There was nearly as much action off the track as there was on the track Friday night at Lincoln Speedway as the QuickCar Dirt Late Model Series made its’ inaugural visit to the 1/4-mile dirt oval located in Central Illinois. With an impressive turnout of 29 entries passing through technical inspection prior to the night’s first race, it was the post-race inspection that stole the spotlight and ultimately the victory that appeared to belong to Matt Taylor, who dominated most of the race.
Veteran driver Steve Lance of Cuba, IL was declared the QuickCar Dirt Late Model Series victor despite never leading even one lap. It was Springfield’s Taylor who jumped to the point from his outside pole starting position, and in fact would lead every lap of the 25-lap main event that drew 29 cars from as far away as Tennessee. Taylor would control much of the feature event in a dominating fashion but would have his hands full late after Lance mounted a serious challenge, in part thanks to several late race cautions and lapped traffic. Defending UMP National Champion Aaron Heck of Mount Vernon, IL would charge up from the tenth spot on the grid to claim third, while Brad Denney and Dave Polak Jr. would round of the top five.
However, both Taylor and Heck were disqualified for using a non-conforming part during post-race technical inspection amongst the top five finishers inspected, thus handing the victory to Lance, who himself was found to have a non-conforming tire during pre-race technical inspection. Lance initially was not pleased with the pre-race ruling but purchased a new left front tire prior to racing that ultimately would find himself holding the $1,000 winners check at night’s end. After learning of the disqualifcations Lance stated “it’s good that he (Series President Tom Smith) stood up and stuck to his guns on this. He’ll gain more drivers in the future because of this” he added. Several other top drivers shared his sentiment.
The entire field was moved up two positions giving Denney runner-up honors and Polak Jr. third place. Shawn Diggs of LeRoy, IL would then claim fourth while 2013 national runner-up Nick Bauman would claim fifth after having won the consolation race and starting sixteenth.
Bauman would score the last chance consolation triumph over Logan Moody, Kolby Vandenbergh, Cody Watters, and Chad Osterhoff.
Heat races were won by Myles Moos, Taylor, and Denney.
Summary of Results (29 entries)
Heat 1 (8-laps, Top 5 to A) – 84 Myles Moos, 34 Jeremy McLaughlin, 25 Steve Lance, 59 Aaron Heck, 1A Levi Ashby
Heat 2 (8-laps, Top 5 to A) – 4T Matt Taylor, 17M Matt Beadles, 33H Roben Huffman, 15x Steve Shannon, T6 Tommy Sheppard
Heat 3 (8-laps, Top 5 to A) – 11 Brad Denney, 95 Dave Polak Jr., 78 Shawn Diggs, 47 Zach Waibel, 14 Braden Johnson
B Main (10-laps, Top 5 to A) – B1 Nick Bauman, 162 Logan Moody, 15v Kolby Vandenbergh, 38 Cody Watters, 10 Chad Osterhoff
Provisonals went to Doug Hayes (attended Clarksville race), Bill Gianetti (QuickCar membership) and Josh Cooley (QuickCar membership)
Others who failed to make the field included Jose Parga, Austin Simpson, Andy Minett, Trevor Nickel, Jim Weber, and Josh Highley.
A Main (25-laps, $1,000 to win)
1. 25 Steve Lance (4) $1,000
2. 11 Brad Denney (6) $600
3. 95 Dave Polak Jr. (3) $400
4. 78 Shawn Diggs (9) $350
5. B1 Nick Bauman (16) $300
6. 33H Roben Huffman (5) $250
7. 162 Logan Moody (17) $200
8. 10 Chad Osterhoff (20) $175
9. T6 Tommy Sheppard (14) $150
10. 15v Kolby Vandenbergh (18) $125
11. 17M Matt Beadles (8) $100
12. 84 Myles Moos (1) $100
13. 23 Doug Hayes (21) $100
14. 17G Bill Gianetti (22) $100
15. 47 Zach Waibel (15) $100
16. 14 Braden Johnson (12) $100
17. 1A Levi Ashby (13) DNF $100
18. 9 Josh Cooley (23) DNF $100
19. 38 Cody Watters (19) DNF $100
20. 34 Jeremy McLaughlin (7) DNF $100
21. 15x Steve Shannon (11) DNF $100
22. 4T Matt Taylor (2) DQ $0
23. 59 Aaron Heck (10) DQ $0