Strong fields of cars are expected this Friday and Saturday, October 18-19 for the 2024 DIRTcar Fall Nationals at Lincoln Speedway. The track, located at the Logan County Fairgrounds in Lincoln, IL, has hosted the Fall Nationals since 2020. This year’s event will feature five divisions of action, headlined by the DIRTcar Super Late Model class.
Pre-registration is strong with nearly 100 cars already registered for the weekend, much higher than previous years, as many drivers tend to register their cars upon arrival. The early entries include plenty of locals and travelers as well as many champions and feature winners.
DIRTcar Late Model National champion, Jason Feger, of Bloomington, IL, will be back looking to keep his strong runs at Lincoln going. Feger claimed 15 sanctioned features this year as he took trophies at Fairbury, Federated I-55, Highland, Sycamore, Lincoln, Paducah, Spoon River, Peoria, Macon, and Farmer City. Feger has been the one to beat at Lincoln the last couple of seasons, claiming the Summer National and Fall National wins. A few other early notables include Lincoln, IL’s Myles Moos, Blaze Burwell, Jake Little, and Bob Gardner.
The DIRTcar Modified class is shaping up to be a good one with a solid field of entries already set to attend. 2024 track champion, Tim Luttrell, will be there to celebrate his first Lincoln Speedway championship and attempt to defend his home turf from the best of the best in Modified racing. Last year, in upwards of 35 Modifieds were on hand each night and with the current list of pre-entries getting to that number and above should be no problem.
This year’s DIRTcar Pro Modified class could be the strongest in numbers as 30 drivers are already pre-entered. Among those entries are the top 9 in national standings, Deece Schwartz, Kyle Helmick, Braden Doyle, Zach Whaley, Andrew Johns, Cole Knebel, Joel Ortberg, Steve Phillips, and Donnie Martin. Schwartz claimed both Fall Nationals feature wins in 2023 and will be the favorite coming into the weekend.
New Berlin, IL driver Jose Parga will be back to defend his Fall Nationals win of a year ago in the Pro Late Model division. This year, the Pro Lates will be in action on Friday and Saturday night. In addition to Parga, 2024 DIRTcar Pro Late Model national champion Dakota Ewing will be on hand looking for his 20thand 21st wins of the year. Ewing has claimed victories at Charleston, Kankakee, Farmer City, Lincoln, and Macon.
Rounding out the action this weekend will be the DIRTcar Stock Car class. Leading the entries is 2024 national champion, Braiden Keller. The West Lebanon, IN driver ran a crazy amount of races this season, claiming 16 out of 29 sanctioned DIRTcar events. Wins came at Fairbury, Charleston, Kankakee, and Farmer City. Keller will be making his first visit of the season at Lincoln Saturday night.
On track activity begins on Thursday with an optional practice day for all divisions. Pits open at 4:00 with practice on track at 6:30. Multiple rounds will be held with plenty of on track opportunities. Grandstands will be open for those who want to watch for free.
Friday night will be race day #1 of 2 for this year’s Fall Nationals. Super Late Models, Pro Late Models, Modifieds, and Pro Modifieds will race full programs which include group qualifying, heat races, last chance showdowns, and features. Qualifying will begin at 6:00 PM with racing to follow.
Saturday night features a second full night of racing for Super Late Models, Pro Late Models, Modifieds, and Pro Modifieds in addition to the Stock Car (Street Stock) class joining the show. Saturday times are an hour earlier with hotlaps beginning at 5:00 PM and racing to follow.
In addition to racing festivities, the top five in Lincoln Speedway Pro Late Model and Modified points will receive their year-end awards on Friday evening during the racing program. Following the night’s races, popular central Illinois band, Lady Luck, will play behind the main grandstands at the champion’s celebration party. Everyone is welcome to attend and have a good time.
Tickets and pit passes will be available upon arrival each day. Three day and two-day pit passes come with discounted pricing as do two-day tickets for Friday and Saturday.
Primitive camping spots remain available for the weekend for $50. All electric spots have been sold out for the weekend. To pre-register, call 217-764-3200.
Track Enterprises PR
