Fairbury Speedway
High-flying Feger rolls to victory at Fairbury
Jason Feger visits victory lane at Fairbury. (Rich Edwards Jr.)
FAIRBURY, Ill. (May 21) — Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., led all 30 laps Saturday at Fairbury American Legion Speedway for a $2,000 victory co-sanctioned by the Northern Allstars Late Model Series and Sunoco American Late Model Series victory.
The high-running Feger fought off a mid-race challenge from low-running Michael Kloos of Trenton, Ill., and kept polesitter Jeep Van Wormer of Pinconning, Mich., at bay in the closing laps for the victory. | Video highlights
Feger struggled a little in his previous visit to Fairbury, but he found success Saturday night on the quarter-mile bullring.
"I hadn't really been on any small tracks this year," Feger said. "Our bigger-track program really stepped up, but we were trying that stuff here, and it wasn't working that good. Hopefully this was a good learning experience as well as being able to get a win. We'll definitely take it."
Van Wormer settled for second while fast qualifier Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., was third. Reigning track champion Eric Smith of Bloomington was fourth and Kloos rounded out the top five in a rare visit to Fairbury.
Feger got the jump at the outset with Kloos nosing under Van Wormer in the early laps. Van Wormer regained second, but Kloos went back to work on the bottom after a mid-race restart and provided Feger his biggest challenge of the race.
"I was too soft on the right-front tire and started pushing real bad," Feger said. "I had to really start throwing the car into the corners pretty hard."
As Kloos faded, Feger reasserted command and held on the rest of the way for his seventh career Northern Allstars victory and second career ALMS victory.
Notes: Feger's Pierce Race Car is powered by a Rhyne Competition Engine and sponsored by Chizmark Larson, Pro Tire & Automotive, and Jaxon Chase Steel Detailing. ... Feger won last year's Northern Allstars championship, capturing a pair of series events. ... The co-sanctioned event was the first-ever ALMS visit to Fairbury. ... Jon Henry of Ada, Ohio, was the top-finishing ALMS regular in seventh. ... Brandon Sheppard's third-place finish followed a regular-season victory Friday night at Farmer City (Ill.) Speedway, where he outran Feger. ... ALMS regular Curtis Roberts of Coleman, Mich., got hard charger honors at Fairbury for his 22nd-to-13th run. ... Among drivers failing to make the feature lineup: Alan Vochaska, Joe Harlan, Aaron Ricketts, Ryan Vanderveen and the ageless Dick Potts. ... Next up for ALMS competitors is a three-race Memorial Day weekend with events at Michigan's Mount Pleasant Speedway (May 27), Ohio's Oakshade Raceway (May 28) and then historic Eldora Speedway (May 29) ... The Northern Allstars were scheduled to run Sunday at Shepp's Speedway in Alexander, Ill., but the race was rained out.
NALMS-ALMS @ Fairbury: (1) Jason Feger, (2) Jeep Van Wormer, (3) Brandon Sheppard, (4) Eric Smith, (5) Michael Kloos, (6) Steve Sheppard Jr., (7) Jon Henry, (8) Mike Spatola, (9) Ryan Unzicker, (10) Jimmy Dehm, (11) Dillan White, (12) Kevin Weaver, (13) Curtis Roberts, (14) Derek Chandler, (15) Bobby Pierce, (16) Daren Friedman, (17) J.R. Hotovy, (18) Scott Bull, (19) Donny Walden, (20) Sam Epling, (21) Greg Kimmons, (22) Bret Sievert. Fast qualifier (among 33 cars): B. Sheppard, 12.98 seconds. Heat race winners: Feger, Van Wormer, S. Sheppard, Spatola. Consolation winners: Friedman, Pierce. Provisional starters: Roberts, Walden, Kimmons.
