Long Takes $2,000 Modified Checkers
Results | Story & Pictures by Rocky Ragusa
Mother Nature played kind to the Fairbury Speedway on Saturday night as “America’s Dirt Track'' played host to the MARS Championship Series and the 14th Annual Earl J. Hubert Memorial for the DIRTcar Stock Car division.
MARS Late Model points leader Jason Feger took the lead from defending champion Ryan Unzicker with four laps to go and registered his 14th win of the year. Feger, who started 11th, quickly made his way through the field and was battling for the front position with Unzicker and Dennis Erb Jr. As the leaders went under the flagstand with four laps remaining, Feger did a slide job in turns 1-2 to grab the lead and take his third win at Fairbury this season. “The car has been really good lately,” Feger said. “We went hard on tires. I think Dennis and I were the only ones that went that way. My car kept coming in and getting better and better. It was good, hard racing. The track was great tonight. We could run all over it.” Erb, who led on two separate occasions for 23 laps, overtook Unzicker with two laps to go for second. Unzicker paced the field twice for 12 laps and was third followed by rookie contenders Mike Harrison and Blaze Burwell. McKay Wenger led the next group finishing sixth and Kevin Weaver took seventh. 16th starter Logan Martin brought it home in eighth followed by Bob Gardner and Jordan Wever.
In a race that saw four lead changes among three drivers, Jeremy Nichols took the lead for the final time on lap 32 and went on to win the $4,300 first prize in a hotly contested Stock Car event. Polesitter Nick Clubb led the first 12 laps of the 43-lap race with Nichols, Kyle Anderson, Tanner Sullivan, and Braiden Keller in contention. The rim-riding Keller raced side-by-side with Clubb for several laps before Keller vaulted into the lead on lap 14. The pair dueled for the top spot as a caution fell with eight laps to go. On the restart, Nichols led Keller, who was racing the ragged edge, in hopes of taking home the big check. With three laps to go, as Keller entered turn three, his car hit the outside wall after losing his brakes. That mishap allowed Nichols to go the remaining laps uncontested for his third Hubert Memorial win. “I definitely didn’t think I was going to get that one,” said the Findlay, Ill. wheelman. “My wife told me, don’t go out there and knock down the wall on the first lap. I went out there and played up there a little bit. I didn’t feel good, so I went back to the bottom to save the equipment. I was able to roll around the middle, but I wasn’t sure if I could get up on Keller. He was so fast and smooth on the top. It is pretty cool to go out and get three Hubert wins.” Anderson snuck past Clubb for second. Past winner AJ Meiferdt finished in fourth and Sullivan claimed fifth. 18th starter Dave Dulceak finished in sixth. Keller, Megan Erwin, Bobby Beiler, and Joel Funk completed the top ten.
The night’s action ended with a 25-lap Modified race. After a lap one caution, Michael Long motored by Mike McKinney and went on to earn the $2,000 check. Long, who took his fourth Fairbury win of the season, had a brief challenge from track champion Michael Ledford before going on to win by a half straightaway. “The track was beautiful,” Long commented. “It wasn’t slow. It was definitely up on the wheel. I was able to roll the bottom at the beginning. I knew once the top cleaned up, it might be better momentum wise. Getting through lapped cars, I ran up top and knew that was where I needed to be.” Ledford took second, with McKinney, Mike Chasteen Jr., and Allen Weisser making up the first five spots. Zeke McKenzie, Austin Friedman, Trevor Ringle, Mason Duncan, and Caden McWhorter took the next five positions.
When action heated up after a lap-17 restart Tuesday at Fairbury Speedway, Bobby Pierce knew it was time to pounce while he held the third spot behind Hudson O'Neal and Garrett Smith in the 50-lap Castrol FloRacing Night in America event. "I know Garrett probably didn't know where to go and Hudson was sneaking up in there," the 26-year-old Oakwood, Ill., driver said. "It was pretty wild. I saw them get together— I don't know exactly what happened — and I was like, well, 'Here's my chance.' " Pierce dove under Smith exiting turn four, then under O'Neal entering turn one to grab a lead he'd never give up in racing to a $23,023 payday and his fourth career Castrol victory to become the third-year tour's winningest driver. Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., overcame a slow start to finished 2.434 seconds behind at the finish with 11th starting Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., improving eight spots to give home-state drivers a sweep of the podium positions. Pole-starting Tanner English of Benton, Ky., who led the first five laps, settled for fourth with Kyle Bronson of Brandon, Fla., rounding out the top five.
Mike McKinney grabbed the lead on lap 22 and went on to take the $1,500 Modified win. Ray Bollinger led the first eight laps from his outside front row starting position. Polesitter Michael Ledford got by Bollinger on the ninth lap and stayed out front until McKinney overtook him. Ledford settled for second with Bollinger third. Zeke McKenzie was fourth and Mike Chasteen Jr. fifth. Allen Weisser, AJ May, Clayton Bryant, Austin Friedman, and Eric Vaughan rounded out the top ten.
In the Late Model race, after battling defending series champion Ryan Unzicker and Mike Mataragas for the lead in the first seven laps, current series points leader Jason Feger went to the outside to take over the top spot. Feger quickly extended his lead while fifth starting Frank Heckenast Jr. and Unzicker dueled for second. Heckenast was able to move into the second position, but as Feger sliced and diced his way through lapped traffic, Heckenast was no match for Feger. Feger went on to take his seventh MARS win and second of the weekend. “We were harder on tires than everybody else that I saw,” Feger said. “Got them two nights in a row that way. We just kind of got pinned there on that bottom. They were having a good race, and I just let it come back to me. I was wanting to get to the top pretty bad. When I saw it open, I was able to get up there and make it work.” In a thrilling race for second, Heckenast was able to turn back Unzicker. Bob Gardner took fourth and 14th starter Kyle Hammer came home in fifth.
MARS Modified points leader Michael Long moved to the lead on the eighth lap and held off a late race rally by ninth starter Josh Harris in winning his fourth series win. “That first yellow, one piece of metal had been laying on the track for 10 laps or so,” explained the Fowler native. “I didn’t really want to see that yellow. We had a couple more yellows. When you are running the cushion, you get out of your rhythm. It’s hard to get back on again. You can overthink yourself, but it all panned out.” Harris took second and Michael Ledford was third, followed by 11th starter Zeke McKenzie and Ethan Dotson.
Mt. Vernon’s Devin McLean went flag-to-flag in taking his 11th victory of the year. After Jose Parga cut a tire on the opening lap, McLean took the lead on the start and was able to go unchallenged for the win. “This is a place that I have always wanted to get a win at,” a giggly McLean said. “This is probably the coolest thing that I have ever done in my life. I was just trying to ride because when I saw that 6 (Parga), I knew it was time to get up on the wheel.” In a furious race for second, Matt Hammond held off Parga, Blaise Baker, and Chase Osterhoff.
The 30-lap Late Model race saw Kevin Weaver and McKay Wenger go at it tooth and nail for the first eight laps with Rich Bell, Mike Spatola, and Todd Bennett following. After a caution on lap eight, Bell roared into the lead. Bell had to deal with two cautions and a red flag before he was able to take his first career Fairbury feature win. Bell, an infrequent guest to FALS, spoke in victory lane. “I have been wanting to get a win here for a long time. It feels great. This is a big win for us.” Wenger held off track champion Spatola for second with Weaver and Bennett in tow.
The 25-lap Modified race saw last week’s feature winner Austin Friedman pace the field with third starting Mike McKinney in second. McKinney moved into the lead on the third lap with Michael Ledford taking second on the fifth circuit. When the track went back to green after a lap nine caution, Ledford battled McKinney for the lead before taking over the top spot. Ledford quickly opened a 10-car length lead through the final stages to take his fifth win and earn his third Modified title at “America’s Dirt Track”. “It is fun racing with McKinney and McKenzie,” said Ledford. “It’s fun to race with guys that will give you a lane. We can slide each other, no problem.” McKinney, Zeke McKenzie, Ray Bollinger, and 17th starter Rusty Griffaw completed the top five.
After Macon canceled due to rain, track regular Bobby Beiler made the journey to FALS to tune up for the upcoming Hubert Memorial. Starting on the pole, Beiler led all 15 laps to earn his first-ever FALS feature win. Megan Erwin gave Beiler a run for his money, but Beiler stood fast. “You guys have one hell of a racing facility here,” Beiler said. “Fairbury has some of the best in the business in this class. After Macon canceled, we decided to come up here and get ready for the Hubert race.” Erwin took second. In a hotly contested battle, Kyle Anderson took third over track champion Cody Clubb and Nick Clubb.
Entering the night, defending Sportsman track champion Tommy Duncan held a five-point lead over Landen Miller. Duncan overtook polesitter Miller on the start of the 15-lap feature with Steve Mattingly close behind. Following a caution with nine laps to go, Duncan, Miller, and Mattingly pulled away from the field, but the yellow came out with three laps to go as Eric Saltzman stopped in turn four. Under the caution, Miller brought his car into the infield and was done for the night with a broken panhard bar. Duncan was able to turn back Mattingly for his fifth win and take his fifth straight Sportsman championship. “I thought I was on cruise control, but I saw Landen’s nose down there,” an exhausted Duncan said. “I wish he could have continued. It would have been a good race.” Mattingly took second, as Robert Saltzman turned in a season best in third. Aaron Reid also had a season best in fourth with Josh Hetherington in fifth.
In the first 12-lap Hobby-Modified race, Kyle Helmick grabbed the lead at the start and was never threatened. A caution fell with six laps to go, but Helmick, who was making his first appearance at Fairbury, opened a half straightaway lead after the restart. Helmick was not to be denied as he picked up his first FALS win of the year. Darrell Dick edged Ryan Kohler for second with Lucas Boulton and Gary Turpin completing the top five.
The second Hobby-Modified race had polesitter Brendan Patterson race out to a commanding lead, but disaster struck as Patterson was overtaking a slower car, contact was made, and his night was over. Scott Brown took over as the race leader and held on to claim his first career feature win. “That was a heartbreaker for Brendan,” a jubilant Brown spoke. “My car kept breaking free and losing traction coming off the corners. Going down the straightaways it was fine, but Brendan was gone.” Jenna Norvell had a career best second, with Meara Tilstra, Wyatt Jackson, and Gavyn Parmele following.
Mike Mataragas and McKay Wenger raced side-by-side for the top spot in the 30-lap Late Model race before Mataragas took over on lap five. Mataragas threaded his way past lapped cars as Mike Spatola took over second. On a restart with 14 laps to go, Wenger moved past Mataragas for the lead as Kevin Weaver followed. Weaver moved past Wenger and was running like a scalded dog. It was heartbreak city for Weaver as he jumped the cushion and hit the wall with two laps to go. Wenger moved back into the lead and was able to take his second win of the weekend. Spatola, Jason Wagner, Mataragas, and fast qualifier Lyle Zanker completed the top five.
Fast qualifier Austin Friedman raced side-by-side with Michael Ledford before pulling ahead in the 25-lap Modified feature. Jared Thomas raced Ledford for second and took the position with 20 laps to go. Thomas closed in on Friedman as the yellow flag was displayed with 14 laps left. Friedman was able to go the remaining laps, and two caution periods, to claim his first Fairbury Modified feature win. Thomas turned back Mike McKinney for second, with Bobby Stremme, and Ledford following.
A feature winner at both dirt and paved tracks in the area, Nick Clubb was finally able to park his car in Fairbury’s victory lane. Kyle Anderson paced the field with Joe Brown and Clubb heading a pack of cars. The caution waved with ten laps to go as Brown’s car dropped out with mechanical issues. On the restart, Clubb saw an opening in turn one to take the lead from Anderson. Clubb opened a five-car length lead over the field to pick up a much-deserved win. Anderson held off Cody Clubb for second, with Kirby McCormick and Brandon Tracy completing the top five. “Little brother beat me last weekend, and I couldn’t have it again tonight,” Clubb said. “Nick and Ken Seplak, along with myself, built everything on this car. We took what we learned from the Modified and put it into the Stock Car.”
Tommy Duncan and Steve Mattingly went toe-to-toe for the first five laps of the Sportsman race before the four-time track champion put some distance between himself and the field. Mattingly and Landen Miller put on a show for the fans in the race for second before Mattingly edged ahead. Josh Hetherington was fourth and Doug Carls picked up his first top five finish by placing fifth. Reclaiming the lead in the track point standings, Duncan spoke in victory lane. “It was a really big night, and the car was good. We had a real racy track, and Steve raced me with courtesy.”
In the first Hobby-Modified race, Wes Ricketts turned back a strong challenge from Lucas Boulton in the final seven laps to pick up his first career feature win. After a red flag with two laps remaining, Ricketts was able to open a two-car length lead over Boulton and take the win. Hudson Dick was third, followed by Nathan Lynch, and Meara Tilstra. “This has been a work in the making,” spoke the Fairbury native. “Between dad’s car and mine, it's a job. We have put our blood, sweat, and tears into this. I also wanted to dedicate this win to my Grandpa who passed away last week.”
Paul Patterson wrestled the lead away from Jake Bachtold on the third lap and never looked back to earn his first career Fairbury win in the second Hobby-Modified race. Starting last, Dylan Turpin charged through the field to take second. Bachtold held off Patrick Fatigato for third, and Payton Semmens was fifth. “We are just fighting a little at a time,” said Pattterson. “We have some homework to do. I thank Fairbury for having this class.”
