Shannon Babb
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM MACON SPEEDWAY!
By Jordan Morris
MACON, Ill. July 10, 2014 Shannon Babb, from nearby Moweaqua, Ill., traded the lead back-and-forth with championship rival Ryan Unzicker for most of the race before Babb finally claimed the top spot just past halfway en route to capturing his third win of the season and fifth Herald & Review 100 at his hometown Macon Speedway.
Bobby Pierce, who started from the pole-position, jumped out to an early lead and controlled the first four circuits. Babb, who started just behind Pierce in the third position, easily made his way around second-place starter Brian Shirley, as he stayed close to the leaders back bumper.
Babb captured the lead from Pierce on lap five and was not seriously challenged for almost the next 30 laps. Babb held the lead until lap 34 when lapped traffic helped a hard-charging Ryan Unzicker, who started in the seventh position, squeeze past Babb and claim the top spot.
Unzicker held the lead for the next 22 laps but could not hold off Babb, who found the high-line just past halfway in the event and charged back to the front to retake the lead. Babb pulled away from Unzicker and easily led the final 45 laps of the 100-lap feature event, claiming the $5,000 checkered flag at Macon Speedway. Unzicker settled for his sixth runner-up finish of the season without capturing a victory yet.
Weve growed up here and raced here a lot, so it means a lot to win this thing, said three-time series champion Shannon Babb, who received a loud ovation upon winning in front of his hometown crowd. You know, its tough running 100 laps here and staying out of trouble.
In another back-and-forth battle, Babb returned his name to atop the series all-time wins list as he tied Billy Moyer at 86 DIRTcar Summer Nationals career victories, just one night after Moyer won at Terre Haute Action Track and took the outright lead.
(Click here for news and information on the DIRTcar Summer Nationals.)
Brian Shirley, Dennis Erb Jr. and Matt Taylor rounded out the top five.
Heat race winners were Pierce, Gary Christian, Babb and Shirley.
The DIRTcar Summer Nationals continues on Friday night as they join the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals at Farmer City Raceway in Farmer City, Ill.
DIRTcar Summer Nationals Statistical Report; Macon Speedway; Macon, Ill.;
July 10, 2014; A-Main (100-laps): 1. 18-Shannon Babb ($5,000), 2. 24-Ryan Unzicker, 3. 81-Brian Shirley, 4. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr, 5. 24T-Matt Taylor, 6. 12B-Kevin Weaver, 7. 42-MCKay Wenger, 8. 25L-Steve Lance Jr, 9. 4T-Guy Taylor, 10. 38L-Ryan Little, 11. 91-Kyle Logue, 12. 7T-Steve Thorsten, 13. 30V-Mark Voigt, 14. 27K-Greg Kimmons, 15. 1M-Jim Moon, 16. 28B-John Beck, 17. B5-Brandon Sheppard, 18. 1CJ-Gary Christian, 19. 36-Andrew Barnes, 20. 32-Bobby Pierce, 21. 33H-Billy Hough, 22. 21B-Rich Bell.
2014 DIRTcar Summer Nationals Schedule
| Date | Day | Track | Location | Win |
| June 11 | Wed | Brownstown Speedway | Brownstown, Ind. | RAIN |
| June 12 | Thur | Kankakee Co. Speedway | Kankakee, Ill. | Billy Moyer |
| June 13 | Fri | Cedar Lake Speedway | Somerset, Wis. | Rick Eckert |
| June 14 | Sat | Cedar Lake Speedway | Somerset, Wis. | RAIN |
| June 15 | Sun | Wilmot Raceway | Wilmot, Wis. | Rick Eckert(2) |
| June 16 | Mon | Off | ||
| June 17 | Tue | Farley Speedway | Farley, Iowa | Shannon Babb |
| June 18 | Wed | Spoon River Speedway | Canton, Ill. | Jason Feger |
| June 19 | Thur | Quincy Raceways | Quincy, Ill. | RAIN |
| June 20 | Fri | Tri-City Speedway | Pontoon Beach, Ill. | Billy Moyer(2) |
| June 21 | Sat | Fairbury Speedway | Fairbury, Ill. | RAIN |
| June 22 | Sun | I-96 Speedway | Ionia, Mich. | Brian Shirley |
| June 23 | Mon | Peoria Speedway | Peoria, Ill. | Brandon Sheppard |
| June 24 | Tue | Off | ||
| June 25 | Wed | Clarksville Speedway | Clarksville, Tenn. | Shannon Babb(2) |
| June 26 | Thur | Clayhill Motorsports | Atwood, Tenn. | Brian Shirley (2) |
| June 27 | Fri | Paducah Int. Raceway | Paducah, Ky. | RAIN |
| June 28 | Sat | Federated Auto Parts Raceway | Pevely, Mo. | Brian Birkhofer |
| June 29 | Sun | Lincoln Speedway | Lincoln, Ill. | Brady Smith |
| June 30 | Mon | Off | ||
| July 1 | Tue | Belle Clair Speedway | Belleville, Ill. | Bobby Pierce |
| July 2 | Wed | Jacksonville Speedway | Jacksonville, Ill. | Jason Feger(2) |
| July 3 | Thur | LaSalle Speedway | LaSalle, Ill. | Brian Birkhofer(2) |
| July 4 | Fri | Fayette Co. Speedway | Brownstown, Ill. | Brandon Sheppard(2) |
| July 5 | Sat | Highland Speedway | Highland, Ill. | Tyler Reddick |
| July 6 | Sun | Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, Ind. | Billy Moyer(3) |
| July 7 | Mon | Off | ||
| July 8 | Tue | Florence Speedway | Union, Ky. | Jason Jameson |
| July 9 | Wed | Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, Ind. | Billy Moyer(4) |
| July 10 | Thur | Macon Speedway | Macon, Ill. | Shannon Babb(3) |
| July 11 | Fri | Farmer City Raceway | Farmer City, Ill. | $10,000 |
| July 12 | Sat | 34 Raceway | Burlington, Iowa | $10,000 |
| July 13 | Sun | Vermilion Co. Speedway | Danville, Ill. | $5,000 |
| July 14 | Mon | Off | ||
| July 15 | Tue | TBA | ||
| July 16 | Wed | Atomic Speedway | Chillicothe, Ohio | $5,000 |
| July 17 | Thur | Brushcreek Motorsports Complex | Peebles, Ohio | $5,000 |
| July 18 | Fri | Attica Raceway Park | Attica, Ohio | $5,000 |
| July 19 | Sat | Oakshade Raceway | Wauseon, Ohio | $10,000 |
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), Velocita (Official Uniform), VP Racing Fuel (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to these fine Contingency Partners: Beyea Headers, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Dominator Race Products, Edelbrock, Fox Shocks, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, Mobil 1, MSD, Quartermaster, Superflow Dynos, Summit Racing Equipment and Wrisco Aluminum; Promotional Partners include: Chevy Performance Parts, Indiana Decal, Intercomp and Petroff Towing.
