| Darren Miller Provides Another ‘Thrill’ Show At I-57/I-64 Raceway |
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| Written by Administrator |
| Saturday, 21 June 2008 16:00 |
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Miller, 31, of Milledgeville, Ill., started the main event from the pole, but that didn’t mean he had it easy. Second-starter Kevin Claycomb of Vincennes, Ind., claimed the lead on the first circuit and Miller was relegated to third a few laps later when a charging Randy Korte of Highland, Ill., used the high lane to reach second after starting eighth. Korte was in the process of passing Claycomb for the lead on lap eight when a caution flag flew for the slowing Jeep VanWormer of Pinconning, Mich., allowing Claycomb to restart at the front of the field. Miller, meanwhile, was a model of patience and consistency. He moved to the middle groove to get by Korte after a lap-12 restart and quickly catch Claycomb, commencing a battle for the top spot. “We had a good race car down in the middle of the racetrack,” said Miller. Miller took the lead by inches on lap 17, but Claycomb reclaimed it for laps 18-19. Finally, on lap 20, Miller’s perseverance paid off as he drove low around Claycomb to assume command for good. “I just kept working it and kept getting better and better,” Miller said after his first visit to RacingJunk.com Victory Lane on the Summer Nationals tour. “Finally we got it done.” Defending Summer Nationals champion Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., had a strong effort yet again, starting fourth and claiming a second-place finish behind Miller. Erb saw Miller making his move on the low side of the track and used the same line to get past Claycomb and Korte in the final laps. “Darren was really good down there,” said Erb, who moved by 11th-place finisher Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., to grab the Summer Nationals points lead (458-441). “I was following right there with him. The top kind of went away, the bottom and middle came in, and that was it.” Korte, the 2006 UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model national champion settled for a third-place finish after his early bid for the lead was negated by a caution flag. “I think I should have got down early,” Korte said of his groove choice, “and I think the caution killed me too.” Thirty-seven UMP DIRTcar Super Late Models participated in the group time-trial session on the high-banked, quarter-mile oval, with Kevin Cole of Christopher, Ill., turning the overall fastest lap (13.88 seconds). Heat winners were VanWormer, who brought out the A-Main’s two caution flags with flat tires (he was black-flagged after the second for the event’s two-caution rule), Claycomb, Erb and Miller. The C-Main was captured by Rick Salter of Albers, Ill., and the B-Main went to Wes Steidinger of Fairbury, Ill. Provisional starting positions for the feature were awarded to previous night’s winner Will Vaught, current UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model national points leader Mike Hammerle of St. Charles, Mo., and Salter. The UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals continues on Friday night (June 20) with a $10,000-to-win event at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway. Be sure and stay tuned to www.umpracing.com for all the latest news and results from the 20th edition of the UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals. UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals Feature Finish (40 laps): 1. Darren Miller 2. Dennis Erb Jr. 3. Randy Korte 4. Kevin Claycomb 5. Rodney Melvin 6. Jason Feger 7. Kevin Cole 8. Steve Sheppard Jr. 9. Wes Steidinger 10. Terry English 11. Brian Shirley 12. Patrick Sheltra 13. Frankie Martin 14. Kevin Weaver 15. Will Vaught 16. Ryan Unzicker 17. Jordan Bland 18. Brian Diveley 19. Mike Hammerle 20. Rick Salter 21. Jeep Van Wormer B-Main Finish: Wes Steidinger, Jason Feger, Jordan Bland, Ryan Unzicker, Patrick Sheltra, Brian Diveley, Danny Jolly, Mark Voigt, George Scheffler, Tim Lance, Dewayne Kiefer, Rick Salter, Brandon Sheppard, Jason McBride, Jason Riggs, Michael Kloos B-Main Finish: Rick Salter, Dewayne Kiefer, Jason McBride, Jason Riggs, Bobby Dauderman, Mike Hammerle, Jeremy Sneed, Steve Karnes, Ryan Dauber. Scratched: Will Vaught, Steven Unterbrink
UMP Modifieds - 13 cars |
| Last Updated on Saturday, 21 June 2008 16:04 |
