June 17

HIGHLAND, Ill. — Terry English drew the pole position for the 30-lap UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals A-main June 17 at Highland Speedway and took advantage of it, securing the lead on lap 12 and marching on to victory.
English repelled pressure from 2006 UMP DIRTcar super-late-model national champion Randy Korte and Summer Nationals rookie Will Vaught to pocket the $6,000 top prize. The trio ran nose to tail for most of the feature and finished in that order.
Jeep VanWormer placed fourth and Brian Shirley was fifth.
“I just wanted to make sure I stayed on the bottom and didn’t slip up,” said English, who drove the Scott Riggs-owned No. 81e. “I knew that was where to be.”
English, who borrowed the Riggs machine for Summer Nationals duty after his own car was sidelined by engine trouble in the tour’s opener, registered his fifth-career Summer Nationals victory. It was his first on the tour since July 10, 2004, at Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway.
The finish:
Terry English, Randy Korte, Will Vaught, Jeep VanWormer, Brian Shirley, Billy Faust, Kevin Cole, Dennis Erb, Jr., Rodney Melvin, Tim Manville, Dewayne Kiefer, Wes Steidinger, Steve Sheppard, Jr., Tim Lance, Rick Salter, Ryan Unzicker, Michael Kloos, Mark Voigt, Jason Feger, Kevin Claycomb, Mark Faust.

June 18

BELLEVILLE, Ill. — They call him “The Thrill” — and Will Vaught lived up to his nickname June 18 as the UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals made its inaugural visit to Belle-Clair Speedway.
Vaught used his second-starting position to his advantage in the 40-lap A-main, jumping ahead of pole-sitter Brent Kreke on the opening circuit and quickly moving low to protect his line en route to a flag-to-flag victory.
“It feels good,” Vaught said of his first Summer Nationals victory. “We’ve worked our butts off the last few nights on this car. I think we’re applying what we’re learning every night.”
After scoring a career-high payday of $6,000 and having momentum swing his way, the 21-year-old driver from Crane, Mo., said he is definitely anxious to continue his first attempt at the grueling UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals tour.
Kreke settled for second place for his career-best Summer Nationals finish. Wes Steidinger was third ahead of Michael Kloos and Brian Shirley, who completed the top five.
The finish:
Will Vaught, Brent Kreke, Wes Steidinger, Michael Kloos, Brian Shirley, Jason Feger, Randy Korte, Dennis Erb, Jr., Ed Dixon, Jeep VanWormer, Mark Faust, Rick Standridge, Steve Sheppard, Jr., Brian Diveley, Dave Thornton, Dewayne Kiefer, Mike Hammerle, Mike Schulte, Darren Miller, Rodney Melvin, Tim Lance.

Thursday

MOUNT VERNON, Ill. — The UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals experienced a thrill show for the second night in a row — only this time it was “The Thriller” Darren Miller claiming the 40-lap A-main Thursday night at I-57/I-64 Raceway.
One night after young Will “The Thrill” Vaught registered a career-first Summer Nationals victory, Miller pulled the same trick. Miller’s first-ever triumph on the grueling  tour was worth $6,000.
Miller, 31, started the main event from the pole, but that didn’t mean he had it easy, but patience and consistency paid off.
Miller took the lead from Kevin Claycomb briefly and by inches on lap 17 and then, for good on lap 20.
“I just kept working it and kept getting better and better,” Miller said.
Dennis Erb, Jr. was able to climb to second ahead of Randy Korte in third. Claycomb fell to fourth and Rodney Melvin finished fifth.
The finish:
Darren Miller, Dennis Erb, Jr., Randy Korte, Kevin Claycomb, Rodney Melvin, Jason Feger, Kevin Cole, Steve Sheppard, Jr., Wes Steidinger, Terry English, Brian Shirley, Patrick Sheltra, Frankie Martin, Kevin Weaver, Will Vaught, Ryan Unzicker, Jordan Bland, Brian Diveley, Mike Hammerle, Rick Salter, Jeep Van Wormer.

Friday

FARMER CITY, Ill. — Ask Darren Miller if twice is just as nice, and he’ll respond with an emphatic, “Yes — actually, it’s better.”
The 31-year-old Miller became the first repeat winner of the 2008 UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals Friday night, rolling to a convincing victory in the 40-lap A-main at Farmer City Raceway.
Coming off his first Summer Nationals triumph Thursday at I-57/I-64 Raceway in Mount Vernon, Ill., Miller used a top-five qualifying effort and a dominant heat-race victory to propel himself onto the outside-pole starting slot for Farmer City’s annual event. He then moved by polesitter Randy Korte for the lead on the fourth lap and never looked back en route to a $10,000 win.
“Everything has gone right,” Miller said. “Codey (Miller’s son) drew the front-row (start) for me both nights, so I got out front and could drive where I wanted to. It felt really good, even in traffic.”
One of the event’s biggest movers was Jimmy Mars, who started sixth in the A-main and was the first driver to try the bottom groove and make it work. He managed to pull close to Miller on a few occasions after reaching second place, but settled for runner-up money.
Brian Shirley started and finished third for another strong showing on the Summer Nationals tour. Billy Moyer, who set quick time earlier in the night, finished fourth after running in third for most of the race. Brian Birkhofer started and finished fifth.
The finish:
Darren Miller, Jimmy Mars, Brian Shirley, Billy Moyer, Brian Birkhofer, Randy Korte, Wes Steidinger, Scott Bull, Dennis Erb, Jr., Jeep VanWormer, Steve Sheppard, Jr., Brian Diveley, Kevin Weaver, Eric Smith, Kyle Logue, Jason Feger, Jordan Bland, Will Vaught, Daren Friedman, Ryan Dauber, Matt Taylor.

Sunday

DANVILLE, Ill. — Jeep VanWormer broke through for his first victory of the 2008 UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals, capturing Sunday night’s 40-lap event at Vermilion County Speedway.
VanWormer, a 33-year-old who is chasing the Summer Nationals points crown for the fourth-consecutive season, passed Scott Bull for the lead on a lap-seven restart and never looked back. He picked up a $6,000 check.
Summer Nationals point-leader Brian Shirley advanced from eighth to second by lap 16 and was able to quickly run down VanWormer’s familiar spider-webbed No. 55.
But the 27-year-old Shirley was unable to overtake VanWormer, who made all the right moves through late-race lapped traffic to preserve his seventh-career Summer Nationals triumph.
Shirley settled for second, ahead of Will Vaught, Dennis Erb, Jr. and Scott Bull.
The finish:
Jeep VanWormer, Brian Shirley, Will Vaught, Dennis Erb, Jr., Scott Bull, Randy Korte, Kevin Claycomb, Terry Casey, Ryan Dauber, Wes Steidinger, Joe Harlan, Steve Sheppard, Jr., Terry English, Jason Feger, Patrick Sheltra, Frank Heckenast, Jr., Kevin Weaver, Ryan Unzicker, Mike Petersak, Dewayne Kiefer, Donny Walden.