HomeOpen Wheel Modified NewsAmerican Modified SeriesMike McKinney takes Farmer City Raceway American Modified Series win!

Mike McKinney takes Farmer City Raceway American Modified Series win!

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Mike McKinney – Tyler Carr photo

It’s simply stunning what Mike McKinney’s been able to accomplish in a DIRTcar UMP Modified at Farmer City Raceway this year.

Eight Feature wins at the track coming into Thursday night’s DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment American Modified Series event, nine when the night was complete.

With 25 laps ahead of him and $1,500 on the line, The Magic Man wasted zero time from the drop of the green, plowing through lapped traffic with an all-star cast of UMP Modified talent right behind him. Faced with the #7 of Nick Hoffman on his back, McKinney never flinched and piloted his #96 Elite Chassis to Victory Lane in the caution-free event.

“We didn’t have one caution all race, and those lappers – they weren’t too bad, to be honest,” McKinney said. “Even with it being that slick, I was still able to move up to the middle of the racetrack and run the top of [turns] three and four a few times to get around them and keep my momentum up.”

Starting on the pole, McKinney jumped out to the lead immediately. His biggest threat, however, had to come from just slightly deeper in the field.

Hoffman started seventh and took 11 laps to reach second. Once he did, a bunch of lapped traffic stood in his way, which he was able to clear by Lap 14. Hoffman began to reel in McKinney as they drove through a clear spot in traffic, shaving it down to under a half-second at one point.

“Dad was telling me somebody was close,” McKinney recalled. “I wasn’t 100-percent sure who it was. It’s hard being the leader; you don’t know where the guy’s at.”

“I figured it might have been Nick [Hoffman] or Tyler [Nicely] behind me; I kinda know the line they run. So, I was just trying to protect that bottom as best I could.”

As the laps wound down, McKinney was able to keep his momentum up in traffic just enough to keep Hoffman at bay behind him and led the field back to the checkers for the $1,500 victory. Fortunately, McKinney brought his A-game in lapped traffic, as Hoffman was right on him throughout the race.

“I really didn’t have to mess around behind them too much. It seemed like as soon as I got to them, I was able to get right by them. When you’ve got that #7 car chasing you down and the rest of the field there, you can’t mess around with them too long,” McKinney said.

With the competition level found at Farmer City on a weekly basis, winning just one Feature at the quarter-mile bullring is hard enough, let alone nine. But he’s the current DIRTcar UMP Modified National points leader, so if anyone could have done it this year, McKinney’s the guy. He’s come a long way in the division since his first steps after his 2012 Stock Car National points championship, and now he’s hot on the trail of clinching his first UMP Modified National points title.

“Years ago, I would have never told you I’d have this success here,” McKinney said. “I’ve blown motors here, I’ve flipped here… anything bad that’s happened has happened here. I’ve been close to winning races, but this year seems like I can do no wrong.”

UP NEXT

The Summit Racing Equipment American Modified Series action continues from the Farmer City Raceway Friday night in round two of action of the Farmer City 74 weekend. A 30-lap, $2,500-to-win Feature is on tap for the Modifieds.

MODIFIEDA FEATURE 1

Finish Start # Competitor Hometown +/-
1 1 96M Mike McKinney Mike McKinney Plainfield, IL
2 7 7 Nick Hoffman Nick Hoffman Mooresville, NC 5
3 2 25 Tyler Nicely Tyler Nicely Owensboro, KY -1
4 3 21D Danny Schwartz Danny Schwartz Ashmore, IL -1
5 4 45 Kyle Hammer Kyle Hammer Clinton, IL -1
6 6 3L Jeff Leka Jeff Leka Buffalo, IL
7 11 25W Allen Weisser Allen Weisser Peoria, IL 4
8 9 24H Mike Harrison Mike Harrison Highland, IL 1
9 10 4 Victor Lee Victor Lee Danville, KY 1
10 12 77 Ray Bollinger Ray Bollinger Kewanee, IL 2
11 15 35 David Stremme David Stremme Mooresville, NC 4
12 14 5 Steven Brooks Steven Brooks Douglasville, GA 2
13 16 T6 Tommy Sheppard Tommy Sheppard Berlin, IL 3
14 8 36 Kenny Wallace Kenny Wallace St. Louis, MO -6
15 19 1KS Keith Smith Keith Smith Stanton, KY 4
16 17 59R Jacob Rexing Jacob Rexing Brighton, IL 1
17 22 81C Chris Cole Chris Cole Evansville, IN 5
18 18 21 Troy Dodson Troy Dodson Hammond, IL
19 21 81 Mark Cole Mark Cole Evansville, IN 2
20 13 63 Dustin King Dustin King Charleston, IL -7
21 5 5S Alan Stipp Alan Stipp Forrest, IL -16
22 20 327 Dustin Bruce Dustin Bruce Bloomington, IN -2
23 23 01 Don Kiger Don Kiger Tilton, IL
0 Laps

MODIFIEDB FEATURE 1

Finish Start # Competitor Hometown +/-
1 7 59R Jacob Rexing Jacob Rexing Brighton, IL 6
2 8 21 Troy Dodson Troy Dodson Hammond, IL 6
3 10 1KS Keith Smith Keith Smith Stanton, KY 7
4 4 327 Dustin Bruce Dustin Bruce Bloomington, IN
Top 4 transfer
5 3 83 Kasey Schrock Kasey Schrock Ashmore, IL -2
6 11 81C Chris Cole Chris Cole Evansville, IN 5
7 15 81 Mark Cole Mark Cole Evansville, IN 8
8 14 10 Jason Highley Jason Highley Terre Haute, IN 6
9 1 1S Brian Shaw Brian Shaw Robinson, IL -8
10 12 01 Don Kiger Don Kiger Tilton, IL 2
11 2 32 Donovan Lodge Donovan Lodge Andover, IL -9
12 5 K19 Will Krup Will Krup Mt. Carmel, IL -7
13 13 12 Wyatt Harms Wyatt Harms Fairbury, IL
DNS 6 1A Steve Meyer Jr Steve Meyer Jr Stanton, IL
DNS 9 242 Brandon Bollinger Brandon Bollinger Kewanee, IL
DNS 16 19C Jeremy Nichols Jeremy Nichols Lovington, IL
0 Laps

MODIFIEDHEAT 1

Finish Start # Competitor Hometown +/-
1 1 45 Kyle Hammer Kyle Hammer Clinton, IL
2 3 5S Alan Stipp Alan Stipp Forrest, IL 1
3 2 24H Mike Harrison Mike Harrison Highland, IL -1
4 6 63 Dustin King Dustin King Charleston, IL 2
Top 4 transfer
5 5 1S Brian Shaw Brian Shaw Robinson, IL
6 4 K19 Will Krup Will Krup Mt. Carmel, IL -2
7 DNF 7 242 Brandon Bollinger Brandon Bollinger Kewanee, IL
8 DNF 8 12 Wyatt Harms Wyatt Harms Fairbury, IL
0 Laps

MODIFIEDHEAT 2

Finish Start # Competitor Hometown +/-
1 2 25 Tyler Nicely Tyler Nicely Owensboro, KY 1
2 1 7 Nick Hoffman Nick Hoffman Mooresville, NC -1
3 3 25W Allen Weisser Allen Weisser Peoria, IL
4 5 35 David Stremme David Stremme Mooresville, NC 1
Top 4 transfer
5 6 83 Kasey Schrock Kasey Schrock Ashmore, IL 1
6 4 59R Jacob Rexing Jacob Rexing Brighton, IL -2
7 8 81C Chris Cole Chris Cole Evansville, IN 1
8 7 81 Mark Cole Mark Cole Evansville, IN -1
0 Laps

MODIFIEDHEAT 3

Finish Start # Competitor Hometown +/-
1 1 96M Mike McKinney Mike McKinney Plainfield, IL
2 2 3L Jeff Leka Jeff Leka Buffalo, IL
3 5 4 Victor Lee Victor Lee Danville, KY 2
4 3 5 Steven Brooks Steven Brooks Douglasville, GA -1
Top 4 transfer
5 4 32 Donovan Lodge Donovan Lodge Andover, IL -1
6 6 1A Steve Meyer Jr Steve Meyer Jr Stanton, IL
7 7 1KS Keith Smith Keith Smith Stanton, KY
8 8 10 Jason Highley Jason Highley Terre Haute, IN
0 Laps

MODIFIEDHEAT 4

Finish Start # Competitor Hometown +/-
1 1 21D Danny Schwartz Danny Schwartz Ashmore, IL
2 2 36 Kenny Wallace Kenny Wallace St. Louis, MO
3 3 77 Ray Bollinger Ray Bollinger Kewanee, IL
4 5 T6 Tommy Sheppard Tommy Sheppard Berlin, IL 1
Top 4 transfer
5 7 327 Dustin Bruce Dustin Bruce Bloomington, IN 2
6 6 21 Troy Dodson Troy Dodson Hammond, IL
7 8 01 Don Kiger Don Kiger Tilton, IL 1
8 DNF 4 19C Jeremy Nichols Jeremy Nichols Lovington, IL -4
0 Laps

MODIFIEDQUALIFYING 1

Finish Start # Competitor Hometown Time
1 4 45 Kyle Hammer Kyle Hammer Clinton, IL 14.130
2 12 7 Nick Hoffman Nick Hoffman Mooresville, NC 14.160
3 25 24H Mike Harrison Mike Harrison Highland, IL 14.210
4 8 25 Tyler Nicely Tyler Nicely Owensboro, KY 14.280
5 22 5S Alan Stipp Alan Stipp Forrest, IL 14.290
6 5 21D Danny Schwartz Danny Schwartz Ashmore, IL 14.360
7 17 25W Allen Weisser Allen Weisser Peoria, IL 14.380
8 29 3L Jeff Leka Jeff Leka Buffalo, IL 14.380
9 2 K19 Will Krup Will Krup Mt. Carmel, IL 14.390
10 26 59R Jacob Rexing Jacob Rexing Brighton, IL 14.400
11 20 36 Kenny Wallace Kenny Wallace St. Louis, MO 14.480
12 23 5 Steven Brooks Steven Brooks Douglasville, GA 14.510
13 10 77 Ray Bollinger Ray Bollinger Kewanee, IL 14.520
14 9 1S Brian Shaw Brian Shaw Robinson, IL 14.550
15 30 32 Donovan Lodge Donovan Lodge Andover, IL 14.560
16 13 19C Jeremy Nichols Jeremy Nichols Lovington, IL 14.570
17 3 4 Victor Lee Victor Lee Danville, KY 14.620
18 15 35 David Stremme David Stremme Mooresville, NC 14.650
19 19 63 Dustin King Dustin King Charleston, IL 14.670
20 21 T6 Tommy Sheppard Tommy Sheppard Berlin, IL 14.670
21 6 1A Steve Meyer Jr Steve Meyer Jr Stanton, IL 14.720
22 32 96M Mike McKinney Mike McKinney Plainfield, IL 14.750
23 18 21 Troy Dodson Troy Dodson Hammond, IL 14.770
24 31 1KS Keith Smith Keith Smith Stanton, KY 14.770
25 7 83 Kasey Schrock Kasey Schrock Ashmore, IL 14.900
26 14 242 Brandon Bollinger Brandon Bollinger Kewanee, IL 14.950
27 28 81 Mark Cole Mark Cole Evansville, IN 15.010
28 16 12 Wyatt Harms Wyatt Harms Fairbury, IL 15.110
29 11 327 Dustin Bruce Dustin Bruce Bloomington, IN 15.190
30 1 10 Jason Highley Jason Highley Terre Haute, IN 15.220
31 27 81C Chris Cole Chris Cole Evansville, IN 15.280
32 24 01 Don Kiger Don Kiger Tilton, IL 15.310
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