(July 11, 2024) Quincy, MI – Thursday night at Butler Motor Speedway saw another chapter unfold in the summer-long rivalry between Trevor Neville and Mike McKinney. Entering the race, the two Illinois drivers were first and second in the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals points standings. The race ended with McKinney overtaking Neville in the closing laps to claim his fifth Hell Tour victory of the season.
A Battle to the Finish
Starting from third on the grid, McKinney found himself trailing Neville by three seconds just five laps into the main event. However, a series of cautions and lapped traffic allowed McKinney to close the gap. By Lap 19, he was right on Neville’s tail.
“We race each other every week whether it’s Summer Nationals or not,” McKinney said. “[Neville] has been really good this year, and it’s twice now leading has kind of bit him. I’ve been able to run him down from second and just do the opposite of what he does, but you’ve got to be good enough to be able to do that.”
The Decisive Move
As they approached Turn 3, McKinney took the middle of the track while Neville stayed high. Coming out of Turn 4, McKinney edged in front and beat Neville to the start/finish line by a mere .035 seconds to take the lead. Despite a subsequent restart, McKinney held his ground. Neville attempted a slider out of Turn 2, but McKinney maintained his position and finished over a second ahead when the checkered flag waved.
“That top of [Turns] 1 and 2 was really thin and I just started running that a lot harder and was able to get a little bit of a better exit out of 2,” McKinney explained. “Was running a little bit lower than [Neville] was in [Turns] 3 and 4 and just saw the gap get closer and closer and was running him down before we hit that lapped traffic and obviously the lapped traffic helped.”
Upcoming Races
Week 5 of the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals continues on Friday, July 12, at Crystal Motor Speedway in Crystal, MI. Tickets will be available at the gate, and fans can also stream the event live on DIRTVision.
Feature Results
Feature (25 Laps):
- Mike McKinney [3]
- Trevor Neville [2]
- Zeke McKenzie [1]
- Dillon Nusbaum [5]
- Brad Deyoung [9]
- Curt Spalding [7]
- Manix Furqueron [6]
- Kevin Reeve [4]
- Dalton Lane [10]
- Josh Lolmaugh [12]
- Zachary Hawk [11]
- Todd Sherman [15]
- Brennan Sherman [8]
- Mario Toniolo [16]
- Corey Bevard [13]
- Garrett Rons [18]
- David VanGuilder [17]
- Anthony Carter [19]
- Rick Swartout [20]
- Tim McCafferty [21]
- Terry Sroufe [22]
- Dustin Moore [14]
