DANVILLE, Ill. (June 21) — Rebounding from a bitter breakdown while leading a night earlier, Jeep Van Wormer of Pinconning, Mich., led all 40 laps Monday at Vermilion County Speedway to capture the sixth leg of the UMP DIRTcar Summernationals.

Van Wormer, who also won in the quarter-mile oval in 2008, turned back an early challenge by fifth-starting Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., who appeared to edge ahead just before a lap-14 caution for a turn-four scramble. | Complete Summernationals coverage

The yellow flag reset the field with Van Wormer on the point, and he was never headed again. Outside front-row starter Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., the three-time and reigning series champion, finished second for his first top-five finish on the tour. He fought off challenges from third-finishing Ryan Unzicker of El Paso, Ill., while Feger fell back to fifth behind Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., in the closing laps.

Jack Sullivan’s sixth-place finish unofficially moved the Greenbrier, Ark., driver into the Summernationals points lead over Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., who lost a wheel in his heat race and took a provisional in the feature, finishing ninth.

Van Wormer earned $5,000 for his 12th career Summernationals victory and turned things around after a broken rear end on the 19th lap of Sunday’s event at Wilmot (Wis.) Raceway knocked him out of the lead.

"It's huge for our team," Van Wormer said. "We had a pretty tough Cedar Lake, and then at WIlmot, we ended up breaking a rear end. So for us to come back and win is definitely redemption. It boosts everybody's morale."

Van Wormer worked the high groove from the outset while Feger immediately went to the hub and tracked the leader, drawing close after a dozen laps. The frontrunners battled side by side and Feger was edging ahead when the race’s first caution appeared on lap 14 as mid-packers Pete Parker, Billy Moyer Jr. and Greg Johnson tangled in turn four, with Parker stopping on the track and Moyer spinning into the infield. Parker retired while Moyer rejoined the field at the tail and finished 10th.

Van Wormer easily pulled away on the restart, building a half-straightaway lead before the midpoint while Erb took second from Feger before the second and final yellow appeared on the 20th lap for Brandon Sheppard, who slipped over the banking.

On the restart, Van Wormer got some breathing room when Erb, Feger and Unzicker briefly ran three wide in turn four. Erb and Unzicker battled for second the rest of the way while Feger eventually gave up his low groove and chased them in fourth before losing that spot late in the race.

Erb cut Van Wormer’s half-straightaway lead at the 30th lap down to a few lengths at the finish, but he never seriously challenged the winner, who thrust his left arm in the air as he took the checkers.

Notes: Van Wormer’s Iron Motorsports Rocket Chassis is sponsored by Bayline Fire Protection and Globe Technologies. ... The checkered flag flew about 9:15 p.m. as the track was in hurry-up mode with lightning and rain in the area, but no precipitation fell. ... Van Wormer had three series victories in 15 feature starts last year. ... Fifteen of 21 starters were running at the finish. ... Up next on the 29-race tour is a $5,000-to-win race on Tuesday at Highland (Ill.) Speedway, one of the three tracks where Van Wormer won in ’09.

UMP @ Vermilion County: (1) Jeep Van Wormer, (2) Dennis Erb Jr., (3) Ryan Unzicker, (4) Brian Shirley, (5) Jason Feger, (6) Jack Sullivan, (7) Mark Burgtorf, (8) Bobby Pierce, (9) Shannon Babb, (10) Billy Moyer Jr., (11) Jason Jameson, (12) Richie Hedrick, (13) Greg Johnson, (14) Mark Voigt, (15) Jason McBride, (16) Nick Lyons, (17) Brian Harris, (18) Brandon Sheppard, (19) Pete Parker, (20) Wendell Wallace, (21) Jay Sparks. Scratched: Dillan White. Fast qualifier (among 35 cars): Van Wormer, 13.181 seconds. Heat race winners: Erb, Van Wormer, Feger, Unzicker. Consolation winner: Hedrick. Provisional starters: Babb, Voigt, Wallace, Sparks.

Fourth heat

Polesitter led all the way for a 10-lap victory and earn a spot among the first two rows of the main event. Brian Shirley was second followed by Brandon Sheppard, who spun exiting turn four early in the race but was given his spot back after Jay Sparks was charged with rough driving. Jason McBride got the fourth and final transfer spot for his first Summernationals feature start. Matt Rhyne, driving an Unzicker backup car, was fifth. Sparks ended up spinning his smoking machine between turns three and four late in the race and pulled out. Series points leader Shannon Babb lost a left-rear wheel and pulled off during an early caution.

Finish: Ryan Unzicker, Brian Shirley, Brandon Sheppard, Jason McBride, Matt Rhyne, Donny Walden, Jay Sparks, Shannon Babb. Scratched: Chris Dick.

Feature lineup