Lincoln Speedway
Shirley wins rain-halted UMP feature at Lincoln
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt.com chief writer
Brian Shirley got his second series victory. (erikgrigsbyphotos.com)
LINCOLN, Ill. (June 29) — Dirt Late Model teams don't have to run the UMP DIRTcar Summernationals too long to know that luck plays a major role in the 26-race Hell Tour. Brian Shirley suffered through a dose of bad luck Friday at Lawrenceburg Speedway when a shredded tire and a wreck hampered his No. 3s. So he wasn't about to complain when good luck was on his side Sunday at Lincoln Speedway. | Slideshow
Twice inheriting the point when two different leaders pulled out of the race with mechanical problems, the fourth-starting Shirley was in the right place at the right time when a brief rain shower, the second of the night, halted the the 13th leg of the UMP DIRTcar Summernationals at Lincoln Speedway after 26 of 40 scheduled laps. Shirley earned $6,000 in becoming the third two-time series winner and kept the title chase with Dennis Erb Jr. tight.
"I'm just glad to be beneficiary for once," said Shirley, a 27-year-old from Chatham, Ill., who notched his fourth career Summernationals victory. "I've had a lot of ups and downs, and I know it doesn't make everybody happy that the race ended this way, but for once it makes me happy that things went my way."
Ninth-starting Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill., ended up second when the checkered flag fell under caution with Erb, the series points leader from Carpentersville, Ill., running third. Ryan Unzicker of El Paso, Ill., advanced seven spots to finish fourth, his best finish on the series, while Randy Korte of Highland, Ill., raced from 16th to fifth.
The two drivers who led before Shirley weren't around at the finish. Don O'Neal of Martinsville, Ind., started outside the front row and led 21 laps before a parts failure dropped all the water out of his radiator, forcing him off the track. Polesitter Eric Smith got around Shirley on the lap-21 restart and led laps 22-23 before an apparent broken axle forced him to exit on the backstretch. O'Neal and Smith were both disappointed. "That would've been a good race there, too," Smith said.
After Smith's departure, Shirley took the lead and fought off a few challenges from Steidinger before a lap-26 caution flew for Jeep Van Wormer, who was pulling back onto the frontstretch after getting off the track. Officials lined up the cars as a few sprinkles began to fall, then when the precipitation picked up, promoter Don Hammer called for the checkered flag. The rain quit almost as soon as it stopped though, leaving some wondering why the track didn't use the last 20 minutes before the 11 p.m. curfew. Events were already running late following a previous rain shower that caused about a 45-minute delay.
"I was disappointed," Steidinger said. "I pulled in (the pits) and it was done raining. To me, that doesn't make sense. The racetrack seemed fine to me. I didn't think it was (slick). As soon as the caution came out, Brian had his hand out the window (gesturing to end the race), but I'd probably have been doing the same thing, so I can't blame him."
Erb thought the caution period dragged on too long, costing them a chance to get racing again. "They just waited for it to pour down a little heavier," he said. "That little mist there, it wasn't nothing that was going on. Right when they threw the checkered (was) when it was pouring pretty good, I mean yeah, but heck, they could've dropped the green and let us go racing some more. But I think it was probably because of the curfew."
Shirley didn't want to get into all the possibilities of what might've happened. "We won, and that's what matters," he said. "I think we had a car good enough to win. Fortunately, we had a little bit of luck. It started raining there pretty good, so I don't know if we could've raced or what. It's a good thing I don't make those decisions."
The race was slowed by four cautions, the most serious for a turn-one scramble at the beginning of the second lap that saw Derek Chandler's car roll. Track workers quickly put the Chandler's No. 35 back on its wheels and the driver emerged from the car unhurt. The lap-21 caution came out because sixth-running Matt Taylor had nowhere to go when O'Neal slowed on the frontstretch; O'Neal continued off the track but Taylor's car was sent spinning.
Feature notes
Unofficially, Erb leads the title chase after Lincoln with 1,012 points followed by Shirley (1,004), Steidinger (862), Van Wormer (831) and Will Vaught (825). ... Ripples on the Lincoln track surface at the top of the frontstretch made it a bumpy ride for Late Model drivers throughout the night. During time trials with a single car on the track, fans could hear the pitch of the engines as drivers revved through the rough spots. ... The series takes a day off before its next event Tuesday, July 1, at Peoria (Ill.) Speedway, the second of 10 consecutive series races in Illinois.
UMP @ Lincoln: (1) Brian Shirley, (2) Wes Steidinger, (3) Dennis Erb Jr., (4) Ryan Unzicker, (5) Randy Korte, (6) Matt Taylor, (7) Steve Lance Jr. (8) Steve Sheppard Jr., (9) Will Vaught, (10) Jeep Van Wormer, (11) Jayme Zidar, (12) Eric Smith, (13) Don O'Neal, (14) Mike Hammerle, (15) Kevin Weaver, (16) Nick Bauman, (17) Tim Lance, (18) Donny Walden, (19) Michael Kloos, (20) Jesse Stovall, (21) Derek Chandler. Fast qualifier (among 46 cars): Van Wormer, 13.712 seconds. Heat race winners: E. Smith, O'Neal, Taylor, Shirley, Van Wormer. C-Main winners: Brandon Sheppard, Daren Friedman. B-Main winner: Korte. Provisional starters: S. Sheppard, Hammerle, Bauman.
B-Main
Front-row starters Randy Korte and Brandon McCormick held the top two spots virtually the whole race. Korte finished off the race with the victory, moving into the feature, but McCormick slowed out of turn two on the final lap. The gave the second spot to sixth-starting Jayme Zidar, who nearly wrecked when hooking up with Cory Daugherty on the frontstretch early in the race. Zidar got rolling on the high side midway through the race and swept into the third and final transfer spot past Tim Lance. McCormick's last-lap slowdown moved Lance into the third and final transfer spot, joining his brother Steve in the feature lineup. A turn-four wreck on the second lap involved several cars including Daren Friedman, Brandon Thirlby, Brandon Sheppard, Kyle Logue and Jason McBride. Jimmy Dehm spun late in the race for another caution.
Finish: Randy Korte, Jayme Zidar, Tim Lance, Rodney Melvin, Daren Friedman, Brandon Sheppard, Brandon McCormick, Cory Daugherty, Rick Standridge, Jimmy Dehm, Mike Hammerle, Brandon Thirlby, Kyle Logue. Scratched: Ted Loomis.
Second C-Main
Third-starting Daren Friedman won in a runaway to advance to the B-Main along with Jason McBride
Finish: Daren Friedman, Jason McBride, Mike Hammerle, Jeremy Conaway, Matt Beadles, Dennis Vandermeersch, Kelly Kovski, Nick Macklin, Nick Vandenbergh.
First C-Main
Brandon Sheppard led all the way to advance to the B-Main along with Ted Loomis. Steve Sheppard Jr., the winner's father, started on the front row before the rain delay but got banged up on the first start and went to the pits, requiring him to restart on the tail after the rain.
Finish: Brandon Sheppard, Ted Loomis, Russ Adams, Travis Wallbaum, Nick Bauman, Steve Sheppard Jr., Scott Bull. Scratched: Brent Kreke, Jordan Bland, Roben Huffman, Butch Smith.
Weather delay
With the first C-Main on the track, a rain shower came down, forcing the cars off the track. Rain came down heavily for a few minutes then lightened up and quit in just a few moments. The track's tractor was immediately put on the track along with pack trucks and track officials estimated the track could be back in shape by about 9:15 p.m. Officials have asked race cars to join the packing effort. The track has an 11 p.m. curfew. Cars are still packing the track at 9:17 p.m., with a few Late Models but mostly lower division cars. The first Late Model on the track? Eric Smith, who is scheduled to start on the pole for the feature. Action resumed in the first C-Main about 9:29 p.m.
Fifth heat
After a tense race-long battle up front, Brian Shirley squeezed under Jesse Stovall exiting turn four on the final lap to capture the final heat. It was a battle between drivers with some lingering bad blood after contact between the two sent Shirley into the wall in a May 30 event in Paducah, Ky. With the exception of Shirley slightly crinkling the left-rear quarterpanel on Stovall's car — which had new sheetmetal — there was no contact between the two in an exciting battle with Stovall running mostly high and Shirley running mostly low. Stovall appeared to lose some momentum when he toyed with the low groove in the final laps, and Shirley made the most of it on the last lap. Kevin Weaver finished third and was gaining on the frontrunners in the final laps, while Tim Lance was fourth in the caution-free affair.
Finish: Brian Shirley, Jesse Stovall, Kevin Weaver, Tim Lance, Kyle Logue, Nick Bauman, Jason McBride, Scott Bull, Mike Glasscock.
Fourth heat
Polesitter Matt Taylor led all the way, holding off occasional challenges from third-starting Wes Steidinger over the race's late stages for the victory. Taylor, the track points leader, ran the high side in turns three and four and the low groove in turns one and two while Steidinger stayed low all the way around. Donny Walden finished a straightaway behind in third. Four-time UMP weekly champion Rodney Melvin was fourth. The race was restarted after a first-lap scramble in turn two when Kelly Kovski spun, collecting Roben Huffman and Mike Hammerle.
Finish: Matt Taylor, Wes Steidinger, Donny Walden, Rodney Melvin, Brandon Thirlby, Mike Hammerle, Travis Wallbaum, Kelly Kovski, Roben Huffman.
Third heat
Polesitter Eric Smith outdueled fellow front-row starter Michael Kloos early in the race and pulled away for an easy victory. Kloos, who twice got out of shape exiting turn two, finished second with fifth-starting Steve Lance moving up for the third and final transfer spot. Cory Daugherty finished a close fourth while fourth-starting Butch Smith was last in the eight-car field. The race's lone caution appeared on lap seven when Brandon Sheppard spun around at the top of the frontstretch exiting turn four.
Finish: Eric Smith, Michael Kloos, Steve Lance Jr., Cory Daugherty, Jimmy Dehm, Brandon Sheppard, Nick Macklin, Butch Smith. Scratched: Jeremy Conaway.
Second heat
Heat polesitter and overall fast qualifier Jeep Van Wormer fought off a mid-race challenge from Derek Chandler to win the second heat. Chandler, who nosed ahead on the backstretch briefly, finished second with Will Vaught getting the third and final transfer spot. Brandon McCormick finished fourth, just behind his fellow Missourian. Jordan Bland got into the first-turn wall and the eighth lap and suffered enough damage to have his car towed off the track; he started third but wasn't running among the transfer positions. Matt Beadles was penalized for jumping a restart.
Finish: Jeep Van Wormer, Derek Chandler, Will Vaught, Brandon McCormick, Rick Standridge, Matt Beadles, Russ Adams, Nick Vandenbergh, Jordan Bland.
First heat
Polesitter Don O'Neal pulled away early and then fought off a late challenge from fifth-starting Dennis Erb Jr. to win the first 10-lapper. Erb and fourth-starting Ryan Unzicker, who finished nearly a straightaway behind the leaders but held off Randy Korte, got the other two transfer spots. Jayme Zidar started outside the front row and finished a distant fifth.
Finish: Don O'Neal, Dennis Erb Jr., Ryan Unzicker, Randy Korte, Jayme Zidar, Steve Sheppard Jr., Daren Friedman, Ted Loomis, Dennis Vandersmeersch. Scratched: Brent Kreke.
Qualifying
Jeep Van Wormer of Pinconning, Mich., was fastest among 46 qualifiers at Lincoln Speedway for the 13th leg of the UMP DIRTcar Summernationals. Van Wormer was nearly three-tenths of a second fastest than anyone else and one of only two drivers to crack the 14-second mark on the black dirt quarter-mile oval in central Illinois. Van Wormer's 13.712-second lap gives him the pole position for the second heat.
The four other drivers who will start on the pole of heat races following the group-qualifying format: Don O'Neal of Martinsville, Ind., Eric Smith of Bloomington, Ill., Matt Taylor of Springfield, Ill., and Jesse Stovall of Galena, Mo. The top three finishers from each of five heat races advance to the feature while finishers 4-6 go to the B-Main. Everyone else goes to one of two C-Mains.
Pre-race notes
Van Wormer has more fast qualifying times on the series (three) than anyone else. His previous fast times came two weeks earlier at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind., and June 24 at State Fair Speedway in Sedalia, Mo. ... Reigning series champion Dennis Erb Jr. enters event leading the series with 927 points followed by Brian Shirley (909). ... Steve Sheppard Jr. was off the pace in qualifying when he brushed the wall. ... The event drew an array of series newcomers, including Brandon Thirlby from Traverse City, Mich., Brandon McCormick of Lebanon, Mo., and Jesse Stovall of Galena, Mo. ... Among series returnees: Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., Donny Walden of Towanda, Ill., Kyle Logue of Oreana, Ill. and Kevin Weaver of Gibson City, Ill. ... The fifth heat might have some fireworks. Shirley and Jesse Stovall are both in the heat and they mixed it up earlier this season at Paducah (Ky.) International Raceway when contact between them sent Shirley into the wall. ... The event drew a big crowd to the fairgrounds oval. ... Jeremy Conaway broke a rear end during qualifying and his team was working to make a switch before the third heat. "It's going to be close," Conaway said. (He failed to make it out). ... Cory Daugherty enters the race coming off his first career feature victory at Macon (Ill.) Speedway.
Time trials (unofficial)
Jason McBride (77), Carbondale, Ill., 15.492
Correction: In a previous version of this story, Donny Walden was listed as making his first Summernationals feature; he also made the feature in Danville, Ill.
