MACON, Ill. – July 11, 2013 – Shannon Babb continued his mid-season dominance Thursday night at Macon Speedway as he rallied from the ninth starting position to lead the second half of the 33rd Annual Herald & Review 100, capturing his fifth checkered flag of the 2013 DIRTcar Summer Nationals “Hell Tour” season.
Babb, of Moweaqua, Ill., has proven why the three time champion should never be counted out. After starting the season relatively slow by his standards, Babb has scored four wins in seven races since the start of July and was just 50 points behind Brandon Sheppard entering the night.
Babb’s most recent victory would not be handed to him as he started from the inside of row five. Sheppard secured the pole-position but handed the lead over to Brian Shirley early in the feature. Babb reached Shirley and second-place running Kevin Weaver by the race’s halfway point. Shirley was glued to the top and Weaver glued to the bottom, so the faster Babb made the middle lane work for him as he split the two leaders in a daring three-wide pass for the lead. Babb secured the top spot and led the rest of the way to score the $5,000 checkered flag. Sheppard worked his way back to second as he continues to hold onto the points lead.
“I found (the middle groove) right away,” said Babb, who is now just 45 points behind Sheppard in the current standings. “I didn’t know how long it was gonna last. It kind of went away there at the end, but once we were in the lead we were alright.”
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Ryan Unzicker, Dustin Griffin and Steve Sheppard, Jr. rounded out the top five.
Heat race winners included Brandon Sheppard, Brian Shirley, Kevin Weaver and Ryan Unzicker.
The DIRTcar Summer Nationals Hell Tour continues on Friday night at Kankakee County Speedway in Kankakee, Ill.
DIRTcar Summer Nationals Statistical Report; Macon (Ill) Speedway; July 11, 2013
A-Main (40-laps): 1. Shannon Babb ($5,000), 2. Brandon Sheppard, 3. Ryan Unzicker, 4. Dustin Griffin, 5. Steve Sheppard Jr, 6. Kevin Weaver, 7. Bobby Pierce, 8. Tim Lance, 9. Kyle Logue, 10. Frankie Martin, 11. Ryan Little, 12. Greg Kimmons, 13. Steve Kester, 14. Joseph Hughs, 15. Rich Bell, 16. Jason McBride, 17. Brian Divley, 18. Brian Shirley, 19. Jason Papich, 20. Matt Taylor, 21. Rick Standridge, 22. Todd Frank.
DIRTcar Summer Nationals “Hell Tour” Top 10
| Pos. | Car | Name | Points |
| 1. | B5 | Brandon Sheppard | 1,250 |
| 2. | 18 | Shannon Babb | 1,205 |
| 3. | 24 | Ryan Unzicker | 1,184 |
| 4. | 32 | Bobby Pierce | 1,167 |
| 5. | 20 | Dustin Griffin | 883 |
| 6. | 77 | Jason McBride | 845 |
| 7. | 81 | Randy Korte | 808 |
| 8. | 11 | Tyler Reddick | 791 |
| 9. | B12 | Kevin Weaver | 781 |
| 10. | 48 | Tim Lance | 578 |
2013 DIRTcar Summer Nationals ‘Hell Tour’ Schedule
| Day | Date | Track | Location | Winner |
| Wed. | June 12 | Brownstown Speedway | Brownstown, IN | Dennis Erb, Jr. |
| Thurs. | June 13 | Off | ||
| Fri. | June 14 | Cedar Lake Speedway | New Richmond, WI | Brian Birkhofer |
| Sat. | June 15 | Cedar Lake Speedway | New Richmond, WI | Canceled/Rain |
| Sun. | June 16 | Wilmot Speedway | Wilmot, WI | Kevin Weaver |
| Mon. | June 17 | Off | ||
| Tues. | June 18 | Off | ||
| Wed. | June 19 | Spoon River Speedway | Canton, IL | Brandon Sheppard |
| Thurs. | June 20 | Belle Clair Speedway | Belleville, IL | Brandon Sheppard (2) |
| Fri. | June 21 | Tri-City Speedway | Pontoon Beach, IL | Chris Simpson |
| Sat. | June 22 | Fairbury Speedway | Fairbury, IL | Ryan Unzicker |
| Sun. | June 23 | I-96 Speedway | Lake Odessa, MI | Shannon Babb |
| Mon. | June 24 | Peoria Speedway | Peoria, IL | PPD/Rain July 15 |
| Tues. | June 25 | Off | ||
| Wed. | June 26 | Clarksville Speedway | Clarksville, TN | Brandon Sheppard (3) |
| Thurs. | June 27 | Clayhill Motorsports Park | Atwood, TN | Brandon Sheppard (4) |
| Fri. | June 28 | Paducah International Raceway | Paducah, KY | Billy Moyer |
| Sat. | June 29 | Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 | Pevely, MO | Postponed/Rain |
| Sun. | June 30 | Lincoln Speedway | Lincoln, IL | Bobby Pierce |
| Mon. | July 1 | Off | ||
| Tues. | July 2 | Quincy Raceways | Quincy, IL | Shannon Babb (2) |
| Wed. | July 3 | Jacksonville Speedway | Jacksonville, IL | Shannon Babb (3) |
| Thurs. | July 4 | LaSalle Speedway | LaSalle, IL | Bobby Pierce (2) |
| Fri. | July 5 | Fayette Co. Speedway | Brownstown, IL | Ryan Unzicker (2) |
| Sat. | July 6 | Highland Speedway | Highland, IL | PPD/Rain Aug. 25 |
| Sun. | July 7 | Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN | Shannon Babb (4) |
| Mon. | July 8 | Off | ||
| Tues. | July 9 | Florence Speedway | Union, KY | Scott Bloomquist |
| Wed. | July 10 | Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN | Canceled/Rain |
| Thurs. | July 11 | Macon Speedway | Macon, IL | Shannon Babb (5) |
| Fri. | July 12 | Kankakee County Speedway | Kankakee, IL | |
| Sat. | July 13 | 34 Raceway | Burlington, IA | |
| Sun. | July 14 | Vermilion County Speedway | Danville, IL | |
| Mon. | July 15 | Peoria Speedway | Peoria, IL | |
| Tues. | July 16 | Off | ||
| Wed. | July 17 | Brushcreek Motorsports Park | Peebles, OH | |
| Thurs. | July 18 | Off | ||
| Fri. | July 19 | Attica Raceway Park | Attica, OH | |
| Sat. | July 20 | Oakshade Raceway | Wauseon, OH |
The DIRTcar Summer Nationals (The Hell Tour) is brought to fans across the country by many important partners including: Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), Racing Electonics (Official Communication), Vicci (Official Uniform), VP Racing Fuel (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to these fine Contingency Sponsors: Beyea Headers, Butlerbuilt, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Dominator Race Products, Edelbrock, Chevy Performance Parts, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, Klotz Lubricants, MSD Performance, Petroff Towing, Quartermaster, Superflow Dynos, UNOH (University of Northwestern Ohio), and Wrisco Aluminum.