37MD Racing

Del Rougeux Jr. started on the outside pole and took the early lead when the green flag waved on the Diehl Auto Group DIRTcar Modified feature. Rougeux battled with Jeremiah Shingledecker for the lead, trading the lead back and forth multiple times, until Shingledecker finally pulled away mid-race and cruised to his first feature win of the season.

Jeremiah Shingledecker of Polk, Pa., captured his third feature win in a row in the 20-lap DIRTcar Big Block Modified main passing early race leader Rex King late in the race. With the win in his Village Auto/Hard’s Welding/Steve’s Teez Bicknell No. 37MD, Shingledecker captured his 19th career feature win at Tri-City tying the late Jeff Hoffman for fourth on the all-time DIRTcar Big Block Modified win list at the track. Shingledecker also tied the modern record for three wins in a row in the division.

“I want to dedicate this win to the Hoffman family,” said Shingledecker. “They helped us out when we first started, and it’s an honor to tie Jeff’s win record and be mentioned in the same breath with him. That was a great race, and the track was amazing. Rex ran a great race. I tried to make the low line work and he blocked me off. I took the high side and it worked.”

Dave Murdick and King led the field to the green flag, and ran side-by-side for the first circuit with King leading at the line. Gradually, King pulled ahead while Shingledecker worked past Kevin Hoffman for third on the fourth circuit. Two laps later, Shingledecker passed Murdick for second. Two cautions in the middle of the race slowed the race. On each restart, Shingledecker could not pass King. With King high and Shingledecker low, the duo fought for the win. On the 16th circuit, Shingledecker almost made a pass stick on the low side of turn three. The following lap, King blocked the same move, but Shingledecker swung to the outside lane and used his momentum to pass King off turn four at the line. Another caution occurred, but King was not able to muster the power to pass Shingledecker, who raced to the popular win. King finished second followed by Hoffman. Driving the Shingledecker team car, Chris Haines passed Murdick for fourth on the last lap.

Jeremiah Shingledecker of Polk, Pa., scored a stellar victory with a late race pass in the 20-lap DIRTcar Big Block Modified feature to defeat Dave Murdick for his second win in a row and the 18th of his career at Tri-City. The win broke a tie between Shingledecker and Brian Swartzlander for fifth on the all-time win list. In addition, Shingledecker and a lucky fan split $200 after the fan chose the feature winner as the Jim?s Super Market Super Fan of the Week driver.

What a great race, smiled Shingledecker in victory lane next to his Hard’s Welding/Village Auto/Steve’s Teez Bicknell No. 37MD.
It looked like Dave got a little comfortable on the high side of the track, and I got under him off turn two.

This is amazing! Eight years ago, I almost quit because racing wasn’t going so well. The last few years have been simply amazing!

Murdick paced the race from the pole position with Brad Rapp and Chris Haines in tow. Haines, a Pro Stock driver and DIRTcar Big Block Modified rookie, was impressive as a teammate to Shingledecker driving the 2009 championship car in only Haines? second week out. A couple of cautions on the fourth circuit allowed Shingledecker to finally pass Haines for third after the second restart. He then passed Rapp for second on the seventh circuit. While Murdick fended off Shingledecker, Andy Priest dueled with Haines for fourth. Priest took the spot on the sixth circuit, then chased down Rapp after he slipped to third. After a couple of slide job passes off turn four that failed to get him the spot, Priest finally succumbed to mechanical troubles with four laps to go. That allowed Rex King to move into fourth while Haines battled Kevin Hoffman for fifth.

Up front, however, the fans were on their feet as Shingledecker was searching the inside lane on Murdick. Finally, with less than two laps to go, Shingledecker found the bite on the inside of turn two and stole the lead. Murdick desperately tried to recover on the outside cushion, but it was to no avail. At the finish, Shingledecker was the winner over Murdick, Rapp, Rex King and Haines, who had his first-ever top five finish in only his second race. Shingledecker and Haines also won the DIRTcar Big Block Modified heat races.