T
TAYLORFAN44
Guest
GRANITE
Pontoon Beach, IL (July 4, 2008) By Kellen Burns/DIRTcar Racing P.R. -
Records are meant to be broken.
But when it comes to Billy Moyer, he doesn’t just break records, he shatters them.
Moyer smashed the one-lap Super Late Model standard for the three-eighths-mile Tri-City Speedway in qualifying on Friday night, then backed it up by pulling off an memorable outside pass to win the 40-lap UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals A-Main.
The Batesville, Ark., legend’s lap of 14.144 seconds during the 51-car group time-trial session reduced the existing track record of 14.526 seconds that had been held by Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill.
Things certainly didn’t go all Moyer’s way throughout the night, though. While he dominated the first heat from start-to-finish to emerge victorious, his Victory Circle M1 Chassis suffered a broken rearend as he crossed the finish line.
But that didn’t phase the six-time UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals champion or his trustworthy crew.
“We were prepared to fix whatever happened to the car,” said Moyer. “These guys, they knew what to do.”
Moyer, 50, and crew made the necessary repairs and he lined up fifth in the A-Main. He then set out to prove he was the class of the field.
After the fifth of the race’s seven caution flags flew on lap 13, Moyer dared to try the high side of the track and moved around Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., and leader Steidinger to take command. Another caution flag for a spin by Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., negated the move, however, relegating Moyer back to third.
Moyer slid by Erb for second on the ensuing restart and went to work on Steidinger. With his No. 21 perched on the cushion, Moyer drove by Steidinger and a lapped car on lap 21 to assume command for good.
“The track has some slick spots and some rough spots there in the beginning,” said Moyer, who earned $10,000 for his second Summer Nationals RacingJunk.com Victory Lane visit of 2008 and his alltime tour-best 64th career win. “I just let the car work where it needed to. I just kind of waited for the right time to make the move.”
Erb, the defending Summer Nationals champion and current points leader, settled for a runner-up finish.
“We went a little hard on tires and it took awhile for me to get going,” said Erb. “Once we had a good long green run we were running good.”
Erb took some positives from the night as he padded his Summer Nationals points lead over Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., who finished eighth, heading into the final week of tour competition. He doesn’t want to leave anything to chance, though.
“It’s so hard the way the points are,” said Erb. “The biggest thing is just to keep finishing good and running up in the front. Hopefully it will work out.”
Steidinger finished third after leading early in the main event. Like Erb, he felt as if tires were the biggest factor in the outcome of the race.
“I had soft tires on and I’m pretty sure (Moyer and Erb) were on harder tires,” said Steidinger. “I tried to save my tires there on the bottom, but it got to a point where I was struggling too bad down there in three and four so I tried to move up and change my line to get better.”
The optimistic young hotshoe, whose hometrack, Fairbury (Ill.) American Legion Speedway, is the next stop on tour, kept climbing the proverbial ladder with another strong finish.
“We’ll take third,” said Steidinger. “That’s not too bad with the kind of guys who showed up tonight.”
Wendell Wallace of Batesville, Ark., finished fourth from the ninth starting spot and Darren Miller of Milledgeville, Ill., placed fifth.
The 51-car field for the event was the largest of the 2008 Summer Nationals.
OVERALL FAST TIME & NEW TRACK RECORD:
21 BILLY MOYER 14.144
UMP Late Models : A-Main 01-- 51 Cars
1 21 BILLY MOYER BATESVILLE, AR
2 28 DENNIS ERB CARPENTERSVILLE, IL
3 j1 WES STEIDINGER FAIRBURY, IL
4 88 WENDALL WALLACE
5 32d DARREN MILLER Milledgeville, IL
6 55 JEEP VAN WORMER PINCONNING, MI
7 B12 KEVIN WEAVER Gibson City, IL
8 3S BRIAN SHIRLEY Chatham, IL
9 24U RYAN UNZICKER
10 0 RANDY KORTE Highland, IL
11 5s STEVE SHEPPARD JR New Berlin, IL
12 00s JESSE STOVALL
13 27 RODNEY MELVIN BENTON, IL
14 82 BILLY LAYCOCK * Marine, IL
15 77 JASON MCBRIDE Carbondale, IL
16 1 WILL VAUGHT Crane, MO
17 25f JASON FEGER BLOOMINGTON, IL
18 13k BRENT KREKE O' Fallon, IL
19 12 JORDAN BLAND Campbellsville, KY
20 30 MARK VOIGT * Marine, IL
21 15B BRIAN BIRKHOFER
22 71 DON O'NEAL Martinsville, IN
23 92b BILLY FAUST * Lebanon, IL
UMP Late Models : B-Main 01
1 24U RYAN UNZICKER
2 25f JASON FEGER BLOOMINGTON, IL
3 82 BILLY LAYCOCK * Marine, IL
4 30 MARK VOIGT * Marine, IL
5 48 TIM LANCE
6 67 MARK OLLER Highland, IL
7 B12 KEVIN WEAVER Gibson City, IL
8 7 MARK BURGTORF Quincy, IL
9 35 CLAUDE WALKER * Moro, IL
10 96d CORY DAUGHERTY
11 441 BRIAN WOLFMEIER House Springs, MO
12 1s RICK SALTER* Albers, IL
13 6k MICHAEL KLOOS Trenton, IL
14 92b BILLY FAUST * Lebanon, IL
15 11z BRYAN COLLINS * Elsberry, MO
16 8 KYLE STEFFENS Saint Charles, MO
UMP Late Models : C-Main 01
1 8 KYLE STEFFENS Saint Charles, MO
2 48 TIM LANCE
3 441 BRIAN WOLFMEIER House Springs, MO
4 4s STEVEN UNTERBRINK Greenville, IL
5 14U BRUCE UNTERBRINK Greenville, IL
6 24 DICK TAYLOR * Springfield, IL
7 c7 MATT WEIDNER Trenton, IL
8 27S MIKE SCHULTE Summerfield, IL
9 16 RUSTY GRIFFAW * Festus, MO
10 5s STEVE SHEPPARD JR New Berlin, IL
11 F15 JERMEY CONAWAY Springfield, IL DNS
12 127 DON BEYERS DNS
13 78 CHAD ZOBRIST* Highland, IL DNS
UMP Late Models : C-Main 02
1 92b BILLY FAUST * Lebanon, IL
2 11z BRYAN COLLINS * Elsberry, MO
3 B12 KEVIN WEAVER Gibson City, IL
4 27B JEFF BEYERS
5 360 JOHN SEETS SR Brighton, IL
6 81 CRAIG SMITH Godfrey, IL
7 16h MIKE HAMMERLE Saint Charles, MO
8 dc3 DON CISCO III Oreana, IL
9 5 BRANDON SHEPPARD New Berlin, IL
10 22 DAN JACOBER Highland, IL
11 13 DEWAYNE KIEFER St. Genevieve, MO
12 00X RICK RHOADES
13 0 RANDY KORTE Highland, IL DNS
UMP Late Models : Heat 01
1 21 BILLY MOYER BATESVILLE, AR
2 71 DON O'NEAL Martinsville, IN
3 13k BRENT KREKE O' Fallon, IL
4 82 BILLY LAYCOCK * Marine, IL
5 67 MARK OLLER Highland, IL
6 8 KYLE STEFFENS Saint Charles, MO
7 4s STEVEN UNTERBRINK Greenville, IL
8 81 CRAIG SMITH Godfrey, IL
9 B12 KEVIN WEAVER Gibson City, IL
10 127 DON BEYERS DNS
UMP Late Models : Heat 02
1 28 DENNIS ERB CARPENTERSVILLE, IL
2 32d DARREN MILLER Milledgeville, IL
3 12 JORDAN BLAND Campbellsville, KY
4 24U RYAN UNZICKER
5 25f JASON FEGER BLOOMINGTON, IL
6 441 BRIAN WOLFMEIER House Springs, MO
7 11z BRYAN COLLINS * Elsberry, MO
8 5 BRANDON SHEPPARD New Berlin, IL
9 24 DICK TAYLOR * Springfield, IL
10 78 CHAD ZOBRIST* Highland, IL
UMP Late Models : Heat 03
1 j1 WES STEIDINGER FAIRBURY, IL
2 1 WILL VAUGHT Crane, MO
3 77 JASON MCBRIDE Carbondale, IL
4 1s RICK SALTER* Albers, IL
5 35 CLAUDE WALKER * Moro, IL
6 92b BILLY FAUST * Lebanon, IL
7 13 DEWAYNE KIEFER St. Genevieve, MO
8 5s STEVE SHEPPARD JR New Berlin, IL
9 F15 JERMEY CONAWAY Springfield, IL
10 22 DAN JACOBER Highland, IL
UMP Late Models : Heat 04
1 3S BRIAN SHIRLEY Chatham, IL
2 88 WENDALL WALLACE
3 27 RODNEY MELVIN BENTON, IL
4 6k MICHAEL KLOOS Trenton, IL
5 7 MARK BURGTORF Quincy, IL
6 27B JEFF BEYERS
7 14U BRUCE UNTERBRINK Greenville, IL
8 27S MIKE SCHULTE Summerfield, IL
9 dc3 DON CISCO III Oreana, IL
10 360 JOHN SEETS SR Brighton, IL
UMP Late Models : Heat 05
1 55 JEEP VAN WORMER PINCONNING, MI
2 00s JESSE STOVALL
3 15B BRIAN BIRKHOFER
4 30 MARK VOIGT * Marine, IL
5 96d CORY DAUGHERTY
6 48 TIM LANCE
7 c7 MATT WEIDNER Trenton, IL
8 16h MIKE HAMMERLE Saint Charles, MO
9 0 RANDY KORTE Highland, IL
10 16 RUSTY GRIFFAW * Festus, MO
11 00X RICK RHOADES
-----------------------------------------
7-5 @ American Legion raceway
FAIRBURY, IL – July 5, 2008 – By Kellen Burns/DIRTcar Racing P.R. –
When the UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals tour visits Fairbury American Legion Speedway, Jimmy Mars is at the top of his game.
The 36-year-old driver from Menomonie, Wis., showed his mastery of the quarter-mile oval once again on Saturday night, racing to victory in the track’s 50-lap Summer Nationals event for the third time in the last four years.
A winner of Fairbury’s Summer Nationals A-Main in 2005 and 2006, this year’s tour date turned out to be no different for Mars.
Mars, who started third, drove by Steve Sheppard Jr. of New Berlin, Ill., for second early in the feature. He then set his sights on Chatham, Ill.’s Brian Shirley, the race’s polesitter.
Mars and Shirley waged a great battle for the top spot, with Mars trying low and high to get around. Mars finally found something in the middle groove of turns three and four and overtook Shirley on lap five, but a caution flag for a slowing Jordan Bland of Campbellsville, Ky., negated the move.
Mars instantly applied pressure to Shirley again on the restart. Shirley repelled the bids until lap 11, when Mars drove his No. 28 to the inside of Shirley and gained command for good.
“I had a feeling (the track surface) was going to rubber, so I was trying to get to the front to get the lead as soon as I could,” said Mars. “It worked out – twice!”
Mars was in control for the remainder of the distance, building as much as a full straightaway lead before lapped traffic slowed him. A caution flag on lap 27 gave him clear track and he had no trouble during the race’s second half.
Mars attributed the dominant run in part to how well his machine responded to race conditions.
“The car was excellent, it was flawless,” said Mars, who made his first visit to the Summer Nationals RacingJunk.com Victory Lane in his second tour appearance of 2008. “I could run on the inside of (Shirley) and the outside of him. It was a good race.”
Mars, who earned $10,000 for his seventh career Summer Nationals triumph, was followed to the finish line by Shirley. The driver known as ‘Squirrel’ held off a charging Darren Miller of Milledgeville, Ill., to place second.
After starting from the pole, however, Shirley wasn’t happy with a bridesmaid finish.
“It was a tough one to swallow because you don’t want to lose,” said Shirley. “All and all, it wasn’t a bad night.”
Shirley was strong on the low side of the track early in the event, but he couldn’t find a groove to stay out front of Mars in the end.
“He had a better car,” Shirley said of Mars. “I tried to momentum his line and just couldn’t do it. We’ll take it and we’ll move on.”
The runner-up finish did move Shirley into the UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals points lead after 16 events. He unofficially grabbed a four-point edge over defending champion Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., who lost five positions on the final lap due to engine woes and finished 12th.
Miller, who started fifth, made some moves early but found it difficult to move around late in the race. He settled for third.
“It just rubbered up – a one-lane deal,” said Miller. “I about had Shirley (for second). I got clear up beside him. I would have had to go into one and bang pretty bad (to complete the pass). I’m not really into doing that when it’s rubbered up like that.”
Miller knew, however, that Mars was certainly the class of the field.
“We weren’t near as good as Jim was,” said Miller.
Ryan Dauber of Tonica, Ill., scored an ’08 Summer Nationals-best finish of fourth, while Sheppard completed the top five.
Forty-eight cars entered the event, which saw Erb set fast time in the group qualifying session with a lap of 13.41 seconds.
Heat winners were Shirley, Sheppard, Mars, Miller and Bland. Mark Burgtorf of Quincy, Ill., and Don O'Neal of Martinsville, Ind., captured the C-Mains, and Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., topped the B-Main.
The UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals continues on Sunday night (July 6) with a $6,000-to-win event at Quad City Raceway in East Moline, Ill.
For more information on the Summer Nationals, visit www.dirtcar.com.
UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals Feature Finish (40 laps):
1. Jimmy Mars
2. Brian Shirley
3. Darren Miller
4. Ryan Dauber
5. Steve Sheppard Jr.
6. Billy Moyer
7. Eric Smith
8. Derek Chandler
9. Ryan Unzicker
10. Will Vaught
11. Wes Steidinger
12. Dennis Erb Jr.
13. Daren Friedman
14. Jeep VanWormer
15. Jordan Bland
16. Joe Harlan
17. Randy Korte
18. Jason Feger
19. Scott Bull
20. Kevin Weaver
21. Brian Birkhofer
B-Main Finish: Billy Moyer, Wes Steidinger, Joe Harlan, Jeep Van Wormer, Jesse Stovall, Kevin Weaver, Tim Lance, Scott Bull, Jimmy Dehm, Mark Burgtorf, Don O'Neal, Jason McBride, Jim Felker Jr., Justin Shaw, Rocky Griffin, Mike Provenzano
---------------------------------------
Not such a great turnout at Moline.... gee, wonder why? BAD TRACK!!!!
U.M.P. DIRTcar Summer Nationals event #22 at Quad City Raceway in East Moline, IL paying $6,000 to win.
Results
Heat 1:
Kevin Weaver, Wes Steidinger, Don O'Neal, Adam Oppendike, Will Vaught, Leroy Brenner. DQ'd: Shirley
Heat 2:
Dennis Erb Jr., Ryan Unzicker, Steve Sheppard Jr., Jason Feger, Gary Webb, Jason McBride, Kevin Dickey
Heat 3:
Randy Korte, Jeep Van Wormer, Darren Miller, Jordan Bland, Tim Lance, Donny Walden
Feature:
(1) Randy Korte, (2) Dennis Erb Jr., (3) Kevin Weaver, (4) Wes Steidinger, (5) Darren Miller, (6) Brian Shirley, (7) Steve Sheppard Jr., (8) Jason Feger, (9) Will Vaught, (10) Jason McBride, (11) Ryan Unzicker, (12) Jordan Bland, (13) Jeep Van Wormer, (14) Donny Walden, (15) Leroy Brenner, (16) Kevin Dickey, (17) Gary Webb, (18) Adam Oppendike
Pontoon Beach, IL (July 4, 2008) By Kellen Burns/DIRTcar Racing P.R. -
Records are meant to be broken.
But when it comes to Billy Moyer, he doesn’t just break records, he shatters them.
Moyer smashed the one-lap Super Late Model standard for the three-eighths-mile Tri-City Speedway in qualifying on Friday night, then backed it up by pulling off an memorable outside pass to win the 40-lap UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals A-Main.
The Batesville, Ark., legend’s lap of 14.144 seconds during the 51-car group time-trial session reduced the existing track record of 14.526 seconds that had been held by Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill.
Things certainly didn’t go all Moyer’s way throughout the night, though. While he dominated the first heat from start-to-finish to emerge victorious, his Victory Circle M1 Chassis suffered a broken rearend as he crossed the finish line.
But that didn’t phase the six-time UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals champion or his trustworthy crew.
“We were prepared to fix whatever happened to the car,” said Moyer. “These guys, they knew what to do.”
Moyer, 50, and crew made the necessary repairs and he lined up fifth in the A-Main. He then set out to prove he was the class of the field.
After the fifth of the race’s seven caution flags flew on lap 13, Moyer dared to try the high side of the track and moved around Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., and leader Steidinger to take command. Another caution flag for a spin by Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., negated the move, however, relegating Moyer back to third.
Moyer slid by Erb for second on the ensuing restart and went to work on Steidinger. With his No. 21 perched on the cushion, Moyer drove by Steidinger and a lapped car on lap 21 to assume command for good.
“The track has some slick spots and some rough spots there in the beginning,” said Moyer, who earned $10,000 for his second Summer Nationals RacingJunk.com Victory Lane visit of 2008 and his alltime tour-best 64th career win. “I just let the car work where it needed to. I just kind of waited for the right time to make the move.”
Erb, the defending Summer Nationals champion and current points leader, settled for a runner-up finish.
“We went a little hard on tires and it took awhile for me to get going,” said Erb. “Once we had a good long green run we were running good.”
Erb took some positives from the night as he padded his Summer Nationals points lead over Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., who finished eighth, heading into the final week of tour competition. He doesn’t want to leave anything to chance, though.
“It’s so hard the way the points are,” said Erb. “The biggest thing is just to keep finishing good and running up in the front. Hopefully it will work out.”
Steidinger finished third after leading early in the main event. Like Erb, he felt as if tires were the biggest factor in the outcome of the race.
“I had soft tires on and I’m pretty sure (Moyer and Erb) were on harder tires,” said Steidinger. “I tried to save my tires there on the bottom, but it got to a point where I was struggling too bad down there in three and four so I tried to move up and change my line to get better.”
The optimistic young hotshoe, whose hometrack, Fairbury (Ill.) American Legion Speedway, is the next stop on tour, kept climbing the proverbial ladder with another strong finish.
“We’ll take third,” said Steidinger. “That’s not too bad with the kind of guys who showed up tonight.”
Wendell Wallace of Batesville, Ark., finished fourth from the ninth starting spot and Darren Miller of Milledgeville, Ill., placed fifth.
The 51-car field for the event was the largest of the 2008 Summer Nationals.
OVERALL FAST TIME & NEW TRACK RECORD:
21 BILLY MOYER 14.144
UMP Late Models : A-Main 01-- 51 Cars
1 21 BILLY MOYER BATESVILLE, AR
2 28 DENNIS ERB CARPENTERSVILLE, IL
3 j1 WES STEIDINGER FAIRBURY, IL
4 88 WENDALL WALLACE
5 32d DARREN MILLER Milledgeville, IL
6 55 JEEP VAN WORMER PINCONNING, MI
7 B12 KEVIN WEAVER Gibson City, IL
8 3S BRIAN SHIRLEY Chatham, IL
9 24U RYAN UNZICKER
10 0 RANDY KORTE Highland, IL
11 5s STEVE SHEPPARD JR New Berlin, IL
12 00s JESSE STOVALL
13 27 RODNEY MELVIN BENTON, IL
14 82 BILLY LAYCOCK * Marine, IL
15 77 JASON MCBRIDE Carbondale, IL
16 1 WILL VAUGHT Crane, MO
17 25f JASON FEGER BLOOMINGTON, IL
18 13k BRENT KREKE O' Fallon, IL
19 12 JORDAN BLAND Campbellsville, KY
20 30 MARK VOIGT * Marine, IL
21 15B BRIAN BIRKHOFER
22 71 DON O'NEAL Martinsville, IN
23 92b BILLY FAUST * Lebanon, IL
UMP Late Models : B-Main 01
1 24U RYAN UNZICKER
2 25f JASON FEGER BLOOMINGTON, IL
3 82 BILLY LAYCOCK * Marine, IL
4 30 MARK VOIGT * Marine, IL
5 48 TIM LANCE
6 67 MARK OLLER Highland, IL
7 B12 KEVIN WEAVER Gibson City, IL
8 7 MARK BURGTORF Quincy, IL
9 35 CLAUDE WALKER * Moro, IL
10 96d CORY DAUGHERTY
11 441 BRIAN WOLFMEIER House Springs, MO
12 1s RICK SALTER* Albers, IL
13 6k MICHAEL KLOOS Trenton, IL
14 92b BILLY FAUST * Lebanon, IL
15 11z BRYAN COLLINS * Elsberry, MO
16 8 KYLE STEFFENS Saint Charles, MO
UMP Late Models : C-Main 01
1 8 KYLE STEFFENS Saint Charles, MO
2 48 TIM LANCE
3 441 BRIAN WOLFMEIER House Springs, MO
4 4s STEVEN UNTERBRINK Greenville, IL
5 14U BRUCE UNTERBRINK Greenville, IL
6 24 DICK TAYLOR * Springfield, IL
7 c7 MATT WEIDNER Trenton, IL
8 27S MIKE SCHULTE Summerfield, IL
9 16 RUSTY GRIFFAW * Festus, MO
10 5s STEVE SHEPPARD JR New Berlin, IL
11 F15 JERMEY CONAWAY Springfield, IL DNS
12 127 DON BEYERS DNS
13 78 CHAD ZOBRIST* Highland, IL DNS
UMP Late Models : C-Main 02
1 92b BILLY FAUST * Lebanon, IL
2 11z BRYAN COLLINS * Elsberry, MO
3 B12 KEVIN WEAVER Gibson City, IL
4 27B JEFF BEYERS
5 360 JOHN SEETS SR Brighton, IL
6 81 CRAIG SMITH Godfrey, IL
7 16h MIKE HAMMERLE Saint Charles, MO
8 dc3 DON CISCO III Oreana, IL
9 5 BRANDON SHEPPARD New Berlin, IL
10 22 DAN JACOBER Highland, IL
11 13 DEWAYNE KIEFER St. Genevieve, MO
12 00X RICK RHOADES
13 0 RANDY KORTE Highland, IL DNS
UMP Late Models : Heat 01
1 21 BILLY MOYER BATESVILLE, AR
2 71 DON O'NEAL Martinsville, IN
3 13k BRENT KREKE O' Fallon, IL
4 82 BILLY LAYCOCK * Marine, IL
5 67 MARK OLLER Highland, IL
6 8 KYLE STEFFENS Saint Charles, MO
7 4s STEVEN UNTERBRINK Greenville, IL
8 81 CRAIG SMITH Godfrey, IL
9 B12 KEVIN WEAVER Gibson City, IL
10 127 DON BEYERS DNS
UMP Late Models : Heat 02
1 28 DENNIS ERB CARPENTERSVILLE, IL
2 32d DARREN MILLER Milledgeville, IL
3 12 JORDAN BLAND Campbellsville, KY
4 24U RYAN UNZICKER
5 25f JASON FEGER BLOOMINGTON, IL
6 441 BRIAN WOLFMEIER House Springs, MO
7 11z BRYAN COLLINS * Elsberry, MO
8 5 BRANDON SHEPPARD New Berlin, IL
9 24 DICK TAYLOR * Springfield, IL
10 78 CHAD ZOBRIST* Highland, IL
UMP Late Models : Heat 03
1 j1 WES STEIDINGER FAIRBURY, IL
2 1 WILL VAUGHT Crane, MO
3 77 JASON MCBRIDE Carbondale, IL
4 1s RICK SALTER* Albers, IL
5 35 CLAUDE WALKER * Moro, IL
6 92b BILLY FAUST * Lebanon, IL
7 13 DEWAYNE KIEFER St. Genevieve, MO
8 5s STEVE SHEPPARD JR New Berlin, IL
9 F15 JERMEY CONAWAY Springfield, IL
10 22 DAN JACOBER Highland, IL
UMP Late Models : Heat 04
1 3S BRIAN SHIRLEY Chatham, IL
2 88 WENDALL WALLACE
3 27 RODNEY MELVIN BENTON, IL
4 6k MICHAEL KLOOS Trenton, IL
5 7 MARK BURGTORF Quincy, IL
6 27B JEFF BEYERS
7 14U BRUCE UNTERBRINK Greenville, IL
8 27S MIKE SCHULTE Summerfield, IL
9 dc3 DON CISCO III Oreana, IL
10 360 JOHN SEETS SR Brighton, IL
UMP Late Models : Heat 05
1 55 JEEP VAN WORMER PINCONNING, MI
2 00s JESSE STOVALL
3 15B BRIAN BIRKHOFER
4 30 MARK VOIGT * Marine, IL
5 96d CORY DAUGHERTY
6 48 TIM LANCE
7 c7 MATT WEIDNER Trenton, IL
8 16h MIKE HAMMERLE Saint Charles, MO
9 0 RANDY KORTE Highland, IL
10 16 RUSTY GRIFFAW * Festus, MO
11 00X RICK RHOADES
-----------------------------------------
7-5 @ American Legion raceway
FAIRBURY, IL – July 5, 2008 – By Kellen Burns/DIRTcar Racing P.R. –
When the UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals tour visits Fairbury American Legion Speedway, Jimmy Mars is at the top of his game.
The 36-year-old driver from Menomonie, Wis., showed his mastery of the quarter-mile oval once again on Saturday night, racing to victory in the track’s 50-lap Summer Nationals event for the third time in the last four years.
A winner of Fairbury’s Summer Nationals A-Main in 2005 and 2006, this year’s tour date turned out to be no different for Mars.
Mars, who started third, drove by Steve Sheppard Jr. of New Berlin, Ill., for second early in the feature. He then set his sights on Chatham, Ill.’s Brian Shirley, the race’s polesitter.
Mars and Shirley waged a great battle for the top spot, with Mars trying low and high to get around. Mars finally found something in the middle groove of turns three and four and overtook Shirley on lap five, but a caution flag for a slowing Jordan Bland of Campbellsville, Ky., negated the move.
Mars instantly applied pressure to Shirley again on the restart. Shirley repelled the bids until lap 11, when Mars drove his No. 28 to the inside of Shirley and gained command for good.
“I had a feeling (the track surface) was going to rubber, so I was trying to get to the front to get the lead as soon as I could,” said Mars. “It worked out – twice!”
Mars was in control for the remainder of the distance, building as much as a full straightaway lead before lapped traffic slowed him. A caution flag on lap 27 gave him clear track and he had no trouble during the race’s second half.
Mars attributed the dominant run in part to how well his machine responded to race conditions.
“The car was excellent, it was flawless,” said Mars, who made his first visit to the Summer Nationals RacingJunk.com Victory Lane in his second tour appearance of 2008. “I could run on the inside of (Shirley) and the outside of him. It was a good race.”
Mars, who earned $10,000 for his seventh career Summer Nationals triumph, was followed to the finish line by Shirley. The driver known as ‘Squirrel’ held off a charging Darren Miller of Milledgeville, Ill., to place second.
After starting from the pole, however, Shirley wasn’t happy with a bridesmaid finish.
“It was a tough one to swallow because you don’t want to lose,” said Shirley. “All and all, it wasn’t a bad night.”
Shirley was strong on the low side of the track early in the event, but he couldn’t find a groove to stay out front of Mars in the end.
“He had a better car,” Shirley said of Mars. “I tried to momentum his line and just couldn’t do it. We’ll take it and we’ll move on.”
The runner-up finish did move Shirley into the UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals points lead after 16 events. He unofficially grabbed a four-point edge over defending champion Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., who lost five positions on the final lap due to engine woes and finished 12th.
Miller, who started fifth, made some moves early but found it difficult to move around late in the race. He settled for third.
“It just rubbered up – a one-lane deal,” said Miller. “I about had Shirley (for second). I got clear up beside him. I would have had to go into one and bang pretty bad (to complete the pass). I’m not really into doing that when it’s rubbered up like that.”
Miller knew, however, that Mars was certainly the class of the field.
“We weren’t near as good as Jim was,” said Miller.
Ryan Dauber of Tonica, Ill., scored an ’08 Summer Nationals-best finish of fourth, while Sheppard completed the top five.
Forty-eight cars entered the event, which saw Erb set fast time in the group qualifying session with a lap of 13.41 seconds.
Heat winners were Shirley, Sheppard, Mars, Miller and Bland. Mark Burgtorf of Quincy, Ill., and Don O'Neal of Martinsville, Ind., captured the C-Mains, and Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., topped the B-Main.
The UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals continues on Sunday night (July 6) with a $6,000-to-win event at Quad City Raceway in East Moline, Ill.
For more information on the Summer Nationals, visit www.dirtcar.com.
UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals Feature Finish (40 laps):
1. Jimmy Mars
2. Brian Shirley
3. Darren Miller
4. Ryan Dauber
5. Steve Sheppard Jr.
6. Billy Moyer
7. Eric Smith
8. Derek Chandler
9. Ryan Unzicker
10. Will Vaught
11. Wes Steidinger
12. Dennis Erb Jr.
13. Daren Friedman
14. Jeep VanWormer
15. Jordan Bland
16. Joe Harlan
17. Randy Korte
18. Jason Feger
19. Scott Bull
20. Kevin Weaver
21. Brian Birkhofer
B-Main Finish: Billy Moyer, Wes Steidinger, Joe Harlan, Jeep Van Wormer, Jesse Stovall, Kevin Weaver, Tim Lance, Scott Bull, Jimmy Dehm, Mark Burgtorf, Don O'Neal, Jason McBride, Jim Felker Jr., Justin Shaw, Rocky Griffin, Mike Provenzano
---------------------------------------
Not such a great turnout at Moline.... gee, wonder why? BAD TRACK!!!!
U.M.P. DIRTcar Summer Nationals event #22 at Quad City Raceway in East Moline, IL paying $6,000 to win.
Results
Heat 1:
Kevin Weaver, Wes Steidinger, Don O'Neal, Adam Oppendike, Will Vaught, Leroy Brenner. DQ'd: Shirley
Heat 2:
Dennis Erb Jr., Ryan Unzicker, Steve Sheppard Jr., Jason Feger, Gary Webb, Jason McBride, Kevin Dickey
Heat 3:
Randy Korte, Jeep Van Wormer, Darren Miller, Jordan Bland, Tim Lance, Donny Walden
Feature:
(1) Randy Korte, (2) Dennis Erb Jr., (3) Kevin Weaver, (4) Wes Steidinger, (5) Darren Miller, (6) Brian Shirley, (7) Steve Sheppard Jr., (8) Jason Feger, (9) Will Vaught, (10) Jason McBride, (11) Ryan Unzicker, (12) Jordan Bland, (13) Jeep Van Wormer, (14) Donny Walden, (15) Leroy Brenner, (16) Kevin Dickey, (17) Gary Webb, (18) Adam Oppendike