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Quality over Quantity for First Responder Night

Friday, May 15th — we’re talking quality over quantity! Only 65 cars were on the property, but those 65 cars did not disappoint. Many of our management team here at I-96 Speedway said the Choice Concrete UMP Late Models A-Main was worth the price of admission as some of the big names of I-96 — Stemler, Burda, Nickerson, and Thirlby — put on an absolute classic. But in my biased opinion (because I can be biased in these recaps), my personal vote has to go to the Hubbco Race Products IMCA Modifieds, as Jeff Reay and Casey Smith tore the house down!

Here’s how it all shaped up from the drop of the first green flag. But first — Choice Concrete UMP Late Models Group Qualifying!

Travis Stemler (#4) quickly went to the top of the board in Group 1 with a 15.982 and would ultimately hold the top spot for Choice Concrete UMP Late Model Group Qualifying. Eric Spangler (#27) made a valiant effort to dethrone the Ionia, MI, native Stemler but came up short, laying down a lap of 16.166. Third quick went to Logan Nickerson (#21) with a 16.325, but Nickerson had many contenders within striking distance, including Cody Bauer (#19X), Chad Finley (#42), and Rylee Knoll (#07). A small margin of .099 separated those drivers from Nickerson to Knoll. Fans were very chatty and excited for the night to continue, but excitement and thrills were following close behind.

Starting off our night, the Culver’s Mini Wedges took to the track for the first time in 2026! The kids put on a great show while track prep was underway before the big cars rolled back onto the track.

Mini Wedges 6–9 Results:
1st — Lola Stemler #6
2nd — Julayne Egan #10

Mini Wedges 10–14 Results:
1st — Roy Tharp Jr #2
2nd — Finley Hyvarinen #1
3rd — Ty McClure #9
4th — Lilly Wood #2W
5th — Annika DeYoung #65
6th — Jack Gonyon #10

Following immediately after the Culver’s Mini Wedges, the compacts took to the track. The Dave’s Dry Dock Compact heat winners were Drew Phillips (#22) and Austin Terryn (#49). We mentioned excitement and thrills followed close behind, as shortly after the green flag in Heat Race #2, Brandon Tichelaar (#37) had a rollover in Turn 3. Race control quickly got all cars stopped, and the I-96 Safety Team was on the scene within a matter of seconds. Luckily, Brandon was not harmed in his daredevil act, but he was unable to continue for the rest of the night.

Compacts Heat Race #1 Results:
1st — Drew Phillips #22
2nd — Nick Williams #70
3rd — Irving Carey #23C
4th — Collin Wiersema #23
5th — Brandon Caswell #97

Compacts Heat Race #2 Results:
1st — Austin Terryn #49
2nd — Jordan Siegel #14
3rd — Chelsea Martin #64M
4th — Blake Huitema #62
5th — Brandon Tichelaar #37

With the compacts complete until feature time, we jumped back into Choice Concrete UMP Late Models! Heat race winners were Travis Stemler (#4), Logan Nickerson (#21), and Chase Burda (#18). The spotlight goes to Heat Race #2, where Nickerson picked up the victory over a hard-charging Cody Bauer (#19X). Bauer came up just .002 short of capturing the win. The top three finishers of each heat redrew for their A-Main starting lineup later in the night.

UMP Late Models Heat #1 Top 5:
1st — Travis Stemler #4
2nd — Eric Spangler #27
3rd — Rylee Knoll #07
4th — Brandon Thirlby #M14
5th — Dillon Kohn #26

UMP Late Models Heat #2 Top 5:
1st — Logan Nickerson #21
2nd — Cody Bauer #19X
3rd — Chad Finley #42
4th — Bill Bray #94
5th — Brayden Shiels #51B

UMP Late Models Heat #3 Results:
1st — Chase Burda #18
2nd — Devin Shiels #51
3rd — Kyle Eckhart #65
4th — Rachel Snider #11

Next Level Coatings Street Stocks were locked, loaded, and ready to roll after the final UMP Late Model heat wrapped up. Gary Vandermark (#10) would take home the one and only Next Level Coatings Street Stock heat race, but sparks flew close behind as Peyton Cunningham (#27) made contact with Daniel Sinclair (#8). Cunningham ended up losing the entire left side body of her car but fortunately finished the night stronger than it started for the Sheridan, MI, driver.

Street Stocks Heat #1 Top 5:
1st — Gary Vandermark #10
2nd — Randy Woodbury #1BB
3rd — Dick Slyder #9RR
4th — Hunter Evans #2
5th — Trinedy Huey #24

The Hubbco Racing Products IMCA Modifieds brought the heat to close out heat race action. Heat race wins went to Brody Hose (#4) and Casey Smith (#83). The spotlight goes to Heat Race #2, where a hard-charging Casey Smith made a three-wide pass on Myron DeYoung (#7D) and Shannon Fisk (#43F) to pick up the win.

IMCA Modified Heat #1 Top 5:
1st — Brody Hose #4
2nd — Jeff Reay #12
3rd — Luke Hubbell #23
4th — Zach Sweet #400
5th — Mark Anderson #43A

IMCA Modified Heat #2 Top 5:
1st — Casey Smith #83
2nd — Myron DeYoung #7D
3rd — Shannon Fisk #43F
4th — Calvin Stemler #5
5th — Ethan Lamberson #19

Jumping into our first features of the night, the Culver’s Mini Wedges went green, white, checkered under the lights of I-96 Speedway in both the Jr. and Sr. classes.

Mini Wedges 6–9 Feature Results:
1st — Lola Stemler #6
2nd — Julayne Egan #10

Mini Wedges 10–14 Feature Results:
1st — Finley Hyvarinen #1
2nd — Ty McClure #9
3rd — Roy Tharp Jr #2
4th — Lilly Wood #2W
5th — Jack Gonyon #10

The Dave’s Dry Dock Compacts rolled out once all the kids were cleared from the infield. The green flag was out, and Jordan Siegel (#14) jumped out to an early lead. But as laps wound down, Nick Williams (#70) muscled his way by the defending track champion and held on to capture his first feature win of the 2026 season.

Compacts Feature Top 5:
1st — Nick Williams #70
2nd — Drew Phillips #22
3rd — Jordan Siegel #14
4th — Blake Huitema #62
5th — Irving Carey #23C

Next up were the “Earth Shaking” Choice Concrete UMP Late Models. A stout field of 21 strong saw only 17 take the green flag. It was Lapeer, Michigan’s Chase Burda (#18) jumping out to an early lead with Ionia native Travis Stemler (#4) in hot pursuit. Burda worked the top side while Stemler wrapped the bottom. Eventually, the two caught the tail end of the field, and Stemler was able to capitalize on a lap car to take over the top spot. Burda fought back hard on the high side but tagged the wall in his efforts. A late-race caution tightened things up and kept fans on the edge of their seats, but when the dust settled and the checkered flag flew, it was all Travis Stemler as he swept the night. All in all, the Choice Concrete UMP Late Model feature was worth the price of general admission!

UMP Late Model Feature Top 5:
1st — Travis Stemler #4
2nd — Brandon Thirlby #M14
3rd — Chase Burda #18
4th — Devin Shiels #51
5th — Logan Nickerson #21

Next Level Coatings Street Stocks rolled to the track for their 15-lap feature. Gary Vandermark (#10) made quick work of the field, jumping out to an early lead and extending it by a whopping seven seconds until a caution erased the advantage. When the track went back green, Vandermark wasted no time putting distance between himself and Randy Woodbury (#1BB) to take home the win!

Street Stock Feature Top 5:
1st — Gary Vandermark #10
2nd — Randy Woodbury #1BB
3rd — Daniel Sinclair #8
4th — Hunter Evans #2
5th — Peyton Cunningham #27P

Finally, the Hubbco Racing Products IMCA Modifieds roared to life as they rolled from staging to the track. As we said earlier, Jeff Reay (#12) and Casey Smith (#83) burned the house down, racing side-by-side lap after lap for more than half the race. The two were the class of the field but raced each other with great respect. In the end, defending track champion Jeff Reay reigned supreme over Smith.

IMCA Modified Top 5:
1st — Jeff Reay #12
2nd — Casey Smith #83
3rd — Zach Sweet #400
4th — Mark Anderson #43A
5th — Calvin Stemler #5

Please join us next week for the Valvoline Late Model Iron Man Series, Next Level Coatings Street Stocks, Compacts and Mini Wedges.

Photo Credit: Mike Powell - Biography Photography

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