Ashton Winger

Cole Falloway

Mike Harrison

Harrison Takes Summit Modified Nationals Makeup

Results | Story & Pictures by Rocky Ragusa

The Illinois Dirt Shootout for the MARS Racing Series drew 35 Late Model teams and 50 Modified teams for a pair of $10,000-to-win, 50-lap feature races. In addition, the Summit Modified Nationals makeup race — originally scheduled during the Prairie Dirt Classic but canceled due to weather — was also on the program.

In MARS Late Model qualifying, series point leader Jason Feger paced Group 1 with a lap of 12.791 seconds, while Dennis Erb Jr. led Group 2 at 12.867. Heat race wins went to Ashton Winger, Myles Moos, Erb Jr., and Brian Shirley. The two B-mains were claimed by Jeff Herzog and Tony Jackson Jr., who each transferred into the feature. Using slower traffic and contact between Shirley and Mike Spatola to his advantage, Winger made his move on lap 33. Entering turn three, Winger threw a slider on polesitter and Prairie Dirt Classic winner Shirley to take the lead. From there, he held off Feger and Shirley to earn his first-ever Fairbury feature win and his second career MARS victory. “Fairbury is one of my favorite places,” a jubilant Winger said. “It’s been a trying year. My car was really good on the top. I really didn’t know if I would have had a shot there. Squirrel (Shirley) and a lapped car got together, and I saw it knock his right-rear door off.” Feger, Shirley, Ryan Unzicker, and Erb Jr. completed the top five. Twelfth-starting Shannon Babb charged to sixth, followed by track champion McKay Wenger, Caden McWhorter, Michael Leach, and Jake Little.

In the MARS Modified Shootout, Mike Chasteen Jr. set quick time in Group 1 with a lap of 13.917 seconds, while Lyndon Whitfill led Group 2 at 13.734. Six heat races were won by Michael Long, Kyle Hammer, Ryan Hamilton, Ray Bollinger, Cole Falloway, and Curt Spalding. Tyler Nicely and Derek Losh captured the two B-mains. DIRTcar national points leader Cole Falloway held off a late race challenge from Trent Young to score the $10,000 victory in the 50-lap feature. Starting seventh, Young steadily worked his way into the top five and passed Spalding late in the race. A caution with three laps remaining set up his best shot at the win. On the restart, Young slid under Falloway entering turn three, but the move didn’t stick, and Falloway — also the MARS points leader — went on to earn the win. “At the beginning, I was content riding through the middle because there was moisture there,” Falloway explained. “I was just making sure I didn’t get the tires hot. Curt got beside me and Ledford was there too, so they sent me to the top. After I ran it a little bit, I could kind of get off four pretty good. At the end, me and Trent got into each other a little bit, but we were racing for 10 grand.” Young finished second, followed by Michael Ledford, Spalding, 17th starter Trevor Neville, Long, Mike Harrison, and Josh Harris. Zeke McKenzie came from 22nd to ninth, with Charlie Mefford rounding out the top 10.

Harrison Takes Summit Modified Nationals Makeup

Results | Story by Nick Graziano | Pictures by Josh James

Mike Harrison may already have three Prairie Dirt Classic Modified trophies on his mantel, but he might cherish the one he took home Saturday night the most. After waiting over a month to run the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals finale at Fairbury Speedway due to Mother Nature forcing the Modified portion of PDC to be delayed to Labor Day weekend, the Illinois native wasted no time getting to the lead. Starting on the outside pole of the 40-lap, $5,000-to-win, Feature, Harrison ran side by side with polesitter Zeke McKenzie for the two opening laps before clearing McKenzie for the lead off Turn 4 on Lap 3. With a clear track ahead, Harrison put seconds between himself and the field, while McKenzie faded into a hornet’s nest. Blake Brown was the first to reach McKenzie’s rear bumper, but had his own issues to deal with behind him. As Brown tried to get around McKenzie’s No. 24 car, Josh Harris drove up to Brown’s bumper and brought a swarm with him. Austin Friedman had his No. 89 Modified pinned to the outside wall every corner, and used the momentum it provided to get by Harris and Brown in one corner. He wasn’t alone, though. Michael Ledford was doing the same and getting the same results.

A caution on Lap 13 for last year’s PDC winner, Michael Long, who slowed with a mechanical issue, brought the field back together and set the stage for some of the finest racing the Summit Modifieds have seen all year. Harrison left the party on the restart, again pulling ahead by several seconds, but McKenzie, Brown, Friedman, Harris, Ledford, and newcomers to the top five battle, Charlie Mefford and Cole Falloway, gave everyone their money’s worth. A three-wide battle for second turned into a four-wide battle as positions and lanes changed every corner. Ledford prevailed as the champion of the 100-mph chess match, choosing the right moves to slide into second by the halfway point of the race. Harrison was several seconds ahead, but the white No. 9 Royal Race Car was mastering the top line better than the Modified veteran.

With 14 laps to go, Ledford started breathing down Harrison’s neck, and he knew it. “I know my son never let the stick (signals) get real real big for the last half of the race,” Harrison said. “I knew they had to be behind me. I figured it was [Ledford] with the 9 up there. Had to get up on the wheel there a little bit to get him to open the sticks back up a little bit because I was getting a little nervous, and Mikey hauled her off in there once or twice. Yeah, it’s all good. As long as we put on a good show for the fans. That’s all that matters.” With eight laps to go, Harrison had a slow exit off of Turn 2, allowing Ledford to dive low and try to throw a slider into Turn 3. However, Harrison held him low through the corner and was able to get a good enough run off Turn 4 to pull ahead before the next turn. From there on, Harrison knew it was “elbows up time.” Both drivers committed to the top lane for the closing laps. One corner, Harrison would pull ahead, while the next, Ledford would close in. On the final lap, Ledford closed to the rear bumper of the No. 24H, close enough that he could start planning a slider for the next corner. But both cars jumped the cushion off Turn 2, only Ledford hit it worse, losing time and speed as Harrison drove away to a historic fourth Summit Modified Nationals Prairie Dirt Classic win.

“That little Mikey, he’s going to be a hell of a racer,” Harrison said. “He’s coming along with that Royal car that he’s got. You know, between him and Long and Falloway, and all of them guys, it’s tough nowadays. You have to cherish each one of these wins anytime you get them because this Modified class is tough. I’m not getting no younger, and they’re all pretty young and up and coming. The old man has to come back every now and then and show them I can still do it.”

Mike Harrison

Cole Falloway

Joe Brown

Drake Compton

Mike Harrison

Michael Ledford

Drake Compton

Wenger, Curl, Seplak Clinch FALS Cup Titles

Results | Points | Story & Pictures by Rocky Ragusa

Seven feature races were on tap Saturday night, headlined by the traditional “Pappy and Bob Allen Memorial.” Mike Harrison scored two Late Model wins, while Drake Compton earned a pair of hard-fought victories in the Hobby-Modified class. Joe Brown made it two straight in the Stock Car division. DIRTcar national points leader Cole Falloway captured the first Modified feature, and Michael Ledford rebounded to win the second.

Action began with the regularly scheduled FALS Cup program, which drew 34 Late Model entries. Myles Moos set the pace in Group 1 qualifying with a lap of 12.798 seconds, while Caden McWhorter topped Group 2 at 12.973. Heat race victories went to Moos, McKay Wenger, Braiden Keller, and Mike Harrison, while Jay Sparks and Jeffrey Ledford claimed the Last Chance Showdowns. In the feature, Moos led early with sixth-starting McWhorter giving chase. Moos brought out the caution on lap 13 after getting caught in the Fairbury cushion, ending his night. That handed the lead to Harrison, who had McWhorter glued to his bumper. The two drivers traded slide jobs over the final 12 laps, neither giving an inch. A caution with two laps left set up a dash to the finish, but Harrison powered away to win by five car lengths. “Once I got behind McWhorter, I was just trying to run with him,” Harrison said. “I told myself I had to calm down, and things just fell my way. McWhorter kept doing everything he needed to do. One mistake by either of us and the other was going to prevail.” Adding another track title to his resume, Wenger took second after the lap-28 caution. McWhorter finished third, followed by Austin Howes, Keller, Paul Parker, Mike Spatola, Mike Provenzano, Kevin Weaver, and Dale Markham.

31 Modifieds were on hand, with Cole Falloway setting fast time at 13.679 seconds. Heat race wins went to Falloway, Mike McKinney, and Steven Brooks, while Landen Miller captured the Last Chance Showdown. In the 25-lap feature, polesitter Falloway jumped out to a commanding lead. With 11 laps to go, Michael Ledford moved into second and began methodically cutting into Falloway’s straightaway advantage. Using lapped traffic to his benefit, Ledford was on Falloway’s bumper on the final lap. The two drivers gave it everything they had in a drag race to the line, with Falloway edging Ledford by half a car length. “They were racing three-wide in front of us,” Falloway said. “I didn’t really know where to go. I knew Michael was coming. I just tried to keep making speed, and I saw Ledford go to the outside going into one. I drove across, he tried to slide me, and it came down to a drag race to the line.” After a lengthy absence, Jacob Poel returned to finish third. Steven Brooks, Michael Long, Mike McKinney, Carson Friedman, Ray Bollinger, Bradley Jameson, and newly crowned track champion Jeff Curl completed the top 10.

The Stock Car field numbered 18 entries, with Jacob Rexing setting fast time at 15.154 seconds. Rexing and Jerrad Krick collected the heat race victories. A season of highs and lows saw Joe Brown win his second straight Stock Car race, holding off track champion Nick Seplak. “We’ve been good all year, but we’ve had some heartbreaks,” Brown said. Cody Clubb took third, with Kyle Anderson, Rick Thomas, Dave Dulceak, Krick, Michael Schomas, Brandon Tracy, and Jace Gall rounding out the top 10.

Seventeen Hobby-Modifieds signed in, with Brian Deavers setting quick time at 15.024 seconds. Heat race wins went to Deavers and Jenna Norvell. In the feature, Compton jumped to the topside with five laps to go and passed Gavyn Parmele for the lead. He then turned back a strong challenge from Taryn Page to earn his third win of the season. “We wrecked the car last night at Farmer City and stayed up until 5 a.m. putting it back together,” Compton said. “We stay strong and never give up.” The rest of the top 10 included Liam Gray, Parmele, Allen Line, Gregory Doerr, Jake Bachtold, Aiden Page, Norvell, and John Strong.

The make-up features from August 16 followed. Eight laps of the Late Model race were already completed before rain ended the original program. On a top-dominant surface, Harrison went uncontested to earn his second win of the night. “We tried something different for the second feature, and I had to stay aggressive with the car—that’s how it wanted me to drive it,” Harrison said. Jeffrey Ledford finished second, followed by Spatola, Keller, Howes, Wenger, Weaver, Donny Walden, Markham, and Provenzano.

The second Modified feature went to Ledford, who led flag-to-flag for his second Fairbury victory and 13th overall. “It was fun racing with Cole in the first one—that was awesome,” Ledford said. “In the second feature, I kind of rolled around the middle early, but the car was definitely better up top.” Falloway settled for second ahead of McKinney. Kyle Hammer finished fourth, with Bollinger, Curl, Austin Friedman, Lyndon Whitfill, Brooks, and Jason Hastings completing the top 10.

The night ended with a 12-lap Hobby-Modified feature. Page pressured Compton the entire race, but Compton held strong to earn his fourth win of the season. “Taryn gave me a tough race,” Compton said. “She showed me the nose of her car, and I knew I had to get to the bottom.” Brian Deavers finished third, with Parmele, Doerr, Bachtold, Kynlee Brandt, Gray, Norvell, and Jackson Hempstead completing the top 10.

Joe Brown

Results | Points | Story & Pictures by Rocky Ragusa

The traditional Fairbury Fair races were held Saturday night. Presented by TKS Concrete Specialist and Smith Material Placement, a field of 87 cars signed in for the FALS Cup weekly program.

The first feature of the evening was a 15-lap, $750-to-win Stock Car race. Kyle Anderson set quick time in qualifying at 15.048 seconds before heat race winners Jerrad Krick and Joe Brown lined up on the front row of the feature. Brown held a slight lead over Krick before the caution lights came out on lap four. On the restart, Brown pulled out to a five-car-length lead with Krick, Kyle Anderson, Nick Seplak, and Cody Clubb in pursuit. After a yellow on lap six, Brown again led with Krick glued to his bumper. The final four laps saw the two gladiators racing side by side. At the white flag, Krick nosed ahead, but as they exited turn four, Brown surged back to nip him at the line. Seplak finished third and, in the process, clinched his second Fairbury track championship. Rounding out the top 10 were Anderson, Clubb, Michael Schomas, Dave Dulceak, Devin Hoskins, Reid Gall, and Randy Schoener.

The Late Models had 25 cars sign in, with Myles Moos setting fast time at 12.728 seconds. Heat race wins went to Moos, Mike Harrison, and Mike Spatola, with Rachel Snider taking the Last Chance race. In the 30-lap, $2,500-to-win feature, Harrison and Moos briefly battled for the lead before Harrison stretched his advantage to a full straightaway. A yellow flag on lap nine slowed the pace, but with threatening weather moving in, track officials were forced to call the remainder of the program a complete show.

The Modifieds brought 33 entries to the pits. Group fast time went to Michael Ledford (13.734) and Cole Falloway (13.758). Heat race wins went to Ledford, Mike McKinney, Falloway, and Austin Friedman. Christopher Cole and Jeff Curl won the Last Chance races.

In Hobby Modified competition, Brian Deavers was the fast qualifier at 14.724 seconds. Heat race wins went to Drake Compton and Kyle Helmick.

Brian Shirley

Brian Shirley

Brian Shirley

Results | Story by Spence Smithback | Pictures by Allyson Bane & Emily Schwanke

Since the first time he strapped into a dirt Late Model over 20 years ago, Brian Shirley has dreamed of conquering the Prairie Dirt Classic.

Saturday night at Fairbury Speedway, that dream came true.

The Chatham, IL native has done everything there is to do for a driver born and bred in the “Land of Lincoln.” DIRTcar National championships. DIRTcar Summer Nationals titles. Hundreds of Feature wins. The only thing missing was a win in the state’s biggest race. Nineteen years after his first PDC start, Shirley finally got the job done.

Once he took the checkered flag, Shirley couldn’t even make it to Victory Lane before the party began. Halfway through his cooldown lap, “Squirrel” parked the No. 3S and climbed out on the backstretch to salute the Fairbury faithful.

“It’s so awesome. All these fans, I just appreciate the raw emotion from the fans,” Shirley said. “This is for my wife, she’s in the hospital right now. Luckily, on that day off, I got to go up and see her and spend the night with her before we head off to Wisconsin here.”

Shirley’s night started on the outside of Row 2 behind two of his fellow Illinois gassers, Brandon Sheppard and Bobby Pierce, on the front row. He stayed in the top five early on while both of the top-two starters faded, putting him third behind Hudson O’Neal and Jonathan Davenport after 10 laps. The rain delay led to a bottom-dominant track in the opening laps, but Shirley was one of the first to make the outside work and used it to get by Davenport on Lap 22.

With O’Neal ripping the cushion as well, Shirley had to go back low in his bid for the top spot. He proved to be equally fast through the middle, as Shirley got enough of a run off Turn 4 to get to O’Neal’s inside down the frontstretch and completed the pass in Turn 1 to take command.

The name of the game from that point was restarts – the 100-lap contest was plagued by a flurry of cautions, but Shirley kept the field at bay time and time again. The list of challengers included the likes of Pierce, Davenport and Nick Hoffman – all of whom were involved in a restart pileup with 15 to go.

When the carnage was cleaned up, Shirley and Sheppard were the two primary contenders remaining at the front of the field. Shirley pulled away initially, but Sheppard wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

By the time the white flag was in the air, Sheppard was all over the back bumper of Shirley’s machine. The No. 1 went low and got alongside Shirley down the backstretch, but Shirley blasted off the FALS cushion in Turn 2 to take the upper hand into the final corner. Shirley blocked the slider line in Turns 3 and 4 while Sheppard again dove to the bottom, and Shirley won the drag race to the line to clinch his first World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision win of the year in the biggest event on the schedule.

“Those last couple laps, I could feel ‘B-Shepp’ down there,” Shirley said. “I just kept telling myself to try and stay up on that wheel. I was so nervous to go down there and try because I had just been running that same line for so long. The good Lord was just letting it just come down to one lap.”

Sheppard’s runner-up effort was his sixth podium in the PDC, continuing the hot streak he and Rocket1 Racing have been on over the past four weeks that now includes seven podiums in their last 11 starts.

“Brian did a great job there, he got it out front pretty early and kept it out there like he was supposed to do,” Sheppard said. “Once we got lined out I couldn’t really do much. I was trying every line possible out there but I just couldn’t get close enough to him to throw a slider or anything. I was waiting for him to mess up or something and he didn’t.”

Rounding out the all-Illinois podium was Dennis Erb Jr., who went from ninth to third in the Feature for his best PDC finish since 2016.

“We had a good car all weekend,” Erb said. “Just a little off there at the end of the race, but all in all, just glad the way the night turned out, and we’ll just go on to the next one.”

Hoffman recovered from the late-race incident to finish fourth, while Tim McCreadie advanced 16 spots up to fifth to complete the top five.