Late pass gives O’Neil second USMTS Nordic Nationals title

DECORAH, Iowa (May 29)—A winner in 2019 when the 1/4-mile dirt oval in Decorah was called the Upper Iowa Speedway, Jake O’Neil notched his second USMTS Nordic Nationals in three seasons at the Winneshiek Raceway.

The hard-earned win was his fourth of the 2022 campaign, and his 24th victory in Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt competition, breaking a tie with Al Hejna—also a two-time winner of this event—on the all-time wins list.

Starting at the tail of a stacked Simpson Performance Products Heat Race #1, O’Neil was only able to get to the fifth spot. That put him in the second Real Racing Wheels “B” Main which he promptly won to give himself the 14th starting spot in the 40-lap feature race.

Hoping to snap a winless drought dating back to Sept. 3, 2017, four-time USMTS National Champion Jason Hughes beat polesitter Darron Fuqua to the flagstand to lead the opening lap and then paced the next 16 circuits before Fuqua found a way around to lead lap 18.

A trio of cautions between laps 20 and 24 kept the field within striking distance for the final 16 laps, but it was the 30-year-old from Tucson, Ariz., battling his way to the front with points leader Dustin Sorensen, who started 15th, following O’Neil to the front.

Continuing to charge toward his career-first USMTS triumph, Fuqua pace laps 18-35 before bobbling in turn 4 and handing the lead over to Tanner Mullens on lap 36.

O’Neil followed into second place and Mullens mirrored Fuqua’s error, handing the lead over to O’Neil who cruised the final three laps to his fourth win of the season and another $10,000 payday.

A half-inch of rain earlier in the day forced officials to spend the day getting the facility in tip-top racing condition. The track’s general manager, Chuck Ihde, performed some magical dirt work during intermission and delivered a super surface to the drivers and fans for the 40-lap main event.

Mullens held off Fuqua for second while Sorensen snuck into fourth place late in the race. Jake Timm finished fifth with Dereck Ramirez, Lucas Schott, 24th-starting Cayden Carter, Dan Ebert and 20th-starting Lance Mari rounded out the top 10.

O’Neil’s final margin of victory was 1.127 seconds in the 20-minute affair.

Three down, one to go: The four-night Memorial Day Weekend wraps up Monday at the Mason City Motor Speedway in Mason City, Iowa, with a huge field featuring the Best of the Best expected to be on hand for a Memorial Day spectacular.

The 8th Annual USMTS Double Down Showdown will also see Medieval USRA Stock Cars, USRA B-Mods and USRA Hobby Stocks joining the card.

Ryan Ruter won the first USMTS event in Mason City on June 24, 2009. Mike Steensma, Kelly Shryock and Jason Hughes also won on the half-mile oval previously called I–35 Speedway.

Rodney Sanders and Cade Dillard picked up wins in 2016 while Ryan Gustin won twice on Aug. 13, 2017, in a regularly-scheduled show and another which was postponed from June 11. He remains the only two-time winner here.

Since then, Terry Phillips has joined Dereck Ramirez, Tanner Mullens and Lucas Schott as USMTS winners on the current 1/3-mile action track at the North Iowa Fairgrounds. Ramirez and Mullens both have two wins here, along with Gustin.

The pits will open at 3 p.m., grandstands open at 4, hot laps begin at 6 with USMTS qualifying at 6:30 and racing to follow.

The Mason City Motor Speedway is located just off I-35 at exit 194, then 5.1 miles east on SR 122, then left on 4th St. SW (at the North Iowa Events Center). For more information call (515) 832-6000 and check out MasonCityMotorSpeedway.com. Get social with us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

For times, tickets and all the information you need, read all about it at usmts.com/memorialday2022.

If you can’t be there in person, witness all the action from anywhere with your RacinDirt subscription. In addition to RacinDirt, you can access exclusive content on your desktop and laptop computers, as well as a suite of apps for added convenience including Roku, Amazon Fire, iOS, Apple TVGoogle Play.

Visit usmts.com for schedules, points, photos, souvenirs, videos and more. Follow our social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Click here to get USMTS news delivered to your inbox.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt
15th Annual USMTS Nordic Nationals
Winneshiek Raceway, Decorah, Iowa
Sunday, May 29, 2022


Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver and hometown. Heat race lineups are determined via group qualifying. The top 12 in heat race passing points advance to the Summit Racing Equipment “A” Main.

SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (2) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
2. (1) 55H A.J. Hoff, Mantorville, Minn.
3. (3) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
4. (5) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
5. (6) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
6. (4) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
7. (8) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
8. (9) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
9. (7) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (4) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
2. (2) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
3. (3) 44S Shane DeVolder, Pacifica, Calif.
4. (5) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn.
5. (6) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
6. (1) 38T Dylan Thornton, Santa Maria, Calif.
7. (7) 56 Colton Horner, Houston, Texas
8. (8) 2G Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (3) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
2. (1) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
3. (4) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
4. (5) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn.
5. (7) 85 Jayson Good, Watertown, S.D.
6. (2) 50III Brandon Davis, Hayfield, Minn.
7. (6) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
8. (8) 17 Jon Plowman, Woodbine, Iowa

MSD PERFORMANCE HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (4) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
2. (2) 45 Chase Holland, Saucier, Miss.
3. (1) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
4. (3) 1M Curt Myers, Cameron, Wis.
5. (5) 77T Tripp Gaylord, Lakewood, Colo.
6. (7) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
7. (8) 11N Gene Nicholas, Lowell, Ark.
8. (6) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (1) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
2. (2) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn.
3. (4) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
4. (5) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
5. (9) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
6. (7) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
7. (11) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
8. (8) 56 Colton Horner, Houston, Texas
9. (3) 85 Jayson Good, Watertown, S.D.
10. (6) 50III Brandon Davis, Hayfield, Minn.
11. (10) 17 Jon Plowman, Woodbine, Iowa

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (3) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
2. (1) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn.
3. (2) 1M Curt Myers, Cameron, Wis.
4. (8) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
5. (5) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
6. (6) 38T Dylan Thornton, Santa Maria, Calif.
7. (9) 2G Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
8 17 Jon Plowman, Woodbine, Iowa
9. (7) 11N Gene Nicholas, Lowell, Ark.
10. (10) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.
11. (4) 77T Tripp Gaylord, Lakewood, Colo.

SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (14) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
2. (7) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
3. (1) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
4. (15) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn.
5. (8) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
6. (6) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
7. (19) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
8. (24) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
9. (3) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
10. (20) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
11. (10) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
12. (17) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
13. (16) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn.
14. (21) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
15. (23) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
16. (9) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
17. (25) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.
18. (4) 45 Chase Holland, Saucier, Miss.
19. (2) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
20. (11) 44S Shane DeVolder, Pacifica, Calif.
21. (13) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
22. (5) 55H A.J. Hoff, Mantorville, Minn.
23. (12) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
24. (22) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
25. (18) 1M Curt Myers, Cameron, Wis.

Lap Leaders: Hughes 1-17, Fuqua 18-35, Mullens 36-37, O’Neil 38-40.
Total Laps Led: Fuqua 18, Hughes 17, O’Neil 3, Mullens 2.
Margin of Victory: 1.127 seconds.
Time of Race: 20 minutes, 27.362 seconds (3 cautions).
Provisional Starters: Sanders, Carter.
Emergency Provisional: Clark.
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: O’Neil (started 14th, finished 1st).
Entries: 33.
Next Race: Monday, May 30, Mason City Motor Speedway, Mason City, Iowa.
Summit USMTS National Championship Points: TBD.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: TBD.
Miller Welders USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: TBD.
Compstar/JE Pistons USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: TBD.

Ramirez dominates USMTS at Deer Creek

SPRING VALLEY, Minn. (May 28)—Dereck Ramirez notched his first win of 2022 with the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt on Saturday night by leading every lap of the 19th Annual Southern MN Spring Challenge at the Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, Minn.

For the defending USMTS national champ from Woodward, Okla., it was an emotional post-race celebration following his first win since the passing of his father Leon Ramirez in February after a long, hard-fought battle with cancer.

“I still got my family and they all love me and I know that my dad is smiling down and he's happy,” Ramirez told RacinDirt’s Trenton Berry following the race.

Shortly thereafter, the USMTS announced that this year’s champ will earn the richest paycheck in series history as $100,000 is going to the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt points champion.

In addition, the USMTS will begin a new annual tradition of awarding a one-of-a-kind trophy to the USMTS National Champion which will be named the Leon Ramirez Trophy from now until the USMTS sees its final checkered flag.

It was a display of domination from the drop of the first green flag. Ramirez led every lap of his heat race, earned the Sybesma Graphics Pole Award and then led all 40 laps of the main event to pocket $10,000 and score his 20th career USMTS triumph.

Four-time USMTS National Champion Rodney Sanders chased Ramirez around the high-banked 3/8-mile clay oval for most of the race but settled for the runner-up paycheck at the finish. His last USMTS victory was at this event one year ago.

Points leader Dustin Sorensen registered a solid third-place finish with Jacob Bleess holding off Terry Phillips for fourth. The rest of the top 10 were Jake Timm, 18th-starting Zack VanderBeek, Dan Ebert, Jim Chisholm and Brandon Davis.

Two down, two to go: The Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt makes tracks to the reanimated Winneshiek Raceway in Decorah, Iowa, on Sunday. The four-night Memorial Day Weekend wraps up Monday at the Mason City Motor Speedway in Mason City, Iowa.

For times, tickets and all the information you need, read all about it at usmts.com/memorialday2022.

If you can’t be there in person, witness all the action from anywhere with your RacinDirt subscription. In addition to RacinDirt.TV, you can access exclusive content on your desktop and laptop computers, as well as a suite of apps for added convenience including Roku, Amazon Fire, iOS, Apple TVGoogle Play.

Visit usmts.com for schedules, points, photos, souvenirs, videos and more. Follow our social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Click here to get USMTS news delivered to your inbox.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt
19th Annual USMTS Southern MN Spring Challenge
Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, Minn.
Saturday, May 28, 2022


Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver and hometown. Heat race lineups are determined via group qualifying. The top 12 in heat race passing points advance to the Summit Racing Equipment “A” Main.

SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (3) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
2. (4) 90 Ryan Wetzstein, West Concord, Minn.
3. (2) 25C Cody Thompson, Sioux City, Iowa
4. (5) 24B Aaron Benson, Clear Lake, Iowa
5. (6) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
6. (1) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn.
7. (7) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
8. (9) 2G Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
9. (8) 1M Curt Myers, Cameron, Wis.

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (2) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
2. (3) 0 Jake O’Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
3. (4) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis.
4. (5) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
5. (1) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
6. (6) 95 Keith Foss, Winona, Minn.
7. (7) 38T Dylan Thornton, Santa Maria, Calif.
8. (8) 35JR Garitt Wytaske, Austin, Minn.
9. (9) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (2) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
2. (4) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn.
3. (1) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
4. (3) 44S Shane DeVolder, Pacifica, Calif.
5. (6) 28 Parker Hale, Grand Meadow, Minn.
6. (5) 56 Colton Horner, Houston, Texas
7. (7) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
8. (9) 10 Daniel Bargender, Menomonie, Wis.
9. (8) 30 Dalton Kirk, Edgerton, Kan.

MSD PERFORMANCE HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (3) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
2. (1) 77T Tripp Gaylord, Lakewood, Colo.
3. (2) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
4. (4) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
5. (6) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
6. (5) 45 Chase Holland, Saucier, Miss.
7. (9) 83 Kylie Kath, Claremont, Minn.
8. (8) 23K Darwin Karau, Kasson, Minn.
9. (7) 51W J.T. Wasmund, Pine Island, Minn.

VP RACING FUELS HEAT RACE #5 (8 laps):
1. (2) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
2. (4) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
3. (3) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
4. (6) 44 Adam Hensel, Baldwin, Wis.
5. (5) 4A Joel Alberts, Mantorville, Minn.
6. (8) 17 Jon Plowman, Woodbine, Iowa
7. (1) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
8. (7) 24 Charlie Steinberg, Kasson, Minn.

WRISCO HEAT RACE #6 (8 laps):
1. (1) 50III Brandon Davis, Hayfield, Minn.
2. (4) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
3. (2) 85 Jayson Good, Watertown, S.D.
4. (7) 96 Taton Hansen, Spicer, Minn.
5. (3) 55H A.J. Hoff, Mantorville, Minn.
6. (8) 65D Dustin Brown, Thornton, Iowa
7. (6) 11N Gene Nicholas, Lowell, Ark.
8. (5) 33 Joe Ludemann, Grand Meadow, Minn.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (2) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
2. (5) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
3. (4) 24B Aaron Benson, Clear Lake, Iowa
4. (1) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis.
5. (8) 95 Keith Foss, Winona, Minn.
6. (10) 38T Dylan Thornton, Santa Maria, Calif.
7. (3) 96 Taton Hansen, Spicer, Minn.
8. (13) 1M Curt Myers, Cameron, Wis.
9. (12) 23K Darwin Karau, Kasson, Minn.
10. (11) 2G Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
11. (14) 51W J.T. Wasmund, Pine Island, Minn.
12. (9) 83 Kylie Kath, Claremont, Minn.
13. (6) 55H A.J. Hoff, Mantorville, Minn.
14. (7) 17 Jon Plowman, Woodbine, Iowa

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (1) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
2. (3) 44 Adam Hensel, Baldwin, Wis.
3. (6) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
4. (4) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
5. (2) 85 Jayson Good, Watertown, S.D.
6. (11) 10 Daniel Bargender, Menomonie, Wis.
7. (10) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
8. (9) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
9. (8) 56 Colton Horner, Houston, Texas
10. (7) 65D Dustin Brown, Thornton, Iowa
11. (13) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.
12. (12) 24 Charlie Steinberg, Kasson, Minn.
13. (5) 28 Parker Hale, Grand Meadow, Minn.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #3 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (2) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
2. (3) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
3. (1) 25C Cody Thompson, Sioux City, Iowa
4. (9) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
5. (6) 4A Joel Alberts, Mantorville, Minn.
6. (4) 44S Shane DeVolder, Pacifica, Calif.
7. (8) 45 Chase Holland, Saucier, Miss.
8. (11) 35JR Garitt Wytaske, Austin, Minn.
9. (12) 33 Joe Ludemann, Grand Meadow, Minn.
10. (5) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
11. (10) 11N Gene Nicholas, Lowell, Ark.
12. (7) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn.
13. (13) 30 Dalton Kirk, Edgerton, Kan.

SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (1) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
2. (3) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
3. (6) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn.
4. (4) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
5. (8) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
6. (9) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
7. (18) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
8. (7) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
9. (2) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
10. (10) 50III Brandon Davis, Hayfield, Minn.
11. (16) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
12. (15) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
13. (13) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
14. (14) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
15. (12) 77T Tripp Gaylord, Lakewood, Colo.
16. (5) 90 Ryan Wetzstein, West Concord, Minn.
17. (23) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
18. (28) 44S Shane DeVolder, Pacifica, Calif.
19. (21) 25C Cody Thompson, Sioux City, Iowa
20. (24) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
21. (20) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
22. (22) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis.
23. (25) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
24. (30) 56 Colton Horner, Houston, Texas
25. (29) 85 Jayson Good, Watertown, S.D.
26. (17) 44 Adam Hensel, Baldwin, Wis.
27. (19) 24B Aaron Benson, Clear Lake, Iowa
28. (11) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
29. (26) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
30. (27) 38T Dylan Thornton, Santa Maria, Calif.

Lap Leader: Ramirez 1-40.
Total Laps Led: Ramirez 40.
Margin of Victory: 1.330 seconds.
Time of Race: 16 minutes, 28.783 seconds (1 caution).
Provisional Starters: Ahumada, Mari.
Emergency Provisionals: Thornton, DeVolder, Good, Horner.
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: VanderBeek (started 18th, finished 7th).
Entries: 52.
Next Race: Sunday, May 29, Winneshiek Raceway, Decorah, Iowa.
Summit USMTS National Championship Points: TBD.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: TBD.
Miller Welders USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: TBD.
Compstar/JE Pistons USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: TBD.

Contingency Awards:
American Racer – Hejna.
Beyea Custom Headers – Bleess.
BigDeal Car Care – Ramirez, K. Brown.
Bryke Racing – Gaylord.
BSB Manufacturing – Fuqua.
Champ Pans – Phillips.
Deatherage Opticians – Mullens.
Edelbrock – Chisholm.
Fast Shafts – Sanders.
FK Rod Ends – VanderBeek.
Hooker Harness – Carter.
Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – Thompson.
Keyser Manufacturing – Davis.
KS Engineering – Schott.
KSE Racing Products – Chisholm.
Mel Hambelton Ford Racing – Sanders.
Midwest Wrap Co. – Crapser.
MSD Performance – Phillips.
Penske Racing Shocks – Wolff.
PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain – Sanders.
QA1 – Sorensen.
RacerWebsite.com – Wolff.
Simpson Performance Products – Ramirez.
Summit Racing Equipment – Crapser, Hejna, Nicholas, Thompson.
Super Clean – Ramirez.
Swift Springs – R. Wetzstein, Ramirez, Chisholm.
Sybesma Graphics – Ramirez.
Tire Demon – Plowman.
VP Racing Fuels – Ramirez.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products – Hale.
Wilwood Disc Brakes – O’Neil.


Mari marvelous in first USMTS triumph at Chateau Speedway

LANSING, Minn. (May 27)—Lance Mari typically speaks softly but always carries a big right foot, and he laid to rest any doubters Friday night with his career-first USMTS victory at the Chateau Speedway in Lansing, Minn.

The 13th annual event presented by Zumbrota Ford once again produced a magical night of racing that kept the drivers on their toes while series and track officials continued to knead the racing surface after two days of persistent rain.

While it retained some “character,” the track was in the best shape of the night by the time the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt took to the 1/3-mile dirt oval for their 40-lap main event.

Lucas Schott and Jacob Bleess—both from nearby Chatfield, Minn.—shared the front row for the start of the race and it was Bleess gaining the advantage when the green flag dropped.

The third lap saw Tyler Wolff grab the lead but Bleess battled back to lead lap 4. They swapped the top spot two more times before Wolff took control with six laps in the books.

Two cautions in the first eight laps didn’t offer any help to Wolff’s pursuers as he drove off to a healthy advantage each time. The yellow flag waved for a third time, however, with 24 laps down and this time it was for Wolff.

The leader’s No. 4W ARMI machine slowly slid sideways at the top of the first turn and was finished off by a lapped car, forcing him out of the race and handing the reigns over to four-time USMTS National Champion Rodney Sanders.

Seeking his first win since May 29 last year at the Deer Creek Speedway, was up to the challenge and he pulled away from the field but Mari, who started 16th on the 27-car grid, looked high and low for a way around Sanders before sliding over the cushion atop turn 2 and relinquishing second to Tanner Mullens.

Mari eventually recaptured second from Mullens was Sanders was far ahead and looked to be on his way to ending his nearly year-long drought., but with four laps to go Sanders pulled to the top of the fourth turn to bring out the fourth and final caution, and ending his night less than a mile from paydirt.

Mari was the leader when the green flag returned and he was still the leader when the checkered flag waved moments later. For Mari, his first USMTS triumph was worth $10,000 and a well-deserved prize for perseverance.

He also earned the FK Rod Ends Hard Charger Award for passing 15 cars en route to his triumphant trip to the winner’s circle.

Mullens came from the 14th starting and held on for a second-place paycheck while 10th-sratring Dereck Ramirez finished third ahead of 17th-starting Jake Timm and 15th-starting Jason Hughes.

Not eligible for the hard charger award due to taking a provisional starting spot, Jake O'Neil steered his backup car to a sixth-place finish after starting 24th. Dan Ebert was seventh, Ryan Wetzstein—the only driver in the top 10 to start among the top 10—was eighth, Zack VanderBeek nabbed ninth and Terry Phillips rebounded from an early mishap to round out the top 10.

Points leader Dustin Sorensen came through a Real Racing Wheels “B” Main, started 19th and finished 11th.

One down, three to go: The Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., hosts the USMTS on Saturday before travelling to the reanimated Winneshiek Raceway in Decorah, Iowa, on Sunday. The four-night Memorial Day Weekend wraps up at the Mason City Motor Speedway in Mason City, Iowa, on Monday.

For times, tickets and all the information you need, read all about it at https://usmts.com/news/news_article.asp?NewsID=81219.

Visit usmts.com for schedules, points, photos, souvenirs, videos and more. Follow our social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Click here to get USMTS news delivered to your inbox.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt
13th Annual Event presented by Zumbrota Ford
Chateau Speedway, Lansing, Minn.
Friday, May 27, 2022


Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver and hometown. Heat race lineups are determined via group qualifying. The top 12 in heat race passing points advance to the Summit Racing Equipment “A” Main.

SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (1) 44S Shane DeVolder, Pacifica, Calif.
2. (2) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
3. (3) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
4. (5) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
5. (4) 35JR Garitt Wytaske, Austin, Minn.
6. (6) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
7. (8) 77T Tripp Gaylord, Lakewood, Colo.
8. (7) 96 Taton Hansen, Spicer, Minn.
9. (9) 2G Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (2) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
2. (1) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
3. (3) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
4. (4) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn.
5. (6) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
6. (9) 11N Gene Nicholas, Lowell, Ark.
7. (7) 83 Kylie Kath, Claremont, Minn.
8. (5) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
9. (8) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (1) 1M Curt Myers, Cameron, Wis.
2. (4) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
3. (3) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
4. (8) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
5. (6) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
6. (5) 56 Colton Horner, Houston, Texas
7. (7) 17 Jon Plowman, Woodbine, Iowa
8. (2) 38T Dylan Thornton, Santa Maria, Calif.

MSD PERFORMANCE HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (4) 90 Ryan Wetzstein, West Concord, Minn.
2. (2) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn.
3. (3) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
4. (5) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
5. (6) 85 Jayson Good, Watertown, S.D.
6. (1) 4A Joel Alberts, Mantorville, Minn.
7. (7) 30 Dalton Kirk, Edgerton, Kan.
DNS – Z29 A.J. Zvorak, Blooming Prairie, Minn.

VP RACING FUELS HEAT RACE #5 (8 laps):
1. (2) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
2. (4) 90X Steve Wetzstein, West Concord, Minn.
3. (1) 45 Chase Holland, Saucier, Miss.
4. (3) 23K Darwin Karau, Kasson, Minn.
5. (8) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
6. (5) 24 Charlie Steinberg, Kasson, Minn.
7. (6) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
8. (7) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (2) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
2. (1) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
3. (4) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
4. (3) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn.
5. (6) 85 Jayson Good, Watertown, S.D.
6. (5) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
7. (8) 56 Colton Horner, Houston, Texas
8. (12) 96 Taton Hansen, Spicer, Minn.
9. (11) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
10. (14) 2G Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
11. (7) 4A Joel Alberts, Mantorville, Minn.
12. (10) 83 Kylie Kath, Claremont, Minn.
13. (13) Z29 A.J. Zvorak, Blooming Prairie, Minn.
14. (9) 77T Tripp Gaylord, Lakewood, Colo.
DNS – 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (1) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
2. (5) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
3. (6) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
4. (4) 35JR Garitt Wytaske, Austin, Minn.
5. (2) 45 Chase Holland, Saucier, Miss.
6. (8) 30 Dalton Kirk, Edgerton, Kan.
7. (11) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.
8. (9) 17 Jon Plowman, Woodbine, Iowa
9. (10) 38T Dylan Thornton, Santa Maria, Calif.
10. (3) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
11. (7) 24 Charlie Steinberg, Kasson, Minn.
12. (12) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
DNS – 23K Darwin Karau, Kasson, Minn.
DNS – 11N Gene Nicholas, Lowell, Ark.
DNS – 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas

SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (16) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
2. (14) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
3. (10) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
4. (17) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
5. (15) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
6. (24) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
7. (11) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
8. (7) 90 Ryan Wetzstein, West Concord, Minn.
9. (23) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
10. (13) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
11. (19) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn.
12. (22) 45 Chase Holland, Saucier, Miss.
13. (12) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
14. (2) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
15. (27) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.
16. (8) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
17. (1) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
18. (6) 44S Shane DeVolder, Pacifica, Calif.
19. (26) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
20. (20) 35JR Garitt Wytaske, Austin, Minn.
21. (3) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
22. (9) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn.
23. (25) 38T Dylan Thornton, Santa Maria, Calif.
24. (5) 1M Curt Myers, Cameron, Wis.
25. (21) 85 Jayson Good, Watertown, S.D.
26. (18) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
27. (4) 90X Steve Wetzstein, West Concord, Minn.

Lap Leaders: Bleess 1-2, Wolff 3, Bleess 4-5, Wolff 6-24, Sanders 25-36, Mari 37-40.
Total Laps Led: Wolff 20, Sanders 12, Mari 4, Bleess 4.
Margin of Victory: 1.079 seconds.
Time of Race: 22 minutes, 46.166 seconds (4 cautions).
Provisional Starters: VanderBeek, O’Neil.
Emergency Provisionals: Brown, Clark.
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Mari (started 16th, finished 1st).
Entries: 42.
Next Race: Saturday, May 28, Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, Minn.
Summit USMTS National Championship Points: Sorensen 847, Mullens 800, VanderBeek 749, Hughes 738, Sanders 734, Timm 723, Ramirez 722, Schott 718, Phillips 713, Bleess 669.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: Carter 598, Thornton 554, Brown 546, DeVolder 525, Horner 502.
Miller Welders USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: MBCustoms 85, Mullens 73, Hughes 64, VanderBuilt 60, LG2 49.
Compstar/JE Pistons USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: Action 67, Stoen 60, Cornett 59, Hatfield 48, Mullins 47.


Sorensen triples up in USMTS Double Down Showdown

MASON CITY, Iowa (May 30)—The four-night Memorial Day Weekend for the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt wrapped up Monday at the Mason City Motor Speedway with points leader Dustin Sorensen dominating the 8th Annual Double Down Showdown.

The win, worth $5,000, was the third of the 2022 campaign for the 21-year-old top gun from Rochester, Minn., and ninth of his short career. That moved him into a tie with Brad Waits for 23rd on the all-time USMTS wins list.

After earning the Sybesma Graphics Pole Award, Sorensen set sail and let his followers battle back and forth for second-place money. A pair of early cautions and some late-race traffic issues allowed defending USMTS National Champion Dereck Ramirez to narrow the gap, but once in the clear Sorensen pulled away again to an eight-car-length victory.

Ramirez, who started ninth on the 23-car grid, settled for second with Zack VanderBeek, Cayden Carter and FK Rod Ends Hard Charger Award winner Tanner Mullens following him to the checkered flag.

Dan Ebert fought hard for a sixth-place paycheck, Rodney Sanders secured the seventh spot, Jake Timm took eighth, Jason Hughes nabbed ninth and Terry Phillips climbed six positions to round out the top 10.

Ramirez and Mullens are both two-time winners at the North Iowa Fairgrounds Action Track. With his effort, Sorensen joined Hughes, Sanders, Phillips and Lucas Schott with one win apiece.

No rest for the wicked: Three days from now on Thursday, June 2, the 3rd Annual Wehrs Machine Bullring Bash—twice voted as the USMTS Race of the Year—takes place at the Dallas County Speedway in Urbana, Mo., where the previous two feature races were decided in the final corner on the final lap.

The following night, drivers will cross the border into Kansas to hunt a top prize of $20,002 to win and a minimum $1,002 to start at the 6th Annual Grant Junghans Memorial on Friday, June 3, at the legendary Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City.

Back on the other side of the border, the tripleheader kickoff to an unbelievable month of June events concludes Saturday, June 4 with the inaugural Bushwhacker presented by RacinDirt at the all-new spectacular I-70 Speedway in Odessa, Mo.

If you can’t be there in person, witness all the action from anywhere on any device with your RacinDirt Pit Pass where you can watch live and access exclusive content on your desktop and laptop computers, as well as a suite of apps for added convenience including Roku, Amazon Fire, iOS, Apple TVGoogle Play.

Visit usmts.com for schedules, points, photos, souvenirs, videos and more. Follow our social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Click here to get USMTS news delivered to your inbox.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt
8th Annual Double Down Showdown
Mason City Motor Speedway, Mason City, Iowa
Monday, May 30, 2022


Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver and hometown. Heat race lineups are determined via group qualifying. The top 12 in heat race passing points advance to the Summit Racing Equipment “A” Main.

SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (1) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
2. (2) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
3. (4) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
4. (6) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
5. (3) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
6. (5) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
7. (8) 2G Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
8. (7) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
9. (9) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (2) 77T Tripp Gaylord, Lakewood, Colo.
2. (4) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn.
3. (3) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
4. (6) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
5. (5) 85 Jayson Good, Watertown, S.D.
6. (8) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
7. (7) 17 Jon Plowman, Woodbine, Iowa
8. (9) 57 Duke Erickson, Sioux Falls, S.D.
9. (1) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (1) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
2. (3) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
3. (5) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
4. (2) 45 Chase Holland, Saucier, Miss.
5. (4) 44S Shane DeVolder, Pacifica, Calif.
6. (6) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
7. (9) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
8. (8) 38T Dylan Thornton, Santa Maria, Calif.
9. (7) 56 Colton Horner, Houston, Texas
10. (10) 8L Lyle Sathoff, Sherburn, Minn.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (10 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (1) 44S Shane DeVolder, Pacifica, Calif.
2. (2) 85 Jayson Good, Watertown, S.D.
3. (3) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
4. (4) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
5. (6) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
6. (5) 17 Jon Plowman, Woodbine, Iowa
7. (7) 56 Colton Horner, Houston, Texas
DNS – 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (10 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (1) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
2. (2) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
3. (6) 38T Dylan Thornton, Santa Maria, Calif.
4. (4) 2G Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
5. (3) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
6. (8) 8L Lyle Sathoff, Sherburn, Minn.
7. (5) 57 Duke Erickson, Sioux Falls, S.D.
8. (7) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.

SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (1) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn.
2. (9) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
3. (2) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
4. (3) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
5. (13) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
6. (5) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
7. (8) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
8. (6) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
9. (7) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
10. (16) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
11. (18) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
12. (10) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
13. (12) 44S Shane DeVolder, Pacifica, Calif.
14. (4) 77T Tripp Gaylord, Lakewood, Colo.
15. (19) 2G Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
16. (15) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
17. (20) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
18. (23) 17 Jon Plowman, Woodbine, Iowa
19. (11) 45 Chase Holland, Saucier, Miss.
20. (14) 85 Jayson Good, Watertown, S.D.
21. (17) 38T Dylan Thornton, Santa Maria, Calif.
22. (22) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.
23. (21) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
DNS – 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.

Lap Leader: Sorensen 1-40.
Total Laps Led: Sorensen 40.
Margin of Victory: 1.514 seconds.
Time of Race: 19 minutes, 49.338 seconds (2 cautions).
Provisional Starters: Clark, Plowman.
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Mullens (started 13th, finished 5th).
Entries: 27.
Next Race: Thursday, June 2, Dallas County Speedway, Urbana, Mo.
Summit USMTS National Championship Points: TBD.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: TBD.
Miller Welders USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: TBD.
Compstar/JE Pistons USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: TBD.