The stage is set for the final DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals event of the season at Fairbury Speedway on Saturday, July 26.
Fifty-five entries were spread across four Showdown Features, which locked the top-four finishers of each into Saturday’s 40-lap, $5,000-to-win, finale.
Cole Falloway, Austin Friedman, Blake Brown, and Charlie Mefford left as victors, while 12 other drivers also locked themselves into Saturday’s Feature. The top two finishers from each Showdown Feature will also be part of Saturday’s redraw to determine the Feature lineup.
Here’s how the four Showdown Features played out:
SHOWDOWN FEATURE #1
Cole Falloway entered the Prairie Dirt Classic weekend with no DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals victories this year and no top fives at Fairbury with the Series. But after Friday night, Falloway left with a Fairbury win and as a favorite to win the championship Feature on Saturday.
The Owensboro, KY driver started the night by setting overall Quick Time and then went on to lead all 15 laps in Showdown Feature #1.
“We struggled a lot during the Summer Nationals and went back home and went to some other races and knocked a few (wins) off,” Falloway said. “I feel like we’re pretty good. Tomorrow will be tough. It’s just long and there are a lot of good cars. We’ll see what we can redraw and see what we can do.”
While he drove away from the field, Michael Ledford, Steven Brooks, and Michael Long maintained their positions second through fourth through the Feature to transfer to Saturday’s finale. However, Bradley Jameson tried to give Long a scare, closing on him in the final laps. But when the checkered flag flew, Long, the reigning PDC champion, was able to hold on to the final transfer spot.
RESULTS: (15 Laps): 1. 66-Cole Falloway[1]; 2. 9-Michael Ledford[3]; 3. 5-Steven Brooks[2]; 4. 18L-Michael Long[4]; 5. 757-Bradley Jameson[5]; 6. 0K-Damian Kiefer[6]; 7. 45-Kyle Hammer[10]; 8. 8-Jimmy Lennex[8]; 9. 25-Tyler Nicely[11]; 10. 777-Trevor Neville[9]; 11. 3F-Carson Friedman[12]; 12. 7-Brad DeYoung[14]; 13. 21D-Danny Schwartz[13]; 14. 21J-Clay Harris[7]
SHOWDOWN FEATURE #2
While Fairbury, IL’s Austin Friedman ran away with the victory in Showdown Feature #2, leading all 15 laps from the pole, the story of the race was every position behind him.
Dean Hoffman and Landen Miller sat comfortable in second and third, respectively, but Dylan Woodling had a host of drivers breathing down his neck for the final transfer spot. He held on to it for the first five laps, but once Hunt Gossum got by him, he faded from there.
Once in fourth, Gossum continued his trek forward, passing Miller for third and putting him on the hot seat. Making the most of the top lane every corner, Chase Holland became Miller’s first problem.
Holland powered by Miller for fourth at the halfway point, but then was immediately under fire from Mike Harrison. Using whichever line gave him a better run at the car in front of him, Harrison, who had started 11th, was not going to be denied a guaranteed starting spot for Saturday’s Feature.
He made quick work of Holland for fourth and didn’t stop his trek there. After a restart with three laps to go, Harrison dove low, then high, and low again, to zigzag his way around Gossum and Hoffman by the end of the race to finish second. Hoffman and Gossum held on to third and fourth, respectively, to also transfer.
Friedman’s win locks him into his second Prairie Dirt Classic championship Feature appearance.
“It’s really good,” Friedman said about his car. “We found some stuff at Farmer City (Raceway) last week that was pretty good. Starting on the pole, that was key, getting a good qualifying lap. I can’t do this without everyone that helps me. This is my hometown; this is pretty awesome. Winning a prelim night of the PDC is pretty damn cool.”
RESULTS: (15 Laps): 1. 89-Austin Friedman[1]; 2. 24H-Mike Harrison[11]; 3. 1D-Dean Hoffman[4]; 4. 99-Hunt Gossum[7]; 5. 20-Brian Skaggs[6]; 6. 45H-Chase Holland[5]; 7. 1H-Ben Harmon[9]; 8. 3W-Dylan Woodling[3]; 9. 51-Timmy Hill[14]; 10. 21A-Nick Allen[12]; 11. 36-Eric Vaughan[8]; 12. 110-Landen Miller[2]; 13. 0-Travis Kohler[13]; 14. 21-Lyndon Whitfill[10]
SHOWDOWN FEATURE #3
Blake Brown’s only previous appearances at the Prairie Dirt Classic have been as a fan in the stands. Now, he’s a winner at Fairbury Speedway.
He led the field to the green from the pole – after setting Quick Time in his qualifying group – and once he had the lead, he never looked back.
“It’s so cool,” Brown said about the win. “I told [my wife] when we were going to get coffee this morning, ‘What do you want for your birthday?’ I said, ‘I’ll just get you a Victory Lane.’ Sure enough, we did… This is pretty dang sweet. I sat in the backstretch right here for the last five years saying, ‘Ah, I don’t know, I should come.’ I’m glad I did.”
Behind him, brawls for a transfer spot all 15 laps. Zeke McKenzie was an early surprise, finding speed around the top lane, where he rarely runs, and moving into fourth by lap four. That triggered a domino effect of position swaps throughout the race.
While battling Allen Weisser for third, the two made contact and Weisser spun around. On the restart, Ryan Hamilton, who was second had a hard time getting going and fell to fourth, allowing Tim Nash and McKenzie to fight over second.
Hamilton found himself trapped in three-wide battles for the final transfer spot but found help with various cautions. While it kept the cars behind him on his rear bumper, it also kept bringing him closer to Nash and McKenzie.
In the closing laps of the race, McKenzie won the battle for second, leaving Nash to fend off Hamilton and a host of drivers eager to lock in. Hamilton gave himself breathing room by passing Nash for third on the final lap, and Nash had enough of a gap between him and the pack that he was able to hold on to fourth at the finish.
RESULTS: (15 Laps): 1. 99B-Blake Brown[1]; 2. 24-Zeke McKenzie[6]; 3. 58-Ryan Hamilton[2]; 4. 7N-Tim Nash[5]; 5. 77-Ray Bollinger[8]; 6. C40-Mike Chasteen Jr[10]; 7. 96M-Mike McKinney[7]; 8. 8K-Levi Kissinger[11]; 9. 27-Beau DeYoung[3]; 10. 75-Daniel Adam[12]; 11. Z24-Zach Taylor[14]; 12. 81-Victor Strong[13]; 13. 28M-Frank Marshall[9]; 14. 12W-Allen Weisser[4]
SHOWDOWN FEATURE #4
Charlie Mefford accomplished a dream Friday night. He won at Fairbury Speedway.
After weeks of working as a crew member on Tyler Nicely’s car during the Hell Tour, Mefford picked up some tips and put them to use to give himself a shot at his first Prairie Dirt Classic win.
Mefford ran a smooth, unchallenged race, leading all 15 laps from the pole. But while he was running clean laps, Deece Schwartz was pushing every lap.
Starting in 10th, Schwartz tried to make up ground, running up against the wall every lap. The commitment paid off, breaking into the top four with four laps to go and then solidifying his lock-in spot by finishing third.
Josh Harris, who finished second in the PDC Feature last year, held second for all 15 laps and Derek Losh scored the final transfer spot.
Now locked into Saturday’s Feature and for the redraw, Mefford is poised to try and put his name on the map as a PDC winner.
“Just have to keep doing what we’re doing, our stuff is really good right now,” Mefford said about trying to get a PDC win tomorrow. “I feel like I need to be better exit speed-wise. I’d like to give a huge shoutout to everybody that’s helped me. You know, Tyler Nicely, I took off pretty much a month of racing to go help him. He taught me a lot of things and I’m putting them to use… If you would’ve told me I’m winning at FALS tonight, I would’ve told you that you’re crazy. I’ve been trying to win at this place for so, so long now. Now, I’m happy I finally did it.”
RESULTS: (15 Laps): 1. 13-Charlie Mefford[1]; 2. 22-Josh Harris[2]; 3. 121-Deece Schwartz[10]; 4. 21L-Derek Losh[3]; 5. 88S-Alan Stipp[5]; 6. 3-Mike Brooks[6]; 7. 12-Jeff Curl[11]; 8. 242-Degan Dozard[12]; 9. 2-Brayden Doyle[9]; 10. 73-Mark Rhoades[13]; 11. 10Y-Trent Young[7]; 12. 5X-Jerry Bowersock[4]; 13. 0F-Matt Fabrizius[8]
UP NEXT: The DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals will conclude its 2025 season at Fairbury Speedway during the Prairie Dirt Classic finale on Saturday, July 26.
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.
