What won the race: Wrestling the lead back from Jason Feger on lap 39, the low-riding Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., pulled away over the remaining circuits to win Saturday night’s 50-lap Illinois Dirt Shootout at Fairbury Speedway. The 52-year-old standout picked up a $15,000 paycheck in the MARS Late Model Championship Series event after crossing the finish line 2.109 seconds ahead of Brandon Sheppard, who overtook Feger off turn four on the final lap to finish second.

Quotable: “I can't thank Fairbury enough for providing us with an excellent racetrack,” Babb said. “We got a great racetrack and got some great racers, Jason (Feger) and Ashton (Winger) and B-Shepp (Brandon Sheppard). That was a hell of a fun race.”

Key notes: Babb grabbed the lead for the first time on lap 13 when he slipped underneath Ashton Winger, but Feger came on to offer heavy pressure before finally passing Babb for the top spot on lap 33. Babb stuck to the inside in a side-by-side battle with Feger before regaining command for good on lap 39. … Babb’s victory was his third of 2026 and the 14th of his career on the MARS tour. He has five overall triumphs this season. … Sheppard, driving his family-owned No. B5, ran fourth or fifth for most of the distance before slipping past Winger for third on lap 42 and running the high side by Feger for runner-up money on the last lap. … Feger settled for third after leading laps 33-38 while Winger fell to fifth in the final rundown after pacing the first 12 circuits in the Jeff Mathews-owned Rocket Chassis he debuted at Fairbury. … Fourth place went to Ryan Unzicker, who slipped over the turn-four berm while bidding to take third on lap 30. … Six caution flags slowed the feature, all during its first half. … Dylan Thornton, who limped to a sixth-place finish in the night’s third heat after sustaining heavy nose damage, slowed on lap three to bring out the feature’s first caution flag and triggered another yellow on lap 10. … Seventh-running Clay Stuckey spun in turn two on the eighth lap. … Jake Little spun on the homestretch in front of the leaders for a lap-19 caution. … A lap-24 tangle saw Jeffrey Ledford clip Wil Herrington's stricken car in turn one; Ledford was towed off, Herrington retired and McKay Wenger also was eliminated. … Austin Howes, Mark Voigt and Dallon Murty stacked up in turn two on lap 25. … The feature ended at 9:59 p.m. … Tanner English scratched after developing an ill-sounding engine in time trials.

On the move: Ryan Unzicker of El Paso, Ill., started 18th and finished fourth.

Winner's sponsors: Babb’s Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Vic Hill Racing Engine and sponsored by Petroff Towing, Dynagro Seed, Nutrien Ag Solutions, CJI Piping & Fabrication, Donley Trucking, Getty Landscaping, Douglas Dodge Ram, Kuebler Ultra Oil, VP Racing Fuels and Penske Racing Shocks.

Who to watch: Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., seeks his third full-field feature win of the season at Fairbury.

Points chase: Before Fairbury: 1. Ryan Unzicker (1,037); 2. Jason Feger (955); 3. Dylan Thornton (901); 4. Daniel Adam (746); 5. Bob Gardner (739).

Current weather: Clear, 73°F

Car count: 32

Fast qualifier: Jason Feger

Time: 12.798 seconds

Polesitter: Jason Feger

Heat race winners: Shannon Babb, Ashton Winger, Jason Feger, Brandon Sheppard

Consolation race winners: Austin Howes, Ryan Unzicker

Provisional starters: Dylan Thornton, Paul Parker

Next series race: September 18, Kankakee County Speedway (Kankakee, IL) $5,000