Contact: Chris Dolack
DIRTcar Racing PR
704-795-7223 | cdolack@dirtcar.com

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.


Contact: Chris Dolack
DIRTcar Racing PR
704-795-7223 | cdolack@dirtcar.com

Poel Captures Fourth Victory of 2014 DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Season at Lincoln Speedway
By Jordan Morris

LINCOLN, Ill. - June 29, 2014 - One night after Mike Harrison tied his 2014 DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals win total at three, Jacob Poel responded Sunday night by passing Harrison on the final lap to claim his fourth victory of the season at Lincoln Speedway.

Nick Hoffman, of Mooresville, NC, and Mike Harrison occupied the front row, with Jacob Poel starting right behind them in the third position. Hoffman and Harrison battled for the lead on the opening lap, with Harrison eventually securing the top spot.

Harrison had the car to beat as he held off challenges from Hoffman, Poel, and T.D Burger in the early laps of the 25-lap feature event. Harrison built a comfortable lead on the rest of the field with the action heating up for the second position where Poel, Hoffman and Burger battled for the majority of the race. Harrison looked to close out the weekend with back-to-back victories, but a late-race caution with four laps remaining changed that outcome.

On the final restart, the leader kept his car glued to the bottom, holding off a challenge from Burger. Poel took advantage of the front two cars battling for the lead, as he made his move to the outside lane and powered around Burger for second with three laps remaining. Poel drove his car deeper and deeper into the corners trying to catch Harrison, finally getting to his outside going into turn one on the final lap.
Harrison edged Poel heading into the final turn, but the outside line would prove to be valuable for Poel as he pulled even with Harrison exiting turn four. The two drivers hit the front stretch nose-to-nose with Poel claiming the $1,000 checkered flag in the first photo finish of the 2014 DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals season.

"I was really just trying to put a show on," said Poel who won by .05 of a second. "I didn't even know or not if I won there at the end, it was so close. They must've had to go back to the transponders."

(Click here for news and information on the Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals.)

Burger, Hoffman, and Jeff Curl rounded out the top five.

Heat race winners were Poel, Hoffman, and Harrison.

The DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals joins the DIRTcar Summer Nationals on Tuesday night at Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, Ill.

DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Statistical Report; Lincoln Speedway; Lincoln Ill.; June 29, 2014

A-Main (25-laps): 1. 82-Jacob Poel ($1,000), 2. 24H-Mike Harrison, 3. 32B-T.D. Burger, 4. 2-Nick Hoffman, 5. 12-Jeff Curl, 6. 36-Kenny Wallace, 7. 25W-Allen Weisser, 8. 84-Tyler Deibert, 9. 14-Brian Lynn, 10. 3L-Jeff Leka, 11. 5-Steven Brooks, 12. 72A-Austin Lynn, 13. 26D-Derick Doerr, 14. 11-Blake Buchholz, 15. 41G-Matt Goulden, 16. 55A-Collin Alexander, 17. 96D-Cory Daugherty, 18. 89W-Rick Weitekamp, 19. Z8-Max McLaughlin, 20. A9-Austin May, 21. 10K-Kelly Kovski, 22. 2L-Justin Leka, 23. 32Z-Nate Zimmer, 24. 77-Ray Bollinger, 25. 32-Donovan Lodge.

2014 DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Schedule


June 7

Sat

Tri-State Speedway

Haubstadt, Ind.

Tyler Nicely

June 11

Wed

Brownstown Speedway

Brownstown, Ind.

RAIN

June 12

Thur

Kankakee Co-Speedway

Kankakee, Ill.

Devin Gilpin

June 13

Fri

Kankakee Co-Speedway

Kankakee, Ill.

Jacob Poel

June 15

Sun

Off

June 16

Mon

Off

June 17

Tue

Off

June 18

Wed

Spoon River Speedway

Canton, Ill.

Jacob Poel

June 19

Thur

Quincy Raceways

Quincy, Ill.

RAIN

June 20

Fri

Tri-City Speedway

Pontoon Beach, Ill.

Mike Harrison

June 21

Sat

Fairbury Speedway

Fairbury, Ill.

RAIN

June 22

Sun

I-96 Speedway

Ionia, Mich.

Jacob Poel

June 23

Mon

Peoria Speedway

Peoria, Ill.

David Wietholder

June 24

Tue

Off

June 25

Wed

Clarksville Speedway Park

Clarksville, Tenn.

Mike Harrison

June 26

Thur

Clayhill Motorsports Park

Atwood, Tenn.

Hunter Rasdon

June 27

Fri

Paducah Int-Raceway

Paducah, Ky.

RAIN

June 28

Sat

Federated I-55 Raceway

Pevely, Mo.

Mike Harrison

June 29

Sun

Lincoln Speedway

Lincoln, Ill.

Jacob Poel

June 30

Mon

Off

July 1

Tue

Belle-Clair Speedway

Belleville, Ill.

$1,000

July 2

Wed

Jacksonville Speedway

Jacksonville, Ill.

$1,000

July 3

Thur

LaSalle Speedway

LaSalle, Ill.

$1,000

July 4

Fri

Fayette Co-Speedway

Brownstown, Ill.

$1,000

July 5

Sat

Highland Speedway

Highland, Ill.

$1,000

July 6

Sun

Tri-State Speedway

Haubstadt, Ind.

$1,000

July 7

Mon

Off

July 8

Tue

Florence Speedway

Union, Ky.

$1,000

July 9

Wed

Terre Haute Action Track

Terre Haute, Ind.

$1,000

July 10

Thur

Macon Speedway

Macon, Ill.

$1,000

July 11

Fri

Farmer City Raceway

Farmer City, Ill.

$1,000

July 13

Sun

Vermilion Co-Speedway

Danville, Ill.

$1,000

July 14

Mon

Off

July 15

Tue

Off

July 16

Wed

Atomic Speedway

Chillicothe, Ohio

$1,000

July 17

Thu

Brushcreek Motorsports

Peebles, Ohio

TBA

July 18

Fri

Attica Raceway Park

Attica, Ohio

$1,000

July 19

Sat

Oakshade Raceway

Wauseon, Ohio

$1,000

The Summit Racing Modified Nationals is proudly brought to you by these fine partners : Summit Racing Equipment (Title Sponsor), Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Provider), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Racing Tire), Racing Electronics (Official Communication ), Velocita (Official Uniform),VP Racing Fuels (Official Fuel), along with these Contingency Parters: MSD, TomCat Performance, Landrum Performance Springs, Dominator Race Products, QuarterMaster, KSE Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Joes Racing Products, Wrisco Aluminum, Beyea Custom Headers, Fast Shafts, Bassett Racing Wheels, QA1, Auto Meter, Fluidampr, Fox Shocks, Impact Race Products, Penske Shocks, Performance Friction Brakes, Strange Oval, Schoenfeld Headers, Bell Helmets, Shafer Enterprises' Cool Shirts; Promotional Partners include: Chevy Performance Parts, Indiana Decal and Intercomp.