FAIRBURY, Ill. — Since the first time he strapped into a Dirt Late Model more than 20 years ago, Brian Shirley has dreamed of conquering Fairbury Speedway's Prairie Dirt Classic.
Saturday night — check that, early Sunday morning — Shirley’s dream came true.
The 44-year-old Chatham, Ill., driver has done virtually everything there is to do for a driver born and bred in the Land of Lincoln. DIRTcar weekly championships. DIRTcar Summer Nationals titles. Hundreds of features wins. The only thing missing was a win in the state’s biggest race. Nineteen years after his first PDC start, Shirley finally got the job done.
Once he took the checkered flag for his 13th career World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series victory, Shirley couldn’t even make it to victory lane, before the party began. Halfway through his cool-down lap, the driver they call Squirrel parked the No. 3s and climbed out on the backstretch to salute the Fairbury faithful.
“It’s so awesome. All these fans, I just appreciate the raw emotion from the fans,” Shirley said. “This is for my wife, she’s in the hospital right now. Luckily, on that day off, I got to go up and see her and spend the night with her before we head off to Wisconsin here.”
In a race that didn’t start until 1:21 a..m after a three-hour rain delay, the fourth-starting Shirley started behind two of his fellow Illinois gassers, Brandon Sheppard and Bobby Pierce, on the front row. Shirley stayed in the top five early on while both of the top-two starters slipped back, putting him third behind Hudson O’Neal and Jonathan Davenport after 10 laps. The rain delay led to a bottom-dominant track in the opening laps, but Shirley was one of the first to make the outside work and used it to get by Davenport on the 22nd lap.
With O’Neal ripping the cushion as well, Shirley had to go back low in his bid for the top spot. He proved to be equally fast through the middle, as Shirley got enough of a run off turn four to get to O’Neal’s inside down the frontstretch and completed the pass in turn one to take command.
The name of the game from that point was restarts — the 100-lap marathon into the wee hours was plagued by 16 cautions, but Shirley kept the field at bay time and time again. The list of challengers included the likes of Pierce, Davenport and Nick Hoffman, all of whom were involved in a turn-three restart pileup with 15 to go.
When the carnage was cleaned up, Shirley and Sheppard were the two primary contenders remaining at the front of the field. Shirley pulled away initially, but Sheppard wasn’t going to go down without a fight.
By the time the white flag was in the air, Sheppard was all over the rear deck of Shirley’s machine. Sheppard’s Rocket Chassis house car went low and got alongside Shirley down the backstretch, but Shirley — as he did most of the race — blasted off the FALS cushion in turn two to take the upper hand into the final corner. Shirley blocked the slider line in turns three and four while Sheppard again dove to the bottom, and Shirley won the drag race to the line to clinch his first World of Outlaws feature of the season along with $50,000 in purse money and an additional $38,500 in lap money.
“Those last couple laps, I could feel B-Shepp down there,” Shirley said. “I just kept telling myself to try and stay up on that wheel. I was so nervous to go down there and try because I had just been running that same line for so long. The good Lord was just letting it just come down to one lap.”
Sheppard’s runner-up effort was his sixth podium in the PDC, continuing the hot streak he and Rocket1 Racing have been on over the past four weeks that now includes seven podiums in their last 11 starts.
“Brian did a great job there, he got it out front pretty early and kept it out there like he was supposed to do,” Sheppard said. “Once we got lined out I couldn’t really do much. I was trying every line possible out there but I just couldn’t get close enough to him to throw a slider or anything. I was waiting for him to mess up or something and he didn’t.”
Rounding out the all-Illinois podium was Dennis Erb Jr., who went from ninth to third in the Feature for his best PDC finish since 2016.
“We had a good car all weekend,” Erb said. “Just a little off there at the end of the race, but all in all, just glad the way the night turned out, and we’ll just go on to the next one.”
Hoffman recovered from the late-race incident to finish fourth, while Tim McCreadie advanced 16 spots up to fifth to complete the top five. — Spence Smithback
35th annual Prairie Dirt Classic
Pos. Driver (car no.), hometown, chassis, earnings
1. Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., Longhorn, $88,500-x
2. Brandon Sheppard (1), New Berlin, Ill., Rocket, $22,000-x
3. Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., Rocket, $12,000
4. Nick Hoffman (9), Mooresville, N.C., Longhorn, $7,500
5. Tim McCreadie (9), Watertown, N.Y., Longhorn, $6,000
6. Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., Longhorn, $5,000
7. Mike Marlar (157), Winfield, Tenn., Infinity, $4,750
8. Cody Overton (2), Evans, Ga., Longhorn, $4,500
9. Daulton Wilson (18D), Fayetteville, N.C., Longhorn, $4,250
10. Max Blair (111), Centerville, Pa., Longhorn, $4,000
11. Tanner English (96), Benton, Ky., Longhorn, $3,900
12. Jason Jameson (12), Lawrenceburg, Ind., Longhorn, $3,800
13. Hudson O’Neal (6), Martinsville, Ind., Longhorn, $13,200-x
14. Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga., Longhorn, $3,600
15. Garrett Alberson (58), Las Cruces, N.M., Longhorn, $3,500
16. Jason Feger (25), Bloomington, Ill., Longhorn, $3,400
17. Josh Rice (11), Crittenden, Ky., Rocket, $3,300
18. Ryan Gustin (19r), Marshalltown, Iowa, Infinity, $3,200
19. Mike Spatola (89), Manhattan, Ill., Rocket, $3,100
20. Tyler Erb (1), New Waverly, Texas, Rocket, $3,080
21. Tyler Bruening (16), Decorah, Iowa, Infinity, $3,060
22. Ryan Unzicker (24), El Paso, Ill., Longhorn, $3,060
23. Drake Troutman (22*), Hyndman, Pa., Longhorn, $3,020
24. McKay Wenger (42), Fairbury, Ill., Longhorn, $3,000
25. Gordy Gundaker (11), St. Charles, Mo., Longhorn, $3,000
26. Ethan Dotson (74x), Bakersfield, Calif., Longhorn, $3,000
27. Donny Walden (1w), Towanda, Ill., MB Custom, $3,000
28. Ricky Thornton Jr. (20rt), Chandler, Ariz., Longhorn, $3,000
29. Chris Simpson (32), Oxford, Iowa, Longhorn, $3,000
Lap leaders: Sheppard 1-4; O’Neal 5-23; Shirley 24-100
Fast qualifier (among 78 cars): Alberson, 12.893 seconds
Semifeature winners: Shirley, Pierce, Sheppard, O'Neal
Consolation winners: Alberson, Bruening, Thornton
Provisional starters: Gustin, Troutman, Spatola, Walden, Dotson, C. Overton
x-Additional lap money for Sheppard ($2,000), O'Neal ($9,500), Shirley ($38,500)
Rain delay
After a two-and-a-half-hour rain delay, hot laps for the PDC finale concluded at 12:58 a.m., with the 10-minute horn firing shortly after.
The weather delay came moments after WoO officials blew the 10-minute horn to line up the 100-lap PDC finale, when rain began to fall, soon turning into a heavy downpour that put the program into a delay starting at approximately 9:45 p.m.
Forecast showers and thunderstorms had missed the track throughout the day and it appeared the chance of precipitation had virtually disappeared as feature time closed in, but a small cell quickly developed with the speedway as its bull's eye. As of 10 p.m. rain was still falling heavily with lightning flashing in the sky.
The rain stopped around 10:25 p.m., allowing officials to begin assessing the condition of the track surface. A few minutes later they announced that the track crew will go to work on the speedway and attempt to run the feature this evening.
Feature lineup
(100 laps)
Row 1: Brandon Sheppard, Bobby Pierce
Row 2: Hudson O'Neal, Brian Shirley
Row 3: Jonathan Davenport, Jason Jameson
Row 4: Mike Marlar, Max Blair
Row 5: Dennis Erb Jr., Nick Hoffman
Row 6: Jason Feger, Gordy Gundaker
Row 7: Josh Rice, Chris Simpson
Row 8: Daulton Wilson, Tanner English
Row 9: Garrett Alberson, Tyler Bruening
Row 10: Ricky Thornton Jr., Tyler Erb
Row 11: Tim McCreadie, McKay Wenger
Row 12: Ryan Gustin, Drake Troutman
Row 13: Mike Spatola, Donny Walden
Row 14: Ethan Dotson, Ryan Unzicker
Row 15: Cody Overton
Prairie Dirt Shootout non-qualifiers' race
(25 laps; winner transfers)
Finish: Ryan Unzicker, Justin Duty, Chase Junghans, Kyle Hammer, Frank Heckenast Jr., Tristan Chamberlain, Doug Drown, Jake O'Neil, Myles Moos, Boom Briggs, Cade McWhorter, Dustin Sorensen, Shane Clanton, Trevor Gundaker, Matt Furman, Austin Smith, Brent Larson, Jerry Bowersock, Chub Frank, Brayton Wallace, Blaze Burwell.
Consolation race recap
Garrett Alberson survived a couple restarts to lead all 15 laps in winning the night’s first consolation race, punching his ticket into Saturday’s 35th annual Prairie Dirt Classic along with fourth-starting Tyler Erb, who fended off a late-race challenge from Chase Junghans. Alberson beat Terbo to the line by 0.783 of a second. Mike Provenzano and Austin Howes tangled on the eighth lap and retired. … Clay Harris pitted from third on the ninth lap and could only rebound to 12th. Donny Walden pulled off early, knowing he has a track provisional starting position to rely on and is expected to start 26th in the main event. … Seventh-starting Tyler Bruening charged to take the lead from Tim McCreadie on the final turn of the final lap, nipping McCreadie by 0.139 of a second. McCreadie, who led the opening 14 laps, also clinched his spot in the 100-lap feature. Justin Duty trailed McCreadie the opening 10 laps before Bruening slipped by. Duty finished just 0.710 of a second behind the leaders. McCreadie and Jadon Frame made contact on the opening lap, sending Frame spinning at the entrance of turn three, collecting Blaze Burwell, who was sandwiched as Kayden Clatt piled in. Burwell continued to finish seventh, while Frame and Clatt retired. … Second-starting Brandon Overton bicycled on the opening lap, nearly flipping before landing and slamming the outside wall. He was OK, but unable to continue. Ricky Thornton Jr. inherited the pole starting position and led all 15 laps to win the third and final consolation race by 1.611 seconds over fourth-starting McKay Wenger, who took the runner-up spot from Drake Troutman on the 11th lap. Troutman settled for third after damage from an earlier multicar melee. Doug Carls spun on the fifth lap for the second slowdown; he continued until pulling off on lap 11. The third incident necessitated a red flag after Shannon Babb slowed from second with a broken driveshaft, with Troutman making contact and Mike Spatola slamming into the back of Troutman, then spinning, collecting Chub Frank and Jake Timm. Babb and Spatola retired. Frank and Timm continued, finishing eighth and 11th, respectively. Brody Smith spun on lap 14 for the race’s fourth and final caution, he did not continue and was credited with 13th.
Consolation results
(15 laps; top two transfer)
First consolation: Garrett Alberson, Tyler Erb, Chase Junghans, Ryan Unzicker, Shane Clanton, Matt Furman, Kyle Hammer, Ethan Dotson, Myles Moos, Jake Little, Brenden Smith, Clay Harris, Cody Overton, Ryan Gustin, Austin Howes, Mike Provenzano, Donny Walden. Scratched: Billy Moyer, Chase Osterhoff, Michael Leach, David Payne.
Second consolation: Tyler Bruening, Tim McCreadie, Justin Duty, Boom Briggs, Caden McWhorter, Jake O'Neil, Blaze Burwell, Frank Heckenast Jr., Trevor Gundaker, Brent Larson, Timmy Dick, Thomas Hunziker, Hunter Kohn, Brock Morris, Allen Weisser, Jadon Frame, Kayden Clatt. Scratched: Daryn Klein, Jason Riggs, Braiden Keller, Mike Harrison.
Third consolation: Ricky Thornton Jr., McKay Wenger, Drake Troutman, Austin Smith, Doug Drown, Brayton Wallace, Dustin Sorensen, Chub Frank, Tristan Chamberlain, Jerry Bowersock, Jake Timm, Alex Wilson, Brody Smith, Doug Carls, Dillon McCowan, Shannon Babb, Mike Spatola, Jeffrey Ledford, Brandon Overton. Scratched: Lyle Zanker.
Consolation lineups
First consolation
Row 1: Garrett Alberson, Clay Harris
Row 2: Shane Clanton, Tyler Erb
Row 3: Matt Furman, Ryan Gustin
Row 4: Ryan Unzicker, Myles Moos
Row 5: Kyle Hammer, Chase Junghans
Row 6: Billy Moyer, Ethan Dotson
Row 7: Cody Overton, Jake Little
Row 8: Michael Leach, Austin Howes
Row 9: Chase Osterhoff, Brenden Smith
Row 10: Donny Walden, David Payne
Row 11: Mike Provenzano
Second Consolation
Row 1: Tim McCreadie, Jadon Frame
Row 2: Justin Duty, Allen Weisser
Row 3: Boom Briggs, Caden McWhorter
Row 4: Tyler Bruening, Jake O’Neil
Row 5: Trevor Gundaker, Blaze Burwell
Row 6: Brent Larson, Kayden Clatt
Row 7: Frank Heckenast Jr., Daryn Klein
Row 8: Jason Riggs, Timmy Dick
Row 9: Thomas Hunziker, Braiden Keller
Row 10: Brock Morris, Hunter Kohn
Row 11: Mike Harrison
Third consolation
Row 1: Shannon Babb, Brandon Overton
Row 2: Ricky Thornton Jr., McKay Wenger
Row 3: Drake Troutman, Doug Drown
Row 4: Brayton Wallace, Mike Spatola
Row 5: Chub Frank, Jeffrey Ledford
Row 6: Austin Smith, Brody Smith
Row 7: Dustin Sorensen, Jake Timm
Row 8: Doug Carls, Tristan Chamberlain
Row 9: Dillon McCowan, Alex Wilson
Row 10: Jerry Bowersock, Lyle Zanker
Saturday’s schedule
(All times local)
7-11 a.m. - VFW Post PDC breakfast (VFW Building on Locust Street)
3 p.m. - Live Suave Talk show (at the bus on the backstretch turn two)
4-4:45 p.m. - Drivers’ autograph session (vendor row on backstretch)
5 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting (WoO command center)
5:30 p.m. - On-track activity
- Late Model hot laps (consolation entrants)
Opening ceremonies
- Redraw and prerace festivities
- Late Model consolations (20 laps)
- Late Model hot laps (feature entrants)
- Modified consolations (15 laps, top 2 transfer)
- Modified hot laps (feature entrants)
- Prairie Dirt Shootout (25 laps)
- Intermission (FALS Draw/track prep)
- 35th annual Prairie Dirt Classic (100 laps)
- Modified feature (40 laps)
