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Surprise Winners at Macon Speedway

By BZ

(Macon, IL) One week can make quite a difference. Following the season opener with 50 degrees and winds howling from the north, week two of the season brought temps in the upper 70s with winds blowing strongly from the south. And the racing stayed intense.

The Decatur Building Trades Pro Late Model feature started with Braden Johnson and Dalton Ewing trading the lead from the beginning. After Johnson carried himself on the top groove, he appeared to be locked in and pulled away. Dakota Ewing caught on strong and came up on Johnson. With five laps remaining, Dalton Ewing spun out to bring the race to a halt and restart the field bumper-to-bumper. As the race restarted with Johnson and Dakota Ewing, Ewing decided to take a chance with a slide job on the bottom of the second turn. The manuever did not hold and there was contact between the two drivers and that allowed third place car and defending division champion Colby Sheppard the chance at the lead. He would take off and take the checkered flag. Johnson would try to get moving again but he fell victim to a flat left rear tire. Ewing would finish behind Sheppard in the second feature race of the season.

More close contact led to a change in the lead during the BillingsleyRewards.com Modified feature. With Rodney Standerfer leading the first seven laps, Rick Conoyer--last week's feature winner--made a move for the lead and bumped Standerfer. That loosened up both cars and third-place car Jacob Steinkoenig came flying by the bottom to take the lead from both. Steinkoenig would move on for the win while Standerfer and Conoyer raced for second place, a race that would be won by Standerfer.

A near photo-finish took place in the 51 Bistro Street Stocks where newcomer Zane Reitz from Indiana won by a nose from Tanner Sullivan, last week's feature winner. Reitz was battling all race long with Sullivan, Bobby Beiler, Terry Reed and Rudy Zaragoza. The race was solid with consecutive green flag laps to allow for Reitz to move past the group and challenge for the lead with Sullivan. Slower traffic at the tail of the field led to troubles for the leaders and a change in the lead with Reitz losing the lead from lap 10 to 13 but as they came out of the fourth turn side-by-side to the checkered flag, Reitz and Sullivan were body-to-body up against the wall and Reitz pulled out the win.

Four former champions were in the same field of cars for the Weddle Performance Engines Sportsman feature. Dennis Vandermeersch, Rick Roedel, Wes O'Dell and last year's champion Jim Farley III all competing in the 15-lap A-Main. The front row as Vandermeersch and O'Dell and they set the field from there with O'Dell leading all 15 laps and Vandermeersch playing catch up throughout the race. Vandermeersch kept closing in from the top but ran into slow down moments through the corners and couldn't make the big move to pass O'Dell.

15-year-old Austin Seets from Brighton led all 15 laps en route to the Pro Modifieds feature race win. Last week's winner Guy Taylor tried to move past him and couldn't get good traction and move for the lead. Seets kept his line for the entire race and ended up scoring his first win at Macon Speedway.

The Hornet feature was won by Jeremy Reed--a surprise entrant! Reed was working on his car in Decatur at 7:15pm. He missed the heat race and was allowed to come and start at the tail of the feature. A smaller group of 4-cylinder cars didn't deter him from flying through the field and contending for the lead with his brother Brady Reed. Jeremy made the move for the first place position with less than half the race to go. To add to the joys of winning and celebrating his first Macon Speedway feature win without his dad, Joe, who passed away earlier this year, Rocco's Bar on Route 48 in Decatur added a $100 prize to the winner of the feature.

Macon Speedway added some intermission entertainment with the Spectator Drags. Six spectators brought their street cars down to the track and competed for a chance to be the King of the Track. Brian Rhoades of Clinton took the winning honors in his 1996 Chevrolet Caprice. In the semi-finals, he lost to Jim Eads but his 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier fell to a flat tire and was unable to compete in the championship against Dalton Younker and his 1992 Chevrolet S-10 pick-up truck. The Blue Mound driver stayed close but Rhoades was too fast and won.

Two weeks are in and now comes the biggest race of the early season...the Lucas Oil Late Model Series 100-lap race for the Super Late Models with the richest prize in the history of Macon Speedway--$15,000. The biggest names in dirt track Late Model racing will be at Macon for the show of shows next Saturday. The BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds will run for $1,000-to-win and the Pro Modifieds go for a special $300-to-win. 

Decatur Building Trades Pro Late Models

27-Colby Sheppard[Williamsville, IL]; 2. 25-Dakota Ewing[Warrensburg, IL]; 3. 19-Chase Osterhoff[Kankakee, IL]; 4. 10C-Colby Eller[Taylorville, IL]; 5. 01-Billy Knippenberg[Plainfield, IL]; 6. 14-Braden Johnson[Taylorville, IL]; 7. 11-Ryan Miller[Lincoln, IL]; 8. 55-Rockett Bennett[Argenta, IL]; 9. 34-Eric Doran[Clinton, IL]; 10. 9B-Brandon Miller[Broadwell, IL]

BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds 

24S-Jacob Steinkoenig[Highland, IL]; 2. 28-Rodney Standerfer[Summerfield, IL]; 3. 14-Rick Conoyer[Wentzville, MO]; 4. 87C-Alan Crowder[Elwin, IL]; 5. 4M-Clint Martin[Ramsey, IL]; 6. 4T-Guy Taylor[Springfield, IL]; 7. 52-Billy Knebel[Pocahontas, IL]; 8. 99-Tim Luttrell[Riverton, IL]; 9. 7W-Dustin Wiltermood[Windsor, IL]; 10. 28S-Joe Strawkas[Buffalo, IL]

DIRTcar Pro Mods 

67-Austin Seets[Brighton, IL]; 2. 4T-Guy Taylor[Springfield, IL]; 3. 121-Deece Schwartz[Ashmore, IL]; 4. 52-Billy Knebel[Pocahontas, IL]; 5. 15C-Kevin Crowder[Argenta, IL]; 6. 33-Josh Robb[Mt. Zion, IL]; 7. 7B-Brian Burns[Bethany, IL]; 8. 2-Brayden Doyle[Ashmore, IL]; 9. 27X-Joel Irvin[Harristown, IL]; 10. 78-Maxx Emerson[Taylorville, IL]

Weddle Performance Engines Sportsman

87-Wes O'Dell[Springfield, IL]; 2. 25-Dennis Vander Meersch[Springfield, IL]; 3. 20R-Tyler Roth[Fairbury, IL]; 4. 84L-Jim Farley III[Springfield, IL]; 5. 11-Rick Roedel[Shelbyville, IL]; 6. 07-Phil Moreland[Assumption, IL]; 7. (DNF) 5S-Ronald Bacon[Decatur, IL]; 8. (DNF) 14-Cole Landers[Taylorville, IL]; 9. (DNF) 21-Dustin Moore[Rochester, IL]; 10. (DNF) 41-Scott Landers[Taylorville, IL]

51 Bistro Street Stocks 

55-Zane Reitz[Veedersburg, IN]; 2. 20-Tanner Sullivan[Pontiac, IL]; 3. 11-Terry Reed[Cerro Gordo, IL]; 4. 17-Bobby Beiler[Blue Mound, IL]; 5. 67-Rudy Zaragoza[Jacksonville, IL]; 6. 42-Jesse Simmons[Danville, IL]; 7. 21-Jaret Duff[Maroa, IL]; 8. 08-Brian Dasenbrock[Decatur, IL]; 9. J98-Jordan Smith[Argenta, IL]; 10. 21R-Dustin Reed[Decatur, IL]

DIRTcar Hornets

1. 34-Jeremy Reed[Decatur, IL]; 2. 32B-Brady Reed[Decatur, IL]; 3. 95Q-Tristin Quinlan[Decatur, IL]; 4. 41-Jaekob Durbin[Ramsey, IL]; 5. 99-Zachary Clark[Parts Unknown]; 6. 9Y-Eric Young[Clinton, IL]; 7. (DNF) V30-Myles Vonbehren[Lodge, IL]; 8. (DNF) 15T-Taryn Page[Decatur, IL]; 9. (DNS) 60A-Matt Adkins [Ashmore, IL]

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