KANKAKEE, Ill. — July 12, 2013 — Jeff Curl passed race-long leader Nick Allen with six laps remaining and then held on to the checkered flag to secure his first win of the 2013 Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals season at Kankakee County Speedway.
Curl, of Forrest, Ill., started sixth and found the early-going a challenge to find room to make a pass, leaving him stuck outside the top five. A restart near the midway point gave him the opportunity he needed and with the field bunched up he moved to the outside line. Not many drivers chose to get off of the bottom of the track, giving Curl enough room to pass and catch Allen, who had dominated the entire race from his pole-position.
Allen, seeing Curl cutting into his lead, moved up to the high side to try and hold off Curl, but Curl was too strong as he got to the corner of Allen’s car and slipped by him going into turn three with six laps remaining. Curl then held off Kenny Wallace en route to scoring the $1,000 checkered flag, his first of the six-week long tour.
Curl becomes the 18th different winner in 21 races heading into the final week of the tour. Only Mike Harrison (3) and Devin Gilpin (2) have won more than once.
“I found something in the middle of (turn) one and two, and got alongside of Nick Allen, and I knew if I couldn’t get him in one and two then I would finish second to him,” said Curl, who won this same event last year. “To go by guys like (Mike) Harrison, Nick Allen and Kenny Wallace we’ve just worked really hard to get to this point and I can’t think all the guys enough.”
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Kenny Wallace, Nick Allen, Steven Brooks Dave Porth rounded out the top five.
Heat race winners included Kenny Wallace, Mike Harrison and Nick Allen.
The DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals continues Sunday night at Vermillion County Speedway located in Danville, Illinois.
DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Statistical Report; Kankakee (Ill.) County Speedway; July 12, 2013
A-Main (25-laps): 1. Jeff Curl ($1,000), 2. Kenny Wallace, 3. Nick Allen, 4. Steven Brooks, 5. Dave Porth, 6. James Farris Sr., 7. Mike McKinney, 8. Mike Harrison, 9. Chad Osterhoff, 10. Todd Sherman, 11. Devin Wright, 12. Shawn Scripter, 13. Kevin Hastings, 14. Jason Hastings, 15. Richie Dawson, 16. Ray Bollinger, 17. Jason Klopp, 18. Thomas Pasek, 19. Andrew Funk, 20. Travis Kohler, 21. Dane Tilstra, 22. AJ Dixon, 23. Rusty Griffaw, 24. Shannon Mudro, 25. Joe Gillespie.
DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Top 10
| Pos. | Car | Name | Points |
| 1. | 24 | Mike Harrison | 474 |
| 2. | 16 | Rusty Griffaw | 452 |
| 3. | C12 | Jeff Curl | 449 |
| 4. | 36 | Kenny Wallace | 424 |
| 5. | 3L | Jeff Leka | 402 |
| 6. | 32 | Donovan Lodge | 393 |
| 7. | 77 | Ray Bollinger | 379 |
| 8. | O5 | Dave Wietholder | 357 |
| 9. | 41 | Matt Goulden | 347 |
| 10. | 8 | Levi Kissinger | 339 |
2013 DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals
| Day | Date | Track | Location | Winner |
| Saturday | June 8 | Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN | Devin Gilpin |
| Wednesday | June 12 | Brownstown Speedway | Brownstown, IN | Devin Gilpin (2) |
| Friday | June 14 | Kankakee County Speedway | Kankakee, IL | Nick Allen |
| Sunday | June 16 | Wilmot Raceway | Wilmot, WI | Mitch McGrath |
| Wednesday | June 19 | Spoon River Speedway | Canton, IL | Kenny Wallace |
| Thursday | June 20 | Belle-Clair Speedway | Belleville, IL | Brian Beilong |
| Friday | June 21 | Tri-City Speedway | Pontoon Beach, IL | Michael Long |
| Saturday | June 22 | Fairbury Speedway | Fairbury, IL | Lance Dehm |
| Sunday | June 23 | I-96 Speedway | Lake Odessa, MI | Dona Marcoullier |
| Monday | June 24 | Peoria Speedway | Peoria, IL | PPD/Rain July 15 |
| Wednesday | June 26 | Clarksville Speedway | Clarksville, TN | Matt Cooper |
| Thursday | June 27 | Clayhill Motorsports Park | Atwood, TN | Lucas Lee |
| Friday | June 28 | Paducah International Raceway | Paducah, KY | Mike Harrison |
| Saturday | June 29 | Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 | Pevely, MO | Canceled/Rain |
| Sunday | June 30 | Lincoln Speedway | Lincoln, IL | Ray Bollinger |
| Tuesday | July 2 | Quincy Raceways | Quincy, IL | Steven DeLonjay |
| Wednesday | July 3 | Jacksonville Speedway | Jacksonville, IL | David Wietholder |
| Thursday | July 4 | LaSalle Speedway | LaSalle, IL | Donovan Lodge |
| Friday | July 5 | Fayette County Speedway | Brownstown, IL | Brent Mullins |
| Saturday | July 6 | Highland Speedway | Highland, IL | PPD/Rain Aug. 25 |
| Sunday | July 7 | Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN | Mike Harrison (2) |
| Tuesday | July 9 | Florence Speedway | Union, KY | Ryan Thomas |
| Wednesday | July 10 | Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN | Canceled/Rain |
| Thursday | July 11 | Macon Speedway | Macon, IL | Mike Harrison (3) |
| Friday | July 12 | Kankakee County Speedway | Kankakee, IL | Jeff Curl |
| Sunday | July 14 | Vermillion County Speedway | Danville, IL | |
| Monday | July 15 | Peoria Speedway | Peoria, IL | |
| Wednesday | July 17 | Brushcreek Motorsports Park | Peebles, OH | |
| Friday | July 19 | Attica Raceway Park | Attica, OH | |
| Saturday | July 20 | Oakshade Raceway | Wauseon, OH |
The Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals is proudly brought to you by these fine partners : Summit Racing Equipment (Title Sponsor), Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Provider), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Racing Tire), VP Racing Fuels (Official Fuel), along with these Contingency Parters: MSD Performance, TomCat Performance, Landrum Performance Springs, Dominator Race Products, QuarterMaster, KSE Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Wrisco Aluminum, Beyea Custom Headers, Fast Shafts, Bassett Wheels, QA1, Auto Meter, Schoenfeld Headers, University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH), Racing Electronics, Intercomp, Bell Helmets, Shafer Enterprises’ Cool Shirts, XS Power Racing Batteries, and Chevy Performance.