Results | Points | Story & Pictures by Rocky Ragusa
Varsitee Screenprinting and Aftershock Decals and Designs presented Saturday’s FALS Cup and Alkota racing program at the Fairbury Speedway. Six divisions were in action on the ¼ mile dirt oval as fans witnessed one of the best Late Model races of the season. Mike Spatola (Late Model), Kelly Kovski (Modified), Ian Keller (Stock Car), Steve Mattingly (Sportsman), Rick Thomas (Hobby Modified), and Eric Rebholz (Vintage) received all the accolades in victory lane.
In the 30-lap Late Model feature, Mike Spatola and Kevin Weaver staged a battle of epic proportions. The two gladiators went back and forth for the lead and never established a clear-cut favorite until the final lap. Spatola was on the outside and Weaver on the inside as the two exited turn four. Spatola carried enough momentum to edge Weaver at the line to win by a half-car length. “The old man still has it in him. That is why he's one of the best at Fairbury,” Spatola said. “I thought we were pretty good early in the race. I couldn’t find a good line in turns 3 and 4. That caution came out and my crew told me to get to the bottom. I tried it, but the car was too tight.” A dejected Weaver had to settle for second, with Mike Provenzano and Jake Little following. Tom Thoennes, Scott Schmitt, Jay Sparks, Torin Mettille, Logan Moody, and Glen Thompson completed the top ten. Spatola led the way in time trials with a lap of 12.767 seconds as 15 cars made qualifying runs. Spatola and Moody claimed heat race wins.
An infrequent guest to Fairbury, Kelly Kovski made short order of leader Jared Thomas to take the lead after a lap 12 caution for early leader Michael Ledford. Once in front, Kovski turned up the wick and was able to record his first career Fairbury win. “I have been coming here for a long time,” the Springfield resident spoke. “To finally get my first Fairbury win is awesome.” Thomas had to hold off Alan Stipp for second. Austin Friedman was fourth, with 12th starter Bob Pohlman, Caden McWhorter, Matt Fabrizius, Mark Rhoades, Braiden Bohlmann, and Joshua Hotsinpiller rounding out the top ten. Friedman took fast time honors with a time of 14.045 seconds as 20 cars made qualifying attempts. Friedman and Ledford were the heat race winners.
Points leader Ian Keller had to contend with Megan Erwin and six caution periods in the first six laps during the 15-lap Stock Car race. After the final yellow flag, Keller kicked it into high gear and pulled away from the field winning by over a straightaway for his fourth Fairbury win of the year. “How about that FALS cushion!” Keller spoke. “We did a little something different to the car and it all worked out.” Erwin took second, Tim Loomis finished in third, followed by last year’s track champion Adam Williams. The remainder of the top ten saw Don Hilleary, Devin Hoskins, 16th starter Jace Gall, Derrick Weiand, Brice Slavens, and Dalton Mickle. In qualifying, Cody Clubb went under the clock with a lap of 15.534 seconds for quick time as 17 cars made qualifying attempts. Two heat races saw Erwin and Keller taking the wins.
Knocking on the door all season, Steve Mattingly was able halt the win streak of Tommy Duncan in the CR Towing Sportsman division. Starting in the fourth position, Mattingly took the lead on the second lap. Riding the high side of the speed plant, the Chenoa racer pulled away from all comers in the 15-lap race. “It has been a long time,” an elated Mattingly said. “We have been chasing Tommy all year. The car has been getting faster and trying different stuff. Tonight, it paid off.” Tyler Roth edged Duncan at the line for second. 10th starter Josh Hetherington and Makinzi Semmens followed. The rest of the top ten saw Roy Magee, Aaron Reid, Landen Miller, Victor Strong, and Jim Farley finish in that order. Strong posted a lap time of 15.366 seconds for fast time as 12 cars made qualifying attempts. Strong and Roth picked up heat race wins.
Winning in a Modified, Sportsman, Stock Car, and now a Hobby Modified, Rick Thomas had to survive a rash of cautions, and Trevor Ringle, to pick up the win in the 12-lap feature. “I decided at 6:00 this morning that I was going to race,” Thomas said. “I have to thank RJ Gall and his sons for helping me get the car ready.” Kirby McCormick finished third followed by early race leader Scott McDonald and Jake Green. Clay Wisher, Luke Gebhardt, Josh Robb, Mike Petersen, and Scott Brown completed the top ten. McCormick turned a lap at 15.492 seconds for quick time with 24 cars on hand. Robb, Petersen, and Payton Semmens grabbed heat race wins.
The Vintage Racing of Illinois series brought 18 cars for their special event. Jerry Vance in a 1963 Impala won the first heat. Kelly Christmas took the second heat driving a 1970 Nova. The third heat race had Andy Thompson in his 1968 Plymouth taking the victory. Eric Rebholz, wheeling a 1970 Camaro, came out on top in the 15-lap feature. Kraig Hughes, Thompson, Austin Lipe, and Tyler Sebby followed. “I had to lock the car down on the bottom,” spoke Rebholz. “Last year I was leading the race and had a flat tire. We got some redemption tonight.”
The Late Models were featured in a 30-lap race. Jake Little got the jump on fellow front row starter Mike Spatola for the lead. Little could pull away from Spatola on the straights, but Spatola quickly caught Little in the turns. As Little began to work his way past slower traffic, Spatola made the pass for the lead as the duo exited turn four. Wasting little time, Spatola held a five-second lead as an intense battle took place behind him. Little, Myles Moos, Mike Mataragas, Jordan Bauer, and Mike Provenzano raced the top, middle, and bottom of the track looking for an advantage. A caution fell on the track with one lap to go giving the field one last chance to move to the front. Spatola motored ahead and claimed his second Fairbury win of the year. “It has been a frustrating year,” said Spatola. “We haven’t gotten the wins we like. It’s never fun when you get into turn three and you don’t hear a slider coming. You kind of think you have it won. Stuff happens and it worked out.” Moos took second as Mataragas, Bauer, and Provenzano followed. 13th starter Derek Chandler earned a hard fought sixth. Little fell to seventh. Titus Sneed, Kevin Weaver, and Logan Moody rounded out the top ten. Spatola paced the 19 cars in attendance during qualifying with a lap of 12.845 seconds. Spatola and Little took the heat race wins.
After a yellow flag on the first lap of the Modified race, Michael Ledford motored past Allen Weisser into the lead. Looking to wrap up his second Modified track title, Ledford ran the ragged edge on his way to his fourth Fairbury win. “Hats off to the track prep crew,” Ledford said. “It was a fun track. I got the lead on the top but felt more comfortable running the bottom. I knew if I didn’t jump it on those restarts, I could stay ahead of Weisser.” Steven Brooks overtook Weisser with seven laps to go and finished second. Weisser took third. Alan Stipp quietly finished in fourth. Austin Friedman, Ethan Weber, Lyndon Whitfill, Jim Farris, 16th starter Jimmy Diabo, and Bob Pohlman Jr. completed the top ten. 17 cars were on hand for their 25-lap race. Brooks earned fast time honors with a lap of 13.917 seconds. Weisser and Ledford were the heat race winners.
There were 15 strong competitors, including five of the top 25 in the latest DIRTcar Stock Car national point standings, in attendance for the 15-lap feature race. Points leader Ian Keller toured the ¼ dirt oval at a time of 15.594 seconds for quick time. Two heat races saw Keller and Cody Clubb leading the way. Keller led the early stages of the race, but Megan Erwin was following closely. After a caution on the fourth lap, Erwin was able to pull alongside Keller in a race for the lead. On the sixth lap, the pair exited turn four side-by-side. Contact was made resulting in enough damage to end both of their nights. Keller’s son Braiden inherited the lead as Clubb and Tim Loomis followed waiting for the first-year driver to make a mistake. The three warriors were able to race three-wide in the final laps. Loomis edged ahead for the lead with two laps remaining and held off Clubb by a car length for his first ever win at Fairbury. “Toward the end of the race, everyone was piling on the bottom,” Loomis said. “I thought there was still something on the high side of 1-2, so I went for it.” Braiden Keller finished in third. Devin Hoskins took fourth and Brandon Tracy was fifth. 14th starter Randy Schoener led the second five across the line, followed by Jeremy Spoonmore, Ryen Johnson, Derrick Weiand, and Jace Gall.
Tommy Duncan has been the class of the field in the CR Towing Sportsman division this season. Duncan won his seventh consecutive race by a straightaway. “I was burning up,” an exhausted Duncan said. “The car is really good now. We are on top of our game, and I can’t thank all my sponsors and the fans enough for their support.” Landen Miller held off 9th starter Jim Farley for second. Tyler Roth came home in fourth, followed by Victor Strong, Makinzi Semmens, Doug Carls, and Aaron Reid. Steve Mattingly, who was running second to Duncan early, saw smoke begin to bellow from the rear of his car and finished ninth, while Eric Saltzman was tenth. A time of 15.011 seconds gave Landen Miller fast time as 14 cars made qualifying attempts. Duncan and Mattingly took the heat race wins.
The Hobby-Modified class continues to grow as 20 drivers were on hand for their 12-lap feature race. Brian Deavers has been on a tear this year and led green to checkers to score his fifth win of the season. “This car has been a rocket all year,” Deavers spoke. “We put a lot of maintenance in our program and are always trying something different.” Chad Ziegler worked his way to the front but had to settle for second. Peter Argianas finished third, followed by Luke Gebhardt, Scott Williams, Trevor Ringle, Jake Green, Reid Gall, Payton Semmens, and 18th starter Scott Brown. Deavers had a lap at 14.985 seconds for quick time in qualifying. Deavers and Gebhardt won their respective heat races.
Brandon Sheppard knew less than 10 laps into Saturday’s Prairie Dirt Classic his ability to read Fairbury’s surface would pay off well. And pay off big.
Mike Marlar crossed the line second, his fifth straight top five in World of Outlaws competition.
From Summit Modified races, the FALS Super Nationals, to the FALS Cup points championship, Mike McKinney had won just about every marquee DIRTcar UMP Modified race on the Fairbury Speedway schedule, except one. The Prairie Dirt Classic had evaded his grasp throughout his career, but now, it’s finally his.
Hoffman led through Lap 34, when the caution was displayed for the final time. Though Hoffman got a great jump on the restart, McKinney hit his marks on the cushion, reeling the leader in and making the pass back for the lead with four-to-go.
Four-time WoO champion Brandon Sheppard used his past experience at Fairbury to his advantage. Sheppard took the lead on the opening lap and never looked back leading all 100 laps around the ¼ mile dirt track. He took home $100,000 with his third PDC victory. Mike Marlar was able to keep pace with Sheppard but couldn’t make the pass for the lead. Bobby Pierce, who started in the 16th position, charged to the front and made several attempts to take the top spot, but he pulled to the infield with brake failure and was finished for the night. “It honestly means the world to me to win this race,” Sheppard commented. “This place is like home for me. All the fans and the atmosphere are electric. They have taken me in like it’s home. Fairbury is two hours away from my home, but it’s definitely turned into my favorite track.”
Garrett Smith saw an opportunity Friday night he couldn’t pass up. The Eatonton, GA driver was running second to Ashton Winger when he made his move on the final lap of his 25-lap CASE Construction Equipment Showdown.
Reigning World of Outlaws CASE Late Model Series champion Brandon Sheppard showed patience in his CASE Construction Equipment Showdown victory.
A former Series champion and current Series rookie waged war in an epic battle in the third CASE Construction Equipment showdown.
Kyle Larson picked up where he left off a year ago at Fairbury, dominating the final CASE Construction Equipment Late Model showdown Friday night.
In similar fashion to his Friday night victory in 2021, Frank Marshall bagged the win in the first Showdown Feature of the evening.
In what was the most action-packed Modified Showdown of the night, Mike McKinney emerged victorious after putting a last-lap pass on Brian Shaw in Turn 4 to seal the win.
Though he’s competed at Fairbury several times in the past, Friday was his first PDC appearance – one which he won right up on the well-noted Fairbury cushion. But it took getting past Allen Weisser in the opening laps, which he did on Lap 4 with a great run off the top of Turn 4.
He missed Prairie Dirt Showdown Victory Lane last year by one spot. This year, Tyler Nicely was not going to be denied.
Led by Steve Mattingly and Landen Miller, 15 drivers took the green flag for the $1,000 to win, 25-lap Sportsman race. Mattingly took the lead on the start as Tommy Duncan got by Miller for second. Duncan made several attempts to overtake Mattingly for the lead before the Metamora hot shoe moved to the front on the fourth lap. The trio pulled away from the competition, sometimes going three-wide for the lead. By the 15th lap, Duncan had put some space between him as Mattingly and Miller continued to race for second. Duncan, running the bottom, pulled away in the final laps and had over a five-second lead as the checkered flag waved. Winning his sixth consecutive race, Duncan commented in victory lane. “It has been a really good year. I just can’t believe the year that we are having. My crew worked hard and made the car flawless.” Miller took second, followed by Mattingly, Jim Farley, and Wes Odell. Josh Hetherington finished in sixth, with 12th starter Makinzi Semmens, Dylan Naeger, Eric Saltzman, and Tyler Roth completing the top ten. Mattingly was the winner of the first heat race and also set fast time with a lap of 14.492 seconds. Miller claimed the second heat race.
A field of 23 Late Model drivers lined up for their 30-lap, $2,500 to win race. Kevin Weaver led the first two laps before McKay Wenger took over for three laps. Weaver led with Wenger, Jason Feger, Ryan Unzicker, and Tommy Sheppard Jr. in the thick of the battle. Unzicker found a little moisture at the bottom of the track giving him the grip he needed to take the lead from Weaver on lap 14. Unzicker had a 1.5 second lead over the field and took his third FALS Cup win as the track reached its halfway point of the season. “I am a little out of breath. It was an up on the wheel type of deal,” Unzicker said. “The track was a complete 180 from last week. Slick is fast and it makes for better racing.” Feger took second, 9th starter Sheppard Jr. finished in third. The rest of the top ten had Weaver, Mike Mataragas, Wenger, Jay Sparks, Bob Gardner, Mike Provenzano, and Mike Spatola. Weaver set quick time at 12.498 seconds and was the first heat race winner. Wenger and Feger were also winners in their respective heat races.
After a stirring battle with Austin Friedman, Michael Ledford had to survive several late race cautions, and Matt Fabrizius, in winning his third Modified race at Fairbury. Ledford and Friedman exchanged slide jobs before 9th starting Alan Stipp moved into second. It was heartbreak hotel for Stipp as his tire went flat with seven laps remaining. Fabrizius was able to cut into Ledford’s lead, but the Pontiac racer was not to be denied. “That was a fun race with Austin,” Ledford spoke. “Him, Duncan, and Whitfill keep getting better each week. I knew if I pressured Austin and showed him the nose of my car maybe he would mess up.” Fabrizius, a veteran driver from the Sycamore Speedway, served notice as a driver to contend with as he took second. Friedman, Adam Pockrus, Lyndon Whitfill, Eric Vaughan, 18th starter Jim Farris Jr., Jimmy Diabo, Jason Brandt, and Shawn Scripter completed the top ten. Friedman was the fast qualifier with a time of 13.636 seconds as 19 drivers were on hand. Friedman and Whitfill were the heat race winners.
Ian Keller survived several caution periods and went uncontested in taking his third Stock Car feature win of the year. “Fairbury is top notch,” Keller said. “My crew bust their butts until 3:00 a.m. this morning trying to get this car dialed in.” Tanner Sullivan took second, Jordan Smith finished in third, and Kyle Anderson was fourth. The rest of the top ten had Megan Erwin, Jesse Simmons, Jerrad Krick, 15th starter Matt Maier, Don Hilleary, and Dustin Pruitt. Keller paced the 19 drivers on hand in qualifying with a time of 15.006 seconds. Keller and Megan Erwin were heat race winners.
The night’s program ended with a 12-lap Hobby-Modified race. In a heated duel for the lead, Brian Deavers got by last week’s winner Kirby McCormick on the third lap and went on to win his fourth race of the year. Ryan Kohler had his best run to date and finished in second. Clay Wisher, Scott McDonald, Reid Gall, Scott Williams, Brendan Decker, McCormick, Jake Green, and Kellen Arnold rounded out the top ten. A time of 15.099 seconds gave Deavers fast time honors. McCormick and Green were the heat race winners.
