The Modified West Regional Series heads next to Fairbury Speedway, and it’s hard to draw up a more perfect recipe for drama. The season is past the halfway point, the points margin is big enough to matter but small enough to disappear fast, and Fairbury has a history of rewarding drivers who can run hard without giving anything away. If there’s a night where the championship fight can swing on one corner, it’s this one.
The season-long points battle is officially turned up. Brayden E Carter has climbed to the top of the standings with 41 points, but Aidan Strawberry is still right in the picture at 33, just eight points back. With 12 points to win and the 1-point qualifying fast time bonus available, Fairbury offers a huge opportunity for momentum—especially because the math can flip quickly when there are only a few races left. Behind them, the chase pack is getting louder: Brenden McGlothlin (19) is trending upward, while Seth Gregory (15) and Doug Welch (15) are sitting in position to capitalize if the leaders leave any points on the table.
Fairbury’s recent history in this series gives us a clear baseline for what “winning speed” looks like here. In Season 1 at Fairbury, Colton Zimmer grabbed the victory, leading 17 of 20 laps and laying down the race’s best lap (13.201) while holding off a stacked group that included Dylan Gibbs and Austin Meiners. It wasn’t a one-driver show the entire way either—there were two different leaders—but once Zimmer settled in, he set the tone. And if you’re looking for proof that you don’t have to start near the front to matter at Fairbury, Cole Suckow put on the biggest charge of the night, going 13th to 6th.
The all-time Fairbury stats add even more intrigue because this track has produced both repeat winners and one-night perfection. James Richard2 is the winningest ICL Dirt Modified driver at Fairbury with 2 wins in 4 starts, and he’s also been a major factor in controlling races here (including 31 laps led at the speedway). But right behind him is a long list of drivers who have proven they can show up and win immediately—names like Nick Baum, Robbie Buchanan Jr, Michael D Carter, Christopher Joy, Tyler J Reed, and Aidan Hinds have all been to Victory Lane at Fairbury. In other words: this place doesn’t care about reputation—it cares about execution.
So who should be circled going into Fairbury? Carter enters with the points lead and that “every point matters” mindset, and the qualifying bonus could be massive for him again. Strawberry has the perfect chance to answer back and cut the gap in a single night. McGlothlin is the momentum pick—if he keeps stacking finishes, he can turn the fight into a real multi-driver battle. And of course, Zimmer is the defending Fairbury winner, already proven to have the pace and the race-control ability this track demands. If Fairbury follows its history, expect a race where clean speed wins… but the smallest mistake can become the biggest points swing of the season.
Season 1 Fairbury Speedway Top 8
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Colton Zimmer, 2) Dylan Gibbs, 3) Austin Meiners, 4) Brayson R Riddle, 5) Joseph Grandy, 6) Cole Suckow, 7) Isaac Keneda2, 8) Robert Allen20
