Dirt on Dirt - Butler beatdown earns English $5,000 victory

July 9

Butler Motor Speedway,

Quincy, MI

Sanction: DIRTcar Summer Nationals - $5,000

Information provided by: Series and track reports (last updated July 10, 2:50 am)

Butler beatdown earns English $5,000 victory

Tanner English
Ryan Unzicker
Chad Finley
Frank Heckenast Jr.
Luke Morey
Sam Seawright
Mike Spatola
Carter Schlenk
Dona Marcoullier
Mike VanderMark Jr.
Eric Spangler
Carter Murday
Rich Bell
Chase Burda
Chad Roush
Travis Stemler
Mitch McGrath
Rylee Knoll
Mark Voigt
Colin Shipley
Austin Harnick
Kyle Moore

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Photo slideshow Feature highlights Video recap

Jim Denhamer

Tanner English proudly displays his $5,000 winner's check at Butler.

What won the race: Series points leader Tanner English of Benton, Ky., led all but the opening circuit of Thursday's caution-free DIRTcar Summer Nationals 30-lapper at Butler Motor Speedway. The second-starting English beat Ryan Unzicker to the finish line by 0.931 of a second to pocket a $5,000 payday for his fourth series victory of the season.

Quotable: “I dreaded every car that I got to because it was pretty bottom-dominant there,” English said. “But I kind of surprised myself a few times. When I’d go out there to the outside I could kind of suck right around them. Even though they were, you know, slower cars, they were keeping a pretty good pace and hard to pass. It just got real dirty there and it was hard to do anything but the bottom, so I was counting the laps and looking for that white flag the whole race.”

Key notes: Earning his 10th career Hell Tour triumph, Tanner English took over the Week 5 points lead and continued an impressive run of 18 top-five finishes in 20 rounds of competition. ... Sixth-starting Ryan Unzicker briefly challenged English as they raced through lapped traffic in the middle stages but ultimately settled for runner-up money. ... Third-place finisher Chad Finley launched to the early lead until giving way to English on the second lap and later Unzicker for second. ... Mitch McGrath, who relied on a series provisional to start the main event after retiring from second in his heat race, finished a lap down in 17th. ... Kyle Moore was the race's first retiree on the second circuit. ... The 30-lapper went green-to-checkered in less than nine minutes with 19 starters running at the finish. ... Rusty Schlenk of Jackson, Mich., the Week 5 points leader entering Butler and winner of Wednesday's Hell Tour stop at I-96 Speedway, retired on the fifth lap of the consolation and failed to transfer into the feature. … Reigning tour champ Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., elected to skip the tour's final four events.

On the move: Sam Seawright of Rainsville, Ala., started 12th and finished sixth.

Winner's sponsors: English's AK Race Car is powered by a Pro Built Race Engine and sponsored by Riggs Fiber, M&M Painting & Construction, Thoroughbred Auto Auction, Seay Motors, Custom Automotive, Supreme Enterprises, Chase Motorsports, Bel-O Cooling & Heating, Melvin's Towing, Bad Boy Moyers, DeFew's Body Shop, Minon Construction, Bailey's Trucking, Lance's Garage Door, Rural Route Repair and SI Towing & Recovery.

Points chase: Week 5 after Butler: 1. Tanner English (203); 2. Chad Finley (173); 3. Luke Morey (168); 4. Travis Stemler (153); 5. Frank Heckenast Jr. (149). Overall after Butler: 1. Tanner English (1,392); 2. Jason Feger (1,185); 3. Mitch McGrath (867); 4. Clay Stuckey (837); 5. Mark Voigt (754).

Current weather: Overcast, 73°F

Car count: 29

Fast qualifier: Tanner English

Time: 15.307 seconds

Polesitter: Chad Finley

Heat race winners: Chad Finley, Frank Heckenast Jr., Tanner English

Consolation race winners: Chase Burda

Provisional starters: Mitch McGrath, Kyle Moore, Austin Harnick, Mark Voigt

Next series race: July 10, Crystal Motor Speedway (Crystal, MI) $10,000

Editor's note: Results and race details are unofficial.

From staff reports

QUINCY, Mich. — Updates from Thursday’s 20th round of the 40th annual DIRTcar Summer Nationals at Butler Motor Speedway, an event highlighted by a 30-lap, $5,000-to-win feature for DIRTcar Super Late Models (results unofficial):

Feature

Series points leader Tanner English of Benton, Ky., led all but the opening circuit of Thursday's caution-free DIRTcar Summer Nationals 30-lapper at Butler Motor Speedway. The second-starting English beat Ryan Unzicker to the finish line by 0.931 of a second to pocket a $5,000 payday for his fourth series victory of the season.

Feature lineup

(30 laps)

Row 1: Chad Finley, Tanner English
Row 2: Frank Heckenast Jr., Carter Schlenk
Row 3: Luke Morey, Ryan Unzicker
Row 4: Eric Spangler, Dona Marcoullier
Row 5: Mike Spatola, Carter Murday
Row 6: Mike VanderMark Jr., Sam Seawright
Row 7: Chad Roush, Rich Bell
Row 8: Rylee Knoll, Chase Burda
Row 9: Travis Stemler, Colin Shipley
Row 10: Mitch McGrath, Kyle Moore
Row 11: Austin Harnick, Mark Voigt

Consolation race results

(Eight laps; top three transfer)

B-main: Chase Burda, Travis Stemler, Colin Shipley, Austin Hernick, Jake Rendel, Mark Voigt, John Miller, Jamie Grochowski, Bob Mayer, Chris Neathers, Herb Reich, Rusty Schlenk, Kyle Moore. Scratched: Mitch McGrath.

Heat race results

(Eight laps; top five transfer)

First heat: Chad Finley, Carter Schlenk, Eric Spangler, Carter Murday, Chad Roush, Jamie Grochowski, Chris Neathers, Mitch McGrath. Scratched: Kyle Moore, Jake Rendel.

Second heat: Frank Heckenast Jr., Luke Morey, Dona Marcoullier, Mike VanderMark Jr., Rich Bell, Chase Burda, Travis Stemler, Austin Harnick, Bob Mayer.

Third heat: Tanner English, Ryan Unzicker, Mike Spatola, Sam Seawright, Rylee Knoll, Colin Shipley, Rusty Schlenk, Mark Voigt, John Miller, Herb Reich.

Time trials

Group A
Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)
1. Chad Finley (42), St. Johns, Mich., 15.686
2. Kyle Moore (1*), Mansfield, Ohio, 15.812
3. Mitch McGrath (74), Waukesha, Wis., 15.875
4. Eric Spangler (27), Lake City, Mich., 15.974
5. Carter Murday (19m), Adrian, Mich., 16.116
6. Chad Roush (32), Reedsville, Ohio, 16.127
7. Carter Schlenk (lil91), Jackson, Mich., 16.388
8. Chris Nethers (41n), Watertown, N.Y., 16.883
9. Jamie Grochowski (45G), Toledo, Ohio, 17.188
10. Jake Rendel (06), Adrian, Mich., no time
Group B
1. Frank Heckenast Jr. (99jr), Frankfort, Ill., 15.438
2. Luke Morey (49), Zeeland, Mich., 15.598
3. Mike VanderMark Jr. (41), Cedar Springs, Mich., 15.705
4. Dona Marcoullier (6M), Houghton Lake, Mich., 15.819
5. Rich Bell (21B), Sheffield, Ill., 15.937
6. Travis Stemler (4), Ionia, Mich., 15.986
7. Chase Burda (18), Lapeer, Mich., 16.293
8. Austin Harnick (15), Clare, Mich., 16.372
9. Bob Mayer (42*), Holland, Ohio, 17.490
Group C
1. Tanner English (96), Benton, Ky., 15.301
2. Mike Spatola (89), Manhattan, Ill., 15.557
3. Ryan Unzicker (24), El Paso, Ill., 15.565
4. Sam Seawright (16s), Rainsville, Ala., 15.686
5. Rylee Knoll (07), Lake, Mich., 15.714
6. Rusty Schlenk (91), Jackson, Mich., 15.845
7. Colin Shipley (46), McClure, Ohio, 16.198
8. John Miller (153), Defiance, Ohio, 16.307
9. Mark Voigt (30), Marine, Ill., 16.583
10. Herb Reich (34), Plymouth, Mich., 16.680

Thursday’s schedule

(All times local)
3 p.m. - Pits open
3:30 p.m. - Tech and registration open
4 p.m. - Grandstands open
5 p.m. - Tech and registration close
5:30 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting
6 p.m. - On-track activity
- Late Model hot laps
- Modified group qualifying
- Late Model time trials (2 laps)
Opening ceremonies
- Late Model heats (8 laps)
- Modified heats (8 laps)
Intermission/track prep
- Modified consolation (8 laps)
- Late Model consolation (10 laps)
Feature events
- Late Models (30 laps)
- Modifieds (25 laps)