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Unzicker, Timmons Take Twin 50s at Macon Speedway

By BZ

(Macon, IL) The annual Miller Lite Beer Twin 50s at Macon Speedway moved to Memorial Day in 2018 and more and new drivers started to appear for the special night of racing. The addition of the Neal Tire & Auto Pro Mods to the 50-lap race in place of the BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds has made a bigger impact in that division. Rob Timmons took the most of that opportunity and scored the top place during the 50-lap event. Billy Knebel was out to a hot start on the top groove of the 1/5th mile dirt oval but Timmons closed the early gap from the bottom of the track. As the track worked stronger to the advantage of the bottom, Timmons picked up speed and caught up to Knebel and was able to move past him coming to the 17th lap. Tim Hancock, Jr. moved from 11th place up the field and was running second place as Knebel fell out of the race. Tommy Sheppard, Jr. had a solid race up front but was not able to catch up toward the leader.

The 2018 winner was Tim Hancock, Sr. The night started awesome for the Senior Hancock as he broke his own track record of 12.162 with a top of 12.014. The night got grim from there as he broke during his heat race and was forced to start in the last row of the 22-car field. As Hancock, Sr. got his Pro Modified back in racing shape, he started to move through the field and ended up finishing fourth as the checkered flag came out.

Ryan Unzicker scored his fourth Lite Beer Twin 50s win at Macon Speedway during the Midwest Big Ten Series Super Late Model race. Unzicker led all 50 laps and battled the entire race as Rusty Schlenk was on his bumper the whole time. Schlenk raced clean and stayed in a groove but couldn't find a way to make the pass.

Allen Weisser, native of Peoria, was planning on racing at his home track in his hometown on Memorial Day. And then it rained and he changed plans and came to Macon Speedway. Good call. Weisser was fast qualifier during time trials, won his heat and got a front row starting assignment for the 20-lap feature during the BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds main event. After running on the top side and staying ahead of Macon Speedway co-owner Ken Schrader, Weisser graced victory lane with a checkered flag. He also got familiar with the track prior to the biggest Modified race that Macon Speedway has to offer, the $3,000-to-win 95Q Up on the Wheel 100, which is on Thursday.

Nick Macklin made the most of his front row starting position and cleared the finish line ahead of 19 other drivers as the winner of the Archer's Alley Street Stock feature. There was more than enough competition to go around in this feature as Terry Reed, Bobby Beiler and Darrell Dick were all closing in on the lead during the late stage of the race. Macklin hasn't found much success as of yet in 2019 but hoped this win with start putting together a string of successfull events.

Andy Bishop of Harrisburg captured the checkered flag in the Micro Sprint feature race, presented by Bailey Chasis. Bishop was hounded by Joe B. Miller, a regular at Macon Speedway when the POWRi touring series comes through. The race looked to be won by Gabe Verardi until he pulled off the track halfway through the race. Verardi was leading and looked unstoppable until his racecar made him stoppable.

The night finished with new winner at Macon Speedway, Aaron Garcia from Belleville, in the Hornets division. Garcia was up to the challenge with the likes of Jeremy Reed, Brady Reed, Michael McKay and Eldon Hemken all in the field of cars who are familiar with winning at Macon. Garcia made it look easy during the 15-lap race.

Six racing divisions and another night of over 100 cars in the pits made for a full evening of racing on the Memorial Day holiday. The Mueller Distributing Miller Lite Beer Twin 50s has been a staple event at the track since 1985 and the tradition carries on for another year with the wins of Unzicker and Timmons.

Macon Speedway rests only for a few days as the 95Q Up on the Wheel 100 is Thursday with the BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds in the center stage along with the MOWA Sprint cars and the Decatur Building Trades Pro Late Model division. Racing begins at 7pm.

Neal Tire & Auto Pro Modifieds--1. Rob Timmons (Centralia), 2. Tim Hancock, Jr. (Mt. Olive), 3. Tommy Sheppard, Jr. (New Berlin), 4. Tim Hancock, Sr. (Mt. Olive), 5. Steve Phillips (Neoga), 6. Nick Justice (Decatur), 7. Doug Tye (Troy), 8. Ed Roley (Mattoon), 9. Dustin Wiltermood (Windsor), 10. Nathan Lynch (Hillsboro)

Midwest Big Ten Series Super Late Models--1. Ryan Unzicker (El Paso), 2. Rusty Schlenk (McClure, OH), 3. Jason Feger (Bloomington), 4. Brian Shirley (Chatham), 5. Allen Weisser (Peoria), 6. Rusty Griffaw (Festus, MO), 7. Myles Moos (Lincoln), 8. Brian Diveley (Springfield), 9. Adam Tischhauser (Greenville), 10. Greg Kimmons (Pleasant Plains)

BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds--1. Allen Weisser (Peoria), 2. Tommy Sheppard, Jr. (New Berlin), 3. Ken Schrader (Fenton, MO), 4. Ray Bollinger (Kewanee), 5. Kenny Wallace (St. Louis, MO), 6. Alan Crowder (Elwin), 7. Jared Thomas (Edinburg), 8. Trevor Neville (Mackinaw), 9. Austin Lynn (Mason City), 10. Joe Strawkas (Buffalo)

Archer's Alley Street Stocks--1. Nick Macklin (Argenta), 2. Bobby Beiler (Blue Mound), 3. Darrell Dick (Monticello), 4. Terry Reed (Cerro Gordo), 5. Gene Reed (Hammond), 6. Rudy Zaragoza (Jacksonville), 7. Jaret Duff (Maroa), 8. Larry Russell, Jr. (Decatur), 9. Jonathan Hall (Harristown), 10. Joe Reed (Decatur)

Micro Sprints Presented by Bailey Chasis--1. Andy Bishop (Harrisburg), 2. Joe B. Miller (Millersville, MO), 3. Luke Verardi (Taylorville), 4. Riley Goodno (Knoxville, IA), 5. Tyler Day (Atwood), 6. Garrett Duff (Weldon), 7. Tyler Duff (Weldon), 8. Jacob Tipton (Decatur), 9. Drake Turner (Sullivan, IN), 10. Molly Day (Atwood)

Hornets--1. Aaron Garcia (Belleville), 2. Jeremy Reed (Decatur), 3. Michael McKay (Springfield), 4. Brady Reed (Decatur), 5. Eldon Hemken (Sorento), 6. David Lauritson (Normal), 7. Carter Dart (Springfield), 8. Danny Oates (Pekin), 9. Marty Sullivan (Decatur), 10. Cook Crawford (Lincoln)

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