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O’Neil notches another USMTS win in Featherlite Fall Jamboree opener

SEPTEMBER 25, 2020   by Jeff Nun, USMTS.com
 

On a night filled with jaw-dropping dirt modified racing action, Jake O’Neil continued his mastery of the Deer Creek Speedway on Friday with a crowd-pleasing victory on opening night of the 22nd Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree.

“Man , we’ve just been working really, really hard,� O’Neil said. “I just can’t say enough about Jimmy Owens. I get the basic kind of figured out a little bit, and then he gives me a spark every once in a while. I tell you what, whatever we hit on here this things rolling. We don’t have to change too much here as long as the track’s fairly smooth.�

Whether it’s the long hours and hard work by the veteran track crew, the architecture of the racetrack or just plain magic, ‘The Creek’ always finds a way to deliver incredible racing and exceptional value for the price of admission.

Friday night’s show was no exception as the America’s annual marquee dirt modified event produced unbelievable action from beginning to end, provided by legends of the sport and legends in the making.

Of the 110 previous USMTS features ran at the Deer Creek Speedway, 23 times the checkered flag waved for one of the three racers on Friday night’s formidable front row. Coming into the night, Terry Phillips had five and Brandon Davis had four while Jason Hughes boasted a series-best 14 wins here.

The 32-car main event field took the green flag three-wide and ten-plus rows deep with Phillips grabbing the lead on the opening lap from polesitter Davis and outside front-row starter Hughes.

While Phillips slowly put space between himself and Hughes, John Doelle got by Davis for third on the third lap and challenged Hughes for second. Meanwhile, there were multiple slide-jobs, cross-overs and four-wide racing happening every lap throughout the field and O’Neil was clawing his way to the front from his 12th starting spot.

While still leading on the 15th lap, Phillips reached the back of the field. This allowed Hughes and the rest of his pursuers to narrow the gap as the lead pack drove inside, outside and in between back-markers in very turn.

Undaunted, Phillips continued to set the pace when Jake Timm smacked the outside wall in turn two while racing inside the top five on lap 22. His car slowed considerably to bring about the race’s first and only yellow flag, allowing the competitors and fans a chance to finally breathe after a heart-stopping first half of the 40-lapper.

When the green light shined again, Phillips pulled away again while Hughes followed in second with O’Neil glued to his rear bumper. In a three-wide race to the flagstand, Davis passed both Hughes and O’Neil while O’Neil passed Hughes for third.

One lap later, O’Neil had second place in his grasp and set his sights on Phillips.

O’Neil caught the leader with ten laps to go and it was visibly apparent that Phillips’ mount was not handling as well as it did early on. A few passes back and forth between the two resulted in O’Neil seizing control on lap 34 and then speeding away to claim his ninth career victory in the Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey’s.

It was O’Neil’s second straight USMTS triumph at the high-banked 3/8-mile clay oval located just outside of Spring Valley, Minn. His first win here came just 20 days ago when he drove his No. 0 LG2 by Owens machine to a dominating win in the Labor Day Duel.

“We took last weekend off to make sure this thing was 100% prepared for this weekend. I’ve been wanting to win here for a long time. To get it last time I was super-motivated.

“I knew we had a pretty good car there, it was just being at the right place a the right time, you know. I had a lot more straight-away speed I think with my gear I had. Everybody’s kind of on the same motor package these days.�

After an additional two grand was added to the top spot by Red Tail Tackle, O’Neil’s take-home pay was $7,000.

Davis, who slipped back as far as sixth around the halfway mark, powered past Phillips at the finish line to steal runner-up honors while Hughes held off Rodney Sanders for fourth. Dustin Sorensen, Tanner Mullens, Zack VanderBeek, Jacob Bleess and Dereck Ramirez rounded out the top 10.

Racing continues Saturday with a $10,000-to-win, $550-to-start feature on tap, plus the annual $2,000-to-win Non-Qualifiers Race. The nation’s top USRA B-Mod racers in the Christie Door Company Iron Man Challenge built by Medieval Chassis will also be on the card.

Check out deercreekspeedway.com for more information.

For those who cannot attend in person, every remaining USMTS event can be experienced live with a Pit Pass on RacinDirt.TV. Subscribe now and enjoy the best motorsports coverage on dirt.

Currently, the 2020 schedule for the Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey’s is highlighted by 40 nights of racing at 25 unique dirt ovals for the 22nd season of competition for the world’s Best of the Best in dirt modified racing.

To connect with the USMTS check out USMTS.com, like us on Facebook, follow on Twitter, check us out on Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel. Keep up to speed by joining our email list

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey’s
22nd Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree presented by Chevrolet Performance – Night 1 of 2
Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, Minn.
Friday, Sept. 25, 2020

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine builder and laps completed. The top 14 in heat race passing points advanced to the Casey’s “Aâ€? Main with the top-8 drawing for starting positions 1-8.

SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):

1. (2) 94JR John Doelle, Arcadia, Wis.
2. (3) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
3. (9) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
4. (7) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
5. (4) 4R Jared Russell (R), Muskogee, Okla.
6. (10) 7 Sean Gaddis, Diana, Texas.
7. (6) 6T7 Brian Albrecht, Winona, Minn.
8. (8) 71 Greg Jensen, Albert Lea, Minn.
9. (5) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.
10. (1) 4M Bobby Malchus, Maypearl, Texas.

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (10 laps):

1. (2) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
2. (3) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
3. (4) 2G Kenny Gaddis, Diana, Texas.
4. (6) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo.
5. (8) 00J J.D. Auringer, Waterloo, Iowa.
6. (9) 21X Travis Saurer, Elizabeth, Minn.
7. (5) 55W Jeffrey Wood, Chisholm, Minn.
8. (7) 90 Ryan Wetzstein (R), West Concord, Minn.
9. (10) 98D Mitch Madery (R), Kasson, Minn.
10. (1) 24W Mason Williams (R), Fouke, Ark.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (10 laps):

1. (2) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis.
2. (6) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn.
3. (3) 15W Alex Williamson (R), Rushford, Minn.
4. (7) 22S Cole Spacek (R), Phillips, Wis.
5. (5) 02 Cole Denner (R), Ionia, Iowa.
6. (9) 55 Colson Kirk (R), Urbana, Mo.
7. (4) 19SB Lance Mari, Imperial, Calif.
8. (10) 503 Jason Miles (R), Glenwood, Ark.
9. (8) 24 Brad Waits, Rochester, Minn.
10. (1) 27X Calvin Iverson (R), Eleva, Wis.

MSD PERFORMANCE HEAT RACE #4 (10 laps):

1. (1) 209 Ron Ver Beek, Oskaloosa, Iowa.
2. (7) 49JR Jake Timm, Minnesota City, Minn.
3. (4) 02 Tanner Mullens (R), Wichita, Kan.
4. (8) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
5. (10) 22H Dustin Hodges, Centralia, Mo.
6. (9) 29H Joe Horgdal, Mantorville, Minn.
7. (2) 00G Mark Gartner, Mapleton, Minn.
8. (6) 14M Brian Mahlstedt (R), Ionia, Iowa.
9. (5) 22 Jeff Spacek (R), Phillips, Wis.
10. (3) 55H Nathan Hagar (R), Adair, Okla.

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

1. (7) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
2. (5) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
3. (10) 71 Jason Cummins, New Richland, Minn.
4. (8) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn.
5. (6) 71 Ryan Maitland (R), Waterloo, Iowa.
6. (4) 77 Jacob Stark (R), Austin, Minn.
7. (3) 7S Todd Stinehart, Waseca, Minn.
8. (1) 444 Brooks Strength (R), Raymond, Miss.
9. (9) 0X Nate Zimmerman (R), Jamesville, Minn.
10. (2) 7J Cory Jones (R), Zimmerman, Minn.

WRISCO HEAT RACE #6 (10 laps):

1. (2) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
2. (6) 50III Brandon Davis, Medford, Minn.
3. (1) 65 Tyler Davis (R), Haysville, Kan.
4. (9) 20JR Chase Rudolf (R), Prole, Iowa.
5. (4) 24M Manuel Williams II, Fouke, Ark.
6. (3) 33 Joe Ludemann, Grand Meadow, Minn.
7. (5) 23B Brett Bumgardner, Hawkeye, Iowa.
8. (8) 24SR Manuel Williams Sr., Fouke, Ark.
9. (10) 13X McKenzie Gerdes, Alexandria, Minn.
10. (7) 65 Dustin Brown (R), Clear Lake, Iowa.

SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT HEAT RACE #7 (10 laps):

1. (2) 4A Joel Alberts, Kasson, Minn.
2. (4) 51W J.T. Wasmund (R), Pine Island, Minn.
3. (1) 36K Jayden Larson (R), Mankato, Minn.
4. (6) 26G Ryan Gierke (R), Villard, Minn.
5. (10) 6 Casey Skyberg (R), Rapid City, S.D.
6. (5) 777 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa.
7. (9) 5D Devon Havlik, Waterloo, Iowa.
8. (3) 23K Darwin Karau, Kasson, Minn.
9. (7) 13J James McCreery (R), Midlothian, Texas.
10. (8) 2X Brady Gerdes, Villard, Minn.

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

1. (1) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
2. (5) 00J J.D. Auringer, Waterloo, Iowa.
3. (4) 22H Dustin Hodges, Centralia, Mo.
4. (2) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn.
5. (7) 24M Manuel Williams II, Fouke, Ark., Bandit/Kraft, $100.
6. (6) 55 Colson Kirk (R), Urbana, Mo., Hughes/Dickens, $100.
7. (3) 22S Cole Spacek (R), Phillips, Wis., Rage/, $100.
8. (8) 00G Mark Gartner, Mapleton, Minn., Sidebiter/Sput’s, $100.
9. (12) 13J James McCreery (R), Midlothian, Texas., MBCustoms/Wells, $100.
10. (10) 24SR Manuel Williams Sr., Fouke, Ark., Bandit/Kraft, $100.
11. (11) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo., GRT/Cornett, $100.
12. (9) 71 Greg Jensen, Albert Lea, Minn., MBCustoms/KSE, $100.
13. (13) 55H Nathan Hagar (R), Adair, Okla.
    DNS – 5D Devon Havlik, Waterloo, Iowa., Sidebiter/Johnson, $100.

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

1. (2) 2G Kenny Gaddis, Diana, Texas.
2. (3) 15W Alex Williamson (R), Rushford, Minn.
3. (1) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
4. (4) 6 Casey Skyberg (R), Rapid City, S.D.
5. (6) 29H Joe Horgdal, Mantorville, Minn., Skyrocket/KSE, $100.
6. (9) 90 Ryan Wetzstein (R), West Concord, Minn., MBCustoms/Stoen, $100.
7. (11) 24 Brad Waits, Rochester, Minn., VanderBuilt/Stoen, $100.
8. (10) 23K Darwin Karau, Kasson, Minn., Killer/Flyin’J, $100.
9. (5) 7 Sean Gaddis, Diana, Texas, MBCustoms/PTS, $100.
10. (8) 7S Todd Stinehart, Waseca, Minn., Fegers/KSE, $100.
11. (12) 7J Cory Jones (R), Zimmerman, Minn., VanderBuilt/Tim’s, $100.
12. (7) 77 Jacob Stark (R), Austin, Minn., LG2/KSE, $100.
    DNS – 6T7 Brian Albrecht, Winona, Minn., MBCustoms/Adams, $100.
    DNS – 4M Bobby Malchus, Maypearl, Texas, Rocket/Wells, $100.

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

1. (2) 02 Tanner Mullens (R), Wichita, Kan.
2. (4) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo.
3. (3) 65 Tyler Davis (R), Haysville, Kan.
4. (1) 20JR Chase Rudolf (R), Prole, Iowa.
5. (12) 22 Jeff Spacek (R), Phillips, Wis., Rage/Koch, $100.
6. (6) 4R Jared Russell (R), Muskogee, Okla., Hughes/Thomas, $100.
7. (8) 55W Jeffrey Wood, Chisholm, Minn., Shaw/ChevPerf, $100.
8. (5) 71 Ryan Maitland (R), Waterloo, Iowa, /, $100.
9. (7) 33 Joe Ludemann, Grand Meadow, Minn., LG2/Baier’s, $100.
10. (10) 14M Brian Mahlstedt, Ionia, Iowa, Hughes/LM, $100.
11. (9) 23B Brett Bumgardner, Hawkeye, Iowa, Hughes/Midnight, $100.
12. (14) 65 Dustin Brown (R), Clear Lake, Iowa, Skyrocket/ASI, $100.
13. (13) 24W Mason Williams (R), Fouke, Ark., Shaw/Best, $100.
14. (11) 98D Mitch Madery (R), Kasson, Minn., Skyrocket/ASI, $100.

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

1. (1) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
2. (10) 444 Brooks Strength (R), Raymond, Miss.
3. (2) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
4. (14) 2X Brady Gerdes, Villard, Minn.
5. (6) 02 Cole Denner (R), Ionia, Iowa, Skyrocket/ChevPerf, $100.
6. (4) 26G Ryan Gierke (R), Villard, Minn., /, $100.
7. (3) 36K Jayden Larson (R), Mankato, Minn., MBCustoms/Stoen, $100.
8. (13) 27X Calvin Iverson (R), Eleva, Wis.
9. (8) 19SB Lance Mari, Imperial, Calif., MRT/Yeoman, $100.
10. (9) 503 Jason Miles (R), Glenwood, Ark., Shaw/Kuntz, $100.
11. (11) 13X McKenzie Gerdes, Alexandria, Minn., /, $100.
12. (12) 0X Nate Zimmerman (R), Jamesville, Minn., /, $100.
13. (5) 21X Travis Saurer, Elizabeth, Minn., MBCustoms/ChevPerf, $100.
14. (7) 777 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa, Rage/ChevPerf, $100.

CASEY’S “A� MAIN (40 laps):

1. (12) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz., LG2/Cornett, 40, $7000.
2. (1) 50III Brandon Davis, Medford, Minn., Tri-Built/KSE, 40, $2500.
3. (2) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., GRT/Durham, 40, $1500.
4. (3) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $1000.
5. (11) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustoms/Hatfield, 40, $800.
6. (6) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn., MBCustoms/Action, 40, $750.
7. (17) 02 Tanner Mullens (R), Wichita, Kan., Mullens/Mullens, 40, $700.
8. (24) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, VanderBuilt/Stoen, 40, $650.
9. (15) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn., VanderBuilt/KSE, 40, $600.
10. (9) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/Cornett, 40, $550.
11. (7) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis., VanderBuilt/OFI, 40, $500.
12. (20) 15W Alex Williamson (R), Rushford, Minn., SSR/KSE, 40, $475.
13. (18) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn., MBCustoms/Hill, 40, $450.
14. (23) 22H Dustin Hodges, Centralia, Mo., VanderBuilt/Crane, 40, $440.
15. (19) 00J J.D. Auringer, Waterloo, Iowa, Rage/KSE, 40, $435.
16. (22) 444 Brooks Strength (R), Raymond, Miss., MBCustoms/Stoen, 40, $430.
17. (27) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn., MBCustoms/Stoen, 40, $425.
18. (14) 51W J.T. Wasmund (R), Pine Island, Minn., DirtDueler/Baier’s, 40, $420.
19. (30) 2X Brady Gerdes, Villard, Minn., SSR/Sput’s, 40, $415.
20. (25) 65 Tyler Davis (R), Haysville, Kan., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $410.
21. (29) 20JR Chase Rudolf (R), Prole, Iowa, Rage/KSE, 40, $405.
22. (26) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., MBCustoms/Stoen, 40, $400.
23. (10) 4A Joel Alberts, Kasson, Minn., VanderBuilt/Stoen, 40, $400.
24. (32) 27X Calvin Iverson (R), Eleva, Wis., MBCustoms/Tim’s, 39, $400.
25. (13) 209 Ron Ver Beek, Oskaloosa, Iowa, IROC/ChevPerf, 39, $400.
26. (28) 6 Casey Skyberg (R), Rapid City, S.D., Lethal/Mullins, 39, $400.
27. (5) 94JR John Doelle, Arcadia, Wis., Rocket/Sput’s, 33, $400.
28. (21) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo., MBCustoms/Durham, 29, $400.
29. (16) 2G Kenny Gaddis, Diana, Texas, MBCustoms/PTS, 22, $400.
30. (31) 55H Nathan Hagar (R), Adair, Okla., GRT/ChevPerf, 22, $400.
31. (8) 49JR Jake Timm, Minnesota City, Minn., MBCustoms/OFI, 22, $400.
32. (4) 71 Jason Cummins, New Richland, Minn., MBCustoms/KSE, 3, $400.

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

Lap Leaders: Phillips 1-33, O’Neil 34-40.
Total Laps Led: Phillips 33, O’Neil 7.
Margin of Victory: 1.541 seconds.
Time of Race: 17 minutes, 12.009 seconds (1 caution).
Provisional Starters: Iverson, Hagar.
Eibach Spring Forward Award: B. Gerdes (advanced 19 positions).
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: VanderBeek (started 24th, finished 8th).
Entries: 70.
Next Race: Saturday, Sept. 26, Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, Minn.
Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey’s Points: Sanders 3228, Ramirez 3037, Hughes 2844, VanderBeek 2638, Phillips 2505, Davis 2457, Mullens 2306, Skyberg 2252, Adam Kates 2047, Duvall 2005.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: Mullens 2133, Davis 1791, Iverson 1684, Skyberg 1624, Hagar 1265.
Jobbers Warehouse Supply USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: MBCustoms 310, Hughes 291, GRT 220, VanderBuilt 199, Mullens 192.
Compstar/JE Pistons USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: Hatfield 271, Cornett 250, Mullins 214, Stoen 193, Mullens 179.

Contingency Awards:
American Racer – Stark.
Beyea Custom Headers – Hughes.
BigDeal Car Care – O’Neil.
Bryke Racing – Auringer.
BSB Manufacturing – Rudolf.
Champ Pans – Sanders.
Deatherage Opticians – Williamson.
Edelbrock – Crapser.
Eibach – springforward.
Fast Shafts – Hughes.
FK Rod Ends – VanderBeek.
Forty9 Designs – Hodges, B. Gerdes.
Hooker Harness – Crapser.
Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – Wasmund.
Jerovetz Motorsports Racing Parts – Angst.
K1 RaceGear by Ryan Bowers Motorsports – Denner.
KEVKO Oil Pans & Components – Ramirez, T. Davis.
Keyser Manufacturing – Ramirez.
KSE Racing Products – Bleess.
Maxima Racing Oils – O’Neil.
Mesilla Valley Transportation – Clark.
PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain – Bleess.
Penske Racing Shocks – Schott.
QA1 – Doelle.
RacerWebsite.com – Skyberg.
Simpson Performance Products – Doelle.
Spyder High Performance Filters – Sorensen.
Summit Racing Equipment – Kirk, McCreery, Alberts.
Super Clean – O’Neil.
Swift Springs – O’Neil, Williamson.
Sybesma Graphics – B. Davis.
Tire Demon – Duvall.
VP Racing Fuels – O’Neil.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products – Madery.
Wilwood Disc Brakes – Mullens.

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