Ray Marler Memorial

They say good things come to those who wait, and Cade Dillard has certainly waited a long time for this one.

Dillard, of Robeline, LA, has collected many wins across multiple different Late Model series in his career, as well as a host of victories in the Modified ranks before joining the national Late Model circuit in 2019. But coming into I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park Saturday night, he was determined to check another series off his to-win list.

For 40 laps, the 35-year-old paced the DIRTcar Summer Nationals field around the 1/3-mile high-banks, leading the main event flag-to-flag to score his first career victory on the Hell Tour.

Since his first appearance with the series in 2019, he’d come close to a win multiple times. But Saturday night was finally his time to shine in the summer heat.

“About four years ago at Spoon River (Speedway), we were leading one of these Hell Tour races, and I think with two laps-to-go, we had a pretty good lead. We broke a drive shaft, so that kind of stung ever since,” Dillard said. “I always thought it would be cool to win one of these, so I’m glad to get my name up there with so many good drivers on the wins list.”

The 40-lap Feature went green, and it was Dillard who got the jump on the opening lap, powering around the outside of polesitter Daryn Klein.

As the bottom became the preferred groove around I-55 toward the halfway point, the top six were nose-to-tail, waiting for a mistake from anyone ahead of them.

Klein stepped out and tried the top side on Lap 23 in an effort to try and make the pass, but Dillard held more speed on the bottom. Fourth-starting Shannon Babb later took a peek to Dillard’s inside on Lap 30, but again, Dillard held strong out front.

No one was able to make a serious bid for the lead the rest of the way as Dillard crossed the line and pocketed the $10,000 check.

“Anytime you get a win, it just helps the team morale and boost my confidence. I am pretty hard on myself, so a lot of times, I doubt myself,” Dillard said. “So just to get our confidence back up and get going onto the next race.”

Shannon Babb finished second, Tanner English finished third, Michael Leach in fourth, and Jason Feger rounded out the top five.

UP NEXT

The DIRTcar Summer Nationals moves back into the Land of Lincoln with a stop at Lincoln Speedway in Lincoln, IL on Sunday, June 21. Tickets will be sold at the track on race day.

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

FEATURE RESULT

Feature (40 Laps): 1. 97-Cade Dillard[2]; 2. 18-Shannon Babb[4]; 3. 96-Tanner English[12]; 4. 09-Michael Leach[3]; 5. 25-Jason Feger[6]; 6. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[15]; 7. 10-Daryn Klein[1]; 8. 57M-Camaron Marlar[9]; 9. 49-Luke Morey[16]; 10. 17SR-Brody Smith[14]; 11. 75-Daniel Adam[17]; 12. 30-Mark Voigt[19]; 13. 33F-Rickey Frankel[8]; 14. 15-Clay Stuckey[11]; 15. 16W-Tony Wolf[5]; 16. 74-Mitch McGrath[7]; 17. 10J-Jordan Bauer[18]; 18. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[20]; 19. 31M-Tyler Millwood[13]; 20. 16-Rusty Griffaw[21]; 21. 4D-Doug Tye[22]; 22. T4-Adam Tischhauser[23]; 23. 6K-Michael Kloos[10]

In the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals’ first appearance in Missouri in 2026, Hunt Gossum brought his Kentucky-born skills to the track and dominated the main event Saturday night.

Gossum, 21, of Mayfield, KY, led all 25 circuits around the 1/3-mile oval of I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park, banking his sixth career series win over Michael Long and Chris Spalding.

Gossum got the jump on the initial start of the race, beating polesitter Rick Conoyer to the bottom lane in Turn 1. He found lap traffic on Lap 14, which allowed Spalding to close the gap to only a few tenths of a second as the race neared the halfway point. Spalding took his No. 29 up to the top side in search of a way by Gossum, but he was unable to find the grip he needed as Long raced by underneath to take the runner-up spot.

This allowed Gossum to stretch his lead once again and drive the field back around to the checkered flag to bank his first Summit Modified win since going to Victory Lane at Lincoln Speedway one year ago.

“It felt like a 100-lap race, I’m going to be honest,” Gossum said. “I got lucky enough to be on the front row. I don’t know if [Conoyer] spun his tires on the start, but I just went. I mean, my car launched and I just turned and got into the rubber.”

UP NEXT

The DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals head to Lincoln Speedway in Lincoln, IL, on Sunday, June 21. Tickets for the event will be sold at the track on race day.

How else can you watch the Summit Modifieds? Every race is broadcasted live on DIRTVision.

FEATURE RESULTS

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 99-Hunt Gossum[2]; 2. 18L-Michael Long[4]; 3. 29-Chris Spalding[3]; 4. 0-Damian Kiefer[6]; 5. 24S-Jacob Steinkoenig[5]; 6. 51-Timmy Hill[7]; 7. 14C-Rick Conoyer[1]; 8. 9-Ken Schrader[13]; 9. 17V-Mike Vanderiet Jr[15]; 10. 05-Dave Wietholder[9]; 11. 87Z-Zeb Moake[18]; 12. 98-Joshua Hawkins[12]; 13. 77-Ray Bollinger[8]; 14. 74-James Hileman[10]; 15. 21B-Hunter Breland[16]; 16. 5S-Owen Steinkoenig[24]; 17. 16-Shawn Deering[22]; 18. J82-Treb Jacoby[23]; 19. 74S-Chris Sieweke[21]; 20. 47-Jack Sartain[19]; 21. 23-Dylan Sharp[14]; 22. 58R-Ryan Hamilton[17]; 23. 24H-Mike Harrison[11]; 24. 4G-Paul Schrempf Jr[20]