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Summing Up: Final 2009 UMP DIRT Racing Super Late Model
Points & Statistics
MARYVILLE, IL (Oct. 27, 2009) – During a 2009 UMP DIRTcar Racing Super Late
Model season that saw 1,573 different drivers earn points, one rising young
star from the heart of the Midwest stood above the crowd.
Jason Feger, 31, of Bloomington, Ill., enjoyed a career year, winning his
first UMP DIRTcar national points championship and leading the circuit in
feature wins. He had the national crown clinched before even entering the
points-season-ending UMP DIRTcar Nationals on Oct. 9-10 at Eldora Speedway
in Rossburg, Ohio.
And make no mistake – Feger earned every cent of the $20,000 championship
check he'll receive at the 2009 UMP DIRTcar Racing Awards Banquet on Jan. 9,
2010, at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield, Ill. He spent the second half of
the season in a tight battle for the points lead with two-time defending
national champ Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill., who saw his reign
atop the organization's Super Late Model ranks end with a runner-up finish
in the points standings, 31 points (3,026-2,995) behind Feger.
Rusty Schlenk of Jackson, Mich., finished a career-best third in the
national points after holding the lead several times during the first half
of the campaign. Fourth place in the final standings was claimed by two-time
national champion Randy Korte of Highland, Ill., who finished a
heartbreaking second to Erb in the 2009 UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals points
race, and fifth went to Steve Sheppard Jr. of New Berlin, Ill.
Feger's 22 feature wins during the UMP DIRTcar points season (he added a
23rd sanctioned victory in an Oct. 11 event at Kankakee County Speedway
after points ended) gave him a career-high total and put him at the top of
the circuit's win list by three checkered flags over Sheppard's 19 scores.
Dona Marcoullier of Houghton Lake, Mich., was third on the win list with 15
triumphs, Korte ranked fourth with 11 wins and Michael Kloos of Trenton,
Ill., and Alan Vochaska of South Haven, Mich., tied for fifth with 10
victories.
A total of 184 different drivers recorded a feature win during the 2009 UMP
DIRTcar points season.
Feger fell short of adding a UMP DIRTcar regional points title to his 2009
resume, finishing second in the Central Region to Sheppard. A close friend
of Feger, Sheppard beat his buddy by 77 points (2,770-2,693) in the Central
points race.
Other Super Late Model regional champions included Schlenk (East), Kloos
(West), Lonnie Parker Jr. of El Mirage, Ariz. (Southwest) and Nick Bartels
of El Segundo, Calif. (Pacific).
Jon Henry of Ada, Ohio, emerged as the 2009 UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model
Rookie of the Year, edging teenager Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill.
(Steve Sheppard Jr.'s son) by 59 points (2,581-2,522) in a close two-driver
race. Henry also finished eighth in the national points standings and won
eight sanctioned features.
Drivers using cars built by Rocket Chassis accounted for 167 UMP DIRTcar-sanctioned
Super Late Model feature wins in 2009, putting the Shinnston, W.Va.-based
company atop the circuit's manufacturer victory list. Rocket bested Bob
Pierce Race Cars (54 wins), MasterSbilt (51), Rayburn (40) and GRT (16)
during a season in which 22 different chassis makes were reported as feature
winners.
But Pierce Race Cars did, however, claim the national championship thanks to
Feger's use of the Oakwood, Ill.-based chassis, as well as the UMP DIRTcar
Modified (Gary Cook Jr.) and Limited Modified (Chad Boone) national titles.
A total of 57 different engine builders were reported as winning UMP DIRTcar
Super Late Model features in 2009, led by the 38 victories tallied by Bill
Schlieper's Pro Power Racing Engines of Sullivan, Wis. Michigan's Dowker
Engines finished second with 24 wins, followed by Indiana's Dargie Racing
Engines (22), Kentucky's Cornett Racing Engines (21) and Indiana's Rhyne
Competition Engines (21).
All UMP DIRTcar Racing points standings remain unofficial until a complete
audit of the points is completed.
Log on to www.dirtcar.com for more information on UMP DIRTcar Racing and to
view complete points standings for all divisions.
Final 2009 UMP DIRTcar Racing Super Late Model National Points Standings –
unofficial pending completion of audit (driver/points/races counted):
1. Jason Feger 3026 40
2. Dennis Erb Jr. 2995 40
3. Rusty Schlenk 2929 40
4. Randy Korte 2839 40
5. Steve Sheppard Jr. 2776 40
6. Ryan Unzicker 2709 40
7. Kevin Weaver 2611 40
8. Jon Henry 2610 40
9. Michael Kloos 2540 40
10. Frankie Heckenast 2533 40
11. Brian Ruhlman 2524 40
12. Brandon Sheppard 2522 40
13. Eric Smith 2477 40
14. Mike Hammerle 2424 40
15. Ed Dixon 2309 40
16. Kyle Logue 2278 40
17. Joe Harlan 2222 40
18. Mark Voigt 2212 40
19. Shannon Babb 2170 37
20. Dona Marcoullier 2135 33
21. Daren Friedman 2117 39
22. Dusty Moore 2092 40
23. Richie Hedrick 2071 40
24. Donny Walden 2022 40
25. Jason McBride 2018 40
Final Central Region Points Standings (driver/points/races counted):
1. Steve Sheppard Jr. 2770 40
2. Jason Feger 2693 40
3. Ryan Unzicker 2603 40
4. Brandon Sheppard 2518 40
5. Eric Smith 2396 40
6. Dennis Erb Jr. 2323 35
7. Joe Harlan 2223 40
8. Kevin Weaver 2127 38
9. Kyle Logue 2080 38
10. Daren Friedman 2072 38
Final West Region Points Standings (driver/points/races counted):
1. Michael Kloos 2468 40
2. Ed Dixon 2214 38
3. Mike Schulte 2011 40
4. Frankie Martin 1926 40
5. Mike Hammerle 1895 37
6. Terry English 1812 29
7. Randy Korte 1783 26
8. Jason McBride 1711 37
9. Chad Zobrist 1665 27
10. Mark Voigt 1596 28
Final Southwest Region Points Standings (driver/points/races counted):
1. Lonnie Parker Jr. 1017 15
2. Anthony Madrid 849 13
3. Brad Williams 807 14
4. Jeremy Thornton 732 13
5. Joey Moriarty 648 14
6. Brad Whitfield 610 13
7. Keith Noyes 601 13
8. Jamie Throckmorton 583 13
9. R.C. Whitwell 537 9
10. John Romero 492 13
Final East Region Points Standings (driver/points/races counted):
1. Rusty Schlenk 2744 40
2. Jon Henry 2386 40
3. Brian Ruhlman 2360 40
4. Dona Marcoullier 2092 32
5. Dusty Moore 2018 40
6. Rich Neiser 1928 33
7. Lynn Geisler 1787 37
8. Eric Spangler 1734 37
9. Jared Miley 1702 29
10. Casey Noonan 1615 28
Final Pacific Region Points Standings (driver/points/races counted):
1. Nick Bartels 645 12
2. Matt Michelli 591 15
3. Rob Mayea 590 11
4. Chris Shannon 580 9
5. Bobby Hogge IV 578 9
6. Mike Johnson 531 9
7. Rob Sanders 491 9
8. Richard Papenhausen 452 8
9. Ron Bartels 431 9
10. Jimmy Whisler 431 8
Final 2009 Super Late Model Rookie Points Standings:
1. Jon Henry 2581
2. Brandon Sheppard 2522
3. Dona Marcoullier 2092
4. Rich Neiser 1938
5. Scott Schmitt 1800
6. Jim Moon 1797
7. Andy Sprague 1454
8. Ryan Missler 1348
9. Justin McNeil 1316
10. Tom Sprague 915
2009 Super Late Model Feature Win List (during points season):
1. Jason Feger 22
2. Steve Sheppard Jr. 19
3. Dona Marcoullier 15
4. Randy Korte 11
5. Michael Kloos 10
5. Alan Vochaska 10
7. Rusty Schlenk 9
7. Dennis Erb Jr. 9
9. Mark Faust 8
9. Jon Henry 8
9. Rich Neiser 8
9. Jeff Walston 8
13. Ed Dixon 7
13. Terry English 7
13. Daren Friedman 7
13. Kyle Logue 7
13. Jared Miley 7
13. Billy Moyer 7
13. Andrew Reaume 7
13. Eric Smith 7
21. Matt Miller 6
21. Chuck Proctor 6
21. Jeep VanWormer 6
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