FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ben Shelton (msrmafia@gmail.com) August 3, 2021 Top-5 Run in Prairie Dirt Classic for Rocket1 Racing Four Nights of WoO Wisconsin Action on Tap this Week SHINNSTON, W.Va. (08/03/21) – Brandon Sheppard and Rocket1 Racing rolled into the famed Fairbury Speedway over the weekend for the 31st edition of the Prairie Dirt Classic. Saturday night’s $50,000-to-win finale found Sheppard recording a fifth-place finish in his Valvoline No. 1 Seubert Calf Ranches/ Durham Racing Engines-powered XR1 Rocket Chassis Super Late Model. “Really late in the race when my car came to me, I was a few spots too far back,” Sheppard said. “We just had to make the most out of it and made a few passes on the restarts and just came up short. It’s disappointing because we had a better car than where we finished. We’ll head to Wisconsin this week to go after some more big checks. Thanks as always goes out to all of our marketing partners and supporters.” Taking part in one the biggest weekends of the year with the World of Outlaws (WoO) Morton Buildings Late Model Series, Rocket1Racing and Brandon Sheppard invaded Fairbury Speedway (Fairbury, Ill.) on Friday afternoon for the 31st annual Prairie Dirt Classic. With the massive 74-car field split into two separate groups for time trials, Sheppard recorded the 11th fastest time in his group. Starting his $3,000-to-win preliminary feature in sixth, Brandon improved three spots in the 25-lapper to register a third-place finish. With his third-place finish in preliminary action on Friday placing him 11th on the starting grid for Saturday night’s $50,000-to-win Prairie Dirt Classic, Sheppard advanced six spots in the 100-lap affair to finish fifth. He followed Kyle Larson, Bobby Pierce, Shannon Babb, and Chris Madden across the line. Brandon now sits 86 points ahead of Chris Madden atop the World of Outlaws point standings. For complete results from these events, please visit www.WorldofOutlaws.com . The upcoming week has the team set for four nights of WoO action in Wisconsin. The week opens on Tuesday evening at Outagamie Speedway with a $10,000-to-win event, which is co-sanctioned with the Dirt Kings tour. On Thursday evening three rounds of WoO action kicks off at Cedar Lake Speedway with a $6,000-to-win affair. On Friday and Saturday the 2021 USA Nationals take center stage with double heat races on Friday evening followed by B-mains and the $50,000-to-win finale on Saturday night. Rocket1 Racing would like to thank all of their marketing partners, which include Valvoline, Seubert Calf Ranches, Rocket Chassis, Ace Metal Works, Durham Racing Engines, FiveStar RaceCar Bodies, Gunters Honey, Hoosier Racing Tire, Integra Racing Shocks, Keyser Manufacturing, Petroff Towing, Slavic Custom Racing Shirts & Decals, Sweet Manufacturing, Sunoco Race Fuels, Accu-Force Shock Service, ATL Fuel Cells, Aurora Rod Ends, Barnes Dry Sump Oil Systems, Bazell Race Fuels, Beyea Custom Headers, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Brinn Transmissions, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, CP Carrillo, Dohm Cycles, Edelbrock, Fibreworks Composites, Hardrock Powder Coating, Howe Racing Enterprises, Jones Racing Products, Kenny’s Components, Maxima Racing Oils, MSD, NGK Spark Plugs, Tel Tac, Performance Bodies, Peterson Fluid Systems, Powers Performance, Performance Rod & Custom, Quarter Master, QuickCar Racing Products, Rocket Pre-Owned Motors, Safecraft, Show Trucks Unlimited, Simpson, Stealth Carburetors, Strange Oval, Suave Talk, Total Power Valvoline Pro-V Racing, Walker Performance Filtration, Weld Racing, Wiles Driveshafts, Wilwood Brakes, Winters Performance Products, Wrisco Aluminum, Xceldyne Valvetrain, and MSR Mafia Marketing Services. For the latest information on Rocket1Racing please visit the team website at www.Rocket1Racing.com as well as their social media channels at www.facebook.com/Rocket1Racing, www.twitter.com/Rocket1_Racing, and www.instagram.com/rocket1racing . Official Internet Home of The Midsouth Racing Scene
 

It's a Ramirez repeat in USMTS Slick Mist Show-Me Shootout at Lucas Oil Speedway

WHEATLAND, Missouri (August 7)—Dereck Ramirez scored a successful repeat of the 12th Annual Slick Mist Show-Me Shootout presented by Foley Equipment, leading wire to wire Saturday night at Lucas Oil Speedway.

The Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey’s points leader from Woodward, Oklahoma, dominated the 40-lap feature to take home $10,000. Ramirez beat Dustin Sorensen by 1.828 seconds for his third victory of the season.

In victory lane, Ramirez thanked his crew for talking him into recently breaking out a new car. He also expressed his affinity for Lucas Oil Speedway after another winning drive at the facility.

“I love this place. It’s probably the greatest facility we go to,” Ramirez said. “Everybody that works here and all the fans that come out and support us... plus I have to thank these guys here. We wrecked the car at Ogilvie (Minnesota). They worked their butts off at the shop to put this (car) together.

“It's been a dream to drive. I’m glad we made that decision. It’s good.”

Ramirez became the first repeat Show-Me Shootout winner and the first three-time USMTS winner at Lucas Oil Speedway.

Ramirez was making it a runaway, cruising to the lead from his front-row starting position and widening the gap as green flag after green flag lap went by.

Ramirez had more than a four-second lead over Sorensen after 32 laps when the race’s first caution came out when USRA Modified national points leader Dillon McCowan spun between turns one and two.

McCowan, the Cedar Creek Beef Jerky USRA Modified track points leader, ran as high as third earlier in the race and was eighth when he spun after finding fluid from a car experiencing mechanical issues right in front of him.

Sorensen, of Rochester, Minnesota, started seventh and worked his way into second by lap 25, but was making little headway in closing the gap on Ramirez as the duo worked their way through lapped traffic.

The caution wiped out Ramirez’s comfortable margin and set the stage for an eight-lap sprint to the finish as Ramirez led Sorensen, Tyler Wolff, Carlos Ahumada Jr. and Terry Phillips.

As the race returned to green, Wolff and Sorensen had a tight squeeze coming off turn two and Wolff rolled to a stop in turn three, bringing out another yellow flag.

Ramirez took care of business as the race resumed and remained green over the final seven laps. He pulled away to beat Sorensen by about a dozen car lengths. Four-time and defending series champ Rodney Sanders rallied from eighth to finish third, with Jake O’Neil going from 14th to fourth. Ahumada finished fifth.

“I don’t like the yellows there at the end, especially running the bottom there,” Ramirez said. “I kind of judge myself off the lapped cars and none of them were making a move up top. But I knew Rodney or T.P. (Phillips) or any of them guys could get up there and get it done.

“Dustin, he’s a high-side guy and kind of scared me on the restart. But I saw he picked the bottom and that made it a little easier on me.”

The final entry to transfer from the Real Racing Wheels “B” Mains, Dan Ebert passed 18 cars to collect a sixth-place paycheck and FK Rod Ends Hard Charger Award while R.C. Whitwell, Lucas Schott, 26th-starting Zack VanderBeek and Darron Fuqua rounded out the top 10.

With a couple of weeks until the next event, the Summit USMTS National Championship points show Ramirez leading the way with a 21-point cushion (1880 to 1859) while Sanders is just 45 markers out of first place with 1835. Tanner Mullens (1758), Schott (1670), Wolff (1625), Sorensen (1609), Ebert (1583), Phillips (1520) and Jason Hughes (1512) fill out the remainder of the top 10.

USMTS returns to Show-Me State August 19-20: Action resumes Thursday, August 19, with the 3rd Annual USMTS Wehrs Machine Bullring Bash at the Dallas County Speedway in Urbana, Missouri, followed by a newly-added show on Friday, August 20, at the Randolph County Raceway in Moberly, Missouri.

Both events pay $5,000 to the winner.

The doubleheader originally slated for Friday and Saturday, August 20-21, at the Arrowhead Speedway in Colcord, Oklahoma, has been postponed until 2022 as the new state-of-the-art facility remains unfinished.

Taking dirt to a new level: The 2021 campaign for the Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey’s features 36 nights of racing with the winners of those main events set to take home over $300,000 in earnings from more than $1 million in prize money earmarked for those shows.

Most main events will pay at least $10,000 to win while the others carry a minimum $5,000 top prize. And if that weren’t enough, more than $230,000 is committed to the top ten finishers in the 2021 points standings with a record $70,000 reserved for the 2021 USMTS National Champion.

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 fueled by Casey’s
12th Annual USMTS Slick Mist Show-Me Shootout presented by Foley Equipment
Lucas Oil Speedway, Wheatland, Missouri
Saturday, August 7, 2021

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, laps completed and money won. The top 12 in heat race passing points advance to the Casey’s “A” Main.

SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (3) 317 R.C. Whitwell, Tucson, Ariz.
2. (1) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
3. (2) 1M Curt Myers, Cameron, Wis.
5. (6) 9D8 Paden Phillips, Chanute, Kan.
6. (5) 15 Kale Westover (R), Blair, Okla.
7. (7) 21F Johnny Fennewald, Appleton City, Mo.
8. (9) 38C Jason Pursley, Hermitage, Mo.
9. (8) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (2) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas.
2. (3) 88 Nathan Smith (R), Anthony, N.M.
3. (4) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
4. (5) 19R Chris Kratzer (R), Wichita, Kan.
5. (6) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
6. (1) 46 Jade Luzenberg (R), Saucier, Miss.
7. (8) J17 Jake Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.
8. (7) 99 Nathan Hagar, Adair, Okla.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (2) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn.
2. (1) 14W Dustin Walker (R), Polk, Mo.
3. (4) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
4. (3) 18A Landon Atkinson, Little Falls, Minn.
5. (5) 2SS Mark Smith (R), Anthony, N.M.
6. (7) 151 Lucas Gibbs, Udall, Kan.
7. (6) 444 Brooks Strength (R), Raymond, Miss.
8. (8) D25 David Tanner, Wichita Falls, Texas.

MSD PERFORMANCE HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (1) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
2. (4) 8 Dillon McCowan (R), Urbana, Mo.
3. (3) 22H Dustin Hodges, Centralia, Mo.
4. (6) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
5. (5) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
6. (2) 2G Brandon Givens (R), Wichita, Kan.
7. (7) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.
8. (8) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.

VP RACING FUELS HEAT RACE #5 (8 laps):
1. (1) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
2. (4) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
3. (5) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
4. (3) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo.
5. (2) 88R A.J. Vasquez, Garden City, Mich.
6. (7) 56 Tony Jackson Jr., Lebanon, Mo.
7. (6) 85 Jayson Good (R), Watertown, S.D.
8. (8) 03 Chase Jones (R), El Dorado Springs, Mo.

WRISCO HEAT RACE #6 (8 laps):
1. (1) 292 Kyle Thompson (R), Joplin, Mo.
2. (4) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
3. (5) 3J Jake Nightingale, Hutchinson, Kan.
4. (2) 59 Kris Jackson (R), Lebanon, Mo.
5. (7) G17 Fito Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.
6. (6) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
7. (3) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
8. (8) 64 Casey Fowler (R), Grand Saline, Texas.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 6 advance):
1. (2) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
2. (1) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
3. (4) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
4. (6) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo.
5. (7) G17 Fito Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.
6. (5) 19R Chris Kratzer (R), Wichita, Kan.
7. (9) 2SS Mark Smith (R), Anthony, N.M., MBCustoms/Mullins, $125.
8. (13) J17 Jake Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M., GR2/Mullins, $125.
9. (3) 22H Dustin Hodges, Centralia, Mo., VanderBuilt/Crane, $125.
10. (10) 151 Lucas Gibbs, Udall, Kan., MBCustoms/Bailey, $125.
11. (14) 21F Johnny Fennewald, Appleton City, Mo., $125.
12. (12) 15 Kale Westover (R), Blair, Okla., WesternFlyer/Knowles, $125.
13. (11) 2G Brandon Givens (R), Wichita, Kan., Hughes/Mullins, $125.
14. (15) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo., Hughes/Cornett, $125.
15. (18) 03 Chase Jones (R), El Dorado Springs, Mo.
16. (8) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., MBCustoms/Stoen, $125.
17. (19) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
18. (16) 38C Jason Pursley, Hermitage, Mo., GRT/Midstate, $125.
19. (17) D25 David Tanner, Wichita Falls, Texas, WesternFlyer/Hatfield, $125.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 6 advance):
1. (1) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
2. (5) 18A Landon Atkinson, Little Falls, Minn.
3. (2) 3J Jake Nightingale, Hutchinson, Kan.
4. (7) 9D8 Paden Phillips, Chanute, Kan.
5. (12) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
6. (13) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
7. (9) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
8. (17) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
9. (3) 1M Curt Myers, Cameron, Wis.
10. (16) 99 Nathan Hagar, Adair, Okla., Hughes/Chevrolet, $125.
11. (15) 85 Jayson Good (R), Watertown, S.D., MBCustoms/Tim's, $125.
12. (8) 88R A.J. Vasquez, Garden City, Mich., Hughes/Farris, $125.
13. (11) 46 Jade Luzenberg (R), Saucier, Miss., MBCustoms/Mullins, $125.
14. (18) 64 Casey Fowler (R), Grand Saline, Texas, MBCustoms/Stoen, $125.
15. (6) 59 Kris Jackson (R), Lebanon, Mo., Hughes/Mullins, $125.
16. (14) 444 Brooks Strength (R), Raymond, Miss.
17. (4) 00 Jesse Stovall, Billings, Mo., GRT/Bailey, $125.
18. (10) 56 Tony Jackson Jr., Lebanon, Mo., Hughes/UFO, $125.

CASEY’S “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (1) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/Cornett, 40, $10,000.
2. (7) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn., MBCustoms/Action, 40, $5000.
3. (8) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustoms/Hatfield, 40, $3000.
4. (14) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz., LG2/Cornett, 40, $2000.
5. (2) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas, Hughes/BMS, 40, $1700.
6. (24) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn., Lethal/Ebert, 40, $1500.
7. (6) 317 R.C. Whitwell, Tucson, Ariz., PCD/Mullins, 40, $1200.
8. (13) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn., MBCustoms/Stoen, 40, $1000.
9. (26) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, VanderBuilt/Stoen, 40, $900.
10. (17) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan., MBCustoms/Driskell, 40, $850.
11. (19) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo., MBCustoms/Durham, 40, $800.
12. (5) 8 Dillon McCowan (R), Urbana, Mo., Rage/Yeoman, 40, $775.
13. (28) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn., VanderBuilt/KSE, 40, $175.
14. (20) 9D8 Paden Phillips, Chanute, Kan., BillsBuilt/Crane, 40, $740.
15. (16) 18A Landon Atkinson, Little Falls, Minn., Lethal/Sower, 40, $735.
16. (18) 3J Jake Nightingale, Hutchinson, Kan., Mullens/Mullens, 40, $730.
17. (4) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan., Mullens/Mullens, 40, $725.
18. (25) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $720.
19. (22) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan., Lethal/Mullins, 40, $715.
20. (11) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif., MRT/Yeoman, 40, $710.
21. (9) 292 Kyle Thompson (R), Joplin, Mo., Shaw/Yeoman, 40, $500.
22. (12) 14W Dustin Walker (R), Polk, Mo., Hughes/Bailey, 40, $700.
23. (3) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., GRT/Durham, 36, $700.
24. (15) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark., MBCustoms/ECE, 34, $700.
25. (21) G17 Fito Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M., GR2/Hill, 33, $700.
26. (29) 1M Curt Myers, Cameron, Wis., Rage/Sput's, 31, $125.
27. (23) 19R Chris Kratzer (R), Wichita, Kan., Hughes/Mullens, 30, $700.
28. (10) 88 Nathan Smith (R), Anthony, N.M., MBCustoms/Mullins, 29, $700.
29. (30) 03 Chase Jones (R), El Dorado Springs, Mo., Phoenix/Jones, 21, $100.
30. (27) 444 Brooks Strength (R), Raymond, Miss., MBCustoms/Stoen, 8, $125.

(R) = Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year contender

Lap Leader: Ramirez 1-40.
Total Laps Led: Ramirez 40.
Margin of Victory: 1.828 seconds.
Time of Race: 18 minutes, 44.244 seconds (2 cautions).
Provisional Starters: Hughes, VanderBeek.
Emergency Provisionals: Strength, Bleess, Myers.
Track Provisional: Jones.
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Ebert (started 24th, finished 6th).
Entries: 49.
Next Race: Thursday, Aug. 19, Dallas County Speedway, Urbana, Mo.
Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey’s Points: Ramirez 1880, O'Neil 1859, Sanders 1835, Mullens 1758, Schott 1670, Wolff 1625, Sorensen 1609, Ebert 1583, Phillips 1520, Hughes 1512.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: Strength 1246, Good 1004, Givens 954, Jesse Glenz 877, Lucas Lee 713.
Miller Welders USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: Cornett 185, Hatfield 144, Stoen 133, Mullens 120, Mullins 102.
Compstar USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: MBCustoms 189, Hughes 173, LG2 165, Mullens 137, Lethal 135.