Jimmy Mars Tops Field at 2009 USA Nationals!

NEW RICHMOND, Wis. (Aug. 1) — For Jimmy Mars, the 13 years of dust on his 1996 USA Nationals trophy from Cedar Lake Speedway was a bit much.

The 37-year-old driver from Menomonie, Wis., took care of that bit out housekeeping on Saturday by dominating the second half of the Upper Midwest's richest Dirt Late Model event to earn $50,000.

The victory left Mars on the verge of tears with a victory at a home- state track against an impressive 26-car field representing 15 states.

"I'm still kind of trying not to be choked up here," Mars said in an interview following his sixth victory of the season at Cedar Lake. "People just don't know how tough this race is to win. We've been close before where I thought maybe we'd have a chance and break or something like that. We're always like, 'Maybe next year we'll get it.
Next year we'll get it. Next year we'll get it. Then all of the sudden it's 13 years later."

Outside front-row starter Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., who led most of the first 56 laps, ended up second in trying to duplicate Thursday's feature victory in a WDRL-sanctioned tuneup while polesitter and fellow Watertown driver Tim McCreadie was third. Eighth- starting Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa, a two-time USA Nationals winner, ran as high as second but settled for fourth while tail- starting Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., rounded out the top five.

The ninth-starting Mars got a quick start, moving up to second in the first 20 laps to put the heat on Fuller. Twice Mars nosed ahead to lead laps, but both times, cautions helped relieve the pressure for Fuller, who was still out front following the last of six yellow flags on the 46th lap. But with earlier three-wide racing filtering into the lower groove midway through the race, Mars was able to make his familiar white No. 28 work in the middle groove on the 57th lap. He went around Fuller heading into turn one and completed the winning pass out of turn two, dooming the rest of the field.

Fuller knew his car was capable on a slicker track surface, but with a rubber strip developing in the low groove, he knew Mars would be tough to hold off. "I'm happy. You don't see me get passed for the lead and finish second and still smile," Fuller said. "I got beat by a guy that had the better car tonight, and we had some good racing side-by-side there. I was just kicking myself in the ass a little bit for not thinking this was going to happen."

With no more cautions the rest of the way — and Mars getting a lapped- car cushion in the form of Dustin Hapka protecting him — Fuller and the other pursuers never had a serious chance at catching the winner, who took the checkered flag to cheers from the Wisconsin crowd.

Of the six cautions in the first half of the race, the most serious was for a lap-46 scramble in turn four that included Justin Fegers, Terry Casey and Rick Aukland and sparked contact among other competitors trying to avoid the mess. The other yellows were for single-car incidents or flat tires.

Notes: Mars drives and M-B Customs Chassis with a Pro Power Engine and sponsorship from Deppe Enterprises, T.L. Sinz Plumbing, Keyes Chevytown and Baileigh Industrial. ... Twenty-one of 26 starters were running at the finish with 16 drivers on the lead lap. ... Other cautions were for a spin by Chris Wall (lap 10), a slowing Scott James (lap 13), a spin by Brady Smith (lap 18), a slowing Josh McGuire (lap 28) and a slowing Shannon Babb (lap 45). ... The 26-car field was made up of drivers from 15 states with only Wisconsin (six) and Illinois (four) having more than two representatives.

USA Nationals: (1) Jimmy Mars, (2) Tim Fuller, (3) Tim McCreadie, (4) Brian Birkhofer, (5) Chris Madden, (6) Matt Miller, (7) Dennis Erb Jr., (8) Jason Feger, (9) Chad Simpson, (10) Terry Phillips, (11) Brady Smith, (12) Shannon Babb, (13) Wendell Wallace, (14) Bill Frye, (15) Adam Hensel, (16) Clint Smith, (17) Dustin Hapka, (18) Nick Anvelink, (19) Rick Aukland, (20) Jeep Van Wormer, (21) Josh McGuire, (22) Ashley Anderson, (23) Justin Fegers, (24) Terry Casey, (25) Scott James, (26) Chris Wall.

Fast qualifier (among 63 cars): Feger, 13.922 seconds. Heat race winners: McCreadie, Fuller, B. Smith, Fegers, Casey, Hensel. Consolation winners: Miller, Phillips, Wall. Last- chance winner: Frye.

NEW RICHMOND, Wis. (July 31) — The richest Dirt Late Model race in the Upper Midwest has a decided New York flavor.

With heat race winners Tim McCreadie and Tim Fuller, both of Watertown, N.Y., starting on the front row for Saturday's 22nd annual USA Nationals, the only two Empire State drivers in the 63-car field have the upper hand at Cedar Lake Speedway's $50,000-to-win event.

McCreadie outran Fuller in Friday's dash to secure the pole position for Saturday night's 100-lapper just before rains hit the 3/8-mile oval, spoiling the track's scheduled 40-lapper feature for its weekly NASCAR Late Models. That feature will be added to Saturday's program, which is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. and include consolation races, a last-chance race and the 100-lap USA Nationals main event.

McCreadie and Fuller will start on the front row of the feature with four Upper Midwest drivers filling out the next two rows according to the finish of the dash. Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis., was third in the dash ahead of Justin Fegers of Mound, Minn., Terry Casey of New London, Wis., and Adam Hensel of Barron, Wis. They'll head a solid 25- car field that is also scheduled to include former USA Nationals winners Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa, Rick Aukland of Zanesville, Ohio, and Jimmy Mars of Elk Mound, Wis., who rallied from eighth to second in his heat race.

The first night of the USA Nationals started with Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., topping qualifying as the only driver to crack the 14-second mark. Feger, making his first visit to Cedar Lake after being lured by a fan-supported effort to draw new blood to the track, posted a lap of 13.922 seconds. He earned $1,000 from R2C Performance for his fast time, $500 as a bonus and an additional $500 for using an R2C filter.

Heat race action provided plenty of drama with surprising winners (Fegers and Hensel) and the impressive performances of the New Yorkers (McCreadie and Fuller, who won Thursday's WDRL-sancitioned tuneup at Cedar Lake).

In the first heat, Fegers built a full-straightaway lead early and rolled to victory over Aukland, a two-time USA Nationals champion competing at Cedar Lake for the first time in recent memory. In the second heat, McCreadie outdueled Birkhofer early and stretched his margin in the final laps. Casey had his hands full with challenges throughout the third heat but edged away late in a race where a rallying Mars just nipped Clint Smith at the line for second. In the fourth heat, Zach Johnson led eight laps before Matt Miller took the lead, but both drivers fell from contention on the 10th lap when Johnson spun and Miller pitted to repair a flat tire. That handed the lead to the polesitting Hensel, who led the rest of the way. Fuller dominated the fifth heat while home-state driver Nick Anvelink fought off last year's runner-up Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., for the second spot. In the final heat, Feger challenged Brady Smith early but ended up third behind Josh McGuire.

Saturday's action includes a special autograph session starting at 4:45 p.m. Three consolation races will send two drivers apiece into rows 10-12 of the main event lineup with a last-chance race adding a 25th driver to the field. Cedar Lake's NASCAR Late Models will run a complete $2,500-to-win program along with a makeup of the 40-lap feature rained out Friday.

B-Main 1: Matt Miller, Dennis Erb, Al Purkey, Eric Pember, Zach Johnson, Dan Shelliam, John Anderson, Rodney Melvin, Denny Eckrich, Russ Scheffler, Dewaine Hottinger, Johnny Malcolm

B- Main 2: Terry Phillips, Ashley Anderson, Will Vaught, Chris Madden, Jake Redetzke, Pat Doar, Chris Simpson, Eric Turner, Andrew McKay, Rob Moss, John Kaanta, Jon Kirby

B-Main 3- Chris Wall, Scott James, Bill Frye, Brian Shirley, Billy Moyer, Jeremy Payne, Tim Isenberg, Rick Hanestad, Jason Utter, Mike Johnson, Dave Eckrich, Mike Balcaen

First heat: Justin Fegers, Rick Aukland, Jeep Van Wormer, Dennis Erb Jr., Al Purkey, Rodney Melvin, Eric Pember, John Anderson, Denny Eckrich, Johnny Malcolm, Jeff Martire.

Second heat: Tim McCreadie, Brian Birkhofer, Chad Simpson, Terry Phillips, Jake Redetzke, Chris Madden, Pat Doar, Chris Simpson, John Kaanta, Jon Kirby, Tyler Reddick.

Third heat: Terry Casey, Jimmy Mars, Clint Smith, Billy Moyer, Chris Wall, Brian Shirley, Rick Hanestad, Mike Balcaen, Bill Koons, Alan Mondus.

Fourth heat: Adam Hensel, Wendell Wallace, Dustin Hapka, Dan Shelliam, Matt Miller, Dewaine Hottinger, Zach Johnson, Bryan Wennen, Larry Stockwell, Russ Scheffler.

Fifth heat: Tim Fuller, Nick Anvelink, Shannon Babb, Ashley Anderson, Will Vaught, Rob Moss, Andrew McKay, Eric Turner, Gregg Hill, Lee Thomason.

Sixth heat: Brady Smith, Josh McGuire, Jason Feger, Scott James, Bill Frye, Jeremy Payne, Tim Isenberg, Zack Forster, Jason Utter, Dave Eckrich.

Dash: Tim McCreadie, Tim Fuller, Brady Smith, Justin Fegers, Terry Casey, Adam Hensel.

Time trials (unofficial)

Jason Feger (25), Bloomington, Ill., 13.922 Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill., 14.165 Russ Scheffler (74), Waukesha, Wis., 14.180 Clint Smith (44), Senoia, Ga., 14.253 Brian Birkhofer (15B), Muscatine, Iowa, 14.317 Al Purkey (33), Coffeyville, Kan., 14.338 Jeremy Payne (74), Springfield, Mo., 14.387 Tim Fuller (19), Watertown, N.Y., 14.405 Zach Johnson (73), Kensington, Minn. , 14.417 Chris Wall (71), Holden, La., 14.460 Chad Simpson (25), Mount Vernon, Iowa, 14.585 Justin Fegers (F15), Mound, Minn., 14.594 Brady Smith (2), Solon Springs, Wis., 14.627 Nick Anvelink (15), Navarino, Wis., 14.635 Adam Hensel (44), Barron, Wis., 14.640 Terry Casey (42), New London, Wis., 14.654 Tim McCreadie (39), Watertown, N.Y., 14.678 Rick Aukland (12), Zanesville, Ohio, 14.68 Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., 14.686 John Kaanta (85), Elk Mound, Wis., 14.733 Billy Moyer (21), Batesville, Ark., 14.734 Matt Miller (7), Waterville, Ohio, 14.752 Ashley Anderson (81), Eau Claire, Wis., 14.803 Bill Frye (66), Greenbrier, Ark., 14.822 Rodney Melvin (27), Benton, Ill., 14.823 Terry Phillips (75), Springfield, Mo., 14.859 Alan Mondus (55), Lakeville, Minn., 14.860 Bryan Wennen (40), Lindstrom, Minn., 14.863 Will Vaught (1), Crane, Mo., 14.877 Josh McGuire (41), Grayson, Ky., 14.883 Jeep Van Wormer (55), Pinconning, Mich., 14.904 Pat Doar (11), New Richmond, Wis., 14.920 Mike Balcaen (10), Winnipeg, Manitoba, 14.921 Dan Shelliam (16), Hazel Green, Wis., 14.937 Eric Turner (99T), Springfield, Mo., 14.938 Scott James (83), Lawrenceburg, Ind., 14.952 Eric Pember (90x), Pittsville, Wis., 14.965 Tyler Reddick (11), Corning, Calif., 15.010 Rick Hanestad (71), Boyceville, Wis., 15.034 Dustin Hapka (18H), Grand Forks, N.D., 15.040 Rob Moss (1m), Iowa City, Iowa, 15.085 Jason Utter (31), Columbus Junction, Iowa, 15.093 Denny Eckrich (50), Tiffin, Iowa, 15.098 Jake Redetzke (27), Eau Claire, Wis., 15.188 Jimmy Mars (28), Menomonie, Wis., 15.197 Dewaine Hottinger (65), Russellville, Ark., 15.200 Lee Thomason (53), Marion, Ill., 15.242 Zack Forster (1), Bakersfield, Calif., 15.297 Johnny Malcolm (3), Corona, Calif., 15.298 Chris Simpson (32), Oxford, Iowa, 15.37 Mike Johnson (2j), Lompoc, Calif., 15.404 Larry Stockwell (8), Ellsworth, Wis., 15.448 Gregg Hill (8), Eveleth, Minn., 15.459 Tim Isenberg (9T), Marshfield, Wis., 15.472 Jeff Martire (45), Stillwater, Minn., 15.625 Jon Kirby (11), Russellville, Ark., 15.703 Bill Koons (29), Omaha, Neb., 15.718 Wendell Wallace (88), Batesville, Ark., 15.718 Andrew McKay (71), Edina, Minn., 15.795 Dave Eckrich (58), Cosgrove, Iowa, 16.210 John Anderson (2), Omaha, Neb., 16.775 Chris Madden (44), Gray Court, S.C., 17.235 Disqualified (failed to weigh) Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., 14.517

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