8/23/2020
Merritt Speedway
Feger Wins $10,000 in Hell Tour Finale at Merritt Speedway
8/23/2020: (Lake City, MI): The Merritt Speedway was the host of the championship race for the UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals Hell Tour this past Saturday night. The traveling Midwestern Late Model tour hosted its championship race for the first time ever at the 1/4-mile dirt oval in Lake City, Michigan. The traveling cars and stars battled for a big $10,000 to win paycheck. The show also featured a $1,500 to win feature for the Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals. Plus, the Auto Value Pro Stocks, Lake City Materials Factory Stocks, and XLT Engineering 4 & 6 Cylinders were all part of the show racing for increased payouts.
The Auto Value Pro Stocks started off the night’s A-Main feature events. Nate Murphy and Andrew Steele led the field onto the racing surface for the 20-lap affair. Murphy was able to grab the lead after the completion of the first lap. He would be able to fend off all the competition and lead the entire race from start to finish. This was the fourth win of the season for Murphy, the 31-year old driver from Coleman, Michigan driving the American Sewer Cleaners #69. Adam Erickson finished second. 18-year old Austin Harnick, 19-year old Danielle Robinson, and Steele rounded out the top five. Michael Hillard and Tim Murphy won the preliminary heat races.
The Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals rolled out for a 25-lap main paying $1,500 to win. This was the twenty second event for the traveling modified tour. Curt Spalding (Watervilet, MI) and Will Krup (Mount Carmel, IL) led the field to the green flag. The event would go green to checkered with no stoppages. Krup was able to hold the lead all the way through despite a tough challenge from two-time series champion Nick Hoffman in the final 5 laps. This was the fourth win of the season for the native of Mount Carmel, Illinois, he finished just ahead of Hoffman who took second. Hunt Gossum, Jeff Erickson Jr., and Spalding finished out the top five. Krup, Brian Brindley, Hoffman, and Spalding won the heat races. 2011-UMP DIRTcar Michigan State Champion Jacob Poel won the last chance showdown.
The UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals entered the speedway for their season championship race paying $10,000 to win going 50-laps. Travis Stemler (Ionia, MI) and Jason Feger (Bloomington, IL) brought the field down to chief starter Randy Hose’s green flag. Feger stormed off with the lead after first circuit. There would be hard position battles throughout the event. However, they was no stopping Feger as he would lead all they way to the checkered flag. This was the first win since 2018 on the hell tour for the 42-year old driver from Bloomington, Illinois. Ryan Gustin (Marshalltown, IA) finished in the runner up position. Dona Marcoullier, Greg Gokey, and 2019-track champion David Mielke completed the top five. The heat races were won by Gokey, Feger, and Stemler. The last chance showdown was won by Cody Bauer.
The Lake City Materials Factory Stocks squared off in a 20-lap feature event led by Brendan Powell and Jason Begeman in a $1,000 to win special. Powell took the early lead after seeing the green flag drop. Things would heat up in the final laps of the race. Powell, who led from the start would end up in a three-car battle coming to the checkered flag with 2016-track champion Jim Miller Jr. and Jake Thompson. Miller would take the win after weaving his way up through the field from a 10th place starting position. This was the second win of the year for the 38-year old driver from Clio, Michigan driving the Performance Auto #9. Powell was forced to settle for second. Thompson, Eric Lake, and Begeman rounded out the top five. Chuck Powell, Chad Stanton, and Lake were the heat race winners.
The final race of the night was the 15-lap $300 to win main event for the XLT Engineering 4 & 6 Cylinders. Brandon Nichols (Whittamore, MI) and Travis Skaggs (Mancelona, MI) started on the front row. Skaggs took the lead in the early stages. Things would change on lap 6 when a hard charging Katie Robinson would take the lead for herself. Robinson would go on from there to pick up the win. This was the first win of the year for the 13-year old Robinson in the Fire Rite #15. Skaggs took second. Chris Wassman, Robert Hankinson, and David Harrington capped off the top five. 16-year old Dylan Vermilyea, Wassman, and Robinson won the heats.
Merritt Speedway will return next Saturday August 29th with a full show. The Soaring Eagle UMP DIRTcar Late Models will face off for a $2,500 to win feature. The show will also include the Cadillac Tire Center UMP DIRTcar Modifieds, Diesel Freak B-Modifieds, Auto Value Pro Stocks, Lake City Materials Factory Stocks, XLT Engineering 4 & 6 Cylinders, and the Allstar Performance Mini-Wedges. Stay tuned to the Merritt Speedway Facebook page for the latest updates on next Saturday and all future events.
Article Credit: Brian Osborne
Submitted By: Brian Osborne