Macon Speedway is down to its final two races of the season and both should be a treat for fans. This Saturday, the track will be hosting its 7th annual KerbyStrong race, in memory of former track champion and many-time winner, Kerby Damery.
The KerbyStrong Foundation’s mission is to inspire, educate, and support cancer patients through their journey. Each year, the foundation and track celebrate Kerby and acknowledge those racing to win the fight against cancer in addition to raising funds for the foundation.
When it comes to the racing, the KerbyStrong event boasts specials for Pro Late Models, Modifieds, and Sportsman, three types of cars the late racer used to compete in. Each class will race for bigger trophies and more money for their feature events.
Colby Sheppard of Williamsville will lead the Decatur Building Trades Pro Late Models into the special event Saturday, having already claimed the track point championship with a 168-point advantage. Sheppard has won two races this year and will be one of the contenders.
Others to watch include seven-time feature winner Jose Parga, last week’s feature winner Dakota Ewing, Braden Johnson, and Kerby Damery’s son Blake. The Pro Late Model event is also the final Big Ten sanctioned race of the year.
Kyle Helmick looks to be on his way to the DIRTcar Pro Mod championship, having a 70-point lead entering the night. Helmick has won six features this season and leads former champion, Billy Knebel, Kevin Crowder, Guy Taylor, and Nick Justice.
It’s been a minute, but the Weddle Performance Engines Sportsman are back this week with Jim Farley, III leading the way by only two points over Scott Landers. Farley has yet to claim a feature win, while Landers has found victory lane once. Rick Roedel is third, Roy Magee fourth, and Dennis VanderMeersch complete the top five.
Taylor to potentially win two divisional titles in one night
The BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds point battle is still up for grabs but could be clinched by the end of the night. Guy Taylor of Springfield has a 78-point advantage on Alan Crowder. Taylor has claimed four feature wins, while Crowder claimed his first just two weeks ago and backed it up with another strong finish last week. The Modified field has been strong with fields over 20 each of the last three weeks.
Taylor could very well claim two championships this year, as he also leads the Archers Alley Street Stock standings. Taylor’s advantage in the class is 76 so he might claim both this Saturday night. Zach Taylor, Nick Macklin, Darrell Dick, and Jaret Duff complete the top five.
Other action
Rounding out Saturday’s program will be the DIRTcar Hornets. Allan Harris can also clinch the championship with a good run this week, having a 74-point lead over Billy Mason. Harris has won five features this year and has claimed 12 top-five finishes in just 14 races.
Pit gates open at 4 p.m., and grandstands at 5. Pre-race hot laps begin at 6 p.m., with racing beginning at 7. Grandstand admission is $15 and kids 11 and under are free.
Current standings
Decatur Building Trades Pro Late Models
Pos |
# |
First Name |
Last Name |
City |
State |
Points |
Gap |
1 |
27 |
Colby |
Sheppard |
Williamsville |
IL |
770 |
0 |
2 |
64 |
Donny |
Koehler |
Macon |
IL |
602 |
168 |
3 |
11 |
Ryan |
Miller |
Lincoln |
IL |
594 |
176 |
4 |
14J |
Braden |
Johnson |
Taylorville |
IL |
574 |
196 |
5 |
14 |
Derek |
Smith |
Decatur |
IL |
504 |
266 |
6 |
6P |
Jose |
Parga |
New Berlin |
IL |
502 |
268 |
7 |
25 |
Dakota |
Ewing |
Warrensburg |
IL |
444 |
326 |
8 |
10 |
Blake |
Damery |
Blue Mound |
IL |
396 |
374 |
9 |
F15 |
Bob |
Sidener |
Springfield |
IL |
394 |
376 |
10 |
12 |
Timmy |
Dick |
Monticello |
IL |
356 |
414 |
BillingsleyRewards.com Modified
Pos |
# |
First Name |
Last Name |
City |
State |
Points |
Gap |
1 |
77 |
Guy |
Taylor |
Springfield |
IL |
786 |
0 |
2 |
87C |
Alan |
Crowder |
Elwin |
IL |
708 |
78 |
3 |
27X |
Kyle |
Helmick |
Smithton |
IL |
688 |
98 |
4 |
52 |
Billy |
Knebel |
Pocahontas |
IL |
668 |
118 |
5 |
T6 |
Tommy |
Sheppard |
New Berlin |
IL |
626 |
160 |
6 |
78 |
Maxx |
Emerson |
Taylorville |
IL |
584 |
202 |
7 |
4G |
John |
Goveia |
Riverton |
IL |
484 |
302 |
8 |
24 |
Zach |
Taylor |
Springfield |
IL |
480 |
306 |
9 |
11 |
Zach |
Rhodes |
Taylorville |
IL |
406 |
380 |
10 |
27 |
Dalton |
Ewing |
Decatur |
IL |
392 |
394 |
DIRTcar Pro Mods
Pos |
# |
First Name |
Last Name |
City |
State |
Points |
Gap |
1 |
27X |
Kyle |
Helmick |
Smithton |
IL |
848 |
0 |
2 |
52 |
Billy |
Knebel |
Pocahontas |
IL |
778 |
70 |
3 |
15C |
Kevin |
Crowder |
Argenta |
IL |
772 |
76 |
4 |
24 |
Guy |
Taylor |
Springfield |
IL |
760 |
88 |
5 |
36 |
Nick |
Justice |
Decatur |
IL |
700 |
148 |
6 |
3X |
Justin |
Reynolds |
Hillsboro |
IL |
648 |
200 |
7 |
14N |
Nathan |
Lynch |
Hillsboro |
IL |
604 |
244 |
8 |
10 |
Adam |
Rhoades |
Clinton |
IL |
574 |
274 |
9 |
116 |
Kevin |
Rench |
Hillsboro |
IL |
482 |
366 |
10 |
21.5 |
Jake |
Montgomery |
East Peoria |
IL |
428 |
420 |
Weddle Performance Engines Sportsman
Pos |
# |
First Name |
Last Name |
City |
State |
Points |
Gap |
1 |
84L |
Jim |
Farley III |
Springfield |
IL |
386 |
0 |
2 |
41 |
Scott |
Landers |
Taylorville |
IL |
384 |
2 |
3 |
11 |
Rick |
Roedel |
Shelbyville |
IL |
348 |
38 |
4 |
11 |
Roy |
Magee |
Springfield |
IL |
288 |
98 |
5 |
25 |
Dennis |
Vander Meersch |
Springfield |
IL |
264 |
122 |
6 |
42 |
Brandon |
Dick |
Decatur |
IL |
260 |
126 |
7 |
87 |
Wes |
O’Dell |
Springfield |
IL |
218 |
168 |
8 |
4 |
Matt |
Reed |
Decatur |
IL |
210 |
176 |
9 |
01 |
Jeremy |
Nichols |
Lovington |
IL |
206 |
180 |
10 |
12M |
Terry |
Myers |
Buffalo |
IL |
196 |
190 |
Archers Alley Street Stocks
Pos |
# |
First Name |
Last Name |
City |
State |
Points |
Gap |
1 |
X7 |
Guy |
Taylor |
Springfield |
IL |
788 |
0 |
2 |
Z24 |
Zach |
Taylor |
Springfield |
IL |
712 |
76 |
3 |
16 |
Nick |
Macklin |
Argenta |
IL |
670 |
118 |
4 |
22 |
Darrell |
Dick |
Monticello |
IL |
668 |
120 |
5 |
21 |
Jaret |
Duff |
Maroa |
IL |
620 |
168 |
6 |
29 |
Bobby |
Beiler |
Blue Mound |
IL |
512 |
276 |
7 |
01 |
Jeremy |
Nichols |
Lovington |
IL |
506 |
282 |
8 |
08 |
Brian |
Dasenbrock |
Decatur |
IL |
428 |
360 |
9 |
53R |
Jeff |
Reed, Jr |
Blue Mound |
IL |
426 |
362 |
10 |
3J |
Jonathon |
Hall |
Harristown |
IL |
402 |
386 |
DIRTcar Hornets
Pos |
# |
First Name |
Last Name |
City |
State |
Points |
Gap |
1 |
3H |
Allan |
Harris |
Chatham |
IL |
778 |
0 |
2 |
357 |
Billy |
Mason |
Brownstown |
IL |
704 |
74 |
3 |
324 |
Shelby |
Beiler |
Macon |
IL |
686 |
92 |
4 |
J13 |
Justin |
Coffey |
Stonington |
IL |
634 |
144 |
5 |
26A |
Michael |
McKay |
Springfield |
IL |
508 |
270 |
6 |
187 |
Korey |
Bailey |
Stonington |
IL |
486 |
292 |
7 |
64CK |
Cook |
Crawford |
Lincoln |
IL |
434 |
344 |
8 |
44 |
Bill |
Basso |
Athens |
IL |
406 |
372 |
9 |
9B |
Brandon |
Miller |
Broadwell |
IL |
372 |
406 |
10 |
9Z |
Zac |
Miller |
Lincoln |
IL |
254 |
524 |
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Adam Mackey is the operations manager for Macon Speedway in Macon, Ill., owned by Track Enterprises. Track Enterprises is a premier racing promoter in the Midwestern United States that operate dirt racing facilities in Illinois and Kentucky, as well as promoting events in Illinois and Indiana, and working with sanctioning bodies such as ARCA, IRA, NASCAR, UMP, XTREME, NALMS, USAC, World of Outlaws, UDTRA, AMA, USHRA, Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and POWRi.