Ryan Unzicker is forced to call an audible this Castrol Gateway Dirt Nationals inside The Dome at America’s Center. 

Changing valve springs on the engine under the hood of his No. 24 MB Custom Race Car prior to Thursday's prelim night, the 43-year-old found damage inside his powerplant that can't be replaced on the spot. With the graciousness of event promoter Cody Sommer, that predicament has prompted the El Paso, Ill., veteran to switch his prelim night from Thursday to Friday as he awaits a backup engine en route to the Downtown St. Louis temporary fifth-mile oval.

“Pro Power (Racing Engines) wanted to change valve springs before we went out there just because of the track being a little rough and having a little character," Unzicker started. "We wanted to have the best shot we could. We were getting ready to change the valve springs and we noticed the lifter had broke and hurt the cam. I wanted to take it down to seven cylinders to eliminate that cylinder, but Pro Power said there’s no way to do that. He advised me not to run it or I’d end up breaking it, or hurting it worse than it is. Made the tough call to pull it out.”

Unzicker, who hasn't missed a Gateway Dirt Nationals since the indoor spectacle's inception in 2016, wasn't going to let his Dome streak end at seven years in a row, so he purchased a powerplant from fellow Illinois racer Bob Gardner at around 2 p.m. CT on Thursday. Gardner's shop located in East Peoria is roughly two-and-a-half hours from The Dome, so the emergency powerplant being delivered by one of Gardner's friends will arrive sometime Thursday evening with plenty of time for Unzicker's crew to prepare for Friday's action.

The nine-time Late Model winner this year wanted to pad his checkbook this week rather than use it, calling the purchase of the emergency engine as “another tough call."

“I really don’t know if I wanted to spend that kind of money, but I have good people behind me," Unzicker said. "Good thing for some friends so we can try to make some more money tomorrow."

Unzicker has a strong track record at The Dome, qualifying for five of seven Saturday night finales, which ties him for eighth-most all-time in Gateway Dirt Nationals main event appearances. Unzicker also be sure to mention that "nobody was baffled about it" when Sommer granted his request to change prelim nights from Thursday to Friday.

"We’re switched to Friday now, which is good, right?" said Unzicker, who has a best finish of fifth at The Dome finale in 2018. "We’re here and put a lot of effort and energy into getting here. I would think I would be OK with it if any other competitor did the switch. We’re here to put on a show. It’s more of a show than a race sometimes. Just wanna put on a good show for the fans.”