Korte Proves Superiority At I-55 Raceway With Victory In Saturday Night’s MARS/UMP Shootout

PEVELY, MO – Aug. 25, 2007 – Randy Korte won one for the UMP DIRTcar Racing crowd.

The defending UMP DIRTcar Racing Late Model national champion was flawless on Saturday night at I-55 Raceway, capturing the 40-lap MARS DIRTcar Series/UMP DIRTcar Racing Late Model Shootout.

Korte, 42, of Highland, Ill., became the first UMP driver to visit Victory Lane in the week’s trio of MARS/UMP Shootout events. Former MARS champions Terry Phillips of Springfield, Mo., and Bill Frye of Greenbrier, Ark., grabbed the glory for their tour with wins in the other races.

Coming off a triumph in I-55 Raceway’s regular UMP Late Model show one week earlier, Korte blasted into the lead at the start of Saturday’s extra-distance affair and never looked back. He paced the entire distance to pocket the $5,000 top prize.

Korte was able to distance himself in the race’s late stages from Will Vaught of Crane, Mo., who settled for a second-place finish.

The victory was the third of Korte’s career in MARS competition. His last win came on April 14, 2006, at Boliver (Mo.) Speedway – nearly six years after his initial MARS checkered flag, on Sept. 23, 2000, at Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway in Calvert City, Ky.

Vaught, a rising 20-year-old who is making a serious run at the MARS title after being the tour’s Rookie of the Year in 2006, couldn’t duplicate the success he enjoyed in his last visit to I-55. One month ago he passed Korte on the final lap to win a special UMP Late Model event.

But Vaught’s run did move him back into the thick of the MARS points battle. He advanced one spot to second in the points standings, sandwiched between Frye and Phillips – the only two champions the MARS tour has ever known.

Billy Faust of Lebanon, Ill., challenged Vaught while negotiating lapped traffic during the race’s closing stages but finished third. Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., placed fourth while Frye finished fifth, keeping him in the MARS points lead by a slim margin over Vaught.

Phillips, who entered the evening ranked second in the MARS points standings, had a rough outing. A broken j-bar and driveshaft during heat action put him behind and ultimately forced him to use a MARS provisional to start the A-Main, which he finished in the 12th position.

Peyton Taylor of Batesville, Ark., who continued to drive Steve Rushin’s dirt Late Model with Rushin sidelined due to hip-replacement surgery, gained notice as he worked his way to the front but saw his night end early in a multi-car pileup on lap four.

Also involved in that early tangle were the top two drivers in the current UMP DIRTcar Racing Late Model national points standings – Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill., and Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill. Steidinger finished 17th after pitting to change a tire, and Erb salvaged an eighth-place result despite racing with significant body damage.

Bryan Collins of Elsberry, Mo., recorded the fastest lap of the group qualifying session for the 34 cars on hand, circling the track in 12.984 seconds.

Heat race winners were Korte, Collins, Vaught and Shirley, and the B-Mains were captured by Tim Manville and Danny Haynes.

The MARS DIRTcar Series returns to action this weekend at Missouri’s Lebanon I-44 Speedway (Aug. 31-Sept. 1) and Monett Speedway (Sept. 2).

For more information on the MARS DIRTcar Series, visit www.midamericaracingseries.com

MARS DIRTcar Series/UMP DIRTcar Racing Late Model Shootout Finish (40 laps):



1. Randy Korte
2. Will Vaught
3. Billy Faust
4. Brian Shirley
5. Bill Frye
6. Bryan Collins
7. Shannon Babb
8. Dennis Erb Jr.
9. Danny Haynes
10. Jeremy Payne
11. Jeff Johns
12. Terry Phillips
13. Jack Sullivan
14. Ryan Dauber
15. Denny Woodworth
16. Tim Manville
17. Wes Steidinger
18. Mark Faust
19. Brian Harris
20. Steve Grotz
21. Mark Voigt
22. Tim Ratajczyk
23. Peyton Taylor
24. Jason McBride