Shirley Surges at Clayhill

shirley clayhill

 

 

Shirley Surges to Second DIRTCar Summer Nationals 2014 Season at Clayhill Motorsports Park

 

By Jordan Morris

 

ATWOOD, Tenn. June 26, 2014 — 2012 DIRTcar Summer Nationals champion Brian Shirley claimed his second win of the 2014 season on Thursday night at Clayhill Motorsports Park after overtaking pole-sitter Timothy Culp when motor troubles struck the race-long leader on lap 34.

 

Shirley, who picked up his first win of the season at I-96 Speedway Sunday night, found himself starting on the outside of Culp, who was looking to become the first Louisiana native to win a DIRTcar Summer Nationals feature. Culp quickly pulled away from Shirley and the rest of the field on the start of the race, looking to be the car to beat for most of the 40-lap A-Main.

 

Shirley slowly began to reel in Culp after his car began to slow battling lap-traffic, and eventually blew past the leader on lap 34, as Culp’s car was clearly suffering from mechanical problems. Culp’s car broke a water-pump early in the feature event, eventually leading to his motor frying, and ending his dreams of capturing his first career DIRTcar Summer Nationals victory.

 

Shirley dominated the final six laps, compiling a lead of 2.76 seconds over Bobby Pierce, rolling to an unlikely victory and claiming the $5,000 checkered flag at Clayhill Motorsports Park. Culp limped to a sixth place finish after leading races opening 33 laps.

 

“It was just a matter of time,” said Shirley, referring to when he would be able to pass Culp for the lead. “Things happen, we were just able to be in the right spot at the right time tonight.”

 

Shannon Babb, Billy Moyer Jr., and Ryan Unzicker  rounded out the top five.

 

Heat race winners included Babb, Culp, and Shirley.

 

The DIRTcar Summer Nationals continues on Friday night as they join the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals at Paducah International Raceway in Paducah, Ky.

 

DIRTcar Summer Nationals Statistical Report; Clayhill Motorsports Park; Atwood, Tenn.;

June 26, 2014; A-Main (40-laps): 1. 81-Brian Shirley ($5,000), 2. 32-Bobby Pierce, 3. 18-Shannon Babb, 4. 21JR-Billy Moyer Jr, 5. 24-Ryan Unzicker, 6. C8-Timothy Culp, 7. B5-Brandon Sheppard, 8. 18S-Jack Sullivan, 9. 28E-Dennis Erb  Jr, 10. 81JR-Jason Riggs, 11. 96T-Terry English, 12. 6M-Wendell Wallace, 13. 94-Austin Rettig, 14. 25L-Steve Lance Jr, 15. 71-Trace Westling, 16. 20-Alan Westling, 17. 96-Tanner English, 18. 1CJ-Gary Christian, 19. 12B-Kevin Weaver, 20. 15-Richard Frost, 21. 3X-Randy Sellars.

 

2014 DIRTcar Summer Nationals Schedule

Date

Day

Track

Location

Win

June 11

Wed

Brownstown Speedway

Brownstown, Ind.

RAIN

June 12

Thur

Kankakee Co. Speedway

Kankakee, Ill.

Billy Moyer

June 13

Fri

Cedar Lake Speedway

Somerset, Wis.

Rick Eckert

June 14

Sat

Cedar Lake Speedway

Somerset, Wis.

RAIN

June 15

Sun

Wilmot Raceway

Wilmot, Wis.

Rick Eckert(2)

June 16

Mon

Off

   

June 17

Tue

Farley Speedway

Farley, Iowa

Shannon Babb

June 18

Wed

Spoon River Speedway

Canton, Ill.

Jason Feger

June 19

Thur

Quincy Raceways

Quincy, Ill.

RAIN

June 20

Fri

Tri-City Speedway

Pontoon Beach, Ill.

Billy Moyer(2)

June 21

Sat

Fairbury Speedway

Fairbury, Ill.

RAIN

June 22

Sun

I-96 Speedway

Ionia, Mich.

Brian Shirley

June 23

Mon

Peoria Speedway

Peoria, Ill.

Brandon Sheppard

June 24

Tue

Off

   

June 25

Wed

Clarksville Speedway

Clarksville, Tenn.

Shannon Babb(2)

June 26

Thur

Clayhill Motorsports

Atwood, Tenn.

Brian Shirley(2)

June 27

Fri

Paducah Int. Raceway

Paducah, Ky.

$10,000

June 28

Sat

Federated Auto Parts Raceway

Pevely, Mo.

$10,000

June 29

Sun

Lincoln Speedway

Lincoln, Ill.

$5,000

June 30

Mon

Off

   

July 1

Tue

Belle Clair Speedway

Belleville, Ill.

$5,000

July 2

Wed

Jacksonville Speedway

Jacksonville, Ill.

$5,000

July 3

Thur

LaSalle Speedway

LaSalle, Ill.

$5,000

July 4

Fri

Fayette Co. Speedway

Brownstown, Ill.

$7,500

July 5

Sat

Highland Speedway

Highland, Ill.

$10,000

July 6

Sun

Tri-State Speedway

Haubstadt, Ind.

$5,000

July 7

Mon

Off

   

July 8

Tue

Florence Speedway

Union, Ky.

$5,000

July 9

Wed

Terre Haute Action Track

Terre Haute, Ind.

$5,000

July 10

Thur

Macon Speedway

Macon, Ill.

$5,000

July 11

Fri

Farmer City Raceway

Farmer City, Ill.

$10,000

July 12

Sat

34 Raceway

Burlington, Iowa

$10,000

July 13

Sun

Vermilion Co. Speedway

Danville, Ill.

$5,000

July 14

Mon

Off

   

July 15

Tue

TBA

   

July 16

Wed

Atomic Speedway

Chillicothe, Ohio

$5,000

July 17

Thur

Brushcreek Motorsports Complex

Peebles, Ohio

$5,000

July 18

Fri

Attica Raceway Park

Attica, Ohio

$5,000

July 19

Sat

Oakshade Raceway

Wauseon, Ohio

$10,000

The DIRTcar Summer Nationals “Hell Tour” is brought to fans across the country by many important partners including: Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), Racing Electronics (Official Communication), Velocita (Official Uniform), VP Racing Fuel (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to these fine Contingency Partners: Beyea Headers, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Dominator Race Products, Edelbrock, Fox Shocks, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, Mobil 1, MSD, Quartermaster, Superflow Dynos, Summit Racing Equipment and Wrisco Aluminum; Promotional Partners include: Chevy Performance Parts, Indiana Decal, Intercomp and Petroff Towing.