Dirt on Dirt - English capitalizes for $5,000 at Spoon River

June 23

Spoon River Speedway,

Banner, IL

Sanction: DIRTcar Summer Nationals - $5,000

Information provided by: Robert Holman and series reports (last updated June 24, 3:27 pm)

English capitalizes for $5,000 at Spoon River

Tanner English
Bobby Pierce
Max Blair
Ryan Unzicker
Brian Shirley
Jason Feger
Gordy Gundaker
Logan Martin
Dennis Erb Jr.
Kyle Beard
Payton Freeman
Shannon Babb
Blaze Burwell
Joe Godsey
Brent McKinnon
Preston Luckman
Deshawn Gingerich
Cade Dillard
Jeff Roth
Mark Voigt
Justin Duty
Rich Dawson

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Tanner English salutes the Spoon River crowd after his victory.

What won the race: Leading the final two laps after race-long leader Cade Dillard broke on lap 38, Tanner English of Benton, Ky., held off Bobby Pierce's last-ditch charge to grab Thursday's DIRTcar Summer Nationals victory at Spoon River Speedway. The 10th-starting English earned $5,000 in taking the checkers 0.159 of a second ahead of Pierce. Dillard was dominating the 40-lapper when he broke a yoke on his car's driveshaft, forcing him to the infield in the waning laps.

Quotable: "(Competitors) were all over the place. One lap they'd run the bottom, one lap they'd run the top, so I just had to figure out where they weren't and go there and pass 'em there," English said. "It was tough, but the car was really good and stuck anywhere I put it. A pretty amazing race car, it turned on a dime anytime I wanted it to."

Key notes: English, who is running for rookie honors on the World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series this season, notched his first victory of the season for Riggs Motorsports. ... English drove his personal No. 96 car to a victory June 11 at Fairbury (Ill.) Speedway. ... Runner-up Bobby Pierce challenged early leader Cade Dillard from the second spot, but dropped as far back as seventh on lap 29 rallying. He tried an outside move on English on the final restart but fell just short. ... Dillard, who started outside the front row, led the first 38 laps before losing power and rolling to the infield with driveshaft woes. ... Polesitter Gordy Gundaker ran in the top three the first 24 laps but faded to finish seventh. ... Besides the yellow for Dillard's retirement, three other cautions slowed the action at Spoon River. ... Mark Voigt spun in turn four after losing his driveshaft on lap 28. ... Rich Dawson stopped on the backstretch for a lap-10 caution. ... Preston Luckman stopped atop turn one for a lap-two yellow. ... Spoon River hosted the series for the 28th time; English is the 20th winner.

On the move: Winner Tanner English of Benton, Ky., started 10th.

Winner's sponsors: English’s Riggs Motorsports Longhorn Chassis has a Clements Racing Engine and sponsorship from Riggs Drilling Solutions, Hass Horizontal, Best One Tire & Auto Care, Base Racing Fuels & Oils, Slicker Graphics, Wiles Racing Driveshafts, Holbrook Metal Fabrication, Lents Towing & Recovery, Speedwerx, Seay Motors and Allstar Performance.

Points chase: After Spoon River: 1. Bobby Pierce (634); 2. Ryan Unzicker (581); 3. Brian Shirley (562); 4. Jason Feger (535); 5. Logan Martin (442); 6. Dennis Erb Jr. (430); 7. Payton Freeman (427); 8. Joe Godsey (396); 9. Max Blair (392); 10. Preston Luckman (345).

Current weather: Clear, 77°F

Car count: 32

Fast qualifier: Jason Feger

Time: 13.358 seconds

Polesitter: Gordy Gundaker

Heat race winners: Jason Feger, Cade Dillard, Bobby Pierce, Gordy Gundaker

Consolation race winners: Blaze Burwell

Provisional starters: Jeff Roth, Preston Luckman, Shannon Babb, Rich Dawson

Next series race: June 24, Federated Raceway at I-55 (Pevely, MO) $10,000

Editor's note: Corrects winner's chassis and engine.

From staff and series reports

BANNER, Ill. — Updates from Thursday's ninth round of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals at Spoon River Speedway, highlighted by a $5,000-to-win event for Super Late Models (results unofficial):

Feature

Leading the final two laps after race-long leader Cade Dillard broke on lap 38, Tanner English of Benton, Ky., held off Bobby Pierce's last-ditch charge to grab Thursday's DIRTcar Summer Nationals victory at Spoon River Speedway. The 10th-starting English earned $5,000 in taking the checkers 0.159 of a second ahead of Pierce. Dillard was dominating the 40-lapper when he broke a yoke on his car's driveshaft, forcing him to the infield in the waning laps.

Feature lineup

Row 1: Gordy Gundaker, Cade Dillard
Row 2: Jason Feger, Bobby Pierce
Row 3: Brent McKinnon, Logan Martin
Row 4: Dennis Erb Jr., Max Blair
Row 5: Joe Godsey, Tanner English
Row 6: Brian Shirley, Payton Freeman
Row 7: Deshawn Gingerich, Ryan Unzicker
Row 8: Kyle Beard, Justin Duty
Row 9: Blaze Burwell, Mark Voigt
Row 10: Jeff Roth, Preston Luckman
Row 11: Shannon Babb, Rich Dawson

Consolation race results

B-main (top two transfer): Blaze Burwell, Jeff Roth, Rich Dawson, Preston Luckman, Mark Voigt, Doug Tye, Russ Adams, Mick Quin, Tim Gauntt, Frank Heckenast Jr., Cole Swibold, Paul Stubber, Tucker Finch, Mike Chateen Jr., Shannon Babb. Scratched: Trevor Gundaker.

Heat race results

(10 laps; top four transfer)

First heat: Jason Feger, Brent McKinnon, Joe Godsey, Deshawn Gingerich, Mark Voight, Mick Quinn, Russ Adams, Tim Gauntt.

Second heat: Cade Dillard, Logan Martin, Tanner English, Ryan Unzicker, Frank Heckenast Jr., Blaze Burwell, Tucker Finch, Cole Swibold.

Third heat: Bobby Pierce, Dennis Erb Jr., Brian Shirley, Kyle Beard, Preston Luckman, Paul Stubber, Jeff Roth, Trevor Gundaker.

Fourth heat: Gordy Gundaker, Max Blair, Payton Freeman, Justin Duty, Mike Chasteen Jr., Rich Dawson, Doug Tye, Shannon Babb.

Time trials

(Heat races start straightup by qualifying times)

Driver (car no.), hometown, time
First group
Jason Feger (25), Bloomington, Ill., 13.358
Joe Godsey (14G), Edinburgh, Ind., 13.677
Deshawn Gingerich (0), Dover, Pa., 14.101
Brent McKinnon (26M), Carlyle, Ill., 14.109
Mark Voigt (30), Marine, Ill., 14.419
Mick Quinn (23NAZ), Hawks Bay, NZ, 14.692
Russ Adams (74), Princeville, Ill., 14.734
Tim Gauntt (T8), Brighton, Ill., 16.362
Second group
Cade Dillard (97), Robeline, La., 13.496
Logan Martin (36), West Plains, Mo., 13.849
Ryan Unzicker (24), El Paso, Ill., 13.868
Tanner English (81E), Benton, Ky., 13.889
Blaze Burwell (44), Mount Vernon, Ill., 13.924
Frank Heckenast Jr. (99jr), Frankfort, Ill., 13.975
Tucker Finch (25T), Jacksonville, Ill., 14.473
Cole Swibold (98), Fairview, Ill., 14.567
Third group
Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., 13.700
Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., 13.700
Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., 13.834
Trevor Gundaker (11), St. Charles, Mo., 13.875
Kyle Beard (86), Trumann, Ark., 13.953
Preston Luckman (77), Coos Bay, Ore., 14.382
Paul Stubber (31aus), Bunbury, Australia, 14.755
Jeff Roth (14R), Bentonville, Ark., 14.911
Fourth group
Gordy Gundaker (11), St. Charles, Mo., 13.750
Max Blair (111), Centerville, Pa., 13.806
Payton Freeman (F1), Commerce, Ga., 13.822
Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill., 13.852
Justin Duty (15), Mulino, Ore., 14.257
Rich Dawson (80), Lowell, Ind., 14.540
Doug Tye (4D), Collinsville, Ill., 14.550
Mike Chasteen Jr. (C40), Peoria, Ill., DQ (wrong RR tire)

Thursday's schedule

(All times local)

5:30 p.m. - Drivers' meeting
6 p.m. - On-track activity
- Late Model hot laps
- Modified hot laps/time trials
- Late Model time trials (2 laps)
- E-mod hot laps/time trials
Opening ceremonies
- Late Model heat races (10 laps)
- Modified heat races (8 laps)
- E-mod heat races
- Modified consolation (10 laps if necessary)
- Late Model B-main (12 laps if necessary)
Feature races
- Late Models (40 laps)
- Modifieds (25 laps)
- E-mods (20 laps)