---

Wild Action at Macon Speedway

(Macon, IL) Eight racing classes and 120-plus cars flooded the pits on a night set up for a Street Stock spectacular and a Hornet hootenanny. The qualifying heat races were completed just after the 9pm hour, two hours after the first green flag of the night. Numerous caution flags, thanks to spinouts and wrecks in turn two most of the night, plus side-by-side action set up exciting feature action.

Tim Hancock of Mt. Olive outlasted the heat and many cautions and led all 15 laps in the B-Modified feature race. The race was stalled out lap after lap because of yellow flags but Hancock just kept staying patient and kept on. Lapped traffic, however, made the final five laps interesting as Hancock got wedged with a lapped car and the concrete wall as Kevin Crowder came on strong from the bottom groove and made it a close race to the end but Hancock pulled away in the final laps. And that was on the start of the night for Hancock.

After watching a few features, the BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds filed out on the track and raced a 20-lap main event. With the thanks to the dice roll, Hancock was put on the pole position behind heat winners Curt Rhodes and Zach Rhodes. Despite some wild actions during the feature, Hancock would take his second feature of the night.

Brandon Pralle also had some difficulties in the second turn and nearly cost him the Sportsman feature race. The high school driver from Ashkum lost control two times but kept the car from wiping out as Wes Odell rode on the top side of the speedway. Pralle stayed on the gas and learned from miscues to retake the advantage and grab the checkered flag. Eyes were also on Scott Williams, who was second in the division points coming into the evening, and Tim Bedinger, who was leading the points. Bedinger broke down early and was forced to the infield while watching his son Stefan Bedinger as well as Williams spin laps and take away with the points lead by night's end.

Trevin Littleton of Jacksonville made it to victory lane for the second time this season in the Micro Sprint class, presented by Bailey Chasis. Littleton came on strong towards the middle of the 15-lapper to take away the lead from Aidan Roosevans and hold off both Tyler Day and Molly Day.

Jeremy Nichols was the odds-on-favorite to take the 4th Annual John Osman Memorial 47-lap race. After being the fast qualifier and heat race winner Nichols was poised for his front row starting spot to blast off to a win. It almost happened. Nichols was in complete control of the race through the first 16 laps. Amid an array of cautions (four of which were involved in lap one, including three on lap one restarts), Nichols kept the race going until a caution on lap 16. Nichols' car just stopped on the front stretch and he came out with the helmet off and a tow truck needed to pull the J24 off the track. That opened up the chance for AJ Meiferdt, racer from Coal City, and using the bottom groove, took his car to victory lane and held the championship belt up high in the sky. The race yielded ten caution flags and was completed in 39 minutes, 28 seconds. Meiferdt was not out to a comfortable lead at any point in the race as Nick Macklin and Timmy Dick were close enough to make a move on Meiferdt's top spot. It was just the right time for Meiferdt to be in the lead and be claimed the champion for 2018's Johns Osman Memorial.

Another heartbreaker occurred during the Decatur Building Trades Pro Late Models and Guy Taylor. Taylor made the most of the night competing in three divisions, Pro Late Models, Modifieds and Street Stocks, and looked for at least one checkered flag on the night but on the 16th lap of 20, Taylor came around turn three and clobbered into a lapped car which danced off the concrete wall and damaged the front of the car. Taylor was done. Second place car Jake Little, who was making his return after a month absence after National Guard duty in Japan, ended up in the lead and held the checkered flag four laps later.

The stage was set for the Hornet World Championship. Jeremy Reed, a popular favorite to win, was set up on the front row with Carson Dart. Reed jumped out to the lead and was chased down by Adam Webb and Mike Eskew. Reed's car looked upstoppable and then with just a handful of laps remaining, the car gave out and Eskew came flying around to grab the lead. It looked like it was going to be won by Eskew until he bounced off a lapped car and pulverized the backstretch wall, thus ending his race. The second place driver was Jeff Reed, Jr., who started in the last row, and came storming up to the front to win the race and the five-foot-tall trophy and $300 payday.

Macon Speedway ran the Kid Modz for the second time in 2018 and Dominic Mertzke from Troy took the victory over Jeremy Sebens of White Heath.

The evening was sponsored by Cromwell radio station 98.1FM GRIZ-FM, as well as Skeff Distributing. It was also the Taylorville Night and Lori Bedinger Memorial Night.

Macon Speedway offers a discount next Saturday night with the Five Buck Night and $5 admission for fans through the main gate. A full stock car program is on the schedule.

Street Stocks--1. AJ Meiferdt (Coal City), 2. Timmy Dick (Monticello), 3. Nick Macklin (Argenta), 4. Terry Reed (Decatur), 5. Jeff Reed, Jr. (Blue Mound), 6. Josh Griffith (Charleston), 7. Jason Maier (Thomasboro), 8. Cody Clubb (Coal City), 9. Larry Russell, Jr. (Decatur), 10. Robert Cottom (Galesburg)

Decatur Building Trades Pro Late Models--1. Jake Little (Springfield), 2. Roben Huffman (Midland City), 3. Cody Maguire (Carlinville), 4. Colby Sheppard (Williamsville), 5. Tyson Skinner (New Berlin), 6. Blake Damery (Blue Mound), 7. Guy Taylor (Springfield), 8. Donny Koehler (Macon), 9. Braden Johnson (Taylorville), 10. Colby Eller (Taylorville)

BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds--1. Tim Hancock (Mt. Olive), 2. Mark Enk (St. Ann, MO), 3. Tommy Sheppard, Jr. (New Berlin), 4. Guy Taylor (Springfield), 5. Blake Thompson (Troy), 6. Zach Rhodes (Taylorville), 7. Danny Smith (Argenta), 8. Jimmy Sinkhorn (Taylorville), 9. Brian Burns (Bethany), 10. Nick Clubb (Coal City)

Micro Sprints presented by Bailey Chasis--1. Trevin Littleton (Jacksonville), 2. Tyler Day (Atwood), 3. Garrett Duff (Weldon), 4. Molly Day (Atwood), 5. Chad Baldwin (Lincoln), 6. Aidan Roosevans (O'Fallon), 7. Jeremyn Brown (Decatur), 8. Cailin Hunt (Dalton City), 9. Daryn Stark (Springfield), 10. Tyler Duff (Weldon)

Sportsman--1. Brandon Pralle (Ashkum), 2. Wes Odell (Springfield), 3. Rick Roedel (Shelbyville), 4. Scott Williams (Leroy), 5. Danny Smith (Argenta), 6. Terry Myers (Buffalo), 7. Mitch Ringler (Taylorville), 8. Ty Nation (Taylorville), 9. Stefan Bedinger (Taylorville), 10. Jim Farley III (Springfield)

B-Modifieds--1. Tim Hancock (Mt. Olive), 2. Kevin Crowder (Argenta), 3. Tom Riech (Springfield), 4. Cody Stillwell (Godfrey), 5. Alan Crowder (Elwin), 6. Jerry Thompson (Troy), 7. Tim Riech (Petersburg), 8. Rob Timmons (Centralia), 9. Roy Magee (Springfield), 10. Chris Hughes (Taylorville)

Hornets--1. Jeff Reed, Jr. (Blue Mound), 2. Adam Webb (Decatur), 3. Michael McKay (Springfield), 4. Steve Stine (Stonington), 5. Carter Dart (Springfield), 6. Ken Reed (Decatur), 7. Carson Dart (Springfield), 8. Matt Reed (Decatur), 9. Paul Peters (Pana), 10. Joe McChristy (Mt. Zion)

Back to News