Dirt on Dirt - Shirley goes flag-to-flag, wins Peoria tour opener

June 14

Peoria Speedway,

Peoria, IL

Sanction: DIRTcar Summer Nationals - $5,000

Information provided by: Robert Holman, series and track reports (last updated June 15, 2:05 pm)

Shirley goes flag-to-flag, wins Peoria tour opener

Brian Shirley
Shannon Babb
Dennis Erb Jr.
Ethan Dotson
Bob Gardner
Ryan Unzicker
Jason Feger
Jordan Bauer
Kye Blight
Frank Heckenast Jr.
Curtis Roberts
Myles Moos
Forrest Trent
Doug Tye
Mark Voigt
Chase Osterhoff
Tegan Evans
Ashton Winger
Rich Bell
Rodney Melvin
Jake Little
Mick Quin

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Brian Shirley won at Peoria, where his first-ever Summer Nationals victory came in 2004.

What won the race: Leading 40 laps, polesitter Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., captured Wednesday’s DIRTcar Summer Nationals opener at Peoria Speedway and earn $5,000 at the quarter-mile oval. Shirley, whose first series victory came at Peoria in 2004, finished 2.696 seconds ahead of wall-scraping Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., who started eighth.

Quotable: “Yeah I think we was a little tight early, but with that track prep I didn’t change too much,” Shirley said. “All in all as the race went on, I felt like the car was getting a little better. Not sure 100 percent where to be, cause I seen Dennis (Erb Jr.) on me there at the beginning, but as the race went on, obviously (our car) was pretty good there at the end.”

Key notes: Shirley won for the 39th time, tying him with Don O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., at fourth on the tour’s all-time list. … He has five Peoria victories. ... On a break from the World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series, Shirley plans to run the opening week of WoO's sister tour in chasing a new weekly points fund paying $10,000 to the points leader after five races. … Runner-up Shannon Babb made gains on the high side but never made a serious bid for lead while swapping second with Dennis Erb Jr. … The podium finishers own 11 series titles. … Fourth-place finisher Ethan Dotson, a Super Late Model rookie from Bakersfield, Calif., made his series debut. … Front-row starter Chase Osterhoff faded in his bid for a first-ever series victory. …. A flat tire knocked heat winner Ashton Winger from contention. … Daryn Klein subbed for Kyle Hammer in a Brett McKinnon-owned car but failed to make the feature.

On the move: Ryan Unzicker of El Paso, Ill., started 20th and finished sixth.

Winner's sponsors: Shirley’s Bob Cullen Racing Rocket Chassis is powered by an Andy Durham Racing Engine and sponsored by Thomason Express, Hoker Trucking, J&J Ventures Gaming, Kid’s Castle Learning Center, KBC Graphics, Cheap Cars, Bass Livestock Nutrition, Allgaier Motorsports, East Central Coin, Cheers and Integra Shocks.

Points chase: After Peoria: 1. Brian Shirley (80); 2. Shannon Babb (75); 3. Dennis Erb Jr. (70); 4. Ethan Dotson (65); 5. Bob Gardner (60); 6. Ryan Unzicker (55); 7. Jason Feger (53); 8. Jordan Bauer (51); 9. Kye Blight (49); 10. Frank Heckenast Jr. (47).

Current weather: Few Clouds, 73°F

Car count: 40

Fast qualifier: Dennis Erb Jr.

Time: 11.940 seconds

Polesitter: Brian Shirley

Heat race winners: Ashton Winger, Chase Osterhoff, Dennis Erb Jr., Brian Shirley

Consolation race winners: Jake Little

Provisional starters: Mick Quin, Ryan Unzicker, Tegan Evans, Doug Tye

Next series race: June 15, Kankakee County Speedway (Kankakee, IL) $5,000

Editor's note: Results and race details are unofficial.

PEORIA, Ill. (June 14) — Updates from the first round of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals at Peoria Speedway, an event highlighted by a $5,000-to-win feature for Super Late Models (results unofficial):

Feature

Grabbing the lead on the start, polesitter Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., led flag-to-flag to win Wednesday’s DIRTcar Summer Nationals opener at Peoria Speedway. Shirley finished 2.696 seconds ahead of eighth-starting Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill. Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., finished third, while Ethan Dotson of Bakersfield, Calif., and Bob Gardner of Washington, Ill., completed the top five.

Feature lineup

(40 laps)

Row 1: Brian Shirley, Chase Osterhoff
Row 2: Ashton Winger, Dennis Erb Jr.
Row 3: Ethan Dotson, Jason Feger
Row 4: Jordan Bauer, Shannon Babb
Row 5: Rich Bell, Bob Gardner
Row 6: Forrest Trent, Frank Heckenast Jr.
Row 7: Curtis Roberts, Myles Moos
Row 8: Mark Voigt, Rodney Melvin
Row 9: Jake Little, Kye Blight
Row 10: Mick Quinn, Ryan Unzicker
Row 11: Tegan Evans, Doug Tye

Consolation race results

B-main (two transfer): Jake Little, Kye Blight, Daryn Klein, Tommy Sheppard Jr., Tyler Clem, Charlie Cole, Thomas Hunziker, Lyle Zanker, Brenden Smith, Roben Huffman, Russ Adams, Paul Parker, Doug Tye, Ryan Unzicker, Tegan Evans.

C-main (three transfer): Paul Parker, Tegan Evans, Brenden Smith, Todd Bennett, Cody Bauer, Mick Quinn, Dan Jacober, Ryan Miller, Matt Mackey, Jeff Robertson, Tim Gaunt. Scratched: Allen Ellis.

Heat race results

(Top four transfer)

First heat: Ashton Winger, Ethan Dotson, Rich Bell, Curtis Roberts, Roben Huffman, Tyler Clem, Lyle Zanker, Paul Parker, Dan Jacober, Mick Quinn.

Second heat: Chase Osterhoff, Jordan Bauer, Forrest Trent, Mark Voigt, Kye Blight, Thomas Hunziker, Russ Adams, Tegan Evans, Tim Gaunt, Allen Ellis.

Third heat: Dennis Erb Jr., Jason Feger, Bob Gardner, Myles Moos, Daryn Klein, Ryan Unzicker, Doug Tye, Brenden Smith, Cody Bauer, Jeff Robertson.

Fourth heat: Brian Shirley, Shannon Babb, Frank Heckenast Jr., Rodney Melvin, Jake Little, Tommy Sheppard Jr., Charlie Cole, Todd Bennett, Ryan Miller, Matt Mackey.

Time trials

Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)
Group A
Rich Bell (21B), Sheffield, Ill., 12.255
Jordan Bauer (10J), St. Jacob, Ill., 12.269
Ashton Winger (89), Hampton, Ga., 12.273
Curtis Roberts (9r), Coleman, Mich., 12.347
Mark Voigt (30), Marine, Ill., 12.367
Chase Osterhoff (130), Kankakee, Ill., 12.393
Ethan Dotson (174), Bakersfield, Calif., 12.422
Tyler Clem (58), St. Petersburg, Fla., 12.5629
Forrest Trent (101), Morristown, Tenn., 12.658
Thomas Hunziker (38), Bend, Ore., 12.700
Lyle Zanker (9z), Rockford, Ill., 12.765
Tegan Evans (T22), Clinton, Iowa, 12.799
Roben Huffman (33H), Midland City, Ill., 12.907
Russ Adams (74), Princeville, Ill., 12.993
Mick Quinn (23NZ), Hawes Bay, New Zealand, 13.220
Kye Blight (31AUS), Bunbury, W. Australia, 13.286
Dan Jacober (22), Highland, Ill., 13.391
Tim Gauntt (T8), Brighton, Ill., 13.687
Paul Parker (10), Kaukauna, Wis., no time
Allen Ellis (93), Peoria, Ill., no time
Group B
Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., 11.940
Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., 12.040
Miles Moos (84), Lincoln, Ill., 12.164
Jake Little (38J), Springfield, Ill., 12.195
Bob Gardner (4G), East Peoria, Ill., 12.225
Rodney Melvin (27M), Benton, Ill., 12.289
Jason Feger (25), Bloomington, Ill., 12.308
Frank Heckenast Jr. (99jr), Frankfort, Ill., 12.315
Daryn Klein (26H), Fairview Heights, Ill., 12.320
Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill., 12.352
Ryan Unzicker (24), El Paso, Ill., 12.391
Tommy Sheppard (T6), New Berlin, Ill., 12.496
Doug Tye (4D), Collinsville, Ill., 12.609
Todd Bennett (T2), Peoria, Ill., 12.663
Cody Bauer (19x), Farwell, Mich., 12.696
Charlie Cole (2), Wynne, Ark., 12.699
Brenden Smith (17SS), Dade City, Fla., 12.707
Ryan Miller (11M), Lincoln, Ill., 13.416
Jeff Robertson (P3), Defiance, Ohio, 13.546
Matt Mackey (01), Delavan, Ill., 13.689

Wednesday’s schedule

(All times local)
5:30 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting
6 p.m. - On-track activity
- Super Late Model hot laps
- Modified hot laps/time trials
- Super Late Model time trials
- B-mods hot laps/time trials
Opening ceremonies
- Kid Modz heat races (6 laps)
- Super Late Model heat races (10 laps)
- Modified heat races (8 laps)
- B-mod heat races (8 laps)
- Super Late Model C-Main (10 laps)
- Modified consolation (10 laps; if necessary)
- Super Late Model consolation (10 laps)
Feature races
- Kid modz (10 laps)
- Super Late Models (40 laps)
- Modifieds (25 lap)
- B-mods (15 laps)