MUSKEGON, MI — July 10, 2019 — Two-time and defending DIRTcar Summer Nationals Champion Brian Shirley kicked off Champions Week presented by Summit Racing Equipment in winning fashion. The Chatham, Illinois native scored his 24th DIRTcar Summer Nationals Feature win, and fifth of the 2019 Hell Tour season, from the inside of row two at Thunderbird Raceway.

McClure, Ohio racer Rusty Schlenk set the front row with surprise entry Jeep VanWormer in the 40-lap feature. Schlenk accelerated to the early race lead until Shirley passed him on lap two. Shirley took control on the bottom and took off with the lead.

Bobby Pierce suffered a right rear flat tire while leading Heat 3 and started 24th in the feature. But that certainly didn’t stop him. Pierce passed the whole field to find himself second with nineteen laps to go. A caution flew, erasing Shirley’s lead with fourteen laps to go.

On the restart Pierce side-stepped Shirley for the lead. At the flag stand the next time around Shirley held off Pierce by .031 seconds. Shirley heated his right rear Hoosier tire to pull away from Pierce and win by nearly a straightaway.

DIRTcar Summer Nationals continues Thursday at I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, MI before the grand finale and crowning at Oakshade Speedway in Wauseon, OH on Friday and Saturday, July 12-13. Watch every lap live on DIRTVision.com.

Late Model Feature (40 Laps) – 1. 3S-Brian Shirley [3]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce [24]; 3. 99JR-Frank Heckenast, Jr. [4]; 4. 55-Jeep VanWormer [2]; 5. CJ1-Rusty Schlenk [1]; 6. 31AUS-Paul Stubber [14]; 7. 79-Nick Kurtz [17]; 8. 25F-Jason Feger [5]; 9. 23V-Ryan VanderVeen [10]; 10. 87M-David Mielke [11]; 11. 27-Eric Spangler [6]; 12. O6-Jake Rendel [15]; 13. 25H-Chuck Hummer [19]; 14. O2-Jeramy Lange [16]; 15. 41V-Mike VanderMark [12]; 16. 78-Drew Wilkerson [13]; 17. 1S-Andrew Sprague [23]; 18. P3-Truck Robertson [25]; 19. O7-Shawn Reed [7]; 20. 41-Jason Playter, Jr. [8]; 21. 21S-Tom Sprague [22]; 22. 53-Hillard Miller [18]; 23. 3-Scott Wenell [21]; 24. 87-Richard Neiser [9]; 25. 94-Bill Bray [20]; KSE Hard Charger Award: 32-Bobby Pierce[+22]

Qualifying Flight-A – 1. O7-Shawn Reed, 12.776; 2. 3S-Brian Shirley, 12.861; 3. 23V-Ryan VanderVeen, 13.189; 4. 99JR-Frank Heckenast, Jr., 13.324; 5. O2-Jeramy Lange, 13.712; 6. 78-Drew Wilkerson, 13.949; 7. 25H-Chuck Hummer, 14.069; 8. 21S-Tom Sprague, 14.24; 9. P3-Truck Robertson, 14.617

Qualifying Flight-B – 1. CJ1-Rusty Schlenk, 13.009; 2. 25F-Jason Feger, 13.043; 3. 41-Jason Playter, Jr., 13.147; 4. 87M-David Mielke, 13.19; 5. 31AUS-Paul Stubber, 13.441; 6. 79-Nick Kurtz, 13.695; 7. 1S-Andrew Sprague, 14.096; 8. 94-Bill Bray, 99.999

Qualifying Flight-C – 1. 32-Bobby Pierce, 12.634; 2. 55-Jeep VanWormer, 12.867; 3. 27-Eric Spangler, 13.387; 4. O6-Jake Rendel, 13.715; 5. 41V-Mike VanderMark, 13.865; 6. 87-Richard Neiser, 14.218; 7. 53-Hillard Miller, 14.429; DQ. 3-Scott Wenell, 13.897