Shirley Takes Night One at Farmer City

FARMER CITY, IL – Team Illinois was firing on all cylinders on Friday night at Farmer City Raceway, as Chatham-native Brian Shirley bested the man from New Berlin, Brandon Sheppard, in an exciting 25-lap battle for $6,000. This marked Shirley’s sixth career win with the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series, as part of the 12th annual Illini 100 presented by Douglas Dodge.

Chris Madden earned his hard-fought third-place finish, starting on the outside pole and battling through heavy pressure from those behind him to collect his fourth top-five of the season.

He said wasn’t as clean as he would have liked, but Shirley persevered through one intense battle in the closing stages with Series points leader Sheppard on a lightning-fast, yet technical racetrack.

“It wasn’t a perfect race, but in the end, it ended up being good enough to get the job done,” Shirley said.

Shirley grabbed the lead on the opening lap and held it until Madden pulled the trigger to Shirley’s inside on a lap seven restart. Madden held that lead only for a few laps before hitting a few ruts in turn one and jumping the cushion, handing the lead back over to “Squirrel,” which he held the rest of the way.

However, the battle with Sheppard had only begun once he regained the lead. Every corner of each of the last 10 circuits, “The Rocket Shepp” was nipping at Shirley’s heels, making forceful challenges to the inside several times. The Rocket Chassis house car driver’s efforts went unrewarded, but what a show both drivers put on in front of a packed grandstands.

“That guy’s an animal, he’s the best driver in the country,” Shirley said of fellow Illinoisan Sheppard. “To be able to compete with him is second-to-none. I’m just glad I was able to beat him this time.”

Overall, Shirley said the difference maker was just track position. Even though Sheppard started directly behind him, Shirley admitted a pole-position redraw definitely aided his drive to victory.

“It definitely didn’t hurt us, starting in front of him,” Shirley said. “Anytime you can get an advantage over the No. 1 team, it’s pretty good, and I’m thankful.”

Sheppard also had himself quite a run in Qualifying, picking up the PFC Brakes Fast Time Award and smashing the Farmer City Raceway track record of 11.973, set by Billy Moyer in 2008, with a lap of 11.750.

Chris Madden had a great night up front, aboard his Skyline Motorsports, Capital Race Cars No. 44. He held his runner-up starting spot through the first six laps before catching a better line than Shirley on a lap seven restart, shooting to the bottom and snatching the lead away. His efforts to defend the lead went sour, however, when he hit a rough patch in turns one and two and found himself over the cushion, allowing Shirley and Sheppard to sneak back by.

“Earlier on, I was able to get by Brian and the racetrack really wasn’t that bad,” Madden said. “I was able to run the middle through one and two, and I got by Brian racing him down there.”

“Smokey” was unable to make up the ground and reclaim the top spots but held off a bit of late-race pressure from Dennis Erb Jr. and Darrell Lanigan to bag the last podium spot.

Race highlights by DIRTVision: click here.

Tonight, the Outlaws will go back to work at Farmer City, this time, for a much richer prize of $15,000 and a much more demanding distance of 75 laps to complete the Illini 100. Hot laps are scheduled for 5 p.m. CST, catch all the action live on DIRTVision!

More event info: click here.

Abbreviated results (click here for full results)

Morton Buildings Feature (25 Laps) 1. 3s-Brian Shirley [1][$6,000]; 2. 1-Brandon Sheppard [3][$3,000]; 3. 44-Chris Madden [2][$2,000]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb [8][$1,750]; 5. 29-Darrell Lanigan [6][$1,500]; 6. 36v-Kyle Hardy [4][$1,400]; 7. 18-Chase Junghans [9][$1,300]; 8. 25-Shane Clanton [7][$1,200]; 9. 7-Ricky Weiss [13][$1,100]; 10. 28m-Jimmy Mars [15][$1,000]; 11. 32p-Bobby Pierce [20][$900]; 12. 29D-Spencer Diercks [22][$850]; 13. 4G-Bob Gardner [18][$800]; 14. 89-Mike Spatola [14][$775]; 15. 97-Cade Dillard [19][$750]; 16. 99B-Boom Briggs [24][$700]; 17. 99jr-Frank Heckenast [11][$660]; 18. 24-Ryan Unzicker [16][$640]; 19. 22-Tanner English [5][$620]; 20. 21-Billy Moyer [12][$600]; 21. B1-Brent Larson [23][$600]; 22. 7r-Kent Robinson [10][$600]; 23. 6p-Jose Parga [21][$600]; 24. 6-Blake Spencer [17][$600] Hard Charger: 29D-Spencer Diercks[+10] Lap Leaders: 3s – Brian Shirley – 1-6, 12-25; 44 – Chris Madden – 7-11

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Illini 100
Friday, April 05, 2019
Farmer City Raceway
850 N Grove St.
Farmer City, Illinois 61842 

Series Racing
World of Outlaws Late Model Series

Support Divisions
DIRTcar Pro Late Models

To Win Amount
$6,000.00

Event Schedule
Thursday
Pits open at 4
Practice 6-9

Friday
Pit Gates at Noon
Front Gates at 1 PM
Hot Laps at 6:30 PM

Saturday
Pit Gates at Noon
Front Gates at 12:30 PM
Hot Laps at 5:00 PM

* Flex Scheduling


*All times Central

Ticket Phone
(844) 347-8849

Options And Prices
DAY OF PRICING:
Trackside Parking: $75
2-day Advanced Pricing Packages $50
2-day,Day of Reserved Package: $60: $25 for children 12-and-under
2-day, Day of GA Package: $60
Friday Reserved: $30
Friday GA: $30: $10 for children 12-and-under.
Saturday Reserved: $35
Saturday GA: $30: $15 for children 12-and-under

PIT PASSES
Thursday - $25
Friday - $35
Saturday - $40
Two-day band - $70
Three-day band- $85
Daily Pit Kids- $20 (12-under)


Discounts
None

Grandstand Type
Farmer City Raceway offers bleacher style grandstands.

Family Section Location
Farmer City Raceway does not offer a Family Section.

Handicapped Seating Location
Handicap seating is available in the front rows of the grandstands.

Pit Age Requirement
There is no age limits for the pit area. Minors 17 and younger must have a signed parent waiver form.

Parking Cost
Parking on racetrack property is free of charge.

Camping Availability
non-electric, onsite

Camping Cost
$30-$50

Support Divisions
DIRTcar Pro Late Models

To Win Amount
$6,000.00

Type of Grandstand
Farmer City Raceway offers bleacher style grandstands.

Stadium Seating
Farmer City Raceway does not allow the use of chairs for its events.

Handicapped Seating
Handicap seating is available in the front rows of the grandstands.

Pit Age Limit
There is no age limits for the pit area. Minors 17 and younger must have a signed parent waiver form.

Personal Coolers
No coolers are allowed to be brought in to the grandstand area.

Alcohol Sales
Farmer City Raceway does sell alcohol at its concession stands.

Smoking Policy
Farmer City Raceway does not allow smoking in the grandstands.

Family Section
Farmer City Raceway does not offer a Family Section.

Parking Cost
Parking on racetrack property is free of charge.

Camping Availability
non-electric, onsite

Camping Cost
$30-$50

Farmer City Raceway
850 N Grove St.
Farmer City, Illinois 61842 

Track Phone
(309) 928-9110

Ticket Phone
(844) 347-8849

Track Email
[email protected]

Track Size
0.25

Track Type
Bullring

Late Model Track Record
11.750 seconds by Brandon Sheppard on 4/5/19

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

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

Track Map

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