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By Kevin Kovac
PEVELY, MO – Aug. 12, 2006 – Brian Shirley continued his summer hot-streak at I-55 Raceway on Saturday night, scoring a flag-to-flag victory in the 40-lap Mid-America Racing Series/United Midwestern Promoters Clash.
Winless in 2006 until July 15, the Chatham, Ill., driver captured his fourth straight Saturday-night show at the high-banked, three-eighths-mile oval.
And this was undoubtedly Shirley’s most important triumph. It brought the 25-year-old a cool $5,000 check, and he registered his first career win on DIRT MotorSports’ MARS tour.
“Unfortunately for half the season I didn’t have any luck,” said Shirley, who is in his fourth year as a dirt Late Model driver. “We were struggling real bad, but we regrouped and now we’re back to some winning ways.”
Shirley mastered the special event, leading the entire distance after starting from the outside pole. He passed polesitter Randy Korte of Highland, Ill., for the top spot at the initial green flag and never looked back.
Three-time MARS champion Bill Frye of Greenbriar, Ark., challenged Shirley throughout the race’s second half, but he settled for second place, about three car lengths behind at the finish.
Billy Faust of Lebanon, Ill., held off 2005 World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., to finish third, and Dane Dacus of Arlington, Tenn., came from the 19th starting spot to complete the top five.
A fast start was the key for Shirley, who drove a one-month-old Rocket car co-owned by Ed Petroff and Jayco Construction.
“For the first part of the race my car just stuck like glue in the middle of the racetrack,” said Shirley, whose machine was equipped with a Pro Power engine. “It was awesome. It was like driving on a rollercoaster around the corners – it just stuck.
“That put me in the lead, and then I did what I had to do.”
That meant staying snug to the concrete wall that lines the inside of I-55 Raceway’s turns.
“One of my guys was signaling me to stay on the bottom,” said Shirley. “Honestly, I didn’t feel that good on the bottom. I felt better rolling through the middle, but I stayed on the bottom.
“I figured, If Frye was gonna pass me, he was gonna have to do it on the top.”
Frye, who entered the event leading the MARS points standings by eight markers over fellow three-time tour champ Terry Phillips of Springfield, Mo., moved from the ninth starting spot to second in just nine laps, but he couldn’t climb any higher.
”We freed the car up just a little,” said the 45-year-old Frye, who drove a GRT car. “We also had a wheel seal out on the right side (of the car’s) rearend, and it was throwing oil all over the tires. That might’ve hurt me.
“Bu I really can’t complain. Brian drove a good race, and we had a good run.”
Shirley, who survived some anxious moments in lapped traffic during the final circuits, felt that winning in his first MARS start of the season cemented the fact that’s he’s back on track.
”Last year we won the (UMP) Summer Nationals finale at Oakshade (Ohio in July) and ran good at the end of year,” said Shirley. “It’s taken us awhile this year, but we showed people we’re still a force to be reckoned with. We just had to get all our ducks in a row.”
About a half-straightaway behind the lead pair at the finish was Faust, who enjoyed his best MARS finish of the season.
“I think I was a little bit too tight through the holes (to keep pace with the leaders),” said Faust, who started 12th. “Whenever I’d hit a rut, I’d push real bad. It seemed like those guys (Shirley and Frye) could roll through ‘em better without upsetting their cars a whole lot.”
Holding off the late-race bids of a dirt Late Model legend like Moyer, who started seventh, made the 25-year-old Faust’s outing even sweeter.
“It’s definitely a good feeling anytime you can run with guys like him,” said Faust. “He probably considers fourth an off night, but when you can beat him on his off night, it’s still a good night for us.”
Moyer, who entered the event to get a feel for his new Rayburn car in advance of upcoming WoO LMS shows at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway (Aug. 14) and Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo. (Aug. 15), felt fortunate to record a top-five finish on a very difficult oval.
“This track is a nightmare to drive,” said Mmoyer. “I don’t think you can make the car feel comfortable. There’s tacky spots and slick spots and rough spots. You feel like a pig on ice.”
Three caution flags slowed the race – on lap four for Bryan Collins’s turn-four spin; lap eight for the slowing Justin Wells; and lap 15 for Steve Rushin’s off-the-pace car.
A 36-car field participated in the event, which used the passing-points system to set the feature’s top-16 starters.
Heat winners were Michael Kloos, Shirley, Korte and Jeff Taylor, and Matt Taylor and Jeff Johns topped the B-Mains.
Frye, seeking his first MARS title since 2003, extended his points lead to 36 markers over Phillips.
Phillips used a provisional to get into the feature after crushing the nose of his car in a heat-race tangle on the homestretch. After his crew put a new nosepiece on his No. 75 and fixed a bent tie-rod, Phillips salvaged his night with a 10th-place finish in the main.
The MARS tour heads to Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Ill., on Sunday night (Aug. 13) for a $3,000-to-win event on the facility’s inner quarter-mile oval.
MARS/UMP Clash Feature Finish (40 laps): 1. Brian Shirley, 2. Bill Frye, 3. Billy Faust, 4. Billy Moyer, 5. Dane Dacus, 6. Jeff Taylor, 7. Will Vaught, 8. Tim Ratajczyk, 9. Matt Taylor, 10. Terry Phillips, 11. Michael Kloos, 12. Randy Korte, 13. Bryan Collins, 14. Jeff Floyd, 15. Billy James, 16. Jeff Johns, 17. Justin Wells, 18. Kyle Steffens, 19. Joey Mack, 20. Frank Heckenast Jr., 21. Danny Haynes, 22. Steve Sheppard, 23. Steve Rushin, 24. Don Klein.
DNQ: Brandon McCormick, Steve Shive, Mark Oller, Rick Whaley, Jordan Jones, Paul Belken, Richard Lawson, Ron McQuerry, Tim Manville, Mark Hunter, Jeremy Conaway, Billy Moyer Jr.
By Kevin Kovac
PEVELY, MO – Aug. 12, 2006 – Brian Shirley continued his summer hot-streak at I-55 Raceway on Saturday night, scoring a flag-to-flag victory in the 40-lap Mid-America Racing Series/United Midwestern Promoters Clash.
Winless in 2006 until July 15, the Chatham, Ill., driver captured his fourth straight Saturday-night show at the high-banked, three-eighths-mile oval.
And this was undoubtedly Shirley’s most important triumph. It brought the 25-year-old a cool $5,000 check, and he registered his first career win on DIRT MotorSports’ MARS tour.
“Unfortunately for half the season I didn’t have any luck,” said Shirley, who is in his fourth year as a dirt Late Model driver. “We were struggling real bad, but we regrouped and now we’re back to some winning ways.”
Shirley mastered the special event, leading the entire distance after starting from the outside pole. He passed polesitter Randy Korte of Highland, Ill., for the top spot at the initial green flag and never looked back.
Three-time MARS champion Bill Frye of Greenbriar, Ark., challenged Shirley throughout the race’s second half, but he settled for second place, about three car lengths behind at the finish.
Billy Faust of Lebanon, Ill., held off 2005 World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., to finish third, and Dane Dacus of Arlington, Tenn., came from the 19th starting spot to complete the top five.
A fast start was the key for Shirley, who drove a one-month-old Rocket car co-owned by Ed Petroff and Jayco Construction.
“For the first part of the race my car just stuck like glue in the middle of the racetrack,” said Shirley, whose machine was equipped with a Pro Power engine. “It was awesome. It was like driving on a rollercoaster around the corners – it just stuck.
“That put me in the lead, and then I did what I had to do.”
That meant staying snug to the concrete wall that lines the inside of I-55 Raceway’s turns.
“One of my guys was signaling me to stay on the bottom,” said Shirley. “Honestly, I didn’t feel that good on the bottom. I felt better rolling through the middle, but I stayed on the bottom.
“I figured, If Frye was gonna pass me, he was gonna have to do it on the top.”
Frye, who entered the event leading the MARS points standings by eight markers over fellow three-time tour champ Terry Phillips of Springfield, Mo., moved from the ninth starting spot to second in just nine laps, but he couldn’t climb any higher.
”We freed the car up just a little,” said the 45-year-old Frye, who drove a GRT car. “We also had a wheel seal out on the right side (of the car’s) rearend, and it was throwing oil all over the tires. That might’ve hurt me.
“Bu I really can’t complain. Brian drove a good race, and we had a good run.”
Shirley, who survived some anxious moments in lapped traffic during the final circuits, felt that winning in his first MARS start of the season cemented the fact that’s he’s back on track.
”Last year we won the (UMP) Summer Nationals finale at Oakshade (Ohio in July) and ran good at the end of year,” said Shirley. “It’s taken us awhile this year, but we showed people we’re still a force to be reckoned with. We just had to get all our ducks in a row.”
About a half-straightaway behind the lead pair at the finish was Faust, who enjoyed his best MARS finish of the season.
“I think I was a little bit too tight through the holes (to keep pace with the leaders),” said Faust, who started 12th. “Whenever I’d hit a rut, I’d push real bad. It seemed like those guys (Shirley and Frye) could roll through ‘em better without upsetting their cars a whole lot.”
Holding off the late-race bids of a dirt Late Model legend like Moyer, who started seventh, made the 25-year-old Faust’s outing even sweeter.
“It’s definitely a good feeling anytime you can run with guys like him,” said Faust. “He probably considers fourth an off night, but when you can beat him on his off night, it’s still a good night for us.”
Moyer, who entered the event to get a feel for his new Rayburn car in advance of upcoming WoO LMS shows at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway (Aug. 14) and Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo. (Aug. 15), felt fortunate to record a top-five finish on a very difficult oval.
“This track is a nightmare to drive,” said Mmoyer. “I don’t think you can make the car feel comfortable. There’s tacky spots and slick spots and rough spots. You feel like a pig on ice.”
Three caution flags slowed the race – on lap four for Bryan Collins’s turn-four spin; lap eight for the slowing Justin Wells; and lap 15 for Steve Rushin’s off-the-pace car.
A 36-car field participated in the event, which used the passing-points system to set the feature’s top-16 starters.
Heat winners were Michael Kloos, Shirley, Korte and Jeff Taylor, and Matt Taylor and Jeff Johns topped the B-Mains.
Frye, seeking his first MARS title since 2003, extended his points lead to 36 markers over Phillips.
Phillips used a provisional to get into the feature after crushing the nose of his car in a heat-race tangle on the homestretch. After his crew put a new nosepiece on his No. 75 and fixed a bent tie-rod, Phillips salvaged his night with a 10th-place finish in the main.
The MARS tour heads to Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Ill., on Sunday night (Aug. 13) for a $3,000-to-win event on the facility’s inner quarter-mile oval.
MARS/UMP Clash Feature Finish (40 laps): 1. Brian Shirley, 2. Bill Frye, 3. Billy Faust, 4. Billy Moyer, 5. Dane Dacus, 6. Jeff Taylor, 7. Will Vaught, 8. Tim Ratajczyk, 9. Matt Taylor, 10. Terry Phillips, 11. Michael Kloos, 12. Randy Korte, 13. Bryan Collins, 14. Jeff Floyd, 15. Billy James, 16. Jeff Johns, 17. Justin Wells, 18. Kyle Steffens, 19. Joey Mack, 20. Frank Heckenast Jr., 21. Danny Haynes, 22. Steve Sheppard, 23. Steve Rushin, 24. Don Klein.
DNQ: Brandon McCormick, Steve Shive, Mark Oller, Rick Whaley, Jordan Jones, Paul Belken, Richard Lawson, Ron McQuerry, Tim Manville, Mark Hunter, Jeremy Conaway, Billy Moyer Jr.
