Night 14 of the 26-Event UMP DIRTcar Racing Summernationals: O’Neal Beats Babb To Finish Line At Vermilion County

DANVILLE, IL (July 1) – In a battle of the last two UMP DIRTcar Racing Summernationals champions, Don O’Neal held off Shannon Babb to capture Sunday night’s 40-lap tour A-Main at Vermilion County Speedway.

Martinsville, Ind.’s O’Neal, a Summernationals regular this season for the first time since his 2004 title run, scored his second victory of the 2007 trail. He earned $6,000 for his 34th career Summernationals triumph, which ranks him third on the alltime win list behind Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark. (62) and Moweaqua, Ill.’s Babb (51).

Babb, who won the Summernationals championship in 2005 and 2006 but is not a regular on the tour this year, settled for second place. Sitting behind the wheel of a brand-new Rayburn car, the 33-year-old set fast time in group qualifying and registered his first top-five finish on the series in four 2007 starts.

Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., finished third, followed by Jason Feger of Springfield, Ill., and Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn.

With 33 dirt Late Models on hand, heat winners were Babb, Mike Mataragas of Dekalb, Ill., Eddie Kirchoff of Gillette, Wyo., and O’Neal. The B-Mains were captured by Jeep VanWormer of Pinconning, Mich., and Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill.


UMP DIRTcar Racing Summernationals A-Main Finish (40 laps):

1. Don O'Neal
2. Shannon Babb
3. Dennis Erb Jr.
4. Jason Feger
5. Mike Marlar
6. A.J. Diemel
7. Wes Steidinger
8. Jeep VanWormer
9. Scott Bull
10. Jordan Bland
11. Jayme Zidar
12. Eric Kirchoff
13. Greg Johnson
14. Steve Sheppard Jr.
15. Chris Dick
16. Marshall Austin
17. Brandon Shepard
18. Richie Hedrick
19. Kevin Weaver
20. Mike Mataragas
21. Randy Korte



2007 UMP DIRTcar Racing Summernationals Schedule

6/15 – Fri. – Kankakee Motor Speedway/Kankakee, IL (Dennis Erb Jr.)
6/16 – Sat. – Kamp Motor Speedway/Boswell, IN (Dennis Erb Jr.)
6/17 – Sun. – Tri-State Speedway/Haubstadt, IN (Randy Korte)
6/18 – Mon. – Jefferson County Raceway/Mt. Vernon, IL (Randy Korte)
6/19 – Tues. – Lebanon I-44 Speedway/Lebanon, MO (Mike Marlar)
6/20 – Wed. – Highland Speedway/Highland, IL (Dennis Erb Jr.)
6/21 – Thurs. – Morgan County Speedway/Jacksonville, IL (Kevin Weaver)
6/22 – Fri. – Farmer City Raceway/Farmer City, IL (Rain – Rescheduled to July 13)
6/23 – Sat. – I-55 Raceway/Pevely, MO (Mike Marlar)
6/24 – Sun. – Lincoln Speedway/Lincoln, IL (Don O’Neal)
6/25 – Mon. – Peoria Speedway/Peoria, IL (Dennis Erb Jr.)
6/26 – Tues. – Poplar Bluff Speedway/Poplar Bluff, MO (Billy Moyer)
6/27 – Wed. – Lake Ozark Speedway/Eldon, MO (Rain)
6/28 – Thurs. – Paducah International Raceway/Paducah, KY (Billy Moyer)
6/29 – Fri. – Western Kentucky Speedway/Nebo, KY (Rain)
6/30 – Sat. – Clarksville Speedway/Clarksville, TN (Jeep VanWormer)
7/1 – Sun. – Vermilion County Speedway/Danville, IL (Don O’Neal)
7/2 – Mon. – Midway Speedway/Crooksville, OH
7/3 – Tues. – Lawrenceburg Speedway/Lawrenceburg, IN
7/4 – Wed. – Day Off
7/5 – Thurs. – Macon Speedway/Macon, IL
7/6 – Fri. – Tri-City Speedway/Pontoon Beach , IL
7/7 – Sat. – Fairbury American Legion Speedway/Fairbury, IL
7/8 – Sun. – Quad City Speedway/East Moline , IL
7/9 – Mon. – C.J. Raceway/Columbus Junction, IA
7/10 – Tues. – Quincy Raceway/Quincy, IL
7/11 – Wed. – Spoon River Speedway/Canton, IL
7/12 – Thurs. – LaSalle Speedway/LaSalle, IL
7/13 – Fri. – Farmer City Raceway/Farmer City, IL
7/14 – Sat. – Oakshade Raceway/Wauseon, OH