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Brian Shirley scores MARS opener at Peoria

Brian Shirley pushed his 2021-win total to seven on Friday night by topping Peoria Speedway’s $3,000-to-win, Mid America Racing Series (MARS) event in his Bob Cullen Racing / Thomason Express No. 3s J&J Ventures & Gaming/ Hoker Trucking / XR1 Rocket Chassis / Durham Racing Engine Super Late Model.

The victory came in a hard-fought feature against a fellow Illini’ driver.

“There a couple of times I ran into the back of (Ryan Unzicker) to let him know we were there,” Shirley said. “Finally, luckily I got a good enough run and was (up) to him, but he still decided to slide up into us. Luckily it didn’t take us out and it wasn’t no big deal. It’s just hard racing and hopefully if the roles are reversed, he’s not mad about it. It was a good race, and I’m happy that we came out on top.

“It’s been a little bit since we’ve got a win, so hopefully this will turn our luck as we get ready for a big weekend at Davenport Speedway with the World of Outlaws. As always thank you to each-and-every sponsor on this racecar. I couldn’t do it without them.”

Bob Cullen Racing pilot, Brian Shirley returned to action on Friday evening at Peoria Speedway (Peoria, Ill.) with the opening round of a scheduled doubleheader weekend with the MARS Super Late Models. In a field of 14 entries, Shirley’s heat race win positioned him second on the starting grid for the opening night feature.

Stealing the lead from polesitter Ryan Unzicker on the fifth circuit, Brian raced to his seventh win of the season and 20th career series victory. He finished ahead of Jason Feger, Unzicker, Rich Bell, and Todd Bennett to pocket $3,000.

Saturday’s $5,000-to-win finale at Peoria Speedway fell victim to Mother Nature.

For complete results, please visit www.MARSRacingSeries.com.

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