By Brett Zerfowski
(Macon, IL) As the season winds down and special races get featured, new winners were crowned in the winner’s circle at Macon Speedway.
For the first time in 2012, the Billingsley Towing Modifieds qualified and with the thanks for SNS Auto Sales & Deco Manufacturing, the fastest qualifier earned a $100 bonus. Danny Smith of Argenta was the fastest qualifier among the 20 qualifiers, posting a time of 12.375.
With that, Smith started on the pole for the heat, which he won, and started on the pole for the feature and nearly swept the show but a late charge from Blue Mound’s Cory Daughtery took away that opportunity. Daugherty took away the lead and got the win on the 14th lap and received the special $600-to-win check.
Springfield’s Guy Taylor, who was the points leader entering the evening, made the pass for second ahead of Smith for the final at the end of the event. Steve Ewing was quick for fourth and Jeff Graham of Taylorville rounded out the top five.
Al Crawley, known as “Mr. Excitement” as a Modifieds driver back in the 1980s and 1990s, returned to victory lane with a Sportsman division win. Racing with leader Scott Landers for the top spot, Landers was tangled with a lapped car and lost the lead to Crawley, he would eventually finish sixth. Crawley then raced with Tim Bedinger for the lead and Danny Smith took third. Nick Macklin was fourth and Nick Justice, who started last, finished fifth.
The Street Stock feature was an adventure from start to finish as the drivers couldn’t find a way to start racing with four-straight cautions to open the race with no laps complete and then on the fourth restart the drivers put together 12-straight green flag laps to end the race with Michael Pundt, Jr. taking his second feature win of 2012. Coming from the top side against last week’s winner Nick Macklin, Pundt paved the way and grabbed the lead halfway through and held on for the checkered flag. Kevin Crowder worked his way through the lapped traffic for second, Macklin was third, Terry Reed edged Larry Russell, Jr. for fourth.
Macon Speedway was featured with the Mini Sprints for the first time in a while. Though not a POWRi show, the Mini Sprints brought 25 open wheel cars and raced a 20-lap feature which was won by Aaron Andruskevitch. Andruskevitch won for the second time at Macon Speedway this season, the first coming during the POWRi visit on June 23rd. He was challenged by Nic Harris and Jeremy Camp late in the race but would not give up the lead. Trey Datweiler started 18th and finished fourth.
In the 4-cylinder Hornets divisions, Billy Justice led all ten laps for the victory, his fourth of 2012, to close the gap on the Pro Hornet Championship situation, and Dillon Justice was a first-time winner in the Amateur class.
Macon Speedway wishes to thank Decatur Memorial Hospital (DMH) for coming and helping sponsor the evening with the Breast Cancer Awareness Night. Fans were welcomed to the track by crew wearing pink t-shirts and were offered a pink flamingo to use as a lawn decoration in support in the fight against breast cancer.
The next show at Macon Speedway is the UMP Super Late Model Championship Night on September 22nd along with a full stock car racing show. The season concludes a week later with the POWRi Midgets & Micro Sprints and a full stock car racing show.