Ebert Wins
Wild USMTS Spring Challenge Opener in Webster City
If it’s true that “rubbin’
is racin’” then the final seven laps of Thursday’s main
event at the Hamilton County Speedway provided some of
the best racin’ of the year for fans of the Summit USMTS
National Championship presented by RacinDirt.
When the green flag waved to start the 30-lap feature
race, Dan Ebert beat polesitter Zack VanderBeek back to
the flagstand to lead the opening lap around the
historic half-mile dirt oval while Jim Chisholm, Tom
Berry Jr. and Rodney Sanders moved ahead to pursue
Ebert.
Riding the high side, Ebert remained in
control through the next 20 laps before Berry began to
pressure the leader. Eventually, Berry made a move for
the lead at the bottom of turn 3 but he and Ebert made
significant contact which sent Berry into first place
while Sanders followed into second soon after.
Berry looked strong the final seven laps but
back-to-back cautions forcing back-to-back
green-white-checkered finishes changed the story.
Sanders struck first, racing wheel-to-wheel with
Berry on the first restart before the yellow flag waved
again for points leader Jake O’Neil’s idle race car at
the bottom of turn 4.
Ebert found life on the
second two-lap dash to the checkers, following Berry
around the treacherous top side the first time around
before diving to the low side after taking the white
flag and then sliding up to take away Berry’s line.
Like earlier, the pair made hard contact but this
time, according to Berry, the Grant Junghans USMTS
Rookie of the Year points leader “got the short end of
the stick,” and slid up and off the racetrack while
Ebert sailed into the final turn and onto a $3,000
victory.
“That was a pretty wild race,” Ebert
said in victory lane. “We were pretty decent to start
with and then I just kind of was missing my line going
into (turn) one here and then racing with Tom and Rodney
there, and then I don’t know if Tom hit the hole or
deliberately came across in front but I felt like I had
a good run and he ran across my nose so I made sure that
he knew I was there on that one. Coming to get the
checker the last lap I had to make sure that I closed
the deal.”
While Berry was relegated to a
disappointing 18th-place result, the relative newcomer
continued to impress with his ability to find the
fastest way around racetracks he’s never seen before
“I followed and followed him and I feel like that
slider was clean as you can get for the type of track we
had,” Berry revealed afterward. “I got into him down
here (turn 4) but hopefully he ain't mad. As soon as I
hit the hole I got on the gas we were together. I like
racing everyone with respect and I think Zack’s
(VanderBeek) mad at me too but he got tight going the
first corner. I had nowhere to go so I mean if he’s
going to be mad about that I don’t know, so maybe I got
some mad people at me but they all know I race hard with
respect.”
Meanwhile, Ebert held off Sanders by
less than a half-second while Chisholm. Alex Williamson
and Dereck Ramirez completed the top five. Ramirez
picked up the FK Rod Ends Hard Charger Award after
zipping past 14 cars from his 19th starting spot.
Sixth went to 12th-starting Jacob Bleess,
18th-starting Tim Ward secured seventh, 11th-starting
Terry Phillips earned an eighth-place paycheck,
20th-starting Will Krup nabbed ninth and Jeremy Nelson,
who started 17th, wound tenth at the finish line.
With his second triumph of the 2023 campaign and
fourth of his career, Ebert moved into a tie on the
USMTS all-time wins list with good company, joining
four-time winners Austin Arneson, Justin Boney, Scott
Drake, Mike Hejna, Steve Holzkamper, Dean Mahlstedt,
Hunter Marriott and Brad Pinkerton.
Racing
continues for two more nights at the Hamilton county
Speedway with Summit USMTS Modifieds competing for
$5,0000 to win on Friday and $10,000 to top Saturday
night’s finale. USRA Stock Cars, USRA B-Mods, USRA Hobby
Stocks and USRA Tuners will also be in action both
nights.
For more information, check out the event
FAST FACTS or visit
HamiltonCoSpeedway.com.
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
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OFFICIAL RESULTS United States Modified
Touring Series Summit USMTS National Championship
presented by RacinDirt 13th Annual USMTS Spring
Classic – Night 1 of 3 Hamilton County Speedway,
Webster City, Iowa Thursday, April 27, 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
PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (2) 83 Kylie Kath, Claremont, Minn. 2. (4) 75
Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo. 3. (3) 02 Tanner
Mullens, Wichita, Kan. 4. (1) 69 Lucas Schott,
Chatfield, Minn. 5. (10) 58X Gary Christian, Broken
Bow, Okla. 6. (8) 1G Pat Graham, Ankeny, Iowa 7.
(9) 1 Blake Arndt, Brownsdale, Minn. 8. (7) 14M Brian
Mahlstedt, Ionia, Iowa 9. (5) 4W Tyler Wolff,
Fayetteville, Ark. 10. (6) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson,
Ariz.
FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (7 laps):
1. (4) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas 2. (6) 60 Dan
Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn. 3. (5) 38T Dylan Thornton,
Orcutt, Calif. 4. (1) 25C Cody Thompson, Sioux City,
Iowa 5. (2) 4TW Tim Ward, Harcourt, Iowa 6. (3) 65
Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan. 7. (8) 87 Darron Fuqua,
Mayetta, Kan. 8. (7) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro,
Calif. 9. (9) 17 Jon Plowman, Woodbine, Iowa 10.
(10) 21N Ben Nading, Ankeny, Iowa
EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps): 1. (1) 15W
Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn. 2. (3) 4 Jeremy
Nelson, Alexandria, Minn. 3. (5) 33Z Zack VanderBeek,
New Sharon, Iowa 4. (2) 71 Dustin Strand, East Grand
Forks, Minn. 5. (6) 55H A.J. Hoff, Mantorville, Minn.
6. (7) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr.., El Paso, Texas 7. (8)
21D Daniel Drury, Iowa Falls, Iowa 8. (9) 7 Al Hejna,
Clear Lake, Iowa 9. (4) 23 Darwin Karau, Kasson,
Minn. 10. (10) 40 Jessy Willard, Mound City, Kan.
WIELAND HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (3) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan. 2. (4) 21
Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn. 3. (6) 11X Tom Berry
Jr.., Des Moines, Iowa 4. (1) 5D Devon Havlik,
Waterloo, Iowa 5. (2) 4B Jason Bass, Fort Dodge, Iowa
6. (5) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis. 7. (8)
30 Dalton Kirk, Edgerton, Kan. 8. (7) 88 Tanner
Williamson, Fort Frances, ON 9. (9) 57 Duke Erickson,
Sioux Falls, S.D.
VP RACING HEAT RACE #5
(8 laps): 2. (1) K9 Will Krup, Mt. Carmel,
Ill. 3. (6) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa 4. (3)
4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla. 5. (5) 10C Cayden
Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa 6. (4) 45 Chase Holland,
Success, Miss. 7. (7) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
8. (9) 01 Jacob Hobscheidt, Plattsmouth, Neb. 9. (8)
21DB David Brown, Kellogg, Iowa
REAL
RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (2) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla. 2. (1) 4
Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn. 3. (3) 4R Dereck
Ramirez, Woodward, Okla. 4. (4) 69 Lucas Schott,
Chatfield, Minn. 5. (9) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville,
Kan. 6. (11) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa 7. (7)
4B Jason Bass, Fort Dodge, Iowa 8. (12) 01 Jacob
Hobscheidt, Plattsmouth, Neb. 9. (6) 1G Pat Graham,
Ankeny, Iowa 10. (14) 88 Tanner Williamson, Fort
Frances, ON 11. (8) 1 Blake Arndt, Brownsdale, Minn.
12. (10) 21D Daniel Drury, Iowa Falls, Iowa 13. (17)
21N Ben Nading, Ankeny, Iowa 14. (15) 17 Jon Plowman,
Woodbine, Iowa 15. (16) 21DB David Brown, Kellogg,
Iowa 16. (13) 14M Brian Mahlstedt, Ionia, Iowa 17.
(5) 5D Devon Havlik, Waterloo, Iowa
REAL
RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (2) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan. 2. (6) 4TW
Tim Ward, Harcourt, Iowa 3. (1) K9 Will Krup, Mt.
Carmel, Ill. 4. (7) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr.., El Paso,
Texas 5. (12) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
6. (9) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan. 7. (4) 25C Cody
Thompson, Sioux City, Iowa 8. (14) 0 Jake O'Neil,
Tucson, Ariz. 9. (11) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
10. (13) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif. 11. (8)
45 Chase Holland, Success, Miss. 12. (5) 99L Steve
Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis. 13. (3) 71 Dustin
Strand, East Grand Forks, Minn. 14. (10) 30 Dalton
Kirk, Edgerton, Kan. 15. (15) 57 Duke Erickson, Sioux
Falls, S.D. 16. (17) 40 Jessy Willard, Mound City,
Kan. 17. (16) 23 Darwin Karau, Kasson, Minn.
SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT “A” MAIN (30 laps):
1. (2) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn. 2. (5) 20
Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas 3. (6) 24C Jim Chisholm,
Osage, Iowa 4. (10) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford,
Minn. 5. (19) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
6. (12) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn. 7. (18) 4TW
Tim Ward, Harcourt, Iowa 8. (11) 75 Terry Phillips,
Springfield, Mo. 9. (20) K9 Will Krup, Mt. Carmel,
Ill. 10. (17) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn.
11. (15) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla. 12.
(28) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa 13. (26) 87 Darron
Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan. 14. (9) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts,
Okla. 15. (23) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan. 16.
(22) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr.., El Paso, Texas 17. (24)
4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark. 18. (3) 11X Tom
Berry Jr.., Des Moines, Iowa 19. (25) 0 Jake O'Neil,
Tucson, Ariz. 20. (1) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New
Sharon, Iowa 21. (21) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield,
Minn. 22. (29) 01 Jacob Hobscheidt, Plattsmouth, Neb.
23. (27) 25C Cody Thompson, Sioux City, Iowa 24. (16)
02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan. 25. (30) 99L Steve
Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis. 26. (13) 55H A.J. Hoff,
Mantorville, Minn. 27. (8) 83 Kylie Kath, Claremont,
Minn. 28. (4) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
29. (14) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa 30. (7)
38T Dylan Thornton, Orcutt, Calif.
Lap
Leaders: Ebert 1-23, Berry 24-29, Ebert 30.
Total Laps Led: Ebert 24, Berry 6.
Margin of Victory: 0.433 seconds.
Time of Race: 23 minutes, 21.318
seconds (4 cautions). Provisional Starters:
O’Neil, Fuqua. Emergency Provisionals:
Thompson, K. Brown, Hobscheidt, Lavasseur.
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Ramirez
(started 19th, finished 5th). Entries:
48. Next Race: Friday-Saturday,
April 28-29, Hamilton County Speedway, Webster City,
Iowa. Summit USMTS National Championship
Points: O'Neil 857, Wolff 847, Ebert 827,
Sanders 825, Phillips 823, Hughes 810, Berry 790, Krup
781, Chisholm 781, Fuqua 771. Grant Junghans
USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: Berry 790,
Krup 781, Nelson 679, Christian 664, Holland 590.
FK Rod Ends USMTS Hard Charger Points:
O'Neil 41, Hughes 40, Chisholm 40, Givens 37, Phillips
32, Sanders 32. Miller Welders USMTS
Manufacturers Championship Points: MBCustoms
76, Mullens 75, Hughes 60, LG2 59, VanderBuilt 57.
Callies/JE Pistons USMTS Engine Builder of the
Year Points: Cornett 79, Mullins 77, Stoen 75,
Hatfield 61, ProPower 56.
Contingency
Awards: Aero Race Wheels – O’Neil.
American Racer – Berry. Beyea Custom Headers –
Williamson. BigDeal Car Care – Ebert, Ramirez.
Bryke Racing – Davis. BSB Manufacturing – Schott.
Champ Pans – Ramirez. Collins Brothers Towing –
Hughes. Deatherage Opticians – Graham. Edelbrock –
Williamson. Fast Shafts – Sanders. FK Rod Ends –
Ramirez. Hooker Harness – K. Brown. Hyperco –
Thornton. Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – Berry.
Keyser Manufacturing – Nelson. KSE Racing Products –
Ramirez. MD3 – Ebert. Mel Hambelton Racing –
Sanders. Mesilla Valley Transportation – Mari.
Midwest Wrap Co. – Hobscheidt. MSD Performance –
Chisholm. Penske Racing Shocks – Fuqua. PEM Racing
Gears & Drivetrain – Ebert. QA1 – Sanders. Quarter
Master – Krup. RacerWebsite.com – Hoff. Salty’s
BBQ & Catering – Williamson. Simpson Performance
Products – Kath. Summit Racing Equipment – D. Brown,
Erickson, Graham, Havlik, Nading. Super Clean –
Ebert. Swift Springs – Chisholm, Chisholm, Ebert.
Sybesma Graphics – VanderBeek. VP Racing – Ebert.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products – Havlik. Wilwood
Disc Brakes – Ward.
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USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American
Racer Racing Tires, Beyea
Headers, Callies
Performance Products, Chevrolet
Performance, Fast
Shafts, FK
Rod Ends, KSE
Racing Products, Malvern
Bank, Mesilla
Valley Transportation, Nitroquest
Media, PEM
Racing Gears & Drivetrain, RacinDirt, Summit
Racing Equipment, Super
Clean, VP
Racing, Wieland.
USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: ARMI
Contractors, Boomtest
Well Service, Boubin
Tire & Automotive, Brodix
Cylinder Heads, Collins
Brothers Towing, D&T
Marriott Enterprise, LLC, DAY
Motorsports, Duvall
Electric, Gunshepherd.com, Hacienda
Mechanical, Kenny's
Tile, Mel
Hambelton Racing, Midwest
Wrap Co., Miller
Welders, PBM
Performance Products, Rancho
Milagro Racing, S&S
Fishing & Rental, Salty's
BBQ & Catering, Shocker
Hitch, Shop
Quik Stores, YouDirt.com.
USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AERO
Race Wheels, AFCO
Racing Products, Allstar
Performance, BigDeal
Car Care, Bryke
Racing, BSB
Manufacturing, Champ
Pans, Deatherage
Opticians, Edelbrock, Hooker
Harness, Hyperco, Integra
Racing Shocks and Springs, JE
Pistons, K1
RaceGear by Ryan Bowers Motorsports, Keyser
Manufacturing, MD3, MSD
Performance, Penske
Racing Shocks, Performance
Bodies & Parts, QA1, Quarter
Master, RacerWebsite.com, Real
Racing Wheels, Simpson
Performance Products, Swift
Springs, Sybesma
Graphics, Wehrs
Machine & Racing Products, Wilwood
Racing.
USMTS RACETRACKS:
81 Speedway,
Ark-La-Tex Speedway,
Arrowhead Speedway,
Cedar Lake Speedway,
Deer Creek Speedway,
Fayette County Speedway,
Hamilton County Speedway,
Humboldt Speedway,
I-70 Speedway,
Lakeside Speedway,
Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track,
Lucas Oil Speedway,
Mason City Motor Speedway,
Ogilvie Raceway,
Rocket Raceway Park.
##
Contact Info:
Jeff Nun
Chief Communications Officer
United States Modified Touring Series, Inc. (USMTS)
1715 W 2nd St, PO Box 905
Webster City, IA 50595
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