HomeDirt Late Model NewsDIRTcar UMP Weekly Points Update: Shirley Close To Late Model National Title,...

DIRTcar UMP Weekly Points Update: Shirley Close To Late Model National Title, Gilpin Assured UMP Modified Championship

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DIRTcarCONCORD, NC – Sept. 28, 2012 – Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., stands on the brink of his first-ever DIRTcar UMP Late Model national championship while Devin Gilpin of Columbus, Ind., has already clinched his first UMP Modified national title as the circuit heads into its final weekend of weekly points racing in 2012.

Shirley, 31, holds a 53-point lead (2,551-2,498) over 1992 DIRTcar UMP Late Model national champion Kevin Weaver of Gibson City, Ill., entering this weekend’s critical action. After the weekend is complete, the only opportunity left for Late Model and UMP Modified competitors to collect points will come in the annual DIRTcar UMP Nationals on Oct. 5-6 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.

Coming off a successful weekend that saw him push his 2012 DIRTcar UMP win total to 12 with victories on Sept. 21 at Kankakee (Ill.) County Speedway and Sept. 23 at Quincy (Ill.) Raceways, Shirley’s next scheduled sanctioned start is the DIRTcar UMP Nationals at Eldora. But he can still clinch the national crown this weekend without turning a wheel under the DIRTcar UMP banner.

Weaver’s hopes for a second DIRTcar UMP national title two decades after his first remain alive, but he must be virtually perfect the remainder of the way. With the Late Model standings determined using drivers’ best 35 finishes/points nights, the veteran racer has three 60-point nights to replace on his ledger and thus could overtake Shirley if he wins three full-point features (bonus points are available based on car count) and Shirley, who has two 65-point nights to replace, does not finish second or better in any race.

Weaver, who has 18 feature wins this season, has three sanctioned events on his schedule this weekend: Kankakee on Sept. 28; Highland (Ill.) Speedway of Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, Mo., on Sept. 29; and Quincy on Sept. 30.

Shirley is bidding to become just the third driver in DIRTcar UMP history to win the DIRTcar Summer Nationals title and weekly-racing national championship in the same season, joining Indiana’s John Gill (1986) and Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill. (2007-08) on the select list. The national championship is worth $20,000.

Gilpin, meanwhile, leads the UMP Modified national rankings by 42 points (3,246-2,304) over Nick Allen of Wheatfield, Ind. – a gap that Allen can’t overcome.

With drivers’ best 30 finishes/points nights used to determine the UMP Modified standings, both Gilpin (37 feature wins in 2012) and Allen (27 victories) are replacing 75-point nights. The maximum number of points a driver can earn for a win is 80, so Allen does not have enough races remaining to catch Gilpin.

Gilpin will also collect $20,000 for his UMP Modified national title.

The championship scenarios entering the final weekend of weekly points racing for DIRTcar UMP’s six other divisions are as follows:

* Pro Late Models. Bobby Dauderman of Alhambra, Ill., is in the driver’s seat with a 22-point lead (1,487-1,465) over Nick Bauman of New Berlin, Ill., but the outcome is not decided. Bauman can still win the championship with at least two full-point wins and a 75-point night provided Dauderman does not record a 75-point showing of his own.

* Sportsman. Troy Clark of North Vernon, Ind., holds an 18-point lead (1,467-1,449) over Jon Ripperda of Bartelso, Ill., who has big starts coming up this weekend at Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, Ill., and Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55. With Ripperda replacing 60- and 62-point nights and Federated’s Saturday-night show expected to draw a field that puts max bonus points in play, he could overtake Clark with a victory.

* Limited Modifieds. Rob Lee of Sorento, Ill., has an insurmountable 138-point lead (1,418-1,280) over Mark Anderson of Canton, Ill.

* Stock Cars. Mike McKinney, 19, of Plainfield, Ill., has clinched the division’s national title.

* Factory Stocks. A close battle between Jake Hewitt of Troy, Ill., and Rob Sternberg of Muskegon, Mich., will go down to the final weekend. Hewitt leads Sternberg by just five points and both drivers are replacing 65-point nights. Hewitt plans to race this weekend at Belle-Clair and Federated, while Sternberg’s lone local opportunity to collect points appears to be Friday evening’s show at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Mich.

* Sport Compacts. There is no more dramatic championship struggle than in this full-fender class, which has three drivers – defending champ Jeremy Callahan of Mt. Vernon, Ill., Evan Gaultney of Owensboro, Ky., and Jacob Rexing of Brighton, Ill. – tied for the lead with perfect 1,500-point totals in 20 counted races. All three drivers are expected to compete this Saturday night at Federated Auto Parts Raceway, and the only way a driver can break ahead is to win the evening’s feature with bonus points. If the points remain dead-locked, the feature-wins tie-breaker shows Gaultney with 32 victories, Callahan with 27 and Rexing with 20.

Log on to www.DirtCar.com for more information on DIRTcar Racing’s UMP circuit and to view complete points standings for all divisions, including the current State points rankings.

The weekly DIRTcar UMP points update is powered by www.MotorStats.com. DIRTcar’s affiliation with the Durham, N.C.-based Web site is providing fans and competitors a more timely and detailed look at the points standings. National and State points standings for all divisions are typically updated by Thursday each week, and new features allow visitors to click on each driver’s name to see a complete race-by-race review of their finishes to date.

DIRTcar Racing UMP National Points Standings (as of Sept. 24, 2012):

Late Models (rank/driver/races counted/points):

1. Brian Shirley 35 2551

2. Kevin Weaver 35 2498

3. Jason Feger 35 2376

4. Ryan Unzicker 35 2368

5. Rusty Schlenk 35 2367

6. Shannon Babb 35 2365

7. Randy Korte 35 2343

8. Michael Kloos 35 2342

9. Brandon Thirlby 35 2246

10. Brandon Sheppard 35 2241

11. Bobby Pierce 35 2197

12. Dewayne Kiefer 35 2175

13. Jim Moon 35 2170

14. Dustin Griffin 35 2151

15. Scott Schmitt 35 2079

16. Chad Zobrist 35 2070

17. Dennis Erb Jr. 35 2050

18. Rich Neiser 35 2039

19. Jason McBride 35 2014

20. Eric Spangler 35 2006

UMP Modifieds (rank/driver/races counted/points):

1. Devin Gilpin 30 2346

2. Nick Allen 30 2304

3. Mike Harrison 30 2242

4. Jamie Lomax 30 2191

5. Trent Young 30 2177

6. Jacob Poel 30 2166

7. Dave Wietholder 30 2144

8. Joey Kramer 30 2132

9. Michael Long 30 2127

10. Ray Bollinger 30 2116

11. Doug Adkins 30 2103

12. Jeremy Rayburn 30 2097

13. Brian Bielong 30 2075

14. Kenny Wallace 30 2055

15. Clayton Miller 30 2051

16. Donovan Lodge 30 2047

17. Matt Mevert 30 2046

18. Todd Sherman 30 2039

19. Steven Delonjay 30 2038

20. Rusty Griffaw 30 2029

Pro Late Models (rank/driver/races counted/points):

1. Bobby Dauderman 20 1487

2. Nick Bauman 20 1465

3. Evan Fink 20 1460

4. Mark Oller 20 1402

5. Aaron Heck 20 1386

6. Clayton Miller 20 1385

7. Brad Denney 20 1283

8. Corey Earln19 1257

9. Daniel Heck 20 1253

10. Evan Taylor 20 1246

Sportsman (rank/driver/races counted/points):

1. Troy Clark 20 1467

2. Jon Ripperda 20 1449

3. Chad Jeseo 20 1430

4. Kenny Carmichael Sr. 20 1366

5. Roy Bruce Jr. 20 1342

6. Jocelyn Roy 20 1325

7. Steve Hollars 20 1270

8. Joey Ladouceur 19 1265

9. Tim Line 20 1258

10. Mike Jessen 20 1245

Limited Modifieds (rank/driver/races counted/points):

1. Rob Lee 20 1418

2. Mark Anderson 20 1280

3. Tyler Deibert 20 1270

4. Kevin Morrow 20 1183

5. Todd Bates 20 1182

6. Brett Page 20 1079

7. Marty Smith Jr. 15 978

8. Barry Bradshaw 18 967

9. Len Garson 20 931

10. Rick Johnson 20 917

Stock Cars (rank/driver/races counted/points):

1. Mike McKinney 20 1489

2. John Farris 20 1441

3. JR Wiltermood 20 1420

4. BJ Deal 20 1405

5. AJ Wright 20 1391

6. Dan Dykman 20 1390

7. Mike Hodges 20 1387

8. Travis Johnson 20 1374

9. Don Hilleary 20 1368

10. Jerrad Krick 20 1360

Factory Stocks (rank/driver/races counted/points):

1. Jake Hewitt 20 1445

2. Josh Sternberg 20 1440

3. Randy Smyser 20 1405

4. Dennis Bringedahl 20 1365

4. Stephen Fohne 20 1365

6. Jason Worley 20 1360

7. Mark Farber 20 1330

8. Josh Grabe 20 1285

9. Spike Grega 20 1239

10. Austin Isaak 20 1237

Sport Compacts (rank/driver/races counted/points):

1. Evan Gaultney 20 1500

1. Jeremy Callahan 20 1500

1. Jacob Rexing 20 1500

4. Zach Bollinger 20 1465

5. Kenny Butterfield 20 1450

6. Blayne Ellis 20 1445

7. Vince Shehorn 20 1428

8. Christian Lee 20 1415

9. David Bolyard 20 1408

10. Tyler Benson 20 1398

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