---

Popejoy Plumbing, Heating, Electric and Geothermal Presents the Illinois Dirt Shootout Powered by Hotrod Septic Treatment Entries #61 - #75

Popejoy Plumbing, Heating, Electric and Geothermal Presents the Illinois Dirt Shootout Powered by Hotrod Septic Treatment Entries #61 - #75

Over the course of the next month and a half, the MARS Modified Championship Powered by Summit Racing Equipment will be spotlighting each of the drivers entered into the upcoming Illinois Dirt Shootout being held at Fairbury American Legion Speedway on May 23 - 25.

Chris Smith
Event Car #: 15
Hometown: Highland, IL
Best MARS finish: Has not competed in a MARS event

St. Louis area driver that has had a small sample size of starts the past few seasons but has proved his capability of strong finishes in years passed. Smith does have laps at FALS in years past and has had some strong showings with numerous top-10 finishes. He opened up his 2024 season last weekend at the World Famous Highland Speedway with a 6th place finish.

Clint Young
Event Car #: 42
Hometown: Ava, IL
Best MARS finish: Has not competed in a MARS event

A highly accomplished B Mod driver that has taken the next step up to DIRTcar UMP Modifieds for the 2024 season. Clint has had over 25 B Mod feature wins since 2020 at a variety of different tracks, so winning has not been an issue for the Ava, Illinois driver. He has 2 podiums at Farmington Empire Speedway and a top-10 at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 to his credit in Modified action this season already.

Treb Jacoby
Event Car #: J82
Hometown: O’Fallon, MO
Best MARS finish: 1st at Tri City Speedway

A driver that has shown steady gains the past few seasons, yet 2023 seemed to be a season set apart from the others when you crunch the numbers. Treb had a collection of wins, but none bigger than his MARS Modified victory at Tri City in August, and his win at the Du Quoin mile in September. Jacoby has plans to run for Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year honors in 2024 on the tour.

Tanner Sullivan
Event Car #: 20T
Hometown: Pontiac, IL
Best MARS finish: 21st at Farmer City Raceway

2023 was Tanner’s first season behind the wheel of a DIRTcar UMP Modified after being a graduate from the Stock Car division. After coming out of the box strong and picking up top-10’s in his first 3 starts in the car, mechanical issues plagued the Pontiac, Illinois driver, which forced him to sit out most of the second half of the year. Over the winter the team has regrouped and is prepared to hit the ground running this spring for year 2 in the Modified.

Travis Kohler
Event Car #: 0K
Hometown: Morris, IL
Best MARS finish: Has not competed in a MARS event

Veteran racer that has primarily competed in the Central Illinois area throughout his career. Although he may not be a guy that goes out and runs 40+ nights a year, the #0 is always a solid bet on a top-10 finish as he finished there in 10 out of his 15 events ran last season.

Dylan Woodling
Event Car #: 4
Hometown: Warsaw, IN
Best MARS finish: 8th at Farmer City Raceway

Woodling finished 25th in DIRTcar national points last season, while collecting 3 wins upon the way. In 2024 he and Mike Learman have teamed up to tackle the MARS tour, that kicked off this past weekend in Farmer City. After being buried in qualifying on Friday night and not transferring to the main event, Woodling bounced back for an 8th place finish at Farmer City on Saturday.

Mark Lamont
Event Car #: 7L
Hometown: Crossville, IL
Best MARS finish: Has not competed in a MARS event

3 starts… 3 wins for Mark Lamont in his past 2 seasons of racing. It may be a rare sight when the #7L rolls out at the racetrack, but when he does, look for him to be towards the front. Lamont will try to keep the record going on Memorial Day weekend at FALS.

Beau DeYoung
Event Car #: 27
Hometown: Wheatfield, IN
Best MARS finish: Has not competed in a MARS event

Weekly competitor at the Shadyhill Speedway that we rarely see cross the border to come race with us in the Land of Lincoln. DeYoung captured 5 podium finishes last season at Shadyhill. After a rough start to the season at East Bay Raceway Park, the DeYoung team is currently in the regrouping stage to get back on the right track by Memorial Day weekend.

Dave Lilja
Event Car #: 1
Hometown: Burr Ridge, IL
Best MARS finish: Has not competed in a MARS event

After only racing a pair of times in 2023 due to medical issues, Lilja is set to get back to racing in 2024. The veteran racer has a many of laps around the Fairbury Speedway and hopes to be able to shake the rust off for a solid weekend in May.

Kelly Jones
Event Car #: 1J
Hometown: Cornell, IL
Best MARS finish: Has not started a MARS feature

Fresh to the DIRTcar UMP Modified world in 2023, Jones ran a limited schedule at Farmer City and Fairbury. In 10 starts he was able to capture 2 top-10 finishes at Farmer City.

Justin Cundiff
Event Car #: 27X
Hometown: Shelburn, IN
Best MARS finish: Has not competed in a MARS event

Cundiff has been on the sidelines the past couple of seasons but is back on track in 2024. With starts already at Florence, Paragon, and Lincoln Park, it appears as if Cundiff is all in on racing this season. This will mark his first visit to Fairbury since 2021.

Wesley Ricketts
Event Car #: 21W
Hometown: Fairbury, IL
Best MARS finish: Has not started a MARS feature

After having a great deal of success in the DIRTcar Pro Mod and Hobby Mod divisions, Ricketts decided to mix it up with the MARS Modified drivers at the season finale last year at Fairbury. He has many laps at Fairbury and hopes some of that experience will prove beneficial on Illinois Dirt Shootout weekend where he will enter the MARS Modified ranks once again for the largest event, he has competed in.

Jeremy Nichols
Event Car #: J24
Hometown: Findlay, IL
Best MARS finish: Has not started a MARS feature

One of the most successful DIRTcar Stock Car drivers in Central Illinois in the past decade that has made the switch to DIRTcar UMP Modified racing in 2022. Nichols competed with the series this past weekend on Friday night where he came up just short of transferring into the main event. Last night he picked up his first feature win of the season at Macon Speedway.

Mike Harrison
Event Car #: 24H
Hometown: Highland, IL
Best MARS finish: 1st at Brownstown Bullring

One of the most decorated DIRTcar UMP Modified drivers of all time that will certainly be one of the favorites to grab the $20,000 on Memorial Day weekend. The 2023 Sunoco Race Fuels MARS Late Model Rookie of the Year did not race the Modified as much in 2023 as in years past, as the Late Model was the main point of focus, but Harrison did manage to claim a MARS Modified victory on championship weekend at Brownstown Bullring.

Jason Cox
Event Car #: 77C
Hometown: Clinton, IN
Best MARS finish: Has not competed in a MARS event

DIRTcar Stock Car division graduate that is planning to branch out and do more DIRTcar UMP Modified racing in 2024. He got his season started at Speedweeks in Florida with his best feature finish of 8th coming at East Bay Raceway Park.

---

Back to News