By Brett Zerfowski
Despite light showers with the sun shining on the racetrack, Macon Speedway managed to avoid feeling the wrath of Mother Nature. The track officials and drivers enabled Macon Speedway to continue racing with laps around the damp track. When the conditions got better, the racing continued.
The full show of stock car racing in addition to the POWRi Micro Sprints added a switch to the way the feature lineups would be ran. The Street Stocks feature, which normally is ran between the Pro and Amateur Hornet feature, was first. Incredible side-by-side racing between Mike Pickering, Al Crawley, Blake Shelley and Steve Ewing led to exciting laps in the early going. Crawley had taken the lead from Pickering and got caught up in a three-wide situation in which Crawley’s right front tire went flat, resulting in him coming into the infield. On the lap eight restart, Blake Shelley assumed the leader’s role and became the hunted. Ewing and Pickering set their sights on the lead but Pickering was forced into the infield with a bent axle on his left front tire.
Shelley held off the challenges of Ewing and Terry Reed for the rest of the race and took home the checkered flag in an exciting first feature.
The POWRi Micro Sprints made their way to the track with John Paynter on the pole. Paynter was super-fast in his heat and the feature didn’t look too much different. He won with ease as Jeremy Camp took second for back-to-back weeks.
Mark Hall and the Raminator made their way onto the track. The six-time Truck of the Year brought the crowd to its feet with its ability to leap into the air and land with crunching blows on the four cars that were donated by Decatur Auto Parts. Trips around the track and letting the monster truck fly into the air to get some serious “air time” was Mark Hall’s gameplan. Mark’s brother Tim is a two-time MTRA Mechanic of the Year.
The Modifieds came out after Raminator thrilled the audience. Aaron Burcham, last week’s feature winner, started on the pole after a heat win. He felt as though his racecar was ready to contend with the front runners. He was right. Battling and holding off the competition of Kyle Logue and Jim Leka is no easy task. Leka fell victim to a broken racecar, forcing his early exit. Logue would take the lead from Burcham by lap 18 and it looked as though Logue was on his way to a win as he came into turn four but the car stopped running and Burcham flew around him on the inside to claim the victory for the second straight week.
Kyle Logue was able to fend off all comers in the Late Models feature. Roger Brickler and Chris Dick tried every possible way to take the lead and keep it from the defending track champion but would be unsuccessful. Logue would finish in front of Dick, Jim Moon and Mike Hammerle.
Rick Roedel of Shelbyville once again laid claim to the Touchstone Energy Sportsman feature. Mike Pickering and Terry Reed were able to stay close on a late-race restart but Roedel, much like throughout the race, pulled away and took home the win.
The Pro and Amateur Hornet features were won by drivers starting in the front row. Jeff Dodd in the Pro class and Cody Fleming in the Amateur class led the entire race for their respective classes, fending off all comers.
As Macon Speedway prepares to enter June, huge nights of racing and special events are all scheduled. Next Saturday night will be the Lite Beer Twin 50s as Late Models and Modifieds will run 50-lap features as part of the full show. The next event will be the Night of NASCAR Stars event with Tony Stewart, Mark Martin and Ken Schrader. Reserved seating tickets are still available and can be purchased in advance by dialing (217) 764-3000. Tickets will also be available on race day at the main gate.
UMP Late Model - Feature
________________________________________
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points
1 1 21 Kyle Logue Cisco , Il 50
2 3 22 Chris Dick Deland , Il 48
3 7 1 Jim Moon Zionsville , In 46
4 4 16H Mike Hammerle St Charles, Mo 44
5 9 44 Matt Taylor Springfield , Il 42
6 6 67 Michael Durbin Jr. Decatur , Il 40
7 8 25 Dennis Vandermeersch Springfield , Il 38
8 5 3W Bill Wilhour Taylorville , Il 36
9 2 82 Roger Brickler Springfield , Il 34
More Results
UMP Modified - Feature
________________________________________
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points
1 1 00 Aaron Burcham Decatur , Il 50
2 12 77 Guy Taylor - 48
3 8 11 Kyle Logue Cisco , Il 46
4 4 D98 Danny Smith Argenta , Il 44
5 2 T2 Mark Tullis Taylorville , Il 42
6 5 37 David Crawley Jr. Decatur , Il 40
7 23 31 Steve Ewing Decatur , Il 38
8 15 33 Steve Phillips Neosa , Il 36
9 10 28 Joe Strawkas Buffalo , Il 34
10 18 64 Donny Koehler Jr. Macon , Il 32
11 19 42 Katie Lord Chatham , Il 30
12 14 18M Kenneth Morris Virginia , Il 28
13 13 10 Curt Rhodes Taylorville , Il 26
14 22 5G Brian Gates Morrisonville , Il 24
15 6 32 Rick Crawford - 22
16 11 35 Clark Robertson Shelbyville , Il 20
17 7 57 Danny Page Mount Zion, Il 18
18 9 128 Mike Haas - 16
19 17 7W Shaun Werth - 14
20 16 22 Scott Jones - 12
21 3 40 Jim Leka Illiopolis , Il 10
22 20 18A Brian Rynders - 8
23 21 32X Jeremy Nichols Decatur , Il 6
24 24 6 Dave Eckel Lovington , Il 4
More Results
UMP Sportsman - Feature
________________________________________
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points
1 1 11 Rick Roedel Shelbyville , Il 50
2 2 9 Mike Pickering Decatur , Il 48
3 8 41 Scott Landers Taylorville , Il 46
4 4 11K Terry Reed Decatur , Il 44
5 5 14C Alan Crowder Elwin , Il 42
6 3 B99 Tim Bedinger Taylorville , Il 40
7 15 72 Tom Graham - 38
8 12 B88 James Bedinger Taylorville , Il 36
9 14 60 Kenny Hayes Macon , Il 34
10 9 000 Doug Sowers - 32
11 16 3B Stefan Bedinger - 30
12 10 14 Nation Lynch - 28
13 7 70JYD Steve Hill Edinburg , Il 26
14 6 10-4 Wade Wiseman - 24
15 11 J13 Vince Donahue Pawnee , Il 22
16 13 22 Timmy Dick Monticello , Il 20
17 17 7H Sam Hughes - 18
More Results
UMP Street Stock - Feature
________________________________________
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points
1 3 30 Blake Shelley Oakley , Il 50
2 6 95 Steve Ewing Decatur , Il 48
3 5 11 Terry Reed Decatur , Il 46
4 12 X7 Larry Russell Jr. Harristown , Il 44
5 10 K14 Ryan Blair Edinburg , Il 42
6 9 21 Troy Dodson Cerro Gordo, Il 40
7 4 36 Nick Justice Harristown , Il 38
8 7 OO Roy Magee Ii Springfield , Il 36
9 15 33 Justin Hill Lovington , Il 34
10 8 53R Jeff Reed, Sr - 32
11 18 34 Jeremy Reed - 30
12 11 52R Jeffery Reed Jr. Blue Mound, Il 28
13 16 14 Kurtis Ater Macon , Il 26
14 2 99 Mike Pickering Decatur , Il 24
15 1 88 Albert Crawley Sr. Decatur , Il 22
16 13 6 Willie Haddock Owoneco , Il 20
17 20 21R Dustin Reed Decatur , Il 18
18 14 54R Frank Reed Jr - 16
19 17 08 Brian Dasenbrock Decatur , Il 14
20 19 15C Kevin Crowder - 12
More Results
UMP Amateur Hornet - Feature
________________________________________
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points
1 1 28 Cody Fleming - 50
2 5 7 Sam Mccoy Decatur , Il 48
3 4 210 Brett Embry Decatur , Il 46
4 2 15 Heidi Hames Decatur , Il 44
5 3 83 Steven Dulgar Decatur , Il 42
6 6 88 Brian Offer Springfield , Il 40
7 9 14S Ben Medaris Decatur , Il 38
8 7 205 Michael Gossett - 36
9 8 21R Tony Reed Decatur , Il 34
10 11 K1 Kelsie Gustus Decatur , Il 32
11 13 46 Jeff Eller - 30
12 10 1F Fred Mifflin Mount Zion, Il 28
13 12 X28 Nathan Chandler - 26
14 15 21C Kevin Clutter Pana , Il 24
15 14 95 Charles Huffman - 22
More Results
UMP Hornet - Feature
________________________________________
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points
1 2 22X Jeff Dodd Springfield , Il 50
2 1 918 Michael Pundt Jr. Decatur , Il 48
3 4 83 Bruce Dulgar Decatur , Il 46
4 3 7 Joe Reed Decatur , Il 44
5 6 8UP Mike Morse Decatur , Il 42
6 10 19 James Hankins Taylorville , Il 40
7 8 71 Todd Rush Pawnee , Il 38
8 7 4X Stephanie Eskew Springfield , Il 36
9 12 28 Leon Kallenbach - 34
10 9 14S Steven Stine Macon , Il 32
11 13 O Fred Reed Jr. Decatur , Il 30
12 14 77J Josh Sumner Monticello , Il 28
13 17 1 Mike Howell - 26
14 16 35 Brandon Kirby Decatur , Il 24
15 19 4 Matthew Reed Decatur , Il 22
16 5 21Z Zach Dodd Riverton , Il 20
17 15 39T Scott Rodgers - 18
18 11 43 James Perry - 16
19 18 3 Dustin Tucker - 14
More Results
USAC Midget - Feature
________________________________________
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points
1 1 41 John Paynter - 0
2 5 2G Jeremy Camp - 0
3 6 3 Braylon Fitzpatrick - 0
4 7 7 Steffen Thompson - 0
5 14 9L Ryan Langston - 0
6 9 97D Devon Piper - 0
7 13 67 Steven Russell - 0
8 12 42M Spencer Montgomery - 0
9 3 M2 Michael Bustamante - 0
10 15 2 Michael Daish - 0
11 8 9 Paul Nienhiser - 0
12 11 34 Joshua Agans - 0
13 4 38 Evan Weyant - 0
14 10 19 Natasha Cox - 0
15 2 7B Austin Brown - 0
Despite light showers with the sun shining on the racetrack, Macon Speedway managed to avoid feeling the wrath of Mother Nature. The track officials and drivers enabled Macon Speedway to continue racing with laps around the damp track. When the conditions got better, the racing continued.
The full show of stock car racing in addition to the POWRi Micro Sprints added a switch to the way the feature lineups would be ran. The Street Stocks feature, which normally is ran between the Pro and Amateur Hornet feature, was first. Incredible side-by-side racing between Mike Pickering, Al Crawley, Blake Shelley and Steve Ewing led to exciting laps in the early going. Crawley had taken the lead from Pickering and got caught up in a three-wide situation in which Crawley’s right front tire went flat, resulting in him coming into the infield. On the lap eight restart, Blake Shelley assumed the leader’s role and became the hunted. Ewing and Pickering set their sights on the lead but Pickering was forced into the infield with a bent axle on his left front tire.
Shelley held off the challenges of Ewing and Terry Reed for the rest of the race and took home the checkered flag in an exciting first feature.
The POWRi Micro Sprints made their way to the track with John Paynter on the pole. Paynter was super-fast in his heat and the feature didn’t look too much different. He won with ease as Jeremy Camp took second for back-to-back weeks.
Mark Hall and the Raminator made their way onto the track. The six-time Truck of the Year brought the crowd to its feet with its ability to leap into the air and land with crunching blows on the four cars that were donated by Decatur Auto Parts. Trips around the track and letting the monster truck fly into the air to get some serious “air time” was Mark Hall’s gameplan. Mark’s brother Tim is a two-time MTRA Mechanic of the Year.
The Modifieds came out after Raminator thrilled the audience. Aaron Burcham, last week’s feature winner, started on the pole after a heat win. He felt as though his racecar was ready to contend with the front runners. He was right. Battling and holding off the competition of Kyle Logue and Jim Leka is no easy task. Leka fell victim to a broken racecar, forcing his early exit. Logue would take the lead from Burcham by lap 18 and it looked as though Logue was on his way to a win as he came into turn four but the car stopped running and Burcham flew around him on the inside to claim the victory for the second straight week.
Kyle Logue was able to fend off all comers in the Late Models feature. Roger Brickler and Chris Dick tried every possible way to take the lead and keep it from the defending track champion but would be unsuccessful. Logue would finish in front of Dick, Jim Moon and Mike Hammerle.
Rick Roedel of Shelbyville once again laid claim to the Touchstone Energy Sportsman feature. Mike Pickering and Terry Reed were able to stay close on a late-race restart but Roedel, much like throughout the race, pulled away and took home the win.
The Pro and Amateur Hornet features were won by drivers starting in the front row. Jeff Dodd in the Pro class and Cody Fleming in the Amateur class led the entire race for their respective classes, fending off all comers.
As Macon Speedway prepares to enter June, huge nights of racing and special events are all scheduled. Next Saturday night will be the Lite Beer Twin 50s as Late Models and Modifieds will run 50-lap features as part of the full show. The next event will be the Night of NASCAR Stars event with Tony Stewart, Mark Martin and Ken Schrader. Reserved seating tickets are still available and can be purchased in advance by dialing (217) 764-3000. Tickets will also be available on race day at the main gate.
UMP Late Model - Feature
________________________________________
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points
1 1 21 Kyle Logue Cisco , Il 50
2 3 22 Chris Dick Deland , Il 48
3 7 1 Jim Moon Zionsville , In 46
4 4 16H Mike Hammerle St Charles, Mo 44
5 9 44 Matt Taylor Springfield , Il 42
6 6 67 Michael Durbin Jr. Decatur , Il 40
7 8 25 Dennis Vandermeersch Springfield , Il 38
8 5 3W Bill Wilhour Taylorville , Il 36
9 2 82 Roger Brickler Springfield , Il 34
More Results
UMP Modified - Feature
________________________________________
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points
1 1 00 Aaron Burcham Decatur , Il 50
2 12 77 Guy Taylor - 48
3 8 11 Kyle Logue Cisco , Il 46
4 4 D98 Danny Smith Argenta , Il 44
5 2 T2 Mark Tullis Taylorville , Il 42
6 5 37 David Crawley Jr. Decatur , Il 40
7 23 31 Steve Ewing Decatur , Il 38
8 15 33 Steve Phillips Neosa , Il 36
9 10 28 Joe Strawkas Buffalo , Il 34
10 18 64 Donny Koehler Jr. Macon , Il 32
11 19 42 Katie Lord Chatham , Il 30
12 14 18M Kenneth Morris Virginia , Il 28
13 13 10 Curt Rhodes Taylorville , Il 26
14 22 5G Brian Gates Morrisonville , Il 24
15 6 32 Rick Crawford - 22
16 11 35 Clark Robertson Shelbyville , Il 20
17 7 57 Danny Page Mount Zion, Il 18
18 9 128 Mike Haas - 16
19 17 7W Shaun Werth - 14
20 16 22 Scott Jones - 12
21 3 40 Jim Leka Illiopolis , Il 10
22 20 18A Brian Rynders - 8
23 21 32X Jeremy Nichols Decatur , Il 6
24 24 6 Dave Eckel Lovington , Il 4
More Results
UMP Sportsman - Feature
________________________________________
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points
1 1 11 Rick Roedel Shelbyville , Il 50
2 2 9 Mike Pickering Decatur , Il 48
3 8 41 Scott Landers Taylorville , Il 46
4 4 11K Terry Reed Decatur , Il 44
5 5 14C Alan Crowder Elwin , Il 42
6 3 B99 Tim Bedinger Taylorville , Il 40
7 15 72 Tom Graham - 38
8 12 B88 James Bedinger Taylorville , Il 36
9 14 60 Kenny Hayes Macon , Il 34
10 9 000 Doug Sowers - 32
11 16 3B Stefan Bedinger - 30
12 10 14 Nation Lynch - 28
13 7 70JYD Steve Hill Edinburg , Il 26
14 6 10-4 Wade Wiseman - 24
15 11 J13 Vince Donahue Pawnee , Il 22
16 13 22 Timmy Dick Monticello , Il 20
17 17 7H Sam Hughes - 18
More Results
UMP Street Stock - Feature
________________________________________
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points
1 3 30 Blake Shelley Oakley , Il 50
2 6 95 Steve Ewing Decatur , Il 48
3 5 11 Terry Reed Decatur , Il 46
4 12 X7 Larry Russell Jr. Harristown , Il 44
5 10 K14 Ryan Blair Edinburg , Il 42
6 9 21 Troy Dodson Cerro Gordo, Il 40
7 4 36 Nick Justice Harristown , Il 38
8 7 OO Roy Magee Ii Springfield , Il 36
9 15 33 Justin Hill Lovington , Il 34
10 8 53R Jeff Reed, Sr - 32
11 18 34 Jeremy Reed - 30
12 11 52R Jeffery Reed Jr. Blue Mound, Il 28
13 16 14 Kurtis Ater Macon , Il 26
14 2 99 Mike Pickering Decatur , Il 24
15 1 88 Albert Crawley Sr. Decatur , Il 22
16 13 6 Willie Haddock Owoneco , Il 20
17 20 21R Dustin Reed Decatur , Il 18
18 14 54R Frank Reed Jr - 16
19 17 08 Brian Dasenbrock Decatur , Il 14
20 19 15C Kevin Crowder - 12
More Results
UMP Amateur Hornet - Feature
________________________________________
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points
1 1 28 Cody Fleming - 50
2 5 7 Sam Mccoy Decatur , Il 48
3 4 210 Brett Embry Decatur , Il 46
4 2 15 Heidi Hames Decatur , Il 44
5 3 83 Steven Dulgar Decatur , Il 42
6 6 88 Brian Offer Springfield , Il 40
7 9 14S Ben Medaris Decatur , Il 38
8 7 205 Michael Gossett - 36
9 8 21R Tony Reed Decatur , Il 34
10 11 K1 Kelsie Gustus Decatur , Il 32
11 13 46 Jeff Eller - 30
12 10 1F Fred Mifflin Mount Zion, Il 28
13 12 X28 Nathan Chandler - 26
14 15 21C Kevin Clutter Pana , Il 24
15 14 95 Charles Huffman - 22
More Results
UMP Hornet - Feature
________________________________________
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points
1 2 22X Jeff Dodd Springfield , Il 50
2 1 918 Michael Pundt Jr. Decatur , Il 48
3 4 83 Bruce Dulgar Decatur , Il 46
4 3 7 Joe Reed Decatur , Il 44
5 6 8UP Mike Morse Decatur , Il 42
6 10 19 James Hankins Taylorville , Il 40
7 8 71 Todd Rush Pawnee , Il 38
8 7 4X Stephanie Eskew Springfield , Il 36
9 12 28 Leon Kallenbach - 34
10 9 14S Steven Stine Macon , Il 32
11 13 O Fred Reed Jr. Decatur , Il 30
12 14 77J Josh Sumner Monticello , Il 28
13 17 1 Mike Howell - 26
14 16 35 Brandon Kirby Decatur , Il 24
15 19 4 Matthew Reed Decatur , Il 22
16 5 21Z Zach Dodd Riverton , Il 20
17 15 39T Scott Rodgers - 18
18 11 43 James Perry - 16
19 18 3 Dustin Tucker - 14
More Results
USAC Midget - Feature
________________________________________
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points
1 1 41 John Paynter - 0
2 5 2G Jeremy Camp - 0
3 6 3 Braylon Fitzpatrick - 0
4 7 7 Steffen Thompson - 0
5 14 9L Ryan Langston - 0
6 9 97D Devon Piper - 0
7 13 67 Steven Russell - 0
8 12 42M Spencer Montgomery - 0
9 3 M2 Michael Bustamante - 0
10 15 2 Michael Daish - 0
11 8 9 Paul Nienhiser - 0
12 11 34 Joshua Agans - 0
13 4 38 Evan Weyant - 0
14 10 19 Natasha Cox - 0
15 2 7B Austin Brown - 0
