Brian Shirley Banks $5,000 at Peoria Speedway

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeremy Shields (shields@msrmafia.com)
October 12, 2020

Brian Shirley Banks $5,000 at Peoria Speedway
Claims MARS Racing Series Championship

CHILTON, Wis. (10/12/20) – Brian Shirley put a wrap on the 2020 MARS Racing Series campaign over the weekend with a tripleheader in the Land of Lincoln.

It proved to be an exceptional weekend for the driver of the Bob Cullen Racing No. 3s Hoker Trucking/ Thomason Express/ J&J Ventures Gaming/ Rocket Chassis/ Durham Racing Engine Super Late Model.

After being sidelined for nearly a month following a string of bad luck, Brian Shirley returned to the driver’s seat Friday to kick off the MARS Racing Series Championship weekend.

A strong field of 42 entries converged at Peoria (Ill.) Speedway. Brian qualified third in his group and grabbed a heat race win to earn the second-starting position for the 40-lap feature.

In dominating fashion, Shirley took the lead at the drop of the green flag and never looked back. He cruised to the $5,000 victory over Brandon Sheppard, Dennis Erb Jr., Jason Feger, and Bobby Pierce.

“We had three weeks in a row where we unfortunately had some issues that took us out of racing for a couple weeks," Shirley said. "To sit at home and watch everybody is really tough and humbling. But me and (crew chief) Aaron (Mitchell) worked our butts off even through we weren’t at the the racetrack every weekend and made sure our cars were good.”

Saturday took the team to Fairbury (Ill.) Speedway for the annual FALS Frenzy. Shirley posted the fourth fastest time in his qualifying group and finished second in his heat race behind Myles Moos.

Starting the $15,000-to-win main event in seventh, Brian slipped to a ninth-place finish in the 50-lap affair.

LaSalle (Ill.) Speedway closed out the three-race weekend on Sunday. In a field of 29, Shirley set fast time in qualifying group and went on to a second-place finish in his heat race. He earned the fifth starting spot for the $10,000-to-win finale.

Shirley was in contention the entire 50-laps but would ultimately settle for third in the final rundown behind Brandon Sheppard and Chris Simpson. Josh Richards and Bobby Pierce rounded out the Top-5.
“We was definitely on Chris the whole time. We just needed a couple little breaks,” Shirley said. “Honestly, we’re just happy to put in a good solid night here. Last night was a little bummer not to run as good as we needed (he was ninth at Fairbury).”

While Sunday’s program was dubbed the “Season Finale,” Saturday’s race was the final points event for the MARS Racing Series 2020 campaign. Shirley nipped Frank Heckenast Jr. by seven points to claim the series title.

To learn more about these events, please visit www.MARSRacingSeries.com.

The team is currently undecided on their plans for the upcoming weekend. Keep your browsers pointed to www.BobCullenRacing.com for the latest updates.

Brian Shirley and Bob Cullen Racing would like to thank all of their marketing partners which include: Hoker Trucking, Thomason Express, J&J Ventures Gaming, Kid’s Castle Learning Center, KBC Graphix, Cheap Cars, Bass Livestock Nutrition, Allgaier Motorsports, Integra Shocks, East Central Coin, Cheers, Cen-Pe-Co Racing Oil, Durham Racing Engines, Rocket Chassis, Jayco Construction, Larry’s Distributing, Hope For A Cure, Midwest Sheet Metal, Ted Brown’s Quality Paint & Body Shop, Peterson Fluid Systems, Hooker Harness, Willy’s Carburetor, Fast Shafts, Keyser Manufacturing, Dyers Top Rods, Wehrs Machine, Sweet Manufacturing, Swift Springs, Allstar Performance, The Joie of Seating, Simpson, Hoosier Racing Tire, Quarter Master, Wilwood Disc Brakes, KKM, Speedwerx, Daugherty Motorsports, Multi Fire, Strange Oval, FK Rod Ends, and MSR Mafia Marketing Services.

For the latest team news and updates on Bob Cullen Racing, please visit www.BobCullenRacing.com.