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Ramirez scores second win of the season at Mason City

Dereck Ramirez drove his Ramirez Motorsports No. 4r Koda Services/ Boom-Test Well Service/ Raw Truck Wash/ Hughes Race Car/ Cornett Racing Engine Modified to his fourth win of the season on Thursday.

Ramirez claimed the $4,000 top prize in Thursday’s United States Modified Touring Series Mod Mania finale at Mason City (Iowa) Motor Speedway.

With 30 USMTS entries at Mason City Motor Speedway, Dereck posted a runner-up finish in his heat behind Terry Phillips, locking him into the seventh-starting position for the opening night feature. With $2,000 on the line, Ramirez faded four spots in the 35-lapper to register an 11th place outing.

The following night, with the winner’s purse increased to $3,000, Ramirez jumped two spots in his heat race to come home third. Starting the feature in 10th, Dereck dropped one spot to place 11th.

For the finale on Thursday, Dereck notched a second-place finish in his heat behind Rodney Sanders, which positioned him fourth on the starting grid for the main event. (Tyler Rinken photo)

With front-row starters Lucas Schott and Rodney Sanders duking it out for the lead in the first 20 laps, Ramirez began closing in on the leaders as they exchanged the top spot. Overtaking Sanders on lap 26, Dereck led the remaining 15 circuits to capture his second win of the year at the third-mile oval ahead of Schott, Sanders, Terry Phillips, and Hunter Marriott.

“I knew the bottom was going to clean off at the end there, it just took a while,” Ramirez revealed in victory lane. “When we got that long green flag, everybody was throwing the dust out there, and on that restart, I knew it’d clean back up so I just stayed down there.”

“Rodney was struggling. He was probably the better car, but he just didn’t get down there fast enough,” said Ramirez who turned in a pair of head-scratching 11th-place finishes the previous two nights.

“I did a little different thing to the car tonight. I talked to Jimmy (Owens) a little bit and he helped out, and the two guys over here (referring to crew members Johnny Overgaard and Marco Costa) we went to work and figured a little bit of something out.”

Dereck is closing the distance on Rodney Sanders atop the USMTS National Championship point standings, he currently sits 114 markers behind Sanders for second.

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