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Brady Smith Scores Thrilling DIRTcar Summer Nationals Win at Lincoln
By Jordan Morris
LINCOLN, Ill. – June 29, 2014 – Brady Smith captured his second career DIRTcar Summer Nationals victory on Sunday night at Lincoln Speedway after leader Chase Junghans spun with 15 laps to go while trying to navigate through lapped traffic.
Smith grabbed the pole for the 40-lap feature with Saturday night winner, Brian Birkhofer, starting on his outside. Smith secured the lead and an early advantage on the opening lap as Birkhofer came under fire from the rest of the field. A hard charging Brian Shirley, who started in the fifth position, made his way around Birkhofer and challenged Smith for the lead early, but was unsuccessful at securing the top spot.
As Smith and Shirley battled for the lead, Chase Junghans who started in the third position, lurked behind the two leaders, staging his move for the top spot. On lap 16, Junghans took advantage of lapped traffic, making a daring pass to the inside of both Shirley and Smith for the lead. Smith held his line on the outside as the two fought for the lead, but Junghans would prove to be too tough and pulled away from Smith by the halfway point of the race.
Junghans looked to have the car to beat in his DIRTcar Summer Nationals debut, but on lap 24 he spun while trying to pass a slower Mike Spatola, handing the lead back over to Brady Smith. On lap 38, the race would be temporarily red-flagged after 2013 DIRTcar Summer Nationals champion Brandon Sheppard flipped while running in the top five. Fortunately, Sheppard escaped the wild ride without any injuries.
Following the short stoppage, Smith held off a late-race charge from Brian Birkhofer, leading the races final 15 laps en route to capturing his first DIRTcar Summer Nationals victory in seven years.
(Click here for news and information on the DIRTcar Summer Nationals.)
Shirley, Dennis Erb Jr., and Ryan Unzicker rounded out the top five.
Heat race winners included Birkhofer, Smith, Brandon Sheppard, and Junghans.
The DIRTcar Summer Nationals continues on Tuesday night as they join the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals at Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, Ill.
DIRTcar Summer Nationals Statistical Report; Lincoln Speedway; Lincoln, Ill.; June 29, 2014;
A-Main (40-laps): 1. 2S-Brady Smith ($5,000), 2. 15B-Brian Birkhofer, 3. 81-Brian Shirley, 4. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr, 5. 24-Ryan Unzicker, 6. 18J-Chase Junghans, 7. 21B-Rich Bell, 8. 81JR-Jason Riggs, 9. 1M-Jim Moon, 10. 89-Mike Spatola, 11. 91-Rusty Schlenk, 12. 84-Myles Moos, 13. B5-Brandon Sheppard, 14. 25L-Steve Lance Jr, 15. 27K-Greg Kimmons, 16. 21JR-Billy Moyer Jr, 17. 24T-Matt Taylor, 18. 6K-Michael Kloos, 19. 75D-Billy Drake, 20. 18-Shannon Babb, 21. 42-MCKay Wenger, 22. 12B-Kevin Weaver.
2014 DIRTcar Summer Nationals Schedule
Date | Day | Track | Location | Win |
June 11 | Wed | Brownstown Speedway | Brownstown, Ind. | RAIN |
June 12 | Thur | Kankakee Co. Speedway | Kankakee, Ill. | Billy Moyer |
June 13 | Fri | Cedar Lake Speedway | Somerset, Wis. | Rick Eckert |
June 14 | Sat | Cedar Lake Speedway | Somerset, Wis. | RAIN |
June 15 | Sun | Wilmot Raceway | Wilmot, Wis. | Rick Eckert(2) |
June 16 | Mon | Off | ||
June 17 | Tue | Farley Speedway | Farley, Iowa | Shannon Babb |
June 18 | Wed | Spoon River Speedway | Canton, Ill. | Jason Feger |
June 19 | Thur | Quincy Raceways | Quincy, Ill. | RAIN |
June 20 | Fri | Tri-City Speedway | Pontoon Beach, Ill. | Billy Moyer(2) |
June 21 | Sat | Fairbury Speedway | Fairbury, Ill. | RAIN |
June 22 | Sun | I-96 Speedway | Ionia, Mich. | Brian Shirley |
June 23 | Mon | Peoria Speedway | Peoria, Ill. | Brandon Sheppard |
June 24 | Tue | Off | ||
June 25 | Wed | Clarksville Speedway | Clarksville, Tenn. | Shannon Babb(2) |
June 26 | Thur | Clayhill Motorsports | Atwood, Tenn. | Brian Shirley (2) |
June 27 | Fri | Paducah Int. Raceway | Paducah, Ky. | RAIN |
June 28 | Sat | Federated Auto Parts Raceway | Pevely, Mo. | Brian Birkhofer |
June 29 | Sun | Lincoln Speedway | Lincoln, Ill. | Brady Smith |
June 30 | Mon | Off | ||
July 1 | Tue | Belle Clair Speedway | Belleville, Ill. | $5,000 |
July 2 | Wed | Jacksonville Speedway | Jacksonville, Ill. | $5,000 |
July 3 | Thur | LaSalle Speedway | LaSalle, Ill. | $5,000 |
July 4 | Fri | Fayette Co. Speedway | Brownstown, Ill. | $7,500 |
July 5 | Sat | Highland Speedway | Highland, Ill. | $10,000 |
July 6 | Sun | Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, Ind. | $5,000 |
July 7 | Mon | Off | ||
July 8 | Tue | Florence Speedway | Union, Ky. | $5,000 |
July 9 | Wed | Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, Ind. | $5,000 |
July 10 | Thur | Macon Speedway | Macon, Ill. | $5,000 |
July 11 | Fri | Farmer City Raceway | Farmer City, Ill. | $10,000 |
July 12 | Sat | 34 Raceway | Burlington, Iowa | $10,000 |
July 13 | Sun | Vermilion Co. Speedway | Danville, Ill. | $5,000 |
July 14 | Mon | Off | ||
July 15 | Tue | TBA | ||
July 16 | Wed | Atomic Speedway | Chillicothe, Ohio | $5,000 |
July 17 | Thur | Brushcreek Motorsports Complex | Peebles, Ohio | $5,000 |
July 18 | Fri | Attica Raceway Park | Attica, Ohio | $5,000 |
July 19 | Sat | Oakshade Raceway | Wauseon, Ohio | $10,000 |
The DIRTcar Summer Nationals “Hell Tour” is brought to fans across the country by many important partners including: Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), Racing Electronics (Official Communication), Velocita (Official Uniform), VP Racing Fuel (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to these fine Contingency Partners: Beyea Headers, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Dominator Race Products, Edelbrock, Fox Shocks, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, Mobil 1, MSD, Quartermaster, Superflow Dynos, Summit Racing Equipment and Wrisco Aluminum; Promotional Partners include: Chevy Performance Parts, Indiana Decal, Intercomp and Petroff Towing.Â
Super Late Models – A-Main
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown
1 1 2S    Brady Smith    Solon Springs, Wi
2 2 15B    Brian Birkhofer    Muscatine , Ia
3 5 81    Brian Shirley    Chatham , Il
4 8 28E    Dennis Erb, Jr    Carpentersville , Il
5 11 24    Ryan Unzicker    El Paso, Il
6 3 18J    Chase Junghans    Manhattan , Ks
7 9 21B    Rich Bell    Sheffield , Il
8 12 81JR    Jason Riggs    Harrisburg , Il
9 14 1M    Jim Moon    New Florence, Mo
10 19 89    Mike Spatola    Manhattan , Il
11 20 91    Rusty Schlenk    Weston , Oh DNF
12 21 84    Myles Moos    Lincoln , Il DNF
13 4 B5    Brandon Sheppard    New Berlin, Il DNF
14 18 25L    Steve Lance Jr    Cuba , Il DNF
15 13 27K    Greg Kimmons    Pleasant Plains, Il DNF
16 6 21JR    Billy Moyer Jr    Batesville , Ar DNF
17 15 24T    Matt Taylor    Springfield , Il DNF
18 17 6K    Michael Kloos    Trenton , Il DNF
19 16 75D    Billy Drake    Lincoln , Il DNF
20 7 18    Shannon Babb    Moweaqua , Il DNF
21 22 42    Mckay Wenger    Fairbury , Il DNF
22 10 12B    Kevin Weaver    Gibson City, Il DNF
Super Late Models – B-Main
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown
1 3 6K    Michael Kloos    Trenton , Il
2 1 25L    Steve Lance Jr    Cuba , Il
3 16 20    Dustin Griffin    Camp Point, Il
4 7 33H    Billy Hough    Thomasboro , Il
5 6 91    Rusty Schlenk    Weston , Oh
6 2 82B    Roger Brickler    Springfield , Il
7 12 T6    Tommy Sheppard Jr    New Berlin, Il
8 8 4G    Bob Gardner    Germantown Hills, Il
9 13 11D    Brian Divley    Springfield , Il
10 5 89    Mike Spatola    Manhattan , Il DNF
11 4 1ST    Justin Reed    Collinsville , Il DNF
12 11 38J    Jake Little    Springfield , Il DNF
13 10 84    Myles Moos    Lincoln , Il DNF
14 14 38L    Ryan Little    Springfield , Il DNF
15 9 32    Bobby Pierce    Oakwood , Il DNS
16 15 42    Mckay Wenger    Fairbury , Il DNS
17 17 25    Jason Feger    Bloomington , Il DNS
Super Late Models – Heat Race 4
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown
1 1 18J    Chase Junghans    Manhattan , Ks
2 2 28E    Dennis Erb, Jr    Carpentersville , Il
3 3 81JR    Jason Riggs    Harrisburg , Il
4 4 75D    Billy Drake    Lincoln , Il
5 7 1ST    Justin Reed    Collinsville , Il
6 5 4G    Bob Gardner    Germantown Hills, Il
7 8 T6    Tommy Sheppard Jr    New Berlin, Il
8 6 20    Dustin Griffin    Camp Point, Il
Super Late Models – Heat Race 3
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown
1 1 B5    Brandon Sheppard    New Berlin, Il
2 2 18    Shannon Babb    Moweaqua , Il
3 6 24    Ryan Unzicker    El Paso, Il
4 4 24T    Matt Taylor    Springfield , Il
5 3 6K    Michael Kloos    Trenton , Il
6 8 33H    Billy Hough    Thomasboro , Il
7 5 38J    Jake Little    Springfield , Il
8 7 42    Mckay Wenger    Fairbury , Il DNF
Super Late Models – Heat Race 2
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown
1 2 2S    Brady Smith    Solon Springs, Wi
2 1 21JR    Billy Moyer Jr    Batesville , Ar
3 3 12B    Kevin Weaver    Gibson City, Il
4 5 1M    Jim Moon    New Florence, Mo
5 6 82B    Roger Brickler    Springfield , Il
6 4 91    Rusty Schlenk    Weston , Oh
7 7 84    Myles Moos    Lincoln , Il
8 8 38L    Ryan Little    Springfield , Il DNF
Super Late Models – Heat Race 1
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown
1 1 15B    Brian Birkhofer    Muscatine , Ia
2 4 81    Brian Shirley    Chatham , Il
3 2 21B    Rich Bell    Sheffield , Il
4 7 27K    Greg Kimmons    Pleasant Plains, Il
5 8 25L    Steve Lance Jr    Cuba , Il
6 5 89    Mike Spatola    Manhattan , Il
7 3 32    Bobby Pierce    Oakwood , Il DNS
8 6 11D    Brian Divley    Springfield , Il DNS
9 9 25    Jason Feger    Bloomington , Il DNS
Super Late Models – Qualifying 2
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown
1 15 B5    Brandon Sheppard    New Berlin, Il
2 12 18J    Chase Junghans    Manhattan , Ks
3 14 18    Shannon Babb    Moweaqua , Il
4 16 28E    Dennis Erb, Jr    Carpentersville , Il
5 10 6K    Michael Kloos    Trenton , Il
6 8 81JR    Jason Riggs    Harrisburg , Il
7 7 24T    Matt Taylor    Springfield , Il
8 9 75D    Billy Drake    Lincoln , Il
9 3 38J    Jake Little    Springfield , Il
10 1 4G    Bob Gardner    Germantown Hills, Il
11 11 24    Ryan Unzicker    El Paso, Il
12 6 20    Dustin Griffin    Camp Point, Il
13 2 42    Mckay Wenger    Fairbury , Il
14 4 1ST    Justin Reed    Collinsville , Il
15 13 33H    Billy Hough    Thomasboro , Il
16 5 T6    Tommy Sheppard Jr    New Berlin, Il
Super Late Models – Qualifying 1
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown
1 2 15B    Brian Birkhofer    Muscatine , Ia
2 6 21JR    Billy Moyer Jr    Batesville , Ar
3 1 21B    Rich Bell    Sheffield , Il
4 4 2S    Brady Smith    Solon Springs, Wi
5 14 32    Bobby Pierce    Oakwood , Il
6 10 12B    Kevin Weaver    Gibson City, Il
7 8 81    Brian Shirley    Chatham , Il
8 15 91    Rusty Schlenk    Weston , Oh
9 17 89    Mike Spatola    Manhattan , Il
10 11 1M    Jim Moon    New Florence, Mo
11 7 11D    Brian Divley    Springfield , Il
12 9 82B    Roger Brickler    Springfield , Il
13 13 27K    Greg Kimmons    Pleasant Plains, Il
14 12 84    Myles Moos    Lincoln , Il
15 3 25L    Steve Lance Jr    Cuba , Il
16 16 38L    Ryan Little    Springfield , Il
17 5 25    Jason Feger    Bloomington , Il