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Little Takes Feature on Armed Forces Night

By BZ

(Macon, IL) Jake Little and his uncle Ryan are active members in the Illinois National Guard and the US Army. On Armed Forces Night, Jake Little reigned supreme in the Decatur Building Trades Pro Late Model Feature at Macon Speedway. Little missed out on a possible championship in 2018 when he was sent overseas for active duty in August into September and missed many of the final races to take away his points lead. Ryan Little doesn't have much of a chance to race enough for a championship because of his active status which has forced him away from the racecar for the majority of the 2019 season.

Both Little drivers started in the front row and looked prepared to take the race but Jake Little knew he had to get to the high side and run away from the group. He was able to do just that. Dakota Ewing, starting from the 13th position due to a DNF in his heat race due to a near rollover and a flat tire, broke through the pack and challenged for a top five finish. Ewing would finish third in the 20-lap feature and nearly finish in the runner-up spot.

Tommy Sheppard, Jr. won the feature in the BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds. The race was his for the entire event but a late caution set up a bumper-to-bumper restart with Rodney Standerfer behind Sheppard. Standerfer pulled close-to-even with the leader but couldn't find a way to make the pass and Sheppard took another checkered flag.

Wes O'Dell was sharp in the Sportsman class. After winning his heat by a half lap ahead of the second place finisher, O'Dell started on the front row outside position and blasted off ahead of Scott Landers and the rest of the cars. The former champion looked dominate and made an impact in the Sportsman points standings as points leader Dennis Vandermeersch was not part of the 12-car field.

Terry Reed took another Archer's Alley Street Stocks feature win. Two weeks ago, his brother Gene Reed won the feature and Terry took the Opening Night checkered flag. It was a Reed Win-Place-Show as Gene took second place and Joe Reed finished third in the field.

Tim Hancock was on his A-game once again as he took control of his heat race and then ran off with the Neal Tire & Auto Pro Modified feature. For Hancock, he has taken the checkered flag in three of the first four events during the 2019 season.

Wrapping up the show Saturday night was the Hornets. A new winner took to the winner's circle in Anthony Sunshine, a driver from St. Louis, Missouri. Sunshine's home track has been flooded out due to much of the spring rains so a trip north to Macon gave him plenty of competition and a chance to race. Brady Reed, starting tenth due to winning the last Hornet feature, rushed towards the front and challenged for the top spot. Another Missouri driver, Joshua Hawkins from Imperial, finished in third during his first trip to the track in 2019.

Among the six racing classes was another solid night of cars in the pit area, 90, so Macon Speedway brings forth quality in numbers during all the classes so far during the first four weeks of the season. Macon Speedway takes a rare scheduled Saturday night off to prep for a monster week at the track beginning on Memorial Day Monday. The annual event, Miller Lite Beer Twin 50s, is on tap for the Decatur Building Trade Pro Late Models and the Neal Tire & Auto Pro Modifieds. A full stock car racing show is scheduled. Thursday, May 30th, is the second-ever 95Q Up On The Wheel Modified 100--a 100-lap feature for the BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds plus the MOWA Sprints. The week is capped off with a fan-favorite, the Five Buck Night. General admission is just $5 plus it will be the kids bicycle giveaway night along with a full program.

Decatur Building Trades Pro Late Models--1. Jake Little (Springfield), 2. Ryan Little (Springfield), 3. Dakota Ewing (Warrensburg), 4. Logan Moody (Catlin), 5. Donny Koehler (Macon), 6. Colby Sheppard (Williamsville), 7. Kyle Van Dorn (New Berlin), 8. Roy Beal (Springfield), 9. Brianna Sheppard (New Berlin), 10. Blake Damery (Blue Mound)

BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds--1. Tommy Sheppard, Jr. (New Berlin), 2. Rodney Standerfer (Summerfield), 3. TIm Hancock (Mt. Olive), 4. Steve Meyer, Jr. (Staunton), 5. Michael Rauch (Decatur), 6. Jared Thomas (Edinburg), 7. Guy Taylor (Springfield), 8. Katie Lord (Zionsville, IN), 9. Jordan Warren (Medora), 10. Alan Crowder (Elwin)

Sportsman--1. Wes O'Dell (Springfield), 2. Scott Landers (Taylorville), 3. Mitch Ringler (Taylorville), 4. Tim Bedinger (Taylorville), 5. Connor Klay (Stonington), 6. Rick Roedel (Shelbyville), 7. Joel Irvin (Harristown), 8. Stefan Bedinger (Taylorville), 9. Bill Berghaus (Chapin), 10. Terry Myers (Buffalo)

Archer's Alley Street Stocks--1. Terry Reed (Cerro Gordo), 2. Gene Reed (Hammond), 3. Joe Reed (Decatur), 4. Shawn Ziemer (Boody), 5. Larry Russell, Jr. (Decatur), 6. Joshua Beal (Springfield), 7. Fredie Thomas (Macon), 8. Jonathon Hall (Harristown), 9. Jerit Murphy (Lodge), 10. Brian Dasenbrock (Decatur)

Neal Tire & Auto Pro Modifieds--1. Tim Hancock (Mt. Olive), 2. Nick Justice (Decatur), 3. Rob Timmons (Centralia), 4. Tommy Sheppard, Jr. (New Berlin), 5. Billy Nail (Decatur), 6. Zack Bunning (Decatur), 7. Tim Riech (Petersburg), 8. Nathan Lynch (Hillsboro), 9. Kevin Rench (Hillsboro), 10. Billy Adams (Shelbyville)

Hornets--1. Anthony Sunshine (St. Louis, MO), 2. Brady Reed (Decatur), 3. Joshua Hawkins (Imperial, MO), 4. Dallas Strauch (East Peoria), 5. Carter Dart (Springfield), 6. John Lewis (Cerro Gordo), 7. Cook Crawford (Lincoln), 8. Delane Orr (Springfield), 9. Debbie Seitz (Decatur), 10. Michael Abbott (Taylorville)

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