Drake Troutman Wins First Career DIRTcar Summer Nationals Feature At Peoria Speedway

Story By: MATT SKIPPER / DIRTCAR – PEORIA, IL – After a series of second and third-place finishes to start his first season with Team 22 Inc., Drake Troutman was itching to win his first Feature for the team in 2025.

That moment came on Thursday night as the Hyndman, PA driver earned his first DIRTcar Summer Nationals win at Peoria Speedway with a mixture of defense and luck on his side.

Troutman began the night strong with a win in his Heat race, then rolled off in fourth for the 30-lap Feature.

Polesitter Brian Shirley brought the field to the green flag, with Dillon McCowan and Bob Gardner in tow as Troutman fought against three-time Hell Tour champion Dennis Erb Jr for fourth.

Once he got Erb off his tail, he got creative with passing Gardner on Lap 5 by swinging high into Turn 3, then immediately ducked low to get under the No. 4G and pass him through Turns 1-2.

Troutman caught his first lucky break on Lap 13 when McCowan got into the back of a lapped car that sent him spinning from second place and took him out of contention.

While Troutman attempted the opposite lines of Shirley when the green flag waved for the second time, he did not wait long to get his opportunity for the lead as Shirley’s No. 3S suffered a flat tire with 10 laps to go that ended his night at Peoria.

Troutman’s No. 22* endured a new challenge to tackle in the final laps, as Ryan Unzicker and Erb joined the podium positions and did not leave the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Models presented by DIRTVision Rookie of the Year contender out of their sights as Erb used the low line and Unzicker up top.

Troutman had to block each line while not losing momentum in the lead, and it paid off with a $5,000 check and the honor of being a Summer Nationals winner.

“I hate to get one this way,” Troutman said. “(Shirley) was pretty good, I felt like we’ve been every bit as good as him, but I’ve led races before, and I guess it’s part of racing. But, I gotta thank (GR Smith) for giving us this opportunity. Man, I don’t know, they reached their necks out and gave me a shot when nobody else did, they’ve been believing in us from Day 1.”

Up Next: The DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models and DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals head to Tri-City Speedway in the fourth chapter of the opening week on Friday night, June 13.

Feature (30 Laps): 1. 22*-Drake Troutman[4]; 2. 24-Ryan Unzicker[7]; 3. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[5]; 4. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[10]; 5. 4G-Bob Gardner[3]; 6. 18-Shannon Babb[20]; 7. 1-Tyler Erb[13]; 8. 31-Tyler Millwood[11]; 9. 388-Jackson Hise[12]; 10. 14JR-Trey Mills[17]; 11. 15-Clay Stuckey[8]; 12. 25F-Jason Feger[19]; 13. 40B-Kyle Bronson[14]; 14. 75-Dillon McCowan[2]; 15. 09-Michael Leach[9]; 16. 10J-Joseph Joiner[18]; 17. 29-Christian Hanger[6]; 18. 32M-Cody Maguire[21]; 19. (DNF) 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[22]; 20. (DNF) 3S-Brian Shirley[1]; 21. (DNF) 38G-Camden Gardner[15]; 22. (DNF) 38J-Jake Little[16]

Trevor Neville Strikes at Peoria for Fifth Summit Modifieds Feature Win

Rolling with early momentum in the 2025 DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals wins in 2024, Trevor Neville was determined to leave Peoria Speedway as a Feature winner.

The Mackinaw, IL driver had to use his home track skills of the 0.25-mile bullring to drive him towards a fifth career tour win on Thursday night.

Michael Ledford took early command at the start. In contrast, Neville took over second place by beating Cole Falloway to the gas into Turns 1-2, then swinging low around Manix Furqueron in Turns 3-4 at the end of the opening circuit.

While Falloway attempted to battle Neville for second place, Ledford’s lead grew to 0.6 seconds on Lap 4 until Neville reeled in the No. 09 in the following three laps to mount a charge for the lead.

Neville’s chance came on Lap 7 as the two made contact in Turn 1 that helped him get to Ledford’s door, then made contact once more through Turns 3-4 that broke Ledford’s car but did not hamper Neville.

With the lead firmly in his grasp, Neville extended his lead to 3.8 seconds as he drove onto a special first Summit Modifieds home win for the driver of the No. 777 machine.

“We’re only 20 minutes from home, and this is my home track,” Neville said. “This is where we cut our teeth. These fans have probably been watching me for the last five years, and every big race that comes by, I could not win. This one feels really good, but I felt really bad getting into Mikey (Ledford) in Turns 3 and 4. I hit his back bumper in the first two corners, and I only had one move to get by, so it happens, I guess.”

Up Next: The DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models and DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals head to Tri-City Speedway in the fourth chapter of the opening week on Friday night, June 13.

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 777-Trevor Neville[4]; 2. 1H-Ben Harmon[8]; 3. 10M-Chris Morefield[10]; 4. 96M-Mike McKinney[5]; 5. 8A-Austin Holcombe[12]; 6. C40-Mike Chasteen Jr[13]; 7. 66-Cole Falloway[3]; 8. 1A-Steve Meyer Jr[16]; 9. 110-Landen Miller[11]; 10. 74M-Manix Furqueron[2]; 11. 242-Degan Dozard[19]; 12. S1-Austin Simpson[21]; 13. 04-Buddy Randle[22]; 14. 3-Carson Friedman[14]; 15. 14-Dalton Lane[17]; 16. 05-Dave Wietholder[9]; 17. 45-Chase Holland[7]; 18. 97-Charles Hess[15]; 19. 89-Noah Faw[18]; 20. 09-Michael Ledford[1]; 21. 72A-Austin Lynn[20]; 22. 48-Casey Lappin[6]