Rodney Sanders has led countless laps with the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt since his first win in 2009, and Saturday night he added one more as he won a legendary race that will be remembered for years to come.
In the past, the Tri-State Speedway in Pocola, Okla., has produced some beauties for USMTS drivers and fans. Saturday’s 9th Annual USMTS Juggernaut was something to behold.
Long-time racer Bret Holman made the 90-minute drive from Rogers, Ark., and that resulted in a victory in Simpson Race Products Heat Race #1, and the Sybesma Graphics Pole Award for the 40-lap main event.
Holman got the hole shot and pulled away to lead the opening lap with series points leader Jake Timm and Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year points leader Jacob Hobscheidt in hot pursuit.
While Holman remained faithful to the shortest lane around the 3/8-mile red clay oval, Timm and Hobscheidt used every inch of the racing surface to search for a way to catch the leader.
Meanwhile, the thrilling battle at the front of the field was so good that many likely missed the incredible run toward the front by Tyler Wolff and Dan Ebert, along with the fierce four-car fight between Tanner Mullens, Jason Hughes, Sanders and Darron Fuqua.
Fuqua climbed from 21st on the starting grid to eighth by the halfway point of the race, but had mechanical trouble and wound up back in 21st on the final score card.
Timm found the high line to his liking and tracked down Holman, finally snagging the top spot with 19 laps complete and 21 remaining.
Lapped traffic was no problem for Timm as he extended his lead to five car lengths in less than a minute. Back-markers spelled trouble for Holman, however, as Wolff used a lapper to his advantage to claim the second spot.
The Gorsuch Performance Caution Flag was displayed on the first lap, but the yellow didn’t appear again until lap 29 when Mike Hansen stopped on the racetrack with his Hughes Racing Chassis engulfed in smoke.
That pause bunched the field with Timm in control for the restart and the usual suspects hot on his heels, but Timm remained the one pursued through the 30th orbit.
The rest of the race was a blur with eight lead changes among three drivers—and those were just the ones at the flagstand. Many more took place around the track.
After a near-spin by Timm it gave Wolff the top spot on lap 31. He led just two laps. Timm regained the lead for a single lap. Wolff took it back and set the pace through lap 37.
Again, Timm edged in front at the start-finish line to officially lead lap 38, but Wolff was the leader when they took the Hochatown Saloon White Flag with Sanders nudging past Timm to make it a three-car fight for the $5,000 top prize.
With Wolff uncharacteristically hugging the low line, Sanders blasted around the track near the outside wall. At the checkered flag, Sanders inched ahead and beat Wolff to the line by a mere 0.130 of a second (about a bumper).
“I knew we had a good car all along and I just got caught up with some cars, but Tyler got up there quick,” Sanders said in Victory Fuel Victory Lane. “If I’m going to beat anybody at the line I hate it to be him. We’re really good friends and them guys help me out a lot.”
After leading just the final 50 feet of the race, Sanders scored his 118th career win with the USMTS, but first of the year as his defense of his fifth USMTS title.
“I knew there was some speed up there and I didn’t want to show it too quick, but I knew Ebert and Jake (Timm) were running up there too so that last lap I knew Tyler had no clue and you know he’s running a good line on the bottom so my only hope was just too rip a good lap and it worked out. It was a heck of racetrack.
Despite having to settle for second-place, Wolff smiled with the knowledge he had a good MBCustoms Race Car with a lot of speed.
“I was just trying to stay calm and finish the race,” Wolff revealed. “I was just trying to hit my marks, and on the last lap I thought about moving up to block and Rodney but I’m proud of Rodney and proud of our team. We had we had a lot of speed and had a good finish finally so we’ll just carry on with this rest of summer. We have we should be in pretty good shape.”
Behind Wolff, Timm completed the Featherlite Top-Three podium with another strong run and another good points night for himself and his Rage Chassis.
“I definitely didn’t want that yellow,” said Timm. “I really had no idea where to be and I heard on the RACEceiver that Tyler was in second. I thought for sure he was pounding the wall down so I was like ‘Better get up there and at least get in front of him, and then I came in down here (turn one). The rest was history, but that was a fun race. Awesome race track.”
Sanders and Wolff started 14th and 15th on the grid, respectively, and both passed a field-best 13 cars. Sanders, however, garnered the FK Rod Ends Hard Charger Award with his superior finishing position.
Ebert was fourth and remains ahead of Timm in the ARMI Contractors South Region points. Hobscheidt rounded out the top five, and sixth through tenth went to Hughes, Mullens, Kyle Brown, Alex Williamson and Jake O’Neil.
Let’s try this again: Next weekend, the series returns to the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., for some unfinished business from last September, along with the USRA B-Mods.
The 25th Annual USMTS Featherlite Fall Jamboree-do happens Friday and Saturday, April 26-27, and will also be the first two events in the Collins Brothers Towing USMTS North Region presented by Featherlite.
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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt
ARMI Contractors South Region presented by Gene Nicholas, LLC
9th Annual USMTS Juggernaut
Tri-State Speedway, Pocola, Okla.
Saturday, April 20, 2024
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. (1) 17H Brent Holman, Rogers, Ark.
2. (5) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
3. (9) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
4. (6) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
5. (3) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
6. (8) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
7. (7) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
8. (10) 0 Jake O’Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
9. (4) 91 Joe Duvall, Justice, Okla.
10. (2) 33 Jaren Martin, Republic, Mo.
FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (10 laps):
1. (1) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
2. (5) 01 Jacob Hobscheidt, Plattsmouth, Neb.
3. (7) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
4. (9) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
5. (8) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
6. (10) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
7. (3) 2SS Mark Smith, Anthony, N.M.
8. (6) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
9. (4) 71 Chad Melton, Mineral Wells, Texas
10. (2) 30 Dalton Kirk, Edgerton, Kan.
EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (10 laps):
1. (3) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
2. (8) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
3. (1) 55H A.J. Hoff, Mantorville, Minn.
4. (6) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
5. (4) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.
6. (5) 5 Jon Mitchell, Texarkana, Texas
7. (10) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
8. (2) 11N Gene Nicholas, Lowell, Ark.
9. (7) 8 Jeremy Vaughn, Pocola, Okla.
10. (9) 88 Sam Osman, Spiro, Okla.
WIELAND METAL SERVICES HEAT RACE #4 (10 laps):
1. (1) 19R Chris Kratzer, Haysville, Kan.
2. (4) 32 D.J. Shannon, Merced, Calif.
3. (3) 712 Trevor Hughes, Westville, Okla.
4. (6) 7G Gabe Hodges, Lebo, Kan.
5. (9) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo.
6. (10) 12H Mike Hansen, Dickinson, N.D.
7. (8) 51 Eddie Martin, Stilwell, Okla.
8. (5) 26S Steven Glenn, Hamilton, Mo.
9. (7) 5S Chad Smith, Springdale, Ark.
10. (2) 17 Trinten Turney, Wolfe City, Texas
11. (11) 70 Jeremy Busby, Graford, Texas
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (11 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (1) 712 Trevor Hughes, Westville, Okla.
2. (4) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
3. (2) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
4. (9) 0 Jake O’Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
5. (8) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
6. (6) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
7. (11) 91 Joe Duvall, Justice, Okla.
8. (3) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo.
9. (14) 88 Sam Osman, Spiro, Okla.
10. (5) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
11. (10) 11N Gene Nicholas, Lowell, Ark.
12. (7) 5 Jon Mitchell, Texarkana, Texas
13. (13) 33 Jaren Martin, Republic, Mo.
14. (12) 8 Jeremy Vaughn, Pocola, Okla.
DNS – 70 Jeremy Busby, Graford, Texas
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (1) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
2. (3) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
3. (4) 12H Mike Hansen, Dickinson, N.D.
4. (2) 7G Gabe Hodges, Lebo, Kan.
5. (9) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
6. (5) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.
7. (11) 71 Chad Melton, Mineral Wells, Texas
8. (6) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
9. (7) 51 Eddie Martin, Stilwell, Okla.
10. (13) 30 Dalton Kirk, Edgerton, Kan.
11. (10) 26S Steven Glenn, Hamilton, Mo.
12. (12) 5S Chad Smith, Springdale, Ark.
13. (14) 17 Trinten Turney, Wolfe City, Texas
14. (8) 2SS Mark Smith, Anthony, N.M.
SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (14) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
2. (15) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
3. (4) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
4. (11) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
5. (2) 01 Jacob Hobscheidt, Plattsmouth, Neb.
6. (8) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
7. (6) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
8. (17) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
9. (5) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
10. (19) 0 Jake O’Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
11. (10) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
12. (22) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
13. (7) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
14. (13) 712 Trevor Hughes, Westville, Okla.
15. (16) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
16. (27) 8 Jeremy Vaughn, Pocola, Okla.
17. (23) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
18. (1) 17H Brent Holman, Rogers, Ark.
19. (20) 7G Gabe Hodges, Lebo, Kan.
20. (26) 26S Steven Glenn, Hamilton, Mo.
21. (21) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
22. (12) 55H A.J. Hoff, Mantorville, Minn.
23. (18) 12H Mike Hansen, Dickinson, N.D.
24. (25) 91 Joe Duvall, Justice, Okla.
25. (3) 19R Chris Kratzer, Haysville, Kan.
26. (24) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
27. (9) 32 D.J. Shannon, Merced, Calif.
Lap Leaders: Holman 1-19, Timm 20-30, Wolff 31-32, Timm 33, Wolff 34-37, Timm 38, Wolff 39, Sanders 40.
Total Laps Led: Holman 19, Timm 13, Wolff 7, Sanders 1.
Margin of Victory: 0.130 second.
Time of Race: 28 minutes, 5.359 seconds (3 cautions).
Provisional Starters: Davis, Duvall, Glenn, Phillips, Vaughn.
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Sanders (started 14th, finished 1st).
Entries: 41.
Next Race: April 26-27, Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, Minn.
Summit USMTS National Championship Points: TBA.
ARMI Contractors USMTS South Region Points: TBA.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: TBA.
FK Rod Ends USMTS Hard Charger Points: TBA.
Miller Welders USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: TBA.
Callies/JE Pistons USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: TBA.
Contingency Awards:
Aero Race Wheels – J. Martin.
American Racer – Hoff.
Bear Graphix – Hoff.
Beyea Custom Headers – Ebert.
Bryke Racing – Ramirez.
BSB Manufacturing – Fuqua.
Champ Pans – Hobscheidt.
Danny Crane Racing Engines – J. Hughes.
Deatherage Opticians – Smith.
Edelbrock – Williamson.
Fast Shafts – Mullens.
Featherlite Trailers – Sanders, Wolff, Timm.
FK Rod Ends – Sanders.
Gorsuch Performance Solutions – Sanders.
Hooker Harness – Chisholm.
Hyperco – Kratzer.
Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – Holman.
Keyser Manufacturing – O’Neil.
KSE Racing Products – Williamson.
MD3 – Holman.
Mel Hambelton Racing – Lavasseur, Melton.
MSD Performance – Ebert.
Penske Racing Shocks – Mari.
PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain – Hansen.
QA1 – Timm.
Quarter Master – Williamson.
RacerWebsite.com – O’Neil.
Rush RaceGear by Austin Witt – J. Hughes.
Simpson Race Products – Holman.
Summit Racing Equipment – Davis, Duvall, Lavasseur, Mullens, Turney.
Sweet Manufacturing – Vaughn.
Swift Springs – Holman, Sanders.
Sybesma Graphics – Holman.
Total Power –Christian.
Victory Fuel – Sanders.
VP Racing – Sanders.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products – Vaughn.
Wilwood Disc Brakes – Mullens.