Top-3 Recap | 2026 MARS Late Models at Macon Speedway
Top-3 Recap after Saturday's 2026 MARS Late Model Championship Series feature at Macon (Ill.) Speedway.
Video Transcript
And it's official, give him a hand, Macon Speedway, Dilly Dilly, Dylan Thornton.
Finally.
He's been close.
I know Ricky and Brenda Kai have to be tuned in tonight, and they have to be absolutely ecstatic.
They're putting the, putting the brake on there real quick, getting everything set up here in victory lane.
He'll get the Hoosier neck band, an ice cold bottle of water, or ice cold Pepsi, can't tell which there.
Get the Pepsi.
Okay.
Hey, gets an ice cold regular leaded Pepsi, not a diet, but a regular.
As he gets ready to climb out of the car, he's getting the hat on.
Give him a hand, Macon Speedway, finally, a Mars winner.
Dilly Dilly, Dylan Thornton does it, and Kirby's drunk.
And he sends that flag for a ride.
And I think we can sum this one up in one word, my friend, finally.
Man, how good does this feel?
You've been so close all season long with this tour, and at a place like this, just put it into words.
Oh, I don't know.
I mean, this place is cool.
It's kinda like, what I grew up on, little bullrings back home.
Starting on the pole when you kinda just run around the bottom the whole time, it's really hard.
I didn't know what to do the whole race, when to move around, and, I don't know.
When I got together with, I think it was Ryan there, but, kinda got tight and into him, but it's crazy.
I mean, we, we've been doing this all year.
We honestly, we didn't even think, you know, we would be running as good as we have.
And, so to finally get the first win out of the way, and a pretty good payday too, we're stoked about that.
Well, I tell you, I mean, you, you've had so many close calls, and then to have a couple of these guys that are really good at the bullrings just chomping at you, and how hard is it just to stay patient, hit your marks?
Especially when a couple of those guys went up there, you could probably hear them go up top and just kind of realize you just gotta try and stay smooth.
Yeah, I was just, just trying to stay down there.
I didn't wanna go up there, you know, without doing it the whole race or just kill the wall or anything dumb.
It's, yeah, just I haven't really been in that position very often, so it's a big learning experience.
These guys, they, they've been to these tracks, you know, since they were kids and, you know, I've only watched them, on TV when the Hell tour comes to town.
So I, it's, that's, it's, it's cool.
It's awesome to learn, but it, it truly wouldn't be possible without this whole team behind me.
Ricky and Brenda, they give us everything we need when we, say whatever it is, and, no questions asked.
They're some of the best car owners a guy could ever ask to drive for.
Tyson, Tyson busts his ass on this thing every week.
You know, I try, I try to do my part, the tires and the body, and, and he kinda takes care of everything else.
And he, without him, I mean, he holds this whole thing together, and his son Devon, who comes, every once in a while and helps us, it kinda takes a little bit off my shoulders, so yeah.
Boy, you talk about a weight off your shoulders.
Finally, your Sunoco Rookie of the Year point leader, Dilly Dilly, Dylan Thornton, finally a winner on the Mars tour.
We'll talk with second place, Jason Feger, your defending race champion.
Or your, two, you winner two years ago, Jason, picked up Solid night for you, Jason.
Noth- another podium for you.
Good night for you in the standings as well, kinda helps cut into that margin a little bit.
But man, there, he almost f- felt like you maybe needed a few more laps.
Top shelf was really kinda starting to come in there really, really late, though.
Yeah, I felt like I struggled on the restarts and, and the initial start, but, like, on the longer runs, I just felt like I'd get better and better.
And, just the yellows didn't really help me at all tonight.
But, I mean, congrats to Dylan and Ricky and that team, they're a bunch of nice guys, and Dylan's been working his butt off and been really consistent this year, and has a bunch of podiums, and he keeps joking about when, when we're finally gonna let him win one.
So, if you're gonna win one, at least get to 10,000.
So he did a great job tonight, and, I, m- probably could've moved him once or twice there, and I just was trying to be patient and let him make a mistake.
And he, once, once I got under him once, he just started pinching real hard, and didn't, didn't shut the door.
And I don't know, I probably should've tried to cushion in, three and four there maybe a lap sooner to get a crossover or something, but i- it would've been tough.
But, you know, the, the track guys did a great job.
You know, it's, I feel like this place has been really rough there the last few years, so, this is been pretty good, a good improvement, you know what I'm saying?
And we raced pretty good, and, just, I don't know.
But, I gotta thank my crew, thank all my sponsors, to make it possible.
And, two seconds this weekend, a pretty good weekend, but, we're here to win.
Well, he heads to another place he's gonna be really happy with next week in LaSalle, and he's on the hunt for that possible fourth Mars championship in a row.
Jason Feger, second tonight here at Mighty Macon.
And we'll talk with a guy who, was putting on a show and selling some T-shirts here tonight at Mighty Macon.
Give it up for Opie, Mike Spitola, rim riding the outside of this place to a third place finish.
Boy, I tell you, boy, for as hard as you were riding that cushion, that right rear don't look too bad, but you were, you were giving that car everything it was worth.
It almost like it owed you rent there at the end.
Yeah, I had to.
You know, we just, we just gotta figure out how to get better at the beginning of these races.
We, we're pretty good early qualifying, heat race, can run up front, start up front, and just, seem to lose five, six positions the first 20 laps every one, and then it's just, it's just hard coming back.
You know, that last 10, I feel like we had a car that could've won, but, fell back to seventh at one time, I think twice.
And at that point, everyone's out circling the bottom.
I mean, you have no, no choice but just follow and run seventh or, you know, beat the wall down and, and try to get up here on the podium.
So, just thankful with, how far back we were.
At the one point I thought we were gonna be 10th in this race, so just to recover and get a third, you gotta be, I'm thankful for that, and thankful for my guys.
You know, it's hot out here.
Just a few of us here, and we've been busting it, and, glad to go home on a podium.
There you have it, f- rounding out the podium in third, Opie, Mike Spitola.
