Brian Shirley
Michael Long
Jose Parga
Long Cruises to $3,000 MARS Modified Victory; Parga Edges Ewing for $1,000 Pro Late Model Win
Results | Story & Pictures by Rocky Ragusa
The Fairbury Speedway concluded its 2024 racing season on Saturday with the finale of the FALS Frenzy. Edelman Inc. presented the MARS Championship weekend for the Late Model and Modified competitors. Joining the program was the Pro Late Model division.
$12,000 was up for grabs for the MARS Late Model Series winner. Thirty-nine drivers took time trials, with Myles Moos leading the first group with a time of 13.079 seconds. A time of 13.093 seconds by Allen Weisser led the second group. Moos, Dennis Erb Jr., Weisser, and Brian Shirley took heat race wins. Rich Bell and Daniel Adam were the last chance race victors. Polesitter Moos paced the field for the first 16 laps of the 50-lap race before Shirley used an outside pass to take the lead. Shirley held off a late-race bid by Tanner English to complete the weekend sweep. An emotional Shirley spoke in victory lane. “It’s been almost a dream season for us after the way the season started. Definitely a little emotional. It’s the first race that I’ve had my whole family come to. A pretty proud moment. Couldn't have asked for a better night. The good Lord was on my side.” Erb held on for third over Brandon Sheppard and 2024 MARS Series champion Jason Feger. Sixteenth starter Frank Heckenast Jr. took sixth, followed by Mike Spatola, Moos, Chad Finley, and Shannon Babb.
Michael Long, a two-time MARS Modified champion and 2024 DIRTcar national champion, led the first group of qualifiers with a time of 14.142 seconds, while Ray Bollinger’s lap of 14.108 seconds led the second group for their 30-lap, $3,000-to-win finale. Long, Mike McKinney, Bollinger, and Michael Ledford were the heat race winners. Track champion Austin Friedman and Dylan Woodling took the last chance races. Starting on the pole, Long dominated the MARS Modified finale as he cruised to an over five-second margin of victory at the finish. “The car was really good,” Long said. “We found something last night that we should have been doing all year here when the track was like this. It has been a dream season for us.” McKinney, Ledford, Mike Chasteen Jr., and Zeke McKenzie took the first five positions. The rest of the top ten included Bollinger, Lyndon Whitfill, 2024 MARS rookie of the year Kyle Hammer, Jeff Curl, and Josh Harris.
Jose Parga toured the track at 13.867 seconds as 22 drivers made qualifying runs. Parga, Dakota Ewing, and Brandon Sweitzer won their respective heat races. In the 20-lap, $1,000-to-win race, Ewing made several attempts to overtake Parga for the win, but Parga held on for the victory. “Big shout out to Dakota,” Parga said. “He had every opportunity to slide me if he wanted to. I think he had the better car. I was a little snug. We are still learning about this car. As a chassis company, BMF is only two years old.” Austin McCarty finished third, with Sweitzer in fourth. Axle Wicker, Aaron Heck, Chase Osterhoff, Matt Hammond, John Provenzano, and Dan Kuhn completed the top ten.
40 Late Model teams looked for the opportunity to compete in a 40-lap, $5,000 to win feature. Quick time honors went to Brian Shirley, as he toured the ¼-mile dirt oval with a time of 12.624 seconds in the first qualifying group. Dennis Erb Jr. led the second group with a time of 12.720 seconds. Four heat races saw Shirley, Brandon Sheppard, Erb Jr., and Mike Spatola taking the wins. Colby Sheppard and Ryan Unzicker won their respective last chance races. Starting on the outside of the front row, Shirley moved into the lead and went uncontested as he scored the win. “We tried to stay smooth,” Shirley said. “I knew if I stayed smooth and hit my marks, we would be okay.” In a race-long battle for second, Sheppard emerged ahead of Jason Feger. Erb took fourth ahead of Shannon Babb. Justin Duty finished sixth, while 18th starter Ryan Unzicker was seventh. Frank Heckenast Jr., Tanner English, and track champion McKay Wenger completed the top ten.
$2,000 awaited the winner of the 30-lap Modified race. Two groups of 20 each took time trials. The first group had Adam Pockrus turning in a time of 13.951 seconds, and Lyndon Whitfill’s time of 13.853 seconds led the second group. Pockrus, Mike McKinney, Whitfill, and Michael Long won their respective heat races. Austin Rettig and Trevor Neville won the last chance races. McKinney edged ahead of Whitfill at the start and turned back a late-race charge by Long to pick up his third FALS win of the year. “The wins never come easy here,” said McKinney. “It was a heck of a race with Michael. He has had my number all year in the MARS Series.” The top two MARS rookie of the year contenders took the next two positions as Whitfill finished third ahead of Kyle Hammer. Josh Harris finished fifth, and 18th starter Trevor Neville was sixth. Dave Wietholder, track champion Austin Friedman, Jeff Curl, and Zeke McKenzie rounded out the top ten.
A field of 24 Pro Late Model drivers made qualifying attempts for their 20-lap, $750-to-win race. Multi-time DIRTcar national champion Jose Parga led the way with a time of 13.776 seconds. Parga, Chase Osterhoff, and 2024 DIRTcar national champion Dakota Ewing won their respective heat races. Cameron Reynolds won the last chance race. Starting on the front row, Parga put his car on the topside of the track and led all the way for his second FALS win of the year. “It’s always fun racing with Dakota. He always races me clean,” Parga said. “My car did get tight about halfway through the race. There are some things we can build on for tomorrow.” Ewing, Austin McCarty, John Provenzano, Matt Hammond, Brandon Sweitzer, Axle Wicker, Amber Crouch, Dan Kuhn, and Reynolds completed the top ten spots.
29 Late Models made qualifying runs, with track champion McKay Wenger leading the way with a time of 13.031 seconds. Wenger, MARS points leader Jason Feger, and Blaze Burwell won their respective heat races, while the B-main victory went to Daniel Adam. In the 40-lap, $5,000-to-win MARS Late Model feature, Shannon Babb overtook Burwell on the final lap, securing his first feature race win of the year in a hard-fought battle. For Babb, this marked his 10th career MARS Late Model victory. “It feels really good,” Babb said. “It has been hard to break the ice this year. I think the world of Blaze—he had the best car tonight. He had my line, and I thought he was going to send me to the cushion. He damn near got it. I really enjoyed that race.” Burwell settled for second, followed by Wenger, Ryan Unzicker, Justin Duty, Kye Blight, Mark Voigt, Taylor Scheffler, Bob Gardner, and Feger to round out the top ten.
52 Modifieds took to the track for time trials, with Carson Friedman leading group one with a time of 14.188 seconds and Michael Long leading group two with a time of 14.114 seconds. Six heat races saw victories by Michael Ledford, Lyndon Whitfill, Michael Leach, Long, Cole Falloway, and Shannon Fisk. Mike Harrison and Mike Chasteen Jr. won the two B-mains. Long passed Falloway and took the lead with three laps to go, but on the next lap, Long was pulled into the FALS cushion, causing enough damage to end his night. When the race resumed, Falloway had to hold off Mike McKinney to earn his first Fairbury feature win and his second career MARS Modified victory. “I saw Mike and Michael go to the top, and I knew they both were going to be good,” Falloway said. “I just tried to keep doing what I was doing.” McKinney finished second, with Trent Young taking third. The rest of the top ten included 19th starter Harrison, track champion Austin Friedman, 22nd starter Zeke McKenzie, Will Krup, Kyle Hammer, Alan Stipp, and Leach.
The racing program concluded with the Stock Cars in a 43-lap contest. Jerrad Krick led the first qualifying group with a time of 15.374 seconds, while Barry Sauder led the second group with a time of 15.408 seconds as 43 Stock Cars made qualifying attempts. Heat race victories went to Bobby Beiler, Kyle Anderson, Sauder, and Braiden Keller, while Derrick Weiand and Joe Brown won the B-mains. After a caution with five laps remaining, Anderson, hugging the bottom, had to contend with track champion and early leader Keller. Keller, running the top, wasted little time overtaking Anderson on the 40th lap to add his name to a distinguished list of past winners. An emotional Keller commented in victory lane, “I busted my ass to get where I am today. I can’t thank my dad enough—he does everything for me. I never give up, and I gave it all I had.” Anderson took second, with Krick in third. 14th starter Zane Reitz was fourth, and early race leader Sauder finished in fifth. Ryan Taylor, Jacob Rexing, Jordan Smith, Joel Hernandez, and Nick Seplak completed the top ten.
In the 30-lap Late Model race, heat one winner Mike Spatola took the lead at the start, while heat two winner and track champion McKay Wenger battled fast qualifier Donny Walden for second, followed by Kevin Weaver and Logan Moody. Wenger took over second and began to cut into Spatola’s lead before a yellow flag came out on the sixth lap. When the race restarted, Wenger was able to show Spatola the nose of his car, but Spatola kicked it up a notch and quickly pulled away. Following caution periods on laps 13 and 15, Spatola opened a 10-car-length lead and went on to take his second straight victory. “It’s really a good piece we have,” stated Spatola. “Two wins in a row. We just got a new Rocket Chassis, and we are excited to get it out. I think we have an issue with the motor. I felt it on the last lap. I don’t know if I’m excited about this win yet.” Wenger held off Walden for second, with Alex Wilson turning in a career-best finish in fourth. Mike Provenzano came in fifth, followed by Lyle Zanker and Thomas Hunzicker. Sycamore regular Dan White started 15th and brought it home in eighth. Jaden Fryer and Kevin Schrodt completed the top ten.
Austin Friedman only needed to start the 25-lap Modified race to secure his second track championship of the weekend. Front-row starters Friedman and Ray Bollinger went back and forth for the lead before Friedman gained the upper hand and went on to take his third Fairbury win and seventh of the year. “We have been struggling for the last month,” Friedman said. “Then this weekend, we got two wins and two track championships (Farmer City). The car was awesome. To move around lapped traffic in one and two, stick to the bottom, anything I wanted to do, the car did it.” Bollinger finished second, with Zeke McKenzie, Michael Ledford, and Lyndon Whitfill trailing. Alan Stipp, Jeff Curl, Matthew Baker, Eric Vaughan, and Wes Ricketts rounded out the top ten. Perennial favorite Michael Long, the fast qualifier, broke in his heat race and scratched for the evening.
After being the victim of a racing incident the previous night at Farmer City, Kyle Anderson and his team worked hard to prepare for Saturday night. Racing side-by-side with Cody Clubb for the first four laps of the 15-lap Stock Car race, Anderson was able to take the lead and go on to secure his first win of the year. “Nick (Seplak) is a great competitor. I’ll be here next week (Hubert Memorial), and with the cars that were here, I knew I couldn’t play around. We have really picked up on something the last few weeks. I owe it all to my brother and dad. Without them, I couldn’t do it. Last night we went from hero to zero after getting wrecked by Tanner Sullivan. Now we’re in victory lane. We had to fix the car for three hours this morning, and it paid off.” Seplak challenged for the lead but finished second at the checkered flag. Heat two winner Cody Clubb was third, with track champion, fast qualifier, and heat one winner Braiden Keller in fourth. The remainder of the top ten included Nick Clubb, Joe Brown, Jonah Buyno, Kyle Wade, Derrick Weiand, and Rick Reed.
In what was the final race for the Sportsman class, Steven Mattingly (track champion) raced Robert Saltzman for the lead early in the 15-lap race. Mattingly went on to go uncontested and earn his third win of the season. “I hate to see the class going away,” stated Mattingly. “We have had a really awesome season. A couple of new guys have come in and gotten better. I can’t thank Matt enough for sticking with the Sportsman class, along with the Craven family.” Saltzman took second, with Josh Hetherington finishing third. Makinzi Semmens returned to the track and posted a season-best in fourth. Doud Carls finished in fifth.
The racing program concluded with a 12-lap Hobby-Modified feature. Gavyn Parmele took the lead at the start as four cautions fell in the first six laps of the race. On the seventh lap, Jake Green spun his car in turn one, and Kynlee Brandt collided with Green’s car. The red flag was displayed, with Green climbing out of his car uninjured. SELCAS was called onto the track as Brandt was shaken up. Brandt was transferred to St. James before being flown to St. Francis Hospital due to a loss of feeling. The race was concluded at that point, with Parmele taking his third straight feature win. Dylan Turpin, Lucas Boulton, Chris Tippit, Reid Gall, Darrin Kohler, Brian Deavers, Green, Jared Kelly, and Drake Compton rounded out the top ten finishers.
In the 30-lap Late Model race, Mike Spatola took command at the start and never looked back, winning his first feature race of the 2024 season. Spatola maintained a straightaway lead over the field for most of the race before the third caution came out with two laps to go. On the restart, McKay Wenger, who was running in third position, moved into second place, taking it from Blaze Burwell. Wenger drove deep into turn one and pulled alongside Spatola, but “Opie” proved too strong on this night to be overtaken. “The first lap, I thought I would try the bottom, but I drove it in and thought I was going to go over the ballpark,” explained Spatola. “I avoided it for the rest of the race. We’ve had a really challenging year, but we never gave up.” Wenger finished second and wrapped up the 2024 track championship. Burwell finished third. Jake Little, who started 14th, finished fourth. Jeffrey Ledford, Kyle Hammer, Mike Provenzano, Colby Sheppard, Billy Hough, and Ohioan Jerry Bowersock completed the top ten.
In the caution-marred 25-lap Modified race, Trevor Neville set the pace early, holding a straightaway lead. Summit Modified National Champion Mike McKinney started in 11th position and moved into second with eight laps to go. After a yellow flag on lap 18, Neville, McKinney, and Zeke McKenzie pulled away as fans anticipated a thrilling finish. McKinney took the lead, but Neville reclaimed the top spot as McKenzie began to fade. On the final lap, McKinney and Neville went toe-to-toe around the ¼-mile dirt track. Coming off turn four with the checkered flag in sight, McKinney edged Neville by a car length to win his second Fairbury feature of the year. “I had the whole right front wiped out in the heat race,” said McKinney. “I want to apologize to Michael Ledford. I had no intention of getting into him; I just ran out of room. That was a hell of a race with Neville.” McKenzie held on for third, followed by 15th starter Mike Learman, Jeff Curl, and track points leader Austin Friedman. Caden McWhorter, Mason Duncan, Brandon Vaughan, and Alan Stipp completed the top ten.
On the 11th lap of the 15-lap Stock Car race, race leader Braiden Keller got sideways in turn three and was collected by Nick Clubb, Michael Schomas, and Brandon Tracy. Zane Reitz took over first place, and when the field went green, Reitz went to the top and went on to claim his first feature win of the year. “It was kind of a wild one,” Reitz said. “I had not been in a racecar since the end of last year. I want to thank Dustin Pruitt and his family for giving me the opportunity to race their car.” Kyle Anderson survived the carnage to finish second, with Jerrad Krick, Cody Clubb, Vince Cooper, Devin Hoskins, Derrick Weiand, Blake Woodruff, Rick Reed, and Lee Joseph Hall rounding out the top ten.
Steve Mattingly went uncontested to win his second Sportsman race of the year and secure the Sportsman track title. Last week’s winner, Doug Carls, was second, followed by Robert Saltzman, Josh Hetherington, Aaron Reid, Daniel Hoffman, and Eric Saltzman.
A young man of few words let his performance speak for itself, as Gavyn Parmele led all 12 laps to record his second consecutive Hobby-Modified feature win. Parmele held off a late charge by Brian Deavers to secure the victory. The remainder of the top ten was Dylan Turpin, Lucas Boulton, Brady Reed, Hudson Dick, Chris Tippit, Storm Beiler, Kynlee Brandt, and Drake Compton.
