CONCORD, NC – May 25, 2012 – Jim Moon of Zionsville, Ill., vaulted to the top of the DIRTcar UMP Late Model national standings while Devin Gilpin of Columbus, Ind., maintained his number-one spot in the UMP Modified national rankings after the completion of Week 17 action on the circuit.

The 40-year-old Moon – known as the ‘Moon Man’ in Midwestern racing circles – advanced from third to first in the Late Model national points race. He turned a 62-point deficit into a 10-point lead (1,002-992) over veteran Kevin Weaver of Gibson City, Ill.

Moon authored pedestrian results last week, finishing 17th on May 18 at Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, Ill., and eighth on both May 19 at Macon (Ill.) Speedway and May 20 at Quincy (Ill.) Raceways. But he moved to the catbird’s seat in the standings because his 21 counted races are the most to date in the Late Model division, which has its points determined using drivers’ best 35 finishes/points nights.

Moon is winless this season, but he has a pair of runner-up finishes – one at Clarksville (Tenn.) Speedway and one at Belle-Clair.
Weaver also moved up two spots in the standings, surging from fourth to second. He scored his fifth overall win of the season on May 18 at Kankakee (Ill.) County Speedway and finished fifth on Fairbury (Ill.) American Legion Speedway.

Dewayne Kiefer of St. Genevieve, Mo., fell from first to third in the standings, ending the week trailing Moon by 21 points. He experienced a rough weekend, finishing 18th on May 18 at Belle-Clair and 23rd on May 19 at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, Mo.

Gilpin, meanwhile, remained at the helm of the UMP Modified national points race. He extended his lead in the standings from 46 to 71 points (1,339-1,268) over Nick Allen of Wheatfield, Ind.

Gilpin, who has made 22 counted starts toward a UMP Modified points race that is determined using drivers’ best 30 finishes/points nights, recorded runner-up finishes on May 18 at Moler Raceway Park in Williamsburg, Ohio, and May 19 at Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway.

Allen, who has 19 sanctioned starts to his credit, was victorious on May 18 at Kankakee but slipped to an 18th-place finish the following evening at Shadyhill Speedway in Medaryville, Ind. It marked the second straight weekend that Allen won at Kankakee and then recorded a poor finish at Shadyhill just 24 hours later.
Other divisional national points leaders through Week 17 are Evan Taylor of Woodlawn, Tenn. (Pro Late Models); Troy Clark of North Vernon, Ind. (Sportsman); Rob Lee of Sorento, Ill. (Limited Modifieds); A.J. Wright of Danville, Ill. (Stock Cars); Stephen Fohre of Troy, Ill. (Factory Stocks); and Blayne Ellis of Evansville, Ind. (Sport Compacts).

Log on to www.DirtCar.com for more information on DIRTcar Racing’s UMP circuit and to view complete points standings for all divisions, including the current State points rankings.

The weekly DIRTcar UMP points update is powered by www.MotorStats.com. DIRTcar’s affiliation with the Durham, N.C.-based Web site is providing fans and competitors a more timely and detailed look at the points standings. National and State points standings for all divisions are typically updated by Thursday each week, and new features allow visitors to click on each driver’s name to see a complete race-by-race review of their finishes to date.

DIRTcar Racing UMP National Points Standings (as of May 20, 2012):
Late Models (rank/driver/races counted/points):
1. Jim Moon 21 1002
2. Kevin Weaver 16 992
3. Dewayne Kiefer 18 981
4. Scott Schmitt 19 955
5. Brandon Sheppard 16 926
6. Bobby Pierce 17 918
7. Michael Kloos 13 863
8. Ryan Unzicker 15 817
9. Jason McBride 15 801
10. Chris Shelton 17 720
11. Frankie Martin 13 717
12. Rusty Schlenk 12 700
13. Terry English 12 684
14. Scott Bull 12 678
15. Mike Spatola III 13 675
16. Mike Hammerle 16 673
17. Jon Henry 10 658
18. Chad Zobrist 11 657
19. Caleb Ashby 13 653
20. Jason Feger 12 641

UMP Modifieds (rank/driver/races counted/points):
1. Devin Gilpin 22 1339
2. Nick Allen 19 1268
3. Trent Young 24 1265
4. Tyler Nicely 22 1116
5. Jamie Lomax 19 1112
6. JR Mason 20 1023
7. Ray Bollinger 20 984
8. Mike Harrison 17 975
9. Gary Cook Jr. 19 955
10. Dave Wietholder 16 954
11. Kyle Bronson 14 923
12. Bradley Sterrett 15 900
13. Chad Evans 20 889
14. Aaron Kleine 13 872
15. Michael Bolyard 15 836
16. Brian Lynn 17 810
17. Jeff Leka 14 809
18. Clint Demoss 17 803
19. Steven Brooks 20 787
20. Collin Thirlby 17 783
20. Richie Lex 14 783

Pro Late Models (rank/driver/races counted/points):
1. Evan Taylor 18 1040
2. Clayton Miller 13 846
3. Mark Oller 14 830
4. Michael Zimmerman 15 769
5. Credence Mott 17 733
6. Aaron Heck 15 669
7. Evan Fink 12 654
8. Nick Bauman 10 651
9. Bobby Martintoni 11 595
10. Cameron Brown 11 574

Sportsman (rank/driver/races counted/points):
1. Troy Clark 14 852
2. Chad Jeseo 11 687
3. Kenny Carmichael Sr. 13 639
4. Kenny Carmichael Jr. 13 530
5. Shawn Diggs 8 522
6. Wayne Carbo 9 458
7. William Mcroberts 10 439
8. AJ Clark 11 438
9. Jay Corbin 7 437
10. Roy Bruce Jr. 8 432

Limited Modifieds (rank/driver/races counted/points):
1. Rob Lee 8 490
2. Haley Westerfield 12 469
3. Brett Page 9 410
4. Curt Loddeke 9 400
5. Corey Kellems 10 397
6. Tyler Deibert 6 385
7. Tracy Denby Jr. 5 365
8. Rick Johnson 6 361
9. Todd Bates 7 350
10. Marty Smith Jr. 5 325

Stock Cars (rank/driver/races counted/points):
1. AJ Wright 20 1067
2. Darrel Dick 14 786
3. Mike McKinney 11 732
4. Dustin Rollins 11 685
5. Mike Hodges 12 673
6. Kassidi Gibbs 13 620
7. John Farris 10 597
8. Frank Wright 15 596
9. Jeff Semmens 10 573
10. Tyler Blankenship 10 572

Factory Stocks (rank/driver/races counted/points):
1. Stephen Fohne 13 778
2. Mike Epplett 14 777
3. Dennis Bringedahl 12 774
4. Josh Grabe 14 717
5. Spike Grega 13 713
6. Jake Hewitt 10 699
7. Dustin Mcclintock 14 691
8. Josh Sternberg 12 687
9. Mark Farber 14 630
10. Dave Redman 12 581

Sport Compacts (rank/driver/races counted/points):
1. Blayne Ellis 18 1100
2. Jeremy Callahan 14 1035
3. Zach Bollinger 16 985
4. Jacob Rexing 14 911
5. Tyler Benson 14 888
6. Vince Shehorn 14 881
7. Christian Lee 13 851
8. Lynn Lash 15 813
9. Evan Gaultney 15 781
10. Michael Rittenberry 14 689