FAIRBURY, Ill. — If anyone’s aware of Brian Shirley’s prowess in the MIdwest this season, it’s Shannon Babb. Babb battled Shirley for three-quarters of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals this summer before Shirley finally established control and won the championship on the annual month-long tour.
Back in familiar territory, the pair of Illinois stars renewed their mid-summer rivalry Saturday as Fairbury American Legion Speedway hosted the MARS Late Model Series and the Sunoco American Late Model Series for a co-sanctioned event. This chapter belonged to Babb.
The Moweaqua, Ill., standout took the lead from Shirley on lap 26 and then turned back the Chatham, Ill., driver’s charges throughout the second half of the 50-lapper to win the fourth annual FALS Frenzy. He earned $10,000 for his second MARS victory of the season.
Shirley, who led laps 21 through 25 after grabbing the top spot from series points leader Tanner English of Benton, Ky., on a mid-race restart, settled for second, while 10th-starting Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., finished third. Frank Heckenast Jr. of Frankfurt, Ill., finished fourth after battling for the lead early, and English slipped to fifth after giving up the lead.
Babb said the restart, which came just as the track’s two grooves were beginning to transition, was key.
“Tanner chose the bottom (on the restart). We got to lap 25 and I think those crumbs started drying up enough that the top got going,” Babb said. “That put me on the outside on the restart and I was able to capitalize on it and get by them guys and able to kinda cruise from there. Really there wasn’t no cruising, you know Brian was right there and I just knew I had to hit my marks every lap.”
While Babb never gave up the lead again, it was hardly a Sunday drive. The leaders diced through traffic in the waning laps, a double-edged sword that proved to aid Babb in his effort to put some distance between himself and his pursuers.
“You definitely have to catch those lapped cars at the right time,” he said. “If you move down and it kills your momentum … there just as fast as you are … you’re trying to momentum the race track. I was able to get a good run in (turns) three and four and then get by him (Myles Moos) in turn one. I knew that helped me out tremendously. It’s never over ’till it’s over. Brian’s been good all year and he was always right there underneath me, so I was just trying to work hard enough to stay ahead of him.”
Shirley agreed that the restart following Donny Walden’s spin on lap 23 was critical. He second-guessed himself for staying on the bottom of the track, thus allowing Babb to get a good run on the topside.
“You’ve got to keep up with when (the track) picks up to get around the bottom and then when it gets around the top,” Shirley said. “We just didn’t do a good job on that restart. I knew when Shannon was behind me I probably should’ve went to the top. We took the lead there, middle to the bottom. It’s just one of those deals where you win some, you lose some. It’s no big deal.
“When I took off (on the restart) I just did a bad job. I should’ve done a little better job in the seat. Shannon’s a spectacular driver, B-Shepp (Brandon Sheppard) is good, I mean everybody we’re racing against is awesome, so any one of us could win any night. We just take what we can get each night and hope that we can put it in the top five and have a solid night and then move on to the next race.”
Sheppard, the 2017 World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series champion, was campaigning his family-owned No. B5 while the World of Outlaws take a 12-day hiatus, was happy with his second podium finish in as many days. He finished second at Tri-City on Friday.
“The track (Fairbury) was a lot dirtier than I thought it would be,” Sheppard said. “It was kinda like it was in the PDC (Prairie Dirt Classic). My car was really good. I think I had a little bit harder tires than most of them guys, so the long runs I was really, really good. It took me awhile to get going in the beginning, but when we did, we were really fast.
“The restarts there kinda hurt me a little bit. They could take off a little better. But then we’d get some speed built up and I could move around to where I could pass some guys. All in all, we’re really happy with coming from the back to third.”
Notes: Babb denied Shirley his sixth series victory of the season. Shirley notched his fifth MARS win of ’18 just 24 hours earlier at Tri-City Speedway on Granite City, Ill. … The race was originally set for May 12, but rained out. … Babb’s previous MARS win came May 11 at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway. It two was co-sanctioned with the Sunoco ALMS tour. … Babb become the fifth different FALS Frenzy winner in five events. Former FALS Frenzy winners include Kevin Weaver (’15), Bobby Pierce (’16) and Dennis Erb Jr. (’17). … Babb, who’s largely spent the last month since dropping off the DIRTcar Summer Nationals tour refurbishing his equipment, said it was a needed break. “The UPS guy can’t run fast enough to deliver parts to my shop,” he quipped. “That Summer Nationals is a grind … really hard on equipment. But I’m real happy the car’s back in running order again.”
