For the 10th straight year, two Modified titles will be handed out during the Prairie Dirt Classic at Fairbury Speedway, July 25-26 – the PDC title and the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals championship.
Fifty-four of the country’s top DIRTcar UMP Modified drivers will battle for the PDC title, while two are still in contention for the Modified Nationals championship. However, with Tyler Nicely having eight wins in 13 starts and a 67-point lead over Trevor Neville, he will lock the title by entering the event.
The event format remains the same as in years past, with the Modifieds sharing the weekend with the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series, presented by DIRTVision. There will be four Showdown Features on Friday, which lock the top-four finishers from each race into Saturday’s 40-lap, $5,000-to-win Feature. There will be Last Chance Showdowns on Saturday to fill out the rest of the 24-car field.
For more information on the event, click here. If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.
Here are the top storylines to follow this weekend:
NICELY DONE: Retired no more. After a brief hiatus from dirt Modified racing at the beginning of the year to pursue asphalt racing, Tyler Nicely, of Owensboro, KY reemerged with no loss of speed.
He won his first two starts with the Hell Tour, and then, after an 18th-place finish at Benton Speedway, Nicely only had one finish worse than second in his next 10 races, which was a fourth-place finish.
Nicely be after his second Summit Modified Nationals championship and second PDC win this weekend – his first came during the inaugural Summit Modified race at PDC in 2015.
NOT DONE YET: While Trevor Neville, of Mackinaw, IL, may find himself finishing second in the Summit Modified championship again, he still enters the weekend as a top contender for a PDC win – which would be his first.
He has one win with the Summit Modified Nationals this year but enters Fairbury with six straight top-five finishes – half being podium finishes. He also finished fourth at Fairbury with the Summit Modifieds in June.
Neville started fifth in the PDC Feature last year, but got collected in an accident late in the race after running in the top 10 for most of it.
FALLOWAY WATCH: Cole Falloway, of Owensboro, KY, has put his name on the map as a driver to watch in the Modified division this year. He put his name on the map during Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals in February, winning five races during the event.
While he hasn’t picked up a win with the DIRTcar Summer Nationals yet this season, he has come close with two runner-up finishes. He’s also made two starts at Fairbury this year, scoring a seventh-place finish with MARS and a sixth-place finish with the Summit Modified Nationals.
If he can make the Feature this weekend, it’ll be his first Feature start during the Prairie Dirt Classic.
LONG TIME COMING: Michael Long, of Quincy, IL, finally climbed to the top of the mountain as a Prairie Dirt Classic winner with the Modifieds last year. He did it in dominant fashion too, winning his Showdown Feature on Friday and then led all 40 laps of Saturday’s Feature.
Then, when he returned to Fairbury Speedway with the Summit Modifieds Nationals in June, he picked up where he left off, again leading the entire race to pick up another FALS win – his sixth win at the track in a year and a half span.
VARIETY OF WINNERS: There have been four different winners in the last four PDC Modified races – Michael Long (2024), Mike Harrison (2023), Mike McKinney (2022), and Nick Hoffman (2021). Will that trend continue this weekend?
Fifty-four of the best Modified drivers in the country have been selected to compete in the event, and only five have won during PDC.
Josh Harris, of Utica, KY, and Kyle Hammer, of Clinton, IL, who rounded out the podium for Saturday’s Feature last year, finishing second and third, respectively, are back to contend for a PDC win. Harris maintained his position in the top-three throughout the race last year, after starting third, while Hammer climbed from his 11th-place starting position.
Zeke McKenzie, of Claypool, IN, had one of the most impressive runs last year, racing his way from 20th to fifth.
Also on the list are Chase Holland, of Gulfport, MS, and Daniel Adam, of Peru, IL, who ran the most DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals events this year – 20 each. Holland scored one win, while Adam is still looking for his first win ever with the Series.
Prairie Dirt Classic Modified Winners:
2024 – Michael Long
2023 – Mike Harrison
2022 – Mike McKinney
2021 – Nick Hoffman
2019 – Nick Hoffman
2018 – Mike Harrison
2017 – Mike Harrison
2016 – Levi Kissinger
2015 – Tyler Nicely
