They say “if at first you don’t succeed, try try again”. That’s exactly what Friday night’s QuickCar Dirt Late Model Series feature winner Steve Lance Jr. of Cuba, IL did at the Kankakee County Speedway in the series’ second event of the season. A solid field of 22 drivers entertained the raucous crowd at the track near the Kankakee River, but it was Lance, a long-time veteran of the Midwest dirt circuits, attempted a nearly ill-fated “slidejob” on early race leader Dave Polak Jr. of Alsip, IL and a lapped car entering turns three and four just passed the half way mark ofthe $1,000 to win 25-lap affair. However, Polak countered the “slidejob” exiting turn four and the duo made slight contact sending Lance’s car careening into the front-stretch wall causing noticeable front end damage, but Lance never lifted and began his pursuit of Polak yet again. Itwasn’t until lap 22 that the exact same scenario would unfold once more. The outcome this time was much different for Lance and sent Polak into a slow fall to fifth as a result of knocking the rear spoiler off of his machine. The young Polak in only his second year piloting a UMP Pro Late Model would show the way for the first 21 circuits around the 1/3-mile high-banked clay oval to the delight of his hometown crowd before suffering handling issues as a result of the damaged spoiler. The victory was the second of the year for Lance, who also earned top honors at Lincoln Speedway back on April 18th after apparent race winner Matt Taylor was disqualified for non-conforming parts.
Myles Moos of Hartsburg, IL would use the bottom of the race track to near perfection as he climbed from seventh to finish second just ahead of Shawn Diggs of Leroy, IL, while Roben Huffman of Midland City, IL, and Polak Jr. would round out the top five. Finishing in the top ten were Logan Moody, Cody Watters, Doug Hayes, Bill Gianetti, and Levi Ashby. Ashby of Clarksville, TN would not only earn Hard Charger of the race, but literally traveled the farthest and hardest just to make it to the speedway in time for the feature event. Ashby’s hauler would suffer mechanical issues just south of the track at the Gilman exit. After making repairs they were back on the road and arrived just in time for the feature events and promoter Tom Smith was not only there to greet him, but helped to unload the car and get it checked in and ready, as well as allowing Ashby several hotlaps prior to the night’s first feature event. Ashby would start 22nd on the grid at the tail and rise to finish tenthin his first ever visit to the speedway.
The series moves east to the Plymouth Speedway in Indiana on Saturday night before returning to Illinois to cap off a three day Memorial Day weekend extravaganza at the Spoon River Speedway in Canton, IL, Sunday night.
Summary of Results (22 cars)
Heat 1 8-laps – 1. 95 Dave Polak Jr. 2. 19D AJ Dixon 3. 78 Shawn Diggs 4. 84 Myles Moos 5. 23H Doug Hayes
Heat 2 8-laps – 1. 25 Steve Lance Jr. 2. 38 Cody Watters 3. 34 Jeremy McLaughlin 4. 17G Bill Gianetti 5. 23M Kyle Madison
Feature 25-laps, $1,000 to win
1. 25 Steve Lance Jr. (2) $1,000
2. 84 Myles Moos (7) $600
3. 78 Shawn Diggs (6) $400
4. 33H Roben Huffman (12) $350
5. 95 Dave Polak Jr. (1) $300
6. 162 Logan Moody (13) $250
7. 38 Cody Watters (4) $200
8. 23H Doug Hayes (8) $175
9. 17G Bill Gianetti (9) $150
10. 1A Levi Ashby (22) $125
11. 23M Kyle Madison (11) $100
12. 19D AJ Dixon (3) $100
13. 19O Chad Osterhoff (19) $100
14. 97M Mike Marden (10) $100
15. 67 Richie Rich (15) $100
16. 13 Shawn Amor (17) $100
17. 12 Casey Martin (16) DNF $100
18. 72 Jay Morris (14) DNF $100
19. 34 Jeremy McLaughlin (5) DNF $100
20. 41 Logan Nesselrodt (18) DNF $100
21. 42T Robert Kupsik (20) DNF $100
22. 4G Matt Gifford (21) DNF $100
Hard Charger – 1A Levi Ashby +12
Paul D. Bayne
Director of Public Relations
Kankakee County Speedway
www.KankakeeCountySpeedway.com
@KankakeeCoSpdwy
kankakeecountyspeedway@gmail.com
Quick Car Dirt Late Model Series
www.dirtlatemodelseries.com
@QuickCarDLMS