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9/18/2022
Brian Shirley
Brian Shirley lands Top-10 finish in Knoxville Nationals opener
Returning to action on Tuesday afternoon, Brian Shirley and the Bob Cullen Racing team invaded Fairbury Speedway (Fairbury, Ill.) for the sixth round of the Castrol FloRacing Night in America. (Heath Lawson photos)
With 42 Late Models entered for the third annual One for the Road, Shirley got behind the eight ball in time trials that buried him in his heat race. Following an eighth-place finish in his heat, Brian passed four cars in his B-Main but missed a transfer spot into the $22,022-to-win A-Main.
On Thursday, Brian joined the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) at Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, Iowa) as the 18th annual Knoxville Nationals weekend kicked off with a $7,000-to-win prelim. With a third-place finish in his heat race pinning him on the eighth row for the feature, Shirley advanced forward eight spots in the 25-lapper to register a ninth-place finish.
For another round of prelims on Friday, Shirley edged his way into the A-Main with the fourth-and-final transfer spot in his heat. With $7,000 on the line, Brian jumped up four positions to finish 11th.
Locked into the 20th-starting position for Sunday’s rain-delayed $50,000-to-win Knoxville Nationals finale via passing points from Thursday and Friday’s prelims, Brian Shirley advanced through the field eight spots in the 50-lap affair to place 12th.