Mike Harrison may already have three Prairie Dirt Classic Modified trophies on his mantel, but he might cherish the one he took home Saturday night the most.
After waiting over a month to run the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals finale at Fairbury Speedway due to Mother Nature forcing the Modified portion of PDC to be delayed to Labor Day weekend, the Illinois native wasted no time getting to the lead.
Starting on the outside pole of the 40-lap, $5,000-to-win, Feature, Harrison ran side by side with polesitter Zeke McKenzie for the two opening laps before clearing McKenzie for the lead off Turn 4 on Lap 3. With a clear track ahead, Harrison put seconds between himself and the field, while McKenzie faded into a hornet’s nest.
Blake Brown was the first to reach McKenzie’s rear bumper, but had his own issues to deal with behind him. As Brown tried to get around McKenzie’s No. 24 car, Josh Harris drove up to Brown’s bumper and brought a swarm with him.
Austin Friedman had his No. 89 Modified pinned to the outside wall every corner, and used the momentum it provided to get by Harris and Brown in one corner. He wasn’t alone, though. Michael Ledford was doing the same and getting the same results.
A caution on Lap 13 for last year’s PDC winner, Michael Long, who slowed with a mechanical issue, brought the field back together and set the stage for some of the finest racing the Summit Modifieds have seen all year.
(From top to bottom) Blake Brown, Zeke McKenzie, Michael Ledford, and Charlie Mefford race four-wide at Fairbury (Josh James Photo)
Harrison left the party on the restart, again pulling ahead by several seconds, but McKenzie, Brown, Friedman, Harris, Ledford, and newcomers to the top five battle, Charlie Mefford and Cole Falloway, gave everyone their money’s worth. A three-wide battle for second turned into a four-wide battle as positions and lanes changed every corner.
Ledford prevailed as the champion of the 100mph chess match, choosing the right moves to slide into second by the halfway point of the race. Harrison was several seconds ahead, but the white No. 9 Royal Race Car was mastering the top line better than the Modified veteran.
With 14 laps to go, Ledford started breathing down Harrison’s neck, and he knew it.
“I know my son never let the stick (signals) get real real big for the last half of the race,” Harrison said. “I knew they had to be behind me. I figured it was [Ledford] with the 9 up there. Had to get up on the wheel there a little bit to get him to open the sticks back up a little bit because I was getting a little nervous, and Mikey hauled her off in there once or twice. Yeah, it’s all good. As long as we put on a good show for the fans. That’s all that matters.”
With eight laps to go, Harrison had a slow exit off of Turn 2, allowing Ledford to dive low and try to throw a slider into Turn 3. However, Harrison held him low through the corner and was able to get a good enough run off Turn 4 to pull ahead before the next turn. From there on, Harrison knew it was “elbows up time.”
Both drivers committed to the top lane for the closing laps. One corner, Harrison would pull ahead, while the next, Ledford would close in. On the final lap, Ledford closed to the rear bumper of the No. 24H, close enough that he could start planning a slider for the next corner. But both cars jumped the cushion off Turn 2, only Ledford hit it worse, losing time and speed as Harrison drove away to a historic fourth Summit Modified Nationals Prairie Dirt Classic title.
“That little Mikey, he’s going to be a hell of a racer,” Harrison said. “He’s coming along with that Royal car that he’s got. You know, between him and Long and Falloway, and all of them guys, it’s tough nowadays. You have to cherish each one of these wins anytime you get them because this Modified class is tough. I’m not getting no younger, and they’re all pretty young and up and coming. The old man has to come back every now and then and show them I can still do it.”
The Feature wrapped up the 2025 season for the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals, which crowned Tyler Nicely as the 2025 champion.
RESULTS: (40 Laps): 1. 24H-Mike Harrison[2]; 2. 9-Michael Ledford[6]; 3. 66-Cole Falloway[7]; 4. 13-Charlie Mefford[8]; 5. 5-Steven Brooks[9]; 6. 24-Zeke McKenzie[1]; 7. 99B-Blake Brown[3]; 8. 22-Josh Harris[5]; 9. C40-Mike Chasteen Jr[20]; 10. 757-Bradley Jameson[17]; 11. 58-Ryan Hamilton[10]; 12. 121-Deece Schwartz[12]; 13. 12-Jeff Curl[23]; 14. 45-Kyle Hammer[18]; 15. 777-Trevor Neville[22]; 16. 7N-Tim Nash[14]; 17. 89-Austin Friedman[4]; 18. 18L-Michael Long[13]; 19. 77-Ray Bollinger[19]; 20. 1D-Dean Hoffman[11]; 21. 99-Hunt Gossum[15]; 22. 21L-Derek Losh[16]; 23. 25-Tyler Nicely[21]; 24. 45H-Chase Holland[24]
Mike Harrison (left) races Michale Ledford (right) for the win at Fairbury (Josh James Photo)
