyle Zanker [16]; 14. T4-Adam Tishhouser [14]; 15. 12C-Jeff Curl [15]; 16. 84-Myles Moos [7]; 17. 79W-Greg Wagner [17]; 18. B14-Victor Benedetto [18]

Qualifying Flight-A – 1. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 12.97; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport, 13.315; 3. 44-Chris Madden, 13.392; 4. 32-Bobby Pierce, 13.409; 5. 32S-Chris Simpson, 13.473; 6. 16-Tyler Bruening, 13.475; 7. 41-Jeremiah Hurst, 13.476; 8. 7-Ricky Weiss, 13.484; 9. 24-Ryan Unzicker, 13.544; 10. 7S-Jay Sparks, 13.546; 11. 11T-Trevor Gundaker, 13.555; 12. 3S-Brian Shirley, 13.555; 13. T2-Todd Bennett, 13.556; 14. B1-Brent Larson, 13.56; 15. 99JR-Frank Heckenast, 13.566; 16. 45-Kyle Hammer, 13.596; 17. B12-Kevin Weaver, 13.657; 18. 9S-Eric Smith, 13.665; 19. 25F-Jason Feger, 13.667; 20. 0-Nick Hoffman, 13.669; 21. 162-Logan Moody, 13.687; 22. 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh, 13.708; 23. 10S-Taylor Scheffler, 13.713; 24. 1st-Johnny Scott, 13.734; 25. 18-Shannon Babb, 13.757; 26. 28-Dennis Erb, 13.873; 27. 26M-Brent McKinnon, 13.88; 28. 40B-Kyle Bronson, 13.893; 29. 18L-Jeffrey Ledford, 13.893; 30. 59-Garrett Alberson, 13.909; 31. 14-Wil Herrington, 13.916; 32. 2-Mike Chasteen, 13.935; 33. 10J-Joseph Joiner, 13.99; 34. 6S-Blake Spencer, 13.994; 35. 12-Ashton Winger, 14.165; 36. 3-Dale Markham, 14.509; 37. 12Q-Brandon Queen, 14.646

Qualifying Flight-B – 1. 6-Kyle Larson, 13.551; 2. 71-Hudson O’Neal, 13.722; 3. 22-Chris Ferguson, 13.899; 4. 20-Jimmy Owens, 13.913; 5. 2s-Stormy Scott, 13.968; 6. 18C-Chase Junghans, 13.996; 7. 11H-Spencer Hughes, 14.015; 8. 61-Allen Weisser, 14.073; 9. 0E-Rick Eckert, 14.083; 10. 35C-Derek Chandler, 14.096; 11. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 14.12; 12. 11-Gordy Gundaker, 14.15; 13. 20RT-Ricky Thornton, 14.151; 14. 84-Myles Moos, 14.158; 15. 9-Devin Moran, 14.215; 16. 42-Mckay Wenger, 14.215; 17. 89-Mike Spatola, 14.232; 18. 25-Shane Clanton, 14.248; 19. 25B-Mike Benedum, 14.252; 20. 97-Cade Dillard, 14.276; 21. 76-Brandon Overton, 14.285; 22. 1M-Mike Mataragas, 14.316; 23. 111-Steven Roberts, 14.407; 24. 51-Matt Furman, 14.415; 25. 4G-Bob Gardner, 14.434; 26. 116-Torin Mettille, 14.473; 27. 99B-Boom Briggs, 14.508; 28. T4-Adam Tishhouser, 14.608; 29. 35-Austin Simpson, 14.616; 30. 12C-Jeff Curl, 14.641; 31. 10-Scott Schmitt, 14.681; 32. 9Z-Lyle Zanker, 14.705; 33. 73-Ryan Weistart, 14.75; 34. 79W-Greg Wagner, 14.982; 35. 76S-Titus Sneed, 15.72; 36. B14-Victor Benedetto, NT; 37. 354-Chris Nash, NT

Marshall, Spalding, Hoffman, Allgaier Take Modified Nationals Victories

Frank Marshall

Curt Spalding

Nick Hoffman

Justin Allgaier

Story by Jordan DeLucia, DIRTcar - Photos by Terry Page

Two-thirds of the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals field for the 31st Prairie Dirt Classic at Fairbury Speedway has been set. Sixteen drivers have punched their ticket in by way of the four Showdown Features Friday night – the rest will be seeded into one of two Last Chance Showdown events on Saturday. A grand total of 63 Summit Modifieds packed the pit area for Hot Lap/Qualifying and were then divided into four 20-lap qualifying Showdown Features, taking the top-four finishers to Saturday’s main event. The top-two finishers were placed into the redraw, to be held at opening ceremonies on Saturday. The two Last Chance Showdowns will take the top-two finishers and put them into the big show, followed by four provisional starters to complete the field for the 40-lap, $5,000-to-win Prairie Dirt Classic Modified finale.

SHOWDOWN #1
The first Feature on the freshly groomed Fairbury Speedway was the speediest of all Showdowns, won by Valpariso, IN-driver Frank Marshall. Marshall set fast time in Group 1 Qualifying, putting him on the pole for the 20-lap event. When the green dropped, Marshall took off immediately, opening up a small gap over the field and continued to add to it with every lap he clicked off. In all, the caution-free race took just over 13.5 minutes to complete. Tyler Nicely, of Owensboro, KY, had been running Marshall down the entire race and came to within a half-second of him in the final laps, but was unable to make a move for the win. Marshall crossed the stripe first to secure a spot in Saturday’s redraw and his first career Summit Modified victory. With the #25 of Nicely hot on his tail, the veteran racer Marshall never buckled under the pressure and got the job done. “We know they’re there, but we feel like we’ve got a few good years left in us. We’re kinda veterans here, but it’s fun racing with these guys,” Marshall said.

SHOWDOWN #2
Curt Spalding cashed-in big time Friday night at FALS, winning his second career Summit Modified Feature after holding off one of the best and youngest drivers on the roster. Spalding grabbed the lead from the pole and opened up a solid gap in traffic before a caution with three-to-go restacked the field. On the restart, third-running Brandon Bollinger wound it up on the top side and went after 16-year-old Hunt Gossum for second. At the stripe, Bollinger nipped Gossum by .150 to claim the final spot in the redraw while Spalding celebrated in Victory Lane. “The first ten laps, I felt really good. I thought we were slowing down, and the track was changing a little bit,” Spalding said. “It got technical, where you had to move around a little bit. About that time was when I started hearing the boys catching me. I knew they’d be coming.”

SHOWDOWN #3
He won the Summit Modified show at FALS earlier in the year for his fifth win in five starts. Since then, Nick Hoffman has won 18 of the 19 races he’s entered, adding the 18th Friday night in the third Showdown. The three-time and defending Summit Modified champion cooked up the exact same recipe he used to win here in June and served it again Friday night to claim his 56th career tour victory – smooth and steady, right through the middle. “Track got pretty momentum’d up through the middle, which is where I’ve been best,” Hoffman said. “I won the Summit Modified race here [in June] the same way, just kinda running the same line about midway to three-quarters of the way up the racetrack. Just carrying a lot of speed, and it’s just where we shine.” Hoffman was never seriously challenged for the lead and finished nearly 7 seconds ahead of runner-up Mike Harrison. However, Hoffman did turn some heads with a fifth-place finish in the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series Showdown Feature #2. “I ran the exact same line in both cars. That was probably one of the best Late Models I’ve ever drove through the middle of the racetrack. It drove exactly how I’d want it to with my Modified,” Hoffman said.

SHOWDOWN #4
After winning the Gator Championship night at Volusia this past February, Justin Allgaier was determined to get back into the seat of his UMP Modified and compete with the best of the best again. Friday night at FALS, he not only competed with them, he beat them, scoring his first career Summit Modified victory in the fourth and final Showdown. “I feel like this style of racetrack is probably our worst, so to be able to come out here and put an Elite Chassis in Victory Lane more than once, and to race with some Elite Chassis out there in that race was really cool,” Allgaier said. Allgaier initially did not get the jump at the drop of the green he was hoping for, as polesitter Chris Arnold led the field into Turn 1 and down the backstretch. Allgaier crossed over underneath him heading into Turn 3 and got a smooth exit off Turn 4 to take the lead as Arnold bobbled up high. After that, it was all defense for #7, which Allgaier handled with no issues. Several cautions littered the 20-lapper, but Allgaier’s restarts were on-point as he cruised to the $500 victory.

RESULTS

Summit Racing Equipment Showdown Feature 1 (20 Laps) 1. 28M-Frank Marshall[1]; 2. 25-Tyler Nicely[3]; 3. 1W-Bob Pohlman[2]; 4. 8K-Levi Kissinger[4]; 5. 25W-Allen Weisser[8]; 6. 59R-Jacob Rexing[5]; 7. 11S-Nick Seplak[6]; 8. T6-Tommy Sheppard Jr[11]; 9. 24B-Brent Weaver[7]; 10. 84-Ryan Toole[15]; 11. 7-Tim Nash[13]; 12. 96-Curtis Rodenhaber[14]; 13. 32-Mason Duncan[9]; 14. 64-Dawson Cook[12]; 15. 35- Ethan Weber[10]; 16. (DNS) 27C-Justin Cundiff

Wehr’s Machine Showdown Feature 2 (20 Laps) 1. 5CS-Curt Spalding[1]; 2. 242-Brandon Bollinger[3]; 3. 99-Hunt Gossum[2]; 4. 22C-Nick Clubb[8]; 5. 5-Steven Brooks[7]; 6. 15-Chris Smith[6]; 7. 48-Adam Pockrus[9]; 8. 12-Wyatt Harms[4]; 9. 757-Bradley Jameson[5]; 10. 1L-Dave Lilja[15]; 11. 463-Daniel Sanchez[10]; 12. 36-Eric Vaughan[12]; 13. 71R-Troy Ricketts[16]; 14. 62PAP-Kim Edington[14]; 15. 0-Travis Kohler[11]; 16. 83-Kasey Schrock[13]

All-Star Performance Showdown Feature 3 (20 Laps) 1. 2-Nick Hoffman[1]; 2. 24H-Mike Harrison[3]; 3. 53S-Bobby Stremme[5]; 4. 4-Victor Lee[6]; 5. 9H-John Demoss[10]; 6. 121- Deece Schwartz[12]; 7. 14-Caden McWhorter[11]; 8. 88S-Alan Stipp[9]; 9. 61-Chris Osborne Jr[14]; 10. 1-Nash Hilmes[16]; 11. 19-Travis Thrasher[15]; 12. 82-Jacob Poel[4]; 13. K19-Will Krup[2]; 14. 21D-Danny Schwartz[13]; 15. 42-Bob Baldwin[7]; 16. 28-Rodney Standerfer[8]

Deke Trucking Showdown Feature 4 (20 Laps) 1. 7A-Justin Allgaier[2]; 2. 8-Kyle Steffens[4]; 3. 77-Ray Bollinger[6]; 4. 96M-Mike McKinney[3]; 5. 3L-Jeff Leka[10]; 6. 1S- Brian Shaw[7]; 7. 34W-James Walters[9]; 8. 99W-Chris Arnold[1]; 9. 0J-Garrett Jameson[11]; 10. 3-Mike Brooks[14]; 11. 37- Michael Ledford[5]; 12. 777-Trevor Neville[13]; 13. 17-Mike Mosier[15]; 14. 18-Jarrett Stryker[12]; 15. K67-Ian Keller[8]

Austin Friedman

McKay Wenger

Nick Hoffman

Zane Reitz

Chris Tippit

Wenger, Hoffman, Reitz, Tippit Also Victorious

Results | Story & Pictures by Rocky Ragusa

Rain during the week made for a rough racetrack Saturday night at the Fairbury Speedway. Despite the conditions, race fans witnessed a barnburner of a feature in the Late Model division. Austin Friedman (Sportsman), McKay Wenger (Late Model), Nick Hoffman (Modified), Zane Reitz (Stock Car), and Chris Tippit (Hobby Mod) were all victors.

The CR Towing Sportsman class held their annual Eden-Piercy Memorial race and drew 22 drivers for their 25-lap, $1,000 to win event. Austin Friedman’s lap at 14.525 seconds gave him fast time. Tommy Duncan was the winner of the six-lap trophy dash. Friedman and Landen Miller took heat race wins. Outside front row starter Miller jumped out to the lead with Duncan, Friedman, Lyndon Whitfill, and 9th starter Tyler Roth leading the way. On the 12th lap, as Miller was working his way past a slower car, Duncan saw an opening to take the lead. Duncan edged ahead of Miller, but Miller caught a rut as the two drivers dove into turn one. Contact was made and Duncan had to go to the rear. On the restart, Whitfill put his car on the top of the track and took second from Friedman. After a lap 15 caution, Friedman got by Whitfill for second and followed Miller on the bottom of the track. Whitfill had a brief battle with Roth before retaking third. With two laps to go, Miller was working his way past a slower car with Friedman on his bumper. The two young guns traded door paint, and Friedman inched ahead of Miller. Friedman was able to earn his second Fairbury win of the year. “That was an elbows up racetrack tonight,” an excited Friedman spoke. “I can’t believe that I was able to get by Landen like that.” Miller had to settle for second, with Whitfill in third, followed by Roth and Dennis Vandermeersch. The rest of the top ten saw Daniel Odell, Duncan, Jim Farley, Makinzi Semmens, and 17th starter Terry Myers finish in that order.

Eric Smith turned a lap at 12.986 seconds for quick time as 28 Late Model drivers were on hand for their 30-lap race. Kevin Weaver, Ryan Unzicker, and Mike Spatola won their respective heat races. Glen Thompson was the winner of the semi feature. In a race that saw three lead changes among four drivers, Unzicker paced the field for the first 17 laps. Roben Huffman suddenly slowed on the backstretch with the race leaders in his path. Huffman veered to the infield and Unzicker, with no place to go, made contact with Huffman to end his night. McKay Wenger led for three laps with Weaver and Spatola in close formation. Wenger slowed enough in turn four to allow Weaver to move to the front. Weaver, in search of his first win of the year, led for the next four laps. A bobble in turn one by Weaver allowed Wenger to retake the lead. Weaver tried to take the lead back, but exiting turn four, Weaver slowed enough to allow Spatola to move into second. Spatola did a slide job on the final lap and inched ahead of Wenger, but his momentum slowed him. The two drivers raced side-by-side the distance of the frontstretch, and Wenger was able to hang on by 0.012 seconds for the win. “We didn’t have the car to win tonight, maybe a fifth-place car,” an exhausted Wenger explained. “I wanted it bad. When the track is like that, you are just racing the track. I don’t even know if all four wheels ever touched the ground in the race.” Points leader Spatola settled for second, followed by Weaver, Ryan Vanderveen, Rob Mayea, Mike Mataragas, Smith, 18th starter Ryan Kent, Dale Markham, and Thompson.

45 Modified drivers were in attendance as many were on hand to tune up for the upcoming Prairie Dirt Classic. Tyler Nicely led group one qualifiers with a time of 13.586 seconds. Nick Hoffman led group two with a lap of 13.499 seconds. Nicely, Steven Brooks, Frank Marshall, and Jacob Poel won their respective heat races. Two b-mains saw Tom Pasek and Derek Losh taking the wins. Hoffman, the current Summit Modified National points leader, had his work cut out for him in the 25-lap race. Starting in the seventh position, Hoffman had to battle Nicely and Marshall before taking the lead on lap 13. Poised as the driver to beat, Hoffman was able to take the win. “It was nice to get some laps in before the PDC,” Hoffman said. “The track was very technical, but you could still get around. I found that lane and that helped me to get by Tyler.” Nicely held on to second, with Nick Clubb on his bumper. Poel, Kyle Steffens, Chris Smith, 18th starter Losh, Bradley Jameson, Michael Ledford, and Brooks completed the top ten.

Zane Reitz was able to lead flag-to-flag in the 15-lap Stock Car race and take his first-ever Fairbury win. Reitz, the winner of the first heat race, was followed by second heat race winner Adam Williams, Megan Erwin, Don Hilleary, Rick Thomas, Lance Evans, Jim Ransom, Austin Hubbard, 17th starter Michael Schomas, and b-main winner Jesse Simmons. Kyle Anderson was the winner of the third heat race.

One of the largest fields of Hobby Mod drivers closed the night’s racing program. Polesitter and winner of the first heat race, Chris Tippit, led flag-to-flag in earning his first Fairbury win. Second heat race winner Kirby McCormick, Jake Green, Wes Ricketts, and Scott McDonald took the first five positions. The second five saw Cameron Pierce, Brian Deavers, Reid Gall, Jeff King, and Madison Walker finish in that order.