Four championships. Most wins all-time.
Those stats have earned Shannon Babb the right to be called one of the greatest DIRTcar Summer Nationals drivers.
The Mowequa, IL driver has a close bond to the famed Hell Tour, which he’s been setting records in for the past 26 years.
Like other former champions, he used the Summer Nationals tours as a launching pad into the national scene, going from a local hero to a household name in dirt Late Model racing.
“In the very beginning, the Summer Nationals used to be one of the biggest events that came to the Midwest,” Babb said. “They’d come to Farmer City, Macon, Brownstown, Kankakee, Fairbury, and if you wanted to win one of those races, it’d be a huge deal because there was a lot of big dogs.
“So, we geared up to do it and raced locally at the time. Then, we worked up to race in the Summer Nationals, and it’s always been really good for the Midwest. It makes everyone look forward to the summer, the campers, everybody takes off vacation time and follows the Summer Nationals, and it’s always been pretty good to me.”
Shannon Babb’s 100th Summer Nationals win tied him with Billy Moyer in all-time wins (Josh James Artwork)
Babb earned his first Summer Nationals victory in 1999 at Tri-State Speedway, the season opener that year. He picked up one win in 2000 and 2001 before hitting his stride in 2002 with seven wins, most of the season.
He found another gear with his No. 18 Late Model in 2005 by scoring 15 wins (most in a single season) and winning his first championship. The following year, he drove to a 13-win season for a back-to-back title feat in 2006.
After moving to the national level with the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision from 2007 to 2008, Babb returned to the Hell Tour in 2009 and scored his two most recent championships in 2011 and 2014.
“Those (titles) were really special,” Babb said. “We worked with a lot of really good people. I drove for the Moyers, but I housed everything and managed everything myself. I had C.J. Rayburn behind us building our cars, and working with him, he was just an awesome person. He helped everybody in the sport get going to where they’re at today.
“Everything (we did), we worked for it really hard. It started paying off for me, and we had the upper hand at that time in the sport, so of course it was really fun. It was enjoyable, but it’s what keeps racing a challenge for everybody. It just keeps evolving, and everybody keeps getting faster and faster.”
Throughout his two decades on the Hell Tour, Babb’s primary rival was Billy Moyer. The Batesville, AR driver was the first winner in the tour’s history at Spoon River Speedway and amassed an even 100 career wins on the Summer Nationals.
Babb tied “Mr. Smooth” with his 100th career Feature score at Farmer City Raceway in 2021, then took sole possession of the all-time wins record in the following year with win No. 101 at Fayette County Speedway.
Read More: 101 REASONS: Babb Wins Fayette County, Becomes All-Time Winningest Driver
“(That win) meant a lot to me,” Babb said. “Billy’s done a lot for me, and him and I have always been real good buddies. We raced close together and helped between me and him, and I’ve probably ran second a frickin’ hundred times trying to win one against him because it was a challenge to do so.
“Farmer City was my 100th, then (Fayette County) was 101, so both of those tracks mean a lot to me, and I had a blast with both of those wins. I’m sure there will be somebody that goes above what (Billy and I) have done, but for the moment being, it’s something we’ve had so much fun enjoying.”
Accomplishing everything he set out to do in the Summer Nationals, Babb reminisces on the sleepless nights, youthful energy, and maintaining his equipment through various moments of free time.
“One thing for sure was the youth of it,” Babb said. “We used to sleep till noon and stay up till three in the morning. Everybody used to give me hell about that, but I was actually programmed to race the car like that. It wasn’t a daytime job, it was nighttime. But we’d spend seven days a week racing, living between track and track, and working on the cars because the work is never done.
“You just try to get them to where you can get back on track and go again but seeing the respect you have for the cars and how much abuse they will actually take to the engines, it’s amazing. I don’t know how they stay together the way they are, but they’ll go a long ways. We raced with a bunch of good racers and other pit crews on the Hell Tour, and though we were against each other, we would stop in a moment and help each other out. That’s what can make it a lot of fun.”
You can see Shannon Babb run select DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Model races in 2025 as the season begins at the Brownstown Bullring on Tuesday, June 10. For more information about the Hell Tour and the full schedule, CLICK HERE.
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either online or by downloading the DIRTVision App.
