By-the-Numbers Wrap-up of the 2018 DIRTcar Summer Nationals

by Andy Savary, DirtonDirt.com, with contributors DirtonDirt Senior Writer Kevin Kovac and DIRTcar Series Director Sam Driggers

 

A by-the-numbers review of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals from the June 13 opener at Peoria (IL) Speedway to the July 14 finale at Oakshade Raceway in Wauseon, Ohio.

0: Victories in five appearances for Bobby Pierce, who failed to win a tour race for the first time since 2012.

0.393: Seconds in winning margin for Chad Zobrist over Shannon Babb on July 7 at Highland Speedway, the tightest finish.

1: Tour Championship for Brian Shirley.

1: Weekly points fund mini-title for Frank Heckenast Jr. (Week 5).

2: Consolation race victories for Daryn Klein and Allen Weisser, tied for the most among all drivers.

2: Co-sanctioned events with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series at Terre Haute (IN) Action Track and Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, MO.

2: Drivers who entered every tour event for the first time in their careers: Rusty Schlenk and Frank Heckenast Jr.

2: Events missed by both Gordy Gundaker and Australian Paul Stubber. Motor trouble forced Gundaker’s absence from Oakshade’s tour-ending doubleheader, while a meeting kept Stubber from the June 25 stop at Spoon River Speedway and he elected to put crewman and fellow Aussie Kye Blight in his car for the Oakshade finale.

2: Visits to first-time tour tracks: June 16 at Dirt Oval Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, IL, and July 11 at Thunderbird Speedway in Muskegon, MI.

2: Weekly points fund mini-titles for Shannon Babb (Weeks 1-2) and Brian Shirley (Weeks 3-4).

3: Australians entering events: Paul Stubber, Cameron Pearson and Kye Blight.

3: Car number for Tour Champion Brian Shirley.

3: Consecutive victories for Shannon Babb from June 14-16, the longest winning streak of any driver this season.

3: Feature laps led by first-time winner Tanner English at Clarksville Speedway, the fewest for any driver who spent time out front.

3: Feature winners at the age of 25: Tanner English, Gordy Gundaker and Brandon Sheppard.

3: Flag-to-flag feature winners.

4: Drivers who started every feature: Brian Shirley, Jason Feger, Frank Heckenast Jr. and Rusty Schlenk.

4: Drivers who won multiple features: Shannon Babb, Brian Shirley, Billy Moyer and Zack Dohm.

4: Tracks that drew more entrants this season than last season: Peoria (up nine cars), Kankakee (up one), Jacksonville (up four) and Tri-City (up two).

4: Victories apiece for Tour Champion Brian Shirley and Billy Moyer

5: Fast-time awards for Tour Champion Brian Shirley.

5: First-time tour winners — Devin Moran, Tanner English, Gordy Gundaker, Chad Zobrist and Zack Dohm.

5: Rained out events, only one of which was made up as a points race.

5: Tour-high victories for Shannon Babb.

5.2: Average finishing position for Tour Champion Brian Shirley.

5.6: Average finishing position for Billy Moyer.

5.9: Average finishing position for Shannon Babb.

6: States where at least a single event was contested: Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Michigan and Ohio.

7: Provisional starts for Paul Stubber, one more than Chuck Hummer for the most of all drivers.

10: Points for Luke Goedert, the fewest of any driver.

10: Showup points for the rained out programs at Belle-Clair and Jacksonville speedways.

10: States in which Billy Moyer has won a tour race, adding Michigan this season with his milestone win at Thunderbird Raceway.

11: Drivers who averaged 50 points per race or better while making at least five starts.

12: Consecutive days of racing to wrap up the tour.

12: Consecutive years with at least a single tour victory for Billy Moyer, the longest active streak.

12: Dollars for a general admission to Oakshade Raceway’s tour-ending Birthday Race, the least expensive tour ticket.

12: Podium finishes for Tour Champion Brian Shirley, two more than Shannon Babb for the most of all drivers.

13: Drivers who started at least 10 features.

13: Drivers who won a feature, three more than last season.

13: Heat race victories for Tour Champion Brian Shirley, one more than Shannon Babb for the most of all drivers.

14: Consecutive years that an Illinois driver has won the tour championship.

14: Dollars for each lap led in I-96 Speedway’s July 12 event, which honored the late Dan Salay.

14: Drivers who entered at least 10 programs.

14: Drivers who set fast time for an event.

15: Victories for the state of Illinois, matching last season’s total.

16: Drivers who collected at least $10,000 in feature earnings.

16: Top-five finishes for Tour Champion Brian Shirley, four more than Shannon Babb for the most of all drivers.

16.7: Winning percentage for Tour Champion Brian Shirley.

17: People who recorded perfect attendance: Seven crewmen, four drivers, four officials, one T-shirt vendor and one media member (DirtonDirt.com staffer Dylan Schiebel).

18: Entries July 9 at Lincoln (IL) Speedway, the smallest car count on tour.

19: Career tour victories for champion Brian Shirley.

19: Drivers who led at least a single feature lap.

19: Drivers who won at least a single consolation race.

20: Top-10 finishes for Tour Champion Brian Shirley, one more than Jason Feger for the most of all drivers.

23: Age of Devin Moran, the tour’s youngest feature winner on June 29 at Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track.

24: Completed feature events.

25: Drivers who recorded at least a single podium finish.

26.3: Winning percentage for Shannon Babb, the highest among all drivers who entered at least five events.

28: Seasons in which Billy Moyer has won a tour race.

28.5: Median car count, down three from last season.

29: Originally scheduled events.

29.1: Average car count, down 4.7 from last season.

30: Drivers who won at least a single heat race.

30: Feature laps at Dirt Oval Route 66 Raceway and Terre Haute Action Track, the shortest races on tour.

32: Calendar days of racing action.

33: Seasons of tour competition.

38: Entries at Peoria Speedway, which hosted the tour-opening event for the first time.

39: Drivers who recorded at least a single top-five finish.

41: Feature laps June 28 at La Salle Speedway in honor of late sprint car driver Jason Johnson.

43: Tour victories for Billy Moyer in Illinois.

46: Tracks at which Billy Moyer has won at least a single series race.

47: Entries for the tour finale at Oakshade Raceway in Wauseon, Ohio, the largest car count on tour but down 12 from last season’s staggering total.

52.6: Podium percentage for Shannon Babb, the highest among all drivers who entered at least five events.

54: Combined ages of 40-year-old Jason Feger’s three regular crewmen for the Summer Nationals: Dane Arvin, 23; Travis Paul, 16; and Jeb Bender, 15.

54.75: Points per race for Tyler Erb over eight starts, the best ratio among part-time tour competitors.

58: Miles from Macon, IL, to Farmer City, IL, for the tour’s shortest overnight trek on July 5-6.

58: Victories separating Shannon Babb and Don O’Neal, who sit second and third on the tour’s all-time list.

60: Age of Billy Moyer, the tour’s oldest feature winner.

61.11: Points per race for Shannon Babb (excluding show-up points).

61.65: Points per race for Billy Moyer (excluding show-up points).

61.67: Points per race for Tour Champion Brian Shirley (excluding show-up points), the most of among drivers entering at least five events.

63: Drivers who failed to qualify for a single feature.

66: Drivers who collected at least 100 tour points.

66.7: Top-five percentage for Tour Champion Brian Shirley, the highest among all drivers who entered at least five events.

70: Dollars in lap money collected by Jason Feger in addition to his $5,000 winner’s check on July 12 at I-96 Speedway.

70: Drivers who recorded at least a single top-10 finish.

73: Drivers who started a single feature.

81: Drivers who started multiple features.

94: Lap on which Gordy Gundaker overtook a slowing Brian Shirley for his first series victory in Macon Speedway’s Herald & Review 100.

97: Tour victories for four-time champion Shannon Babb.

100: Tour-high feature laps at Macon Speedway’s annual Herald & Review 100.

100: Career tour victories for six-time champion Billy Moyer.

100: Winning percentage for Zack Dohm and Chad Zobrist, who each won every race that they entered.

129: Drivers who entered multiple programs.

138: Feature laps led by Billy Moyer.

154: Dollars in lap money collected by Rusty Schlenk on July 12 at I-96 Speedway.

175: Items in DirtonDirt.com’s Summer Nationals coverage index prior to this posting.

217: Drivers who entered at least a single program, 46 fewer than last year.

228: Miles from Fairbury, IL, to Haubstadt, IN, for the tour’s longest overnight trek on June 23-24.

246: Feature laps led by Shannon Babb.

265: Feature laps led by Tour Champion Brian Shirley, the most among all drivers.

336: Dollars in lap money collected by Billy Moyer on July 12 at I-96 Speedway.

500: Dollars collected by Rusty Schlenk for winning the tour’s lone dash at I-96 Speedway.

560: Total dollars in lap money posted on July 12 at I-96 Speedway.

699: Total cars entered over the 24 completed events.

1,064: Total points for tour seventh-place finisher Gordy Gundaker.

1,068: Total points for tour sixth-place finisher Billy Moyer.

1,181: Total points for tour fifth-place finisher Shannon Babb.

1,226: Total points for tour fourth-place finisher Rusty Schlenk.

1,280: Total points for tour third-place finisher Jason Feger.

1,292: Total points for tour runner-up Frank Heckenast Jr.

1,500: Total points for Tour Champion Brian Shirley, 208 more than runner-up Frank Heckenast Jr.

2,329: Dollars in earnings per race for Tour Champion Brian Shirley.

3,166: Dollars in earnings per race for Shannon Babb, the most among all drivers who entered at least five events.

5,000: Dollars in weekly points funds, 2,000 of which went to the top points earner.

5,404: Days between tour victories for Billy Drake, the largest gap in tour history which ended in the opening event at Peoria (IL) Speedway.

6,581: Days between tour races at Shadyhill Speedway in Medaryville, IN, ended with the July 10 program won by Frank Heckenast Jr.

10,000: Highest winner’s purse total on tour, shared by nine events.

11,698: Number of days it took for Billy Moyer to accumulate 100 tour victories.

15,000: Winner’s purse dollars collected by Zack Dohm for his tour-ending sweep at Oakshade Raceway.

25,000: Championship earnings for Brian Shirley.

49,600: Dollars in feature earnings for Billy Moyer.

55,100: Total points fund dollars doled out at the tour’s end.

55,900: Dollars in feature earnings for Tour Champion Brian Shirley.

60,150: Dollars in feature earnings for Shannon Babb, the most of all drivers.

80,100: Total points fund dollars including both weekly and tour-long funds.

165,000: Total winner’s purse dollars doled out over 24 completed events.