O’Neil gets Ed Gressel Memorial trophy
An explosive night of money and memories were made Saturday during the finale of the inaugural Ed Gressel Memorial at the 81 Speedway featuring the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt.
Before the start of the main event, racers lined up in their traditional four-wide salute to the fans but this night was extra special as the front row of cars was filled by Brandon Givens, Scott Green, Tanner Mullens and Jake O'Neil—all of whom have sat in the driver's seat of a Gressel Racing USMTS Modified.
Dereck Ramirez bested Will Krup to take control of the feature race on the opening lap. Meanwhile, fourth-starting Jake Timm lost nearly 20 spots with an opening-lap miscue that saw him scoot through the infield, but found his way back into the top 10 by lap 10.
Ramirez and Krup raced side-by-side on laps 5 and 6 before Ramirez reached the back of field by lap 11 and began to distance himself from Krup as he navigated lapped traffic flawlessly.
Lap 24 saw Jason Hughes, running third, break just before the race's midway point which resulted in the first caution of the contest. On the restart, Ramirez took the field back to green with Krup, 13th-starting Terry Phillips, Dan Ebert, Tom Berry Jr., Timm, O'Neil, Jacob Bleess, Gary Christian and Rodney Sanders filling the first 10 positions.
Phillips got by Krup on the restart while Berry followed T.P. into third the next time around. The next time around, Phillips screamed around the top and wrestled the lead away from Ramirez.
A second caution on lap 28 opened the door for O'Neil as he restarted fourth but became the new leader two laps later and proceeded to make his chasers get smaller and smaller in his rearview mirror (if USMTS allowed mirrors).
While O'Neil raced away, Timm continued his rebound with a pass of Ramirez for fifth with a dozen laps remaining. On lap 39, Darron Fuqua tagged the wall and then stopped to force the third yellow flag. Meanwhile, Phillips broke something under his Bloodline Race Cars machine and retired from the race under caution.
Back under green, O'Neil left the field in his wake. Timm passed Krup for second at the white flag and then narrowly lost the race for the runner-up paycheck to Berry at the checkered flag.
“Most people don't know but (Ed Gressel) gave me my first chance out racing the tour and I really owe it to him and Cinde for being here. Honestly, if it wasn't for them I probably wouldn't be out here right now,” O'Neil revealed in his victory lane speech. “I would have never got that start to get going and I really got to thank them for everything they did for me.”
In picking up his first win of the year, O'Neil came alive midway through the race after tumbling as far back as 12th at one point. With 24 laps in the books he was 10th but seven laps later he was leading the main event.
“We've been down in the dumps lately because the car's been so terrible--either the car is or I am, one or the other—but we talked to Jimmy (Owens) right before the feature and he pretty much said ‘You're screwed' but try this. We threw some crazy stuff at it just to try to do something and I was so tight at the beginning and so terrible I just gassed on it I don't know what to tell you, I just I did everything I could,” O'Neil said. “I think the starts definitely helped me. I had way too much gear and I'd carry about 400 mph going into the corner and I couldn't slow down so I just used that to my advantage.
“I couldn't believe it, honestly. I was I was back there… I don't know I felt like 150th or 10th but I was just fighting and digging everywhere I could to gain ground on somebody and then Jake Timm going out over here, then he passed me. I was like ‘Man, this ain't good but I just entered wide open and I found a line that actually stuck. I slowed down a bunch (in turn 1) and quit blowing the tires off and that seemed to help. That's kind of when I noticed I got Dereck there and I felt a little bit of grip and as long as I kept my car straight I was okay.”
In the end, O'Neil was okay to the tune of $10,000 as the 31-year-old from Tucson, Ariz., notched his 29th career USMTS victory and third at the 81 Speedway while taking over the series points lead to boot.
While O'Neil, Berry and Timm shared the podium, Krup was a solid fourth with 14th-starting Rodney Sanders completing the top five. Cayden Carter was sixth while Wolff took a provisional to start 25th but found his way to a seventh-place effort. Ebert, Jeremy Nelson and Christian rounded out the top 10.
Following the Real Racing Wheels “B” Mains, the top eight drivers in heat race passing points competed in the six-lap Kansasland Dash 4 Cash. As the winner, Tanner Mullens accepted the $6,000 cash prize to give up the pole position to start 12th in the main event. He suffered mechanical problems and wound up 19th—one spot behind Ramirez who also did not finish the 50-lap distance.
Saturday's prize started off at $1,000 thanks to Kansasland Tire, Rock Island Recycling, Duvall Electric and McCowan Farms but a flurry of donations over the last 24 hours led to an epic ballooning of the prize money to $5,000 if Mullens could have won the race.
Making it perhaps the richest six-lap dash in dirt racing history, special thanks to the following contributors: Becky Ramirez, Brian Franz, F.O.E. Enterprises, Cinde Gressel, RacinDirt, USMTS, J.R. Sandlian, Broadway Truck & Auto Salvage, Special T's, Two M Motorsports, Action Engineering, Arrowhead Speedway, Darren Bennett, Brad Carger & Alysea Pressler, Mississippi Thunder Speedway, Mike & Elaine Sorensen, 1-800-JUNK-PRO, Chandler Dan's Catering and the Chesterman family.
The Ed Gressel Memorial featured a special one-of-a-kind victory lane banner. The 10x20 sign was autographed by USMTS drivers, and then after Saturday's finale one lucky person took home the banner from the silent auction that went on all weekend. The winner was Tom Paulson—a long-time racer and supporter of fellow drivers—with a $10,000 donation that will benefit a charity of Cinde Gressel's choice.
During Saturday's who, Jon Tesch stepped forward to award $500 to the 14th-place finisher. That money went to Brandon Givens, the last man to pilot a Gressel Racing race car.
Adam Gressel added $1,000 for the feature race's hard charger, making it an $1,100 cash bonus to the FK Rod Ends Hard Charger Award winner. That prize went to Carter, who started 16rh and finished 6th. Provisional starters were not eligible
Chris Sutton with the RPM Speedway in Hays, Kan., awarded $100 to the 19th-place finisher in honor of the Gressel Racing No. 19R driven by Ryan Gustin, who garnered two Summit USMTS National Championships while driving for Gressel Racing. Oddly enough, that money went to Mullens, another former Gressel driver.
Webster City waiting: In just four short days, the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City, Iowa, will host an open practice night on Wednesday, April 26, followed by three straight nights of action Thursday, Friday and Saturday, April 27-29, for the 13th Annual Spring Classic.
For complete event information, check out the 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 of the 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. Download the app at Roku, Amazon Fire, iOS, Apple TV or on Google Play.
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
Inaugural Ed Gressel Memorial – Night 3 of 3
81 Speedway, Park City, Kan.
Saturday, April 22, 2023
Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, laps completed and money won. Heat race lineups were determined via group qualifying. The top 12 in heat race passing points advanced to the Summit Racing Equipment “A” Main with the top 8 to the Kansasland Dash 4 Cash to set the first 4 rows.
SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (1) 38T Dylan Thornton, Orcutt, Calif., 8.
2. (4) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz., 8.
3. (5) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn., 8.
4. (6) 11X Tom Berry Jr. (R), Des Moines, Iowa, 8.
5. (2) 01 Jacob Hobscheidt (R), Plattsmouth, Neb., 8.
6. (7) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa, 8.
7. (9) 15W Wyatt Gaggero (R), Wichita, Kan., 8.
8. (3) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo., 8.
9. (8) G3 Brendon Gemmill, Wichita, Kan., 8.
DNS – 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa, 0.
FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (4) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn., 8.
2. (2) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas, 8.
3. (5) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., 8.
4. (6) 58X Gary Christian (R), Broken Bow, Okla., 8.
5. (3) 7D Davis Givens (R), Hutchinson, Kan., 8.
6. (9) 25C Cody Thompson (R), Sioux City, Iowa, 8.
7. (8) 99T T.J. Tolan, Valley Center, Kan., 8.
8. (7) 45 Chase Holland (R), Success, Miss., 8.
9. (1) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark., 4.
DNS – 15W Kale Westover, Altus, Okla., 0.
EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (6) K9 Will Krup (R), Mt. Carmel, Ill., 8.
2. (2) 30 Dalton Kirk, Edgerton, Kan., 8.
3. (1) 11N Gene Nicholas, Lowell, Ark., 8.
4. (4) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan., 8.
5. (5) 4 Jeremy Nelson (R), Alexandria, Minn., 8.
6. (3) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan., 8.
7. (7) 8 Dillon McCowan, Urbana, Mo., 8.
8. (9) 25 Scott Green, Derby, Kan., 8.
9. (8) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa, 8.
10. (10) 747 Colton Eck (R), Goddard, Kan., 8.
WIELAND HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (2) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan., 8.
2. (3) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., 8.
3. (6) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., 8.
4. (5) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, 8.
5. (1) 96 Taton Hansen (R), Spicer, Minn., 8.
6. (4) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., 8.
7. (9) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa, 8.
8. (8) 44K Kelsie Foley (R), Tucson, Ariz., 8.
9. (7) 55 Chris Kratzer, Lyons, Kan., 8.
10. (10) 96JR Jon Herring Jr., Woodward, Okla., 8.
VP RACING HEAT RACE #5 (8 laps):
1. (1) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn., 8.
2. (4) 127 Paden Phillips, Chanute, Kan., 8.
3. (2) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan., 8.
4. (7) 44T Tanner Black (R), Otis, Kan., 8.
5. (5) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, 8.
6. (3) 99L Steve Lavasseur (R), River Falls, Wis., 8.
7. (6) 712 Trevor Hughes, Salina, Okla., 8.
8. (8) 22B Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan., 8.
DNS – 40 Jessy Willard, Mound City, Kan., 0.
DNS – 78 Billy Jack Brutchin, Gladewater, Texas, 0.
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 6 advance):
1. (1) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., 15.
2. (2) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas, 15.
3. (3) 44T Tanner Black (R), Otis, Kan., 15.
4. (5) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, 15.
5. (6) 25C Cody Thompson (R), Sioux City, Iowa, 15.
6. (10) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa, 15.
7. (8) 96 Taton Hansen (R), Spicer, Minn., 15.
8. (17) 15W Kale Westover, Altus, Okla., 15.
9. (12) 8 Dillon McCowan, Urbana, Mo., 15, $150.
10. (9) 15W Wyatt Gaggero (R), Wichita, Kan., 15, $150.
11. (16) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa, 15.
12. (14) 45 Chase Holland (R), Success, Miss., 15.
13. (11) 99L Steve Lavasseur (R), River Falls, Wis., 15, $150.
14. (13) 44K Kelsie Foley (R), Tucson, Ariz., 15, $150.
15. (4) 11N Gene Nicholas, Lowell, Ark., 15, $150.
16. (18) 96JR Jon Herring Jr., Woodward, Okla., 14, $150.
17. (7) 7D Davis Givens (R), Hutchinson, Kan., 14, $150.
18. (15) 40 Jessy Willard, Mound City, Kan., 14, $150.
DNS – 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa, 0, $150.
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 6 advance):
1. (1) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, 15.
2. (7) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa, 15.
3. (4) 4 Jeremy Nelson (R), Alexandria, Minn., 15.
4. (5) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan., 15.
5. (3) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan., 15.
6. (6) 01 Jacob Hobscheidt (R), Plattsmouth, Neb., 15.
7. (10) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan., 15.
8. (16) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark., 15.
9. (8) 712 Trevor Hughes (R), Salina, Okla., 15, $250.
10. (2) 30 Dalton Kirk, Edgerton, Kan., 15, $150.
11. (9) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., 15.
12. (14) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo., 15, $150.
13. (15) G3 Brendon Gemmill, Wichita, Kan., 14, $150.
14. (13) 22B Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan., 14, $150.
15. (12) 25 Scott Green, Derby, Kan., 14, $150.
16. (17) 747 Colton Eck (R), Goddard, Kan., 9, $150.
17. (11) 99T T.J. Tolan, Valley Center, Kan., 7, $150.
DNS – 55 Chris Kratzer, Lyons, Kan., 0.
DNS – 78 Billy Jack Brutchin, Gladewater, Texas, 0, $150.
KANSASLAND TIRE & SERVICE DASH 4 CASH (6 laps):
1. (1) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan., 6.
2. (3) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., 6.
3. (4) K9 Will Krup, Mt. Carmel, Ill., 6.
4. (5) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn., 6.
5. (2) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn., 6.
6. (7) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., 6.
7. (8) 38T Dylan Thornton, Orcutt, Calif., 6.
8. (6) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn., 6.
SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT “A” MAIN (50 laps):
1. (8) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz., 50, $10,000.
2. (10) 11X Tom Berry Jr. (R), Des Moines, Iowa, 50, $5,000.
3. (3) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn., 50, $3,000.
4. (2) K9 Will Krup (R), Mt. Carmel, Ill., 50, $2,000.
5. (14) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, 50, $1,700.
6. (16) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa, 50, $2,600.
7. (25) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark., 50, $1,300.
8. (4) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn., 50, $1,000.
9. (18) 4 Jeremy Nelson (R), Alexandria, Minn., 50, $900.
10. (11) 58X Gary Christian (R), Broken Bow, Okla., 50, $850.
11. (32) 15W Kale Westover, Altus, Okla., 50, $800.
12. (7) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn., 50, $775.
13. (19) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, 50, $750.
14. (22) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan., 50, $740.
15. (6) 38T Dylan Thornton, Orcutt, Calif., 50, $735.
16. (15) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas, 50, $730.
17. (29) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan., 50, $725.
18. (1) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., 50, $720.
19. (12) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan., 50, $5,815.
20. (23) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa, 50, $710.
21. (31) 96 Taton Hansen (R), Spicer, Minn., 50, $705.
22. (26) 45 Chase Holland (R), Success, Miss., 50, $700.
23. (13) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., 38, $700.
24. (20) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan., 38, $700.
25. (17) 44T Tanner Black (R), Otis, Kan., 32, $700.
26. (24) 01 Jacob Hobscheidt (R), Plattsmouth, Neb., 28, $700.
27. (21) 25C Cody Thompson (R), Sioux City, Iowa, 27, $700.
28. (9) 127 Paden Phillips, Chanute, Kan., 25, $700.
29. (5) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., 24, $700.
30. (30) 55 Chris Kratzer, Lyons, Kan., 23, $700.
31. (28) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa, 22, $700.
32. (27) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., 18, $700.
Lap Leaders: Ramirez 1-25, T. Phillips 26-30, O'Neil 31-50.
Total Laps Led: Ramirez 25, O'Neil 20, T. Phillips 5.
Margin of Victory: 1.752 seconds.
Time of Race: 28 minutes, 27.232 seconds (4 cautions).
Provisional Starters: Wolff, Holland.
Emergency Provisionals: Duvall, Brown, Davis, Kratzer, Hansen, Westover.
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Carter (started 16th, finished 6th).
Entries: 50.
Next Race: April 27-29, Hamilton County Speedway, Webster City, Iowa.
Summit USMTS National Championship Points: O'Neil 802, Wolff 789, T. Phillips 747, J. Hughes 746, Berry 733, Sanders 730, Ebert 724, Carter 717, Krup 707, Fuqua 705.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: Berry 733, Krup 707, Nelson 607, Christian 594, Holland 545.
FK Rod Ends USMTS Hard Charger Points: O'Neil 41, J. Hughes 40, Chisholm 37, B. Givens 37, Berry 30.
Miller Welders USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: MBCustoms 67, Mullens 65, LG2 58, VanderBuilt 56, Hughes 54.
Callies/JE Pistons USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 72, Cornett 72, Stoen 71, ECE 53, Hatfield 52.
Contingency Awards:
Aero Race Wheels – Gemmill.
American Racer – Ebert.
Beyea Custom Headers – Krup.
BigDeal Car Care – O'Neil, Timm.
Bryke Racing – Thornton.
BSB Manufacturing – Hansen.
Carquest – TBD.
Champ Pans – Sanders.
Collins Brothers Towing – Wolff.
Deatherage Opticians – B. Givens.
Edelbrock – Krup.
Fast Shafts – Timm.
FK Rod Ends – Carter.
Gressel Racing/Adam Gressel – Carter.
Hooker Harness – Bleess.
Hyperco – T. Hughes.
Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – Ramirez.
Kansasland Tire & Service – Mullens.
Keyser Manufacturing – Christian.
KSE Racing Products – Nelson.
MD3 – Ramirez.
Mel Hambelton Racing – Berry.
Midwest Wrap Co. – Holland.
Penske Racing Shocks – VanderBeek.
PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain – Berry.
Performance Bodies – Davis.
QA1 – Timm.
Quarter Master – Nelson.
RacerWebsite.com – Brutchin.
RPM Speedway/Chris Sutton – Mullens.
Salty's BBQ & Catering – Timm.
Simpson Performance Products – Thornton.
Summit Racing Equipment – Bleess, Brown, Foley, Mullens, Nelson.
Super Clean – O'Neil.
Swift Springs – Ramirez, B. Givens, O'Neil.
Sybesma Graphics – Ramirez.
VP Racing – O'Neil.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products – Willard.
Wilwood Disc Brakes – Wolff.
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.