Joe B. Miller, Tanner English tame Fairbury Speedway, fields for racing wins

Rocky Ragusa
·4 min read
Joe B. Miller (51) charged from the 21st position, taking the lead with five laps to go, and was the winner of the 10th annual Bill Waite Jr. 410 Winged Sprint Car feature Saturday at Fairbury Speedway.
Joe B. Miller (51) charged from the 21st position, taking the lead with five laps to go, and was the winner of the 10th annual Bill Waite Jr. 410 Winged Sprint Car feature Saturday at Fairbury Speedway.

FAIRBURY — Race fans were treated to a diverse group of race cars Saturday night at the Fairbury Speedway. Making its lone appearance of the season, the 410 Winged Sprint Car event was a highlight on the racing card, which included the annual Allen Memorial race for late models.

The Winged Sprint feature went to Joe B. Miller of Millersville, Mo. Taking the checker in the late model evnt was World of Outlaw Rookie of the Year contender Tanner English from Benton, Ky. Also, making his first appearance of the year to victory lane in the modified was defending track champion Mike McKinney of Plainfield.

The Interstate Racing Association teamed up with the Midwest Open Wheel Association in presenting the 10th annual Bill Waite Jr. Memorial race, which featured a field of 36 racers were on hand for the 30 lap, $6,000-to-win race.

A time of 11.586 seconds gave Apollo Beach, Fla., driver Anthony D’Alessio fast time honors. Blake Nimee (Oswego), Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.), Scotty Thiel (Sheboygan, Wis.), and Ryan Bunton (Morton) took the four heat race wins. Joe B. Miller was the winner of the B-main. Jake Blackhurst (Hanna City) and Thomas Jr. claimed the dash wins.

Starting in the 21st position, Miller found something running the Fairbury cushion. Miller was able to wrestle the lead from Ryan Bunton with five laps remaining and pulled away to earn his first-ever IRA feature race win in the caution-plagued event.

“The cautions fell our way,” Miller said. “Those guys were committed to running the bottom. I thought it was slowing down. I started ripping it around the fence and it got pretty good up there.”

Thiel finished in second, followed by Zane Devault, Jake Neuman and Bunton. The remainder of the top 10 had Russel Borland, Scott Neitzel, D’Alessio, Jordan Goldesberry and Dave Uttech finishing in that order.

Although Ryan Unzicker (24) got beside of Tanner English in the late model feature, English was able to fend off the challenge and rode a line to his liking en route to winning the Allen Memorial race at Fairbury Speedway Saturday.
Although Ryan Unzicker (24) got beside of Tanner English in the late model feature, English was able to fend off the challenge and rode a line to his liking en route to winning the Allen Memorial race at Fairbury Speedway Saturday.

Fairbury Speedway continued its tradition of remembering the legacy of Pappy and Bob Allen in the 26th annual Allen Memorial race for the DIRTcar Late Models.

Mike Spatola timed in with a lap of 13.049 seconds for the quick time as 19 drivers looked to add the name to the list of Allen Memorial race winners.

Two heat races saw Kevin Weaver and Derek Chandler coming out on top.

As the green flag waved, Weaver took the lead with English moving into the second spot. After two lap-four caution periods, English overtook Weaver for the lead and was able to open up a straight away lead over the competition. Spatola moved into second and quickly cut into English’s lead.

Spatola got within a car length of the Bluegrass chauffeur when a caution fell with five laps to go. Ryan Unzicker took over the second position on the restart and looked under English to take the lead. English flexed his muscle and pulled out to a 10-car length lead as the checkered flag waved, giving English the $5,000 first prize.

Electing not to run Eldora’s Million and Dream races, English chose to prepare for the upcoming Summer Nationals and Prairie Dirt Classic.

“We had a free weekend and I wanted to race at Fairbury,” English said. “The track was fast, which was expected with the rain we got tonight. This is usually a track that I am not good at. It’s a track that Mike Spatola or someone that likes to bang the cushion. I figured out a line where I could stay off the cushion and still take advantage of it.”

Unzicker started in 10th and settled for second. Spatola finished in third, Weaver was fourth and was followed by Tommy Sheppard Jr. Richie Bell claimed sixth, with Justin Reed, Scott Schmitt, Jake Little, and Glen Thompson in tow to complete the top 10.

Michael Ledford (37) pulled along side of Mike McKinney and was able to stick his nose in front during the modified feature Saturday at Fairbury Speedway. However, McKinney was able to break away from Ledford and record the win.
Michael Ledford (37) pulled along side of Mike McKinney and was able to stick his nose in front during the modified feature Saturday at Fairbury Speedway. However, McKinney was able to break away from Ledford and record the win.

There were 18 DIRTcar Modified drivers were featured in a 20-lap, $1,500-to-win race. A time of 14.020 seconds gave Mike McKinney the fast time. McKinney and first-year modified racer Lyndon Whitfill won their respective heat races.

McKinney took the lead on the start and Michael Ledford overtook Mason Duncan for second on the fourth lap. After two cautions on lap nine, McKinney raced out to a bigger the lead as Ledford had to contend with Kyle Steffens and Trevor Neville in a battle for second.

Ledford was able to break away from the duo, and worked into McKinney’s lead. A yellow flag was displayed several times in the final five laps but McKinney turned back the challenge from Ledford to record his first Fairbury feature win of the season.

“First hats off to the Fairbury staff for getting the track back into racing shape after that rain,” said McKinney. “Our car was a little tight in the feature. I changed my line in the bottom of turns one, two and ran the top in turns three-four. It allowed me to carry more speed in turn one and it allowed me to free up my entry.”

Ledford made a run at McKinney but just fell short and finished second. Steffens took in third, Alan Stipp was fourth with two laps to go and Trevor Neville was fifth. The rest of the top 10 saw Matt Mitchell, Whitfill, Jared Thomas, Eric Vaughan and Dawson Cook finish in that order.

This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Miller, English tame Fairbury Speedway, fields for racing wins