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Macon Speedway Celebrates Armed Forces Night

(Full night of action available on video on demand at www.maconracing.tv)

By BZ

(Macon, IL) Members of the United States Army as well as the Marine Corps were present for Armed Forces Night and were part of the opening ceremonies with the National Anthem and then a veteran capped off the night with the final checkered flag feature win of the evening.

The night also started off in a great way for Warrensburg driver Dakota Ewing. In the Decatur Building Trades Pro Late Models, Ewing not only set fast time but also broke his two-year time trials fast lap record by 0.042-second. The former mark of 10.794 was established May 4, 2019 by Ewing and he esclipsed that with a new time of 10.752 on Saturday night. His night was looking better after a heat race win and was leading the 20-lap feature five laps in. As the drivers were coming around for the ninth lap Ewing along with racing teammate Jose Parga got side-by-side out of the fourth turn and the combination nearly collided. Unfortunately, the momentum of the moment sent Ewing's Pro Late Model into the concrete on the front stretch and his racecar slammed the wall. The night was over for Ewing. Parga would continue on to take the rest of the race and win the Pro Late Model feature for the third time in as many tries at Macon Speedway.

Zach Rhodes and his dad Curt Rhodes have raced together for years and Zach has been influenced by his dad since he was a kid to race. Macon Speedway hasn't seen Curt Rhodes race in recent weeks and the reason why was his engine was taken out of his car and placed into his son's car so he could continue to race. That help paid off for the younger Rhodes as he took to the top groove of the track and led the full 20 laps en route to his first BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds feature win of the season. Thanks to a front row starting spot, Rhodes was able to start off fast and strong ahead of fast drivers and previous feature race winners like Tommy Sheppard, Jr. and Guy Taylor. Sheppard would close in on Rhodes up top for the lead but ran out of laps and took the runner-up finishing spot.

A strong finish in his heat race put Kevin Crowder on the front row for the Pro Modified feature. A bad pill draw at the start of the night did not spoil his evening as he started in the back of the heat, raced to the front and thanks to passing points was on the front row of the feature. Much like Rhodes, the front row assignment was a help to keep him ahead of feature winning regulars like Billy Knebel and Kyle Helmick. Crowder ran solidly for the full 15 laps and coasted to the win.

New winners graced the winner's circle at Macon Speedway in the Weddle Performance Engines Sportsman, Archer's Alley Street Stocks and Micro Sprints Presented by Bailey Chassis. Tommy Duncan of Metamora made the drive down to be part of the Sportsman division and made the most of it. In only his second time at the track, Duncan took the top honors and raced away from Scott Landers, Wes Odell, Jim Farley III and the driver who has gone 2-for-2 in feature wins, Jeremy Nichols. Duncan stayed low and gained traction and got the car moving to pass four drivers on his way to the lead.

Jeff Reed, Jr. has been racing Macon Speedway divisions for a long time in different divisions but hasn't tasted much feature-winning success. Saturday night, Reed took his car to victory lane. The 19-car field originally saw Jeremy Nichols starting on the pole but he didn't make it out at the first start of the race. Following an opening caution, Nichols arrived by was forced to start at the tail of the field. Reed was slated to begin third row inside but was bumped to second row inside behind Jaret Duff. With last time feature winner Bobby Beiler working hard to find a lane to speed up, Reed kept his car on the bottom and the set up worked perfectly. Nichols, who started at the back, flew through the order and would finish third in his fast-moving Street Stock.

Springfield's Daryn Stark picked up the first checkered flag of his season at Macon Speedway with a 15-lap experience in the Micro Sprints Presented by Bailey Chassis. The race saw plenty of action from a Micro Sprint flip over to spin outs, the race was full of surprises. But Stark kept to his line and sprinted away to the victory.

The night was finished off by veteran Allan Harris of Chatham taking the win in the Hornets. The two-time feature winner was more than happy to hold on to the checkered flag on Armed Forces Night after racing away with the lead and the night.

Seven divisions of racing, over 100 entries and a completed full show in 3 hours 15 minutes. The fans at Macon Speedway were treated to another successful night of excitement. More fun awaits next Saturday with six divisions of racing and the kids will be excited to be at the track for a big bicycle giveaway. Decatur Building Trades Pro Late Models, BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds, Weddle Performance Engines Sportsman, Archer's Alley Street Stocks, Pro Modifieds and Hornets make up the show on May 22nd

Feature Rundowns (Top 10’s)

Decatur Building Trades Pro Late Models

6P-Jose Parga[New Berlin, IL]; 2. 32M-Cody Maguire[Carlinville, IL]; 3. 27-Colby Sheppard[Williamsville, IL]; 4. 64-Donny Koehler[Macon, IL]; 5. 21-Jarod Shasteen[Macon, IL]; 6. M14-David Marlow[Heyworth, IL]; 7. 14K-Shane Kelley[Hopedale, IL]; 8. 11-Ryan Miller[Lincoln, IL]; 9. 34-Eric Doran[Clinton, IL]; 10. 4-Jon Easley[Benton, IL]

BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds

11-Zach Rhodes[Taylorville, IL]; 2. T6-Tommy Sheppard Jr[New Berlin, IL]; 3. 72A-Austin Lynn[Mason City, IL]; 4. 27-Dalton Ewing[Decatur, IL]; 5. 77-Guy Taylor[Springfield, IL]; 6. 52-Billy Knebel[Pocahontas, IL]; 7. 27X-Kyle Helmick[Smithton, IL]; 8. 87C-Alan Crowder[Elwin, IL]; 9. 78-Maxx Emerson[Taylorville, IL]; 10. 28S-Joe Strawkas[Buffalo, IL]

DIRTcar Pro Mods

15C-Kevin Crowder[Argenta, IL]; 2. 24-Guy Taylor[Springfield, IL]; 3. 52-Billy Knebel[Pocahontas, IL]; 4. 37-Billy Justice Jr[Cerro Gordo, IL]; 5. 215-Jake Montgomery[East Peoria, IL]; 6. 36-Nick Justice[Decatur, IL]; 7. 14N-Nathan Lynch[Hillsboro, IL]; 8. 3X-Justin Reynolds[Hillsboro, IL]; 9. 10-Adam Rhoades[Clinton, IL]; 10. 14E-Evan Lynch[Hillsboro, IL]

Weddle Performance Engines Sportsman

32-Tommy Duncan[Metamora, IL]; 2. 87-Wes O'Dell[Springfield, IL]; 3. 01-Jeremy Nichols[Lovington, IL]; 4. 84L-Jim Farley III[Springfield, IL]; 5. 41-Scott Landers[Taylorville, IL]; 6. 11-Rick Roedel[Shelbyville, IL]; 7. 69-George Ewing[Decatur, IL]; 8. 13-Ryan Blankenship Jr[Decatur, IL]; 9. 11M-Roy Magee[Springfield, IL]; 10. 42-Brandon Dick[Decatur, IL]

Archers Alley Street Stocks

53R-Jeff Reed Jr[Blue Mound, IL]; 2. 29-Bobby Beiler[Blue Mound, IL]; 3. 01-Jeremy Nichols[Lovington, IL]; 4. 21-Jaret Duff[Maroa, IL]; 5. 11-Terry Reed[Cerro Gordo, IL]; 6. X7-Guy Taylor[Springfield, IL]; 7. 22-Darrell Dick[Monticello, IL]; 8. 14-Wes Biesenthal[Athens, IL]; 9. 08-Brian Dasenbrock[Decatur, IL]; 10. 3J-Jonathon Hall[Harristown, IL]

DIRTcar Hornets

3H-Allan Harris[Chatham, IL]; 2. 324-Shelby Beiler[Macon, IL]; 3. 187-Korey Bailey[Stonington, IL]; 4. J13-Justin Coffey[Stonington, IL]; 5. 9Y-Eric Young[Clinton, IL]; 6. 21D-Josh Dove[Jacksonville, IL]; 7. V91-Tyler Vonbehren[Weldon, IL]; 8. (DNF) V26-Emily Vonbehren[Weldon, IL]; 9. (DNF) 357-Billy Mason[Brownstown, IL]; 10. (DNF) 26A-Michael McKay[Springfield, IL]

Micros By Bailey Chassis

55S-Daryn Stark[Springfield, IL]; 2. 10-Jacob Tipton[Decatur, IL]; 3. 27-Kyle Barker[Cooksville, IL]; 4. 8B-John Barnard[Sherman, IL]; 5. 21-Aarik Andruskevitch[Riverton, IL]; 6. 55H-Hayden Harvey[Warrensburg, IL]; 7. 00-Joe Taft[Dawson, IL]; 8. 7-Ryan Frantz[Atwood, IL]; 9. 93-Dana Christensen[Decatur, IL]; 10. 2-Cody Swisher[Atwood, IL]

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