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71st Season Opener Thrills Fans At Macon Speedway

6 Divisions Packed The Stands

Macon Speedway opened its 71st season of stock car racing with the 9th Annual Spring Fling & Driver/Sponsor Appreciation Night. All cars were parked on the historic 1/5th-mile and all race fans were allowed to come onto the track for a meet-and-greet. It was also the first of many CEFCU Kids Clubs events which featured Twinkles the Clown and a bounce house.

Timmy Dick picked up where he left off in 2015, a four-time Sportsman feature winner and defending division champion, claiming the first feature checkered flag of the season. He battled former track champion Jeremy Nichols but pulled away during the 15-lap event. Danny Smith finished third as Tim Bedinger and Scott Landers crossed the line fourth and fifth, respectively.

Tim Hancock of Mt. Olive made short work of the B-Mod feature event, leading all 15 laps comfortably and gave his feature-winning trophy to a kid after the winner's circle interview. Brett Page, Tom Riech, Ryan Timmons and Nick Lowe rounded out the top five.

Plenty of mayhem ensued in the Street Stock finale with cars losing tires as well as engines overheating and blowing up but in the end, justice was served. Nick Justice of Decatur secured the victory with his successfully run of the 71-year-old track. Aaron Cole trailed behind and finished second with Jeff Watts, Terry Reed and Luke Force all within bumpers of finishing spots two-through-five.

Dave Crawley, Jr. and Cory Daugherty stole the show with the Billingsley Towing Modified feature event. Side-by-side and hanging on every turn, the full house went wild during every lap as the two challenged one another for the top position on the track. In the end, Crawley, using the top side, had enough to get the checkered flag as Daugherty stayed true to the bottom. Brett Korves was the third place finisher with Shawn Vaughn and Wade Glover following behind.

The night for the Pro Late Models started with Jake Little setting a new track record in time trials with a single lap time of 11.356, beating Matt Taylor's seven-month record of 11.448. But at the end of the night it was Taylor holding a firm grasp on the lead and the checkered flag. Motoring past lapped traffic and keeping an eye on where the second-place car was (his brother, Guy), Taylor won the first event of the season for the Pro Late Model division. Nick Bauman, Jake Little and Dakota Ewing rounded out the top five.

Adam Webb got his season off to a great start with a feature win in the 4-cylinder Hornet class. Webb finished third in the points last season but is a former National Champion, got out front and cruised to the victory in the A-Main 12-lap event. Mike Gossett, Tony Reed, Jerad Matherly and Troy Newberry completed the top five.

Next week, Macon Speedway welcomes the POWRi Midgets and Beach House Micro Sprints to the track along with the debut of the new Division II Midgets. The Street Stocks are also slated to compete on the 1/5th-mile. In two weeks, $12,000-to-win the 3rd Annual St. Louis U-Pic-A-Part 100 with the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series. The Billingsley Towing Modifieds and B-Modifieds are also on the schedule.

Macon Speedway Top Ten Rundowns

Sportsman-1. Timmy Dick (Monticello), 2. Jeremy Nichols (Lovington), 3. Danny Smith (Argenta), 4. Tim Bedinger (Taylorville), 5. Scott Landers (Taylorville), 6. Terry Myers (Buffalo), 7. Jerry Myers (Springfield), 8. Tom Graham (Stonington), 9. Ty Nation (Taylorville), 10. Jamie Riech (Riverton)

B-Modifieds-1. Tim Hancock (Mt. Olive), 2. Brett Page (Centralia), 3. Tom Riech (Springfield), 4. Ryan Timmons (Centralia), 5. Nick Lowe (Springfield), 6. Dave Eckel (Lovington), 7. Todd Eyman (Alhambra), 8. Eric Brackett (Brighton)

Street Stocks-1. Nick Justice (Decatur), 2. Aaron Cole (Atwood), 3. Jeff Watts (Decatur), 4. Terry Reed (Decatur), 5. Luke Force (Argenta), 6. Chris Dick (Deland), 7. Jeffrey Reed (Blue Mound), 8. Kyle Waters (Oreana), 9. John Bright, Jr. (Long Creek), 10. Dustin Reed (Decatur)

Billingsley Towing Modifieds-1. Dave Crawley, Jr. (Decatur), 2. Cory Daughtery (Blue Mound), 3. Brett Korves (Swansen), 4. Shawn Vaughn (Loami), 5. Wade Glover (Brighton), 6. Jacob Steinkoenig (Highland), 7. Zach Rhodes (Taylorville), 8. Jeff Graham (Stonington), 9. Jim Farley III (Springfield), 10. Alan Crowder (Elwin)

Pro Late Models-1. Matt Taylor (Springfield), 2. Guy Taylor (Springfield), 3. Nick Bauman (New Berlin), 4. Jake Little (Springfield), 5. Dakota Ewing (Warrensburg), 6. Jeffrey Reed (Blue Mound), 7. Roben Huffman (Midland City), 8. Shawn Ziemer (Boody), 9. Patrick Younger (Decatur)

Hornets-1. Adam Webb (Decatur), 2. Mike Gossett (Decatur), 3. Tony Reed (Blue Mound), 4. Jerad Matherly (Decatur), 5. Troy Newberry (Bloomington), 6. Thad Gee (Bloomington), 7. Marty Sullivan (Decatur), 8. Ryan Contrell (Decatur), 9. Travis Sumpter (Decatur), 10. Brian Offer (Springfield)

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