Throughout the four decades of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals, each schedule contains a rotation of new tracks to challenge drivers while leaving a share of traditional areas that have become mainstays. 

In the 2026 schedule, nine tracks have hosted a Hell Tour race for 25 years or longer, becoming storied Midwestern sites filled with history that have shaped the first 40 years of the Summer Nationals. 

Let’s take a look at the tracks that have seen it all: 

Fairbury Speedway (Fairbury, IL) 

Races Held: 39 

Most Wins: Billy Moyer (8 wins) 

2026 Date: Saturday, June 13 

The oldest active track on the Hell Tour is nestled in the small town of Fairbury, IL, which hosted the second-ever Summer Nationals race and has remained on the schedule since 1990. 

Scoring the most Feature wins at “FALS” with the Summer Nationals is Batesville, AR’s Billy Moyer, who went to Victory Lane eight times between 1994 and 2018. Shannon Babb owns the second-most with five wins. 

Held one month before the Prairie Dirt Classic at the end of July, the challenge to sweep the Summer Nationals and World of Outlaws Late Models presented by DIRTVision is daunting, but not impossible. Wisconsin’s Jimmy Mars was the first driver to sweep both events in 2005, and “Land of Lincoln” native Brian Shirley joined Mars in the exclusive club exactly 20 years later. 

Macon Speedway (Macon, IL) 

Races Held: 39 

Most Wins: Shannon Babb (5 wins) 

2026 Date: Sunday, July 5 

Becoming the home of the crown jewel of the Summer Nationals through the Herald & Review 100, the 1/5-mile bullring of Macon Speedway has seen the unlikeliest moments in history. 

Shannon Babb holds the record for the most wins in the Herald & Review 100 with five (2006, 2009, 2011, 2013-14), but he also has a unique relationship with the event. In 1997, Babb’s engine quit on him before the start of the Feature, but local driver Virgil Bilbrey gave the 23-year-old driver his Late Model as a replacement. Babb climbed up the field to cross the finish line in first, but the Moweaqua, IL native ended up 20 pounds short of what would’ve been his first Hell Tour victory. 

“The Coolest Bullring in the Country” has been an opportunity for future names of dirt Late Model racing to shine, with winners including Scott Bloomquist (1990), Billy Moyer (1994), Don O’Neal (2004), Dennis Erb Jr. (2010), Brian Shirley (2012), Bobby Pierce (2016-17, 2021), and Brandon Sheppard (2020). In the 2025 Herald & Review 100, St. Augustine, FL’s Trey Mills bested Sheppard at the finish line for his first win in the event before joining the World of Outlaws the next season. 

Kankakee County Speedway (Kankakee, IL) 

Races Held: 35  

Most Wins: Billy Moyer (8 wins) 

2026 Date: Wednesday, June 10 

Located 80 miles away from Chicago, Kankakee County Speedway has been a long-standing institution of the Summer Nationals since hosting the third-ever tour race on Independence Day 1986. 

The 1/4-mile track has been an annual stop on the Hell Tour through the early days of the year’s campaign. In 2026, it is scheduled for the second night of the opening week on June 10. 

Kankakee has also been a stepping stone for drivers vying to contend in the month-long hunt for the championship. Drivers who have won at the track before winning the overall title include Scott Bloomquist (1990), Billy Moyer (1993-94), Don O’Neal (2004), Dennis Erb Jr (2007), Bobby Pierce (2016-17), Brian Shirley (2019), and Jason Feger, joining the group in 2025. 

Farmer City Raceway (Farmer City, IL) 

Races Held: 34 

Most Wins: Billy Moyer (6 wins) 

2026 Date: Friday, June 19 

Farmer City Raceway did not join the Summer Nationals calendar until 1989. But once it did, it has never been removed. 

The Illinois 1/4-mile is unique in its shape with a former horse track surrounding the racing area, with flatter banking in Turns 1-2 and higher-banked Turns 3-4, which holds the only section of outside wall on the surface. 

Though 10 drivers from the “Land of Lincoln” have conquered the track, no driver has 3/4 of the wins that Batesville, AR’s Moyer owns at Farmer City, taking home six total victories. Indiana’s Don O’Neal and Illinois’ Babb are tied for second-most with three wins apiece. 

Oakshade Raceway (Wauseon, OH) 

Races Held: 29 

Most Wins: Shannon Babb, Matt Miller, Ashton Winger (3 wins) 

2026 Date: Saturday, July 11 

When Oakshade Raceway began hosting the Summer Nationals at the start of the 21st century, it was also the first Ohio track to be added to the schedule as the inaugural Birthday Race marked the season finale. 

Since Kevin Weaver won the night’s Feature to clinch the 2000 title, Oakshade has evolved into a traditional home to one of the final challenges on the Hell Tour that can be the decision-maker of the year’s champion. 

In last year’s visit to the Wauseon, OH track, it produced a championship-implicating moment as contenders Tyler Erb and Jason Feger made contact in the final laps, sending the No. 1 Rocket Chassis spinning as Feger’s No. 25 secured the 2025 championship in points. 

I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park (Pevely, MO) 

Races Held: 28  

Most Wins: Billy Moyer (6) 

2026 Date: Saturday, June 20 

The tight bullring of I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park has been a highlight on the Summer Nationals schedule, challenging competitors at the top of dirt Late Model racing. 

The Super Late Models visited Pevely, MO, from 1989 to 1991, then a five-year gap occurred before the track became part of the annual challenge in 1996. I-55 has seen the best drivers in dirt Late Model racing clash at the track, including co-sanctioned doubleheaders with the World of Outlaws Late Models in 2022 and 2025. 

Moyer owns the most Hell Tour victories at I-55 with six triumphs. Ed Dixon and Brandon Sheppard share second place in wins at the track with three each. Moyer and Sheppard are the only drivers to win three consecutive I-55 Features, with “Mr. Smooth” setting the benchmark from 2010 to 2012 while “Rocket Shepp” tied the record from 2017 to 2020. 

Highland Speedway (Highland, IL) 

Races Held: 27 

Most Wins: Shannon Babb (5) 

2026 Date: Saturday, July 4 

Highland Speedway has grown into a familiar favorite as it sits in the heart of the Summer Nationals schedule. 

The first trek to the track happened in 1990, with Scott Bloomquist emerging as the victor. Since 2004, the track has hosted the Hell Tour every year, with the 2026 chapter falling on America’s 250th birthday. 

The Illinois 1/4-mile earned its “World Famous” nickname through the high-tension racing while forging the names of future stars. In 2009, Steve Sheppard and Dennis Erb Jr collided in a Heat Race, then Sheppard climbed out of his car and flew onto Erb’s No. 28, receiving the “Super Shepp” moniker. In 2014, a Californian named Tyler Reddick won his first Hell Tour Feature before progressing into the NASCAR ranks and becoming a star driver and Daytona 500 champion for 23XI Racing. 

Tri-State Speedway (Haubstadt, IN) 

Races Held: 27 

Most Wins: Shannon Babb (7) 

2026 Date: Saturday, June 27 

Affectionately known as “The Class Track,” Tri-State Speedway’s wide straightaways and paperclip-like turns have made it a destination sight to watch Super Late Models during the Summer Nationals. 

The Haubstadt, IN bullring made its first run with the Late Models from 1989-91, then a visit in 1997 saw Donnie Moran take victory before the track was added to the schedule annually since 1999. In the 1999 chapter, Shannon Babb captured his first career Hell Tour win.  

Twenty-six years later, Babb’s track-high seventh win earned him a $10,000 payday and broke a tie with Billy Moyer for most Hell Tour victories all-time with 102.  

Tri-City Speedway (Granite City, IL) 

Races Held: 27 

Most Wins: Billy Moyer, Bobby Pierce (5) 

2026 Date: Friday, June 12 

Approximately 13 miles away from the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Tri-City Speedway is a keystone facility as part of the original seven tracks to host the 1986 inaugural season. 

Tri-City hosted the Summer Nationals up until 1989, then went on a seven-year hiatus from hosting until 1996. After that, there was an eight-year gap until the tour made the track an annual stop since 2004. 

The two five-time Hell Tour champions, Billy Moyer and Bobby Pierce, own the most wins at the track with five triumphs each. Tri-City is tied with Macon Speedway as the Illinois track with the most first-time Summer Nationals winners, with eight drivers. 

The 40th anniversary of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals will begin on Tuesday, June 9, at the Brownstown Bullring, with the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals racing alongside. For the full schedule and event info, visit the DIRTcar Summer Nationals website. 

How can you watch every lap of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals? Live on DIRTVision.

This article was republished with the permission of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals. Original article can be found here: https://dirtcarsummernationals.com/news/hells-nine-digging-into-summer-nationals-longest-running-tracks/