RACING & TESTING

  RACING & TESTING

BARBERVILLE, FL - Feb. 8, 2010 - Darrell Lanigan won't be a bridesmaid during the 39th annual DIRTcar Nationals by University of Northwestern Ohio.

The standout racer from Union, Ky., made sure of that on Monday night, scoring a hard-fought victory in the 30-lap UMP Late Model A-Main that opened the meet's full-fender action at Volusia Speedway Park.

Lanigan, 39, outdueled Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., and Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa, to pocket a $7,000 top prize -- almost exactly one year after finishing second in the first event of the DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH. He went on to record two more runner-up finishes in the remaining five nights of the 2009 series.

"It feels good to get a win right out of the box this year," said Lanigan, the 2008 World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion. "But we didn't do anything real different from last year. We just made some little tweaks and got some breaks."

Driving a Rocket Chassis car he debuted late in the 2009 season, Lanigan used the inside lane to move forward from the fifth starting spot and grab the lead from Birkhofer on lap 14. Birkhofer regained command on lap 16, but Lanigan surged ahead on lap 19 and repelled late-race challenges in lapped traffic from Owens and Birkhofer to emerge victorious.

Owens settled for second place, 0.582 of a second behind Lanigan after his high-side bid rounding turns three and four on the final lap fell short. He started seventh in his Team Zero by Bloomquist machine.

Birkhofer finished third in his MB Customs car after leading laps 1, 3-13 and 16-18 in the wildly competitive affair, which included five lead changes among three drivers.

Completing the top five was 17th-starter Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., and eighth-starter Dan Schlieper of Sullivan, Wis.

"The car was awesome and the track was perfect tonight," said Lanigan, who made his first start of 2010 in preparation for his seventh consecutive season as a WoO LMS regular. "You could race all over it -- so hat's off to the Volusia Speedway track crew, and hat's off to my crew too."

Owens, a four-time DIRTcar UMP Modified national champion, wasn't disappointed with his second-place finish.

"To race like that with Lanigan and Birkhofer -- man, that was fun," said Owens. "It was a great race."

Birkhofer, meanwhile, came through his first appearance of the season with a good idea of what he should have done to his machine.

"We thought one thing and should've done the other," said Birkhofer, who didn't plan to enter the DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH until less than two weeks ago. "I'm looking forward to the rest of the week. It's an awesome racetrack, and you're gonna have to get your car right if you want to win."

Earl Pearson Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla., finished sixth after starting 20th, followed by Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., Jack Sullivan of Greenbrier, Ark., who started from the pole position and led lap two, Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., and Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y.

Two cautions flags slowed the feature -- on lap five for a spin by Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga., and lap 10 for the slow car driven by Tommy Kerr of Maryville, Tenn.

Sixty-seven cars entered the evening's action.

Owens turned the best overall lap of the evening's group time-trial session, blistering the sweeping track in 15.962 seconds.

Other group fast-timers included Kyle Berck of Marquette, Neb. (16.360), Erb (16.268), McCreadie (16.347), Will Vaught of Crane, Mo. (16.328) and Jared Landers of Batesville, Ark. (16.704).

Heat winners were Sullivan, Birkhofer, Vic Coffey of Caledonia, N.Y., Jordan Bland of Campbellsville, Ky., Lanigan and Ross Camponovo of Clarksdale, Miss., who pulled off an impressive prelim triumph in his first-ever start at Volusia. The B-Mains were captured by Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., Pearson and Rick 'Boom' Briggs of Bear Lake, Pa.

The 39th annual DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH continue on Tuesday (Feb. 9) with a DIRTcar UMP Late Model/Modified doubleheader. Race time is 7:30 p.m.

For more information visit www.dirtcar.com, www.volusiaspeedwaypark.com or www.dirtcarnationals.com.

DIRTcar UMP Late Model A-Main Finish (30 laps):

1. Darrell Lanigan
2. Jimmy Owens
3. Brian Birkhofer
4. Billy Moyer
5. Dan Schlieper
6. Earl Pearson Jr.
7. Tim McCreadie
8. Jack Sullivan
9. Dennis Erb Jr.
10. Tim Fuller
11. Dale McDowell
12. Josh Richards
13. Jason Feger
14. Vic Coffey
15. Rick Eckert
16. Rick Briggs
17. Brady Smith
18. Clint Smith
19. Steve Francis
20. Tommy Kerr
21. Jordan Bland
22. Tyler Ivey
23. Eric Jacobsen
24. Ross Camponovo

Lap Leaders: Birkhofer (1); Sullivan (2); Birkhofer (3-13); Lanigan (14-15); Birkhofer (16-18); Lanigan (19-30)

Heat No. 1 (8 laps -- Top 3 Transfer): 1. Jack Sullivan, 2. Jimmy Owens, 3. Rick Eckert, 4. Jason Feger, 5. Jason McBride, 6. John Blankenship, 7. Dan Stone, 8. Mike Knight, 9. Ronnie Rihn, 10. Chuck Julien, 11. Steve Sheppard Jr. (DNS) Brandon Kinzer

Heat No. 2 (8 laps -- Top 3 Transfer): 1. Brian Birkhofer, 2. Dan Schlieper, 3. Tim Fuller, 4. Justin Rattliff, 5. Dale McDowell, 6. Eric Wells, 7. Kyle Berck, 8. Dave Zona, 9. Dillan White, 10. Danny Mitchell (DNS) Brent Robinson

Heat No. 3 (8 laps -- Top 3 Transfer): 1. Vic Coffey, 2. Dennis Erb Jr., 3. Josh Richards, 4. Brady Smith, 5. Ricky Weiss, 6. Bub McCool, 7. Russell King, 8. Chub Frank, 9. Tim Dohm, 10. Brandon Sheppard, 11. Mason Ziegler

Heat No. 4 (8 laps -- Top 3 Transfer): 1. Jordan Bland, 2. Tim McCreadie, 3. Steve Francis, 4. Earl Pearson Jr., 5. Eddie Carrier Jr., 6. Brad Neat, 7. Austin Hubbard, 8. Dwight Falcon, 9. Jonathan DeHaven, 10. Darren Peters (DNS) Jeff Phipps

Heat No. 5 (8 laps -- Top 3 Transfer): 1. Darrell Lanigan, 2. Billy Moyer, 3. Tyler Ivey, 4. Clint Smith, 5. Ronnie DeHaven Jr., 6. Randy Korte, 7. Whitney McQueary, 8. Will Vaught, 9. Tyler Bruening, 10. Stacy Boles, 11. Wendell Wallace

Heat No. 6 (8 laps -- Top 3 Transfer): 1. Ross Camponovo, 2. Eric Jacobsen, 3. Tommy Kerr, 4. Rick Briggs, 5. Jared Landers, 6. Jeff Beyers, 7. Joe Callahan, 8. Kevin Colston, 9. Donald Beyers, 10. Mike Hammerle (DNS) Tyler Reddick

B-Main No. 1 (10 laps -- Top 2 Transfer): Feger, McDowell, Stone, Rattliff, Blankenship, Berck, Wells, Knight, Zona, S. Sheppard, McBride, Kinzer, White, Rihn, Julien, Mitchell (DNS) Robinson

B-Main No. 2 (10 laps -- Top 2 Transfer): Pearson, B. Smith, Neat, Carrier, McCool, Dohm, Hubbard, Frank, B. Sheppard, Peters, Ziegler, J. DeHaven, Falcon, Weiss, King (DNS) Phipps

B-Main No. 3 (10 laps -- Top 2 Transfer): Briggs, C. Smith, Korte, R. DeHaven, Wallace, J. Beyers, Bruening, Boles, Callahan, McQueary, D. Beyers, Colston, Reddick, Hammerle, Vaught (DNS) Landers

DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH Night 3 Canceled Due To Weather

Barberville, FL - February 5, 2010 - Strong afternoon storms and forecasted continued rain forced officials to cancel what was set to be Night 3 of the 39^th DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH.

Strong storms and accompanying tornado warnings passed through the Volusia Speedway Park grounds around 3 p.m. est. and forced officials to call the scheduled events.

Tickets purchased for the rained out Friday night World of Outlaws Sprint Car show may be presented for any of the remaining events during the DIRTcar Nationals. In the event that tickets cannot be used, tickets may be mailed to Volusia Speedway Park, 1500 E SR 40, DeLeon Springs, FL 32130 to obtain an refund.

The 39^th DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH will resume Saturday February 6, 2010 with the season opening event for the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series along with DIRTcar UMP Modified Round One Qualifying for the 2^nd Annual Gator Championship.

The 39^th Annual DIRTcar Nationals is brought to fans by the University of Northwestern Ohio. The University of Northwestern Ohio is the Official Education Provider of DIRTcar Racing. UNOH can deliver strong progressive academics, with flexible scheduling at an affordable price. The choice of a university at which to study is a major decision. Your future as a productive professional and a responsible citizen can be greatly enhanced by that decision. Students at UHOH will become critical thinkers, will become communicators, will have the most current technology and will experience small class sizes taught by knowledgeable faculty with real working experience. For more information visit UNOH at www.unoh.edu.

Barberville, FL -- Feb. 4, 2010 -- David McWilliams wanted to visit DIRTcar Nationals by University of Northwestern Ohio victory lane pretty bad on Thursday night.

McWilliams, from Union, Ky., used his front row starting spot to outduel young gun Austin Dillon of Welcome, N.C., on the opening lap out of turn two and dominate the DIRTcar UMP Modified field for the first DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH win of his career.

"I'm just so excited," McWilliams said. "I just don't know what to say."

McWilliams bested a hard charging Peyton Taylor and night one winner Dave Hess Jr., who finished third. Jared Landers and Jason Hughes rounded out the top five.

Landers, the 2009 DIRTcar Nationals UMP Modified Champion from Batesville, Ark., paced the 70-car field with a quick lap of 19.086 seconds, which was nearly a full second quicker than previous night's fast time at the Volusia Speedway Park half-mile.

Six heat races saw DIRTcar UMP Modified competitors scrap back and forth with Austin Dillon capturing Heat Race 1 over Stormy Scott of Las Cruces, N.M., who nipped 2009 DIRTcar UMP Modified National runner-up Devin Gilpin, of Columbus, Ind., at the line. Scott Kincaid of Rising Sun, Ind., won the second heat while Ben Adkins of West Portsmouth, Ohio, pulled a similar move with one to go to steal the second spot from Billy Smith of Park Hills, Mo.

Eventual winner McWilliams beat out Jon Henry of Ada, Ohio, and Wayne Hammond of Tampa, Fla., in the third heat as Henry took the second spot from Hammond with two remaining. Jason Hughes of Westville, Okla., edged Dave Hess Jr. of Waterford, Pa., and Todd Neiheiser of Panama City, Fl., in Heat 4. UNOH drivers would sweep the top two spots in Heat 5 as Stephen Schnapf of Newburgh, Ind., would take the win followed by David Reutimann and fellow NASCAR star Clint Bowyer. The final heat race of the evening had Jared Landers showing his quick time award was no fluke by beating out Tommy Seets of Alton, Ill., and Ty Dillon of Welcome,N.C.

Peyton Taylor claimed a B-Main win as he triumphed over Jason Wheatley and Shane Sabraaski. Jared Hawkins would claim the second B-Main over Ron Barker and Mike Spatola. B-Main 3 saw late arrival Ken Schrader of Fenton, Mo., climb his way from the tail of the field to grab the final transfer spot as Jacob Hawkins outlasted Kent Corbin for the win.

DIRTcar UMP Modifieds Statistical Report; DIRTcar Nationals By UNOH; Volusia Speedway Park; Barberville, Fla.; 2-4-10

Qualifying : 1. Jared Landers 2. Jared Hawkins 3. Dave Hess Jr 4. Mike Spatola 5. Stormy Scott 6. Clint Bowyer 7. Todd Neiheiser 8. Jason Hughes 9. Ben Adkins 10. Tommy Seets 11. Austin Dillon 12. Jamie Lomax 13. Stephen Schnapf 14. Wayne Hammond 15. Kyle Bronson 16. Jammie Wilson 17. David McWilliams 18. David Reutimann 19. Jon Henry 20. Justin Houston 21. Rick Cannata 22. Denny Schwartz 23. Scotty Kincaid 24. Billy Smith 25. Steven Pfeifer 26. Terry Hull 27. Dave Wietholder 28. Curt Myers 29. Ty Dillon 30. Ron Barker 31. Scott Green 32. Shane Sabraski 33. Jeff Babcock 34. J.E. Stalder 35. Jeremy Kerzman 36. Michael Davis 37. Matt Goulden 38. Devin Gilpin 39. Schuyler Nahre 40. Justin Matson 41. Tony Anderson 42. Peyton Taylor 43. Todd Sherman 44. Bob Broking 45. Rob Underwood 46. Paul Miles 47. Jason Gross 48. Ben Ledgerwood 49. Dale Mathison 50. Jason Wheatley 51. Randle Sweeney 52. Duane Dale 53. Tom Hagberg 54. Jim Ransom 55. Bob Gierke 56. Jeremy Newberry 57. Scotty Owens 58. Jacob Hawkins 59. Zach Patterson 60. Rob Penny 61. Kent Corbin 62. Roger Moser 63. Darrell George 64. Jeff Thomas 65. Joe Carr 66. Scott Martin 67. Chad Evans 68. Garrett Stewart 69. Nick Hoffman 70. Shawn Holliday .

Heat 1: 1. Austin Dillon 2. Stormy Scott 3. Devin Gilpin 4. Peyton Taylor 5. Curt Myers 6. Jason Wheatley 7. Dale Mathison 8. Justin Matson 9. Jeff Babcock 10. Jason Gross 11. Paul Miles 12. Jammie Wilson .

Heat 2: 1. Scotty Kincaid 2. Ben Adkins 3. Billy Smith 4. Shane Sabraski 5. Scott Green 6. Dave Wietholder 7. Justin Houston 8. Matt Goulden 9. Shawn Holliday 10. Schuyler Nahre 11. Zach Patterson DNS. Rob Underwood .

Heat 3: 1. David McWilliams 2. Jon Henry 3. Wayne Hammond 4. Terry Hull 5. Mike Spatola 6. Nick Hoffman 7. Rick Cannata 8. Darrell George 9. Roger Moser 10. Kyle Bronson 11. Jeff Thomas DNS. Joe Carr .

Heat 4: 1. Jason Hughes 2. Dave Hess Jr 3. Todd Neiheiser 4. Jared Hawkins 5. Ben Ledgerwood 6. Ron Barker 7. Jim Ransom 8. Tom Hagberg 9. Jamie Lomax 10. Scotty Owens DNS. Jeremy Kerzman .

Heat 5: 1. Stephen Schnapf 2. David Reutimann 3. Clint Bowyer 4. Steven Pfeifer 5. Jacob Hawkins 6. J.E. Stalder 7. Bob Gierke 8. Garrett Stewart 9. Kent Corbin 10. Jeremy Newberry 11. Rob Penny DNS. Denny Schwartz .

Heat 6: 1. Jared Landers 2. Tommy Seets 3. Ty Dillon 4. Randle Sweeney 5. Todd Sherman 6. Michael Davis 7. Scott Martin 8. Bob Broking 9. Duane Dale 10. Tony Anderson 11. Chad Evans .

B-Main 1: 1. Peyton Taylor 2. Jason Wheatley 3. Shane Sabraski 4. Scott Green 5. Rob Underwood 6. Jason Gross 7. Dave Wietholder 8. Justin Houston 9. Curt Myers 10. Paul Miles 11. Shawn Holliday 12. Schuyler Nahre 13. Zach Patterson 14. Matt Goulden 15. Justin Matson 16. Jeff Babcock 17. Dale Mathison DNS. Jammie Wilson .

B-Main 2: 1. Jared Hawkins 2. Ron Barker 3. Mike Spatola 4. Terry Hull 5. Rick Cannata 6. Jim Ransom 7. Roger Moser 8. Tom Hagberg 9. Jamie Lomax 10. Joe Carr 11. Nick Hoffman 12. Jeff Thomas 13. Scotty Owens 14. Darrell George 15. Kyle Bronson 16. Ben Ledgerwood DNS. Jeremy Kerzman.

B-Main 3: 1. Jacob Hawkins 2. Kent Corbin 3. Kenny Schrader 4. J.E. Stalder 5. Todd Sherman 6. Steven Pfeifer 7. Duane Dale 8. Jeremy Newberry 9. Michael Davis 10. Tony Anderson 11. Garrett Stewart 12. Bob Gierke 13. Scott Martin 14. Bob Broking 15. Randle Sweeney 16. Chad Evans DNS. Rob Penny DNS. Denny Schwartz .

A-Main: 1. David McWilliams 2. Peyton Taylor 3. Dave Hess Jr 4. Jared Landers 5. Jason Hughes 6. Clint Bowyer 7. Austin Dillon 8. Jon Henry 9. Stormy Scott 10. Jacob Hawkins 11. Kenny Schrader 12. Ty Dillon 13. Jared Hawkins 14. Tommy Seets 15. Shane Sabraski 16. Scotty Kincaid 17. Stephen Schnapf 18. Mike Spatola 19. David Reutimann 20. Todd Neiheiser 21. Wayne Hammond 22. Kent Corbin 23. Dale Mathison 24. Billy Smith 25. Ron Barker 26. Jamie Lomax 27. Ben Adkins 28. Devin Gilpin 29. Jason Wheatley.

The 39^th Annual DIRTcar Nationals is brought to fans by the University of Northwestern Ohio. The University of Northwestern Ohio is the Official Education Provider of DIRTcar Racing. UNOH can deliver strong progressive academics, with flexible scheduling at an affordable price. The choice of a university at which to study is a major decision. Your future as a productive professional and a responsible citizen can be greatly enhanced by that decision. Students at UHOH will become critical thinkers, will become communicators, will have the most current technology and will experience small class sizes taught by knowledgeable faculty with real working experience. For more information visit UNOH at www.unoh.edu.

BARBERVILLE, FL - February 7, 2010 - Austin Dillon has been one of the toughest DIRTcar UMP Modified competitors at Volusia Speedway Park during the past two years of the DIRTcar Nationals by University of Northwestern Ohio events.

The teenager from Welcome, N.C., lived up to his reputation on Sunday night, capturing the division's second 20-lap qualifying feature for Monday's big 'The Gator Championship' event.

"It was awesome tonight," Dillon said after steering his black No. 3 DIRTcar UMP Modified to a $700 triumph that was his first of the 39^th annual DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH. "Shane (McDowell, his crew chief) did a great job putting our final adjustments in the car. It drove so much better tonight than the other night."

The grandson of legendary NASCAR owner Richard Childress, Dillon's expertise on dirt guided him to the checkered flag over a field that also featured NASCAR stars Clint Bowyer, Kenny Wallace and Ken Schrader, ageless veteran Buzzie Reutimann, former DIRTcar UMP Modified national champion Denny Schwartz and Dillon's younger brother, Ty.

"I think we have a good as shot as anybody," Dillon said of his chances of winning the $5,000 top prize up for grabs in Monday night's 'The Gator Championship' event. "I think we want to win it just as much as anybody too."

Dillon started outside the front row and quickly put distance between himself and Ashmore, Ill.'s Schwartz. Dillon withstood multiple restarts, including the final one in which he caught the field sleeping, putting nearly five car-lengths between himself and Schwartz entering turn one.

Schwartz finished second after withstanding early pressure from Dillon's younger brother Ty, while Kenny Wallace of Arnold, Mo., placed third. Jason Schill of Centuria, Wis., wound up fourth and last-place starter Jacob Hawkins of Fairmont, W.Va., rallied to round out the top five.

Jason Hughes of Westville, Okla., paced the 37-car field around the half-mile Volusia oval with a quick lap of 18.680 seconds, a lap that was the quickest qualifying effort in the first four nights of DIRTcar UMP Modified action.

The top 10 finishers in Sunday nights feature joined the top 10 drivers in Saturday nights preliminary A-Main in transferring directly to Monday's 'The Gator Championship' event.

J.E. Stalder of Martins Ferry, Ohio, Austin Dillon, Schwartz and Bowyer all claimed heat races.

UNOH drivers Jeff Babcock of Wayne, Ohio, and Stephen Schnapf of Newburgh Ind., transferred out of B-Main 1, while Dave Wietholder of Liberty, Ill., and Jacob Hawkins claimed transfer spots in B-Main 2.
 

DIRTcar Nationals By University of Northwestern Ohio; DIRTcar UMP Modifieds; Volusia Speedway Park; Feb. 7, 2010

Qualifying: 1. Jason Hughes, 2. Ty Dillon, 3. Clint Bowyer, 4. Terry Hull, 5. Jacob Hawkins, 6. Jon Henry, 7. Kenny Schrader, 8. Bob Broking, 9. Schuyler Nahre, 10. Buzzie Reutimann, 11. Jason Schill, 12. Denny Schwartz, 13. Austin Dillon, 14. Shawn Holliday, 15. Tommy Seets, 16. Jesse Stovall, 17. Kenny Wallace, 18. Scotty Kincaid, 19. Duane Dale, 20. J.E. Stalder, 21. Todd Neiheiser, 22. Peyton Taylor, 23. Paul DeGoey, 24. Stephen Schnapf, 25. Dave Wietholder, 26. Jeff Babcock, 27. Michael Davis, 28. Garrett Stewart, 29. Rob Penny, 30. Jason Gross, 31. Tony Anderson, 32. Todd Sherman, 33. Bob Gierke, 34. Randle Sweeney, 35. Tom Hagberg, 36. Rick Cannata, 37. Ben Ledgerwood.

Heat 1: 1. J.E. Stalder, 2. Buzzie Reutimann, 3. Jason Schill, 4. Jesse Stovall, 5. Todd Neiheiser, 6. Jeff Babcock, 7. Rob Penny, 8. Garrett Stewart, 9. Stephen Schnapf, 10. Tony Anderson

Heat 2: 1. Austin Dillon, 2. Scotty Kincaid, 3. Kenny Wallace, 4. Peyton Taylor, 5. Randle Sweeney, 6. Todd Sherman, 7. Bob Gierke, 8. Tom Hagberg, 9. Ben Ledgerwood

Heat 3: 1. Denny Schwartz, 2. Bob Broking, 3. Jon Henry, 4. Tommy Seets, 5. Shawn Holliday, 6. Dave Wietholder, 7. Michael Davis, 8. Rick Cannata, 9. Paul DeGoey

Heat 4: 1. Clint Bowyer, 2. Ty Dillon, 3. Kenny Schrader, 4. Jason Hughes, 5. Schuyler Nahre, 6. Terry Hull, 7. Jason Gross, 8. Duane Dale, 9. Jacob Hawkins

B-main 1: 1. Jeff Babcock, 2. Stephen Schnapf, 3. Tony Anderson, 4. Todd Sherman, 5. Bob Gierke, 6. Garrett Stewart, 7. Tom Hagberg, 8. Ben Ledgerwood, 9. Rob Penny

B-main 2: 1. Dave Wietholder, 2. Jacob Hawkins, 3. Jason Gross, 4. Terry Hull, 5. Michael Davis, 6. Duane Dale, DNS. Rick Cannata, DNS. Paul DeGoey

A-main( 20 Laps Top 10 Lock Into Gator Championship): 1. Austin Dillon, 2. Denny Schwartz, 3. Kenny Wallace, 4. Jason Schill, 5. Jacob Hawkins, 6. Stephen Schnapf, 7. Bob Broking, 8. Kenny Schrader, 9. Jesse Stovall, 10. Jeff Babcock, 11. Clint Bowyer, 12. J.E. Stalder, 13. Dave Wietholder, 14. Buzzie Reutimann, 15. Scotty Kincaid, 16. Todd Neiheiser, 17. Jason Hughes, 18. Ty Dillon, 19. Tommy Seets, 20. Jon Henry, 21. Randle Sweeney, 22. Peyton Taylor, 23. Shawn Holliday, 24. Schuyler Nahre.

The 39th Annual DIRTcar Nationals is brought to fans by the University of Northwestern Ohio. The University of Northwestern Ohio is the Official Education Provider of DIRTcar Racing. UNOH can deliver strong progressive academics, with flexible scheduling at an affordable price. The choice of a university at which to study is a major decision. Your future as a productive professional and a responsible citizen can be greatly enhanced by that decision. Students at UHOH will become critical thinkers, will become communicators, will have the most current technology and will experience small class sizes taught by knowledgeable faculty with real working experience. For more information visit UNOH at www.unoh.edu.

Hess Tops Wallace, Schrader, Bowyer to Reclaim DIRTcar UMP Modified Spotlight

Barberville, FL Feb. 3, 2010 Two years ago Dave Hess Jr. was crowned an All-Star at the DIRTcar Nationals By University of Northwestern Ohio. On Wednesday night's opener to the 39^th annual running of the traditional event at Volusia Speedway Park, Hess rekindled those memories to top a star-studded DIRTcar UMP Modified main event.

Hess managed to hold off a field that included Kenny Wallace, Ken Schrader, Clint Bowyer, Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon and Jared Landers, who dominated last years event.

The track was real fast so I think everyones car felt great, said Hess, of Waterford, Pa. I didn't want to look back, there were a lot of great cars throughout the field.

Hess used a front row starting spot to stake his claim on the top spot just as University of Northwestern Ohio driver Todd Sherman went barrel-rolling up and along the Turn 3 wall. Sherman would walk away from the vicious wreck. Hess was strong on every restart, keeping the hard-charging superstars behind him over the final 19 laps.

Weve had real good cars, right out of the box, Hess said. I just hope we can keep everything going.

Withstanding challenges from the likes of Jon Henry, of Ada, Ohio, and Tommy Seets, of Alton, Ill., Hess would prove too strong late in the going, stretching his lead to over five car-lengths as the checkerd flag waved.

Along with 42 All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Cars, there were 74 DIRTcar UMP Modifieds signed in on Wednesday night on the opening night of the 39^th DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH, delayed a day by Tuesday's rain. Terry Hull, of Columbia City, Ind., ran the fastest lap in group qualifying with a time of 19.983 seconds around the Volusia Speedway Park half-mile oval.

Heat race action saw Henry make quick work of a heat race filled with NASCAR names. Henry led Bowyer, Austin Dillon and Wallace to the line for the first heat win. Heat two was witness to eventual winner Hess beating the likes of former DIRTcar UMP Modified National Champion Denny Schwartz, of Ashmore, Ill., and younger Team Dillon driver, Ty Dillon of Welcome, NC.

Tommy Seets, of Alton, Ill., showed Dale Mathison, of Clearwater, Minn., and Ken Schrader of Fenton, Mo., the quick line for a Heat 3 victory, while Ben Adkins, of West Portsmouth, Ohio, dominated the action during Heat 4. Derek Groomer, of Bloomington, Ill., outdistanced Scotty Kincaid, of Rising Sun, Ind., and Jamie Lomax of Lake Village, Ind., in Heat 5. UNOH driver Todd Sherman, of Churubusco, Ind., would claim Heat 6 over Jeremy Kerzman, of Gray Eagle, Minn., and teammate Terry Hull.

Jared Landers, of Batesville, Ark., one year removed from winning 5 of 7 features at the DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH, had to fight his way to the first B-Main win. David McWilliams, of Union, KY., would claim B-Main 2 and Jason Hughes, of Westville, Okla., would capture B-Main 3 to set the 28-car field.

DIRTcar Nationals By University of Northwestern Ohio Statistical Report: DIRTcar UMP Modifieds

74 Entries

Qualifying

1. Terry Hull, 2. Randy Hall, 3. Rob Underwood, 4. Kenny Wallace, 5. Clint Bowyer, 6. Scotty Kincaid, 7. Kenny Schrader, 8. Derek Groomer, 9. Wayne Hammond, 10. Dave Hess Jr, 11. Jamie Lomax, 12. Todd Sherman, 13. Jason Schill, 14. Jon Henry, 15. Jason Hughes, 16. John McCall, 17. Denny Schwartz, 18. Ron Barker, 19. Scott Martin, 20. Tommy Seets, 21. Devin Gilpin, 22. Jeremy Kerzman, 23. Ben Adkins, 24. Jacob Hawkins, 25. Jared Landers, 26. Chad Evans, 27. Jammie Wilson, 28. Ty Dillon, 29. David McWilliams, 30. Dale Mathison, 31. Peyton Taylor, 32. Garrett Stewart, 33. Joe Carr, 34. Jesse Stovall, 35. Paul DeGoey, 36. Bob Gierke, 37. Bob Broking, 38. Scott Green, 39. Rick Cannata, 40. Steven Pfeifer, 41. Greg Socha, 42. Curt Myers, 43. Riley Herman, 44. Ben Ledgerwood, 45. Austin Dillon, 46. Jim Ransom, 47. Schuyler Nahre, 48. Jared Hawkins, 49. Stormy Scott, 50. Kyle Bronson, 51. Shane Sabraski, 52. Todd Neiheiser, 53. Tony Anderson, 54. Jeff Babcock, 55. Darrell George, 56. Jeremy Newberry, 57. Shawn Holliday, 58. J.E. Stalder, 59. Roger Moser, 60. Thomas Sigler, 61. Paul Miles, 62. Gary Brooks, 63. Justin Houston, 64. Michael Davis, 65. Justin Matson, 66. Tom Hagberg, 67. Zach Patterson, 68. Jeff Thomas, 69. Stephen Schnapf, 70. Mike Spatola, 71. Duane Dale, 72. Dave Wietholder, 73. Buzzie Reutimann, 74. Dave Baldwin

Heat 1. 1. Jon Henry, 2. Clint Bowyer, 3. Austin Dillon, 4. Kenny Wallace, 5. Scott Green, 6. Kyle Bronson, 7. Justin Houston, 8. Michael Davis, 9. Dave Wietholder, 10. Buzzie Reutimann, 11. Paul Miles, 12. Thomas Sigler, DNS. Dave Baldwin

Heat 2. 1. Dave Hess Jr, 2. Denny Schwartz, 3. Ty Dillon, 4. Jared Landers, 5. Greg Socha, 6. Bob Broking, 7. Jeremy Newberry, 8. Duane Dale, 9. Tom Hagberg, 10. Devin Gilpin, 11. Jacob Hawkins, 12. Schuyler Nahre, DNS. Garrett Stewart

Heat 3. 1. Tommy Seets, 2. Dale Mathison, 3. Kenny Schrader, 4. Steven Pfeifer, 5. Peyton Taylor, 6. Jesse Stovall, 7. Tony Anderson, 8. Jeff Babcock, 9. Rob Underwood, 10. Ben Ledgerwood, 11. Todd Neiheiser, DNS. Mike Spatola

Heat 4. 1. Ben Adkins, 2. Ron Barker, 3. Wayne Hammond, 4. David McWilliams, 5. J.E. Stalder, 6. Shane Sabraski, 7. Jim Ransom, 8. Chad Evans, 9. Bob Gierke, 10. Stormy Scott, 11. Roger Moser, DNS. Gary Brooks

Heat 5. 1. Derek Groomer, 2. Scotty Kincaid, 3. Jamie Lomax, 4. Jason Hughes, 5. Scott Martin, 6. Jason Schill, 7. Justin Matson, 8. Darrell George, 9. Zach Patterson, 10. Shawn Holliday, 11. Randy Hall, 12. John McCaul

Heat 6. 1. Todd Sherman, 2. Jeremy Kerzman, 3. Terry Hull, 4. Curt Myers, 5. Joe Carr, 6. Jared Hawkins, 7. Stephen Schnapf, 8. Jeff Thomas, 9. Riley Herman, 10. Jammie Wilson, 11. Rick Cannata, 12. Paul DeGoey

B-Main 1. 1. Jared Landers, 2. Kenny Wallace, 3. Scott Green, 4. Kyle Bronson, 5. Bob Broking, 6. Buzzie Reutimann, 7. Thomas Sigler, 8. Tom Hagberg, 9. Justin Houston, 10. Jeremy Newberry, 11. Greg Socha, 12. Duane Dale, 13. Michael Davis, 14. Dave Wietholder, 15. Devin Gilpin, 16. Jacob Hawkins, 17. Paul Miles, 18. Schuyler Nahre, 19. Dave Baldwin, 20. Garrett Stewart

B-Main 2. , 1. David McWilliams, 2. Steven Pfeifer, 3. J.E. Stalder, 4. Jesse Stovall, 5. Peyton Taylor, 6. Tony Anderson, 7. Shane Sabraski, 8. Jeff Babcock, 9. Jim Ransom, 10. Ben Ledgerwood, 11. Bob Gierke, 12. Chad Evans, 13. Roger Moser, DNS. Todd Neiheiser, DNS. Mike Spatola, DNS. Gary Brooks, DNS. Rob Underwood, DNS. Stormy Scott

B-Main 3. 1. Jason Hughes, 2. Scott Martin, 3. Curt Myers, 4. Justin Matson, 5. Jared Hawkins, 6. Jammie Wilson, 7. Joe Carr, 8. John McCaul, 9. Shawn Holliday, 10. Rick Cannata, 11. Jason Schill, 12. Darrell George, 13. Jeff Thomas, 14. Stephen Schnapf, 15. Riley Herman, 16. Zach Patterson, DNS. Randy Hall, DNS. Paul DeGoey

A-Main (20 Laps) 1. Dave Hess Jr, 2. Tommy Seets, 3. Jason Hughes, 4. Austin Dillon, 5. Kenny Wallace, 6. Kenny Schrader, 7. Jared Landers, 8. Dale Mathison, 9. Scott Green, 10. Jeremy Kerzaman, 11. Wayne Hammond, 12. Jon Henry, 13. J.E. Stalder, 14. Steven Pfeifer, 15. Clint Bowyer, 16. Curt Myers, 17. Denny Schwartz, 18. Scott Martin, 19. David McWilliams, 20. Ben Adkins, 21. Ty Dillon, 22. Jason Schill, 23. Jamie Lomax, 24. Scotty Kincaid, 25. Ron Barker, 26. Terry Hull, 27. Derek Groomer, 28. Todd Sherman

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