Billy Moyer Jr, Kevin Reeve Win DIRTcar Summer Nationals at Butler

Jim DenHammer Photo

Contact: Jordan DeLucia, DIRTcar Racing PR Coordinator

Credit: DIRTcar Racing  DIRTcarSummerNationals.com  ModifiedNationals.com

BMJ DON’T PLAY: Moyer Dominates Butler for First Summer Nationals Win of Season

Michigan regulars Finley, Marcoullier P2-P3, Freeman fourth in pursuit of first win

QUINCY, MI – July 21, 2022 – Billy Moyer Jr. has gone through his ups-and-downs racing part-time on the DIRTcar Summer Nationals trail this season, but he and his team’s hard work and perseverance finally earned them a win Thursday night at Butler Motor Speedway.

“It’s good to finally get a win; It feels really good,” Moyer told DIRTVision Pit Reporter Heather Debeaux in Victory Lane. “I love it up here in Michigan.”

He’d been as close as third and finished as far back as 22nd in 14 Summer Nationals starts this season, but Moyer stuck with it and decided to finish out the schedule in Michigan. It paid off immediately, earning the Arkansan his third tour victory in the state of Michigan in the first race of the week.

In short, Moyer dominated, leading all 40 laps en route to his 10th career Hell Tour victory and first since 2017. A threat of rain was in the area throughout the evening, forcing a hurry-up program that eliminated Heat Races from the program and instead took transfers from Qualifying. Moyer was quickest in Group 3 and redrew the outside pole, which allowed him to momentum around the top side and grab the lead at the drop of the green.

Though several caution flags flew throughout the Feature, nothing seemed to be able to break Moyer’s concentration. He fended off race-long pressure from Michigan regulars Chad Finley and Dona Marcoullier, and even a push from Hell Tour rookie Payton Freeman, who’s still hot on the trail for his first win with the schedule winding down.

On restarts, he was flawless, never once letting those behind him get a chance to make a pass for the lead. All of this, while navigating the fast, 3/8-mile oval with steering issues.

“The rack’s going out on this thing, I don’t know what was going on,” Moyer said. “I couldn’t steer the greatest. This Longhorn [Chassis] was really good, if it wasn’t for that… we probably wouldn’t have won.”

With the laps winding down, Freeman was neck-deep in a battle for fourth with Eric Spangler, which he won to come across the line with his fourth top-five in the last six races. Finley and Marcoullier held their spots on the podium, giving them each a shot of momentum heading into weekly venues Tri-City Motor Speedway on Friday and Merritt Speedway on Saturday.

UP NEXT

The DIRTcar Summer Nationals is back in action Friday, July 22 at Tri-City Motor Speedway in Auburn, MI. If you can’t be at the track, watch every lap live on DIRTVision.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Feature 40 Laps | 00:27:24.047

1. 21-Billy Moyer Jr[2]; 2. 42-Chad Finley[1]; 3. 6M-Dona Marcoullier[5]; 4. F1-Payton Freeman[3]; 5. 27-Eric Spangler[9]; 6. 38-Thomas Hunziker[11]; 7. 31AUS-Paul Stubber[4]; 8. 21B-Rich Bell[6]; 9. 14G-Joe Godsey[15]; 10. 14R-Jeff Roth[13]; 11. 71-Rusty Smith[20]; 12. 23NZ-Mick Quin[16]; 13. 91-Rusty Schlenk[12]; 14. 30-Mark Voigt[10]; 15. 55-Michael Archer[21]; 16. 22F-Nicholas Fenner[22]; 17. 07-Rylee Knoll[7]; 18. 20-Jim Plotts[17]; 19. P33-Josh Robertson[19]; 20. 06-Jarrett Rendel[18]; 21. 16-Garrett Wiles[8]; 22. 20C-Chad White[14]

FAST AS LIGHTNING: Reeve Wins First Career Summit Modified Feature at Butler

With lightning flashes in the distance and rain starting to fall over Butler Motor Speedway Thursday night, Kevin Reeve drove across the finish line under the checkered flags, a winner with the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals for the first time in his career.

Starting fourth on the grid after a chart-topping effort in Hot Lap/Qualifying Group 1, Reeve wasted no time on drive up through the podium, already passing for second by Lap 5.

Already out front was last week’s first time Summit Modified Feature winner Chad Bauer, who was cruising away from the field before a couple cautions slowed his pace and erased his gap.

Reeve, of Hanover, MI saw an opportunity on a Lap 14 restart. Knowing the race was already past the halfway point and could therefore be declared official at any point if the rain came, he drove hard into Turn 1 and gave Bauer a big run to his inside.

“As the race progressed, you could see the bottom was a little better than the top,” Reeve said. “I watched the Late Model race, and most of the guys were on the bottom. So, I said we’ll try it on the bottom and see what happens, and it stuck.”

And stick it did, as Reeve powered by on the low side to take the lead for good down the backstretch.

“I was watching the lightning off the backstretch, and I said, ‘If it gets bigger, we’re gonna worry about it then,'” Reeve said. “I figured if we just ran some laps, we’d be fine. Then we had that one caution on Lap 8 and another on Lap 14.

“I said, ‘You know what, it’s time to go if we’re going to go because if they cancel it, it’s done now, halfway through.’”

Reeve led the rest of the way to become the 76th different winner in Summit Modified history, while Bauer, Todd Sherman, Steve Shellenberger and Josh Lolmaugh completed the top-five.

UP NEXT

The DIRTcar Summit Modifieds are back in action Friday, July 22 at Tri-City Motor Speedway in Auburn, MI. If you can’t be at the track, watch every lap live on DIRTVision.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Feature 25 Laps | 00:13:20.465

1. 117-Kevin Reeve[4]; 2. 19B-Chad Bauer[2]; 3. 65-Todd Sherman[5]; 4. 29-Steve Shellenberger[1]; 5. 25-Josh Lolmaugh[6]; 6. 8C-Corey Bevard[3]; 7. 9PG-Percy Gendreau[8]; 8. 3W-Dylan Woodling[13]; 9. 45-Robby Henderson[9]; 10. 5D-David VanGuilder[14]; 11. 81-Rick Swartout[11]; 12. 86-Louis Miller[15]; 13. 55D-Casey Keyosky[18]; 14. 74M-Manix Furqueron[12]; 15. 9C-Troy Cattarene[10]; 16. 9-Garrett Rons[20]; 17. 22M-Deuane Morley[21]; 18. 11-Tyler Morehouse[16]; 19. 1-Brian Przeporia[22]; 20. 17N-Dillon Nusbaum[7]; 21. 55-Justin Matson[17]; 22. (DNS) 54-Zachary Hawk