Dirt on Dirt - Seawright's tangle lifts English to Highland victory

July 4

Highland Speedway,

Highland, IL

Sanction: DIRTcar Summer Nationals - $10,000

Information provided by: Series and track reports (last updated July 5, 7:44 am)

Seawright's tangle lifts English to Highland victory

Tanner English
Tyler Millwood
Rusty Schlenk
Daryn Klein
Jordan Bauer
Jason Feger
Luke Morey
Clay Stuckey
Mike Spatola
Mitch McGrath
Jordan Suhre
Mark Voigt
Matt Bailey
Brandon Carpenter
Brody Smith
Sam Seawright
Adam Tischhauser
Carter Schlenk
Kyle Hardy
Dean Carpenter
Claude Walker
Michael Kloos

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Highland Summer Nationals winner Tanner English takes the checkered flag.

What won the race: Inheriting the lead after race-long pacesetter Sam Seawright tangled with a lapped car on lap 32, Tanner English of Benton, Ky., controlled the remaining distance to collect a $10,000 prize for winning Saturday night’s 40-lap DIRTcar Summer Nationals feature at Highland Speedway. The Hell Tour points leader beat Georgia’s Tyler Millwood to the finish line by 1.553 seconds for his second victory on the 2026 series.

Quotable: “We had a little bit of good luck there,” English said. “I hate that for Sam. I’ve lost them like that before too, so it sucks. But I was glad I was there to capitalize.”

Key notes: English wasn’t seriously challenged despite facing two restarts over the final eight circuits. … The 33-year-old driver’s previous Summer Nationals victory this season came on Wednesday at Farmington (Mo.) Empire Speedway. He’s posted 14 top-five finishes in 15 series features, including two wins and three runner-up placings in his last five starts. … Millwood overtook Jordan Bauer for second on the lap-32 restart and held the spot to the checkered flag. … Rusty Schlenk finished third after overtaking Bauer for third on lap 38. … Daryn Klein slipped past Bauer on the final circuit for fourth, dropping Bauer to fifth. … Seawright was dominating the race — leading English by a full straightaway — when he came together with the slower Brody Smith entering turn one on lap 32. The contact caused Seawright to slide up the track and absorb another hit from Smith, damaging his car’s left-front nosepiece and prompting him to retire after officials ruled he would have to restart at the rear of the field. … The caution for Seawright was the first of three stoppages. Other yellows came on lap 33 for Brandon Carpenter sliding into the turn-one infield tire after contact with Luke Morey and on lap 35 when Morey spun entering turn one. ... Jordan Suhre won the consolation, which was marred by a multicar melee on the first lap after Kyle McMahon and Michael Kloos made contact entering turn three. Kloos spun in front of the field and collected Kyle Hardy, Michael Jacober, Billy Laycock and Shannon Kuhn; all drivers were OK but Jacober's car ended up resting on top of the turn-three wall, requiring several minutes for cleanup. ... Randy Korte, making his first Summer Nationals appearance in nearly 12 years, climbed the frontstretch wall during Heat 3 and rode it into turn one, where he struck the crossover gate. He wasn’t injured but his night was over. ... Jason Milam slammed the turn-one wall on his first qualifying lap and scratched for the night. ... Chad Zobrist scratched after hot laps.

On the move: Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., started 16th 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 4 after Highland: 1. Tanner English (443); 2. Sam Seawright (383); 3. Jason Feger (367); 4. Luke Morey (334); 5. Clay Stuckey (332). Overall after Highland: Tanner English (1,044); 2. Jason Feger (959); 3. Clay Stuckey (788); 4. Mitch McGrath (646); 5. Brody Smith (620).

Current weather: Few Clouds, 75°F

Car count: 32

Fast qualifier: Brandon Carpenter

Time: 13.008 seconds

Polesitter: Sam Seawright

Heat race winners: Tyler Millwood, Jordan Bauer, Tanner English, Sam Seawright

Consolation race winners: Jordan Suhre

Provisional starters: Mark Voigt, Michael Kloos, Claude Walker, Kyle Hardy

Next series race: July 5, Macon Speedway (Macon, IL) $7,500

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

From staff reports

HIGHLAND, Ill. — Updates from Saturday’s 15th round of the 40th annual DIRTcar Summer Nationals at Highland Speedway, an event highlighted by a 40-lap, $10,000-to-win feature for DIRTcar Super Late Models (results unofficial):

Feature

Inheriting the lead after race-long pacesetter Sam Seawright tangled with a lapped car on lap 32, Tanner English of Benton, Ky., controlled the remaining distance to collect a $10,000 prize for winning Saturday night’s 40-lap DIRTcar Summer Nationals feature at Highland Speedway. The Hell Tour points leader beat Georgia’s Tyler Millwood to the finish line by 1.553 seconds for his second victory on the 2026 series.

Feature lineup

(40 laps)

Row 1: Sam Seawright, Jordan Bauer
Row 2: Tyler Millwood, Tanner English
Row 3: Brandon Carpenter, Daryn Klein
Row 4: Matt Bailey, Rusty Schlenk
Row 5: Mike Spatola, Dean Carpenter
Row 6: Clay Stuckey, Luke Morey
Row 7: Adam Tischhauser, Brody Smith
Row 8: Mitch McGrath, Jason Feger
Row 9: Jordan Suhre, Carter Schlenk
Row 10: Mark Voigt, Michael Kloos
Row 11: Claude Walker, Kyle Hardy

Consolation race results

(10 laps; top two transfer)

Results: Jordan Suhre, Carter Schlenk, Michael Kloos, Shannon Kuhn, Gregory Carrico, Billy Laycock, Claude Walker, Dan Jacober, Kyle McMahon, Kyle Hardy, Michael Jacober. Scratched: Randy Korte, Mark Voigt, Jimmy Miller, Jason Milam, Chad Zobrist.

Heat race results

(Eight laps; top four transfer)

First heat: Tyler Millwood, Brandon Carpenter, Mike Spatola, Adam Tischhauser, Carter Schlenk, Kyle Hardy, Shannon Kuhn, Claude Walker.

Second heat: Jordan Bauer, Matt Bailey, Clay Stuckey, Mitch McGrath, Kyle McMahon, Jordan Suhre, Mark Voigt, Dan Jacober.

Third heat: Tanner English, Daryn Klein, Dean Carpenter, Brody Smith, Michael Kloos, Michael Jacober, Randy Korte. Scratched: Jason Milam.

Fourth heat: Sam Seawright, Rusty Schlenk, Luke Morey, Jason Feger, Gregory Carrico, Billy Laycock, Jimmy Miller. Scratched: Chad Zobrist.

Time trials

Group A
Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)
1. Brandon Carpenter (51B), Coldwater, Miss., 13.008
2. Matt Bailey (52), Highland, Ill., 13.164
3. Adam Tischhauser (T4), Mulberry Grove, Ill., 13.171
4. Jordan Bauer (10J), St. Jacob, Ill., 13.188
5. Tyler Millwood (31m), Kingston, Ga., 13.286
6. Clay Stuckey (15), Shreveport, La., 13.309
7. Mike Spatola (89), Manhattan, Ill., 13.387
8. Mitch McGrath (74), Waukesha, Wis., 13.447
9. Carter Schlenk (lil91), McClure, Ohio, 13.556
10. Kyle McMahon (45), Mount Vernon, Ill., 13.556
11. Kyle Hardy (99), Stephens City, Va., 13.656
12. Mark Voigt (30), Marine, Ill., 13.704
13. Shannon Kuhn (11k), Highland, Ill., 13.792
14. Jordan Suhre (26), Alhambra, Ill., 13.945
15. Claude Walker (35), Moro, Ill., 14.305
16. Dan Jacober (22), Highland, Ill., 14.744
Group B
1. Tanner English (96), Benton, Ky., 13.199
2. Rusty Schlenk (91), McClure, Ohio, 13.301
3. Daryn Klein (10), Fairview Heights, Ill., 13.396
4. Luke Morey (49), Zeeland, Mich., 13.523
5. Dean Carpenter (51), Coldwater, Miss., 13.562
6. Jason Feger (25), Bloomington, Ill., 13.648
7. Randy Korte (00), Highland, Ill., 13.686
8. Sam Seawright (16s), Rainsville, Ala., 13.797
9. Brody Smith (17sr), Dade City, Fla., 13.873
10. Gregory Carrico (67), Winchester, Va., 13.948
11. Michael Kloos (6k), Trenton, Ill., 14.114
12. Billy Laycock (82), Marine, Ill., 14.172
13. Michael Jacober (5), Highland, Ill., 14.506
14. Jimmy Miller (18m), Highland, Ill., 14.701
15. Jason Milam (82B), Guntown, Miss., no time
16. Chad Zobrist (78), Highland, Ill., no time

Saturday’s schedule

(All times local)
8 a.m. - Pits open
3:30 p.m. - Tech and registration open
4 p.m. - Grandstands open
4:15 p.m. - Driver autograph session
5 p.m. - Tech and registration close
6 p.m. - On-track activity
- Late Model hot laps
- Modified group qualifying
- Late Model time trials (2 laps)
- Pro mod hot laps
- Factory stock hot laps
Opening ceremonies
- Late Model heats (8 laps)
- Modified heats (8 laps)
- Pro mod heats (8 laps)
- Factory stock heats (8 laps)
Intermission/track prep
- Late Model consolation (10 laps)
- Modified consolation (8 laps)
Feature events
- Late Models (40 laps)
- Modifieds (25 laps)
- Pro mods (20 laps)
- Factory stocks (15 laps)