As has been the case so often around the midwest this fall, officials at Lincoln Speedway made the correct decision to move the Illinois DIRTcar Nationals back one day, with racing on Saturday and Sunday following a Friday practice night. Much cooler temps and mid week rains made the change a no brainer, and in another smart move, start times were also moved ahead by two hours with hot laps both days at 4:00 to counteract the brisk conditions. Saturday would be our best opportunity to make the trip to the Logan County Fairgrounds quarter mile facility. What was now the opening night featured four UMP divisions, Super Late Models, open Modifieds, Pro Late Models and Pro Mods competing on a final weekend for national points honors. Street Stocks would join the Sunday program.
A solid field of 114 entries produced time trials in all divisions, followed by 14 heat races, 4 B mains, and 4 features with action still wrapping up by the hoped for 9:00 hour. Weather conditions were tolerable for mid October racing and a late arriving but nice sized crowd witnessed exciting racing across the classes. Also, the new lighting at the track is a nice touch.
The track was "hammer down" early on, in fact the Pro Modified one lap record was broken three times with Mason Duncan topping the board at 14.874 seconds. Brandon Sweitzer led the Pro Late Models at 14.227, Collin Alexander was fastest in the Modifieds at 13.935, and Jason Feger bested the Late Models with a lap of 12.928 seconds over Tanner English at 12.929. Not coincidentally, those two are locked in a tight battle to be decided on Sunday for the UMP national championship, which pays $25,000 to the winner. English currently holds a small lead over Feger.
By heat race time the racing surface was slick enough to be a bit treacherous, especially in turns three and four, with the Pro Mods having the most trouble resulting in more than a few spin outs. But as the night wore on and the track took rubber, the racing improved dramatically, and with a bit of manicuring during a short intermission, the feature action was top notch.
Pro Late Models were up first, with all twenty one entries going at it for twenty laps. Heat winners Colby Sheppard and Tim Luttrell filled out row one, with Sheppard jumping to the lead. Fourth starting Braden Johnson overtook Luttrell on lap two and the chase was on. Sheppard opened a sizable lead, but as he caught the back of the pack on lap six, two of the back markers collided. Sheppard locked up his brakes but still made contact and was himself then hit by oncoming traffic. Although he had come to a complete stop, Sheppard was allowed to restart in front and fortunately seemed to have no issues with his #27. Back to racing Sheppard and Johnson again left the pack behind, catching slower traffic again about lap fifteen. Just as Johnson would close in, Sheppard would make a dandy move through the heavy traffic and pull away. On the final circuit there were no lapped cars in the way and Johnson took one more shot, but could not get close enough for an attempt at the lead. Following that duo, third running Ryan Miller made contact with a lapped car exiting turn four, sliding sideways across the line to hold his position. Austin Mccarty and Sweitzer completed the top five. Parker Perry crossed the line first in heat three, but was DQ'd for an unknown infraction, started twentieth in the feature and gained fourteen spots to finish in sixth. Fifty dollar per lap bonus money went to Sheppard in addition to his $1,000 first place prize.
Dirtcar Modifieds were up next. the thirty three cars whittled down to a twenty four car starting field racing for twenty five laps. Interestingly, series points leader Mike McKinney, who just rolled around behind a B Main field, and Kenny Wallace lined up in row eleven after taking provisional starting spots. Pole sitter Collin Alexander grabbed the lead as the green flag waved, quickly increasing his lead as the laps clicked off quickly. Meanwhile McKinney was charging through the pack, entering the top ten on lap nine. The top two cars bobbled in turn four on lap eleven, with third running Ray Bollinger driving to the runner up spot and closing quickly on Alexander. Things looked to get interesting as the leader caught the tail of the field on lap fourteen, but a timely yellow flag ended that drama. On the restart, Bollinger executed a slide job but Alexander was able to cross him back over in what turned out to be the decisive move of the race. The top runners were literally bouncing off the concrete walls, sending sparks flying as the laps wound down. Bollinger was able to make it close at the end, but Alexander was up to the challenge, collecting a flag to flag win. Austin Friedman came home third ahead of Brayden Doyle, and hard charger McKinney, who gained sixteen positions.
Twenty two Dirtcar Super Late Models were on hand, and only Tanner Butkovich, racing for his first time in a second Mark Voigt car, was absent from the starting lineup. Thirty laps would be the distance, with a $2,000 check and more lap money on the line along with those important UMP points. Feger, English, and Mike Spatola were heat race winners, and they would claim the top starting spots along with fourth starting Ryan Unzicker, the recently crowned MARS series champion. Spatola would get the jump to lead the first three circuits before a Jake Little spin brought the first yellow flag. Back under green, "Opie" drove through the middle of turn one while Feger lived up to his "Highside" nickname, pounding the cushion and powering to the front off turn two. Quickly the front runners formed a line around the top, with slower traffic coming in to play about lap twelve. Again Spatola would close the margin only to have Feger find a way around a slower car and pull away once more. When English and Unzicker moved in to battle with Spatola, Feger used the opportunity to drive away. By the time English took second in the heavy traffic, Feger had opened a full straightaway advantage. What looked to be an easy win suddenly evaporated with five laps remaining when the sixth and seventh place cars of Rich Bell and Chevy Boyer came to a crashing halt on the front stretch. The field would reset single file, a final five lap rule, and with clear track ahead Feger walked away for the win, gaining not only a nice payday, but a few precious points in pursuit of English. Tanner would hold second in front of Spatola, Unzicker, and Daniel Adam. Veteran Steve Sheppard Jr. ran sixth in front of Devin McLean, Little, Bell, and Timmy Dick.
Pro Mods started out with a whopping thirty eight entries with twenty six lining up for twenty laps. Pole sitter Drake Compton led from the start. Following a stoppage, double duty Brayden Doyle charged to the front. Once more it looked like smooth sailing for the leader, but a final caution bunched the field once more. As in the prior race, the battle for second worked to the leaders' advantage, as Doyle picked up his second top four of the night, this one in victory lane. Kade Ballinger gained six positions for runner up honors followed by another double duty pilot, Luttrell, and ninth starting Drew Schwartz. National points leader Zach Whaley started and finished in fifth, one spot ahead of his closest challenger, Compton.
Thanks to the folks at Lincoln for their hospitality. We were able to make the two and a half hour trip three times in 2026 and hope to visit again next season. October (and November!) racing used to be a rare treat, but there is still plenty on the calendar, so get off the couch, grab your coat, and let's go racing!
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