Babb Outduels Moyer for Win at Kankakee County Speedway
KANKAKEE, IL (June 14) — Was Shannon Babb excited to battle Billy Moyer for victory in Thursday night’s 40-lap DIRTcar Summer Nationals feature at Kankakee County Speedway? You bet he was.
“It does get me fired up,” Babb said when asked about engaging in high-stakes racing with Moyer, a Hall of Famer who served as a mentor to Babb earlier in his career. Babb, 44, of Moweaqua, IL, used his burning desire to outrun Moyer to his advantage in the A-main, which he won after swapping the lead four times with his 60-year-old rival from Batesville, AR, during a titanic clash of Summer Nationals titans that lasted more than half the race.
Moyer nosed ahead of Babb using the inside lane to lead laps 13 and 21, but on each occasion, Babb surged back in front the following circuit. After Babb regained command for good on lap 22 he soon began pulling away from Moyer and ultimately beat the Hell Tour’s all-time winningest driver by 1.476 seconds for his first series triumph of 2018 and a $5,000 payday.
Brian Shirley of Chatham, IL, who started from the pole position but was outgunned for the lead at the initial green flag by his front-row mate Babb, finished a distant third. Rusty Schlenk of McClure, Ohio, inched forward from the seventh starting spot to place fourth in his C.J. Rayburn house car and 2011 Kankakee Summer Nationals winner Mike Spatola of Manhattan, IL, improved one position from where he started to complete the top five.
Feature Finish: Shannon Babb, Billy Moyer, Brian Shirley, Rusty Schlenk, Mike Spatola, Frank Hechenast Jr, Nick Hoffman, Tyler Bruening, Gordy Gundaker, Billy Moyer Jr., Devin Gilpin, Daniel Flessner, Ryan Unzicker, Jason Feger, Bob Gardner, Timothy Culp, Brandon Thirlby, Austin Retting, Allen Weisser, Glen Thompson, Allen Murray, Tony Jackson Jr
The Summer Nationals and Summit Modified Nationals visit Sycamore Speedway (IL) on June 15 for the 3rd event of Northern Kick Off Week. See the complete schedule at thehelltour.com/schedule. Follow @SummerNationals on Twitter or Facebook for updates during and between race seasons. The DIRTcar Late Models will be joined by the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds as the Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals runs parallel to the DIRTcar Summer Nationals. Information on the Modifieds can be found modifiednationals.com.
DIRTcar Summer Nationals is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), Arizona Sports Shirts, Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Racing Electronics, Summit Racing Equipment, Chevy Performance, Impact Racing and Intercomp. Contingency sponsors include: Summit Racing Equipment, Hoosier Racing Tire, KSE Racing Products, Fox Racing Shox, NGK Spark Plugs, JE Pistons, QA1, Beyea Custom Headers, VP Racing Fuels, Edelbrock, COMP Cams, Bell Helmets, Bassett, Fast Shafts, PAC Racing Springs, Landrum Performance Springs, Schoenfeld Headers, Bilstein, MSD, and Wrisco.
Summit Modified Nationals is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: Summit Racing Equipment, VP Racing Fuels, Arizona Sports Shirts, Hoosier Racing Tire, Racing Electronics, Chevy Performance, Impact Racing and Intercomp. Contingency sponsors include: Summit Racing Equipment, Hoosier Racing Tire, KSE Racing Products, Fox Racing Shox, NGK Spark Plugs, JE Pistons, QA1, Beyea Custom Headers, VP Racing Fuels, Edelbrock, COMP Cams, Bell Helmets, Bassett, Fast Shafts, PAC Racing Springs, Landrum Performance Springs, Schoenfeld Headers, Bilstein, MSD, and Wrisco.
Sources: Jonathon Masters, DIRTcar PR
06/14/18 Kankakee County Speedway
KANKAKEE, IL — June 14, 2018 — Emerging triumphant in a clash of DIRTcar Summer Nationals titans Thursday night at Kankakee County Speedway, Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, IL swapped the lead twice with Billy Moyer before gaining command for good on lap 22 to win the 40-lap feature that served as Round 2 of the 2018 Hell Tour. Moyer nosed ahead to lead laps 13 and 20, but Babb went back in front the following circuit each time and pulled away over the closing stages to beat his longtime rival by 1.476 seconds.
Late Models Feature
PLACE START DRIVER POINTS
1 3 Shannon Babb (18) 80
Moweaqua, Il.
2 4 Billy Moyer (21) 75
Batesville, Ar.
3 1 Brian Shirley (3s) 70
Chatham, Il.
4 7 Rusty Schlenk (CJ1) 65
Mcclure, Oh.
5 6 Mike Spatola (89) 60
Manhattan, Il.
6 2 Frank Heckenast Jr (99JR) 55
Frankfort, Il.
7 18 Nick Hoffman (2) 53
Mooresville, Nc.
8 11 Tyler Bruening (16T) 51
Decorah, Ia.
9 10 Gordy Gundaker (11G) 49
St Charles, Mo.
10 9 Billy Moyer Jr (21JR) 47
Batesville, Ar.
11 16 Devin Gilpin (1G) 45
North Vernon, In.
12 14 Daniel Flessner (9D) 44
Roberts, Il.
13 20 Ryan Unzicker (24) 43
El Paso, Il.
14 15 Jason Feger (25) 42
Bloomington, Il.
15 17 Bob Gardner (4G) 41
Washington, Il.
16 12 Timothy Culp (C8) 40
Prattsville, Ar.
17 19 Brandon Thirlby (M14) 39
Traverse City, Mi.
18 13 Austin Rettig (94) 38
Sikeston, Mo.
19 22 Allen Weisser (61) 37
Peoria, Il.
20 21 Glen Thompson (14T) 36
Buckingham, Il.
21 8 Allen Murray (2m) 35
San Antonio, Tx.
22 5 Tony Jackson Jr. (56) 34
Lebanon, Mo.
Late Models Heat 1
PLACE START DRIVER POINTS
1 1 Brian Shirley (3s)
Chatham, Il.
2 3 Billy Moyer (21)
Batesville, Ar.
3 2 Rusty Schlenk (CJ1)
Mcclure, Oh.
4 4 Gordy Gundaker (11G)
St Charles, Mo.
5 7 Austin Rettig (94)
Sikeston, Mo.
6 5 Allen Weisser (61)
Peoria, Il.
7 6 Nick Hoffman (2)
Mooresville, Nc.
8 8 Myles Moos (84)
Lincoln, Il.
9 9 Victor Benedetto (14B)
Marengo, Il.
10 10 Charles Hummer (25H)
Lyons, Oh.
Late Models Heat 2
PLACE START DRIVER POINTS
1 2 Frank Heckenast Jr (99JR)
Frankfort, Il.
2 3 Tony Jackson Jr. (56)
Lebanon, Mo.
3 1 Allen Murray (2m)
San Antonio, Tx.
4 4 Tyler Bruening (16T)
Decorah, Ia.
5 5 Daniel Flessner (9D)
Roberts, Il.
6 6 Brandon Thirlby (M14)
Traverse City, Mi.
7 9 Devin Gilpin (1G)
North Vernon, In.
8 7 Paul Stubber (31AUS)
Bunbury, Ar.
9 8 Brian Diveley (11D)
Springfield, Il.
10 10 Glen Thompson (14T)
Buckingham, Il.
Late Models Heat 3
PLACE START DRIVER POINTS
1 1 Shannon Babb (18)
Moweaqua, Il.
2 2 Mike Spatola (89)
Manhattan, Il.
3 3 Billy Moyer Jr (21JR)
Batesville, Ar.
4 7 Timothy Culp (C8)
Prattsville, Ar.
5 4 Jason Feger (25)
Bloomington, Il.
6 5 Ryan Unzicker (24)
El Paso, Il.
7 6 Bob Gardner (4G)
Washington, Il.
8 9 Paul Parker (10)
Depere, Wi.
9 8 Rusty Griffaw (16)
Festus, Mo.
10 10 Jeremy Conaway (15C)
Springfield, Il.
Late Models C-Main
PLACE START DRIVER POINTS
1 5 Devin Gilpin (1G)
North Vernon, In.
2 6 Bob Gardner (4G)
Washington, Il.
3 4 Nick Hoffman (2)
Mooresville, Nc.
4 1 Allen Weisser (61) 19
Peoria, Il.
5 12 Rusty Griffaw (16) 18
Festus, Mo.
6 11 Brian Diveley (11D) 17
Springfield, Il.
7 15 Jeremy Conaway (15C) 16
Springfield, Il.
8 10 Victor Benedetto (14B) 15
Marengo, Il.
9 8 Paul Stubber (31AUS) 14
Bunbury, Ar.
10 14 Glen Thompson (14T) 13
Buckingham, Il.
11 9 Paul Parker (10) 12
Depere, Wi.
12 7 Myles Moos (84) 11
Lincoln, Il.
13 13 Charles Hummer (25H) 10
Lyons, Oh.
14 3 Ryan Unzicker (24) 10
El Paso, Il.
15 2 Brandon Thirlby (M14) 10
Traverse City, Mi.