By Kurt Vonder Haar – HIGHLAND, IL – For the 22^nd year in a row, the Aggressive UMP Summer Nationals rolled into town Saturday night with the biggest show of the year for three exciting classes of racing.  The stakes were huge with the Late Models paying $10,250 to win, Modifieds $2,000 to win and ProModifieds $800 to win.  87 cars filled the pits including many well-known national drivers and dedicated local contenders.  In a special tribute, Brett’s First Responders Night was celebrated in memory of the late driver Brett Korves.

The Late Model feature saw local driver #10 Daryn Klein (Fairview Heights) jump out to an early big lead, but lapped traffic ended his night with an accident on turns 3 and 4.  The “Smooth Operator” #32 Bobby Pierce (Oakwood, IL), the “Squirrel” #3S Brian Shirley (Chatham, IL) and the “Moweaqua Missile” #18 Shannon Babb battled hard for the lead during a long green flag stretch.  But multiple time Summer Nationals feature winner the “Highside Hustler” #25 Jason Feger (Bloomington) gave up his usual game and started digging on the low side from all the way back in the 16^th position.  One by one Feger picked off the race leaders and ran away with the $10,250 victory check and his 20^th Series victory.  Pierce was second and Babb third in the 40-lap thriller.  #52 Matt Bailey (Highland) was the top local finisher in 10^th place.

6-Time Modified Champ Mike Harrison (Highland) and his #24H maintained his dominance in Summer Nationals races and ran away with his 51^st series win.  Harrison started on the front row and sliced his way through lapped traffic for the runaway victory in the 25-lap race.  He dedicated his Modified win to his friend Brett Korves, driver of the #25 ProModified who passed away tragically in 2019.  #77 Ray Bollinger (Kewanee) and #128 Zach Schantz (Highland) battled it out for the two remaining podium spots and finished second and third.  2019 Highland Speedway Track Champion Tyler Deibert finished 4^th.

There was no shortage of tears in Victory Lane for the $800 to win ProModified feature race as Denny Tribout (Millstadt) in the Korves #25 ProModified rode a front row starting position to the emotional win.  #5 Owen Steinkoenig (Highland) fought hard for several laps in the 20-lap race but could not overtake Tribout during green flag racing.  #58R Ryan Hamilton (Fairview Heights) rounded out the top three.  In his Victory Lane speech, Tribout said “when we lost Brett, I got back into racing for one thing, to put this car into victory lane for my dad, Alex, Brock, everybody standing here in front of us.”

Racing resumes at Highland Speedway this Saturday, July 25^th with Race #4 of the 2020 racing season.  Grandstands open at 5:30pm with races starting at 6:30pm for four classes of racing.  More information can be found on the Highland Speedway Facebook page or by going to www.highlandspeedway.com.

DIRTcar Late Models

Qualifying Flight-A

1. 32-Bobby Pierce, 13.822; 2. 99JR-Frank Heckenast, 14.126; 3. 52-Matt Bailey, 14.158; 4. 6K-Michael Kloos, 14.282; 5. 11T-Trevor Gundaker, 14.369; 6. 4G-Bob Gardner, 14.428; 7. 16-Rusty Griffaw, 14.472; 8. 11K-Shannon Kuhn, 14.617; 9. 4-Jason Suhre, 14.634; 10. 10J-Jordan Bauer, 14.711; 11. 1H-Josh Heuiser, 14.719; 12. 67-Mark Oller, 14.909; 13. T4-Adam Tischhauser, 14.925; 14. 5-Brian Wolfmeier, 14.926; 15. 4E-Scott Geaschel, 15.08; 16. 48-Tim Lance, 16.859

Qualifying Flight-B
1. 18-Shannon Babb, 13.709; 2. 10-Daryn Klein, 14.001; 3. 24-Ryan Unzicker, 14.045; 4. 33R-Rodney Melvin, 14.067; 5. 33M-Tim Manville, 14.156; 6. 11-Gordy Gundaker, 14.223; 7. 3S-Brian Shirley, 14.229; 8. 78-Chad Zobrist, 14.233; 9. 14K-Paul Kuper, 14.275; 10. 25-Jason Feger, 14.493; 11. 87-Jason Zobrist, 14.597; 12. 30-Mark Voigt, 14.613; 13. 44-Blaze Burwell, 14.809; 14. 18M-Jimmy Miller, 15.165; 15. 4D-Doug Tye, 15.179; 16. 48L-Tim Lance, 99.999

Heat #1 – Flight (A) (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 32-Bobby Pierce [1]; 2. 11T-Trevor Gundaker [3]; 3. 52-Matt Bailey [2]; 4. 16-Rusty Griffaw [4]; 5. 4-Jason Suhre [5]; 6. T4-Adam Tischhauser [7]; 7. 4E-Scott Geaschel [8]; 8. 1H-Josh Heuiser [6]

Heat #2 – Flight (A) (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 6K-Michael Kloos [2]; 2. 99JR-Frank Heckenast [1]; 3. 67-Mark Oller [6]; 4. 10J-Jordan Bauer [5]; 5. 4G-Bob Gardner [3]; 6. 5-Brian Wolfmeier [7]; 7. 48-Tim Lance [8]; 8. 11K-Shannon Kuhn [4]

Heat #3 – Flight (B) (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 18-Shannon Babb [1]; 2. 3S-Brian Shirley [4]; 3. 24-Ryan Unzicker [2]; 4. 33M-Tim Manville [3]; 5. 87-Jason Zobrist [6]; 6. 14K-Paul Kuper [5]; 7. 44-Blaze Burwell [7]; 8. 4D-Doug Tye [8]

Heat #4 – Flight (B) (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 10-Daryn Klein [1]; 2. 33R-Rodney Melvin [2]; 3. 11-Gordy Gundaker [3]; 4. 25-Jason Feger [5]; 5. 30-Mark Voigt [6]; 6. 78-Chad Zobrist [4]; 7. 18M-Jimmy Miller [7]; 8. 48L-Tim Lance [8]

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – Top 2 Transfer
1. 30-Mark Voigt [4][-]; 2. 4G-Bob Gardner [3][-]; 3. 4-Jason Suhre [1][-]; 4. 78-Chad Zobrist [8][-]; 5. 87-Jason Zobrist [2]; 6. 14K-Paul Kuper [6]; 7. 1H-Josh Heuiser [13]; 8. 11K-Shannon Kuhn [15]; 9. 5-Brian Wolfmeier [7]; 10. 4D-Doug Tye [14]; 11. 44-Blaze Burwell [10]; 12. 4E-Scott Geaschel [9]; 13. 48L-Tim Lance [16]; 14. 48-Tim Lance [11]; 15. T4-Adam Tischhauser [5]; 16. 18M-Jimmy Miller [12]

Feature (50 Laps)
1. 25-Jason Feger [16]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce [3]; 3. 18-Shannon Babb [4]; 4. 11-Gordy Gundaker [12]; 5. 24-Ryan Unzicker [11]; 6. 3S-Brian Shirley [7]; 7. 33R-Rodney Melvin [8]; 8. 10J-Jordan Bauer [14]; 9. 99JR-Frank Heckenast [6]; 10. 52-Matt Bailey [9]; 11. 4G-Bob Gardner [18]; 12. 78-Chad Zobrist [21]; 13. 67-Mark Oller [10]; 14. 16-Rusty Griffaw [13]; 15. 30-Mark Voigt [17]; 16. 11T-Trevor Gundaker [5]; 17. 48-Tim Lance [19]; 18. 10-Daryn Klein [1]; 19. T4-Adam Tischhauser [20]; 20. 6K-Michael Kloos [2]; 21. 33M-Tim Manville [15]; 22. 48L-Tim Lance [22]

KSE Hard Charger Award: 25-Jason Feger[+15]

DIRTcar Modifieds

Qualifying Flight-A

1. 24-Zeke McKenzie, 14.762; 2. 128-Zach Schantz, 14.824; 3. 3L-Jeff Leka, 14.916; 4. E55-Chad Sellers, 14.952; 5. 63E-Bret Eilerman, 14.962; 6. 66-Tyler Blankenship, 15.082; 7. 22P-Wil Prater, 15.12; 8. 1Z-Zach Hoffman, 15.147; 9. 18S-Jarrett Stryker, 15.247; 10. 55-Marty Smith, 15.335; 11. 333-Carl Finder, 15.908

Qualifying Flight-B
1. 14-Rick Conoyer, 14.617; 2. 15-Chris Smith, 14.668; 3. 21M-Willy Myers, 14.708; 4. 24H-Mike Harrison, 14.748; 5. 36-Kenny Wallace, 14.75; 6. 54-Shaun Horstmann, 14.77; 7. 59R-Jacob Rexing, 14.794; 8. 87Z-Zeb Moake, 14.826; 9. 70-Brian Bielong, 14.884; 10. 1D-Dean Hoffman, 14.938

Qualifying Flight-C
1. 8-Kyle Steffans, 14.599; 2. 77-Ray Bollinger, 14.67; 3. 7T-Blake Thompson, 14.687; 4. 84-Tyler Deibert, 14.712; 5. 43A-Larry Anderson, 14.789; 6. 24S-Jacob Steinkoenig, 14.837; 7. 88-Rob Lee, 15.109; 8. 7-Dennis Ponder, 15.142; 9. 22-Tim Hancock, 15.147; 10. 3-Ryan Eilers, 15.238

Heat #1 – Flight (A) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 3L-Jeff Leka [3]; 2. 128-Zach Schantz [2]; 3. 24-Zeke McKenzie [1]; 4. E55-Chad Sellers [4]; 5. 63E-Bret Eilerman [5]; 6. 22P-Wil Prater [7]; 7. 18S-Jarrett Stryker [9]; 8. 333-Carl Finder [11]; 9. 1Z-Zach Hoffman [8]; 10. 55-Marty Smith [10]; 11. 66-Tyler Blankenship [6]

Heat #2 – Flight (B) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 24H-Mike Harrison [4]; 2. 14-Rick Conoyer [1]; 3. 21M-Willy Myers [3]; 4. 15-Chris Smith [2]; 5. 36-Kenny Wallace [5]; 6. 54-Shaun Horstmann [6]; 7. 59R-Jacob Rexing [7]; 8. 70-Brian Bielong [9]; 9. 87Z-Zeb Moake [8]; 10. 1D-Dean Hoffman [10]

Heat #3 – Flight (C) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 77-Ray Bollinger [2]; 2. 8-Kyle Steffans [1]; 3. 84-Tyler Deibert [4]; 4. 24S-Jacob Steinkoenig [6]; 5. 43A-Larry Anderson [5]; 6. 22-Tim Hancock [9]; 7. 3-Ryan Eilers [10]; 8. 88-Rob Lee [7]; 9. 7-Dennis Ponder [8]; 10. 7T-Blake Thompson [3]

Last Chance Showdown (8 Laps) – Top 3 Transfer
1. 54-Shaun Horstmann [2][-]; 2. 59R-Jacob Rexing [5][-]; 3. 70-Brian Bielong [8][-]; 4. 22P-Wil Prater [1]; 5. 3-Ryan Eilers [6]; 6. 88-Rob Lee [9]; 7. 87Z-Zeb Moake [11]; 8. 333-Carl Finder [7]; 9. 7T-Blake Thompson [15]; 10. 18S-Jarrett Stryker [4]; 11. 22-Tim Hancock [3]; 12. 7-Dennis Ponder [12]; 13. 55-Marty Smith [13]; 14. 66-Tyler Blankenship [16]; 15. 1Z-Zach Hoffman [10]; 16. 1D-Dean Hoffman [14]

Feature (25 Laps)
1. 24H-Mike Harrison [1]; 2. 77-Ray Bollinger [2]; 3. 128-Zach Schantz [4]; 4. 84-Tyler Deibert [9]; 5. 3L-Jeff Leka [3]; 6. 8-Kyle Steffans [6]; 7. 21M-Willy Myers [8]; 8. 70-Brian Bielong [18]; 9. 15-Chris Smith [11]; 10. 54-Shaun Horstmann [16]; 11. 14-Rick Conoyer [5]; 12. 24-Zeke McKenzie [7]; 13. 36-Kenny Wallace [14]; 14. 63E-Bret Eilerman [13]; 15. 22P-Wil Prater [22]; 16. 87Z-Zeb Moake [19]; 17. 59R-Jacob Rexing [17]; 18. 43A-Larry Anderson [15]; 19. 88-Rob Lee [21]; 20. 1Z-Zach Hoffman [20]; 21. 24S-Jacob Steinkoenig [12]; 22. E55-Chad Sellers [10]

KSE Hard Charger Award: 70-Brian Bielong[+10]

DIRTcar Pro Modifieds

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 25-Denny Tribout[1]; 2. 5-Owen Steinkoenig[3]; 3. 58R-Ryan Hamilton[7]; 4. 33-Kevin Medlin[8]; 5. 29H-Cale Hartnagel[2]; 6. 75-Tyler Stadler[10]; 7. 51M-Joe Mercurio[14]; 8. 25T-Tim Stadler[11]; 9. 53-Kipp Schaefer[21]; 10. 21T-Talen Beard[18]; 11. 52-Jeff Johns[17]; 12. 63V-Cody Ventimiglia[5]; 13. 43-Bobby Dees Jr[9]; 14. (DNF) 66-C J Volluz[4]; 15. (DNF) 81-Garett Schumacher[6]; 16. (DNF) 17C-AJ Cline[12]; 17. (DNF) 7M-Dominic Mertzke[15]; 18. (DNF) 57-Brandon Menke[16]; 19. (DNF) 82Q-Cole Queathem[20]; 20. (DNF) 23-Ryan Timmons[19]; 21. (DNS) 34-John Holzhauer

B Feature 1 (8 Laps): 1. 57-Brandon Menke[1]; 2. 52-Jeff Johns[2]; 3. 21T-Talen Beard[4]; 4. 23-Ryan Timmons[5]; 5. 82Q-Cole Queathem[6]; 6. 53-Kipp Schaefer[9]; 7. (DNS) 21Z-Zane Ulmer; 8. (DNS) 88-Steven Wolf; 9. (DNS) 787-Cody Zobrist

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 25-Denny Tribout[3]; 2. 66-C J Volluz[5]; 3. 58R-Ryan Hamilton[8]; 4. 75-Tyler Stadler[7]; 5. 34-John Holzhauer[4]; 6. 57-Brandon Menke[6]; 7. 21T-Talen Beard[2]; 8. 21Z-Zane Ulmer[1]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 29H-Cale Hartnagel[3]; 2. 63V-Cody Ventimiglia[4]; 3. 33-Kevin Medlin[1]; 4. 25T-Tim Stadler[5]; 5. 51M-Joe Mercurio[8]; 6. 52-Jeff Johns[6]; 7. 23-Ryan Timmons[7]; 8. 88-Steven Wolf[2]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 5-Owen Steinkoenig[6]; 2. 81-Garett Schumacher[5]; 3. 43-Bobby Dees Jr[8]; 4. 17C-AJ Cline[3]; 5. 7M-Dominic Mertzke[7]; 6. 787-Cody Zobrist[2]; 7. 82Q-Cole Queathem[1]; 8. 53-Kipp Schaefer[4]