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Front Row—The Place to Be on Saturday Night—at Macon Speedway

By BZ

(Macon, IL) When a racer gets to start on the front row, it could mean luck of the pill draw or fortune of the invert or the passing points award through heat race action. All six features at Macon Speedway Saturday night were won by drivers who got to start up front. That didn’t mean the racing was boring or the race was easily won. For every race, there was a challenger and every second place finisher was in position to have been the leader.

The Red’s Place Modifieds saw Jeremy Nichols dart out to the lead early on and run the bottom of the track almost in cruise control. Tim Luttrell was holding his own for second place on the top side of the track when the laps were dwindling down and then Luttrell’s car started to get speed and catch up to Nichols for the lead. As the final lap flags were waving, Luttrell rocketed past Nichols and received his third feature win of the season.

The night was not all bad for Nichols. Shortly before the race night started, Street Stock racer Rudy Zaragoza asked him to drive his car as he didn’t feel well. Nichols would emerge successful in the heat and start on the pole position for the feature. With Terry Reed, Brian Dasenbrock and Jaret Duff running behind, Nichols won the race to the checkered flag.

The Decatur Building Trades Pro Late Models saw a smaller field of competitors on this night but the racing was still top notch. Dakota Ewing raced strong with Ryan Miller and 2023 points leader Braden Johnson for the lead. As the laps added up, Miller fell from second to third and Johnson steadily moved forward and closed the gap on the leader. Ewing and Johnson were avoiding lapped cars to the finish which saw Ewing edge Johnson by a slim margin.

Wes O’Dell ran into lapped traffic troubles as he raced in the Weddle Performance Engines Sportsman feature. An early lapped car slowed O’Dell to second place as Jim Farley III took the lead. O’Dell came back after a caution flag to retake the top spot and then dodge lapped cars with Farley trying to catch back up. O’Dell scored his fourth feature win of the season with a full field of cars.

Guy Taylor continues to get his Pro Modified back to where it was a season ago when he was dominate. Good news for him; bad news for the rest of the Pro Modified division. After a solid heat race, Taylor started from the pole and fended off Chris Erwin from the get-go and then held off Max Emerson, Dalton Ewing and John Seets III to secure his second feature of 2023.

The night was completed with Daryn Stark going flag-to-flag and winning the POWRi Micro Sprint feature race Presented by Bailey Chassis. Stark and Alex Midkiff got the action going from the beginning of the race but it was later in the race when Michael Brummitt came challenging and forced Stark to run his best laps. Brummitt pushed Stark in the corners with slide jobs only to have Stark pull back into the lead as the slider didn’t stick in the fourth turns on three different tries. With the race laps closing, Stark pushed ahead and finished his first win at Macon Speedway this season.

The evening was started off with the ambulance carrying the American Flag as part of opening ceremonies on First Responders Night, sponsored by the Decatur Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. Intermission saw kids come down to the track and get rides on racecars during their annual Kids Racecar Rides with Macon Speedway stock cars as part of the CEFCU Kids Club. It was a full night of action, for sure.

Next Saturday night, Macon Speedway hosts the Weddle Performance Engines Topless 40. The Decatur Building Trades Pro Late Models, Red’s Place Modifieds and the Street Stocks all participate in Midwest Big Ten Series races. Plus, action from the Pro Modifieds and the second trip to Macon for the High School Racing Association class to complete the schedule. Gates open at 5pm, racing by 7pm.

Feature Rundowns (Top 10’s)

Decatur Building Trades Pro Late Models

A Feature 1 20 Laps | 00:08:25.006

1. 25-Dakota Ewing[Warrensburg, IL]; 2. 14J-Braden Johnson[Taylorville, IL]; 3. 11-Ryan Miller[Lincoln, IL]; 4. 9B-Brandon Miller[Lincoln, IL]; 5. 64-Donny Koehler[Macon, IL]

Red’s Place Modifieds

A Feature 1 20 Laps | 00:15:15.683

1. 99-Tim Luttrell[Riverton, IL]; 2. J24-Jeremy Nichols[Findlay, IL]; 3. 87C-Alan Crowder[Elwin, IL]; 4. 11-Zach Rhodes[Taylorville, IL]; 5. 4M-Clint Martin[Ramsey, IL]; 6. 33-Josh Robb[Mt. Zion, IL]; 7. 94-Mark Clary[Edwardsville, IL]; 8. 98-Danny Smith[Argenta, IL]; 9. 28S-Joe Strawkas[Buffalo, IL]; 10. 71-Jeff Graham[Stonington, IL]

DIRTcar Pro Mods

A Feature 1 15 Laps | 00:05:54.498

1. 4T-Guy Taylor[Springfield, IL]; 2. 78-Maxx Emerson[Taylorville, IL]; 3. 27-Dalton Ewing[Decatur, IL]; 4. 360-John Seets III[Brighton, IL]; 5. 10-Adam Rhoades[Clinton, IL]; 6. Z24-Zach Taylor[Springfield, IL]; 7. 14E-Evan Lynch[Hillsboro, IL]; 8. 8-Brayden Beiler[Blue Mound, IL]; 9. 01-Chris Erwin[Bement, IL]; 10. 12-Gage Lee[Decatur, IL]

DIRTcar Sportsman

A Feature 1 15 Laps | 00:15:19.083

1. 87-Wes O'Dell[Springfield, IL]; 2. 84L-Jim Farley III[Springfield, IL]; 3. 18-Jeff Ray[Springfield, IL]; 4. 25-Dennis Vander Meersch[Springfield, IL]; 5. 21C-Ed Cleeton[Tovey, IL]; 6. 46-Randy Huffman[Maroa, IL]; 7. 41-Scott Landers[Taylorville, IL]; 8. 55-Tim Riech[Petersburg, IL]; 9. 12M-Terry Myers[Buffalo, IL]; 10. 14-Cole Landers[Taylorville, IL]

DIRTcar Street Stocks

A Feature 1 15 Laps | 00:08:27.791

1. 67Z-Jeremy Nichols[Findlay, IL]; 2. 11-Terry Reed[Cerro Gordo, IL]; 3. 08-Brian R Dasenbrock[Decatur, IL]; 4. 21-Jaret Duff[Maroa, IL]; 5. 17-Bobby Beiler[Blue Mound, IL]; 6. 14-Gene Reed[Hammond, IL]; 7. 78B-Brad Peters[Stonington, IL]; 8. 16JR-Carson Reed[Hammond, IL]; 9. 24-Aiden Ballinger[Lovington, IL]; 10. 187-Korey Bailey[Stonington, IL]

POWRi Engler Machine & Tool Micros By Bailey Chassis

A Feature 1 20 Laps | 00:16:42.147

1. 55S-Daryn Stark[Springfield, IL]; 2. 18-Michael Brummitt[Mt. Zion, IL]; 3. 11-Alex Midkiff[Belleville, IL]; 4. 55H-Hayden Harvey[Warrensburg, IL]; 5. 40-Devin Feger[East Peoria, IL]; 6. 17-Molly Day[East Peoria, IL]; 7. 4R-Kameron Romack[Ashmore, IL]; 8. 6-Cliff Powell[Hannibal, MO]; 9. 4-Wyatt Walters[Ashmore, IL]; 10. 41K-Karter Lane[Bloomington, IL]

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