www.farmercityraceway.net
track phone....309-928-9110 race days
track photos....www.erikgrigsbyphotos.com
videos/dvds available....email:
[email protected]
to see the 2007 UMP DIRTCar Summernationals feature event....
www.midwestdirttrackfacts.com/muddbossvideo.htm
click
here for official results/points from www.speednetdirect.com
2001
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2005 ARCHIVES
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2007 ARCHIVES
Thanks to all for
your support of Circles of Hope
scroll down for current stories/results from Racenut with a little help from his friends
Steve Sheppard Jr, Jeff Leka, Jim Quinn, Joel Funk Jr, Joe Reed all winners at Farmer
City Raceway
Farmer City Raceway
Farmer City, IL
May 9, 2008
by Racenut
Farmer City Raceway finally got to race again following three straight weeks of rainouts. Thirty Four late models took time trials, and Wes Steidinger took fast time at 12.456 seconds. The first heat went in a runaway to Jason Feger over Wes Steidinger, Richie Hedrick and Kyle Logue. The second heat went to Derek Chandler in an exciting finish right to the end, just barely winning over Frank Heckenast Jr, followed by Mike Mataragas and Scott Bull. The third heat was another exciting race, with Ryan Unzicker taking the win after dueling Dennis Erb Jr for the entire distance, followed by Eric Smith and Kevin Weaver. The fourth heat went to Steve Sheppard Jr in a close contest over Matt Taylor, Mike Provenzano and Jimmy Dehm. The semis went to Joe Harlan over Chris Dick and the second semi went to Donny Walden over Eric Kwasigroh.
The feature started with Jason Feger starting from the pole and running away the first two laps. Feger then pulled off the track with something amiss on the car, handing the lead to Sheppard Jr. Sheppard went on to win the feature unchallenged. There was quite a race however going on for the next few spots. Wes Steidinger ended up second with Dennis Erb Jr third and Frank Heckenast Jr fourth followed by Matt Taylor in fifth.
unofficial finish
5s Steve Sheppard Jr
J1 Wes Steidinger
28 Dennis Erb Jr
24 Ryan Unzicker
99 Frank Heckenast Jr
3L Matt Taylor
1M Mike Mataragas
Z Joe Harlan
9 Eric Smith
89 Darin Friedman
22 Chris Dick
35 Derek Chandler
83 Scott Bull
99J Jimmy Dehm
dnf
M27 Mike Provenzano
1W Donny Walden
B12 Kevin Weaver
18K Eric Kwasigroh
0 Richie Hedrick
25 Jason Feger
Thirty modifieds took time trials, with Gabe Menser turning in fast time. The
feature went to perrennial track champion Jeff Leka, followed by Denny Schwartz,
Chad Osterhoff, Danny Schwartz, Gabe Menser, Jeff Curl, Mike Spatola, Jeb
Friedman, Lance Dehm, Marty Hiser, Matt Bachman, Erik Bruce, Darcey Wey.
The street stock feature went to Jim Quinn.
The sportsman feature went to Joel Funk Jr
The hornet feature went to Joe Reed
There was a total of 123 cars in the pits in five classes. The late model feature was finished at 10:30
May 2, 2008 Rained out
Mother Nature once again decided she would take the
checkered flag, we will try once again next week
|
April 25, 2008
by Racenut
For the second week in a row, Farmer City Raceway got rained out on Friday April
25.
This time it was immediately following time trials. Join us next Friday for a
full show of
UMP Late Models, UMP Modifieds, UMP Streetstocks, UMP Sportsmen and UMP Hornets.
AND the KidModz
April 18, 2008....Rained out
by Racenut
Farmer City Raceway made a valiant attempt to try and beat Mother Nature, but
lost the battle shortly after time trials started.
This Sunday April 20 there will be an open practice and an arrive and drive for
KidModz from Noon to 4 pm.
Next Friday will be a full show plus the debut of KidModz.
For more information, click on
www.farmercityraceway.net or for KidModz, click on
www.kidmodz.com
April
11
brrrrrrrr
LM....Wes Steidinger
Mods....Jeff Leka in the #21s car
Hornets....Fast Joe Reed
Sportsmen....Terry Worth
Streetstocks....JJ Miller
World of Outlaws Late Model Series News & Notes: Wrapping Up The ‘Illini 100’ At Farmer City Raceway
CONCORD, NC – April 7, 2008 –
WHAT A SHOW: A 55-car field teeming with top-notch talent. A record, standing-room-only crowd. A racy, multi-groove track surface.
And, best of all, a dramatic 100-lap A-Main that will be remembered as one of the best dirt Late Model races of this or any other season.
Roll all that up, and there’s no doubt that the inaugural ‘Illini 100’ at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway was a smashing success.
The excitement of the biggest dirt Late Model event ever run in the state of Illinois impressed virtually everyone, including World of Outlaws Late Model Series regular Shannon Babb, a native of nearby Moweaqua, Ill., who grew up racing at the quarter-mile oval.
“I knew this would be a good place to have a big show, but honestly, I didn’t think it would be that good,” a smiling Babb said after engaging in an A-Main battle for the ages that saw him finish second by scant feet to his racing mentor Billy Moyer. “It was awesome, and hopefully it’ll be a yearly deal now and just get bigger and bigger.”
That’s the plan for the ‘Illini 100,’ says Farmer City promoter Don Hammer. He was thrilled with the competitor and fan support for the first-time, $20,000-to-win event and envisions the weekend developing into a must-see early-season show on the dirt Late Model calendar.
GOOD REVIEWS: Hammer and his Farmer City track crew whipped up a racing surface that produced fast speeds (witness Moyer’s new track record lap of 11.973 seconds during Friday’s time trials) and entertaining action with a minimum of roughness.
“It had a hole or two in the track, but heck, it’s springtime,” said Moyer, who credited Hammer with doing “a good job” on the surface. “Myself, I think every track should have a bump or two. It doesn’t bother me any. It gives you something to do.”
SMART DECISION: Babb had second thoughts about his tire-compound choice when he rolled onto the track for the pre-race driver introduction.
So what did he do? He conferred with crewmen Tommy Grecco and Jay Hunt and then changed the left-rear and right-front tires of his Clint Bowyer-owned Rayburn car, giving him three soft 20-compound tires and a hard 40-compound shoe on the right-rear.
By WoO LMS rules, the tire change on the racetrack forced Babb to the rear of the 24-car field for the start. But he was scheduled to start 19th, so moving back five spots wasn’t a major problem.
“I walked out there (for the pre-race festivities) and seen how much traction was left on the bottom,” said Babb. “Right there I thought we should go softer on tires. If you have the same thing as everybody else you’re gonna be equal, so we made the change and it worked real good for us.”
Babb came close to becoming only the second driver in the WoO LMS’s modern era (2004-present) to win a tour event after starting last. Tim McCreadie holds the last-to-first distinction, accomplishing the rare feat on June 5, 2005, at Dakota State Fair Speedway in Huron, S.Dak.
WANTED MORE: Defending WoO LMS champion Steve Francis summed up the ‘Illini 100’ with a couple simple phrases.
“It was a helluva race,” he said. “That’s about all you can say about it.”
Francis, who briefly led the race on two occasions, finished third, just a few car lengths behind the lead Moyer/Babb pair. He felt his outcome could have been a little better.
“We were a little tight getting in to the middle of the corner,” Francis said of his Dale Beitler-owned No. 19. “But what kinda buried us was when Moyer got into us (with a slide-job for second place on lap 82). We lost a lot of ground there.
“Really, we were lucky to hold on to third, so I was happy with everything. It came down to where we needed track position, and we didn’t have it.”
WRONG PLACE: Francis was able to survive without losing a position when Moyer’s slide up in front of him on the 82nd lap forced him to check up, but the chain-reaction jam-up behind him cost WoO LMS regulars Chub Frank and Josh Richards.
Frank, who was running fourth at the time, slowed to avoid Francis and was hit by Tim McCreadie. The contact bent Frank’s left-side bodywork into his tire, leaving him with a blown tire on lap 88 that relegated him to a 12th-place finish.
“I was just trying to keep my car in one piece and get a good finish out of it,” said Frank. “The line I was using wasn’t the fastest, but I ran it because I was trying to stay out of the holes so I wouldn’t tear a left-rear tire off like I saw so many guys doing.
“We were just hoping for a good points night, but we got caught anyway and got a flat.”
Richards, meanwhile, ran in the top five for much of the distance. But his ill-fated positioning in the Moyer/Francis aftermath cost him three spots and he only recovered enough to finish sixth.
The 20-year-old Richards had high hopes for the 100 after timing second-fastest, winning a heat and capturing the 8-lap dash on Friday night, but his Rocket No. 1 was off just a little on Saturday night. He said changing the machine to a four-link from a swing-arm setup just before the A-Main and going too hard with their tire choice hampered his effort.
NICE RUN: Former Farmer City champ Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill., came on late in the ‘Illini 100’ to place fifth – his best finish ever in WoO LMS competition.
The 25-year-old Steidinger, who finished second in the 2007 UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model national points standings, earned the $500 WoO LMS ‘Bonus Bucks’ prize for being the highest-finishing driver who hasn’t won a tour event and wasn’t ranked among the top 12 in the points. He wondered afterward, however, if he could have advanced even further forward from the 17th starting spot if he hadn’t gone too hard with his tire choice by bolting four 40-compound tires on his Rayburn mount.
ETCETERA…
* Darrell Lanigan had to use a provisional to start the A-Main after being unable to recover from a slide back in his heat race, but he persevered through a mid-race pit stop to finish eighth in the 100. He remained one of only two drivers (Moyer is the other) to score a top-10 finish in all four WoO LMS events contested this season.
* Racing at a track where he cut his teeth and just three days after celebrating his 27th birthday, Brian Shirley was feeling good about his chances. But after running in the top five early he slipped back and ultimately slowed on lap 62 with a broken j-bar on his Ed Petroff-owned Rayburn.
* Rick Eckert debuted a new Rayburn car with a seventh-place finish in the 100. He slipped into the top five momentarily in the shakeup that accompanied the Moyer/Francis action on lap 82, but, with his car’s tow knocked out from hitting a rut, he wasn’t able to stay there for the remainder of the distance.
* Tim Fuller’s hopes were quickly dashed in the 100 when a broken right-rear axle forced him to the infield on lap five. He returned many laps down to collect some extra points.
* After spending a mid-week day testing his swing-arm car at his sponsor Don Cliburn’s Jackson (Miss.) Speedway (along with Eckert and Fuller), Clint Smith was primed and ready for the ‘Illini 100.’ But he struggled in the A-Main, spinning on the homestretch on lap 26 and finishing one lap down in 14th.
* Shane Clanton spent most of the distance as a fringe top-five runner, but he faded to 11th at the finish after an apparent sealed right-rear tire hampered him in the closing laps.
NEXT UP: The WoO LMS heads to Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway in Jamaica, Va., on Fri., April 11, for the 50-lap ‘Rumble on the River IV’ and then visits Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., for the 50-lap ‘Showdown in Sarvertown’ on Tues., April 15.
OUTLAWS INFO: To learn more about the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.
Shannon Babb goes from last to first, gets edged at checkers by Mr. Smooth in Farmer City Raceway's Illini 100!!!
Farmer City Raceway
Farmer City, IL
April 4 & 5, 2008
By: Racenut @ www.midwestdirttrackfacts.com
After the chilly, blustery Friday night preliminaries, Saturday turned out to be a beautiful evening for racing in Farmer City, IL. This race was the highest paying dirt late model race in the history of the state of Illinois. With the winner's share being $20,000 and just to earn a starting spot would earn $1,500, which is more than most winners earn on a regular show, the hype of this race was huge. This hype definitely proved itself very much warranted, with the great World of Outlaws series drivers battling the locals, putting on a great show for the overflow crowd. The time trials on Friday night left Billy Moyer now in charge of the track record, now at 11.973 seconds, with eight drivers turning a total of fifteen laps under Ryan Dauber's two year old record of 12.348 seconds. Heats were also run on Friday, setting most of the starting field for the feature. Saturday night saw the six heat winners draw for position, with 2007 World of Outlaws Champion Steve Francis on the pole and Chub Frank set for the outside front row. There were a near-record fifty-five cars in attendance taking time trials. More than twenty-five years had passed since the last 100-lapper at this historic old fairgrounds, and this one was set to be a real barn-burner.
But first, there were two semi features to run, with the top two finishers from each advancing to the feature event. The first semi saw fifth place starting local favorite Shannon Babb taking the win over Tim Lance, John Blankenship, Scott Bull, Eric Smith, Donny Walden and Danny Johnson.
The second semi went to Tim McCreadie over Kevin Weaver, Matt Taylor, Jason Feger, Vic Coffey, Ted Loomis and Jimmy Dehm.
Flash forward to feature time. Steve Francis and Chub Frank on the front row, followed by Billy Moyer and Brian Shirley on row two, with Brian Birkhofer and Josh Richards filling out row number three. Local favorite, and last year's World of Outlaw Farmer City Raceway winner Shannon Babb moved from his nineteenth starting position to the rear for changing a tire after coming to the grid. After the driver introduction, and a four-wide World of Outlaws Late Model Salute to the fans, the race was on.
Chub Frank took the early start, with Francis and Moyer in tow. Lap five saw a yellow for the slowing Tim Fuller. Back to green, and four laps later, with Frank and Francis side-by-side, Brian Birkhofer slid between the two and took the lead. Lap fourteen saw the yellow again with Chris Simpson stopping, then again on lap twenty-five with the spinning Clint Smith. Lap thirty-two saw the yellow again for a stopped Steve Sheppard Jr and Darrell Lanigan. This time they got twelve laps in, with Birkhofer still in charge before the yellow flew again for Ryan Dauber.
Right after the half-way flags were shown, leader Brian Birkhofer had a flat
left rear coming off turn number four, giving the lead to Steve Francis. The
fans had already been watching Shannon Babb come from the rear, as on lap forty
Babb went to seventh, sixth two laps later, then on lap 48 he had slid into
third place behind Francis. Now, with Birky handing the lead to Francis, Babb
was in second, the two ran side by side for two laps, this yellow being for
Steve Sheppard Jr, and then the two leaders were side-by-side for two more laps
before Babb went to the lead. Another yellow on lap sixty-two for Brian Shirley
with a right rear flat. Lap seventy one saw Francis pull back to the lead for
one lap and the duo went almost side-by-side until lap eighty, when John
Blankenship brought out the yellow. All this time, Mr. Smooth, Billy Moyer had
sat quietly in third and fourth place the whole race. Babb was still leading on
lap eighty two when Moyer worked his way into second, and took the lead
momentarily on lap eighty four. One more yellow flag slowed the race again at
lap eighty eight. Moyer sat right on Babb's tail, until the white flag was
unfurled and he gassed it around Babb, leading the final lap, with Babb pulling
up alongside at the checkers, coming only inches from the win. The fans seemed
extremely happy with the finish of this race, no matter the outcome. Watching
Babb come through the pack, and Moyer gassing it at the end for the win, made
the capacity crowd just stand in awe, and cheer. Following Moyer and Babb to the
line, was Francis, Tim McCreadie, Wes Steidinger, Josh Richards, Rick Eckert,
Darrell Lanigan, Steve Sheppard, Jr, and Darren Miller.
Final Rundown:
21 Billy Moyer
18 Shannon Babb
19 Steve Francis
39 Tim McCreadie
J1 Wes Steidinger
1 Josh Richards
24 Rick Eckert
29 Darrell Lanigan
5S Steve Sheppard Jr
32D Darren Miller
25 Shane Clanton
1* Chub Frank
55 Jeep VanWormer
44 Clint Smith
23 John Blankenship
28 Dennis Erb, Jr
19T Time Fuller
64 Ryan Dauber
3S Brian Shirley
15B Brian Birkhofer
2 Brady Smith
B12 Kevin Weaver
32 Chris Simpson
75 Tim Lance
Wes Steidinger picked up an extra $500 for being the highest finisher not in the top twenty of the World of Outlaws late model points.
There was also a $1,000 to win non-qualifiers race, and it was a hard fought battle with Jason Feger holding off Eric Smith, Danny Johnson, Ted Loomis, Matt Taylor, Donny Walden, Jeremy Conaway, Chris Dick, Jimmy Dehm, and Daren Friedman as the top ten finishers.
The modifieds also ran Saturday night with forty-six drivers on hand for $1,000 to win feature. Heat races went to Matt Huddleston, Jeff Leka, Kevin Hastings, Chad Osterhoff, and Lance Dehm. Semis went to Mike Spatola and Don Kiger. In the feature, Chad Osterhoff took off in the lead, with Gary Cook Jr and Jeff Curl in tow. At the end, it was Gary Cook Jr with the win, followed by Jeff Leka, Chad Osterhoff, Denny Schwartz, Jeff Curl, Eric Bruce, Lance Dehm, Matt Huddleston, Nick Allen and Justin Delong.
Friday night's show was complete before 11 pm with Saturday night's standing room only crowd seeing the final checkers of the night before 10 pm.