FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME: Kyle Larson wins 31st edition of the Prairie Dirt Classic

Kyle Larson has made several trips to Victory Lane in his career on both dirt and asphalt. But he celebrated like it was the first time after winning the 31st Prairie Dirt Classic Saturday at Fairbury Speedway.

The Elk Grove, CA driver, climbed to the roof of his car, grabbed two checkered flags, and waved them back and forth with excitement after holding off Bobby Pierce for the $50,000 prize.

“Yung Money” methodically worked his way to third from his seventh starting position, making his move for the lead on a Lap 27 restart. He dove to the bottom of the speedway, sliding up in front of Pierce as the Fairbury Speedway crowd let out a thunderous roar.

Even though Larson led the final 70 laps of the Morton Buildings Feature, Pierce tried to chase him down until the end. The Oakwood, IL driver started closing in during the last 15 laps before Larson moved up a lane and drove away.

“I saw the big screen, and [Pierce] was getting close to me, so I knew I had to get up on the wheel,” Larson said.  “I didn’t want to run the cushion all the way around the corner because I kept hitting the wall the last two days. So, I just decided to slide myself, and gosh, my car was really good.”

The Prairie Dirt Classic triumph is Larson’s first career World of Outlaws Late Models win, adding to an already impressive 2021 season. He’s the only driver to win a Feature with both the World of Outlaws Late Models and World of Outlaws Sprint Cars.

“It’s definitely been a good year,” Larson said. “You know last year I won a lot of races, but I didn’t get a chance to run in the legit big ones,” Larson said. “It was awesome to run Kings Royal and get a win there, and I didn’t get the win at “The Dream,” but I had a lot of fun.

“To come to the PDC, a race that I never thought I’d get the opportunity to race at, it feels awesome.  To win a Crown Jewel in Late Models after winning my first Crown Jewel in Sprint Cars a couple of weeks ago, it’s awesome. “

Pierce held on for second after trying to catch Larson in the race’s final stages. The “Smooth Operator” stated he still needed to be perfect toward the end, even though he carried a lot of momentum.

“Once we got going, I built my momentum up, I was catching him, and every lap was getting closer and closer,” Pierce said. “I thought if he stays down, we might have a shot, but I have to hit my marks perfectly. In that timeframe of me catching him, I think I was just hitting it perfect every corner, and he moved up. One lap later it could’ve been interesting.”

Shannon Babb, from Moweaqua, IL finished third, coming up short in his quest for a fourth Prairie Dirt Classic win. He hoped lap traffic would work in his favor allowing him to catch the top two.

“The track changed a lot tonight, and we knew our car was going to be good on the bottom, but it was good everywhere,” Babb said.  “We could definitely gain ground there at times, but we were just waiting to see what was going to unfold if the lap traffic would block them guys in.”

Chris Madden crossed the line fourth after charging into the top-five during the second half of the race. “Smokey” waited for the right moment to pounce and move up through the field until a late-race caution stopped his momentum.

“I planned on just biding my time and not wearing my stuff out and letting them guys go to begin with,” Madden said. “We just picked them off here and there and had a really good race car, but I kind of let my right rear seal up on me [under caution], and I couldn’t get back going after that.”

Three-time and defending Series champion Brandon Sheppard finished fifth. The New Berlin, IL driver, was disappointed with how the night went, despite grabbing another top-five finish.

“Really late in the race when my car came to me, I was a few spots too far back,” Sheppard said. “We just had to make the most out of it and made a few passes on the restarts and just came up short. It’s disappointing because we had a better car than where we finished.”

The Prairie Dirt Classic isn’t Kyle Larson’s first win, nor will it likely be his last. But taking the checkered flag at Fairbury Speedway is a feeling “Yung Money” will remember, as he tastes World of Outlaws Late Model glory for the first time.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models head to Outagamie Speedway in Seymour, WI on Tuesday, Aug. 3^rd, for the FVP Platinum Battery Showdown.

Morton Buildings Feature (100 Laps)-1. 6-Kyle Larson [7][$50,000]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce [1][$15,000]; 3. 18-Shannon Babb [6][$10,000]; 4. 44-Chris Madden [9][$6,000]; 5. 1-Brandon Sheppard [10][$5,000]; 6. 49-Jonathan Davenport [8][$4,000]; 7. 42-Mckay Wenger [16][$3,750]; 8. 2s-Stormy Scott [4][$3,250]; 9. 76-Brandon Overton [20][$3,000]; 10. 9-Devin Moran [19][$2,750]; 11. 28-Dennis Erb [24][$2,500]; 12. 32S-Chris Simpson [13][$2,400]; 13. 18C-Chase Junghans [12][$2,300]; 14. 16-Tyler Bruening [15][$2,200]; 15. 19R-Ryan Gustin [3][$2,175]; 16. 0E-Rick Eckert [14][$2,150]; 17. 24-Ryan Unzicker [27][$2,125]; 18. 12-Ashton Winger [22][$2,100]; 19. 7-Ricky Weiss [23][$2,080]; 20. B1-Brent Larson [31][$110]; 21. 97-Cade Dillard [29][$110]; 22. 99JR-Frank Heckenast [17][$2,020]; 23. 0-Nick Hoffman [18][$2,000]; 24. 59-Garrett Alberson [21][$2,000]; 25. B12-Kevin Weaver [26][$2,000]; 26. 89-Mike Spatola [25][$2,000]; 27. 20-Jimmy Owens [5][$2,000]; 28. 99B-Boom Briggs [30][$110]; 29. 71-Hudson O’Neal [2][$2,000]; 30. 3S-Brian Shirley [11][$2,000]; 31. 25F-Jason Feger [28][$2,000]Hard Charger: 28-Dennis Erb[+13]

Qualifying Flight-A –1. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 12.97; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport, 13.315; 3. 44-Chris Madden, 13.392; 4. 32-Bobby Pierce, 13.409; 5. 32S-Chris Simpson, 13.473; 6. 16-Tyler Bruening, 13.475; 7. 41-Jeremiah Hurst, 13.476; 8. 7-Ricky Weiss, 13.484; 9. 24-Ryan Unzicker, 13.544; 10. 7S-Jay Sparks, 13.546; 11. 11T-Trevor Gundaker, 13.555; 12. 3S-Brian Shirley, 13.555; 13. T2-Todd Bennett, 13.556; 14. B1-Brent Larson, 13.56; 15. 99JR-Frank Heckenast, 13.566; 16. 45-Kyle Hammer, 13.596; 17. B12-Kevin Weaver, 13.657; 18. 9S-Eric Smith, 13.665; 19. 25F-Jason Feger, 13.667; 20. 0-Nick Hoffman, 13.669; 21. 162-Logan Moody, 13.687; 22. 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh, 13.708; 23. 10S-Taylor Scheffler, 13.713; 24. 1st-Johnny Scott, 13.734; 25. 18-Shannon Babb, 13.757; 26. 28-Dennis Erb, 13.873; 27. 26M-Brent McKinnon, 13.88; 28. 40B-Kyle Bronson, 13.893; 29. 18L-Jeffrey Ledford, 13.893; 30. 59-Garrett Alberson, 13.909; 31. 14-Wil Herrington, 13.916; 32. 2-Mike Chasteen, 13.935; 33. 10J-Joseph Joiner, 13.99; 34. 6S-Blake Spencer, 13.994; 35. 12-Ashton Winger, 14.165; 36. 3-Dale Markham, 14.509; 37. 12Q-Brandon Queen, 14.646

Qualifying Flight-B-1. 6-Kyle Larson, 13.551; 2. 71-Hudson O’Neal, 13.722; 3. 22-Chris Ferguson, 13.899; 4. 20-Jimmy Owens, 13.913; 5. 2s-Stormy Scott, 13.968; 6. 18C-Chase Junghans, 13.996; 7. 11H-Spencer Hughes, 14.015; 8. 61-Allen Weisser, 14.073; 9. 0E-Rick Eckert, 14.083; 10. 35C-Derek Chandler, 14.096; 11. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 14.12; 12. 11-Gordy Gundaker, 14.15; 13. 20RT-Ricky Thornton, 14.151; 14. 84-Myles Moos, 14.158; 15. 9-Devin Moran, 14.215; 16. 42-Mckay Wenger, 14.215; 17. 89-Mike Spatola, 14.232; 18. 25-Shane Clanton, 14.248; 19. 25B-Mike Benedum, 14.252; 20. 97-Cade Dillard, 14.276; 21. 76-Brandon Overton, 14.285; 22. 1M-Mike Mataragas, 14.316; 23. 111-Steven Roberts, 14.407; 24. 51-Matt Furman, 14.415; 25. 4G-Bob Gardner, 14.434; 26. 116-Torin Mettille, 14.473; 27. 99B-Boom Briggs, 14.508; 28. T4-Adam Tishhouser, 14.608; 29. 35-Austin Simpson, 14.616; 30. 12C-Jeff Curl, 14.641; 31. 10-Scott Schmitt, 14.681; 32. 9Z-Lyle Zanker, 14.705; 33. 73-Ryan Weistart, 14.75; 34. 79W-Greg Wagner, 14.982; 35. 76S-Titus Sneed, 15.72; 36. B14-Victor Benedetto, NT; 37. 354-Chris Nash, NT

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Prairie Dirt Classic
Saturday, July 31, 2021
Fairbury Speedway
600 South Third Street
Fairbury, Illinois 61739 

Event Description
The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models will battle in the 31st Annual Prairie Dirt Classic at Fairbury Speedway. The winner of the 100-lap Morton Buildings Feature will take home $50,000.

Joining the World of Outlaws are the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals.

Series Racing
World of Outlaws Late Model Series

Support Divisions
Summit Modified Nationals

To Win Amount
$50,000.00

Event Schedule
Friday, July 31st, 2020
Drivers Meeting – 5:30pm
Hot Laps – 6:00pm
ORDER OF EVENTS:
World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Hot Laps
DIRTcar Modified Hot Laps/Qualifying
World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Qualifying – 2 Cars / 2 Laps
Opening Ceremonies
DIRTcar Modifieds Showdown Feature # 1 – 20 Laps
DIRTcar Modifieds Showdown Feature # 2 – 20 Laps
World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Showdown Feature # 1 – 25 Laps
World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Showdown Feature # 2 – 25 Laps
DIRTcar Modifieds Showdown Feature # 3 – 20 Laps
DIRTcar Modifieds Showdown Feature # 4 – 20 Laps
World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Showdown Feature # 3 – 25 Laps
World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Showdown Feature # 4 – 25 Laps

Saturday, August 1st, 2020
Autograph Session 4:00pm
Drivers Meeting – 5:15pm
Hot Laps – 5:45pm
ORDER OF EVENTS:
DIRTcar Modified LCS Cars Hot Lap
World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model LCS Cars Hot Lap
World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model & DIRTcar Modified Redraw
Opening Ceremonies
DIRTcar Modified Last Chance Showdowns – 15 Laps
DIRTcar Modified Feature Cars Hot Lap
World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Last Chance Showdowns – 20 Laps
World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Feature Cars Hot Lap
DIRTcar Modified Feature – 40 Laps $5,000 to win
Victory Lane
World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Shootout–25 Laps $2,500 to win or start PDC
Victory Lane
Track Prep
World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Prairie Dirt Classic – 100 Laps $50,000 to win
Victory Lane

*All times Central

Options And Prices
Adult General Admission ticket, Friday July 26th $25, Saturday July 27th $35, General 2-day Weekend Admission $55 | Pit Passes $15 (in addition to General Admission Ticket) | Kids 12 & under - General Admission - free with paying adult (seats in reserved sections must purchase a reserved seat) | Kids 12 & under Pit Pass $15

Grandstand Type
Bleachers - No backs

Handicapped Seating Location
In front of main covered grandstands on front stretch and a few select handicap spots on the first row of bleachers. Please email [email protected] to request accessible seating at least one week in advance.

Pit Age Requirement
No Age limit - All minor's require proper waiver

Pit Gate Location
3rd Street entrance

Parking Cost
Free

Handicapped Parking Location
Near the main front grandstands

Camping Availability
non-electric, offsite, onsite

Camping Cost
Available day of race only

Support Divisions
Summit Modified Nationals

To Win Amount
$50,000.00

Type of Grandstand
Bleachers - No backs

Stadium Seating
Stadium seats are not allowed

Handicapped Seating
In front of main covered grandstands on front stretch and a few select handicap spots on the first row of bleachers. Please email [email protected] to request accessible seating at least one week in advance.

Handicapped Parking
Near the main front grandstands

Pit Age Limit
No Age limit - All minor's require proper waiver

Pit Gate Location
3rd Street entrance

Personal Coolers
They are allowed on the grounds, but NOT in the bleachers or grandstands.

ATMs
1

Alcohol Sales
Alcohol is available to purchase at the track. Only FALS purchased cans and alcohol allowed in the bleachers or grandstands. Alcohol is prohibited in the pit area until the races are over for the evening.

Smoking Policy
No smoking or vaping in the bleachers or grandstands at any time.

Parking Cost
Free

Camping Availability
non-electric, offsite, onsite

Camping Cost
Available day of race only

Fairbury Speedway
600 South Third Street
Fairbury, Illinois 61739 

Track Phone
(815) 692-3222

Track Email
[email protected]

Track Size
0.25

Track Type
Semi-banked

Late Model Track Record
12.143 seconds by Kyle Strickler on 9/15/20

Closest Airport
Bloomington, IL (BMI / KBMI) Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal

Other Airport
Champaign, IL (CMI / KCMI) University of Illinois Willard Airport

Pit Gate Location
3rd Street entrance

Track Map

Competitor Downloads
 https://www.dirtcarmembers.com/downloads.php

Competitor Info
Tire Rules:
ALL FOUR (4) CORNERS: M20 or M30
RIGHT REAR OPTION: M40
GROOVING AND SIPING IS ALLOWED
**Friday after qualifying you can change right rear tire for the showdown features. Saturday is LM20, LM30 on all 4 corners with a LM40 right rear option (No limit for Saturday)