Mike McKinney
Braden Johnson
Matthew Hammond
Drake Compton
Austin Harris
Results | Points | Story & Pictures by Rocky Ragusa
The Fairbury Speedway welcomed the Pro Late Model division and, following a lengthy absence, the Bang Bangers (4-Cylinders) on Saturday night. Modifieds, Pro Modifieds, and Stock Cars were also in action.
MARS and track point leader Mike McKinney timed in at a 13.689 as 28 Modified drivers vied for a starting position in the 25-lap, $1,500-to-win feature. McKinney, Cole Falloway, and Austin Friedman won heat races. Marshall Call was the semi-feature winner. At the wave of the green flag, McKinney took the lead while Falloway, Michael Ledford, and Austin Friedman battled for second. After a caution on lap eight, Ledford got under Falloway to take second, with Austin and Carson Friedman running fourth and fifth, respectively. As the field went back to green following a caution on lap 10, Ledford began to trim McKinney’s lead. With one lap to go, Ledford was on McKinney’s bumper and entered turns three and four, executing a slide job to move ahead of McKinney. McKinney came back at Ledford in turn four with a slide job of his own as the two gladiators made contact. McKinney went on to take the win. “I knew we got into it,” explained McKinney. “I’m not sure how bad it was. I looked to my right and saw a little bit of a gap for me to possibly gas it up. I apologize to Michael.” Ledford, Falloway, Steven Brooks, and Austin Friedman claimed the top five, while Carson Friedman, Kyle Hammer, Lyndon Whitfill, Tyler Nicely, and Landen Miller completed the top ten.
The Pro Late Model class was featured in a 20-lap, $1,000-to-win special. Braden Johnson turned in a lap at 13.600 for quick time. Johnson and Gary Schalmo took heat race wins. Johnson took the lead on the start and held a commanding advantage while fifth starter Blaise Baker moved through the field. After a caution on lap 14, Baker overtook Colby Sheppard for second, but ran out of laps as Johnson posted his fourth win of the year. An excited Johnson spoke in victory lane. “It couldn’t feel any better. If there’s one track I would want to win at in America, this is it, and I couldn’t wait to do it. It was a great track and awesome track prep.” Baker, Chris Dick, Sheppard, and Brandon Sweitzer took the top five spots, while Hudson Dick, Kade Ballinger, Ryan Miller, Brandon Pralle, and 19th starter Chase Wilson completed the top ten.
Jerrad Krick laid down a lap at 14.947 as 23 DIRTcar Stock Cars were on hand for their 15-lap, $750 tune-up for next weekend’s Earl J. Hubert Memorial race. Matt Hammond, Zane Reitz, and Chuck Mitchell won their heat races, and Joe Brown took the B-main. Front row starters Hammond and Reitz led the field to the green flag and raced side by side throughout the course of the race. With two laps to go, Reitz’s car bobbled on the backstretch and Hammond was able to take the lead, while Nick Seplak slipped past Reitz for second. Hammond went on to take his second feature win of the weekend. “Hats off to Zane for racing me clean,” commented Hammond. “That was pretty dang cool. It was fun being back at Fairbury and getting the win.” The rest of the top ten saw Seplak, Reitz, Nick Clubb, Mitchell, Krick, Brown, Jace Gall, Jesse Simmons, and Kyle Anderson.
In the 15-lap Pro Modified feature race, starting on the outside of the front row, Drake Compton outlasted four caution periods and challenges from Mason Duncan and Deece Schwartz to earn the victory. For Compton, it was his third win of the season. “I really have to thank Deece Schwartz,” Compton said. “We spent a lot of time talking last night at Farmer City, and he helped us a lot. It was a fun race. I saw Deece a few times on the inside and saw Mason. I decided to run the top and see what would happen.” Duncan took second and was followed by Donnie Cheesman, Jake Montgomery, Weston Hicks, Schwartz, Matt Milner, Dylan Turpin, David Henderson, and 16th starter Randy Schoener. Twenty drivers made qualifying runs, and Kody Kovski timed in quickest with a lap of 14.527. Duncan and Compton were heat race winners.
After a 15-year absence, the Bang Bangers (4-Cylinders) made their return. Twenty-seven race teams from three states made the journey to the ¼-mile dirt oval. Three heat races were held, with Evan Eckhoff, Austin Harris, and Ryan Lagestee taking the wins. The 15-lap feature saw plenty of three-wide racing and drivers battling for position throughout the race. Starting on the outside of the front row, Farmington, Missouri’s Austin Harris put on a dominating performance and made the four-hour trek a successful one. Competing with the SCDRA Series, Harris went flag-to-flag for the win. “Thank you to Fairbury for having us,” Harris said. “It’s a big deal. You never know if you will ever get to race here again, so I had to be here. This ole race car was on a rail all night.” Jake Momper, Dale Hayes Jr., Jeff Van Beck, Dayton Warren, Matt Radtke, Eckhoff, Chris Kuiper, Alex Steptow, and Colton Sauder completed the top ten.
Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Illinois charged to victory Saturday night at Fairbury Speedway, winning the FALS Spring Shootout presented by Titan Industries. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing event paid $30,000 to the winner.
Defending DIRTcar National Modified Champion and MARS Racing Series Modified Champion Cole Falloway drove a flawless race to capture the 30-lap, $2,000-to-win Modified race presented by Titan Industries.
The night’s action began with a 30-lap Late Model race sponsored by Varsitee Screen Printing. Starting in the second position, Ryan Unzicker took the lead from Jason Feger on the start and built a ten car-length lead. Unzicker set an intense pace and began working slower traffic by the seventh lap. On lap 10, as the duo went down the backstretch, Feger dove under Unzicker in turn three to take the lead. After a caution on lap 11, Feger pulled away from Unzicker, with Jake Little, Daniel Adam, and Mike Spatola racing for third. A caution fell on lap 14, and on the restart, Little moved past Unzicker for second. Unzicker began to lose ground and found himself trying to hold position as Spatola and McKay Wenger closed in. A caution fell with five laps to go, and on the restart, Wenger took second. At the end of the race, and following a dismal start to his year, Feger was able to take the win. “We started the year with only finishing one out of four races. Things didn’t go our way,” said Feger. “That’s part of racing. Hopefully we have gotten the bad luck off our back. The car felt good all night, so hopefully we are headed in the right direction.” Wenger took second, with Spatola, Unzicker, Little, and Kyle Hammer following. Michael Ledford started 13th and finished seventh. Jeffrey Ledford, Adam, and Zach Taylor rounded out the top ten. Feger set quick time with a 12.579 as 20 cars took time trials. Feger and Unzicker won their heat races.
In the 25-lap Modified race sponsored by Aftershock Decals and Designs, pole sitter Mike McKinney took the lead as fourth starter Austin Friedman moved into second. Two early cautions kept the field in check, with McKinney leading Friedman, Matthew Baker, Zeke McKenzie, and Carson Friedman. When the field went green after a lap seven caution, McKinney pulled away as McKenzie took second from Friedman. The caution fell with one lap to go, but on this night, McKinney was too much and took the win. For McKinney, it was his first Fairbury win since October 4, 2024. “We had a rough year here at Fairbury last year,” McKinney said. “This (Elite Chassis) is one of the best cars we have ever had here. Those cautions were killing me. It would take me a couple of laps to get the car going and back into rhythm.” McKenzie and Austin Friedman followed, with 12th starter Jeff Curl in fourth. Alan Stipp was involved in an early caution and rallied to finish fifth. Baker, Beau DeYoung, Eric Vaughan, John Dimmitt, and Derick Doerr followed. Austin Friedman set fast time with a 13.602. McKinney, Carson Friedman, and Baker took heat race wins.
Jerrad Krick turned the ¼-mile track in 14.680 seconds for fast time. Krick later won his heat race, with Cody Clubb and Jesse Simmons also winning their heats. The B-main went to Pete Odell as 24 Stock Cars were in attendance. In the 15-lap feature, Krick led as Zane Reitz and Cody Clubb raced for second, followed by Joe Brown and Nick Seplak. On the second restart after a lap six caution, Reitz went to the top side of the speedway to take second and pressured Krick for the lead. A caution fell with four laps to go with Krick leading Reitz and Brown. It was a tremendous race to the finish, but Krick was able to hang on for a hard-fought win. “I saw Zane down there a few times, and I knew I had to be patient,” Krick said. “I missed my marks down in turn one and knew I couldn’t do that again. I have won a few races here before, but this is my first FALS Cup. This is pretty awesome.” Reitz settled for second, followed by Brown, Clubb, Kyle Anderson, Barry Sauder, Simmons, Seplak, Jace Gall, and Odell.
The night’s racing program ended with a 15-lap Pro Modified race. Jake Montgomery, off to a good early-season start, raced into the lead and never looked back as he picked up his first-ever Fairbury feature win and third of the year. “I came here in 2016 in a Street Stock and I got to see what speed was like,” said Montgomery. “We came here tonight just wanting to finish the race. Everything just fell into place.” Kody Kovski, Donnie Cheesman, Donnie Martin, and Drake Compton rounded out the top five. Mark Rhoades, Mason Duncan, Randy Schoener, David Henderson, and Dylan Turpin completed the top ten. Nineteen cars made qualifying attempts, and Montgomery led the way with a 14.552. Montgomery completed the hat trick by winning his heat race, and Duncan claimed the second heat.
If the excitement of the 36th annual World of Outlaws Prairie Dirt Classic, presented by the Bank of Pontiac and Popejoy’s Inc., isn’t enough to look forward to, FALS officials will continue to host the FloRacing Night in America “One for the Road,” presented by I Beam Sliding Doors, a $20,000-to-win Late Model special on Wednesday night, July 22nd. All roads will again lead to America’s Dirt Track for a third night of racing during the Prairie Dirt Classic weekend. The PDC will continue its traditional Thursday Shriner’s children’s golf outing, Bank of Pontiac dinner, and country concert.
The 2026 Prairie Dirt Classic (July 24/25) will continue to pay an elite $50,000 to win, $3,000 to start, with an additional $50,000 in lap leader bonuses with the fans’ FALS Draw. In 2025, Brian Shirley picked up an amazing $88,500 for his first PDC win on a wild night at FALS. In addition to more than the $290,000 Late Model event purse for the World of Outlaws Prairie Dirt Classic, the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Championship will be a part of the PDC again in 2026, paying $5,000 to win.
The Triple Down Shootout hits Memorial Day weekend (May 23rd) with MARS Late Models ($5,000 to win), MARS Modifieds ($2,000 to win), and the Earl J. Hubert Stock Car special paying a strong $4,300 to win. Last year, Jason Feger, Derek Losh, and Nick Seplak took home action-packed feature wins, with 131 cars in the pits.
The Illinois Dirt Shootout will see a boost to the Labor Day weekend event on September 5th in 2026, with the MARS Championship Late Model Series paying $15,000 to win. The MARS Modified Championship Series will pay $5,000 to win, and added to the prestigious weekend will be DIRTcar Stock Cars paying $1,000 to win.
The FALS Frenzy will continue to be the final event in 2026 and home to the October tradition on the weekend of October 2nd & 3rd. Two days of racing action will continue the road to the MARS Championship campaign, with a $5,000-to-win Late Model feature on Friday night and a $10,000-to-win feature on Saturday. The MARS Modified Series will crown a champion and will race for $2,000 on Friday and $3,000 on Saturday. Also in action will be the DIRTcar Pro-Crate Late Models, battling for $750 to win on Friday and $1,000 to win on Saturday.
