5/18/2024
Dillon McCowan
Dillon McCowan banks $5,012 in first-career MARS victory at Kankakee County Speedway
Dillon McCowan pulled off a late rally on Friday night to secure his first MARS Racing Series victory in the weekend opener at Kankakee County Speedway aboard his Pomeroy Services / Empire Energy No. 8 Sonic Drive-In / McCowan Farms / Longhorn Chassis Super Late Model.
The 20-year-old Urbana, Mo., native regained the lead on lap 35 and paced the final six circuits to claim the $5,000 Richard Craven Memorial victory and his first win of the 2024 campaign.
“It was a heck of a racetrack tonight man, there with a couple (laps) to go we had that restart and I thought my right-rear (tire) was going flat, it was shaking awful bad,” McCowan said. “Kye (Blight) was fast up there and I knew the only way to get around him was to get one good run off of a restart and that was the only way I was gonna catch him.”
Switching plans after the MLRA weekend was washed out, Dillon McCowan joined the MARS Late Model Series at Kankakee (Ill.) County Speedway on Friday for the first leg of the series' doubleheader.
Laying down the eighth-quickest lap out of 28 qualifiers, McCowan started third in his heat race and charged to the victory which earned him a fifth-place starting spot for the main event.
With a $5,012 paycheck up for grabs, Dillon quickly made his way to the front and led laps 16-17 before falling back to second. On a late restart with less than 10 laps to go, McCowan slid under the race-long leader and led the final six laps to grab the checkered flag.
McCowan secured his first-ever triumph with the series and first win of the 2024 season as Bob Gardner and Kye Blight joined him on the podium.
Looking to go two-in-a-row on Saturday, McCowan followed the tour to Highland (Ill.) Speedway and sat on the pole for the $5,000-to-win A-Main. While battling hard for a Top-3 position, Dillon and another competitor made contact which resulted in a tough wreck down the front straightaway. McCowan was unable to finish the 40-lap feature and was scored 17th.
Full results from the doubleheader weekend can be found at www.MARSRacingSeries.com.
McCowan now turns his attention to his home-state as the pristine Lucas Oil Speedway hosts the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series for the 32nd annual Show-Me 100 weekend. The three-day event kicks off with Thursday’s Cowboy Classic before shifting to Friday’s Tribute to Don and Billie Gibson, with both nights offering a $10,000 top prize. Preliminary results from Thursday and Friday will set the grid for Saturday’s $50,000-to-win Show-Me 100 finale.
Full event details at www.LucasDirt.com.
Article Credit: Brendon Bauman Photography
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