Jason Feger hounded Dylan Thornton in the closing laps of the MARS Championship race at Macon Speedway, but ended up finishing a position shy in second when it was all said and done.

Feger started on the outside pole, but found himself quickly shuffled back to fourth as Ryan Unizcker slipped underneath him on the restart. Bob Gardner would get underneath him the next lap and worked his way by him over the next few laps. After Gardner got past him, Feger settled in behind him on the bottom. Following a restart with 39 laps left, Jake Little would rip the top to get around Feger and drop him back to fifth.

However, as the race progressed, Feger’s car was able to really stick down on the bottom and he was able to eventually drive underneath Bob Gardner and Jake Little in the same lap after the two had been battling side-by-side for over 10 laps in front of him. After clearing both of them, Feger quickly drove to the back of second place running Ryan Unzicker as he challenged Thornton for the lead. 

With 20 to go, Feger showed his nose to the inside of Unzicker coming through turn 4. The two who have battled so frequently this year did so again as they ran side-by-side for the next few laps. Feger finally cleared him with 17 laps left coming off of 4.

After a caution for Rockett Bennett with 17 laps left, Unzicker and Feger renewed their challenge with Unzicker motoring through the top and Feger staying committed to the bottom while Dylan Thornton continued to lead just ahead of them. The battle would be halted for another caution with 13 to go after the starting zone A-frame was knocked down.

Feger strategically took Unzicker’s line away by choosing the top on the restart and was able to clear him and put his full focus on Thornton for the remaining 12 laps. He then hounded Thornton and closed to his bumper coming out of turn 4 as they came to 2 to go. In turn 1 he drove to Thornton’s inside and got to his door as they exited turn 2. However, down the back stretch, Thornton was able to slightly pull away. Heading through 3 and 4, Feger gave him a slight tap, but Thornton drove through and continued to lead.

On the final lap, Feger stayed committed to the bottom in 1 and 2. Thornton shut it down and was able to slightly gap him down the back stretch. In 3 and 4, Feger shot to the outside and got right to his rear, but was unable to get around him as they crossed the finish line.

🏁 Dylan Thornton holds off Jason Feger at @maconspeedway for his first career @MARSDirtRacing win!#MARSLateModels pic.twitter.com/J3nchkhgqz

— FloRacing (@FloRacing) August 9, 2026

Feger discussed what he could have done in order to get the win and best Thornton and rob him of his first MARS win in his podium interview with MARS announcer Patrick Davis, “I pry could’ve moved him once or twice there and I just was trying to be patient and let him make a mistake. Once I got him under once he started pinching real hard and didn’t shut the door.”

“I pry should’ve tried the cushion in 3 and 4 there maybe a lap sooner to get a crossover or something, but it would’ve been tough,” he added.

As for Thornton, he shared how he was able to best some of the best in the Midwest, “I was just trying to stay down there. I didn’t want to go up there without doing it the whole race, just kill the wall or do anything dumb. I just haven’t really been in that position very often. So it’s a big learning experience. These guys, they’ve been to these tracks since they were kids and I’ve only watched them on TV when the Hell Tour comes to town.”

The MARS Late Models head to LaSalle Speedway for a doubleheader this upcoming weekend on August 14th and 15th. Ryan Unzicker remains the points leader after a fourth place finish at Macon. His lead is down to 83 points over Jason Feger.

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