FARMER CITY, Ill. (May 11) — Results from Thursday night's Sunoco American Late Model Series-MARS DIRTcar Series Farmer City 74 preliminary program, a $3,000-to-win event at Farmer City Raceway (CLICK HERE TO ORDER LIVE PAY-PER-VIEW VIDEO COVERAGE):
Main event
Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., bolted from fifth to first in five laps and then survived a slip off the backstretch and a mid-race challenge from Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., to pocket $3,000 for winning the 35-lap Farmer City 74 preliminary feature. Babb crossed the finish line 2.295 seconds in front of Mason Zeigler of Chalk Hill, Pa., who outdueled Moyer for second place.
Pre-feature notes
The field for the 35-lap feature rolled onto the quarter-mile oval shortly after 10 p.m. CT. ... Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., starts the A-main from the pole position in his first Farmer City start since he finished eighth in the 2015 Illini 100 finale. … Billy Drake of Bloomington, Ill., won a heat and starts fourth in his second appearance behind the wheel of a new MB Customs machine from Mars’s shop. … One week after dropping off the World of Outlaws tour, Chase Junghans of Manhattan, Kan., starts ninth in a new XR1 Rocket car. … Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., was a late arrival due to a flat tire on his hauler. He missed hot laps but was able to qualify with a runner-up finish in the fifth heat. ... Evan Hubert of Cross Timbers, Mo., damaged the right-rear corner of his car when he clipped the large tractor tire protecting the turn-three wall on the final lap of the fourth heat. He took out the DirtonDirt.com speed-shot camera in the process. … The 48-car field represents the most entries for a MARS-sanctioned race since June 28, 2013, when I-80 Speedway’s Alphabet Soup Classic pulled 49 (that race was co-sanctioned by MLRA and Corn Belt Clash). That’s a span of exactly 100 completed MARS events. … Friday night’s $20,000-to-win Farmer City 74 finale is expected to draw several additional entrants, including Gregg Satterlee of Indiana, Pa., who pulled into the pit area as Thursday’s qualifying was ending.
Feature lineup
Row 1: Jimmy Mars, Tanner English
Row 2: Mason Zeigler, Billy Drake
Row 3: Shannon Babb, Billy Moyer
Row 4: McKay Wenger, Ryan Unzicker
Row 5: Chase Junghans, Dennis Erb Jr.
Row 6: Brian Shirley, Kevin Weaver
Row 7: Bobby Pierce, Billy Moyer Jr.
Row 8: Tim Manville, Mike Mataragas
Row 9: Kent Robinson, Bob Gardner
Row 10: Mike Marlar, Kolby Vandenbergh
Row 11: Tony Jackson Jr., Austin Rettig
Row 12: Caleb Ashby
Last chance race results
First C-main finish (10 laps/top 2 transfer to B-main): Brent Larson, Mike Spatola, Taylor Scheffler, Nick Hoffman, Joe Godsey, Jeff Roth, Russ Adams, Paul Parker (DNS) Jason Wagner.
Second C-main finish (10 laps/top 2 transfer to B-main): Matt Furman, Rusty Schlenk, Justin Asplin, Daniel Flessner, Larry Greer, Jeff Riddell, Curtis Hobbs (DNS) Nathan Vawter, Evan Hubert.
B-main finish (12 laps/top 2 transfer): Mike Marlar, Kolby Vandenbergh, Tony Jackson Jr., Devin Gilpin, Jason Feger, Gordy Gundaker, Brent Larson, Mike Spatola, Jose Parga, Scott Bull, Rusty Schlenk, Don Hammer, Matt Furman, Austin Rettig, Caleb Ashby (DNS) Chris Ferguson.
Last chance race lineups
First C-main
(10 laps/top 2 transfer to B-main)
Row 1: Paul Parker, Brent Larson
Row 2: Taylor Scheffler, Mike Spatola
Row 3: Nick Hoffman, Russ Adams
Row 4: Jason Wagner, Joe Godsey
Row 5: Jeff Roth
Second C-main
(10 laps/top 2 transfer to B-main)
Row 1: Curtis Hobbs, Larry Greer
Row 2: Matt Furman, Daniel Flessner
Row 3: Nathan Vawter, Jeff Riddell
Row 4: Evan Hubert, Justin Asplin
Row 5: Rusty Schlenk
B-main
(12 laps/top 2 transfer to A-main)
Row 1: Tony Jackson Jr., Mike Marlar
Row 2: Kolby Vandenbergh, Jose Parga
Row 3: Devin Gilpin, Austin Rettig
Row 4: Jason Feger, Chris Ferguson
Row 5: Gordy Gundaker, Scott Bull
Row 6: Don Hammer, Caleb Ashby
Row 7: C-main transfers
Row 8: C-main transfers
Heat race results
First heat finish (10 laps/top 3 transfer): Jimmy Mars, McKay Wenger, Bobby Pierce, Tony Jackson Jr., Jason Feger, Paul Parker, Mike Spatola (DNS) Jason Wagner.
Second heat finish (10 laps/top 3 transfer): Billy Moyer, Chase Junghans, Tim Manville, Mike Marlar, Chris Ferguson, Brent Larson, Nick Hoffman, Joe Godsey.
Third heat finish (10 laps/top 3 transfer): Mason Zeigler, Brian Shirley, Kent Robinson, Kolby Vandenbergh, Gordy Gundaker, Taylor Scheffler, Russ Adams, Jeff Roth.
Fourth heat finish (10 laps/top 3 transfer): Shannon Babb, Ryan Unzicker, Billy Moyer Jr., Jose Parga, Curtis Hobbs, Daniel Flessner, Evan Hubert.
Fifth heat finish (10 laps/top 3 transfer): Tanner English, Dennis Erb Jr., Mike Mataragas, Devin Gilpin, Don Hammer, Larry Greer, Nathan Vawter, Justin Asplin.
Sixth heat finish (10 laps/top 3 transfer): Billy Drake, Kevin Weaver, Bob Gardner, Austin Rettig, Caleb Ashby, Jeff Riddell, Matt Furman, Rusty Schlenk.
Heat race lineups
(10 laps/top 3 advance)
First heat
Row 1: Jimmy Mars, Bobby Pierce
Row 2: McKay Wenger, Jason Feger
Row 3: Tony Jackson Jr., Jason Wagner
Row 4: Mike Spatola, Paul Parker
Second heat
Row 1: Billy Moyer, Chase Junghans
Row 2: Tim Manville, Chris Ferguson
Row 3: Mike Marlar, Nick Hoffman
Row 4: Brent Larson, Joe Godsey
Third heat
Row 1: Mason Zeigler, Daniel Flessner
Row 2: Kent Robinson, Taylor Scheffler
Row 3: Kolby Vandenbergh, Gordy Gundaker
Row 4: Russ Adams, Jeff Roth
Fourth heat
Row 1: Shannon Babb, Daniel Flessner
Row 2: Billy Moyer Jr., Ryan Unzicker
Row 3: Jose Parga, Scott Bull
Row 4: Evan Hubert, Curtis Hobbs
Fifth heat
Row 1: Tanner English, Dennis Erb Jr.
Row 2: Devin Gilpin, Mike Mataragas
Row 3: Don Hammer, Larry Grier
Row 4: Justin Asplin, Nathan Vawter
Sixth heat
Row 1: Billy Drake, Kevin Weaver
Row 2: Caleb Ashby, Bob Gardner
Row 3: Austin Rettig, Rusty Schlenk
Row 4: Jeff Riddell, Matt Furman
Qualifying results
First group
Jimmy Mars (28), Menomonie, Wis., 12.540
Billy Moyer (21), Batesville, Ark., 12.547
Mason Zeigler (25z), Chalk Hill, Pa., 12.586
Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., 12.622
Chase Junghans (18c), Manhattan, Kan., 12.631
Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., 12.635
McKay Wenger (42), Fairbury, Ill., 12.644
Tim Manville (33), Highland, Ill., 12.707
Kent Robinson (7R), Bloomington, Ind., 12.739
Jason Feger (25), Bloomington, Ill., 12.789
Chris Ferguson (22), Mount Holly, N.C., 12.798
Taylor Scheffler (10s), Waukesha, Wis., 12.842
Tony Jackson Jr. (56), Lebanon, Mo., 12.881
Mike Marlar (157), Winfield, Tenn., 12.889
Kolby Vandenbergh (15V), Ashland, Ill., 12.916
Jason Wagner (J12), Morton, Ill., 12.950
Nick Hoffman (2), Mooresville, N.C., 12.970
Gordy Gundaker (11), St. Charles, Mo., 12.99
Mike Spatola (89), Manhattan, Ill., 13.006
Brent Larson (B1), Lake Elmo, Minn., 13.188
Russ Adams (74), Princeville, Ill., 13.266
Paul Parker (10), Kaukana, Wis., 13.272
Joe Godsey (26R), Bedford, Ind., 13.436
Jeff Roth (14R), Bentonville, Ark., 13.485
Second group
Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill., 12.310
Tanner English (96), Benton, Ky., 12.428
Billy Drake (75), Bloomington, Ill., 12.740
Daniel Flessner (9D), Roberts, Ill., 12.753
Dennis Erb Jr. (28e), Carpentersville, Ill., 12.767
Kevin Weaver (12), Gibson City, Ill., 12.785
Billy Moyer Jr. (21jr), Batesville, Ark., 12.825
Devin Gilpin (1G), Columbus, Ind., 12.862
Caleb Ashby (61), Cunningham, Tenn., 12.889
Ryan Unzicker (24), El Paso, Ill., 12.915
Mike Mataragas (1M), Dekalb, Ill., 12.947
Bob Gardner (4G), East Peoria, Ill., 12.957
Jose Parga (6P), Auburn, Ill., 13.040
Don Hammer (45), Clinton, Ill., 13.110
Austin Rettig (94), Sikeston, Mo., 13.127
Scott Bull (83), Fairbury, Ill., 13.140
Larry Greer (9G), Bowling Green, Ky., 13.21
Rusty Schlenk (CJ1), McClure, Ohio, 13.24
Evan Hubert (9), Cross Timbers, Mo., 13.285
Justin Asplin (77A), Birchtree, Mo., 13.427
Jeff Riddell (09), Steward, Ill., 13.733
Curtis Hobbs (53), Farmer City, Ill., 14.225
Nathan Vawter (17V), Columbus, Ind., 14.391
Matt Furman (51), Portland, Ore., no time