Summernationals Kick Off at Peoria

 Cross something else off my " bucket list," as race night number 16 was the opening race of the UMP Summernationals. Historically the series has opened in Indiana, but the 2018 edition kicked off at the storied Peoria Speedway, " only " a three hour drive from home. We were anticipating a stellar field of super late models vying for the $5,000 top prize as well as a solid group of modifieds looking to open the companion series.
  Veteran racer Billy Drake, a local favorite, topped the 38 late models with a fast lap of 13.505 seconds, while Mike Harrison, arguably the most successful mod driver in the midwest, paced the 32 cars signing in.
  Unfortunately, hot laps and qualifying for the two featured classes, plus the local crate mods and hornets " used up " the track to a great extent, and passing was at a premium throughout the night. Of course, the UMP practice of fastest cars starting in the front generally results in limited passing, anyway.
  Only one of the four late model heat winners did not come from the front row. Drake and Billy Moyer Jr. won their heats from the pole position, Brian Shirley topped heat two from outside row one, and Jason Feger powered from outside row two to capture heat three. Likewise, the C main winner, Matt Shannon started outside row one, and the loaded B main went to polesitter Shannon Babb.
The night ended early for three competitors, as area racers Jeff Riddell, Glen Thompson, and Jay Sparks were all parked before the heat races began.
  Following all preliminary events and a 22 minute intermission, the first feature came to the track around 9:40 before an excellent week night crowd. It took a few laps for the hornets to get going, as the watering of the 1/4 mile during intermission made things a bit greasy. David Lauritson prevailed to take the win.
  The modifieds ran second, and with the clock ticking toward what we thought was a 10:30 curfew, the open wheelers clicked off 25 caution free laps! Harrison added to his trophy case, negotiating lapped traffic with skill to easily outdistance Tyler Nicely. Harrison stated in victory lane that he was undefeated in this new car, with a winning streak of five or six.
  It was now late model time. Drake jumped from outside row one to lead the first circuit, with Feger, Moyer Jr., and Shirley in hot pursuit. Shirley slipped past Moyer Jr. on lap two, and by the third trip past the flagstand, Drake was stretching his lead. The first caution came on lap four for Allen Weisser, who ducked to the hot pit before restarting on the tail. Drake was beginning to work slower traffic when the yellow waved again on lap eleven. A seven car pile up in turn one negated the restart, but when racing resumed, Drake again powered to big advantage. The # 75 was again in lapped traffic before the halfway point of the 40 lapper. Lap 32 saw Shannon stop on the front stretch to bring out the caution. Three more laps clicked off with the final caution on lap 35, as Gordy Gundaker jammed his # 11 under the rear of the # 89 of Mike Spatola. After a lengthy delay to get the cars separated, the final five circuits saw Drake cruise to the flag to flag win. Feger kept the leader in his sights, but could not mount a challenge, as the leaders mostly stayed glued to the inside line. Shirley crossed the line in third, followed by Moyer Jr. and Michigan driver Brandon Thirlby. Billy Moyer Sr. gained three spots to finish sixth, followed by Bob Gardner and Nick Hoffman. Ryan Unzicker was the big mover of the race, as he was the first UMP provisional starter, lining up nineteenth and finishing ninth. Rusty Schlenk completed the top ten.
  The crate mods were heading to the track around 10:45 as we headed to the car, so perhaps our information about the curfew was wrong. I see this morning that Matt Parrott topped the crate main.
  While we were rubbernecking outside the pit area, driver Phil
Dixon came over to visit. We learned that he calls Crosby, Texas home, and traveled north to try his luck on the modified portion of the Summernationals tour. Dixon says that he often has to pull four or more hours to race around home, reminding us again how fortunate we are to have so many choices to satisfy our racing craving. Dixon was running mid pack in the mod main before spinning on the last lap. Good luck to the # A1 on his racin' vacation.
  The series is heading to Kankakee, Il. on Thursday. Hopefully we can pick up a few more nights of the 28 race schedule starting next week. Next up for me will be weekly racing at Quincy Raceways this Sunday night, with UMP crate late models the featured class.
Thanks for reading.