Jeep Van Wormer
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Haubstadt,IN — June 21, 2009 — Dirt track fans certainly got their money’s worth on Sunday night at Tri-State Speedway.
In a high speed rodeo that saw a plethora of lead changes Jeep Van Wormer ended the night as the preverbial “last man standing”. The Pinconning, (Mich.) wheelman used his fourth starting spot and a very fast track to quickly garner third and then squeeze by leader Shannon Babb and Rodney Melvin as they were waging war for what was the top spot.
Van Wormer and Babb then traded a barrage of slide jobs out front. ”That’s fun when you can go out there and have a car that’s competitive like that and you can race like that with somebody,” said Van Wormer.
A lap 23 mishap caused Babb to slow on the front stretch. Van Wormer received damage from the incident but was able to remain at the point. “It was unfortunate because we had a pretty good battle going, swapping back and forth,” said Van Wormer of Babb’s troubles.
Van Wormer later held off charges from both Rodney Melvin and Randy Korte to claim his second win of the 2009 UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals.
“The car started to pick up a vibration late so I was just trying to do the best I could and stay in that line that had been working for me,” he said. “I saw (Rodney) the lap prior to the white flag and I thought I’ve got to win this because we need it, so I held my line and it worked out for me.”
Melvin settled for a close second, bouncing back from a DNF the night prior. Melvin and fellow Illinois native Randy Korte also swapped the runner up position throughout the feature. “About the last four or five laps the car kept getting better and better” remarked Melvin. ” We just ran out of laps because I think I had a good enough car to get by Jeep.”
Korte rounded out the weekend with another strong effort finishing third after a second place finish the night prior at Clarksville, (Tenn.) Speedway.
43 UMP DIRTcar Super Late Models set out to do battle Sunday night at Tri-State Speedway. The field was separated into five groups for qualifying time trails where Justin Ratliff, Derek Chandler, Rodney Melvin, Randy Korte, and overall quick time Donny Walden all claimed top honors in their individual groups.
Heat race action saw the best of UMP DIRTcar Late Model drivers get well acquainted with each other. Jeep Van Wormer nosed out defending “Hell Tour” champion Dennis Erb Jr. in heat race one while Shannon Babb outdistanced Jason Feger and Tim Lance to take a heat race two victory. Heat race three saw Rodney Melvin hold off Kevin Cole as well as current Summer Nationals point leader Kevin Weaver to claim the win.
Polesitter Randy Korte held off Terry Casey and Chad Zobrist in heat race four action while, heat race five featured the nights closest racing as Kevin Claycomb edged both Ryan Unzicker and Scott James at the line as the trio battled three wide out of turn four receiving the checkered flag.
Heat 1:
1. Jeep Van Wormer
2. Dennis Erb Jr.
3. Justin Rattliff
4. Brian Shirley
5. Carnell Parker III
6. Jason McBride
7. Kenny Carmichael Jr.
8. Bryant Dickinson
9. Mitchell Lankford
Heat 2:
1. Shannon Babb
2. Jason Feger
3. Tim Lance
4. Dillan White
5. Mark Voigt
6. Joe Morris
7. Derek Chandler
8. Scott Schmitt
9. Matt Weidner
Heat 3:
1. Rodney Melvin
2. Kevin Cole
3. Kevin Weaver
4. Duane Chamberlain
5. Tim Manville
6. Steven Ashby
7. Wes Leigh
8. Everett Bradham
DNS. Chris Shelton
Heat 4:
1. Randy Korte
2. Terry Casey
3. Brandon Sheppard
4. Chad Zobrist
5. Bobby Melvin
6. Steve Karnes
7. Jason Smith
8. Brant Kehrer
Heat 5:
1. Kevin Claycomb
2. Ryan Unzicker
3. Scott James
4. Donny Walden
5. Steve Sheppard Jr.
6. Jason Riggs
7. Michael Kloos
8. Brent Kreke
C Main:
1. Kenny Carmichael Jr.
2. Joe Morris
3. Michael Kloos
4. Brent Kreke
B Main:
1. Brian Shirley
2. Donny Walden
3. Chad Zobrist
4. Duane Chamberlain
5. Mark Voigt
6. Carnell Parker III
7. Dillan White
8. Steven Ashby
9. Tim Manville
10. Brent Kreke
11. Joe Morris
12. Scott Schmitt
13. Kenny Carmichael
14. Jason McBride
15. Jason Riggs
16. Steve Sheppard Jr.
17. Steve Karnes
18. Michael Kloos
DNS. Bobby Melvin
Feature:
1. Jeep Van Wormer
2. Rodney Melvin
3. Randy Korte
4. Scott James
5. Jason Feger
6. Dennis Erb Jr.
7. Kevin Weaver
8. Kevin Claycomb
9. Brian Shirley
10. Justin Rattliff
11. Donny Walden
12. Steve Sheppard Jr.
13. Chad Zobrist
14. Ryan Unzicker
15. Shannon Babb
16. Terry Casey
17. Brandon Sheppard
18. Kevin Cole
19. Tim Lance
20. Duane Chamberlain
21. Derek Chandler
22. Michael Kloos
For more information on the UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals Tour fans can visit http://www.thehelltour.com
Fans can now receive news, updates and other behind-the-scenes information about the UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals by following the tour’s official feed on Twitter, the internet’s fast-growing social-networking and micro-blogging website.
Fans can view the latest text posts and subscribe as “followers” of the Summer Nationals at http://twitter.com/SummerNationals .
2009 UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals Schedule
Date/Track/Location/Purse/Winner/Cars
| 06/11/09 | Brownstown Speedway – Brownstown, IN – $6,000 (Jeep VanWormer – 43) |
| 06/12/09 | Kankakee Motor Speedway – Kankakee,IL – $10,000 (Billy Moyer – 51) |
| 06/13/09 | Kamp Motor Speedway – Boswell, IN – $10,000 (Eric Smith – 44) |
| 06/14/09 | Quad City Raceway – East Moline, IL – $6,000 (Dennis Erb – 31) |
| 06/16/09 | Highland Speedway – Highland, IL – $6,000 (RAIN) |
| 06/17/09 | Belle-Clair Speedway – Belleville, IL – $6,000 (Dennis Erb – 47) |
| 06/18/09 | Charleston Speedway – Charleston, IL – $6,000 (RAIN) |
| 06/19/09 | Farmer City Raceway – Farmer City, IL – $10,000 (RAIN) |
| 06/20/09 | Clarksville Speedway – Clarksville, TN – $10,000 (Billy Moyer – 44) |
| 06/21/09 | Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, IN – $6,000 (Jeep Van Wormer – 43) |
| 06/23/09 | Charleston Speedway – Charleston, IL $6,000 |
| 06/24/09 | Tri-City Speedway – Pontoon Beach, IL $6,000 |
| 06/25/09 | Clay Hill Motorsports Park – Atwood, TN – $6,000 |
| 06/26/09 | Paducah International Raceway – Paducah, KY – $10,000 |
| 06/27/09 | Fairbury Speedway – Fairbury, IL – $10,000 |
| 06/28/09 | Lincoln Speedway – Lincoln, IL – $6,000 |
| 06/29/09 | Farmer City Raceway – Farmer City,IL $6,000 |
| 06/30/09 | Peoria Speedway – Peoria, IL – $6,000 |
| 07/01/09 | Highland Speedway – Highland, IL – $6,000 |
| 07/02/09 | Macon Speedway – Macon, IL – $6,000 |
| 07/03/09 | Quincy Raceway – Quincy, IL – $10,000 |
| 07/04/09 | I-55 Raceway – Pevely, MO – $10,000 |
| 07/05/09 | Vermillion County Speedway – Danville, IL – $6,000 |
| 07/07/09 | Shepp Speedway – Alexandria, IL – $6,000 |
| 07/08/09 | Spoon River Speedway – Canton,IL $6,000 |
| 07/09/09 | LaSalle Speedway – LaSalle, IL – $6,000 |
| 07/10/09 | Waynesfield Motorsports Park – Waynesfield, OH – $10,000 |
| 07/11/09 | Oakshade Raceway – Wauseon, OH – 10,000 |
The UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals is brought to race fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: VP Racing Fuels, CJ Rayburn Race Cars, Hoosier Racing Tire, Quarter Master, Just Plugs, Special Olympics, Wrisco Aluminum, Eibach Springs, and Integra Racing Shocks.
