Few Late Model and Dirt Modified races in the country compare in prestige to Fairbury Speedway’s Prairie Dirt Classic. The DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals wraps up its 2026 campaign and crowns its champion in 36th running of the historic event this Friday and Saturday night.
The biggest race weekend of the Summit Modifieds season begins on Friday, July 24, with Qualifying and four Showdown Features, which will take the top four finishers from each into Saturday’s main event, and the top two into the redraw. Saturday’s program will consist of Last Chance Showdowns for non-qualified cars, the redraw, and the 40-lap, $5,000-to-win Feature event.
Ten previous editions of Summit Modified action during the Prairie Dirt Classic have produced six different winners since their event debut in 2015. Mike Harrison tops the ranks with four main event wins, followed by Nick Hoffman with two, and single-time winners Tyler Nicely (2015), Levi Kissinger (2016), Mike McKinney (2022) and Michael Long (2024).
The Modifieds will run in support of the headlining program for the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision. All event information including ticket prices, facility FAQ and a complete schedule of events is available at the link below.
PRAIRIE DIRT CLASSIC EVENT INFO
If you can’t be at the track, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.
MODIFIED MASTER — There’s no Modified driver more accomplished in the Prairie Dirt Classic than Mike Harrison.
The 51-year-old veteran from Highland, IL, is the four-time and defending winner of the Modified race, having topped the main event in 2017, 2018, 2023 and 2025. Last year, Harrison drove his Aggressive Sign Co. No. 24H to Victory Lane, holding off young talents Michael Ledford and Cole Falloway in the closing laps to take the checkered flag in the event, which was run in August after rain on the night of the Prairie Dirt Classic forced the Modified portion’s postponement.
This year, the six-time Summit Modified champion will contend for the win in both the Modified and Late Model division, doing “double duty” behind the wheel of his own Modified and the Steve Lampley-owned No. 33 Late Model. During the Summit Modified main event at Fairbury in June, Harrison led laps but was bested only by the new champion-to-be, Zeke McKenzie.
KRYPTONITE — The last time Zeke McKenzie raced with the Summit Modifieds at Fairbury, he scored one of the biggest wins of his career against one of DIRTcar UMP Modified racing’s all-time greats.
McKenzie, 41, of Claypool, IN, started on the pole of the Feature and led most of the race before Mike Harrison took the top spot on a late restart. But McKenzie battled back on the bottom, pulling ahead of Harrison two laps later and leading the rest of the way to bag his second career Summit Modified win and first in nearly six years.
Less than two weeks ago on July 11, McKenzie went back to Summit Modified Victory Lane at Oakshade Raceway in Ohio. He’s been the most familiar face to the tour this summer, leading the points standings and topping all drivers with 17 Feature starts. During Friday’s opening ceremonies, he will officially be crowned 2026 Summit Modified champion before going on track in pursuit of his first Prairie Dirt Classic win.
NO.1 CONTENDER — The weekly racing fans at Fairbury won’t soon forget the year Mike McKinney finally broke through for his first Prairie Dirt Classic win in the Modified division, and neither will he.
McKinney, 33, of Plainfield, IL, took the checkered flag in the marquee event for the first time in 2022, besting five-time Summit Modified champion Nick Hoffman in a thrilling, side-by-side battle for the lead in the second half of the race. In his career, the 2024 Summit Modified champion has also won two Prairie Dirt Classic Showdown Features and a third-most five Summit Modified Features on the famed Illinois bullring, making him one of the biggest contenders for another PDC triumph this weekend.
The 2021 UMP Modified track champion is currently on his way to a second track championship, leading the weekly FALS Cup points standings by 76 over Steven Brooks, with three wins to his name at the track this year. Nation-wide, McKinney is solid as well, ranked No. 2 in the national DIRTcar UMP Modified points standings with 10 Feature wins total.
THE FUTURE IS NOW — Cole Falloway has proven his worth at Fairbury before. This weekend, he’ll try for his first win in its most prestigious event.
The 23-year-old native of Owensboro, KY, put together the best season of his career last year with 20 DIRTcar-sanctioned Feature wins total and his first national DIRTcar points championship. Two of those came at Fairbury — one of which was the Illinois Dirt Shootout, which drew 50 Modified entries and netted the No. 66 team a $10,000 check. That same weekend, Falloway finished third in the makeup Prairie Dirt Classic Feature.
In 2026, he’s riding on eight Feature wins — one at Fairbury — and currently sits ninth in the national DIRTcar points standings.
NOT A LONG-SHOT — Michael Long has won the Modified portion of Prairie Dirt Classic before and will try to become only the third driver to win it multiple times this weekend.
Long, 44, of Fowler, IL, topped the 58-car field in 2024 for one of the most prestigious wins in his career. That win was one of 28 he compiled that season enroute to clinching the DIRTcar UMP Modified national championship.
While he took a DNF in last year’s main event, Long is back on the entry list this weekend in pursuit of the big check. He’s not raced as much in 2026 compared to previous seasons, making only 14 DIRTcar-sanctioned appearances so far this year, but does have a win at Fairbury on May 29.
SO CLOSE — Michael Ledford came within one spot of the biggest win of his career at Fairbury last year. He’ll saddle up again this weekend with one more position on his mind.
The 21-year-old from Pontiac, IL, ran second to Harrison in the Prairie Dirt Classic makeup Modified race last year, challenging the veteran late in the race but ultimately coming up short. He has, however, been to Victory Lane in the marquee event, winning a Showdown Feature in 2023.
This year, Ledford has been solid across the DIRTcar landscape, winning six times at six different racetracks, including one Late Model win. He topped the field at Fairbury on May 23 and currently sits 10th in the national DIRTcar points standings.
Modified Prairie Dirt Classic Winners:
2015 — Tyler Nicely
2016 — Levi Kissinger
2017 — Mike Harrison
2018 — Mike Harrison
2019 — Nick Hoffman
2020 — N/A
2021 — Nick Hoffman
2022 — Mike McKinney
2023 — Mike Harrison
2024 — Michael Long
2025 — Mike Harrison
