(Macon, IL) The monster truck Raminator, operated by Mark & Tim Hall, wowwed and thrilled the crowd with a demonstration of its power and crushing abilities as it demolished three cars at the center of the 72-year-old Macon Speedway and spun donuts around the third turn. The yearly visit by the Hall brothers with their monster machine continues to excite families every time they enter the dirt track.
One excited family Saturday night was the Hancock family. The father Tim Hancock has been a dominating driver in the B-Modifieds class for the last season-plus but this night belonged to his son, Tim Hancock, Jr. Father Hancock ran second to his son all night long in the 20-lap A-Main feature. When the checkered flag was in the air, Hancock, Jr. cleared the line first and claimed his very first feature win of his six-year racing career. The subdued driver from Mt. Olive received a hug from his dad and was welcomed into victory lane by his fiance and infant daughter.
Another first occurred at Macon Speedway as Rudy Zaragoza from Jacksonville claimed the checkered flag. Zaragoza is a hearing empaired racecar driver who works off of a translator in the infield when officials speak with him.
Jeremy Nichols held on for a Big Ten Series Street Stock win as Nick Justice stayed within a car length of the leader but never could find the opportunity to take the top spot from Nichols.
Dennis Vandermeersch was the winner in the Sportsman division Saturday night. The race was led by Danny Smith, who has won both of the Sportsman features so far in the 2017 season, but left the race in within the first five laps. That opened the door for the former multi-time division champion and Vandermeersch rode off with the 15-lap win.
Brian Lynn got the chance to start on the pole position in the 20-lap feature in the Billingsley Elite Wash Modifieds and made the most of his opportunity and won the race. He came into the race night second in the points to his son, Austin, who finished third in the race.
The final race of the night was the Hornets division and Jeremy Reed displayed his new car in style, victory lane. Reed won the 12-lap Hornet feature.
Nearly 40 bicycles were given away to kids during the Mega Bicycle Giveaway with the thanks to area businesses and drivers. Macon Speedway hosts Memorial Day racing with the Mueller Distributing Lite Beer Twin 50s with 50-lap features for the Super Late Models and the Billingsley Elite Wash Modifieds. Plus, there will be action from the Street Stocks, B-Modifieds, Hornets and the Beach House Micro Sprints. The racing action begins an hour earlier than usual, a 6pm start time.
Pro Late Models–1. Rudy Zaragoza (Jacksonville), 2. Jeff Reed, Jr. (Blue Mound), 3. Cody Maguire (Carlinville), 4. Kyle Van Dorn (New Berlin), 5. Patrick Younger (Decatur), 6. Melissa Hansmeyer (Canton)
Billingsley Elite Wash Modifieds–1. Brian Lynn (Mason City), 2. Curt Rhodes (Taylorville), 3. Austin Lynn (Mason City), 4. Rick Conoyer (St. Peters, MO), 5. Danny Smith (Argenta), 6. Ethan Schnapp (Springfield), 7. Jeff Graham (Stonington), 8. Wade Glover (Brighton), 9. Alan Crowder (Elwin), 10. Zeb Moake (Freeburg)
Sportsman–1. Dennis Vandermeersch (Springfield), 2. Timmy Dick (Monticello), 3. Scott Landers (Taylorville), 4. Tim Bedinger (Taylorville), 5. Patrick Hawkins (Imperial, MO), 6. Rick Roedel (Shelbyville), 7. Terry Myers (Buffalo), 8. Danny Smith (Argenta), 9. Bill Berghaus (Chapin)
Street Stocks–1. Jeremy Nichols (Lovington), 2. Nick Justice (Decatur), 3. Shawn Ziemer (Boody), 4. Rudy Zaragoza (Jacksonville), 5. Darrell Dick (Monticello), 6. Jeremy Madsen (Pawnee), 7. Wes Biesenthal (Athens), 8. Justin Crowell (Lincoln), 9. Fredie Thomas (Macon), 10. Jason Scrimpsher (Decatur)
B-Modifieds–1. Tim Hancock, Jr. (Mt. Olive), 2. Tim Hancock (Mt. Olive), 3. Tom Riech (Springfield), 4. Rob Timmons (Centralia), 5. Jake Seets (Brighton), 6. Cody Stillwell (Godfrey), 7. John Seets III (Brighton), 8. Tim Riech (Petersburg), 9. Eric Brackett (Brighton), 10. Amanda Lange (Shelbyville)
Hornets–1. Jeremy Reed (Decatur), 2. Dustin Reed (Decatur), 3. Ryan Cantrell (Decatur), 4. Cook Crawford (Lincoln), 5. Paul Peters (Pana), 6. Anthony Elam (Taylorville), 7. Matt Reed (Decatur), 8. Marty Sullivan (Decatur), 9. Tristin Quinlan (Decatur), 10. Rafe McKenna (Pana)