2007macon

2001 archives
 2002 archives
2003 archives
2004 archives
2005 archives
2006 archives
2007 archives

thanks to DoubleJ-Jim Jones
official results are at www.speednetdirect.com

09-15-07
Macon, The loyal fans

of Macon Speedway came out to the track one last time Saturday night.  The final weekend of racing for the 2007 season featured a handful of championship caliber events. Macon Speedway ran both the 3rd AnnualIllinois State Street Stock Championship and Hornet World Championship in one huge action packed night. Also being handed out were the track point championships in BARABECK Communications Modified, Hogan Grain/Kubota Sportsman, Street Stock and Hornet classes. Mike Hammerle fromSt. Charles, Missouri took home theChevrolet Late Model track championship on September 1st.  Tonight also marked the final drawing for Tony’s Tahoe and the VlogCafe.com $10,000.  
                Steve Ewing didn’t disappoint any of his fans in the 3rd AnnualIllinois State Street Stock Championship by taking the lead in less than five laps and cruising to the checkered flag. Starting from the middle of the pack, Ewing worked his way through the field with his usual dominance and professionalism. Ewing also captured the street stock points championship with his astounding 13th feature win of the season, his eighth consecutive. Ewing’s closest points competition, Larry Russell Jr., couldn’t get his car running for the feature race after taking some damage early in the day. Russell had done an excellent job keeping the points race close, only down 20, despite not winning a single feature all season.  
                The Hornet World Championship will go to Matt Turley, his first hornet feature win of the season at Macon Speedway. Turley’s car bolted to the front on lap eight and held off all the great competition. The 2007 Hornet Track Championship was won by Bruce Dulgar of Decatur. Dulgar finishes this hornet racing season with a track high 5 wins. Second place points finisher James Hankins was down an insurmountable 148 points at the beginning of tonight feature.   
Greg Kimmons’ final win of the season also looked like the easiest. On the same night Pleasant Plains native Kimmons won his sixth Hogan Grain/Kubota Sportsman feature race at Macon Speedway, he also locked up the 2007 Sportsman track championship. Decatur’s Mike Pickering was only 20 points behind Kimmons going into the last race of the season, but Kimmons was just too fast for Pickering to make up the difference.
 
                 The BARBECK Communications Modified feature race was won by Springfield Jeff Ray. Not a track regular, Ray has won two feature races in just three tr ack appearances. Macon Speedway legend Jim Leka added another Modified Track Championship to his impressive resume. Leka didn’t exactly bring his “A” game this week, finishing outside the top five, but had a comfortable 106 point lead over his closest challenger, Shelbyville’s Clark Robertson.
 
2007 Macon Track Champions:
Late Models-16H Mike Hammerle-St. Charles, MO
Modifieds-40 Jim Leka-Illiopolis, IL
Sportsman-27 Greg Kimmons-Pleasant Plains, IL
Street Stock-95 Steve Ewing-Decatur, IL
Hornets-83 Bruce Dulgar-Decatur, IL
DoubleJ-Jim Jones

09-08-07....Rain

09-01-07
MACON -- Fans had a perfect evening for racing at Macon Speedway Saturday night. With the track in pristine condition due to some very lucky cool weather, the stage was set for some fast, high-banked racing action on the legendary dirt at Macon. Even veteran drivers such as Jim Leka from Illiopolis were taking the high groove. On any other night, experience drivers would stick to the bottom of the turns like glue. Chalk it up to an aggressive maintenance strategy by the track crews at Macon Speedway that have done a great job all year long keeping the track in racing form.

In a controversial finish in the BARBECK Communications Modified feature race, Jim Leka would take the checkered flag, his sixth of the season. With five laps to go, Leka and Brian McLemore got together exiting turn two. Leka lost control of his car and spun. The field restarted with Leka in first place. Fans in the stands were split on whether or not Leka or McLemore should've started in the lead. It seemed as though McLemore's contact on Leka was unintentional, but a few vociferous fans seemed to disagree. Decatur's Al Crawley ran a good race and finished in third.

Dave Smith was back in winning form again, taking the Hogan Grain/Kubota Sportsman feature over second and third place finishers Mike Pickering and Greg Kimmons. Smith started on the pole and had to use every bit of racing experience to keep two very successful Macon Speedway regulars behind him. This win marks Smith's first at Macon since June 14th, a winless streak he was happy to end.

All the way from St. Charles, Missouri, Mike Hammerle is the 2007 Chevrolet Late Model Track Champion. “I just like a short track.” Hammerle joked when asked why he makes the long drive all the way to Macon. Hammerle’s only win at the track came on July 28th, but anytime he’s in the field, you can be sure he’s finishing toward the front.

Jayme Zidar took the checkered flag in the last Late Model feature race of the 2007 Macon Speedway season. All the way from Greenfield, Wisconsin, Zidar ended his season with five total feature wins, the most of any driver this year. “I appreciate all the fans supporting us through the year.” Zidar remarked during his post-race interview.

It's been far too long since the hundreds of Katie Lord fans got to see their driver take a checkered flag. Lord crossed the finish line first in Street Stock heat #2 in front of Springfield's Roy Magee. In front of a standing ovation, Lord took her victory lap. In the post-race interview, Lord said she plans on running in the modified class next year.

The sun will rise, you’ll pay your taxes, and Steve Ewing will win the Street Stock feature at Macon Speedway. Ewing won his 12th feature of the season and continues his astounding seven race winning streak. Cruising into victory lane, as he’s done so many times this season, Ewing was asked if it’s a foregone conclusion that he’ll win the Street Stock Championship this year, “I’ve always had bad luck in the big races. I don’t want to jinx myself.” Bruce Dulgar tacked another Hornet feature win onto his total for the season, now up to five.




 
DoubleJ-Jim Jones
MACON
08-25-07 -- A tremendous crowd turned out at Macon Speedway Saturday. As the last month of the races is winding down the track championship races are just starting to heat up. Every driver on the track is trying to pass every car he can to collect those precious points and maybe capture an elusive track championship.
               
Jayme Zidar put on an impressive show winning Chevrolet Late Model heat #2 that included some Late Model heavy hitters including Kirby Damery, Greg Kimmons, and Mike Hammerle. It took Zidar all of one lap to pass three cars into second place. Just one turn later, Zidar had taken the lead from Hammerle. Heat number 1 was dominated by Steve Sheppard Jr. and got fans ready for another great late model feature showdown between he and Zidar.
               
Jeff Graham held off all challengers to win the Hogan Grain/Kubota Sportsman feature. This well deserved win marks Graham's first win of the season at Macon Speedway. Mike Pickering traded the lead with Graham a few times during the race but faded late in the race slipping all the way back to fourth.
               
Jeff Ray’s silky smooth driving style paid off in tonight’s BARBECK Communications Modified feature race. It’s not too often fans get to see the blue #50 of Ray, but he obviously made his mark tonight. Ray took the lead early from Decatur’s Al Crawley who couldn’t find the speed in his usual high line.  Mark Tullis ran a patient race and finished in second in front of track regular Clark Robertson who held off a tenacious run by Shawn Bohm, who finished in fourth.
               
The Chevrolet Late Model race came down a five lap shootout. Chris Dick was on the rear bumper of Jayme Zidar for five solid laps of inside racing. Zidar started on the pole and stayed there to the checkered flag for his fourth win of the season. Outside pole sitter Steve Sheppard Jr., probably the favorite to win, refused to give up on the outside groove. On the lap 13 restart, Sheppard’s car shot to life and seemed to challenge for the lead. But whatever magic he found left after just a few laps. Sheppard settled for third.
               
The winning streak lives. Steve Ewing’s eleventh Street Stock feature win is also his sixth consecutive. Troy Dodson started in front of Ewing and used every blocking move he could think of before Ewing squeezed inside with one lap to go. Ewing increased his point lead in street stock class. “This is great for the points, (Larry) Russell’s been tough all year.” Ewing said in the post-race interview.
               
On the night his son, Zach, captured his first career checkered flag in hornet heat #2, Jeff Dodd took the win in the hornet feature race. Dodd has won the last two hornet feature races at Macon and moves his total to four wins this season.
 
 

Result For August 25, 2007

UMP Late Model - Feature  
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points
1 1 9Z     Jayme Zidar     Greenfield , Wi 50
2 3 22     Chris Dick     Deland , Il 48
3 2 5S     Steve Shepard, Jr     New Berlin, Il 46
4 4 16H     Mike Hammerle     St. Charles, Mo 44
5 5 96     Cory Daughtery      - 42
6 6 1     Kirby Damery     Macon , Il 40
7 8 18T     Shane Tomlin      - 38
8 11 DC3     Don Cisco     Oreana , Il 36
9 12 67     Mike Durbin Jr     Decatur , Il 34
10 7 2     John Graham     Taylorville , Il 32
11 10 40     Greg Kimmons     Pleasant Plains, Il 30
12 9 38     Doug Hemer     Moweaqua , Il 28
     More Results


 

UMP Modified - Feature  
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points
1 2 50     Jeff Ray      - 50
2 5 T2     Mark Tullis      - 48
3 4 35     Clark Robertson     Shelbyville , Il 46
4 8 2X     Shawn Bohm     Decatur , Il 44
5 11 40     Jim Leka     Illiopolis , Il 42
6 13 7M     Kevin Moffett     Moweaqua , Il 40
7 20 18     Randy Myers     Springfield , Il 38
8 18 22     Scott Jones     Macon , Il 36
9 19 59     Chad Evans     Mattoon , Il 34
10 17 52     Roger Drake     Decatur , Il 32
11 12 93     Bobby Fowler     Decatur , Il 30
12 7 D98     Danny Smith     Argenta , Il 28
13 14 7C     Jeff Wallace     Decatur , Il 26
14 10 57     Danny Page     Harristown , Il 24
15 22 9S     Steve Shaw     Mt. Zion, Il 22
16 1 88     Al Crawley     Decatur , Il 20
17 3 95     Steve Ewing     Decatur , Il 18
18 21 5G     Brian Gates     Assumption , Il 16
19 16 28     Joe Strawkas     Buffalo , Il 14
20 15 CV7     Chris Veech     Mattoon , Il 12
21 9 23M     Marty Hiser     Decatur , Il 10
22 6 15JR     Brian Mclemore     Decatur , Il 8
     More Results


 

UMP Sportsman - Feature  
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points
1 3 71     Jeff Graham     Stonington , Il 50
2 4 22S     Timmy Dick     Monticello , Il 48
3 5 27     Greg Kimmons     Pleasant Plains, Il 46
4 7 89     Norm Wood     Sullivan , Il 44
5 13 91T     Tim Ehlers     Shipman , Il 42
6 16 B99     Tim Bedinger     Taylorville , Il 40
7 9 73P     Dave Smith     Monticello , Il 38
8 11 7JR     Jr Fawns      - 36
9 2 9     Mike Pickering     Decatur , Il 34
10 15 72L     Lonnie Nichols     Shelbyville , Il 32
11 12 83     Brad Turner     Modesto , Il 30
12 18 99H     Rick Hamm     Edinburg , Il 28
13 10 72     Tom Graham     Stonington , Il 26
14 14 14     Nathan Lynch     Hillsboro , Il 24
15 1 41     Scott Landers     Taylorville , Il 22
16 6 70JYD     Steve Hill     Edinburg , Il 20
17 8 57     Kenny Hayes     Macon , Il 18
18 17 CRO 7     Tommy D Delgadillo     Monticello , Il 16
     More Results


 

UMP Street Stock - Feature  
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points
1 2 95     Steve Ewing     Decatur , Il 50
2 1 21     Troy Dodson     Cerro Gordo, Il 48
3 3 B24     Brian Cassell     Decatur , Il 46
4 5 11     Terry Reed     Decatur , Il 44
5 4 99     Mike Pickering     Decatur , Il 42
6 9 42     Katie Lord     Chatham , Il 40
7 7 57R     Tom Reich     Springfield , Il 38
8 6 X7     Larry Russell Jr.     Decatur , Il 36
9 10 33     Justin Hill     Lovington , Il 34
10 12 7     Kyle Jenkins     Decatur , Il 32
11 16 00     Roy Magee     Springfield , Il 30
12 8 08     Brian Dasenbrock     Decatur , Il 28
13 17 63     David Foster     Lovington , Il 26
14 11 66     Greg Scribner     Bethany , Il 24
15 13 0     Jim Cardoni     Chatham , Il 22
16 14 4G     Cody Wickline     Assumption , Il 20
17 15 26     Mikey Bobby Pundt     Decatur , Il 18
18 19 8     Willie Haddock     Pana , Il 0
19 18 84B     Wayne Orrick     Bloomington , Il 0
     More Results


 

UMP Hornet - Feature  
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points
1 3 22X     Jeff Dodd     Riverton , Il 50
2 7 83     Bruce Dulgar     Decatur , Il 48
3 4 71     Todd Rush     Pawnee , Il 46
4 6 13C     Kris Ruppe     Taylorville , Il 44
5 8 19     James Hankins     Taylorville , Il 42
6 11 84     Steven Dulgar     Decatur , Il 40
7 9 2     Mike Stephens     Auburn , Il 38
8 10 Z     Joel Irving      - 36
9 15 D1     Justin Hilton     Lovington , Il 34
10 12 50     Matt Reed     Decatur , Il 32
11 17 98R     Kenneth Reed     Decatur , Il 30
12 14 9     Steve Stanton     Taylorville , Il 28
13 1 59     Anthony Evans     Mattoon , Il 26
14 2 21     Zach Dodd     Riverton , Il 24
15 13 1     Brandon Watts     Decatur , Il 0
16 18 3G     Jeff Gill      - 0
17 5 6R     Mike Morse     Decatur , Il 0
18 16 95     Tom Bennett     Decatur , Il 0
     More Results

The races for Saturday August 18th have been rained out.

Thanks to DoubleJ for the pictures
August 11, 2007
click on pictures to enlarge

18 Randy Myers, 33 Dave Eckels,2x Shawn Bohm, & 28 Joe Strawkas

77 Dick Taylor & 40 Jim Leka

Shane Tomlin & 9Z Jayme Zidar

3 Wide Late Model Action-5s Steve Sheppard Jr, 1 Kerby Damery, & DC3 Don Cisco III.

b5 Brandon Sheppard and 5s Steve Sheppard Jr.
August 13, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
Open Wheel Fans United at Macon Speedway This Friday Night for USAC and POWRi Thriller
 
Macon, IL – On any given race night where either the USAC Midgets or the POWRi Midgets appear, race fans are treated to an outstanding show. This coming Friday night these two powerhouse sanctioning bodies collide at Macon Speedway as Burdick Plumbing presents the O’Reilly POWRi  & USAC Midget Showdown. The 2006 USAC National Midget Car Series champion Jerry Coons Jr. is looking to maintain his current points lead over second place driver Darrin Hagen and 3rd place driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the Tony Stewart Motorsports entry. Driver points are just as tight with the O’Reilly POWRi Midgets with current points leader Mike Hess holding down a slim points lead over second place Brad Kuhn and third place Brad Loyet. The UMP Modifieds paying $600 to win and the POWRi 600cc Mini Sprints will also complete in the Friday night open wheel special event. Gates open at 5pm, Racing at 7pm. Presented by Burdick Plumbing Decatur, Il.  General Admission Seating. Adults $20, Kids 6 – 12 $5. Children 5 and under are free.
 
Kenny’s Crazy Car Caper returns to Macon Speedway on Saturday August 18th sponsored by TRP Auto Sales in Springfield, IL. One lucky race fan will win a pre-owned Chevrolet Lumina.  Race fans will be treated to a trip back in time when the Gateway Vintage Car Club arrive with their race machines from years ago. The race line-up will also include the Chevrolet Late Models, BARBECK Modifieds, Street Stock and Hornet divisions. Gates open at 5pm, Racing at 7pm. Presented by Van Horn Inc., Cerro Gordo, Il.  Admission: $10 for Adults with Kids under 12 free when accompanied by an Adult.
 
Race fans have just a few more race nights to qualify to win Tony Stewart’s Tahoe as six more final round contestants will be drawn Saturday from that night’s registrants. The lucky few selected through a blind draw will advance to the final round in Tony’s Big Tahoe Sweepstake.  On September 8th one lucky Macon Speedway patron will drive off in the new Chevrolet Tahoe.
 
Points as of August 12, 2007;
 
Chevrolet Late Models
1st – Mike Hammerle 754, 2nd – Cory Daughtery 700, 3rd – Greg Kimmons 642, 4th – Doug Hemer 542, 5th -  Mike Durbin Jr 478.
 
Barbeck Modifieds
1st – Jim Leka 716, 2nd – Randy Myers 694, 3rd – Clark Robertson 646, 4th – Roger Drake 604, 5th – Kyle Louge 588
 
Hogan Grain / Kubota Sportsman
1st – Greg Kimmons 760, 2nd – Mike Pickering 750, 3rd – Scott Landers 730, 4th – Tom Graham 610, 5th – Norm Wood 592
 
Street Stock
1st – Steve Ewing 792, 2nd – Larry Russell Jr. 790, 3rd –Mike Pickering 712, 4th – Brian Cassell 696, 5th – Roy Magee 640
 
Hornets
1st – Bruce Dulgar – 706, 2nd – James Hankins592, 3rd – Jeff Gill 562, 4th – Steve Dulgar 524,
5th – Todd Rush 518
 
 
NASCAR Stars Kenny Wallace, Ken Schrader, Tony Stewart and local Promoter Bob Sargent purchased Macon Speedway in January of 2007.  Macon Speedway is located 9 miles south of Decatur, IL on US 51, 6 blocks west on Andrews Street, then south on Wiles.  For information, call 217-764-3000 (track), 217-764-3220 (information hotline), or contact Jeff Gotelaer via email at jeffg.trackenterprises@yahoo.com or visit www.maconracing.com.
 
MACON....08-11-07 – The heat and humidity early in the day didn’t keep fans away from the high banked dirt track action at Macon Speedway Saturday night. Track crews did an excellent job keeping plenty of moisture in the track to ensure some fast ‘two groove’ racing. Macon Speedway also hosted the Pinewood Derby for the Boys Scouts of America, handing out trophies to the winners. Even Wal-Mart of Springfield chipped in with a bicycle giveaway won by derby open division winner Blake Thompson.
Local media stars jumped into the four cylinder hornets to race a few laps around Macon Speedway. Troy Hayes of the Herald and Review won the race hands down over all the competition. Asked about his racing experience at Macon Hayes remarked, “I was scared senseless.”
The class of the field in the Chevrolet Late Model feature race was once again Steve Sheppard Jr. of New Berlin. Sheppard put several car lengths between himself and the field on every restart. Shane Tomlin was in the long battle with Don Cisco for second place, but Cisco dropped out of the race after a late wreck. Cory Daugherty snuck into third place.
Jim Leka won his fifth BARBECK Communications Modified race of the season. Joe Strawkas from Buffalo had an excellent run keeping his car up front all race long and finishing second. Dick Taylor held on to a wild race car to finish in third.
The Hogan Grain/Kubota Sportsman race was dominated by #14C Alan Crowder. Local regular Greg Kimmons worked his way up to second but spun out trying to change his driving line to make the pass for the lead. Norm Wood from Sullivan inherited second place from Kimmons and hung on to the checkered flag. 
Steve Ewing of Decatur kept his winning streak alive in the Street Stock Feature, extending it to five checkered flags in a row and ten feature wins this season. Larry Russell Jr. found himself in a familiar situation, second place with Ewing’s #95 right out the windshield. Ewing also broke the tie for the championship points lead in the street stock class that he held with Russell. A mere five separates the two. 
One winning streak did end tonight in Macon. Jeff Dodd held on to win a dogfight with five time feature winner Bruce Dulgar who was looking to extend his winning streak to four. This marks the second win of the season for Dodd who always competes for the win in his #22X hornet complete with signature chrome wheels.
July 30, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Race Teams Take a Break August 4th.
 
Macon, IL – With the tremendous amount of time it takes to compete at Macon Speedway, race teams are looking to spending a well deserved break with family and friends.  Speedway management felt with the Decatur Celebration taking place this weekend, it would provide an excellent opportunity for staff and competitors to take in this important community event.
 
After this weekend the “final stretch” in the 2007 season will commence next Saturday Aug. 11. With such of an aggressive schedule still ahead, teams may also take this time to prepare for the final points run. As the weeks run down the point battles are becoming tighter and will provide a thrilling race down to the finale event.
 
POINTS –
·         Chevrolet Late Model
Position
Driver
     City, State
Points
Behind
1
   Mike Hammerle
   St. Charles MO
706
Leader

 
 
 
 
 
2
   Cory Daughtery
   Blue Mound IL
644
-62

 
 
 
 
 
3
   Greg Kimmons
   Pleasant Plains IL
602
-104

 
 
 
 
 
4
   Doug Hemer
   Moweaqua IL
510
-196

 
 
 
 
 
5
   Jason Cleaver
   Mechanicsburg IL
460
-246

 
 
 
 
 
6
   Mike Durbin Jr
   Decatur IL
444
-262

 
 
 
 
 
7
   Jayme Zidar
   Greenfield WI
420
-286

 
 
 
 
 
8
   Kyle Logue
   Cisco IL
400
-306

 
 
 
 
 
9
   Chris Dick
   Deland IL
334
-372

 
 
 
 
 
10
   Andy Pryor
   Caseyville IL
306
-400
 
 
 
 
 
·         BARBECK Modifieds
Position
Driver
     City, State
Points
Behind
1
   Jim Leka
   Illiopolis il
656
Leader

 
 
 
 
 
2
   Randy Myers
   Springfield IL
652
-4

 
 
 
 
 
3
   Clark Robertson
   Shelbyville IL
600
-56