Thursday’s opener at the 23rd Annual Masters was the 16th event of the 2022 season for the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt, and points leader Dustin Sorensen rumbled to his fourth victory of the season at the legendary Cedar Lake Speedway.
Jake O’Neil, however, has garnered the most wins this season with his fifth triumph happening just five nights ago in the finale of the Belleville Dirt Nationals and he sat on the pole for the start of the 35-lap main event at the 65-year-old 3/8-mile high-banked clay oval.
But it was fellow front row starter Kyle Brown who got the jump on O’Neil our of the gate and took control of the race with Dan Ebert following into second place one lap later. They remained that way until the race’s first caution on lap 4.
With the green flag back out, O’Neil narrowly held his spot as Jake Timm and Cayden Carter challenged him for the spot. That battle lasted only one lap as Rodney Sanders, who was fighting for seventh, suffered a flat left rear tire and forced a second appearance of the yellow flag.
Back to racing, a fun four-car fight between Brown, Ebert, Sorensen and rim-riding Jake Timm all in the hunt for the top spot. Timm’s tip-toeing around the top ended on lap 8 when he smacked the yellow guardrail in turn 2 and left the race as the yellow waved again.
The next restart saw Sorensen find some traction on the low side of the track and he slipped past Brown for the lead with 20 laps in the books. A few moment slater, O’Neil stormed around the outside of Brown into second.
Following another caution with 10 laps to go, O’Neil found himself three-wide with Zack VanderBeek and Ebert as they exited the fourth turn racing back to the green flag. The result was another caution with O’Neil and VanderBeek both restarting at the tail of the field.
Back-to-back cautions for Darron Fuqua and debris on the racing surface with nine laps to go kept the field bunched tightly and kept lapped traffic out of the picture for most of the race.
One more caution with six laps to go extinguished any hopes that Sanders, O’Neil or Shane DeVolder were holding on to as the trio collided in the fourth turn.
It seemed to only place to avoid trouble was to be in front of it, and that’s just what Sorensen did for the final 15 laps of the race to nab his tenth USMTS triumph—doubling the career win total of his father, Mike Sorensen.
While Sorensen pocketed $3,000 for his effort, Ebert came home with the runner-up paycheck behind the 21-year-old points leader with Terry Phillips, Dereck Ramirez and Carter completing the top five.
Brown held on for a solid sixth-place finish as 24th-starting Tanner Mullens held off 22nd-starting Carlos Ahumada Jr. for the seventh spot. Tyler Davis and Brandon Givens rounded out the top 10.
More Masters Friday and Saturday: The 23rd Annual Masters continues Friday and Saturday with complete programs each night. USMTS Modifieds and Super Late Models compete in a pair of $5,000-to-win shows on Friday followed by Saturday’s $10,000-to-win two-headed championship event.
USRA Late Models will also run a complete program with $600 to win Friday and a $1,000 top prize on Saturday with all three nights awarding Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series national points.
The pit gate opens at 2 p.m. each day and spectator gates open at 5. Drivers will gather for their pit meeting at 6 with hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7 all three nights.
On Friday, general admission is $35, students are $17 and pit passes are $40. Saturday’s general admission tickets are $40, students are $20 and pit passes are $45. Kids ages 5 and under are admitted free of charge every day.
If you can’t be there in person, witness all the action at RacinDirt.TV. Watch live and access exclusive content on your desktop and laptop computers, as well as a suite of apps for added convenience including Roku, Amazon Fire, iOS, Apple TVGoogle Play.
Founded in 1957, the Cedar Lake Speedway is a state-of-the-art 3/8-mile high-banked clay oval and is one of the nation's leading short track facilities.
The track is located 1.0 mile east of SR 35 on SR 64, then 4.2 miles north on CR C to CR CC, then left 1.8 miles. For more information, call (612) 363-0479 or (715) 248-7119 or visit CedarLakeSpeedway.com.
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
23rd Annual Masters – Night 1 of 3
Cedar Lake Speedway, New Richmond, Wis.
Thursday, June 16, 2022
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) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
2. (4) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
3. (1) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
4. (3) 71D Dustin Strand, East Grand Forks, Minn.
5. (6) 04JR Adam Ayotte, Elk River, Minn.
6. (5) 96M Mike McKinney, Plainfield, Ill.
7. (9) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn.
8. (7) 44H Adam Hensel, Baldwin, Wis.
9. (10) 12B Cory Bruggeman, Stillwater, Minn.
10. (8) 27P Parker Anderson, Phillips, Wis.
FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (1) 94JR John Doelle, Arcadia, Wis.
2. (4) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
3. (6) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
4. (8) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
5. (2) 29D Brad Dierks, Clarence, Iowa
6. (10) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.
7. (7) 10 Daniel Bargender, Menomonie, Wis.
8. (9) 43K Kaden Blaeser, Chippewa Falls, Wis.
9. (5) 22 Alan Bohlman, Isanti, Minn.
10. (3) 45 Chase Holland, Saucier, Miss.
EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (4) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
2. (1) 1M Curt Myers, Cameron, Wis.
3. (6) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo.
4. (9) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
5. (5) 26G Ryan Gierke, Villard, Minn.
6. (7) T40 Danny Thomas, Knapp, Wis.
7. (8) 5K Tyler Kaeter, St. Cloud, Minn.
8. (3) 44S Shane DeVolder, Pacifica, Calif.
9. (2) 85 Jayson Good, Watertown, S.D.
MSD PERFORMANCE HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (2) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
2. (1) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
3. (4) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
4. (3) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
5. (6) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
6. (5) 14W Clayton Wagamon, Blaine, Minn.
7. (9) 28 Jimmy Mars, Menomonie, Wis.
8. (8) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.
9. (7) 25 Adam Bohlman, Princeton, Minn.
VP RACING FUELS HEAT RACE #5 (8 laps):
1. (2) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
2. (4) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
3. (1) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
4. (3) 30 Matt Leer, Bruce, Wis.
5. (6) 2C Dave Cain, Corcoran, Minn.
6. (8) W Cory Williams, Spring Valley, Wis.
7. (7) 56 Colton Horner, Houston, Texas
8. (9) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
9. (5) 44 Darrell Nelson, Hermantown, Minn.
WRISCO HEAT RACE #6 (8 laps):
1. (4) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn.
2. (2) 2G Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
3. (8) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
4. (1) 73 Andy Jones, Princeton, Minn.
5. (3) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
6. (9) 71 A.J. Roschen, Somerset, Wis.
7. (7) 96 Taton Hansen, Spicer, Minn.
8. (5) 38T Dylan Thornton, Santa Maria, Calif.
9. (6) 24 Brandon Dolman, Alexandria, Minn.
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (12 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (1) 1M Curt Myers, Cameron, Wis.
2. (4) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
3. (2) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
4. (3) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
5. (5) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.
6. (6) 2C Dave Cain, Corcoran, Minn.
7. (10) 10 Daniel Bargender, Menomonie, Wis.
8. (13) 12B Cory Bruggeman, Stillwater, Minn.
9. (8) T40 Danny Thomas, Knapp, Wis.
10. (14) 25 Adam Bohlman, Princeton, Minn.
11. (11) 43K Kaden Blaeser, Chippewa Falls, Wis.
12. (15) 45 Chase Holland, Saucier, Miss.
13. (9) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn.
14. (7) 71 A.J. Roschen, Somerset, Wis.
15. (12) 44H Adam Hensel, Baldwin, Wis.
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (12 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (3) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
2. (1) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo.
3. (2) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
4. (5) 04JR Adam Ayotte, Elk River, Minn.
5. (11) 44S Shane DeVolder, Pacifica, Calif.
6. (4) 30 Matt Leer, Bruce, Wis.
7. (9) 28 Jimmy Mars, Menomonie, Wis.
8. (6) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
9. (8) 96M Mike McKinney, Plainfield, Ill.
10. (7) 26G Ryan Gierke, Villard, Minn.
11. (15) 27P Parker Anderson, Phillips, Wis.
12. (12) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.
13. (14) 44 Darrell Nelson, Hermantown, Minn.
14. (10) 56 Colton Horner, Houston, Texas
15. (13) 85 Jayson Good, Watertown, S.D.
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #3 (12 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (1) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
2. (2) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
3. (3) 71D Dustin Strand, East Grand Forks, Minn.
4. (5) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
5. (4) 73 Andy Jones, Princeton, Minn.
6. (8) 14W Clayton Wagamon, Blaine, Minn.
7. (12) 38T Dylan Thornton, Santa Maria, Calif.
8. (10) 96 Taton Hansen, Spicer, Minn.
9. (6) 29D Brad Dierks, Clarence, Iowa
10. (13) 22 Alan Bohlman, Isanti, Minn.
11. (7) W Cory Williams, Spring Valley, Wis.
12. (11) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
13. (14) 24 Brandon Dolman, Alexandria, Minn.
14. (9) 5K Tyler Kaeter, St. Cloud, Minn.
SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT “A” MAIN (35 laps):
1. (8) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn.
2. (4) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
3. (10) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
4. (15) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
5. (3) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
6. (2) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
7. (24) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
8. (22) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
9. (12) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
10. (11) 2G Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
11. (25) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
12. (20) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
13. (16) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
14. (26) 38T Dylan Thornton, Santa Maria, Calif.
15. (17) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo.
16. (18) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
17. (7) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
18. (1) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
19. (27) 44S Shane DeVolder, Pacifica, Calif.
20. (14) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
21. (5) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
22. (19) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
23. (9) 94JR John Doelle, Arcadia, Wis.
24. (23) 04JR Adam Ayotte, Elk River, Minn.
25. (6) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
26. (13) 1M Curt Myers, Cameron, Wis.
27. (21) 71D Dustin Strand, East Grand Forks, Minn.
Lap Leaders: Brown 1-20, Sorensen 21-35.
Total Laps Led: Brown 20, Sorensen 15.
Margin of Victory: 1.552 seconds.
Time of Race: 31 minutes, 17.410 seconds (9 cautions).
Provisional Starters: Bleess, Thornton.
Emergency Provisionals: DeVolder.
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Mullens (started 24th, finished 7th).
Entries: 56.
Next Race: Friday-Saturday, June 17-18, Cedar Lake Speedway, New Richmond, Wis.
Summit USMTS National Championship Points: Sorensen 1379, Mullens 1297, Ramirez 1255, VanderBeek 1211, Sanders 1194, Phillips 1183, Hughes 1166, Ebert 1111, Bleess 1067, Carter 1063.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: Carter 979, Thornton 857, Brown 845, DeVolder 830, Horner 737.
Miller Welders USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: MBCustoms 136, Hughes 113, Mullens 112, VanderBuilt 101, GRT 77.
Compstar/JE Pistons USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: Cornett 115, Action 108, Stoen 96, Mullens 78, Hatfield 76.
Contingency Awards:
American Racer – Thomas.
Beyea Custom Headers – Ramirez.
BigDeal Car Care – Sorensen, Wolff.
Bryke Racing – Siebert.
BSB Manufacturing – Fuqua.
Champ Pans – Carter.
Deatherage Opticians – Thornton.
Edelbrock – Timm.
Fast Shafts – Doelle.
FK Rod Ends – Mullens.
Hooker Harness – Hughes.
Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – DeVolder.
Keyser Manufacturing – Givens.
KS Engineering – Bleess.
KSE Racing Products – Davis.
Mel Hambelton Ford Racing – Ebert.
Mesilla Valley Transportation – Holland.
Midwest Wrap Co. – Wolff.
MSD Performance – Ebert.
Penske Racing Shocks – VanderBeek.
PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain – Horner.
QA1 – Sanders.
RacerWebsite.com – Blaeser.
Simpson Performance Products – Sanders.
Summit Racing Equipment – Bargender, Adam Bohlman, Alan Bohlman, Dierks.
Super Clean – Sorensen.
Swift Springs – O’Neil, Sorensen, Ayotte.
Sybesma Graphics – Timm.
Tire Demon – Hensel.
VP Racing Fuels – Sorensen.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products – Kaeter.
Wilwood Disc Brakes – O’Neil.
USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Beyea Headers, Chevrolet Performance, Compstar, Fast Shafts, FK Rod Ends, Intercomp, K1 RaceGear by Ryan Bowers Motorsports, KS Engineering, KSE Racing Products, Malvern Bank, Mesilla Valley Transportation, MSD Performance, Nitroquest Media, PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain, RacinDirt, Summit Racing Equipment, Super Clean, VP Racing Fuels, Wrisco Industries.
USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: ARMI Contractors, Boubin Tire & Automotive, Brodix Cylinder Heads, DAY Motorsports, Hacienda Mechanical, Mel Hambelton Racing, Midwest Wrap Co., Miller Welders, PBM Performance Products, Rancho Milagro Racing, RHRSwag.com, S&S Fishing & Rental, Salty's BBQ & Catering, YouDirt.com.
USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Allstar Performance, BigDeal Car Care, Bryke Racing, BSB Manufacturing, Champ Pans, Deatherage Opticians, Edelbrock, Hooker Harness, Integra Racing Shocks and Springs, JE Pistons, Keyser Manufacturing, Penske Racing Shocks, Performance Bodies & Parts, QA1, RacerWebsite.com, Real Racing Wheels, Simpson Performance Products, Swift Springs, Sybesma Graphics, Tire Demon, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, Wilwood Racing.
USMTS RACETRACKS: 81 Speedway, Arrowhead Speedway, Belleville High Banks, Casino Speedway, Cedar Lake Speedway, Chateau Speedway, Dallas County Speedway, Deer Creek Speedway, Fayette County Speedway, Humboldt Speedway, I-70 Speedway, Lakeside Speedway, Lucas Oil Speedway, Mason City Motor Speedway, Mississippi Thunder Speedway, Ogilvie Raceway, Red Dirt Raceway, Rocket Raceway Park, Tri-State Speedway, Winneshiek Raceway.
