CONCORD, NC – July 8, 2011 – Ryan Unzicker of El Paso, Ill. (Late Models) and Nick Allen of Wheatfield, Ind. (UMP Modifieds) maintained their leads in the DIRTcar UMP national points standings following Week 23 of the circuit’s 2011 season.
Unzicker, 28, saw his fortunes on the grueling DIRTcar Summer Nationals ‘Hell Tour’ go from good to bad during Week 23, which counted DIRTcar UMP-sanctioned events run through July 3. He started the stretch of Summer Nationals action with a third-place finish on June 28 at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, Ind., and a runner-up performance on June 29 at Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, Ill., but he failed to finish better than 12th in his next four starts.
Nevertheless, Unzicker expanded his national points lead from 263 to 352 points (2,057-1,705) over Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., who moved up to second in the standings despite experiencing a decidedly rough week on the Summer Nationals trail. Feger finished second on June 28 at Lincoln Park but placed between 10th and 16th in his other five starts during Week 23.
Unzicker did become the first driver to hit the 35-race threshold, the point at which DIRTcar UMP Late Model drivers can begin replacing their worst finishes/points nights. Feger was at 30 starts through July 3.
Teenager Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., whose Week 23 results on the Summer Nationals featured the biggest win of his career on July 3 at Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway, sat third in the national standings while defending national champ Rusty Schlenk of Jackson, Mich., fell to fourth after a week that saw him score a win and third-place finish on July 1 at Kankakee (Ill.) County Speedway and finish 21st in Lincoln’s Summer Nationals event on July 3.
Allen, meanwhile, remained atop the DIRTcar UMP Modified national standings, though his edge shrunk from 53 to 26 points (1,668-1,642) over defending national titlist Mike Harrison of Highland, Ill.
Allen made two starts during Week 23, winning on July 2 at Shadyhill Speedway in Medaryville, Ind., and finishing third on July 1 at Kankakee. Harrison surged forward with a powerful week, winning DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals events on June 28 at Lincoln Park, July 1 at Paducah (Ky.) International Raceway and July 2 at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo.
Other national points leaders after Week 23 in UMP-sanctioned divisions included Nick Baumann of New Berlin, Ill. (Pro Late Models), Troy Clark of North Vernon, Ind. (Sportsman); Kentucky’s Jeff Lawson (Limited Modifieds); Nate Zimmer of Mattoon, Ill. (Stock Cars); Jake Hewitt of Troy, Ill. (Factory Stocks); and Kenny Butterfield of Glassford, Ill. (Sport Compacts).
Log on to www.DirtCar.com for more information on DIRTcar Racing’s UMP circuit and to view complete points standings for all divisions, including the current State points rankings.
New for 2011, the weekly DIRTcar UMP points update is powered by www.MotorStats.com. DIRTcar’s affiliation with the Durham, N.C.-based Web site is providing fans and competitors a more timely and detailed look at the points standings. National and State points standings for all divisions are typically updated by Thursday each week, and new features allow visitors to click on each driver’s name to see a complete race-by-race review of their finishes to date.
DIRTcar Racing UMP National Points Standings (as of July 3, 2011):
Late Models (rank/driver/races/points):
1. Ryan Unzicker 35 2057
2. Jason Feger 30 1705
3. Brandon Sheppard 32 1698
4. Rusty Schlenk 27 1665
5. Brandon Thirlby 30 1585
6. Michael Kloos 28 1473
7. Dewayne Kiefer 32 1454
8. Bobby Pierce 28 1395
9. Mike Hammerle 29 1392
10. Mike Spatola III 25 1378
11. Scott Schmitt 28 1333
12. Dillan White 29 1276
13. Jon Henry 21 1265
14. Mark Voigt 22 1218
15. Jeff Walston 25 1159
16. Brian Shirley 22 1134
17. Donny Walden 26 1127
18. Eric Smith 19 1126
19. Eric Spangler 19 1125
20. Randy Korte 23 1111
UMP Modifieds (rank/driver/races/points):
1. Nick Allen 25 1668
2. Mike Harrison 25 1642
3. Tim Hancock 25 1608
4. Brian Lynn 25 1605
5. Randle Sweeney 25 1535
6. Jamie Lomax 25 1523
7. Clayton Miller 24 1465
8. McKay Wenger 25 1426
9. Scott Weber 25 1418
10. Dave Wietholder 25 1416
11. Jeff Leka 23 1413
12. Steve Lach 25 1407
13. Clint Demoss 24 1398
14. Jay Ledford 25 1386
15. Ray Bollinger 22 1383
16. Allen Weisser 25 1370
17. Jeff Curl 25 1368
18. Gabe Menser 25 1363
19. Steven Brooks 25 1309
20. Todd Sherman 21 1306
Pro Late Models (rank/driver/races/points):
1. Nick Bauman 20 1238
2. Evan Fink 20 1207
3. Credence Mott 20 1162
4. Clayton Miller 19 1145
5. Randy Myers 20 1139
6. Dustin Griffin 17 1130
7. Jerry Lierly 16 985
8. Bobby Martintoni 19 961
9. Mark Oller 18 959
10. Daniel Heck 20 893
Sportsman (rank/driver/races/points):
1. Troy Clark 20 1282
2. Dan Flessner 17 1062
3. Nick Macklin 16 1060
4. Dave Crawley Jr. 15 965
4. Jeremy Hines 15 965
6. Dustin Mounce 17 854
7. Jeff Herzog 13 818
8. Robbie Eilers 15 769
9. Chris Hillman 14 766
10. Dave Bissonnette 15 734
Limited Modifieds (rank/driver/races/points):
1. Jeff Lawson 20 953
2. Haley Westerfield 17 794
3. Todd Bates 13 768
4. John Wyble 14 766
5. Johnny Holden 14 746
6. Christopher Geary 15 672
7. Mark Anderson 11 665
8. Clay Settles 13 652
9. Howard Willis 8 565
10. Billy Hawes 11 536
Stock Cars (rank/driver/races/points):
1. Nate Zimmer 20 1412
2. Mike Hodges 20 1326
3. Chuck Barnes Jr. 20 1321
4. John Farris 18 1155
5. Joeseph Hamm 20 1134
6. Andrew Funk 20 1127
7. Darrel Dick 19 1096
8. Joel Funk 18 1022
9. Don Hilleary 19 1019
10. Fred Perry Jr. 17 1014
Factory Stocks (rank/driver/races/points):
1. Jake Hewitt 18 1066
2. Rob Sternberg 15 989
3. Mike Epplett 17 912
4. Dennis Bringedahl 15 840
5. Tom Hughes 12 815
6. Bobby McQueen 14 809
7. Jeff Buss 14 771
8. Mark Farber 14 761
9. Brian Crawford 16 699
10. Alan Peacock 10 685
Sport Compacts (rank/driver/races/points):
1. Kenny Butterfield 20 1413
2. Jacob Rexing 20 1303
3. Bradley McGhee 20 1282
4. Trevor Isaak 20 1269
5. Matt Maier 19 1189
6. Jordan Suhre 20 1124
7. Michael Rittenberry 19 1116
8. Blayne Ellis 20 1063
9. Jeremy Reed 20 1051
10. Logan Brown 17 1028
