Story By: BEN SHELTON / RYAN UNZICKER RACING – EL PASO, IL – Staying composed despite a rocky start early in his 2024 season, Ryan Unzicker found his groove on Thursday with a $5,000 DIRTcar Summer Nationals victory at Spoon River Speedway aboard his RJR Transportation / Brucker Farms No. 24 Mosquito Hero / MB Customs / Pro Power Racing Engine Super Late Model.
The win marked Unzicker’s second of the season and his 14th-career DIRTcar Summer Nationals triumph.
“I was putting a lot of pressure on Erb there. I don’t know if I’d ever got around him and I’m not sure what happened there, I know Feger was right there and obviously they got tangled up there,” Unzicker said. “I felt like I was pretty sporty there really the whole night. It’s just the testament to my whole crew. A lot of people that follow us know that we struggled all year, and we just never gave up really. We just took a couple of weeks off and needed to step back to regroup.”
Ryan Unzicker rejoined the DIRTcar Summer Nationals on Thursday as the sixth round of the Hell Tour brought 30 Late Models to Spoon River Speedway (Canton, Ill.).
Following the second-fastest lap in his time trial group, Unzicker outran Tanner English in his heat race to record the eight-lap victory. Locked on the front row for the feature, Ryan soared into the lead late in the 30-lapper en route to his second win of the season and 14th career Hell Tour triumph. He bagged the $5,000 payday ahead of Jason Feger, Tanner English, Kye Blight, and Garrett Smith.
In a slower start on Friday at Brownstown Bullring (Brownstown, Ill.), Unzicker timed in 12th-fastest in his qualifying group before going sixth-to-third in his heat. Charging from the sixth row in the feature, Ryan rocketed to the runner-up honors in the 40-lap affair.
After turning in another second-place finish on Saturday at Fairbury Speedway (Fairbury, Ill.), Ryan concluded his weekend with another podium outing on Sunday at Lincoln Speedway (Lincoln, Ill.). Vying for the $5,000 DIRTcar Summer Nationals victory in the ninth round of the Hell Tour, Unzicker climbed to a third-place finish.
Unzicker is set to return with the DIRTcar Summer Nationals on Thursday at Macon Speedway for the 44th annual Herald & Review 100. He will follow the miniseries to Farmer City Raceway on Friday but the team is still evaluating their options for Saturday.