SPRINGFIELD, IL (Jan. 11, 2025) — DIRTcar Racing celebrated its 41st season of weekly competition Saturday night at the annual awards banquet in Springfield, IL, recognizing each of the national and regional points champions along with the many special award winners.
Headlining the special award winners was longtime DIRTcar tech inspector and points coordinator Jim Magill, who was honored with one of DIRTcar’s most prestigious accolades — the Bob Memmer Award. Stock Car driver Kyle Anderson was presented with the Lee J. Hall Memorial Sportsmanship Award, Fairbury Speedway accepted Track of the Year honors and Brownstown Bullring promoter Josh Carroll was recognized as Promoter of the Year.
Bob Memmer Award — Jim Magill
Magill, a lifelong dirt track racing fan and supporter originally from Indiana, has been an employee of DIRTcar Midwest since 2006. He has worked in various roles under DIRTcar Director Sam Driggers including line scorer, tech inspector and, most notably, the present-day national and regional points coordinator.
“It’s the biggest honor I’ve ever had in my life, bar none,” Magill said. “I’m still shocked and awed about it, and happy. I’ve always wanted this, because Bob was my hero.
“To me, this is my Oscar, and I’ll never give it away.”
The Bob Memmer Award is bestowed upon an individual each year who shows outstanding dedication and contribution to the sport in the spirit of Memmer, who founded UMP/DIRTcar in 1984.
Each week during the regular season, Magill is hard at work, electronically tallying up all nine of DIRTcar’s weekly division points standings — updated every Thursday at DIRTcar.com/points. Memmer was also a points tally man and was widely known for his weekly newsletters — put together entirely by pen, paper and typewriter — sent by mail throughout the 1980s and 1990s that kept DIRTcar competitors informed of the national points standings each season.
“This is my dream job,” Magill said. “When I got hired, it was to help the lower divisions; they were just starting out with the points. I love numbers, so I get to work with my numbers all week, and I get to go racing on the weekends. I get paid for it, and I love working for WRG. There’s not a better company that I’ve ever been involved with.
“It’s a family, just like the racers are, and we all care about each other. I have the greatest bosses. And I will never retire, so they might as well just get ready for me to be here when I’m 90.”
To this day, Magill helps keep Memmer and his core values alive with the utmost dedication to his duties at DIRTcar. And he does it all for one reason — the love of the sport.
“Back when Bob started UMP, we were almost done; we were not going to have racing,” Magill said. “It was dying, and he had this idea to do this. He was just a poor coal miner, but he did it. And that’s why we are where we are today.
“Bob got all this going, and Sam and I still do this in his memory.”
Lee J. Hall Sportsmanship Award — Kyle Anderson
Anderson, 30, of Crown Point, IN, was presented the Hall Award for his outstanding gentlemanly conduct and respect for his competition at the track. The award was spawned two years ago in memory of the late Stock Car driver who was killed by a drunk driver in October 2022.
The Hall Award is presented to a Stock Car driver who best exemplifies the same sportsmanship that Hall showed on and off the racetrack throughout his career. Anderson joins Hall’s son and veteran Illinois Stock Car racer Don Hilleary as the award’s first three winners and is coming off a fourth-place finish in the national points standings with two Feature wins recorded in 2024.
Track of the Year Award — Fairbury Speedway
Each year, the DIRTcar Track of the Year Award is presented to a weekly DIRTcar-sanctioned track that demonstrates outstanding abilities to provide top-quality racing entertainment, elevates competitor participation and hosts special events that bring out the best in fan attendance. The 2024 honor went to one of DIRTcar’s most iconic Illinois bullrings — Fairbury Speedway.
Located in the small town of Fairbury, IL, the 1/4-mile, black-dirt bullring is one of the finest dirt track racing facilities in the country, having undergone numerous renovations and upgrades under owner/promoter Matt Curl, who purchased the track before the start of the 2019 season.
Known for its standout track surface, strong payouts and weekly “FALS Cup” racing program, Fairbury is also home to the World of Outlaws Late Model Series crown jewel event, the Prairie Dirt Classic, set to be contested for the 35th time in 2025, Friday–Saturday, July 25–26.
Promoter of the Year — Josh Carroll
DIRTcar’s Promoter of the Year Award is annually presented to a DIRTcar-sanctioned track or series promoter that demonstrates exceptional commitment to the growth and improvement of the sport. For the 2024 season, that individual was Josh Carroll — promoter of longtime DIRTcar weekly venue Brownstown Bullring.
Carroll took over as promoter of the 1/4-mile oval, located on the Fayette County Fairgrounds, for the 2023 season and made several upgrades to the facility, breathing new life into one of DIRTcar’s most historic Illinois dirt tracks. He has continued to host the DIRTcar Summer Nationals and has become a staple on the MARS Championship Series.
In 2025, Carroll will take over as owner and promoter of another iconic weekly DIRTcar venue — Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55. The announcement of the sale to Carroll from longtime owners Ray and Sue Marler, and Ken Schrader, was made in December, and Carroll pledged his commitment to keeping the track’s weekly program alive in the new year with a host of special events.
National Points Champions
Late Model – Jason Feger
UMP Modified – Michael Long
Pro Late Model – Dakota Ewing
Pro Modified – Deece Schwartz
UMP Sportsman – Tucker Chastain
Stock Car – Braiden Keller
Factory Stock – Trevor Isaak
Sport Compact – Danny White Jr.
Mod Lite – Jimmy Smith
Other Special Awards
Late Model Engine Champion – Clements Racing Engines
Modified Engine Champion – Xtreme Pro Race Engines
Late Model Chassis Champion – Longhorn Chassis
Modified Chassis Champion – Pierce Platinum Race Cars
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