Grayville, IL — Midwest stalwart Mike Hammerle of St. Charles, Mo., rose to the top of the latest UMP DIRTcar Racing Super Late Model national points standings, which were released on Friday.
Counting events run through June 8, the 61-year-old Hammerle held a 16-point lead (1,295-1,279) over Steve Sheppard Jr. of New Berlin, Ill.
A classic low-buck racer who has been behind the wheel for 36 years, Hammerle vaulted from third to first after UMP DIRTcar officials tabulated the results from last weekend’s sanctioned action. His 27 overall starts this season are the most to date of any driver in the division, which will see its national champion determined by drivers’ best 40 finishes/points nights.
Hammerle, a home-based welder who restricts his busy schedule to the circuit’s smaller tracks where his older, underpowered equipment can be more competitive, registered three top-10 finishes last weekend. He scored sixth-place finishes on June 5 at Belle Clair Speedway in Belleville, Ill., and June 7 at Shepp’s Speedway in Alexander, Ill., and an eighth-place run on June 6 at Macon (Ill.) Speedway. Belle Clair and Macon are the shortest ovals in the UMP DIRTcar fold, at one-fifth-of-a-mile each.
Hammerle was able to stay ahead of Sheppard, who enjoyed a nearly perfect weekend. Back on track after struggling with some early-season engine problems, Sheppard scored Big 10 Series victories on June 6 at Macon and June 7 at his family’s new Shepp’s Speedway and finished second on June 5 at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway. Both of Sheppard’s triumphs came with his teenage son Brandon finishing in the runner-up spot, and the surge vaulted Sheppard from fifth to second in the national points standings
Young Rusty Schlenk of Jackson, Mich., saw his five-week streak as the Super Late Model national points leader end after his only UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned start of the week resulted in a DNQ for the $100,000 Dirt Late Model Dream XV on June 6 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.
Meanwhile, Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., qualified for the first Dream A-Main of his career but finished 16th in the 100-lapper and fell from second to fourth in the national points standings, while Jon Henry of Ada, Ohio, lost one spot (fourth to fifth) in the points after failing to qualify for the Dream.
The UMP DIRTcar national Modified points standings remained headed by 21-year-old Kent Robinson of Bloomington, Ind., who logged two starts last weekend.
But Robinson’s advantage in the points standings shrunk, going from 33 points over Randle Sweeney of Clifty, Ky., through June 1 to 10 points over a surging Todd Sherman of Churubusco, Ind., through June 8.
The national points leaders in UMP DIRTcar’s six other divisional races remained the same through June 8: Tait Davenport of West Paducah, Ky. (Pro Late Models), Clayton Perry of North Vernon, Ind. (Sportsman), Chad Boone of Owensboro, Ky. (Limited Modifieds), Chris Fisher of Bluff Point, N.Y. (Stock Cars), Bill May of Muskegon, Mich. (Factory Stocks) and Bob Zbinden of Alhambra, Ill. (4-Cylinders).
All drivers are reminded that they must have a valid DIRTcar Racing membership by June 16 to be eligible to earn points for the remainder of the season. Visit www.DIRTcarmembers.com for more information about the benefits of a DIRTcar Racing membership.
Log on to www.dirtcar.com for more information on UMP DIRTcar Racing and to view complete points standings for all divisions.
UMP DIRTcar Racing National Points Standings (as of June 8, 2009):
NOTE: Asterisk by driver’s name indicates they still must obtain a DIRTcar Racing membership by June 16 in order to be eligible to receive points for the remainder of the 2009 season
Super Late Models (driver/points/races):
1. Mike Hammerle 1295 27
2. Steve Sheppard Jr. 1279 22
3. Rusty Schlenk 1257 22
4. Jason Feger 1249 19
5. Jon Henry 1143 20
6. Jason McBride 1101 22
7. Kevin Weaver 1083 17
8. Brandon Sheppard 1074 22
9. Dennis Erb Jr. 1055 19
10. Frankie Heckenast 1053 19
11. Michael Kloos 1053 21
12. Richie Hedrick 1016 23
13. Ed Dixon 994 16
14. Chris Dick* 988 19
15. Dusty Moore 986 18
16. Daren Friedman 977 15
17. Ted Loomis 924 17
18. Ryan Unzicker 895 19
19. Eric Smith 876 15
20. Jimmy Dehm 859 19
Open-Wheel Modifieds (driver/points/races):
1. Kent Robinson 1428 24
2. Todd Sherman 1418 23
3. Randle Sweeney 1406 21
4. Mike Spatola 1399 24
5. Gary Cook Jr. 1337 20
6. Jeff Leka 1272 21
7. John McCaul 1259 18
8. Tim Hancock 1202 20
9. Troy Marciniak 1142 19
10. Jeremy Nichols 1129 23
11. Christy Georges 1125 21
12. Clayton Miller 1118 17
13. Clint DeMoss 1113 17
14. Jeff Babcock 1110 17
15. Bobby Bittle 1074 16
16. Michael Lee 1061 19
17. Lucas Lee 1058 18
18. Chad Osterhoff 1058 17
19. Vance Wilson 1004 16
20. Nick Allen 998 17
Pro Late Models (driver/points/races):
1. Tait Davenport 1357 20
2. Caleb Ashby 1207 19
3. Bobby Dauderman 1038 18
4. Nick Bauman 980 15
5. Rylan Dagg 907 17
6. Josh Harris* 852 15
7. Matt Liner* 772 14
8. Bobby Martintoni 721 14
9. John Barnard* 706 14
10. Matt Beadles* 686 14
Sportsman (driver/points/races):
1. Clayton Perry* 1247 19
2. Troy Clark 1165 20
3. Jimmy Cummins 1047 17
4. Brad Cummings* 927 16
5. Greg Kimmons* 826 13
6. Tom Smallwood* 813 16
7. Jeff Herzog 770 12
8. Alan Magner 730 13
9. Greg Amick* 728 13
10. Russell Eilers* 725 10
Limited Modifieds (driver/points/races):
1. Chad Boone 1046 15
2. Jeff Brooks* 804 14
3. Scott Oliver 795 14
4. Derrick Brooks* 658 11
5. Dan Bimson 592 9
6. Josh Tyler 563 11
7. Chris Buhler 541 10
8. John Paul Talkington* 528 11
9. Justin Riley 520 11
10. Michael Stratton* 512 11
Stock Cars (driver/points/races):
1. Chris Fisher 1197 21
2. Dave Mannise 1161 21
3. Andy Fisk 872 15
4. Ervin Turner* 847 14
5. Steve Ewing* 845 13
6. Mike Welch 844 14
7. David Hurst* 844 13
8. Josh Griffith 825 15
9. Travis Myers* 804 15
10. Larry Russell Jr.* 799 13
Factory Stocks (driver/points/races):
1. Bill May 891 14
2. Nate Tarte 615 14
3. Tony Weinrick 569 12
4. Mickey Hines* 535 8
5. Justin Schuler* 511 10
6. Scott Erickson 505 10
7. Robbie Sternberg 501 10
8. Fred Ryland* 495 7
9. Dennis Ponder 490 7
10. Allen Davis* 489 7
4-Cylinders (driver/points/races):
1. Bob Zbinden* 1049 15
2. Eric Wisher 926 14
3. Michael Rittenberry* 900 14
4. Richard Ashby 859 15
5. Joe Reed * 831 12
6. Jeff Dodd* 810 11
7. Justin Suhre 796 14
8. Eric Wilson 773 13
9. Chris Fisher 768 11
10. Jeff Rittenberry* 758 12
