Fast Track Leads to Close Finishes

May 22, 2011 - PRLog -- (macon,il)Many heat races of the evening came down to not only the last lap but also the last turn to the straightaway and the judge’s stand. With multiple racing grooves available, drivers were able to compete side-by-side; race cars were definitely on the edge of their seats from the start of the night.



Of the six UMP sanctioned features, the Touchstone Energy Sportsman class provided the most drama as two lead changes over the 15 laps got the feature portion of the night going on the right foot. Although the race was plagued with cautions, the green flag racing was incredible as Taylorville’s Scott Landers, Argenta’s Nick Macklin and Shelbyville’s Rick Roedel went back and forth. Landers had control of the race but Macklin stayed close running on the bottom groove. Roedel looked like a third-place finisher but found momentum on the high side and caught up to the top two drivers. Including Decatur’s Mike Pickering come the 11th lap, the checkered flag was up for grabs between the four drivers. A caution followed and set up a single-file restart which saw four frantic laps to the finish and it would be Roedel again taking the high side to pass both Macklin and then Landers in the second turn of the 14th lap to claim his first Touchstone Energy Sportsman feature since September 12, 2009, the year Roedel won the division’s track championship. Landers finished runner-up with Macklin in third, Pickering took four and Bob Sidener was the fifth place finisher.



Jeremy Nichols from Decatur used the bottom groove in the Billingsley Towing Modified feature to claim his second feature of 2011. Chased by Aaron Burcham and Guy Taylor, Nichols wasn’t giving away the lead and set up his car similar to the way he did for a feature win in 2010. Burcham was able to hold off Taylor for second. Buffalo’s Joe Strawkas was fourth and Macon’s Eric Hamilton was able to finish fifth.



Kyle Logue, native of Cisco, also was a second-time feature winner Saturday as he used his patience to ease past Cory Daugherty and Roger Brickler. Starting behind the pole-sitter Brickler, Logue held back and let the race begin and once the cars started to separate, he made his move atop the high banks of the speedway and by the ninth lap of 25, Logue was leading. Daughtery from Blue Mound raced along the top side for the majority of the race but couldn’t catch up to Logue and took second. Springfield’s Brian Diveley also ran high and took third ahead of fast qualifier Brickler. Collinsville’s Rick Standridge was able to snatch fifth.



Another driver to win his second feature of the year was Street Stock driver Larry Russell, Jr. Feature winless since Opening Night, Russell was able to lead all 12 laps and starve off the fierce competition in Blake Shelley, Terry Reed and Bobby Beiler. In the end, Russell was the faster car, ahead of Shelley, Mike Pickering, Justin Hill and Mike Pundt, Jr.



The Hornet classes saw close racing as well it came down to the final lap in the Pro Hornet feature. Jeremy Reed won his first feature since 2007. He managed to stop Heidi Hames, Fred Reed, Jr. and Adam Webb from stealing his spotlight. Hames’ car would fall apart late in the race which opened up the door for Jeremy Reed to win. Fred Reed, Jr. came second with Adam Webb, who flipped his car during the heat race, came out to a strong third place, Todd Rush was fourth and Steven Stine was fifth.



Another eventful feature, the Amateur Hornet feature, had Derek Peters win. Coming in a close second was Garrett Lewis and Jared Matherly took third. Jenny Clinton was able to get fourth and Kenneth Reed was the fifth place car.



The stage is now set for a monster of a show next week with the Raminator monster truck, fireworks and big-money features for the Billingsley Towing Modifieds and Street Stocks. A full show is on the card to help lead to Memorial Day’s Night of NASCAR Stars and Northern All-Star Late Model show.

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Illinois 1/5 mile dirt racing sports venue. Owned by Tony Stewart,Ken Schader,Kenny Wallace and Bob Sargent. Sanctioned by UMP and NALMS