Gressel Racing

Jake Timm used a late-race caution to set up racelong leader Dereck Ramirez, taking the lead with three laps to go and scurrying away from the pack to win Wednesday night’s preliminary feature of the 25th Anniversary USMTS Silver Jubilee at the Mason City Motor Speedway.

Points were accumulated throughout the night for each driver’s performance in time trials, heat races and the 25-lap feature. The top six in points locked themselves into the first six spots of the inside row for the start of Saturday night’s 33-car, 78-lap, $25,000-to-win championship contest.

Ramirez started Wednesday’s nightcap from the outside of the front row, and took command from Sybesma Graphics Pole Award winner Al Hejna to lead the opening lap.

The 2020 USMTS National Champion from Woodward, Okla., fought back early challenges from Hejna, Tyler Wolff, Lance Mari and Carlos Ahumada Jr. as they circled the super-fast 1/3-mile using every inch of the racing surface.

While Mari and Ahumada drifted back a bit, Timm was clawing his way to the front and made it a three-car battle for the lead between himself, Wolff and the yet-to-be-passed Ramirez.

With eight laps to go, the top three were in lapped traffic, and at one point tried to make it four-wide with a back-marker but Timm though the better of it and saved his opportunity for another time.

Timm disposed of Wolff on lap 19, and then began to race door-to-door for the next four laps with Ramirez. Timm edged ahead in turns one and two, while Ramirez’s momentum carried his No. 4R Hughes Chassis around Timm as they exited turn four.

When the yellow flag waved with 22 of 25 laps in the books, Timm saw his window of opportunity cracked back open. Back under green, he remained low while Ramirez stuck with the high line, but this time Timm was able to complete the “slide job” out of turn four to lead the 23rd lap.

Ramirez drove back underneath Timm and tried to take the low line away, but Timm thwarted his effort and then drove away from the field to cross the finish line first.

The win was worth $1,000 to the 26-year-old from Winona, Minn. It was his eighth career USMTS triumph and a series-best fourth in 2023.

Ramirez wound up second with Mari crossing the stripe third. Wolff held on fourth, Dan Ebert took fifth, and the rest of the top ten were Cayden Carter, Ahumada, Zack VanderBeek, two-time USMTS National champion Ryan "The Reaper" Gustin and four-time national champ and current points leader Rodney "The Rocket" Sanders.

Timm will start on the inside of the second row for Saturday’s championship race as Ramirez earned the most points on opening night and will be on the pole when the green flag flies in three days.

Also locking themselves in and bound for glory in Saturday’s explosive finale were Ebert, Ahumada, Mari and Wolff. Much to the relief of their fellow competitors, some misfortune somewhere along the way Wednesday night left Sanders, Gustin and the fastest driver in qualifying, Brandon Davis, on the outside looking in.

Any racer that purchased a “mulligan” for $100 has the opportunity to forfeit their effort Wednesday and try again on Friday with the other mulligans from Thursday’s program.

Thursday’s top six in points will be locked in to the first six spots in the middle row of Saturday’s three-wide starting grid while the first six in the outside row will be determined Friday.

Saturday’s program will feature a full night of consolation features leading up to the 25th Anniversary USMTS Silver Jubilee.

Silver Jubilee continues Thursday-Saturday: Twenty-five years in the making, the long-awaited can’t-miss 25th Anniversary USMTS Silver Jubilee continues at the Mason City Motor Speedway with the best of the best in dirt modified racing battling for the largest pool of prize money in series history.

Each entrant chose either Wednesday or Thursday to qualify, with the top six in points each night locked into the first six spots of the inside and middle rows, respectively, for Saturday's finale.

Wednesday will be qualifying for the inside row and Thursday is for middle-row starters. Drivers who purchase a “mulligan” when registering for the event can try again Friday, with the top six from that night’s feature filling the outside lane of Saturday's main event.

Saturday’s 78-lap, $25,000-to-win championship event will get the green flag with 33 cars starting three-wide on the lightning-fast 1/3-mile clay oval. The record-setting event will pay out more than $300,000 in cash prizes over the four days.

With the purchase of their entry fee, each competitor get one free ticket into the drawing for some incredible prizes that will be given away during the week. If a racer purchase a mulligan, he or she gets another ticket into the same drawing.

Tickets will also be sold for more chances to win great gifts. On the top of that list will be a brand new USMTS 415 spec motor built by Stoen Race Engines valued at $25,000.

Extra tickets for the drawing will be on sale at $20 per ticket or six for $100. Dozens of supporters have stepped up to make this show explode, and many more are expected to jump on board before and during the event.

The top 12 from Saturday’s “B” Main will transfer into the “A” Main. The first driver on the outside looking in (13th in the “B” Main) still walks away with $2,000 and every driver that takes the green flag in the “B” Main gets at least $1,200. The “C” Main pays a minimum of $1,000 to start, the “D” Main is at least $900 to start.

“D” Main: 1-12 to C-Main, 13. $1,000, 14. $975, 15. $950, 16. $925, 17-24. $900.
“C” Main: 1-12 to B-Main, 13. $1,200, 14. $1,100, 15. $1,075, 16. $1,050, 17. $1,025, 18-24. $1,000.
“B” Main: 1-12 to A-Main, 13. $2,000, 14. $1,500, 15. $1,400, 16. $1,300, 17-24. $1,200.
“A” Main: 1. $25,000, 2. $12,000, 3. $8,000, 4. $6,000, 5. $5,000, 6. $4,000, 7. $3,500, 8. $3,200, 9. $3,000, 10. $2,900, 11. $2,800, 12. $2,775, 13. $2,750, 14. $2,725, 15. $2,700, 16. $2,675, 17. $2,650, 18. $2,625, 19. $2,600, 20. $2,590, 21. $2,580, 22. $2,570, 23. $2,560, 24. $2,550, 25. $2,540, 26. $2,530, 27. $2,520, 28. $2,510, 29. $2,505, 30. $2,500, 31. $2,500, 32. $2,500, 33. $2,500.

Officials will also auction off two spots with an opening bid of $2,500 for any person what wishes to get their choice of driver into the finale. Any extra money above $2,500 per driver will be divided equally among drivers finishing third through 33rd.

One final spot will be added by a ticket raffle open to anybody. Tickets will be $10 each, 6 for $50 or 15 for $100. The winner can put in the driver they want into the 33rd starting spot.

Lap sponsorships are $1,000 per lap. From this, more than $40,000 goes to the drivers and $37,500 to sponsors and fans. Fifteen lap sponsors will also be entered for a chance to win up to $25,000.

All lap sponsors are in a draw for 15 winners among the 78 laps of sponsors. The feature winners on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will each draw five (5) random numbers from 1 through 78, and the sponsor(s) of those laps will be in Saturday’s drawing (15 lap sponsors total).

For fans, two (2) adults each on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday—plus two from Saturday’s 50/50 drawing—will be in the drawing (15 lap sponsors + 10 fans = 25 eligible winners).

During driver introductions on Saturday, five (5) random drivers will draw five (5) random names of fans with each fan getting $2,500. The driver that wins Saturday’s A-Main will draw a random name in the final drawing and that person will win $25,000.

Officials from the United States Modified Touring Series will be doing some special things for all of the current and former racers. Among the festivities at the 25th Anniversary Silver Jubilee are a delicous meal on Saturday afternoon for past USMTS racers and inducting some new names into the USMTS Hall of Fame.

Medieval USRA Stock Cars and USRA B-Mods will be racing again Thursday while USRA Hobby Stocks and Outlaw Mini-Mods join the program on Friday with just USRA Hobby Stocks on the ticket with the USMTS Modifieds on Saturday.

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.

For full event information or to buy advance tickets for this once-in-a-lifetime blockbuster, check out the FAST FACTS.

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 us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

For its Silver Anniversary season, the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt currently features racing at some of America's premier dirt track racing venues. 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 to learn more and follow us 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
25th Anniversary USMTS Silver Jubilee – Night 1 of 4
Mason City Motor Speedway, Mason City, Iowa
Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023

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

TIME TRIALS:
1. 50III Brandon Davis, Hayfield, Minn., 14.833 seconds.
2. 19R Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, 14.884.
3. 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., 14.929.
4. 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn., 14.947.
5. 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, 14.950.
6. 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa, 15.005.
7. 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn., 15.036.
8. 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas, 15.038.
9. 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, 15.067.
10. 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn., 15.143.
11. 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla., 15.167.
12. 51W J.T. Wasmund, Pine Island, Minn., 15.190.
13. 90 Ryan Wetzstein, West Concord, Minn., 15.191.
14. 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa, 15.236.
15. 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa, 15.243.
15. 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif., 15.243.
17. 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, 15.265.
18. 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark., 15.303.
19. 24 Aaron Benson, Clear Lake, Iowa, 15.305.
20. 75M Gunner Martin, Sugar creek, Mo., 15.307.
21. R Ron Ver Beek, Oskaloosa, Iowa, 15.382.
22. 30 Josh Ruby, Lakota, Iowa, 15.385.
23. 65D Dustin Brown, Clear Lake, Iowa, 15.453.
24. 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan., 15.473.
25. 44K Kelsie Foley, Otis, Kan., 15.510.
26. 23 Darwin Karau, Kasson, Minn., 15.528.
27. 22B Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan., 15.544.
28. 29H Joe Horgdal, Mantorville, Minn., 15.546.
29. 36K Jayden Larson, Mankato, Minn., 15.581.
29. 17 Lee Beemer, Fairmont, Minn., 15.581.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (10 laps):
1. (1) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
2. (4) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
3. (2) 90 Ryan Wetzstein, West Concord, Minn.
4. (5) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
5. (3) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
6. (6) 50III Brandon Davis, Hayfield, Minn.
7. (8) 30 Josh Ruby, Lakota, Iowa
8. (7) 24 Aaron Benson, Clear Lake, Iowa
9. (10) 29H Joe Horgdal, Mantorville, Minn.
10. (9) 44K Kelsie Foley, Otis, Kan.

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (10 laps):
1. (1) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
2. (4) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
3. (2) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
4. (3) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
5. (5) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
6. (7) 75M Gunner Martin, Sugar creek, Mo.
7. (10) 36K Jayden Larson, Mankato, Minn.
8. (9) 23 Darwin Karau, Kasson, Minn.
9. (6) 19R Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa
10. (8) 65D Dustin Brown, Clear Lake, Iowa

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (10 laps):
1. (1) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
2. (2) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
3. (6) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
4. (4) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa
5. (5) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
6. (3) 51W J.T. Wasmund, Pine Island, Minn.
7. (8) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
8. (9) 22B Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan.
9. (7) R Ron Ver Beek, Oskaloosa, Iowa
DNS – 17 Lee Beemer, Fairmont, Minn.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN (12 laps, all advance):
1. (1) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
2. (2) 75M Gunner Martin, Sugar creek, Mo.
3. (4) 51W J.T. Wasmund, Pine Island, Minn.
4. (6) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
5. (8) 24 Aaron Benson, Clear Lake, Iowa
6. (7) 23 Darwin Karau, Kasson, Minn.
7. (5) 30 Josh Ruby, Lakota, Iowa
8. (11) 44K Kelsie Foley, Otis, Kan.
9. (3) 36K Jayden Larson, Mankato, Minn.
10. (9) 29H Joe Horgdal, Mantorville, Minn.
DNS – 22B Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan.
DNS – 65D Dustin Brown, Clear Lake, Iowa
DNS – R Ron Ver Beek, Oskaloosa, Iowa
DNS – 17 Lee Beemer, Fairmont, Minn.

SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT “A” MAIN (25 laps):
1. (7) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
2. (2) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
3. (4) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
4. (3) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
5. (10) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
6. (9) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
7. (5) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
8. (6) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
9. (15) 19R Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa
10. (14) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
11. (1) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
12. (13) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
13. (16) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
14. (8) 90 Ryan Wetzstein, West Concord, Minn.
15. (12) 50III Brandon Davis, Hayfield, Minn.
16. (19) 51W J.T. Wasmund, Pine Island, Minn.
17. (11) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa
18. (21) 24 Aaron Benson, Clear Lake, Iowa
19. (22) 23 Darwin Karau, Kasson, Minn.
20. (26) 29H Joe Horgdal, Mantorville, Minn.
21. (17) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
22. (20) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
23. (18) 75M Gunner Martin, Sugar creek, Mo.
24. (24) 44K Kelsie Foley, Otis, Kan.
25. (23) 30 Josh Ruby, Lakota, Iowa
26. (25) 36K Jayden Larson, Mankato, Minn.
DNS – 22B Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan.
DNS – 17 Lee Beemer, Fairmont, Minn.
DNS – 65D Dustin Brown, Clear Lake, Iowa
DNS – R Ron Ver Beek, Oskaloosa, Iowa

Lap Leaders: Ramirez 1-22, Timm 23-25.
Total Laps Led: Ramirez 22, Timm 3.
Margin of Victory: 1.131 seconds.
Time of Race: 9 minutes, 47.978 (1 caution).
Provisional Starters: none.
Emergency Provisionals: none.
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Timm (started 7th, finished 1st).
Entries: 30.
Next Race: Thursday, Aug. 17, Mason City Motor Speedway.
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.

Contingency Awards:
Aero Race Wheels – Gustin.
American Racer – TBD.
Beyea Custom Headers – Wolff.
BigDeal Car Care – Timm, Gustin.
Bryke Racing – Davis.
BSB Manufacturing – Williamson.
Carquest – TBD.
Champ Pans – Ebert.
Collins Brothers Towing – Ver Beek.
Deatherage Opticians – Wetzstein.
Edelbrock – Wolff.
Fast Shafts – VanderBeek.
FK Rod Ends – Timm.
Hooker Harness – Christian.
Hyperco – Karau.
Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – Benson.
Keyser Manufacturing – Sanders.
KSE Racing Products – Timm.
MD3 – Ramirez.
Mel Hambelton Racing – Ramirez.
Mesilla Valley Transportation – TBD.
Midwest Wrap Co. – Givens.
MSD Performance – Mari.
Penske Racing Shocks – K. Brown.
PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain – Givens.
QA1 – Wolff.
Quarter Master – VanderBeek.
RacerWebsite.com – Karau.
Salty’s BBQ & Catering – Timm.
Simpson Race Products – Mari.
Summit Racing Equipment – Gustin, Horgdal, Karau, Martin, Ruby.
Super Clean – Timm.
Swift Springs – Davis, Hejna, Gustin.
Sybesma Graphics – Hejna.
VP Racing – Timm.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products – Larson.
Willy's Carb & Dyno Shop – Gustin.
Wilwood Disc Brakes – Ahumada.