Early Entries Coming In For Lincoln Speedway DIRTcar Fall Nationals
(Lincoln, IL) It’s officially race week for the 27th running of the DIRTcar Fall Nationals at Lincoln Speedway and the early entries continue to pour in. The ¼-mile track, located at the Logan County Fairgrounds in Lincoln, IL, is playing host to the season ending national event for the third season in-a-row.
While the weekend begins on Thursday with a late afternoon/evening practice for all divisions, the actual race nights are set for Friday, September 30 and Saturday, October 1. Friday’s action will feature DIRTcar Pro Late Models, Modifieds, Pro Modifieds, and Stock Cars (Street Stocks). Saturday’s action will see DIRTcar Super Late Models, Pro Late Models, Modifieds, Pro Modifieds, and Sport Compacts (Hornets).
The headline class of the weekend will be the DIRTcar Super Late Models, which will be running on Saturday night in a race paying $3,000 to win and $300 to start. One of the early entries to the delight of many fans is veteran driver, Steve Sheppard, of New Berlin, IL. Sheppard made his racing return at Fairbury Speedway a few weeks ago and is set to get back behind the wheel this weekend at Lincoln. Other early entries or those expressing intentions of competing at Lincoln include Ryan Unzicker, Brian Diveley, Kevin Weaver, Jake Little, Rusty Griffaw, Blaze Burwell, Brandon King, Jeff Herzog, Blaise Baker, Steve Fairbanks, Cody Maguire, and Michael Maestas. Many others are expected to enter later this week or on raceday.
The DIRTcar Pro Late Models have a doubleheader weekend scheduled which will see a full show Friday and a full show Saturday, each race paying $1,000 to win. Early entries include Michigan drivers Scott Wenell and Troy Marciniak as well as Illinois drivers Colby Sheppard, Roben Huffman, Ryan Miller, Aaron Heck, Damon Heck, Michael Maestas, Cody Maguire, Blaise Baker, Jammie Wilson, and Cameron Reynolds.
The DIRTcar Modifieds will also be racing full shows on Friday night ($1,000 to win) as well as Saturday night ($1,500 to win). Leading the list of early entries is Lincoln Speedway track champion, Brandon Roberts. Other entries from Illinois include Guy Taylor, Talen Beard, Brian Bielong, Brandon Bollinger, Brayden Bowman, Zach Bunning, Alan Crowder, Austin Friedman, Tim Luttrell, Austin Lynn, Brian Lynn, Caden McWhorter, Danny Schwartz, and Jarrett Stryker. St. Louis, MO driver Kenny Wallace will also be in action. Once other early entries and those who sign up on race day arrive, the Modified class is expected to be stout.
The DIRTcar Pro Modified class looks like it will again be strong at this year’s Fall Nationals. Nearly 20 entries have already been turned in with many more expected. The class will have a full show Friday ($600 to win) as well as one on Saturday ($750 to win). Leading the list of pre-entries is current national point leader Deece Schwartz, from Ashmore, IL and point runner-up Guy Taylor from Springfield, IL. Other Illinois drivers currently entered include Austin Seets, Zach Taylor, Billy Adams, Brian Burns, Kevin Crowder, Maxx Emerson, James Hileman, Cole Knebel, Matt Milner, Ethan Orman, Josh Orman, Taryn Page, Drew Schwartz, and Ryan Timmons. Currently representing Missouri are Robby Keen, Brandon Menke, and Brian Vinson.
For the DIRTcar Stock Cars (Street Stocks) and DIRTcar Sport Compacts (Hornets) teams don’t save any money by pre-registering early but can save some time at the track. A few drivers that have taken advantage of online early entry in the Stock Car Friday night event are Jaret Duff, Megan Erwin, and Zane Reitz. The feature will pay $750 to win and $75 to start.
In the Sport Compacts, there is no car entry fee for the Saturday night event and pay will be $500 to win and $50 to start. Those who have filed early entries include Allan Harris, Nick Johnson, and Kadien Armour.
Optional Thursday practice will begin at 5:30 with pits opening 90 minutes earlier at 4:00 PM. On Friday, pits will open at 3:00, grandstands at 4:00, with practice/qualifying at 6:00, and racing to follow. Saturday will see everything an hour earlier with pits opening at 2:00, grandstands at 3:00, with practice/qualifying at 5:00, and racing to follow.
Grandstand admission is $20 for Friday, $25 for Saturday, and $5 off for a 2-day ticket at $40. Kids 11 and under are free both days.
The full comp guide for competitors is available at https://lincolnspeedwayil.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Fall-Nationals-22-Competitor-Guide-September-29-October-1.pdf, while online early registration is available at https://www.myracepass.com/series/2056/registrations/6462.
For more detailed information, visit www.lincolnspeedwayil.com.