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Sanders best of the best in Friday Featherlite Fall Jamboree thriller

Magical things just seem to happen between the walls of the Deer Creek Speedway when the United States Modified Touring Series is in town, and the racing gods bestowed yet another badass blessing on the race fans Friday during the second night of the 21st Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree.

When considering the amount of sheer excitement throughout the evening’s 40-lap main event, perhaps the best move of the night took place when Jake Timm, Blake Arndt and Kyle Brown climbed from their destroyed race cars after a frightening crash on the opening lap.

Replays from the live RacinDirt.tv broadcast showed Jason Hughes and Arndt make contact near the end of the back-stretch while battling in the middle of the pack. Arndt shot up the track into a helpless Timm who then smacked the concrete wall and went into a series of end-over-end flips, nearly exiting the track.

Brown, who used a provisional in the USMTS Hunt for the Casey’s Cup to get the 30th starting spot, was also collected in the melee. Ultimately, after a few tense moments, all three racers emerged from the twisted metal without serious injury.

On the restart, cars became bunched up coming to the flagstand which forced one car off the track and brought about the race’s second slow-down before a single lap could be completed.

Finally under green, Dustin Sorensen took control from the pole position and proceeded to set a blistering pace around the extreme high side of the high-banked 3/8-mile clay oval with Austin Siebert and Jake O’Neil challenging the second-generation speedster.

USMTS national points leader Rodney Sanders joined the fray and O’Neil used the occasion to grab second place from Siebert as they raced three-wide behind Sorensen. With Sorensen, O’Neil and Sanders dragging each other around the top of the track, the caution flew on lap 13 just as the leaders had caught the back of the field.

When the green flag returned, Sanders took advantage and slipped by O’Neil for second while 14th-starting Jacob Bleess took fourth away from Hunter Marriott.

A slight bobble in turn two was all that Sanders needed to make a run on Sorensen, and the two-time USMTS national champ slid past the 18-year old for the lead on lap 24.

The final 16 laps were nothing short of incredible.

While Sanders continued to hold serve, O’Neil followed in his tire tracks with Sorensen right behind and Marriott trailing in fourth. Meanwhile, Thursday night winner Dereck Ramirez (from 24th) and Zack VanderBeek (from 22nd) had cracked the top ten and battling to get into the top five.

Lapped cars gain became a factor with ten laps remaining. Sanders and O’Neil broke away slightly and waged a hearty battle through traffic when suddenly the yellow lights came on and caution flew over the speedway with just two laps to go.

On the restart, O’Neil was a bit slow to fire but caught Sanders by the time they reached back-stretch while Sorensen tip-toed his way around the low side of the racing surface and Ramirez tried to squeeze in through the middle.

Entering the final corner coming to the checkered flag, O’Neil shot to the low side and began a huge slide up the track but was restrained enough to give Sanders a car’s width to squirt around the top and speed past to take the win.

As O’Neil tucked in behind Sanders, Sorensen snuck underneath for second while Ramirez passed 20 of his fellow competitors en route to a fourth-place finish and VanderBeek drive by 17 cars to register his second top-five in as many nights.

Top three (from left to right): runner-up Dustin Sorensen, winner Rodney Sanders and third-place finisher Jake O'Neil.

Not to be outdone, track champion Brandon Davis passed 20 cars too, finishing seventh behind Marriott with Bleess, Hughes and 21st-starting Lucas Schott rounding out the top ten.

 â€œDustin had a good car and he had a fast pace early, and I was just trying to save my stuff there,â€? Sanders told USMTS announcer Chris Stepan in victory lane. “I kind of moved up there after I got by him and I felt like I was just kind of spinning my wheels a little bit. I saw Jake back underneath me and moved back down.

With his ninth career USMTS victory at ‘The Creek’ and 96th overall in USMTS competition, Sanders pocketed $5,000 and took another step closer to securing his third national title.

“It was a fun race. I’ve got to thank Jake and Dustin and all those guys for running hard and clean. Jake threw a ‘Hail Mary’ at the end but he left me room. It’s fun when you can race hard with people like that but not tear up anything.�

Eartlier in the program, the Stoen Racing Engines “Dash 4 Cash� featured the drivers with the fastest one-lap time in each heat race competing for $1,000 to win. Hughes held off O'Neil for the win, followed by Marriott, Sanders, Ethan Dotson and Travis Saurer.

In addition to $2,000 in cold, hard cash for the eight-lap sprint, the six drivers also earned contingency awards and product from Callies Performance Products, Construction Partnership, Inc., Jobbers Parts Warehouse, Kevko Racing Oil Pans & Components, National Fleet Graphics and Spyder High Performance Filters.

Jason Hughes won the Stoen "Dash 4 Cash" race.

The 21st Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree continues Saturday, and race fans will witness a complete program with the winner of Saturday’s championship pocketing $10,000. Thirty cars will start the main event which will go three-wide for the green flag start. The 30-car Non-Qualifiers Race will pay $2,000 to win.

The pit gate opens at 3 p.m., grandstands open at 4, opening ceremonies begin at 5:45 and racing gets underway at 6 p.m. For fans unable to attend in person, all three nights of the 21st Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree will be broadcast live at RacinDirt.TV.

The Deer Creek Speedway is a high-banked 3/8-mile clay oval which sits on 60 acres with one of America’s most popular state-of-the-art racing complexes and an adjoining campground. The track is located 11.3 miles south of I-90 at exit 209 on US 63 (0.7 mile north of SR 16). The physical address for mapping is 25262 US Hwy 63, Spring Valley, MN 55975. For more information, call (507) 754-6107 or check out DeerCreekSpeedway.com online. Follow ‘The Creek’ on social media at facebook.com/DeerCreekSpeedway and twitter.com/DeerCreekSpeed.

To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series (USMTS), visit USMTS.com online or call (515) 832-7944. You can also like us on Facebook at facebook.com/USMTS, follow on Twitter at twitter.com/USMTS, check us out on Instagram at instagram.com/USMTS and subscribe to our YouTube channel at youtube.com/USMTSTV. Keep up to speed by joining our email list at USMTS.com/Subscribe.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
Casey’s General Stores USMTS National Championship
USMTS Hunt for the Casey’s Cup powered by Summit
21st Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree – Night 2 of 3
Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, Minn.
Friday, Sept. 20, 2019

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine builder, laps completed and money won. The top 16 in heat race passing points plus the top 4 in the “B� Mains advanced to the “A� Main. Drivers with the fastest single-lap time in each heat race were eligible to compete in the Dash.

SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (10 laps):

1. (2) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
2. (3) 111jr Keith Tourville, Janesville, Minn.
3. (5) 51w Nate Wasmund, Rochester, Minn.
4. (11) 44 Adam Hensel, Baldwin, Wis.
5. (1) 98d Bobby Swanson, Kasson, Minn.
6. (9) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis.
7. (7) 22b Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan.
8. (4) 8c Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.
9. (10) 24s Charlie Steinberg (R), Kasson, Minn.
10. (6) 33f Jardin Fuller, Memphis, Mo.
11. (8) 29h Joe Horgdal, Kasson, Minn.
    DNS – 33 Joe Ludemann, Grand Meadow, Minn.

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (10 laps):

1. (1) 3c Chet Atkinson (R), North Hugo, Minn.
2. (6) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
3. (8) 62 Hunter Marriott (R), Brookfield, Mo.
4. (10) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
5. (5) 50 Brady Caul (R), Fort Frances, Ont., Can.
6. (9) 2x Brady Gerdes, Villard, Minn.
7. (2) 1a Dwaine Hanson, Lakefield, Minn.
8. (11) 35b David Baxter (R), Eau Clare, Wis.
9. (7) 59 Bob Sammann, Winona, Minn.
10. (4) 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan.
11. (3) 24 Brad Waits, Rochester, Minn.
    DNS – 00g Mark Gartner, Mapleton, Minn.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (10 laps):

1. (1) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn.
2. (2) 94jr John Doelle, Arcadia, Wis.
3. (6) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
4. (7) 49jr Jake Timm, Minnesota City, Minn.
5. (3) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
6. (4) 21k Kyle Brown (R), Madrid, Iowa.
7. (5) 777 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa.
8. (11) 71 Jason Cummins, New Richland, Minn.
9. (8) 7j Cory Jones (R), Zimmerman, Minn.
10. (9) 21m Dean Mahlstedt, Clear Lake, Iowa.
11. (10) D25 David Tanner, Wichita Falls, Texas.
    DNS – 30 Matt Leer, Bruce, Wis.

MSD PERFORMANCE HEAT RACE #4 (10 laps):

1. (2) 21x Travis Saurer, Elizabeth, Minn.
2. (1) 51a Blake Arndt (R), Brownsdale, Minn.
3. (4) 51 Chris Oertel, Marshfield, Wis.
4. (3) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
5. (5) 15w Alex Williamson (R), Rushford, Minn.
6. (8) 23d Darwin Karau, Kasson, Minn.
7. (6) 4a Joel Alberts, Kasson, Minn.
8. (7) 27 Don Gerritsen Jr., Rock Rapids, Iowa.
9. (9) 55w Jeffrey Wood, Chisholm, Minn.
10. (11) 77 Jacob Stark (R), Austin, Minn.
11. (10) 45 Levi Nielsen, Evansdale, Iowa.
    DNS – 17 Mike Striegel (R), Wheatland, Mo.

VP RACING FUELS HEAT RACE #5 (10 laps):

1. (1) 71 Ethan Dotson, Bakersfield, Calif.
2. (3) 8s Tony Schill (R), Oakdale, Minn.
3. (7) 96t R.C. Whitwell, Tucson, Ariz.
4. (9) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
5. (6) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
6. (10) 23k Erik Kanz (R), Winona, Minn.
7. (2) 13x McKenzie Gerdes (R), Villard, Minn.
8. (4) 78 Derrick Hicks (R), Ravenwood, Mo.
9. (11) 782 Miah Christensen (R), Tea, S.D.
10. (5) 91s Greg Skaggs, Broken Arrow, Okla.
11. (8) 98 Kevin Stoa, Albert Lea, Minn.

SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT HEAT RACE #6 (10 laps):

1. (1) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo.
2. (6) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
3. (2) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
4. (4) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn.
5. (9) 2g Kenny Gaddis, Diana, Texas.
6. (3) 20m Mark Motl, Owatonna, Minn.
7. (8) 3a Taylor Ausrud (R), Hayfield, Minn.
8. (10) 5d Devon Havlik (R), Iowa Falls, Iowa.
9. (5) 209 Ron Ver Beek, Oskaloosa, Iowa.
10. (7) 50iii Brandon Davis, Medford, Minn.
    DNS – 96 Greg Jensen, Albert Lea, Minn.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B� MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 4 advance):

1. (2) 51 Chris Oertel, Marshfield, Wis.
2. (1) 51a Blake Arndt (R), Brownsdale, Minn.
3. (4) 23 Erik Kanz (R), Winona, Minn.
4. (6) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
5. (5) 2x Brady Gerdes, Villard, Minn., SSR/Sput’s, $50.
6. (15) 24 Brad Waits, Rochester, Minn.
7. (7) 21k Kyle Brown (R), Madrid, Iowa.
8. (11) 27 Don Gerritsen Jr., Rock Rapids, Iowa, Skyrocket/HarryHeads, $50.
9. (16) 98 Kevin Stoa, Albert Lea, Minn., Harris/KSE, $50.
10. (13) 55w Jeffrey Wood, Chisholm, Minn., Shaw/ChevPerf, $50.
11. (3) 2g Kenny Gaddis, Diana, Texas, MBCustoms/PTS, $50.
12. (10) 13x McKenzie Gerdes (R), Villard, Minn., SSR/Stoen, $50.
13. (9) 1a Dwaine Hanson, Lakefield, Minn., Skyrocket/KSE, $50.
14. (14) 91s Greg Skaggs, Broken Arrow, Okla., Rage/ChevPerf, $50.
15. (12) 24s Charlie Steinberg (R), Kasson, Minn., Ramirez/Flyin’J, $50.
16. (8) 35b David Baxter (R), Eau Clare, Wis., Rocket/Baxter, $50.
    DNS – 33f Jardin Fuller, Memphis, Mo., Hughes/Mullins, $50.
    DNS – 00g Mark Gartner, Mapleton, Minn., $0.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B� MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 4 advance):

1. (2) 49jr Jake Timm, Minnesota City, Minn.
2. (3) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
3. (1) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
4. (13) 50iii Brandon Davis, Medford, Minn.
5. (7) 71 Jason Cummins, New Richland, Minn., Rocket/Baier’s, $50.
6. (5) 15w Alex Williamson (R), Rushford, Minn., SSR/KSE, $50.
7. (8) 777 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa, Rage/ChevPerf, $50.
8. (12) 209 Ron Ver Beek, Oskaloosa, Iowa, IROC/ChevPerf, $50.
9. (6) 20m Mark Motl, Owatonna, Minn., GRT/Sput’s, $50.
10. (9) 5d Devon Havlik (R), Iowa Falls, Iowa, Sidebiter/Johnson, $50.
11. (4) 98d Bobby Swanson, Kasson, Minn., Skyrocket/ASI, $50.
12. (11) 59 Bob Sammann, Winona, Minn., GRT/Allard, $50.
13. (14) D25 David Tanner, Wichita Falls, Texas, WesternFlyer/KPE, $50.
14. (10) 78 Derrick Hicks (R), Ravenwood, Mo., Hughes/Wyman, $50.
    DNS – 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/TriStar, $50.
    DNS – 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan., Jet/Speedway, $50.
    DNS – 96 Greg Jensen, Albert Lea, Minn., $0.
    DNS – 30 Matt Leer, Bruce, Wis., $0.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B� MAIN #3 (15 laps, top 4 advance):

1. (3) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn.
2. (2) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
3. (4) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis.
4. (9) 4a Joel Alberts, Kasson, Minn.
5. (15) 29h Joe Horgdal, Kasson, Minn., Killer/KSE, $50.
6. (8) 22b Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan., GRT/Hatfield, $50.
7. (1) 51w Nate Wasmund, Rochester, Minn., DirtDueler/Baier’s, $50.
8. (6) 23d Darwin Karau, Kasson, Minn., Killer/Flyin’J, $50.
9. (12) 7j Cory Jones (R), Zimmerman, Minn., MBCustoms/Tim’s, $50.
10. (7) 3a Taylor Ausrud (R), Hayfield, Minn., MBCustoms/Midstate, $50.
11. (13) 77 Jacob Stark (R), Austin, Minn., LG2/KSE, $50.
12. (16) 45 Levi Nielsen, Evansdale, Iowa, MBCustoms/KSE, $50.
13. (5) 50 Brady Caul (R), Fort Frances, Ont., Can., Taylor/ChevPerf, $50.
14. (11) 782 Miah Christensen (R), Tea, S.D., MBCustoms/JB, $50.
15. (10) 8c Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo., GRT/Cornett, $50.
16. (14) 21m Dean Mahlstedt, Clear Lake, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, $50.
    DNS – 33 Joe Ludemann, Grand Meadow, Minn., $0.
    DNS – 17 Mike Striegel, Wheatland, Mo., $0.

STOEN RACING ENGINES “DASH 4 CASH� (8 laps):

1. (1) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., $1000.
2. (2) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz., $400.
3. (3) 62 Hunter Marriott (R), Brookfield, Mo., $300.
4. (4) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, $100.
5. (6) 71 Ethan Dotson, Bakersfield, Calif., $100.
6. (5) 21x Travis Saurer, Elizabeth, Minn., $100.

CASEY’S GENERAL STORES “A� MAIN (40 laps):

1. (8) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustoms/Hatfield, 40, $5000.
2. (1) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn., MBCustoms/Action, 40, $3000.
3. (5) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz., LG2/Cornett, 40, $2000.
4. (24) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/Cornett, 40, $1500.
5. (22) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, VanderBuilt/Stoen, 40, $1000.
6. (9) 62 Hunter Marriott (R), Brookfield, Mo., Rage/KSE, 40, $900.
7. (27) 50iii Brandon Davis, Medford, Minn., Tri-Built/KSE, 40, $800.
8. (14) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn., VanderBuilt/KSE, 40, $750.
9. (15) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $700.
10. (21) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn., MBCustoms/Action, 40, $650.
11. (19) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn., MBCustoms/Stoen, 40, $625.
12. (6) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., GRT/Durham, 40, $600.
13. (26) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., MBCustoms/Hill, 40, $575.
14. (2) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo., MBCustoms/Durham, 40, $550.
15. (7) 21x Travis Saurer, Elizabeth, Minn., MBCustoms/ChevPerf, 40, $525.
16. (16) 94jr John Doelle, Arcadia, Wis., Rocket/Sput’s, 40, $500.
17. (12) 111jr Keith Tourville, Janesville, Minn., Player/MAS, 40, $475.
18. (13) 8s Tony Schill (R), Oakdale, Minn., SSR/KSE, 40, $450.
19. (25) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis., VanderBuilt/OFI, 40, $425.
20. (23) 23 Erik Kanz (R), Winona, Minn., Shaw/Action, 40, $400.
21. (28) 4a Joel Alberts, Kasson, Minn., VanderBuilt/Stoen, 40, $400.
22. (17) 51 Chris Oertel, Marshfield, Wis., MBCustoms/Mullins, 40, $400.
23. (4) 3c Chet Atkinson (R), North Hugo, Minn., Sidebiter/Wagamon, 40, $400.
24. (11) 96t R.C. Whitwell, Tucson, Ariz., Longhorn/Mullins, 38, $400.
25. (10) 44 Adam Hensel, Baldwin, Wis., DirtDueler/OFI, 34, $400.
26. (3) 71 Ethan Dotson, Bakersfield, Calif., Longhorn/ChevPerf, 30, $400.
27. (29) 24 Brad Waits, Rochester, Minn., VanderBuilt/Stoen, 30, $400.
28. (18) 49jr Jake Timm, Minnesota City, Minn., MBCustoms/OFI, 0, $400.
29. (20) 51a Blake Arndt (R), Brownsdale, Minn., Shaw/KSE, 0, $400.
30. (30) 21k Kyle Brown (R), Madrid, Iowa, Harris/Tesar, 0, $400.

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

Lap Leaders: Sorensen 1-22, Sanders 23-40.
Total Laps Led: Sorensen 22, Sanders 18.
Margin of Victory: 0.359 second.
Time of Race: 17 minutes, 15.653 seconds (4 cautions).
Provisional Starters: Waits, Brown.
Eibach Spring Forward Award: Davis (advanced 28 positions).
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Ramirez (started 24th, finished 4th).
Entries: 70.
Next Race: Saturday, Sept. 21, Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, Minn.
Casey’s General Stores USMTS National Championship Points: Sanders 3528, Ramirez 3329, Marriott 3133, Phillips 2940, Gustin 2889, O'Neil 2828, Kates 2289, VanderBeek 2219, Striegel 1878, Saurer 1635.
USMTS Hunt for the Casey’s Cup Points: Sanders 1646, Ramirez 1624, Marriott 1502, Phillips 1489, O'Neil 1258, Gustin 1202, Saurer 1145, Kates 1125, VanderBeek 888, Striegel 716.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: Marriott 2104, Striegel 1591, Dustin Hodges 584, Carlos Ahumada Jr. 549, Nathan Hagar 415.
USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: MBCustoms 321, Hughes 315, GRT 244, Rage 240, LG2 235.
USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: Cornett 290, Hatfield 288, KSE 221, Durham 203, TriStar 165, Stoen 165.

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