photo by Jimmy Dearing
Moran Scores First Career Summer Nationals Win at the Terre Haute Action Track
TERRE HAUTE, IN. — June 29, 2018 — Shooting ahead of race leader Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, IL, down the backstretch, third-starting Devin Moran of Dresden, OH, led the field out of turn four on lap 25 of 30, leading the final circuits for a $10,000 World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series and DIRTcar Summer Nationals victory at Terre Haute Action Track.
The win marked not only Moran’s 1st World of Outlaw Craftsman Late Model Series win of 2018, but also his 1st ever win in a Summer Nationals event.
“I thought it was going to be last weekend all over again. We had a better call this weekend though. We had that caution come out and we had the car dialed in. Shannon messed up and we drove it all the way to the fence and we were able to get around him,” an elated Moran said following his win.
“We were a little nervous when we came out for the feature. It was a little browner then its been all night, but the track stayed with us and we were able to bring in the win.”
The win also marked a big career highlight for Moran. He has now tied his Hall of Fame Driver father Donnie Moran with 1 career Summer Nationals win a piece.
Tonight’s 2nd place runner up Shannon Babb led the first 24 laps of the evening’s 30 lap main event. Babb went into the night’s main event leading the 2018 Summer Nationals points while still on the hunt for his 100th Summer Nationals victory. Babb currently sets at 97 wins, just 1 behind all-time leader Billy Moyer with 98. Moyer was absent from tonight’s event after a hard hit in Thursday night’s Summer Nationals race at LaSalle Speedway (IL).
“As long as we were running green flag laps we were decent. After that caution I figured we’d take the momentum line but it killed our speed off of 2 and Devin took the high side and drove past us. Those guys are tough, they deserve it,” commented Babb on his 2nd place finish.
Mike Marlar started deep in the field and brought home a solid 3rd place finish while Thursday nights winner Brian Shirley finished 4th. Rounding out the top 5 was Kent Robinson.
Feature Finish: Devin Moran, Shannon Babb, Mike Marlar, Brian Shirley, Kent Robinson, Chris Madden, Rick Eckert, Tyler Erb, Chris Ferguson, David Breazaele, Jason Feger, Chase Junghans, Shane Clanton, Gordy Gundaker, Shelby Miles, Morgan Bagley, Brent Larson, Paul Stubber, Brandon Sheppard, Frank Heckenast Jr, Dennis Erb Jr, Nick Hoffman, Duke Mounce, Rusty Schlenk, Chuck Hummer
The DIRTcar Summer Nationals heads to Missouri on June 30 for the 3rd event of Challenge Week presented by Algaier Shocks and Midwest Speed Expo. The Summer Nationals teams will once again be taking on the World of Outlaw Craftsman Late Models for round two of the Summer Nationals VS World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series Shoot Out at Federated Auto Parts Speedway at I-55. See the complete schedule at the helltour.com/schedule. Follow @SummerNationals on Twitter or Facebook for updates during and between race seasons. The DIRTcar Late Models will be joined by the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds as the Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals runs parallel to the DIRTcar Summer Nationals. Information on the Modifieds can be found at modifiednationals.com.
