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The best racing surface and best battles of the weekend highlighted the finale of the 10th Annual USMTS North Iowa Nationals presented by Christie Door Store on Saturday while the spotlight was on Dereck Ramirez as he scored his first victory of the season with the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt.
The Pritchard Family Auto Stores Mason City Motor Speedway provided three or four nearly equal lanes for the best of the best in dirt modified racing to give the fans at North Iowa’s Action Track a thrilling prelude to the 25th Anniversary USMTS Silver Jubilee here, August 16-19.
Tanner Mullens picked up the Sybesma Graphics Pole Award, but Ramirez was just fine when the final chip left in the bag was the No. 4.
“I’m totally fine with that,” Ramirez said after learning he’s start the 50-lap main event from the outside of the second row. “I think about seventy-five percent of my wins have come from the fourth spot, so I have no problem with that.”
He did have a problem with Mullens early on in the feature race, however, as Mullens scooted out to a big lead out of the gate using the middle groove around the smooth and speedy 1/3-mile clay oval.
After the first caution of the race occurred on lap 14, Ramirez shot to the high side and overpowered Carlos Ahumada Jr. for second place. Mullens got the same treatment just four laps later.
The yellow flag waved two more times—the first on lap 33 when fourth-running Kyle Brown suffered a flat tire and again on lap 37 when Gary Christian and Dylan Thornton came together in turn four and ended their top-ten efforts.
Mullens and Ahumada both made a charge at Ramirez on each restart, but the 2021 USMTS National Champion just got faster and faster on long runs and beat Mullens to the finish line by about four car-lengths.
“I tried to give her away there with three or four to go,” Ramirez revealed as confetti covered his racing suit in victory lane. “I was getting free going into (turn) one there and I knew I needed to move up and come back down the racetrack. I got in there a little hot and pushed and I thought ‘Well I’m just going to give it to whoever is behind me.’
That was not the case. Ramirez led the final 33 laps with flawless navigation around the high side and tip-toeing through lapped traffic which was thick at times.
The 26th USMTS win of his career was worth $10,000 to the 36-year-old from Woodward, Oklahoma. It was his first since last October at the Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, where the series will visit in two weeks.
“It’s been a trying year,” he said. “This deal is tough now, everybody’s so close together and it’s just hard to make anything work. My two guys, Steve and Marco, they work their tails off. They never give up on me and I can’t thank them enough for what they do.”
Behind Ramirez, Mullens crossed beneath the checkered flags in second place with eighth-starting Jason Hughes filling the final step on the podium.
Ahumada wound up fourth while Jake Timm, who won two out of three features last weekend at the Ogilvie Raceway, came from 19th to finish fifth and collect the FK Rod Ends Hard Charger Award.
After starting 18th, Jim Chisholm found his way to a sixth-place finish ahead of Tim Ward, 23rd-starting Zack VanderBeek, 22nd-starting Rodney Sanders and Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year contender Will Krup.
Tripleheader at trio of tracks on tap: The next installment of scorched dirt happens Thursday, Friday and Saturday, August 3-5, with a tripleheader at three state-of-the-art facilities in Kansas and Missouri.
On Thursday, August 3, the series returns to the I-70 speedway in Odessa. Missouri, for the 2nd Annual USMTS Bushwhacker at the famed half-mile speedplant. Last year, Sanders won by a nose to snap a lengthy winless streak, but this time he rolls into town as the series points leader with a $5,000 top prize on the line. Check out the Fast Facts.
The 7th Annual USMTS Grant Junghans Memorial presented by Shop Quik takes place the following night on Friday, August 4, at the legendary Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. The one-day blockbuster will see the winner walk away with $12,002 and every starter gets no less than $1,302. Check out the Fast Facts.
Saturday, August 5, brings the USMTS back to the Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri, for the $10,000-to-win 13th Annual USMTS Slick-Mist Show-Me Shootout presented by Foley Equipment as Ramirez returns to try for his fourth straight victory at the “Diamond of Dirt Tracks.” Check out the Fast Facts.
For its Silver Anniversary season, the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt currently features 45 nights of racing at 15 of America's premier dirt track racing venues in nine states. The winners of those events are set to earn more than $300,000 with nearly $2 million in purses and prize money earmarked for the 2023 campaign.
Watch every USMTS event online live and on-demand from anywhere on any device with RacinDirt.
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.
= = = = = = = = = = = =
OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt
10th Annual USMTS North Iowa Nationals presented by Christie Door Store – Night 3 of 3
Pritchard Family Auto Stores Mason City Motor Speedway, Mason City, Iowa
Saturday, July 22, 2023
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 RACE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (10 laps):
1. (2) 4TW Tim Ward, Harcourt, Iowa
2. (3) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
3. (6) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
4. (5) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
5. (7) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
6. (4) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
7. (1) R Ron Ver Beek, Oskaloosa, Iowa
8. (8) 23 Darwin Karau, Kasson, Minn.
9. (9) 5D Devon Havlik, Waterloo, Iowa
10. (10) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (10 laps):
1. (2) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
2. (1) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
3. (3) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
4. (4) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
5. (6) K9 Will Krup, Mt. Carmel, Ill.
6. (5) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
7. (7) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
8. (8) 17 Jon Plowman, Woodbine, Iowa
9. (9) 65D Dustin Brown, Clear Lake, Iowa
10. (10) 11X Tom Berry Jr., Des Moines, Iowa
EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (10 laps):
1. (3) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.
2. (4) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
3. (2) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
4. (1) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
5. (6) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
6. (7) 96 Taton Hansen, Spicer, Minn.
7. (5) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
8. (8) 29D Brad Dierks, Clarence, Iowa
9. (9) 16B Randy Brown, Chowchilla, Calif.
WIELAND HEAT RACE #4 (10 laps):
1. (1) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa
2. (2) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn.
3. (4) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
4. (5) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
5. (6) 38T Dylan Thornton, Orcutt, Calif.
6. (3) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
7. (7) 71M Chad Melton, Mineral Wells, Texas
8. (9) 96T R.C. Whitwell, Tucson, Ariz.
9. (8) 1G Pat Graham, Ankeny, Iowa
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (1) K9 Will Krup, Mt. Carmel, Ill.
2. (2) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
3. (3) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
4. (4) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
5. (6) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
6. (8) R Ron Ver Beek, Oskaloosa, Iowa
7. (7) 71M Chad Melton, Mineral Wells, Texas
8. (5) 96 Taton Hansen, Spicer, Minn.
9. (9) 17 Jon Plowman, Woodbine, Iowa
10. (11) 16B Randy Brown, Chowchilla, Calif.
11. (12) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
12. (10) 5D Devon Havlik, Waterloo, Iowa
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (1) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
2. (2) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
3. (3) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
4. (4) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
5. (5) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
6. (6) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
7. (10) 65D Dustin Brown, Clear Lake, Iowa
8. (9) 29D Brad Dierks, Clarence, Iowa
9. (7) 96T R.C. Whitwell, Tucson, Ariz.
10. (11) 1G Pat Graham, Ankeny, Iowa
11. (8) 23 Darwin Karau, Kasson, Minn.
DNS – 11X Tom Berry Jr., Des Moines, Iowa
SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT “A” MAIN (50 laps):
1. (4) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
2. (1) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
3. (8) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
4. (2) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
5. (19) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
6. (18) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
7. (6) 4TW Tim Ward, Harcourt, Iowa
8. (23) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
9. (22) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
10. (15) K9 Will Krup, Mt. Carmel, Ill.
11. (10) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn.
12. (17) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
13. (3) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.
14. (21) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
15. (16) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
16. (9) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
17. (12) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
18. (24) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
19. (7) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa
20. (13) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
21. (11) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
22. (25) 96 Taton Hansen, Spicer, Minn.
23. (14) 38T Dylan Thornton, Orcutt, Calif.
24. (5) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
25. (20) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
Lap Leaders: Mullens 1-17, Ramirez 18-50.
Total Laps Led: Ramirez 33, Mullens 17.
Margin of Victory: 0.848 second.
Time of Race: 25 minutes, 33.427 seconds (3 cautions).
Provisional Starters: VanderBeek, Givens.
Emergency Provisional: Hansen.
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Timm (started 19th, finished 5th).
Entries: 38.
Next Race: Thursday, Aug. 3, I-70 Speedway, Odessa, Mo.
Summit USMTS National Championship Points: TBD.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: TBD.
FK Rod Ends USMTS Hard Charger Points: TBD.
Miller Welders USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: TBD.
Callies/JE Pistons USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: TBD.
Phillips masters Mason City for 40th USMTS triumph
The best of the best battled for a second night on Friday as the Pritchard Family Auto Stores Mason City Motor Speedway hosted round two of the 10th Annual USMTS North Iowa Nationals presented by Christie Door Store.
After nabbing the Sybesma Pole Award, Terry Phillips set a torrid pace early on as North Iowa’s Action Track provided a completely different racetrack than 24 hours earlier.
Four cautions slowed the action throughout the 40-lap main event, and several attackers took a shot at the 57-year-old superstar from Springfield, Mo., but Phillips never faltered and led the whole way for his second win of 2023 and 40th of his USMTS career.
“We got lucky in that heat race there on the front, and I knew the car has been good, but I’ve been getting a lot of calls asking what's wrong and it’s just kind of circumstances I guess,” Philips said in victory lane. “It felt good though. Tommy Boy (Tony Rogers) got us dialed in tonight.
“I’m already worried about tomorrow, but it feels good. We have fought and worked our butts off.”
The last and only win in Mason City happened on Aug. 12, 2018, for the son of NASCAR hall-of-famer Larry Phillips when the track was a classic fairgrounds-style big, fast half-mile oval.
Friday’s triumph was worth $5,000 while Sanders rebounded from a rough night Thursday to grab the runner-up spot and extend his points lead after 26 events.
Jake O'Neil bested Jeremy Nelson for third after those two battled hard can clean most of the race, and last night’s winner, Jim Chisholm, roared from 18th to fifth at the checkered flag to earn the FK Rod Ends Hard Charger Award.
Also passing 13 competitors from his place on the starting grid, Tyler Wolff clawed his way to a sixth-place finish while Cayden Carter, 16th-starting Tanner Mullens, Jason Hughes and Dereck Ramirez rounded out the top 10.
Return of The King: Nine-time USMTS National Champion Kelly Shryock of Fertile, Iowa, finished 14th as he was seeking back-to-back wins, so to speak.
His last win came on Nov. 8, 2014, when he won the finale of the USMTS Winter Nationals at the Ark-La-Tex Speedway in Vivian, La.—his last start with the series before Saturday.
In 1999 when he won his first USMTS title during the debut season for Todd and Janet Staley’s fledgling series, Shryock didn’t win a points race. His only win came on Oct. 7 that year during the inaugural Featherlite Fall Jamboree, which was a non-points race at the time.
There were 18 races that season, and he didn't win his first points race until midway through the third season on June 7, 2001, at the North Fork Speedway in Oronogo, Mo., en route to his third straight USMTS crown.
With 182 career victories, Shryock leads all drivers in titles and wins, and is currently the only driver inducted into the USMTS Hall of Fame—that part will change next month at the 25th Anniversary USMTS Silver Jubilee right here in Mason City when several others will join him.
Two down, one to go: The throttle-smashing USMTS maniacs return for a third day Saturday for championship night at the 10th Annual North Iowa Nationals. The winner will take home a cool $10,000 plus contingencies in the prelude to the 25th Anniversary USMTS Silver Jubilee here Aug. 16-19.
Saturday’s show will also feature the mud-slinging WINS Sprint Car Series racing for $1,200 to win and another night of wild ‘n’ wacky school bus races.
The pits open at 4 p.m. and grandstand gates swing open at 5. Following the drivers meeting at 6:15, hot laps and qualifying begins at 6:30 with racing following the National Anthem around 7. All times are Central Standard Time.
The Mason City Motor Speedway is a 1/3-mile clay oval located 5.1 miles east of I-35 at exit 194 on SR 122 (at the North Iowa Fairgrounds). For more information, call (515) 832-6000 or check out MasonCityMotorSpeedway.com. You can also follow MCMS on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
For its Silver Anniversary season, the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt currently features 45 nights of racing at 15 of America's premier dirt track racing venues in nine states. The winners of those events are set to earn more than $300,000 with nearly $2 million in purses and prize money earmarked for the 2023 campaign.
Watch every USMTS event online live and on-demand from anywhere on any device with RacinDirt.
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.
= = = = = = = = = = = =
OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt
10th Annual USMTS North Iowa Nationals presented by Christie Door Store – Night 2 of 3
Pritchard Family Auto Stores Mason City Motor Speedway, Mason City, Iowa
Friday, July 21, 2023
Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver and hometown. Heat race lineups are determined via group qualifying. The top 14 in heat race passing points advance to the Summit Racing Equipment “A” Main.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (10 laps):
1. (2) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
2. (4) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
3. (6) K9 Will Krup, Mt. Carmel, Ill.
4. (5) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
5. (1) R Ron Ver Beek, Oskaloosa, Iowa
6. (8) 65D Dustin Brown, Clear Lake, Iowa
7. (3) 71M Chad Melton, Mineral Wells, Texas
8. (7) 17 Jon Plowman, Woodbine, Iowa
9. (9) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (10 laps):
1. (2) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn.
2. (4) 11X Tom Berry Jr., Des Moines, Iowa
3. (6) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa
4. (1) 5D Devon Havlik, Waterloo, Iowa
5. (5) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
6. (3) 55H A.J. Hoff, Mantorville, Minn.
7. (7) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
8. (8) 96T R.C. Whitwell, Tucson, Ariz.
DNS – 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (10 laps):
1. (1) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.
2. (2) 23 Darwin Karau, Kasson, Minn.
3. (4) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
4. (3) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
5. (6) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
6. (5) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
7. (7) 96 Taton Hansen, Spicer, Minn.
8. (8) 16B Randy Brown, Chowchilla, Calif.
WIELAND HEAT RACE #4 (10 laps):
1. (2) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
2. (1) 24 Aaron Benson, Clear Lake, Iowa
3. (3) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
4. (4) 4TW Tim Ward, Harcourt, Iowa
5. (5) 38T Dylan Thornton, Orcutt, Calif.
6. (7) 1G Pat Graham, Ankeny, Iowa
7. (6) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
8. (8) 60X Tyler Wirtjes, Mason City, Iowa
VP RACING HEAT RACE #5 (10 laps):
1. (2) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
2. (1) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
3. (3) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
4. (4) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
5. (6) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
6. (8) 25 Joe Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
7. (7) 29D Brad Dierks, Clarence, Iowa
8. (5) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (2) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
2. (1) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
3. (3) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
4. (6) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
5. (5) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
6. (4) 4TW Tim Ward, Harcourt, Iowa
7. (9) 55H A.J. Hoff, Mantorville, Minn.
8. (10) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
9. (7) 65D Dustin Brown, Clear Lake, Iowa
10. (11) 29D Brad Dierks, Clarence, Iowa
11. (13) 60X Tyler Wirtjes, Mason City, Iowa
12. (12) 96T R.C. Whitwell, Tucson, Ariz.
13. (8) R Ron Ver Beek, Oskaloosa, Iowa
14. (14) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (1) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
2. (5) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
3. (2) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
4. (7) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
5. (10) 96 Taton Hansen, Spicer, Minn.
6. (11) 71M Chad Melton, Mineral Wells, Texas
7. (9) 1G Pat Graham, Ankeny, Iowa
8. (12) 16B Randy Brown, Chowchilla, Calif.
9. (13) 17 Jon Plowman, Woodbine, Iowa
10. (3) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
11. (4) 38T Dylan Thornton, Orcutt, Calif.
12. (14) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
13. (8) 25 Joe Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
14. (6) 5D Devon Havlik, Waterloo, Iowa
SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (1) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
2. (3) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
3. (5) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
4. (2) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn.
5. (18) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
6. (19) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
7. (10) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
8. (16) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
9. (14) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
10. (15) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
11. (8) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
12. (6) K9 Will Krup, Mt. Carmel, Ill.
13. (13) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
14. (7) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa
15. (21) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
16. (22) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
17. (12) 24 Aaron Benson, Clear Lake, Iowa
18. (4) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.
19. (26) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
20. (11) 23 Darwin Karau, Kasson, Minn.
21. (25) 38T Dylan Thornton, Orcutt, Calif.
22. (24) 96 Taton Hansen, Spicer, Minn.
23. (23) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
24. (17) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
25. (9) 11X Tom Berry Jr., Des Moines, Iowa
26. (20) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
Lap Leader: Phillips 1-40.
Total Laps Led: Phillips 40.
Margin of Victory: 0.716 second.
Time of Race: 19 minutes, 16.446 seconds (4 cautions).
Provisional Starters: Thornton, Hejna.
Emergency Provisionals: none.
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Jim Chisholm (started 18th, finished 5th).
Entries: 37.
Next Race: Saturday, July 22, Pritchard Family Auto Stores Mason City Motor Speedway, Mason City, Iowa.
Summit USMTS National Championship Points: Sanders 2079, Hughes 1986, Chisholm 1969, O'Neil 1944, Ramirez 1884, Ebert 1864, Mullens 1864, Berry 1825, Wolff 1817, Carter 1805.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: Berry 1769, Krup 1645, Nelson 1502, Christian 1276, Lavasseur 1229.
FK Rod Ends USMTS Hard Charger Points: Chisholm 116, O'Neil 97, Sanders 93, Hughes 76, Givens 64.
Miller Welders USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: MBCustoms 177, Mullens 163, Hughes 157, VanderBuilt 128, Skyrocket 122.
Callies/JE Pistons USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 192, Cornett 179, Stoen 170, Hatfield 162, KSE 148.
Chisholm cashes in on Thornton’s heartbreak at Mason City
The Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt kicked off the three-day 10th Annual USMTS North Iowa Nationals presented by Christie Door Store on Thursday at the Pritchard Family Auto Stores Mason City Motor Speedway.
In a prelude to the 25th Anniversary USMTS Silver Jubilee here Aug. 16-19, Dylan Thornton looked to be on his way to his career-first USMTS triumph after leading the first 30 laps of the main event at North Iowa’s Action Track.
A flat tire with five laps to go doomed the young gun’s dreams while eighth-starting Jim Chisholm of Osage, Iowa, picked up the pieces and sped to his fifth USMTS win of his short career.
After Thornton’s blow out, 2021 USMTS National Champion Dereck Ramirez assumed the lead but Chisholm was far too strong and pulled away over to a margin of victory of more than two seconds during the final four circuits.
Behind Ramirez, four-time USMTS titlist Jason Hughes grabbed the third-place paycheck while Alex Williamson and Tim Ward completed the top five.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year points leader Tom Berry Jr.. was sixth, followed by Al Hejna, Gary Christian, Jake O'Neil and 18th-starting Cayden Carter.
The FK Rod Ends Hard Charger Award went to Aaron Benson who started 22nd and finished 12th.
One down, two to go: Another 48 hours of action-packed dirt-flavored adrenaline remain on Friday and Saturday. The feature win on Friday will be worth $5,000 and Saturday’s USMTS North Iowa Nationals champion will take home a cool $10,000 for his or her efforts.
The next two shows will feature the mud-slinging WINS Sprint Car Series racing for $700 to win Friday and $1,200 to win Saturday. On top of that, fans will witness school bus races on both nights.
The pit gates opens at 4 p.m., grandstands open at 5 each day. Following the drivers meeting at 6:15, hot laps and qualifying begins at 6:30 with racing to follow around 7:10. All times are Central Standard Time. Youth ages 17 and under must have signed Minor Release to enter the pits.
The Mason City Motor Speedway is a 1/3-mile clay oval located 5.1 miles east of I-35 at exit 194 on SR 122 (at the North Iowa Fairgrounds). For more information, call (515) 832-6000 or check out MasonCityMotorSpeedway.com. You can also follow MCMS on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
For its Silver Anniversary season, the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt currently features 45 nights of racing at 15 of America's premier dirt track racing venues in nine states. The winners of those events are set to earn more than $300,000 with nearly $2 million in purses and prize money earmarked for the 2023 campaign.
Watch every USMTS event online live and on-demand from anywhere on any device with RacinDirt.
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.
= = = = = = = = = = = =
OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt
10th Annual USMTS North Iowa Nationals presented by Christie Door Store – Night 1 of 3
Pritchard Family Auto Stores Mason City Motor Speedway in Mason City, Iowa
Thursday, July 20, 2023
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 RACE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (10 laps):
1. (3) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
2. (6) 11X Tom Berry Jr.., Des Moines, Iowa
3. (5) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
4. (2) K9 Will Krup, Mt. Carmel, Ill.
5. (1) 65D Dustin Brown, Clear Lake, Iowa
6. (7) 24 Aaron Benson, Clear Lake, Iowa
7. (4) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
8. (8) 71M Chad Melton, Mineral Wells, Texas
9. (9) 55 Casey Schlichting, Clear Lake, Iowa
DNS – 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (10 laps):
1. (2) 38T Dylan Thornton, Orcutt, Calif.
2. (1) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
3. (5) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
4. (3) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
5. (6) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
6. (4) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn.
7. (8) R Ron Ver Beek, Oskaloosa, Iowa
8. (9) 17L Lee Beemer, Fairmont, Minn.
9. (7) 5D Devon Havlik, Waterloo, Iowa
EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (10 laps):
1. (1) 4TW Tim Ward, Harcourt, Iowa
2. (3) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
3. (4) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
4. (5) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
5. (6) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
6. (2) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.
7. (7) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
8. (9) 16B Randy Brown, Chowchilla, Calif.
9. (8) 23 Darwin Karau, Kasson, Minn.
WIELAND HEAT RACE #4 (10 laps):
1. (2) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
2. (1) 96 Taton Hansen, Spicer, Minn.
3. (7) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
4. (3) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
5. (4) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
6. (6) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
7. (8) 17 Jon Plowman, Woodbine, Iowa
8. (5) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
9. (9) 96T R.C. Whitwell, Tucson, Ariz.
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (1) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
2. (3) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
3. (4) K9 Will Krup, Mt. Carmel, Ill.
4. (2) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
5. (8) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
6. (6) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn.
7. (7) R Ron Ver Beek, Oskaloosa, Iowa
8. (10) 23 Darwin Karau, Kasson, Minn.
9. (9) 16B Randy Brown, Chowchilla, Calif.
10. (5) 65D Dustin Brown, Clear Lake, Iowa
DNS – 96T R.C. Whitwell, Tucson, Ariz.
DNS – 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (1) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
2. (2) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
3. (3) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
4. (4) 24 Aaron Benson, Clear Lake, Iowa
5. (7) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
6. (9) 71M Chad Melton, Mineral Wells, Texas
7. (6) 17 Jon Plowman, Woodbine, Iowa
8. (8) 17L Lee Beemer, Fairmont, Minn.
9. (11) 5D Devon Havlik, Waterloo, Iowa
10. (10) 55 Casey Schlichting, Clear Lake, Iowa
DQ – (5) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.
SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT “A” MAIN (35 laps):
1. (8) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
2. (2) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
3. (3) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
4. (6) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
5. (4) 4TW Tim Ward, Harcourt, Iowa
6. (7) 11X Tom Berry Jr.., Des Moines, Iowa
7. (5) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
8. (10) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
9. (9) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
10. (18) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
11. (11) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
12. (22) 24 Aaron Benson, Clear Lake, Iowa
13. (13) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
14. (16) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
15. (15) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
16. (21) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
17. (23) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn.
18. (14) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
19. (17) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
20. (20) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
21. (24) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.
22. (1) 38T Dylan Thornton, Orcutt, Calif.
23. (12) 96 Taton Hansen, Spicer, Minn.
24. (19) K9 Will Krup, Mt. Carmel, Ill.
Lap Leaders: Thornton 1-30, Ramirez 31, Chisholm 32-35.
Total Laps Led: Thornton 30, Chisholm 4, Ramirez 1.
Margin of Victory: 2.061 seconds.
Time of Race: 13 minutes, 35.140 seconds (2 cautions).
Provisional Starters: Nelson, Lavasseur.
Emergency Provisionals: none.
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Benson (started 22nd, finished 12th).
Entries: 37.
Next Race: Friday-Saturday, July 21-22, Pritchard Family Auto Stores Mason City Motor Speedway, Mason City, Iowa.
Summit USMTS National Championship Points: TBD.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: TBD.
FK Rod Ends USMTS Hard Charger Points: TBD.
Miller Welders USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: TBD.
Callies/JE Pistons USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: TBD.
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