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Pierce Fends Off Wenger for FALS Win

Fairbury, IL (September 4, 2021) - The Mars Racing Series closed out the Labor Day weekend with the $10,000 to win Super Nationals event at Fairbury Speedway. 29 cars filled the Fairbury pit area for the nights racing action. 

In Allstar Performance Qualifying it was Frank Heckenast Jr who bested the field with a lap of 12.965 seconds. Tanner English and Shannon Babb were second and third quick.

In Arizona Sport Shirts Heat Race #1 Frank Heckenast Jr took advantage of the pole starting spot and pick up the win. Bobby Pierce and Mike Mataragas finished second and third. McKay Wenger and Brian Shirley nabbed the other two transfers into the main event.

Heat Race #2, brought to you by Dirt Track Bank was dominated by past series champ Tanner English. He took the lead early and off he went. Youngster Trevor Gundaker finished second. Taylor Scheffler, Torin Mettille, and Billy Hough all moved on to the feature event.

In the third and final heat race of the night presented by O'Reilly Auto Parts it was all Kevin Weaver. Shannon Babb came home in the runner up spot. Jason Feger, Mike Spatola, and Garrett Alberson were the other three drivers transferring to the main event.

The fifty lap $10,000 to win feature event started off with Tanner English grabbing the early lead. Frank Heckenast Jr would soon take over the point and lead for several laps. On lap 7 Bobby Pierce was able to wrestle the lead away from Heckenast Jr. The remaining 33 laps was Bobby Pierce trying to hold the field behind him. Bobby and Tanner made contact and Tanner ended up going around just before halfway and bringing out a caution. Bobby would hold on to the lead despite the challenge from McKay Wenger. On the closing lap McKay had a shot for the win but Bobby blocked his low side move in turn three. Garrett Alberson would come home third.

The Mars Racing Series will be back in action on Friday and Saturday September 24th and 25th at Spoon River Speedway for the Mars Championship Weekend. 

Stay informed on all the news, events and schedule for the MARS Racing Series at www.marsracingseries.com.

RACE RESULTS

A Feature 1: 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[4]; 2. 42-Mckay Wenger[10]; 3. 59-Garrett Alberson[15]; 4. 24-Ryan Unzicker[21]; 5. 81E-Tanner English[2]; 6. 25-Jason Feger[9]; 7. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[1]; 8. 89-Mike Spatola[12]; 9. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[5]; 10. 116-Torin Mettille[11]; 11. 20-Dustin Vandermeir[22]; 12. 14-Reid Millard[20]; 13. (DNF) 3S-Brian Shirley[13]; 14. (DNF) 10-Scott Schmitt[16]; 15. (DNF) 10S-Taylor Scheffler[8]; 16. (DNF) B12-Kevin Weaver[3]; 17. (DNF) 1M-Mike Mataragas[7]; 18. (DNF) 18-Shannon Babb[6]; 19. (DNF) 26M-Brent McKinnon[17]; 20. (DNF) 33-Billy Hough[14]; 21. (DNF) M27-Mike Provenzano[19]; 22. (DNF) 18L-Jeffrey Ledford[18]

B Feature 1: 1. 10-Scott Schmitt[3]; 2. 26M-Brent McKinnon[6]; 3. 18L-Jeffrey Ledford[1]; 4. M27-Mike Provenzano[4]; 5. 20-Dustin Vandermeir[9]; 6. 14-Reid Millard[7]; 7. 4D-Doug Tye[10]; 8. 50-Kayden Clatt[12]; 9. (DNS) 24-Ryan Unzicker; 10. (DNS) 11-Gordy Gundaker; 11. (DNS) 7-Jay Sparks; 12. (DNS) 35-Derek Chandler; 13. (DNS) 10P-Paul Parker; 14. (DNS) 76-Titus Sneed

Heat 1: 1. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[1]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce[3]; 3. 1M-Mike Mataragas[2]; 4. 42-Mckay Wenger[4]; 5. 3S-Brian Shirley[5]; 6. 18L-Jeffrey Ledford[7]; 7. M27-Mike Provenzano[10]; 8. 14-Reid Millard[9]; 9. 4D-Doug Tye[8]; 10. (DNF) 76-Titus Sneed[6]

Heat 2: 1. 81E-Tanner English[1]; 2. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[2]; 3. 10S-Taylor Scheffler[3]; 4. 116-Torin Mettille[7]; 5. 33-Billy Hough[8]; 6. (DNF) 11-Gordy Gundaker[5]; 7. (DNF) 35-Derek Chandler[4]; 8. (DNF) 24-Ryan Unzicker[6]; 9. (DNS) 7-Jay Sparks; 10. (DNS) 10P-Paul Parker

Heat 3: 1. B12-Kevin Weaver[2]; 2. 18-Shannon Babb[1]; 3. 25-Jason Feger[4]; 4. 89-Mike Spatola[3]; 5. 59-Garrett Alberson[5]; 6. 10-Scott Schmitt[6]; 7. 26M-Brent McKinnon[8]; 8. 20-Dustin Vandermeir[7]; 9. 50-Kayden Clatt[9]

Qualifying 1: 1. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr, 00:12.965[2]; 2. 81E-Tanner English, 00:12.975[27]; 3. 18-Shannon Babb, 00:13.087[6]; 4. 1M-Mike Mataragas, 00:13.092[8]; 5. 11T-Trevor Gundaker, 00:13.096[20]; 6. B12-Kevin Weaver, 00:13.163[28]; 7. 32-Bobby Pierce, 00:13.239[18]; 8. 10S-Taylor Scheffler, 00:13.280[17]; 9. 89-Mike Spatola, 00:13.306[10]; 10. 42-Mckay Wenger, 00:13.315[13]; 11. 35-Derek Chandler, 00:13.325[16]; 12. 25-Jason Feger, 00:13.389[12]; 13. 3S-Brian Shirley, 00:13.409[11]; 14. 11-Gordy Gundaker, 00:13.469[29]; 15. 59-Garrett Alberson, 00:13.476[19]; 16. 76-Titus Sneed, 00:13.478[26]; 17. 24-Ryan Unzicker, 00:13.504[22]; 18. 10-Scott Schmitt, 00:13.522[4]; 19. 18L-Jeffrey Ledford, 00:13.599[7]; 20. 116-Torin Mettille, 00:13.648[23]; 21. 20-Dustin Vandermeir, 00:13.750[21]; 22. 4D-Doug Tye, 00:13.752[14]; 23. 33-Billy Hough, 00:13.766[5]; 24. 26M-Brent McKinnon, 00:13.823[24]; 25. 14-Reid Millard, 00:13.893[1]; 26. 7-Jay Sparks, 00:13.956[9]; 27. 50-Kayden Clatt, 00:14.204[25]; 28. M27-Mike Provenzano, 00:14.982[15]; 29. (DNS) 10P-Paul Parker

Contingency Awards:

Allstar Performance Fast Time Award: Frank Heckenast Jr

VP Fuel Award from Git Sideways: Bobby Pierce

Swift Springs Opposing Fast Time Award: Tanner English

Keyser Manufacturing Hard Charger Award: Ryan Unzicker

Wilwood Tough Brake Award: Kevin Weaver

Ultrashield Non-Transfer Award: Mike Mataragas

Auto Meter Non-Transfer Award: Shannon Babb

 

Photo: Josh James

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