June 10, 2026 | By Jordan DeLucia, DIRTcar PR

Shannon Babb Gets Summer Nationals Career Win No. 103 in Season Opener at Brownstown

BROWNSTOWN, Ind—Some people are happy with their legacy. Others strive to add to it.

That’s exactly what Shannon Babb did Tuesday night in the DIRTcar Summer Nationals’ 40th anniversary season opener at Brownstown Bullring.

Babb, the four-time Summer Nationals champion from Moweaqua, IL, wired the cushion and led all 30 laps to pick up career Feature win No. 103 in his illustrious Hell Tour career, extending his margin as the series’ all-time winningest driver.

“It sounds crazy, doesn’t it? We’ve been racing for a long time, and I guess that’s how we racked up so many,” Babb said. “Hell, we’ve lost twice as many, you know. I’m glad we can say we’ve learned a few things along the way. These little tracks like this, I just always loved them. It’s kind of like a Saturday night race.”

The green flag flew on the kickoff for the DIRTcar Summer Nationals, and early on, it was Babb who found the cushion first and used the outside lane to propel him to the lead before a Lap 1 caution for a pileup in turn two stopped the field.

On the restart, Babb found his groove on the top line as Frank Heckenast Jr. and Tanner English battled for second behind him.

As Babb entered lap traffic, a Lap 13 caution for a slowing Adam Tischauser stacked the field together.

The restart gave English an opportunity to pounce, as he found speed on the cushion and tracked down Babb over the next several laps. The Benton, KY-driver pulled even with Babb’s No. 18 with a deep dive down low through Turns 3 and 4 on Lap 23, but Babb wasn’t going to be denied, using the high-side momentum to his advantage off Turn 4 to maintain the top spot.

Babb then did what he had done all race long, working the cushion enroute to his third career DIRTcar Summer Nationals win at Brownstown.

“Tonight we were good enough to be on the front row of the heat, to get that job done, and luckily I drew the front row outside, and that makes my job easier,” Babb said. “It wasn’t rough; the first guy to the cushion wins. Luckily, tonight, I was there.”

English held strong behind Babb to bag a runner-up finish, and Heckenast crossed the line in third. Sun River, MT-native Michael Leach drove from sixth to a fourth-place finish while Daryn Klein completed the top five.

UP NEXT - The DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models take on Kankakee County Speedway in Kankakee, IL, on Wednesday, June 10. Tickets for the event will be sold at the track.

How can you watch the DIRTcar Summer Nationals? Every race is streamed live on DIRTVision.


DIRTCAR LATE MODEL RESULTS (29 entries)

Feature (30 Laps): 1. 18-Shannon Babb[2]; 2. 96-Tanner English[4]; 3. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[1]; 4. 09-Michael Leach[6]; 5. 10K-Daryn Klein[7]; 6. 25F-Jason Feger[19]; 7. 4G-Bob Gardner[15]; 8. 388-Jackson Hise[8]; 9. 38J-Jake Little[17]; 10. 10J-Jordan Bauer[12]; 11. 17SR-Brody Smith[22]; 12. 20B-Todd Brennan[16]; 13. 21B-Rich Bell[20]; 14. 75A-Daniel Adam[9]; 15. 15-Clay Stuckey[11]; 16. 74-Mitch McGrath[18]; 17. T4-Adam Tischhauser[14]; 18. 32M-Cody Maguire[21]; 19. 51B-Brandon Carpenter[5]; 20. 50K-Kayden Clatt[13]; 21. 05-Tyler Leach[3]; 22. 33-Mike Harrison[10]

Consolation Race (8 Laps): 1. 20B-Todd Brennan[2]; 2. 38J-Jake Little[1]; 3. 74-Mitch McGrath[4]; 4. 30-Mark Voigt[3]; 5. 21B-Rich Bell[11]; 6. 8-Matthew Larson[9]; 7. 32M-Cody Maguire[7]; 8. 12-Jack Franklin[6]; 9. 17SR-Brody Smith[5]; 10. (DNS) 87-Jake Rainey; 11. (DNS) 3S-Brian Shirley; 12. (DNS) 25F-Jason Feger; 13. (DNS) 32S-Chris Simpson; 14. (DNS) 44-Blaze Burwell

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 18-Shannon Babb[1]; 2. 96-Tanner English[2]; 3. 10K-Daryn Klein[3]; 4. 33-Mike Harrison[6]; 5. 50K-Kayden Clatt[4]; 6. 38J-Jake Little[7]; 7. 74-Mitch McGrath[5]; 8. 32M-Cody Maguire[9]; 9. (DNF) 3S-Brian Shirley[8]; 10. (DNS) 32S-Chris Simpson

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 05-Tyler Leach[2]; 2. 51B-Brandon Carpenter[1]; 3. 388-Jackson Hise[4]; 4. 15-Clay Stuckey[5]; 5. T4-Adam Tischhauser[7]; 6. 20B-Todd Brennan[9]; 7. 17SR-Brody Smith[3]; 8. 87-Jake Rainey[8]; 9. 21B-Rich Bell[6]; 10. 44-Blaze Burwell[10]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[2]; 2. 09-Michael Leach[1]; 3. 75A-Daniel Adam[4]; 4. 10J-Jordan Bauer[3]; 5. 4G-Bob Gardner[5]; 6. 30-Mark Voigt[8]; 7. 12-Jack Franklin[7]; 8. 8-Matthew Larson[9]; 9. 25F-Jason Feger[6]

Qualifying 1 (2 Laps): 1. 18-Shannon Babb, 12.383[7]; 2. 96-Tanner English, 12.391[5]; 3. 10K-Daryn Klein, 12.479[6]; 4. 50K-Kayden Clatt, 12.681[3]; 5. 74-Mitch McGrath, 12.727[10]; 6. 33-Mike Harrison, 12.731[4]; 7. 38J-Jake Little, 12.754[8]; 8. 3S-Brian Shirley, 12.947[1]; 9. 32M-Cody Maguire, 13.777[2]; 10. (DNS) 32S-Chris Simpson

Qualifying 2 (2 Laps): 1. 51B-Brandon Carpenter, 12.601[3]; 2. 05-Tyler Leach, 12.616[5]; 3. 17SR-Brody Smith, 12.632[4]; 4. 388-Jackson Hise, 12.768[8]; 5. 15-Clay Stuckey, 12.842[10]; 6. 21B-Rich Bell, 12.966[7]; 7. T4-Adam Tischhauser, 13.041[1]; 8. 87-Jake Rainey, 13.107[9]; 9. 20B-Todd Brennan, 13.120[6]; 10. (DQ) 44-Blaze Burwell, 12.618[2]

Qualifying 3 (2 Laps): 1. 09-Michael Leach, 12.375[1]; 2. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr, 12.394[2]; 3. 10J-Jordan Bauer, 12.504[6]; 4. 75A-Daniel Adam, 12.533[9]; 5. 4G-Bob Gardner, 12.626[4]; 6. 25F-Jason Feger, 12.662[3]; 7. 12-Jack Franklin, 12.808[5]; 8. 30-Mark Voigt, 12.873[7]; 9. (DQ) 8-Matthew Larson, 13.086[8]


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Jacob Steinkoenig Wins First Career Summit Modified Feature at Brownstown

BROWNSTOWN, Ill. - A dream came true for an Illinois native Tuesday night at Brownstown Bullring.

Jacob Steinkoenig became the 89th different driver to win a DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Feature in an exciting battle to open the 2026 season.

The 25-lap Feature went green with Treb Jacoby and Brayden Doyle leading the field to green. Jacoby led the opening lap with Doyle and third place Kenny Wallace directly behind them.

The lead trio went three wide in turn two with Doyle emerging ahead. It didn’t last long, however, as Doyle hit the cushion and got a head of steam down the front stretch to clear Jacoby on Lap 5.

A caution on Lap 6 bunched the field up and allowed fifth-running Steinkoenig to enter the picture.

Steinkoenig got the best of a three-wide battle for third between he, Wallace and Ray Bollinger, and then set his sights on the lead duo of Doyle and Jacoby.

Another caution on Lap 7 again bunched up the field. The ensuing restart saw contact between Bollinger and Jacoby which sent Jacoby spinning down the front stretch, ending his hopes of a Summit Modified triumph.

Steinkoenig seized the opportunity on the restart, diving under Doyle in Turn 1 and clearing him after a slight bobble on the cushion in Turn 2. From there, the battle for the lead was on between the top three cars of Steinkoenig, Doyle and Bollinger.

Bollinger was able to get underneath Steinkoenig and cleared the Highland, IL-driver on Lap 15 before Steinkoenig battled back on the cushion to retake the lead on Lap 16.

Steinkoenig then entered lap traffic and pulled away, leading the final eight laps to win his first career DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Feature.

“It’s been one of the most prestigious races in the area for years," Steinkoenig said. “Everyone dreams to win a Summer Nationals Hell Tour race, and I am extremely grateful to have finally accomplished that. Just had to keep chomping at the bit, and I wasn’t getting up there and beating my car up in the cushion. I was just up there, with a lot of momentum around this place.”

Ray Bollinger finished second, Kenny Wallace fended off multiple challengers and finished third, Rick Conoyer fourth, and Zeke McKenzie advanced five positions to finish fifth.

UP NEXT - The DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals heads to Kankakee County Speedway in Kankakee, IL, on Wednesday, June 10th alongside the DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models.

How can you watch the DIRTcar Summer Nationals? Every race is streamed live on DIRTVision.


DIRTCAR MODIFIEDS (26 entries)

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 24S-Jacob Steinkoenig[5]; 2. 77-Ray Bollinger[7]; 3. 36-Kenny Wallace[3]; 4. 14C-Rick Conoyer[6]; 5. 24-Zeke McKenzie[10]; 6. 2-Brayden Doyle[2]; 7. 1H-Ben Harmon[11]; 8. 01-Jeremy Nichols[8]; 9. 74-James Hileman[14]; 10. 15H-Jeff Hamby[15]; 11. 150-Collin Alexander[17]; 12. 22W-Wade Wenthe[16]; 13. 11-Jason Brennan[18]; 14. J82-Treb Jacoby[1]; 15. 15-Chris Smith[12]; 16. 88L-Christian Lee[19]; 17. 96C-Marshall Call[21]; 18. 88-Chris Bolyard[22]; 19. 14-Dalton Lane[4]; 20. 4G-Paul Schrempf Jr[20]; 21. 99-Justin Haley[13]; 22. 29J-Jordan Wever[9]

Last Chance Showdown (8 Laps): 1. 22W-Wade Wenthe[4]; 2. 150-Collin Alexander[7]; 3. 11-Jason Brennan[1]; 4. 88L-Christian Lee[6]; 5. 4G-Paul Schrempf Jr[2]; 6. 96C-Marshall Call[3]; 7. 88-Chris Bolyard[8]; 8. 28B-Lucas Pace[5]; 9. 74S-Chris Sieweke[11]; 10. 816-Travis Raterman[9]; 11. 22-Jordan Borgmann[10]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 36-Kenny Wallace[2]; 2. 14-Dalton Lane[8]; 3. 77-Ray Bollinger[1]; 4. 24-Zeke McKenzie[4]; 5. 99-Justin Haley[5]; 6. 11-Jason Brennan[3]; 7. 22W-Wade Wenthe[7]; 8. 150-Collin Alexander[6]; 9. 22-Jordan Borgmann[9]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. J82-Treb Jacoby[2]; 2. 24S-Jacob Steinkoenig[1]; 3. 01-Jeremy Nichols[4]; 4. 1H-Ben Harmon[3]; 5. 74-James Hileman[7]; 6. 4G-Paul Schrempf Jr[6]; 7. 28B-Lucas Pace[5]; 8. 88-Chris Bolyard[8]; 9. 74S-Chris Sieweke[9]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 2-Brayden Doyle[2]; 2. 14C-Rick Conoyer[4]; 3. 29J-Jordan Wever[3]; 4. 15-Chris Smith[7]; 5. 15H-Jeff Hamby[1]; 6. 96C-Marshall Call[6]; 7. 88L-Christian Lee[5]; 8. 816-Travis Raterman[8]

Qualifying 1 (3 Laps): 1. 77-Ray Bollinger, 13.506[2]; 2. 36-Kenny Wallace, 13.526[1]; 3. 11-Jason Brennan, 13.637[6]; 4. 24-Zeke McKenzie, 13.672[3]; 5. 99-Justin Haley, 13.685[8]; 6. 150-Collin Alexander, 13.691[4]; 7. 22W-Wade Wenthe, 13.850[5]; 8. 14-Dalton Lane, 14.023[7]; 9. 22-Jordan Borgmann, 14.705[9]

Qualifying 2 (3 Laps): 1. 24S-Jacob Steinkoenig, 13.866[8]; 2. J82-Treb Jacoby, 13.883[7]; 3. 1H-Ben Harmon, 13.923[2]; 4. 01-Jeremy Nichols, 14.021[4]; 5. 28B-Lucas Pace, 14.294[6]; 6. 4G-Paul Schrempf Jr, 14.479[5]; 7. 74-James Hileman, 14.899[1]; 8. 88-Chris Bolyard, 15.138[9]; 9. 74S-Chris Sieweke[3]

Qualifying 3 (3 Laps): 1. 15H-Jeff Hamby, 13.735[4]; 2. 2-Brayden Doyle, 13.846[1]; 3. 29J-Jordan Wever, 13.846[5]; 4. 14C-Rick Conoyer, 13.895[7]; 5. 88L-Christian Lee, 14.007[6]; 6. 96C-Marshall Call, 14.068[8]; 7. 15-Chris Smith, 14.235[3]; 8. 816-Travis Raterman, 15.030[2]