By BZ

(Macon, IL) Jake Neuman scored his second Macon Speedway Midget race win of the 2020 season and first during the POWRi touring series as part of the Illinois Speed Weekend. Neuman, who started front row outside, overcame leader Michael Kofoid and Cannon McIntosh in the battle for the top spot. With the action all over the track, thanks to 24 starting POWRi Midgets starting the 30-lap feature race, Neuman took advantage of a miscue by Kofoid with ten laps remaining to snatch the lead and finish the race.

Kofoid took the lead from McIntosh early in the race and looked to be the heavy favorite to win after also taking the checkered flag Friday night in Lincoln at the start of the Illinois Speed Weekend. As the top of the track grew difficult and bumpy, Kofoid slid to the top of the second turn and slowed down which allowed Neuman to take the advantage. Despite a second-place finish, Kofoid was leading at the halfway point which entitled him to the Phil Sargent Memorial $100 bonus.

With a full night of 35 POWRi Midgets, the night only saw two flips. One in a heat race in which the driver was able to restart the car and continue the race and the other in the feature. Daison Purlsey took a tumble in the fourth turn on lap 7 and surprisingly was able to continue and finished with a top ten end.

The POWRi Micro Sprints drivers kept all four wheels on the ground for the entire night and Mt. Zion’s Tony Clifton took the first place finish with thanks to a wreck that would take the leader out of the race. Jeremy Camp was flying around the 1/5th mile dirt oval and looked like a solid lock for the win. An accident which involved Camp with soon-to-be lapped cars cost Camp the lead and Clifton inherited the lead as the second place car. Clifton ran away from Cole Tinsley who was making up ground quickly as the second place finisher.

Nick Macklin scored his second feature win in the Archer’s Alley Street Stock class. Macklin was out in front of Bobby Beiler as the race got started. Beiler has been the winner of the past three-straight feature wins in the division and has been the driver to beat in the class. Beiler got slowed and stopped in the fourth turn and was forced to restart from the back of the field. Beiler would rebound nicely and finish seventh of the 16-car starting field. Macklin ran the top side of the track to the checkered flag, his first since mid-July.

Defending track champion Tommy Sheppard, Jr. jumped out on top quickly in the BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds group and ran away for the win. His second win of the month helped his push in the points standings. While Sheppard was running away from the field, Rodney Standerfer racing in Curt Rhodes’ #10, finished in second place. A cluster of cars ran for the third place spot which was finished off by Billy Knebel, then Zach Rhodes, Jeff Graham and Clark Robertson.

The night ended with the Hornets and Brady Reed taking another checkered flag. Reed started 11th in the 11-car field as the Hornets division has the unique rule of the previous week’s winner starting at the back of the group in the next week’s race. Reed put his foot down early and caught up to Allan Harris and Ken Reed as they battled for the lead. However, Reed made the pass for the lead and was in charge by lap five of the 15-lap feature.The win was his third of the year and second in a row.

The lone visit on the abbreviated schedule was a good one for the POWRi divisions with better than 60 open wheel cars ready to race. The Macon Speedway stock cars helped add the night’s total to over 100 cars again during its Saturday night events.Another week of Midget racing comes next Saturday night with the IMCA Midgets coming to the track. A full slate of stock car racing is expected with the Pro Late Models, BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds, Archer’s Alley Street Stocks, Pro Modifieds and Hornets joining in to finish off the August part of the schedule.

 Feature Rundowns (Top 10’s)

POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League

1) 2 +1 Jake Neuman New Berlin, IL 3N 2) 6 +4 Michael Kofoid Penngrove, CA 67 3) 1 -2 Cannon McIntosh Bixby, OK 71K 4) 13 +9 Mitchell Davis Auburn, IL 56D 5) 4 -1 Zach Daum Pocahontas, IL 21 6) 5 -1 Jerry Coons Jr Tucson, AZ 85 7) 3 -4 Kaylee Bryson Muskogee, OK 71 8) 8 – Trey Gropp Lincoln, NE 00 9) 10 +1 Daison Pursley Locust Grove, OK 9 10) 14 +4 Joey Wirth Waterloo, IL 77W

 POWRi Engler Machine & Tool Micro League

1) Tony Clifton Mt. Zion, IL 23C 2) Cole Tinsley Bonne Terre, MO 3) Reece Saldana Pittsboro, IN 17 4) Scotty Milan Fort Collins, CO 97 5) Trevin Littleton Jacksonville, IL 44T 6) Bryant Wiedeman Colby, KS 1 7) Christopher Townsend La Porte, TX 6 8) Joe B Miller Millerville, MO 51B 9) Elizabeth Phillips Bixby, OK 08K 10) Brenham Crouch Lubbock, TX 1B

 BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds

 1) 5 +4 Tommy Sheppard Jr New Berlin, IL T6 2) 10 +8 Rodney Standerfer Summerfield, IL 10 3) 9 +6 Billy Knebel Pocahontas, IL 52 4) 2 -2 Zach Rhodes Taylorville, IL 11 5) 14 +9 Jeff Graham Stonington, IL 71 6) 7 +1 Clark Robertson Shelbyville, IL 35 7) 13 +6 John Goveia Riverton, IL 4G 8) 1 -7 Alan Crowder Elwin, IL 87C 9) (DNF) 6 -3 Clint Martin Ramsey, IL 54 10) (DNF) 15 +5 William Jackson Vandalia, IL 95

Archers Alley Street Stocks

1) 1 – Nick Macklin Argenta, IL 16 2) 3 +1 Wes Biesenthal Athens, IL 14 3) 7 +4 Jaret Duff Maroa, IL 21 4) 12 +8 Rudy Zaragoza Jacksonville, IL 67 5) 13 +8 Jonathon Hall Harristown, IL 3J 6) 2 -4 Dustin Reed Decatur, IL 21R 7) 4 -3 Bobby Beiler Blue Mound, IL B26 8) 5 -3 Ryan Blankenship Harristown, IL 13 9) 15 +6 Brian Dasenbrock Jr Decatur, IL 80 10) 9 -1 Shawn Ziemer Boody, IL 23Z

 DIRTcar Hornets

 1) 11 +10 Brady Reed Decatur, IL 32B 2) 2 – Ken Reed Decatur, IL 98 3) 4 +1 Allan Harris Chatham, IL 3H 4) 5 +1 Joe McChristy Mt Zion, IL 21M 5) (DNF) 7 +2 Cole Johnson Assumption, IL 51 6) (DNF) 3 -3 Bill Basso Athens, IL 44 7) (DNF) 8 +1 Carson Dart Springfield, IL 66D 8) (DNF) 6 -2 Cook Crawford Lincoln, IL 1 9) (DNF) 9 – Billy Mason Brownstown, IL 357 10) (DNF) 10 – Marty Sullivan Decatur, IL 39M