With only six nights left on the MARS Late Model Championship powered by FK Rod Ends schedule, every night, every move, and every position is crucial to season-ending points standings. While some are fighting for a championship, or for positioning within the top five, others are fighting to lock down a top-10 position to solidify an additional paycheck at the conclusion of the season. This weekend the hunt continues with the final weekend of single night events for the MARS Late Model tour as we hit the road to Kankakee County Speedway and the World Famous Highland Speedway.
Friday, September 18, the MARS Late Model Championship powered by FK Rod Ends heads to the Kankakee County Speedway, in Kankakee, Illinois, for the Big Daddy Scrap 40. MARS Late Models will battle 40 laps in the main event for a $5,000 top prize. 2026 has been a year of new beginnings as long-time racer Evan Eckhoff joined as a partner of the racetrack, with the biggest addition being Super Late Model racing every Friday night. Mike Spatola leads the current point standings at the track with a staggering 9 wins in 10 starts at the speedway in weekly competition. He is sure to be one of the favorites as the best in the Midwest invade the Kankakee County Fairgrounds this Friday night. Billy Knippenberg III, Michael Marden, Ben Kirchner, and Chase Osterhoff round out the top-5 in weekly standings.
The tour will wrap up the weekend on Saturday, September 19, as teams will make the three-hour trip south to the World Famous Highland Speedway, in Highland, Illinois, for another 40-lap $5,000-to-win main event brought to you by Bel-O Cooling, Heating, & Plumbing Inc. Originally scheduled in the month of May, the event was postponed during the afternoon as showers and storms set in over the area. With what typically is one of the best nights of the season at the Madison County Fairgrounds promises to be another unforgettable night of racing as it is the final night of stock car racing for the season at the speedway. Matt Bailey took home the track championship this season with 8 top-5 finishes in all 8 of the points paying events at the speedway in 2026. Michael Kloos, Jordan Suhre, Claude Walker, and Jordan Bauer rounded out the top 5 in track points.
Ryan Unzicker heads into the weekend looking to maintain his points lead with only 6 events left on the season. After podium finishes at both Farmer City and at FALS over Labor Day weekend, Jason Feger now trails by only 77 points. Dylan Thornton has settled into third in series standings while Bob Gardner continues to climb up the charts and has advanced to fourth. Daniel Adam continues to hold down the fifth position.
Dylan Thornton continues to show the way in Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year standings as he holds a large lead over Pontiac, Illinois driver Jeffrey Ledford. Myles Moos continues to hold down third, but after a blown motor over Labor Day weekend at LaSalle, it does not appear that he will join us for the remainder of the 2026 season.
Event Info
Friday, September 18
Kankakee County Speedway
Kankakee, IL
Big Daddy Scrap 40
$5,000-to-win MARS Late Model Championship Powered by FK Rod Ends Features
DIRTcar UMP Modifieds
DIRTcar Pro Modifieds
DIRTcar Sport Compacts
Crown Vics
Pits open at 4:00 P.M.
Grandstands open at 5:00 P.M.
Drivers Meeting at 5:45 P.M.
Hot Laps at 6:15 P.M.
Adult General Admission $30
General Admission for Kids 11 and under FREE
Pit Pass $45
Pit Pass for Kids ages 5-10 $25
Pit Pass for Kids ages 4 and under FREE
Saturday, September 19
World Famous Highland Speedway
Highland, IL
MARS night presented by Bel-O Cooling, Heating, & Plumbing Inc.
$5,000-to-win MARS Late Model Championship Powered by FK Rod Ends Features
DIRTcar UMP Modifieds
DIRTcar Pro Modifieds
DIRTcar Factory Stocks
Pits open at 2:00 P.M.
Grandstands open at 4:00 P.M.
Drivers Meeting at 5:30 P.M.
Hot Laps at 6:00 P.M.
Adult General Admission $30
Box Seats $35
General Admission for Students ages 13-18 $10
General Admission for Kids 12 and under FREE
Pit Pass $40
Pit Pass for Kids ages 12 and under $25
MARS Late Model Championship Powered by FK Rod Ends Tire Rule for each night:
LF: Any (90) Hoosier
RF: Hoosier NLMT2 (90)
LR: Hoosier NLMT2 (90)
RR: Hoosier NRM NLMT3 (92) or Hoosier NRM NLMT4 (92)
Grooving and Siping will be permitted.
Event Purses
MARS Late Model Championship powered by FK Rod Ends A-Main payout for each night: 1) $5,000 2) $2,500 3) $2,000 4) $1,600 5) $1,400 6) $1,200 7) $1,000 8) $800 9) $700 10) $600 11) $500 12) $500 13) $500 14) $500 15) $500 16) $500 17) $500 18) $500 19) $500 20) $500 21) $500 22) $500. Non-Transfer Tow Money $120 Friday / $115 Saturday
MARS Late Model Championship Powered by FK Rod Ends Point Standings (Top 10)
- Ryan Unzicker – El Paso, IL – 1,097 points
- Jason Feger – Bloomington, IL – 1,020 points
- Dylan Thornton – Orcutt, CA – 944 points
- Bob Gardner – Washington, IL – 796 points
- Daniel Adam – Peru, IL – 784 points
- Jake Little – Springfield, IL – 747 points
- Jeffrey Ledford – Pontiac, IL – 675 points
- Tanner English – Benton, KY – 672 points
- Mark Voigt – Marine, IL – 614 points
- Myles Moos – Lincoln, IL – 596 points
Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year Standings
- Dylan Thornton – Orcutt, CA – 944 points
- Jeffrey Ledford – Pontiac, IL – 675 points
- Myles Moos – Lincoln, IL – 596 points
2026 MARS Late Model Championship powered by FK Rod Ends Statistics
Pontiac RV Heat Race #1 Winner
Jason Feger – 4
Shannon Babb – 3
Dennis Erb Jr – 2
Tanner English – 2
Mike Harrison – 1
Jordan Bauer – 1
Dylan Thornton – 1
Aaron Marrant – 1
Billy Moyer – 1
Cody Overton – 1
Ryan Unzicker – 1
FK Rod Ends 1st Place Finisher
Ryan Unzicker – 5
Jason Feger – 3
Shannon Babb – 3
Dylan Thornton – 2
Ryan Gustin – 1
Jordan Bauer – 1
Brandon Sheppard – 1
Tanner English – 1
Mike Spatola – 1
Swift Springs 4th Place Finisher
Dennis Erb Jr – 3
Tanner English – 2
Ryan Unzicker – 2
Frank Heckenast Jr – 1
Caden McWhorter – 1
Daniel Adam – 1
Mitch McGrath – 1
Ryan Gustin – 1
Brian Shirley – 1
Mike Spatola – 1
Matthew Larson – 1
Jeffrey Ledford – 1
Billy Moyer – 1
Rodney Melvin – 1
FK Rod Ends 5th Place Finisher
Bob Gardner – 3
Caden McWhorter – 2
Jason Feger – 2
Jordan Bauer – 2
Mike Spatola – 2
Ryan Unzicker – 1
Brayton Wallace – 1
Austin Howes – 1
Tanner English – 1
Mitch McGrath – 1
Clay Stuckey – 1
Brandon Sheppard – 1
Fairbury Fasteners 7th Place Finisher
Bob Gardner – 4
Daniel Adam – 3
Jake Little – 2
Dylan Thornton – 1
Myles Moos – 1
Dennis Erb Jr – 1
Tanner English – 1
Rich Bell – 1
Ryan Unzicker – 1
Jeffrey Ledford – 1
Wil Herrington – 1
Austin Howes – 1
Budda by Bert Transmission 9th Place Finisher
Rich Bell – 3
Jason Feger – 2
Tanner English – 2
Daniel Adam – 2
Jeffrey Ledford – 2
Austin Howes – 1
Chad Simpson – 1
McKay Wenger – 1
Myles Moos – 1
Tyler Kuykendall – 1
Blaze Burwell – 1
Jake Little – 1
Hooker Harness 11th Place Finisher
Jordan Bauer – 3
Dylan Thornton – 2
Myles Moos – 2
Nick Anvelink – 2
Kolby Vandenbergh – 1
Austin Smith – 1
Donny Walden – 1
Jake Little – 1
Zach Taylor – 1
Jeff Herzog – 1
Callan Hill – 1
Jeffrey Ledford – 1
Eli Ross – 1
Keyser Manufacturing 13th Place Finisher
Daniel Adam – 4
Bob Gardner – 3
Mark Voigt – 3
Myles Moos – 2
Wil Herrington – 2
Jake Little – 1
Lee Williams – 1
Frank Heckenast Jr – 1
Callan Hill – 1
Fast Shafts 15th Place Finisher
Myles Moos – 3
Jeffrey Ledford – 2
Paul Parker – 2
Mark Voigt – 2
Mike Mataragas – 1
Mitch McGrath – 1
Chevy Boyer – 1
Austin Howes – 1
Blaze Burwell – 1
Zach Taylor – 1
Rockett Bennett – 1
Bobby Burrows – 1
Eli Ross – 1
MD3 Hard Charger Award Winner
Bob Gardner – 2
Jeffrey Ledford – 2
Ryan Unzicker – 2
Austin Howes – 1
Brayton Wallace – 1
Christian Miles – 1
Jason Feger – 1
Caden McWhorter – 1
Mark Voigt – 1
Dylan Thornton – 1
Frank Heckenast Jr – 1
Matthew Larson – 1
Rusty Griffaw – 1
Blaze Burwell – 1
Brandon Sheppard – 1
Wilwood Brakes Hard Luck Award Winner
Camden Gardner – 2
Mark Voigt – 2
Myles Moos – 2
Rusty Griffaw – 1
Rickey Frankel – 1
Jeffrey Ledford – 1
Terry Casey – 1
Austin Smith – 1
Keatin Lyons – 1
Mike Winn – 1
Tim Boomer – 1
Dustin Martin – 1
Doug Tye – 1
Austin Howes – 1
Morgan Staggs – 1
Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Race Winner
Dylan Thornton – 12
Jeffrey Ledford – 4
Caden McWhorter – 1
Mitch McGrath – 1
If you are unable to make it to the track, you can catch EVERY MARS Late Model Championship Powered by FK Rod Ends event in 2026 live at floracing.com with select events being streamed live on Amazon Prime.
For more information about the MARS Dirt Series, please contact Jonathan Clayton at 731-467- 1316, visit the tour’s webpage at marsracingseries.com, or visit @MARSDirtRacing on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
MARS Late Model Championship Powered by FK Rod Ends and MARS Modified Championship Powered by Summit Racing Equipment would like to thank the following sponsors and marketing partners for their support of the 2026 racing season: FK Rod Ends (MARS Late Model title sponsor), Summit Racing Equipment (MARS Modified title sponsor), Flo Racing (Official streaming provider of the MARS Late Model tour), Racing Electronics (Official communications provider of the MARS Dirt Series), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official tire manufacturer of the MARS Dirt Series), Sunoco Race Fuels (Official fuel of the MARS Dirt Series and proud sponsor of the Sunoco Rookie of the Year chase all season long on the MARS Late Model & Modified Championship tours), Pontiac RV (Official RV Dealer of the MARS Dirt Series), Allstar Performance, O’Reilly Auto Parts, DIRTcar Racing, Driscoll Motors (Official dealership of the MARS Dirt Series), MD3, Josh James Artwork, MWD Signs & Graphix, Fairbury Fastener & Supply, Dirt Draft, Digital Copy Systems, Whelen, Multi Fire X, Budda Bert Transmission, Dyer’s Top Rods, Fast Shafts, Wilwood Brakes, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, Keyser Manufacturing, Varsitee Screenprinting, Willy’s Carb & Dyno, Trackside Racewear, Hooker Harness, Lethal Chassis, Remtek Enterprises, QuickCar Racing Products, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Midwest Sheet Metal, Allgaier Performance, Vanquish Race Cars, Swift Springs, LRD Products, Equiplinc Trucks & Equipment, K&S Ford, MatMan Designs, and Angry Duck Graphics.
MARS Championship Upcoming Events
· September 18, 2026 – Kankakee County Speedway – Kankakee, IL – Big Daddy Scrap 40 – $5,000-to-win MARS Late Model Championship powered by FK Rod Ends
· September 19, 2026 – World Famous Highland Speedway – Highland, IL – MARS night presented by Bel-O Cooling, Heating, & Plumbing Inc. – $5,000-to-win MARS Late Model Championship powered by FK Rod Ends
· September 25, 2026 – I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park – Pevely, MO – $2,000-to-win MARS Modified Championship powered by Summit Racing Equipment
· September 26, 2026 – I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park – Pevely, MO – $2,000-to-win MARS Modified Championship powered by Summit Racing Equipment
· October 2, 2026 – Fairbury Speedway – Fairbury, IL – FALS Frenzy | MARS Modified Championship Weekend – $5,000-to-win MARS Late Model Championship powered by FK Rod Ends | $2,000-to-win MARS Modified Championship powered by Summit Racing Equipment
NEXT: Ryan Gustin Reacts After Heartbreaking Finish To His World 100
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