DIRTcar Summer Nationals Kickoff

Some people are happy with their legacy. Others strive to add to it.

That’s exactly what Shannon Babb did Tuesday night in the DIRTcar Summer Nationals’ 40th anniversary season opener at Brownstown Bullring.

Babb, the four-time Summer Nationals champion from Moweaqua, IL, wired the cushion and led all 30 laps to pick up career Feature win No. 103 in his illustrious Hell Tour career, extending his margin as the series’ all-time winningest driver.

“It sounds crazy, doesn’t it? We’ve been racing for a long time, and I guess that’s how we racked up so many,” Babb said. “Hell, we’ve lost twice as many, you know. I’m glad we can say we’ve learned a few things along the way. These little tracks like this, I just always loved them. It’s kind of like a Saturday night race.”

The green flag flew on the kickoff for the DIRTcar Summer Nationals, and early on, it was Babb who found the cushion first and used the outside lane to propel him to the lead before a Lap 1 caution for a pileup in turn two stopped the field.

On the restart, Babb found his groove on the top line as Frank Heckenast Jr. and Tanner English battled for second behind him.

As Babb entered lap traffic, a Lap 13 caution for a slowing Adam Tischauser stacked the field together.

The restart gave English an opportunity to pounce, as he found speed on the cushion and tracked down Babb over the next several laps. The Benton, KY-driver pulled even with Babb’s No. 18 with a deep dive down low through Turns 3 and 4 on Lap 23, but Babb wasn’t going to be denied, using the high-side momentum to his advantage off Turn 4 to maintain the top spot.

Babb then did what he had done all race long, working the cushion enroute to his third career DIRTcar Summer Nationals win at Brownstown.

“Tonight we were good enough to be on the front row of the heat, to get that job done, and luckily I drew the front row outside, and that makes my job easier,” Babb said. “It wasn’t rough; the first guy to the cushion wins. Luckily, tonight, I was there.”

English held strong behind Babb to bag a runner-up finish, and Heckenast crossed the line in third. Sun River, MT-native Michael Leach drove from sixth to a fourth-place finish while Daryn Klein completed the top five.

UP NEXT

The DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models take on Kankakee County Speedway in Kankakee, IL, on Wednesday, June 10. Tickets for the event will be sold at the track.

How can you watch the DIRTcar Summer Nationals? Every race is streamed live on DIRTVision.

FEATURE RESULTS

Feature (30 Laps): 1. 18-Shannon Babb[2]; 2. 96-Tanner English[4]; 3. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[1]; 4. 09-Michael Leach[6]; 5. 10K-Daryn Klein[7]; 6. 25F-Jason Feger[19]; 7. 4G-Bob Gardner[15]; 8. 388-Jackson Hise[8]; 9. 38J-Jake Little[17]; 10. 10J-Jordan Bauer[12]; 11. 17SR-Brody Smith[22]; 12. 20B-Todd Brennan[16]; 13. 21B-Rich Bell[20]; 14. 75A-Daniel Adam[9]; 15. 15-Clay Stuckey[11]; 16. 74-Mitch McGrath[18]; 17. T4-Adam Tischhauser[14]; 18. 32M-Cody Maguire[21]; 19. 51B-Brandon Carpenter[5]; 20. 50K-Kayden Clatt[13]; 21. 05-Tyler Leach[3]; 22. 33-Mike Harrison[10]

A dream came true for an Illinois native Tuesday night at Brownstown Bullring.

Jacob Steinkoenig became the 89th different driver to win a DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Feature in an exciting battle to open the 2026 season.

The 25-lap Feature went green with Treb Jacoby and Brayden Doyle leading the field to green. Jacoby led the opening lap with Doyle and third place Kenny Wallace directly behind them.

The lead trio went three wide in turn two with Doyle emerging ahead. It didn’t last long, however, as Doyle hit the cushion and got a head of steam down the front stretch to clear Jacoby on Lap 5.

A caution on Lap 6 bunched the field up and allowed fifth-running Steinkoenig to enter the picture.

Steinkoenig got the best of a three-wide battle for third between he, Wallace and Ray Bollinger, and then set his sights on the lead duo of Doyle and Jacoby.

Another caution on Lap 7 again bunched up the field. The ensuing restart saw contact between Bollinger and Jacoby which sent Jacoby spinning down the front stretch, ending his hopes of a Summit Modified triumph.

Steinkoenig seized the opportunity on the restart, diving under Doyle in Turn 1 and clearing him after a slight bobble on the cushion in Turn 2. From there, the battle for the lead was on between the top three cars of Steinkoenig, Doyle and Bollinger.

Bollinger was able to get underneath Steinkoenig and cleared the Highland, IL-driver on Lap 15 before Steinkoenig battled back on the cushion to retake the lead on Lap 16.

Steinkoenig then entered lap traffic and pulled away, leading the final eight laps to win his first career DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Feature.

“It’s been one of the most prestigious races in the area for years,” Steinkoenig said. “Everyone dreams to win a Summer Nationals Hell Tour race, and I am extremely grateful to have finally accomplished that. Just had to keep chomping at the bit, and I wasn’t getting up there and beating my car up in the cushion. I was just up there, with a lot of momentum around this place.”

Ray Bollinger finished second, Kenny Wallace fended off multiple challengers and finished third, Rick Conoyer fourth, and Zeke McKenzie advanced five positions to finish fifth.

UP NEXT

The DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals heads to Kankakee County Speedway in Kankakee, IL, on Wednesday, June 10th alongside the DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models.

How can you watch every DIRTcar Summer Nationals race? Every race is streamed live on DIRTVision.

FEATURE RESULTS

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 24S-Jacob Steinkoenig[5]; 2. 77-Ray Bollinger[7]; 3. 36-Kenny Wallace[3]; 4. 14C-Rick Conoyer[6]; 5. 24-Zeke McKenzie[10]; 6. 2-Brayden Doyle[2]; 7. 1H-Ben Harmon[11]; 8. 01-Jeremy Nichols[8]; 9. 74-James Hileman[14]; 10. 15H-Jeff Hamby[15]; 11. 150-Collin Alexander[17]; 12. 22W-Wade Wenthe[16]; 13. 11-Jason Brennan[18]; 14. J82-Treb Jacoby[1]; 15. 15-Chris Smith[12]; 16. 88L-Christian Lee[19]; 17. 96C-Marshall Call[21]; 18. 88-Chris Bolyard[22]; 19. 14-Dalton Lane[4]; 20. 4G-Paul Schrempf Jr[20]; 21. 99-Justin Haley[13]; 22. 29J-Jordan Wever[9]