Eight Feature wins at the track coming into Thursday night’s DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment American Modified Series event, nine when the night was complete.

With 25 laps ahead of him and $1,500 on the line, The Magic Man wasted zero time from the drop of the green, plowing through lapped traffic with an all-star cast of UMP Modified talent right behind him. Faced with the #7 of Nick Hoffman on his back, McKinney never flinched and piloted his #96 Elite Chassis to Victory Lane in the caution-free event.

“We didn’t have one caution all race, and those lappers – they weren’t too bad, to be honest,” McKinney said. “Even with it being that slick, I was still able to move up to the middle of the racetrack and run the top of [turns] three and four a few times to get around them and keep my momentum up.”

Starting on the pole, McKinney jumped out to the lead immediately. His biggest threat, however, had to come from just slightly deeper in the field.

Hoffman started seventh and took 11 laps to reach second. Once he did, a bunch of lapped traffic stood in his way, which he was able to clear by Lap 14. Hoffman began to reel in McKinney as they drove through a clear spot in traffic, shaving it down to under a half-second at one point.

“Dad was telling me somebody was close,” McKinney recalled. “I wasn’t 100-percent sure who it was. It’s hard being the leader; you don’t know where the guy’s at.”

“I figured it might have been Nick [Hoffman] or Tyler [Nicely] behind me; I kinda know the line they run. So, I was just trying to protect that bottom as best I could.”

As the laps wound down, McKinney was able to keep his momentum up in traffic just enough to keep Hoffman at bay behind him and led the field back to the checkers for the $1,500 victory. Fortunately, McKinney brought his A-game in lapped traffic, as Hoffman was right on him throughout the race.

“I really didn’t have to mess around behind them too much. It seemed like as soon as I got to them, I was able to get right by them. When you’ve got that #7 car chasing you down and the rest of the field there, you can’t mess around with them too long,” McKinney said.

With the competition level found at Farmer City on a weekly basis, winning just one Feature at the quarter-mile bullring is hard enough, let alone nine. But he’s the current DIRTcar UMP Modified National points leader, so if anyone could have done it this year, McKinney’s the guy. He’s come a long way in the division since his first steps after his 2012 Stock Car National points championship, and now he’s hot on the trail of clinching his first UMP Modified National points title.

“Years ago, I would have never told you I’d have this success here,” McKinney said. “I’ve blown motors here, I’ve flipped here… anything bad that’s happened has happened here. I’ve been close to winning races, but this year seems like I can do no wrong.”

UP NEXT

The Summit Racing Equipment American Modified Series action continues from the Farmer City Raceway Friday night in round two of action of the Farmer City 74 weekend. A 30-lap, $2,500-to-win Feature is on tap for the Modifieds.

MODIFIEDA FEATURE 1

Finish	Start	#	Competitor		Hometown	+/-
1	1	96M		Mike McKinney	Plainfield, IL	–
2	7	7		Nick Hoffman	Mooresville, NC	5
3	2	25		Tyler Nicely	Owensboro, KY	-1
4	3	21D		Danny Schwartz	Ashmore, IL	-1
5	4	45		Kyle Hammer	Clinton, IL	-1
6	6	3L		Jeff Leka	Buffalo, IL	–
7	11	25W		Allen Weisser	Peoria, IL	4
8	9	24H		Mike Harrison	Highland, IL	1
9	10	4		Victor Lee	Danville, KY	1
10	12	77		Ray Bollinger	Kewanee, IL	2
11	15	35		David Stremme	Mooresville, NC	4
12	14	5		Steven Brooks	Douglasville, GA	2
13	16	T6		Tommy Sheppard	Berlin, IL	3
14	8	36		Kenny Wallace	St. Louis, MO	-6
15	19	1KS		Keith Smith	Stanton, KY	4
16	17	59R		Jacob Rexing	Brighton, IL	1
17	22	81C		Chris Cole	Evansville, IN	5
18	18	21		Troy Dodson	Hammond, IL	–
19	21	81		Mark Cole	Evansville, IN	2
20	13	63		Dustin King	Charleston, IL	-7
21	5	5S		Alan Stipp	Forrest, IL	-16
22	20	327		Dustin Bruce	Bloomington, IN	-2
23	23	01		Don Kiger	Tilton, IL	–

0 Laps

MODIFIEDB FEATURE 1

Finish	Start	#	Competitor		Hometown	+/-
1	7	59R		Jacob Rexing	Brighton, IL	6
2	8	21		Troy Dodson	Hammond, IL	6
3	10	1KS		Keith Smith	Stanton, KY	7
4	4	327		Dustin Bruce	Bloomington, IN	–
Top 4 transfer
5	3	83		Kasey Schrock	Ashmore, IL	-2
6	11	81C		Chris Cole	Evansville, IN	5
7	15	81		Mark Cole	Evansville, IN	8
8	14	10		Jason Highley	Terre Haute, IN	6
9	1	1S		Brian Shaw	Robinson, IL	-8
10	12	01		Don Kiger	Tilton, IL	2
11	2	32		Donovan Lodge	Andover, IL	-9
12	5	K19		Will Krup	Mt. Carmel, IL	-7
13	13	12		Wyatt Harms	Fairbury, IL	–
DNS	6	1A		Steve Meyer Jr	Stanton, IL	–
DNS	9	242		Brandon Bollinger	Kewanee, IL	–
DNS	16	19C		Jeremy Nichols	Lovington, IL	–

0 Laps

MODIFIEDHEAT 1

Finish	Start	#	Competitor		Hometown	+/-
1	1	45		Kyle Hammer	Clinton, IL	–
2	3	5S		Alan Stipp	Forrest, IL	1
3	2	24H		Mike Harrison	Highland, IL	-1
4	6	63		Dustin King	Charleston, IL	2
Top 4 transfer
5	5	1S		Brian Shaw	Robinson, IL	–
6	4	K19		Will Krup	Mt. Carmel, IL	-2
7 DNF	7	242		Brandon Bollinger	Kewanee, IL	–
8 DNF	8	12		Wyatt Harms	Fairbury, IL	–

0 Laps

MODIFIEDHEAT 2

Finish	Start	#	Competitor		Hometown	+/-
1	2	25		Tyler Nicely	Owensboro, KY	1
2	1	7		Nick Hoffman	Mooresville, NC	-1
3	3	25W		Allen Weisser	Peoria, IL	–
4	5	35		David Stremme	Mooresville, NC	1
Top 4 transfer
5	6	83		Kasey Schrock	Ashmore, IL	1
6	4	59R		Jacob Rexing	Brighton, IL	-2
7	8	81C		Chris Cole	Evansville, IN	1
8	7	81		Mark Cole	Evansville, IN	-1

0 Laps

MODIFIEDHEAT 3

Finish	Start	#	Competitor		Hometown	+/-
1	1	96M		Mike McKinney	Plainfield, IL	–
2	2	3L		Jeff Leka	Buffalo, IL	–
3	5	4		Victor Lee	Danville, KY	2
4	3	5		Steven Brooks	Douglasville, GA	-1
Top 4 transfer
5	4	32		Donovan Lodge	Andover, IL	-1
6	6	1A		Steve Meyer Jr	Stanton, IL	–
7	7	1KS		Keith Smith	Stanton, KY	–
8	8	10		Jason Highley	Terre Haute, IN	–

0 Laps

MODIFIEDHEAT 4

Finish	Start	#	Competitor		Hometown	+/-
1	1	21D		Danny Schwartz	Ashmore, IL	–
2	2	36		Kenny Wallace	St. Louis, MO	–
3	3	77		Ray Bollinger	Kewanee, IL	–
4	5	T6		Tommy Sheppard	Berlin, IL	1
Top 4 transfer
5	7	327		Dustin Bruce	Bloomington, IN	2
6	6	21		Troy Dodson	Hammond, IL	–
7	8	01		Don Kiger	Tilton, IL	1
8 DNF	4	19C		Jeremy Nichols	Lovington, IL	-4

0 Laps

MODIFIEDQUALIFYING 1

Finish	Start	#	Competitor		Hometown	Time
1	4	45		Kyle Hammer	Clinton, IL	14.130
2	12	7		Nick Hoffman	Mooresville, NC	14.160
3	25	24H		Mike Harrison	Highland, IL	14.210
4	8	25		Tyler Nicely	Owensboro, KY	14.280
5	22	5S		Alan Stipp	Forrest, IL	14.290
6	5	21D		Danny Schwartz	Ashmore, IL	14.360
7	17	25W		Allen Weisser	Peoria, IL	14.380
8	29	3L		Jeff Leka	Buffalo, IL	14.380
9	2	K19		Will Krup	Mt. Carmel, IL	14.390
10	26	59R		Jacob Rexing	Brighton, IL	14.400
11	20	36		Kenny Wallace	St. Louis, MO	14.480
12	23	5		Steven Brooks	Douglasville, GA	14.510
13	10	77		Ray Bollinger	Kewanee, IL	14.520
14	9	1S		Brian Shaw	Robinson, IL	14.550
15	30	32		Donovan Lodge	Andover, IL	14.560
16	13	19C		Jeremy Nichols	Lovington, IL	14.570
17	3	4		Victor Lee	Danville, KY	14.620
18	15	35		David Stremme	Mooresville, NC	14.650
19	19	63		Dustin King	Charleston, IL	14.670
20	21	T6		Tommy Sheppard	Berlin, IL	14.670
21	6	1A		Steve Meyer Jr	Stanton, IL	14.720
22	32	96M		Mike McKinney	Plainfield, IL	14.750
23	18	21		Troy Dodson	Hammond, IL	14.770
24	31	1KS		Keith Smith	Stanton, KY	14.770
25	7	83		Kasey Schrock	Ashmore, IL	14.900
26	14	242		Brandon Bollinger	Kewanee, IL	14.950
27	28	81		Mark Cole	Evansville, IN	15.010
28	16	12		Wyatt Harms	Fairbury, IL	15.110
29	11	327		Dustin Bruce	Bloomington, IN	15.190
30	1	10		Jason Highley	Terre Haute, IN	15.220
31	27	81C		Chris Cole	Evansville, IN	15.280
32	24	01		Don Kiger	Tilton, IL	15.310