MACON, Ill. — The Macon Speedway season came to a close on Saturday night to cap off the 77th consecutive season of racing at the world’s fastest one-fifth-mile dirt track during the BRANDT Professional Agriculture Race for the Cup finale.
For the final six racing divisions at the track, many knew who the likely champions would be at the start of the night as long as the top point drivers arrived. The evening still featured many outstanding finishes and celebrations.
Colby Eller came into the final night as an 18-point leader in the Decatur Building Trades Pro Late Model class. After facing a night of ups and downs, Eller left the night with the track championship and a second place finish in the 20-lap feature race.
Braden Johnson started the season with a feature win and he finished the season in the same manner, claiming his seventh feature of the year. Eller announced that he was racing this season in honor of his friend Curt Rhodes, who passed away earlier in the year.
The race was sponsored by R&K Eller Construction, who offered additional payout for the field of cars.
Rodney Standerfer has hinted that this year might be the final racing season for him and he was poised to finish the year with a big smile. After starting the evening with the fast qualifying time and heat race win in the BillingsleyRewards.com Modifieds, Standerfer got started on the pole and led early.
His farewell finale would be spoiled by Rob Timmons, a former pro modified driver, who was hooked up on the top of the track all race long and finished the night with the final checkered flag. Standerfer still got his moment to shine as he carried the big checkered flag around the track one final time as he clinched his third modified points championship at Macon Speedway.
Guy Taylor clinched the pro modified championship weeks earlier due to the points lead to the second place driver. On the final night of the season, Taylor looked like he would score his 14th feature of the season, but he ran into a hard spin in the fourth turn coming to lap nine which set up a hit and a pass from second-place driver Maxx Emerson.
Emerson was on the gas strong and steady for the remaining five laps and picked up his first feature win of his career. Racing was also competitive with Kevin Crowder and Matt Milner in the race for third place. Crowder, last week’s feature winner, would emerge ahead of Milner.
In the Weddle Performance Engines Sportsman class, Dennis Vandermeersch was well in place to win another divisional title. His biggest obstacle was a lapped car spinning out ahead of him, as well as Ethan Schnapp.
While Schnapp led and Vandermeersch was second, a lapped car lost control and wiped out in front of them, causing the top two drivers to collide and damage their cars. The damage was sufficient enough to take them both out of the race. That allowed third place driver Wes O’Dell to be the leader.
He would finish off the race by winning his second feature of the season — his first since April 23rd. Vandermeersch would still be crowned the champion of the Weddle Performance Engines Sportsman division despite not finishing the race.
Jim Ransom got himself locked in at Macon Speedway in the 51 Bistro Street Stocks. The race was strong with 17 drivers in the field for the 15-lap event. Andy Zahnd, Gene Reed and Rudy Zaragoza all contested for the lead, but Ransom pulled away.
With a caution flag setting up a green-white-checkered finish, Zaragoza came on fast and turned the final lap into a drag race to the finish. The champion of the division, Terry Reed, would finish with a top-five result.
The final division up for grabs was the 4-cylinder Hornet class where newcomer Tristin Quinlan was one race away from clinching his first title. A solid points lead over Billy Mason set up a 15-lap race that saw Quinlan slam the door on the championship and take hold his first championship after racing in both Street Stocks and Hornets in his young career.
The final races of the season featured the Mechanics Races for the Sportsman, Street Stocks and Pro Modified/Modified classes. Justin Curry in the Ronald Bacon No. 5S went ahead of Richard Lowe to claim the Sportsman race.
Things looked good for mystery driver in the No. 67R Rudy Zaragoza during the Street Stock Mechanics race. However, as the last lap came to finish with him leading, the black flag started waving as former National Champion Jeff Leka would be disqualified for being a current driver.
Terry Reed, Sr. would be awarded the race in Gene Reed’s Street Stock. Danny Page, a former modified driver who has been retired for 15 years, came back to pass Tim Shomidie in Guy Taylor’s No. 4T to win in the Pro Modified/Modified Mechanic Race.
The final race of the year was a five-car Hornet Powder Puff race where Courtney Ring outran the four other ladies in the Allan Harris No. 3H to become the Queen of the Track.
Pro Late Models Feature
1. 14J-Braden Johnson[Taylorville, IL]; 2. 10C-Colby Eller[Taylorville, IL]; 3. 27-Colby Sheppard[Williamsville, IL]; 4. 10-Blake Damery[Macon, IL]; 5. 11-Ryan Miller[Lincoln, IL]; 6. 27E-Kyle Mixon[Alton, IL]; 7. 16C-Tristan Coleman[Lincoln, IL]; 8. 11E-Randy Eller[Taylorville, IL]; 9. (DNF) 64-Butch Hilderbrand[Cerro Gordo, IL]; 10. (DNF) T22-Curtis Eller[Taylorville, IL]
Modified Feature
1. 5T-Rob Timmons[Centralia, IL]; 2. 28-Rodney Standerfer[Summerfield, IL]; 3. 9-Austin O’Dell[Rochester, IL]; 4. 35-Clark Robertson[Shelbyville, IL]; 5. 87C-Alan Crowder[Elwin, IL]; 6. 00S-Cody Stilwell[Godfrey, IL]; 7. 4T-Guy Taylor[Springfield, IL]; 8. 99-Tim Luttrell[Riverton, IL]; 9. 78-Maxx Emerson[Taylorville, IL]; 10. (DNF) 24M-Matt Milner[Chatham, IL]
DIRTcar Pro Mod Feature
1. 78-Maxx Emerson[Springfield, IL]; 2. 4T-Guy Taylor[Springfield, IL]; 3. 15C-Kevin Crowder[Argenta, IL]; 4. 24M-Matt Milner[Chatham, IL]; 5. 27X-Jonathan Hall[Decatur, IL]; 6. 32-Brett Page[Centralia, IL]; 7. 6-Billy Adams[Shelbyville, IL]; 8. 23-Ryan Timmons[Centralia, IL]; 9. 7S-Jeremy Sebens[White Heath, IL]; 10. (DNF) Z24-Taryn Page[Harristown, IL]