HIGHLAND, Ill. (July 5) — Welcome back, Tyler Reddick.

Returning to the Dirt Late Model ranks for the first time in nearly eight months, the 18-year-old native of Corning, Calif., authored a flawless performance on Saturday night to capture the 40-lap UMP DIRTcar Summernationals feature at Highland Speedway.

The $10,000 victory was the first-ever on the Hell Tour for Reddick, whose focus in 2014 has been on running a limited NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule for Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski’s team. A break in his pavement racing gave him the opportunity to spend the holiday weekend driving one of the two Bloomquist Race Cars still at his parents’ home in DuQuoin, Ill.

“It’s been a long time since we won a race so this is exciting,” said Reddick, whose only previous triumph in five years of Dirt Late Model racing came in a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event on Feb. 9, 2011, at East Bay Raceway Park in Gibsonton, Fla. “This was an unplanned race and here we are — $10,000 richer, won a Summernationals race and going to Haubstadt (Indiana’s Tri-State Speedway) tomorrow to hopefully get another win.

Just days after deciding with his father Clarence to ready their Dirt Late Model for action, Reddick, who has been living in the Charlotte, N.C., area, had little trouble regaining his rhythm on dirt. After finishing 13th in Friday night’s Summernationals event at Fayette County Speedway in Brownstown, Ill., he elevated his game at Highland, winning a heat race and emerging as the dominant force in the headliner.

Smoothly negotiating the inside lane around the quarter-mile oval throughout the feature, Reddick, who started second, grabbed the lead from polesitter Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., on lap 14 and stayed there the remainder of the distance.

Defending Summernationals champion Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., overtook Pierce for second on lap 16 and caught Reddick when the leader reached slower traffic with less than 10 circuits to go, but Reddick hung tough in the line of rubber that developed on the bottom of the track and beat Sheppard to the finish line by 0.251 of a second.

Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., advanced from the sixth starting spot to finish third, the 17-year-old Pierce settled for fourth place after leading laps 1-2 and 4-13 and six-time Summernationals titlist Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., completed the top five.

Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., slipped to sixth in the final rundown after starting third and briefly nosing ahead of Pierce to lead lap three.

Away from dirt racing since competing in last November’s World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, N.C., Reddick admitted that he had some reservations about jumping back in the fray.

“I thought we were gonna have a fast car but I was also worried in the back of my head that everyone’s getting better (and) every single race everyone’s just getting faster,” said Reddick, whose car was transported to the track in fellow Illinois racer Rodney Melvin’s trailer because his father sold the team’s hauler. “I was worried that after being gone (more than) six months, are we really gonna be at the same speed as everybody else?

“But man, here tonight we had the same speed as everybody else did. A lot of things added up and the car was just magical.”

Nothing worked more to Reddick’s advantage in the feature than the timing of his ascension to the front of the pack. His lap-14 pass of Pierce for the top spot came just as the track surface was undergoing a dramatic change.

“About as soon as I got down (to the bottom) and got into the it felt like it was rubbering up,” Reddick said. “I got down at the very right moment, and it just got better and better for me down there.

“I know it may have rubbered up and everyone’s car gets about the same when that happens, but we had the car to get us to the front on the very bottom and put us in position to be in the lead when the rubber came.”

Sheppard, 21, kept the pressure on Reddick by racing on the leader’s bumper in the closing laps, but Reddick adroitly handled the slower cars he approached and avoided making a critical mistake.

“A lot of those (slower) guys were very sideways,” Reddick said, “and as much as I wanted to stick my nose in there and let them know, ‘Hey, get out of the way,’ I didn’t do that. I’m glad I didn’t force the issue like that, because about halfway through the race a guy was pulling off down the backstretch and three or four cars got bottled up right in front of me. I could’ve ended up wrecked or in the infield parked too if I had been trying to pass those guys.

“I just tried to be as careful as I could be with the lapped cars because I knew nobody could pass me if I stayed in the rubber. I really gotta thank Sheppard, too, for being a gentleman and not taking any shots at me back there when we got to traffic.”

Sheppard, who started fifth, wasn’t about to try anything rash to overtake Reddick.

“I feel like we had a better car than what Tyler did but the track was pretty well locked down once I got to second,” said Sheppard, who scored his second win of the 2014 Summernationals on Friday night at Fayette County. “Lapped traffic was a little bit hairy and I thought (Reddick) might slip up there a little bit and give me a chance to take advantage, but he’s a good driver and he did a good job. He never made a mistake.”

The race’s lone caution flag flew on lap 14 when Mike Schulte of Summerfield, Ill., spun in turn four.

The UMP DIRTcar Summernationals rolls on to Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind., on Sun., July 6.

Preliminary results:

Pre-feature notes

A pair of teenagers will lead the 40-lap feature to the green flag with 17-year-old Bobby Pierce on the pole and 18-year-old Tyler Reddick starting second. Jason Feger and Billy Moyer will share the second row after the redraw among heat winners. … Highland Speedway will commemorate retiring standout Randy Korte’s last Summernationals start at his hometown track by having the veteran lead the four-wide pace lap. … Tim Manville loaded up following the heats after a scrape with Korte in the first prelim broke the rack of his car. … Two-time Highland Summernationals winner Rodney Melvin was scheduled to start second in the B-Main, but he scratched from competition for the remainder of the night after his car’s oil-pump belt busted as he fired up the machine in the staging area. … Provisional starting spots for the feature were claimed by Jason Riggs and Jim Moon (Summernationals), Brian Diveley (UMP nationals points) and Mike Schulte (track). … At 9:05 p.m., the racing program was at intermission. The Late Model feature will be first when racing resumes.

B-Main

Frankie Martin earned his way to the feature lineup with a victory in the 12-lap last-chance event. Rick Salter claimed the second and final transfer spot, crossing the finish line 1.091 seconds behind the victor.

Finish (top two transfer): Frankie Martin, Rick Salter, Daryn Klein, Adam Tischhauser, John Beck, Jason Zobrist, Clay Baumann, Steve Lance Jr., Brian Diveley, Trace Westling, Jordan Bauer, Bobby Martintoni, Shannon Kuhn (DNS) Rodney Melvin.

C-Main

Bobby Martintoni controlled the 10-lap event, beating Clay Baumann to the finish line 1.212 seconds. Trace Westling claimed the third and final transfer spot to the back of the B-Main.

Finish (top three transfer to B-Main): Bobby Martintoni, Clay Baumann, Trace Westling, Steve Leach, Daniel Jacober, Alex Schulte, Mike Hammerle, Travis Horner, Dave Jacober, Jim Moon, Ed Pursell, Jason Riggs.

Lineups

B-Main (12 laps; top two transfer)
Row 1: Frankie Martin, Rodney Melvin
Row 2: Adam Tischhauser, Dave Thornton
Row 3: Shannon Kuhn, Rick Salter
Row 4: Brian Diveley, Daryn Klein
Row 5: Jordan Bauer, Jason Zobrist
Row 6: Steve Lance Jr., John Beck
Row 7: Bobby Martintoni, Clay Baumann
Row 8: Trace Westling

C-Main (10 laps; two three transfer to B-Main)
Row 1: Jason Riggs, Bobby Martintoni
Row 2: Trace Westling, Jim Moon
Row 3: Alex Schulte, Mike Hammerle
Row 4: Clay Baumann, Mike Schulte
Row 5: Tim Manville, Dave Jacober
Row 6: Steve Leach, Travis Horner
Row 7: Richard Frost, Daniel Jacober
Row 8: Ed Pursell

Fourth heat

Tyler Reddick got back into a Dirt Late Model groove, rolling to a flag-to-flag victory. The 18-year-old crossed the finish line 1.583 seconds ahead of Matt Weidner, who passed Kent Robinson for the second spot on lap six. Robinson settled for third place and Matt Taylor placed fourth in a race slowed by two caution flags.

Finish (top four transfer): Tyler Reddick, Matt Weidner, Kent Robinson, Matt Taylor, Daryn Klein, John Beck, Jim Moon, Mike Schulte, Travis Horner.

Third heat

Bobby Pierce ran away with the third prelim, beating Ryan Unzicker to the finish line by a commanding margin of 3.168 seconds. Michael Kloos and Chad Zobrist completed the heat-race transfers.

Finish (top four transfer): Bobby Pierce, Ryan Unzicker, Michael Kloos, Chad Zobrist, Adam Tischhauser, Brian Diveley, Steve Lance Jr., Trace Westling, Clay Baumann, Steve Leach, Ed Pursell.

Second heat

Billy Moyer dominated the action, leading from flag-to-flag and defeating Brian Shirley by 0.703 of a second. Shannon Babb settled for third and Jason Jaggers placed fourth to move on to the A-Main.

Finish (top four transfer): Billy Moyer, Brian Shirley, Shannon Babb, Jason Jaggers, Rodney Melvin, Rick Salter, Jason Zobrist, Bobby Martintoni, Mike Hammerle, Dave Jacober, Daniel Jacober.

First heat

Jason Feger came out on top of a battle royal in the first prelim, taking the victory after racing three-wide for the lead at times with Brandon Sheppard and Randy Korte. Feger ended up running the top and holding off a bottom-side charge from Sheppard on the final lap. Korte placed third and Michigan’s Curtis Roberts grabbed the final transfer spot.

Finish (top four transfer): Jason Feger, Brandon Sheppard, Randy Korte, Curtis Roberts, Frankie Martin, Shannon Kuhn, Jordan Bauer, Jason Riggs, Alex Schulte, Tim Manville (DNS) Richard Frost.

Qualifying

Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., clicked off the overall fastest time in the split qualifying session with a lap of 13.052 seconds in Group 2. He will start from the pole position in the third heat.

Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., was fastest in Group 1 with a lap of 13.178 seconds, giving him the pole for the first heat.

Other polesitters will be Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., and Tyler Reddick of DuQuoin, Ill.

Pre-race notes

Skies are overcast, but rain that briefly appeared to be threatening the evening’s action seems to have broken apart as it reached St. Louis. … With Randy Korte announcing earlier this year that he will be retiring from driving at the end of the 2014 season, tonight’s event looms large on his radar. It will be his final Summernationals start at his hometown track — and he’s never won a Hell Tour feature at Highland during his distinguished career. In order to pull off a coveted triumph, he said he’ll have to correct the feature-event struggles he’s experienced in his Summernationals appearances this week. “I don’t what’s been going on,” he related. “We’ve qualified well, but we’ve just been terrible in the features.” … Rodney Melvin of Benton, Ill., who won Highland’s Summernationals event in 2006 and ’12, transported his car and the No. 11 machine that will be driven by Tyler Reddick of DuQuoin, Ill., to the track. Reddick, who is focused on NASCAR Camping World Truck Series racing this season for Brad Keselowski’s team, made his first Dirt Late Model start of the season Friday night at Fayette County Speedway, finishing 13th but suffering some right-side damage in a late scrape with Tim Manville of Troy, Ill. … Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., who won Highland’s Summernationals stop in 1999, is in tonight’s field but his son, Billy Moyer Jr., is not. The younger Moyer peeled off the Hell Tour to compete tonight at Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway in Calvert City. … Highland's 43-car field ties Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Ill., for the biggest turnout on this year's Summernationals. ... The 43 entries will be split into two groups for qualifying. Drivers in Group 1 will compete for starting spot in heats 1-2 while those in Group 2 will time for positions in heats 3-4.

Pre-race setup

The UMP DIRTcar Summernationals makes a Saturday-night visit to Highland (Ill.) Speedway, another classic fairgrounds track in the Land of Lincoln. The quarter-mile oval hosts a 50-lap feature paying $10,000 to win.

Tonight’s event marks the 11th consecutive year and the 16th time overall that the Summernationals has raced at Highland. Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., leads all drives with four career Hell Tour triumphs at Highland, the first coming in 2004 and others following in ’05, ’10 and ’13 (a non-points race at the end of August after the originally scheduled date was rained out).

Saturday’s program, which includes UMP Modifieds and street stocks, is scheduled to kick off with hot laps at 6 p.m. CT.

Heat lineups

(10 laps; top four transfer)
First heat
Row 1: Jason Feger, Brandon Sheppard
Row 2: Curtis Roberts, Randy Korte
Row 3: Tim Manville, Jason Riggs
Row 4: Frankie Martin, Shannon Kuhn
Row 5: Jordan Bauer, Alex Schulte
Row 6: Richard Frost
Second heat
Row 1: Billy Moyer, Shannon Babb
Row 2: Brian Shirley, Rodney Melvin
Row 3: Jason Jaggers, Daniel Jacober
Row 4: Jason Zobrist, Rick Salter
Row 5: Bobby Martintoni, Mike Hammerle
Row 6: Dave Jacober
Third heat
Row 1: Bobby Pierce, Ryan Unzicker
Row 2: Michael Kloos, Chad Zobrist
Row 3: Adam Tischhauser, Brian Diveley
Row 4: Steve Lance Jr., Ed Pursell
Row 5: Clay Baumann, Trace Westling
Row 6: Steve Leach
Fourth heat
Row 1: Tyler Reddick, Kent Robinson
Row 2: Matt Taylor, Matt Weidner
Row 3: John Beck, Jim Moon
Row 4: Mike Schulte, Daryn Klein
Row 5: Dave Thornton, Travis Horner

Time trials results

First group
Jason Feger (25), Bloomington, Ill., 13.178
Billy Moyer (21), Batesville, Ark., 13.22
Brandon Sheppard (b5), New Berlin, Ill., 13.22
Shannon Babb (18) Moweaqua, Ill., 13.391
Curtis Roberts (9R), Coleman, Mich., 13.406
Brian Shirley (81), Chatham, Ill., 13.495
Randy Korte (00), Highland, Ill., 13.512
Rodney Melvin (27M), Benton, Ill., 13.587
Tim Manville (33x), Troy, Ill., 13.751
Jason Jaggers (32J), Wyanet, Ill., 13.813
Jason Riggs (81Jr), Harrisburg, Ill., 13.818
Daniel Jacober (441), Highland, Ill., 13.873
Frankie Martin (25M), DuQuoin, Ill., 13.881
Jason Zobrist (87), Highland, Ill., 13.917
Shannon Kuhn (11K), Highland, Ill., 14.001
Rick Salter (1S), Aviston, Ill., 14.028
Jordan Bauer (111), St. Jacob, Ill., 14.198
Bobby Martintoni (44), Livingston, Ill., 14.221
Alex Schulte (127), Summerfield, Ill., 14.775
Mike Hammerle (16H), St. Charles, Mo., 14.805
Richard Frost 915), Clarksville, Ill., 14.895
Dave Jacober (5), Highland, Ill., 15.387
Second group
Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., 13.052
Tyler Reddick (11R), DuQuoin, Ill., 13.241
Ryan Unzicker (24), El Paso, Ill., 13.396
Kent Robinson (7R), Bloomington, Ind., 13.57
Michael Kloos (6K), Trenton, Ill., 13.779
Matt Taylor (24T), Springfield, Ill., 13.79
Chad Zobrist (78), Highland, Ill., 13.804
Matt Weidner (20W), Highland, Ill., 13.942
Adam Tischhauser (T4), Greenville, Ill., 13.958
John Beck (28B), Springfield, Ill., 14.018
Brian Diveley (29W), Springfield, Ill., 14.047
Jim Moon (1M), New Florence, Mo., 14.053
Steve Lance Jr. (25), Cuba, Ill., 14.068
Mike Schulte (27s), Summerfield, Ill., 14.176
Ed Pursell (85), DuQuoin, Ill., 14.307
Daryn Klein (10), Fairview Heights, Ill., 14.344
Clay Baumann (77), Highland, Ill., 14.526
Dave Thornton (12T), Trenton, Ill., 14.583
Trace Westling (71), Fulton, Mo., 14.737
Travis Horner (9T), Alhambra, Ill., 14.977
Steve Leach (49), Stourton, Ill., 15.467