Sycamore Speedway
Feger outruns buddy for more Hell Tour success
Jason Feger earned $5,000 at Sycamore Speedway. (Tyler Carr)
About 24 hours after Jason Feger congratulated his pal Brian Shirley on winning a DIRTcar Summer Nationals feature at Fairbury (Ill.) Speedway, the situation reversed Sunday with Feger receiving a handshake and hug from Shirley after capturing the 30-lap Hell Tour headliner at Sycamore Speedway in Maple Park, Ill. | RaceWire
It was a good ‘ol time for both veteran Illinois racers who have been friends for over two decades and relish the opportunity to battle with each other at the front of the pack.
“Me and Brian, we started racing Late Models the same year together in 2002,” Feger said after the buddies occupied the top two spots in Summer Nationals action for the second consecutive evening. “He had a little crappy trailer and a beat up GRT (Race Car), and I had an open trailer and a old MasterSbilt. We both came a long way and had great careers, and we’ve been with each other pretty much the whole time through highs and lows and we really value each other’s friendship and we always try to pick each other up.
“We figured if we can run 1-2 or 2-1, either way it’s good. We just wanna outdo each other, and it’s good to have friends like that.”
After the 47-year-old Feger passed Shirley, 44, for the lead on lap 29 of Saturday’s 50-lapper at Fairbury but then ceded it back to the race-winning Shirley on lap 38, he experienced no such fall at Sycamore. Feger advanced from the sixth starting spot to grab the top spot from Shirley on lap 21 and stayed there to earn the $5,000 prize.
“That’s a case (where) Brian’s out leading and doesn’t know where I am,” Feger said of Shirley, who led laps 1-20 from outside the front row. “The track ended up being really racy. I mean, everybody thought it was bottom dominant, but we was able to get (higher on the track) and move around in the crumbs and it was a really good track, I felt like. Brian probably didn’t really know, and you know it’s a lot different when you chase or when you lead.”
Feger was in the chase position because he finished second to Shirley in the third heat, but he felt good about his chances of turning the tables on his friend in the feature.
“I mean, we had a loaded heat tonight,” Feger said. “ I mean that put (Hall of Famer Billy) Moyer and some other good cars in the B-main, so that heat was stacked, and I felt like I was as good as Brian.
“But, you know, it’s a heat race, and I knew I’d be starting sixth if we run second, so I was OK with that, being the car was really good and Brian’s out leading and doesn’t know where I am.”
Feger beat Shirley by 1.338 seconds as the pair continued their recent stranglehold on victory lane in Summer Nationals competition at Sycamore. A stop on the circuit every season since 2017, the 3/8-mile oval’s event was won by Shirley from 2021-23 and now the last two years by Feger.
Sycamore has become a favorite for Feger.
“Man, I’ve loved coming here ever since the first time I came here,” Feger said. “The first time I came here we ended up in a big pile up and didn’t do worth of crap, but this place has some awesome fans … and to see them pack in here on a Sunday like this on Father’s Day, it’s awesome.
“We don’t get to come (to Sycamore) very much, but I love coming up here. It’s a racy little joint.”
The triumph capped a solid opening week on the Summer Nationals for Feger, the only driver with two wins in the first five events (he also captured Wednesday’s $5,000 feature at Illinois’s Kankakee County Speedway). Adding finishes of second (Fairbury), eighth (Brownstown Bullright) and 12th (Peoria) brought him the $10,000 bonus for winning the Week 1 points title.
“To be able to win twice through the first week and clinch the, the points for the week, that’s huge for our team,” Feger said.
With the Summer Nationals providing the opportunity for Feger to cash in with the regional-focused schedule he’s settled into in recent years, the next month is very important for his bottom line. He’s not positive if he’ll run all 31 races, but jumping out of the gate well raises the possibility that he might roll through the entire slate and perhaps even add an overall championship to his only previous Summer Nationals crown in 2010.
There’s no rest for Feger, who will be right back in action Monday at Wilmot (Wis.) Raceway with six more nights of Summer Nationals racing to follow before the first scheduled off night on next Monday.
“This thing’s tough,” said Feger, who pushed his overall 2025 win total to six. “I mean, look at the year (Tyler Erb) had last year. We didn’t think we could beat him (this year) and then he struggled this week (going winless after an 11-victory championship campaign in 2024 that include four straight wins to start the Hell Tour). Next week could be my week to struggle, so we just take it night-to-night and don’t want to dig ourselves a hole, and if things are going good and in one piece we’ll just probably keep racing.
“The goal is to try to make as much money as we can every single night. We’ll just keep digging and hope we win as many as we can.”
