Ryan Unzicker – Jim Denhamer photo
The series kicks off its final two nights with a double-header at Oakshade Speedway on Friday
LAKE CITY, Mich. – July 14, 2016 – Ryan Unzicker was up front throughout Thursday night’s Summer Nationals event at Merritt Speedway, but Jason Feger did not make his second series win this year easy.
Unzicker started on the pole with points leader and reigning series champion Bobby Pierce on his outside. Pierce slipped back early as Feger charged. Through the late portions of the feature, Feger pulled even with Unzicker twice as he worked his way through traffic.
Unzicker managed to maintain the top spot and once he cleared the traffic, he pulled away from Feger. Pierce rallied late, battling past Feger and taking the second spot.
“I seen him coming off of turn two one time,” Unzicker said of the charging Feger. “I never really saw him on the inside, never really felt the pressure on the inside, but I seen him on the outside there on lap 26 and we just tried to drop the hammer again and get going.”
Unzicker has one other win this season at Clarksville Speedway on June 28.
The DIRTcar Summer Nationals returns to action on Friday night at Oakshade Speedway in Wauseon, Ohio for the first night of a double-header.
Follow the Summer Nationals and Summit Modified Nationals on Twitter at Twitter.com/SummerNationals or on Facebook at Facebook.com/SummerNationals. Stay up-to-date with the latest news from the series throughout the lead up and the summer on the series’ websites at TheHellTour.com and ModifiedNationals.com.
DIRTcar Summer Nationals Statistical Report; Merritt Speedway; Lake City, Mich.
A-Main: 1. Ryan Unzicker (El Paso, IL), 2. Bobby Pierce (Oakwood, IL), 3. Jason Feger (Bloomington, IL), 4. Taylor Scheffler (Waukesha, WI), 5. Travis Stemler (Ionia, MI), 6. Ryan Vanderveen (Six Lakes, MI), 7. Richard Neiser (Fruitport, MI), 8. Gordy Gundaker (St Charles, MO), 9. Nick Kurtz (Greenville, MI), 10. Chad Foster (McBain, MI), 11. Sam Epling (Bancroft, MI), 12. Garrett Wiles (Hubbardston, MI), 13. Michael Luberda (AuGres, MI), 14. Chris Brindley (West Branch, MI), 15. Bob Gardner (East Peoria, IL), 16. Greg Walters (Banks, OR), 17. Bob Mayer (Holland, OH), 18. Jarrett Rendel (Clayton, MI), 19. Greg Gokey (Buckley, MI), 20. Eric Spangler (Lake City, MI), 21. Bobby Timmer (McBain, MI), 22. Curt Spalding (Hartford, MI),
2016 DIRTcar Summer Nationals Schedule
| Date | Day | Track | Winners |
| Northern Kickoff | |||
| June 15 | Wednesday | Brownstown Speedway | Rain/Cancelled |
| June 16 | Thursday | Kankakee Co. Speedway | Bobby Pierce |
| June 17 | Friday | Cedar Lake Speedway | Billy Moyer |
| June 18 | Saturday | Cedar Lake Speedway | Billy Moyer (2) |
| June 19 | Sunday | Wilmot Speedway | Bobby Pierce (2) |
| Heartland Tour | |||
| June 20 | Monday | OFF | |
| June 21 | Tuesday | Jacksonville Speedway | Bobby Pierce (3) |
| June 22 | Wednesday | Farley Speedway | Rain/Cancelled |
| June 23 | Thursday | Spoon River Speedway | Dennis Erb Jr. |
| June 24 | Friday | Tri-City Speedway | Bobby Pierce (4) |
| June 25 | Saturday | Fairbury Speedway | Brandon Sheppard |
| June 26 | Sunday | Tri-State Speedway | Bobby Pierce (5) |
| Southern Tour | |||
| June 27 | Monday | OFF | |
| June 28 | Tuesday | Clarksville Speedway | Ryan Unzicker |
| June 29 | Wednesday | Belle-Clair Speedway | Bobby Pierce (6) |
| June 30 | Thursday | Springfield Raceway | Rain/PPD |
| July 1 | Friday | Fayette Co. Speedway | Josh Richards |
| July 2 | Saturday | Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 | Rain/Cancelled |
| July 3 | Sunday | Lincoln Speedway | Rain/PPD |
| Independence Week | |||
| July 4 | Monday | LaSalle Speedway | Bobby Pierce (7) |
| July 5 | Tuesday | Daugherty Speedway | Jason Feger |
| July 6 | Wednesday | Peoria Speedway | Bobby Pierce (8) |
| July 7 | Thursday | Macon Speedway | Bobby Pierce (9) |
| July 8 | Friday | Farmer City Raceway | Jason Feger (2) |
| July 9 | Saturday | Highland Speedway | Billy Moyer (3) |
| July 10 | Sunday | Quincy Raceways | Bobby Pierce (10) |
| Champions Week | |||
| July 11 | Monday | OFF | |
| July 12 | Tuesday | Plymouth Speedway | Rain/Cancelled |
| July 13 | Wednesday | Shadyhill Speedway | Rain/Cancelled |
| July 14 | Thursday | Merritt Speedway | Ryan Unzicker (2) |
| July 15 | Friday | Oakshade Raceway | |
| July 16 | Saturday | Oakshade Raceway |
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), VP Racing Fuel (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to these fine Contingency Partners: Beyea Headers, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, Fox Shocks, JE Pistons, MSD, Impact Race Products, Quartermaster, Superflow Dynos, Summit Racing Equipment and Wrisco Aluminum; Promotional Partners include: Chevy Performance Parts, Indiana Decal, Intercomp and Petroff Towing.
