POWRi Series Team News - Tyler Shoemaker To Open Midget Season At Macon

MACON, May 12, 2011: Tyler Shoemaker and the Ballinger Racing team will travel to Macon (Ill.) Speedway to kick off their 2011 POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series season this Saturday, May 14th.

The 26-year-old Bloomington, native will be piloting the No. 12 Mopar-powered Spike Midget entry for Dale Ballinger for the fourth consecutive season.

“It’s been a long off-season for us,” said Shoemaker. I’m really looking forward to getting back in the seat. I love coming to Macon. It’s such a neat little joint and perfect for these cars. This will be the first night out with this race car so we are looking forward to bringing home a strong finish.”

Shoemaker’s last start at Macon Speedway resulted in a 22nd place finish thanks to ignition failure in the A-Main in July of 2010. “We have some good notes from last year,” Shoemaker added. “We obviously didn’t get the finish we wanted last time we were there, but I’m happy with the progress that we made. We will have a little more power under the hood with the Mopar, which will help early on in the night.”

Shoemaker started his driving career at the age of seven. The Ballinger Racing “hot shoe” has raced everything from a quarter midgets to 800HP sprint cars. A former quarterback at the University of Dubuque, Shoemaker won the UMARA Dirt Sprint Car Championship in 2005.

Macon Speedway gates open at 3:00 p.m. Hot laps begin at 6:00 p.m., with racing starting at 7:00 p.m. The Speedway is located nine miles south of Decatur, Illinois on US 5, .6 miles west on Andrews Street, and south on Wiles Street. For ticket information, call the track at 217.764. 3000 or 217.764.3220. Additional information can be obtained at powri.com or maconracing.com for more information.