Federated Raceway at I-55
Feger tops Pierce at I-55 for MARS sweep
Jason Feger heads for his second MARS victory on the weekend. (Ron Mitchell)
PEVELY, Mo. (Aug. 24) — Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., made a late pass on Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., in Saturday’s MARS DIRTcar Series event at Federated Raceway at I-55 to complete a sweep of the regional tour’s doubleheader header weekend.
Feger, who also topped Pierce in Friday’s MARS event at Paducah (Ky.) International Raceway, earned $5,000 for the fifth series victory of his career and his first ever victory at I-55’s third-mile oval. | Slideshow | Video
“This feels awesome. It’s only $5,000 race, but it’s a lot,” said Feger, who pushed his total weekend earnings to $10,000. “It’s a lot bigger than that to me. I’ve been to every special here for at least five or six years. We’ve had some really good runs and had some bad luck, just never able to get it done.”
Pierce settled for his second runner-up finish of the weekend ahead of Randy Korte of Highland, Ill., while Batesville, Ark., drivers Wendell Wallace and Billy Moyer rounded out the race’s top five finishers.
Feger started from the pole but settled into second behind Pierce after an early side-by-side battle. He was later shuffled back to third by a turn-one slidejob by Moyer on an early restart.
After trailing the top two for most of the first half of the race, Feger got rolling on the top side of the track and used restart with 14 laps remaining to get by Moyer and set his sights on the low-running Pierce.
Feger kept his high-side momentum rolling and charged by Pierce and into the lead on lap 28. He held off Pierce through lapped traffic and pulled after a late caution set up a one-lap run to the finish.
“I was starting to wonder if I was ever gonna win here. I was kinda starting to wonder there tonight for quite a while. But the car was really good. I didn’t drive very good the first half of the race, and I got a little flustered when Moyer got by me on the start. Once I got by him I was able to get in a good rhythm.”
“I was just trying to save it and hope I got a shot at the end. I did, and it worked out for us.”
Looking for his first-ever MARS victory, Pierce built more than a straightaway lead as the race’s middle portions ran caution-free. But his commitment to the low groove cost him in the end as Feger rolled by on the top.
“I think I should’ve tried to the top a couple times, but once I decided I should probably move up, Feger was up there," Pierce said. "Then I was like ‘I’m kinda stuck in a situation here and gotta race him on the bottom.’ I tried to hit my marks perfect, but that top’s just got a lot of momentum and the bottom just kept getting slicker and slicker.”
Notes: Feger’s Pierce Race Car is powered by a Rhyne Competition Racing Engine is sponsored by Cheap Cars, Box Seat Productions, Titan Industries, Allstar Performance, Mulligan’s, Pro Tire & Auto, Advanced Racing Suspensions and VP Racing Fuels. ... Tyler Reddick drew the lap-39 caution. ... Brian Shirley, who suffered early spoiler damage, slowed for a lap-26 yellow in the feature. ... Jesse Stovall was an early retiree in the feature after getting briefly airborne on the fourth lap. ... Jim Shereck also retired early from the main event after getting into the turn-two wall. ... MARS points leader Tony Jackson Jr. finished eighth. ... The MARS tour wraps up its season with five races between Sept.1-21, beginning with a $4,000-to-win event at Monett (Mo.) Speedway.
MARS @ I-55: (1) Jason Feger, (2) Bobby Pierce, (3) Randy Korte, (4) Wendell Wallace, (5) Billy Moyer, (6) Brandon Sheppard, (7) Shannon Babb, (8) Tony Jackson Jr., (9) Kent Robinson, (10) Dewayne Kiefer, (11) Ray Guss Jr., (12) Tanner English, (13) Tyler Reddick, (14) Justin Asplin, (15) Jeff Herzog, (16) Leroy Johnson, (17) Rickey Frankel, (18) Brian Shirley, (19) Brent Kreke, (20) Scott Weber, (21) Mark Voigt, (22) Tim Manville, (23) Jim Shereck, (24) Jesse Stovall. Fast qualifier (among 38 cars): Feger, 12.479 seconds. Heat winners: Feger, Robinson, Pierce, Moyer. Consolation winners: Kreke, Stovall.
