Phillips finds USMTS bounty in Fayette County, Iowa

9/7/2020

RacinBoys

Phillips finds USMTS bounty in Fayette County, Iowa

By USMTS (West Union, IA) -- Terry Phillips dug deep when he had to and muscled his way to victory Sunday in the 8th Annual USMTS War in West Union presented by Integra at the Fayette County Speedway.

The 54-year-old ace from Springfield, Mo., took his familiar red No. 75 GRT Modified to the top side of the semi-banked 3/8-mile clay oval with six laps complete and powered around early leader Zack VanderBeek to make the winning pass.

PHOTO CREDIT: Zackary Kreiner Phtography

VanderBeek, who won this event in 2016, held the point through the first two of three cautions. The first happened on lap three when points leader Rodney Sanders lost control in turn four. Mirroring his bobble, Jake O’Neil made the same mistake three laps later.

Running in the top five at the time, both were lucky to avoid contact but were relegated to the back of the field for their respective restarts.

Phillips shot past VanderBeek when the green flag reappeared, but ‘The Z-Man’ battled back and stayed close but Phillips was eventually able to seize control for good on the seventh lap.

The yellow flag waved for the final time on lap 10 with the final 30 circuits staying green and full throttle.

Multiple wheel-banging excursions for position were happening behind Phillips as he reached lapped traffic for the first time on the 22nd lap. This allowed Tanner Mullens, who got by VanderBeek on lap 14, to narrow the gap between himself and the race leader.

After a near run-in with a back-marker that allowed Mullens to pull to Phillips’ rear bumper, the leader quickly navigated through the traffic and increased his advantage over Mullens. He was never challenged again as he sped away to the 33rd main event win of his career with the Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey’s.

The win tied him with Jason Krohn for 10th on the all-time USMTS wins list. Krohn won the first USMTS feature contested in West Union, Iowa, in 2007. That event, however, was held at the long-since-closed Echo Valley Speedway across town.

“The track had some character in it but it was a pretty good racetrack. You could run both lanes and that’s all we ask for,” Phillips said in victory lane. “Congratulations to these guys that prepare this track—I know it rained a bunch.

“There’s a little bit of mud here—a little Mother Nature on it—but that’s okay.”

While Phillips put the $2,500 winner’s check in his pocket, Mullens crossed the finish line second while VanderBeek held on for a solid third-place effort.

Although their original sixth and tenth starting positions won’t tell the whole story on paper, Sanders and O’Neil kept the fans entertained and their fellow competitors frustrated with a pair of impressive runs from the back of the pack after their earlier stumbles.

Sanders was all the way back up to fourth just past the halfway point, but a trio of fast machines ahead of him and no more yellow flags left him there at the checkered flag.

O’Neil, meanwhile, was right there with Sanders and bounded back to complete the top five. Californian Lance Mari had his best effort of the year with a sixth-place finish while Jason Hughes, Lucas Schott, Dereck Ramirez and J.D. Auringer rounded out the top 10.

Louisiana-Texas tripleheader in crosshairs: Delayed nearly five months due to the pandemic panic, the series will finally embark on a three-race adventure through Louisiana and Texas next Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 11-13.

Friday finds the fire-breathing USMTS freaks at the Ark-La-Tex Speedway in Vivian, La., for the 8th Annual USMTS Cajun Clash presented by JE Pistons.

From there, it’s about a 40-minute commute to the Boothill Speedway in Greenwood, La., for Saturday’s 5th Annual USMTS I-20 Showdown presented by Champ Pans.

After a three-hour westbound drive on Sunday, the swing reaches the checkered flag at the RPM Speedway in Crandall, Texas, for the 2nd Annual USMTS North Texas Nationals presented by Penske Racing Shocks.

2020 campaign nears completion: With the recent cancellation of the Southern Dirt Track Championship at the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track, the USMTS lost another stop due to COVID-19. Now, following the Sept. 11-13 tripleheader through Louisiana and Texas, just two events and five nights of action remain.

Another victim of the China-born virus that invaded America, the 22nd Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree presented by Chevrolet Performance has been shortened to two days instead of three. The mega-event takes place Friday and Saturday, Sept. 25-26, at the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn.

The 2020 USMTS national champion will emerge from the 2nd Annual Summit Southern Nationals presented by Super Clean at the RPM Speedway in Crandall, Texas, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 5-7.

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 http://www.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
8th Annual USMTS War in West Union presented by Integra
Fayette County Speedway, West Union, Iowa

Sunday, Sept. 6, 2020

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine builder and laps completed. All drivers advanced to the Casey’s “A” Main and lined up by passing points earned in the heat races with the top-8 drawing for starting positions 1-8.

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

(2) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
(3) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
(1) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
(6) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
(4) 6 Casey Skyberg (R), Rapid City, S.D.
(5) 23B Brett Bumgardner, Hawkeye, Iowa
(8) 15W Alex Williamson (R), Rushford, Minn.
(7) 29H Joe Horgdal, Kasson, Minn.

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):

(3) 02 Tanner Mullens (R), Wichita, Kan.
(1) 71C Troy Cordes, Dunkerton, Iowa
(6) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
(4) 65 Tyler Davis (R), Haysville, Kan.
(7) 00J J.D. Auringer, Waterloo, Iowa
(5) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson Hole, Wyo.
(2) 14M Brian Mahlstedt (R), Ionia, Iowa

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):

(1) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
(6) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
(5) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
(2) 91 Shawn Ryan, Waterloo, Iowa
(3) 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan.
(7) 02 Cole Denner (R), New Hampton, Iowa
(4) 21 Brennen Chipp (R), Dunkerton, Iowa

CASEY’S “A” MAIN (40 laps):

(4) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., GRT/Durham, 40.
(8) 02 Tanner Mullens (R), Wichita, Kan., Mullens/Mullens, 40.
(1) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, VanderBuilt/Stoen, 40.
(6) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustoms/Hartfield, 40.
(10) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz., LG2/Cornett, 40.
(2) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif., MRT/Yeoman, 40.
(3) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 40.
(7) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn., MBCustoms/, 40.
(9) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/Cornett, 40.
(13) 00J J.D. Auringer, Waterloo, Iowa, Rage/KSE, 40.
(11) 65 Tyler Davis (R), Haysville, Kan., Hughes/Mullins, 40.
(19) 15W Alex Williamson (R), Rushford, Minn., SSR/KSE, 40.
(22) 29H Joe Horgdal, Kasson, Minn., Skyrocket/KSE, 40.
(14) 6 Casey Skyberg (R), Rapid City, S.D., Lethal/Mullins, 40.
(12) 91 Shawn Ryan, Waterloo, Iowa, DirtHustler/King, 40.
(17) 23B Brett Bumgardner, Hawkeye, Iowa, Hughes/Midnight, 40.
(18) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson Hole, Wyo., GRT/Cornett, 39.
(21) 21 Brennen Chipp (R), Dunkerton, Iowa, Rage/OHB, 29.
(5) 71C Troy Cordes, Dunkerton, Iowa, Rage/OHB, 28.
(15) 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan., Jet/Speedway, 11.
(16) 02 Cole Denner (R), New Hampton, Iowa, Skyrocket/ChevPerf, 2.
DNS – 14M Brian Mahlstedt (R), Ionia, Iowa, Hughes/LM, 0.

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

Lap Leaders: VanderBeek 1-6, Phillips 7-40.

Total Laps Led: Phillips 34, VanderBeek 6.

Margin of Victory: 1.833 seconds.

Time of Race: 18 minutes, 20.079 seconds (2 cautions).

Provisional Starters: none.
Eibach Spring Forward Award: Mullens (advanced 8 positions).
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Horgdal (started 22nd, finished 13th).
Entries: 22.
Next Race: Friday, Sept. 21, Ark-La-Tex Speedway, Vivian, La.
Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey’s Points: Sanders 2851, Ramirez 2689, Hughes 2547, VanderBeek 2298, Davis 2195, Phillips 2193, Mullens 2011, Skyberg 1990, Marriott 1976, Kates 1881.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: Mullens 2011, Davis 1767, Iverson 1684, Skyberg 1579, Hagar 1069.
Jobbers Warehouse Supply USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: MBCustoms 276, Hughes 257, GRT 196, VanderBuilt 174, Mullens 173.
Compstar/JE Pistons USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: Hatfield 237,
Cornett 215, Mullins 192, Stoen 171, Mullens 162.

Contingency Awards:
American Racer – Horgdal.
Beyea Custom Headers – Sanders.
BigDeal Car Care – Phillips, bigmove.
Bryke Racing – Ryan.
BSB Manufacturing – Denner.
Champ Pans – O’Neil.
Deatherage Opticians – Williamson.
Edelbrock – VanderBeek.
Eibach – Mullens.
Fast Shafts – Mullens.
FK Rod Ends – Horgdal.
Forty9 Designs – Skyberg, Cordes.
Hooker Harness – Davis.
Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – Chipp.
Jerovetz Motorsports Racing Parts – Clark.
K1 RaceGear by Ryan Bowers Motorsports – Mullens.
Keyser Manufacturing – Auringer.
KSE Racing Products – Ramirez.
Maxima Racing Oils – Phillips.
PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain – Mari.
Penske Racing Shocks – Horgdal.
QA1 – Sanders.
RacerWebsite.com – Williamson.
Simpson Performance Products – Phillips.
Spyder High Performance Filters – Mari.
Summit Racing Equipment – Auringer, Bumgardner, Denner.
Super Clean – Phillips.
Swift Springs – Phillips, Cordes.
Sybesma Graphics – VanderBeek.
Tire Demon – Mahlstedt.
VP Racing Fuels – Phillips.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products – Denner.
Wilwood Disc Brakes – Hughes.

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ANDERSON, RONEY CAPTURE CHALRIE DOOR COMPANY IRON MAN CHALLENGE CHECKERS AT WEST UNION

By USRA (West Union, IA) -- Dillon Anderson, Josh Roney and Chris Hovden were the first to reach the finish line in their respective features Sunday when the Christie Door Company Iron Man Challenge built by Medieval Chassis invaded the Fayette County Speedway in West Union, Iowa.

Anderson—the 2018 Iron Man champ in the American Racer USRA Stock Car division and 2012 Mensink Racing Products USRA Hobby Stock national champion—held serve from start to finish in the 20-lap main event while keeping current national points leader Mitch Hovden out of victory for a second straight night.

The win was worth $600 to Anderson and was his fifth of the 2020 season. Hovden, meanwhile, fell short of notching his 14th win of the year and finished second to his fellow Decorah driver while Iron Man points leader Pat Graham of Ankeny took third.

Brandon Dietrich of Waukon came from 12th on the grid to finish fourth and Troy Hansmeier of Waukon wound up fifth. Lynn Panos, Matt Jones, Kevin Donlan, Dan Jones and Derek Dettmann completed the top 10.

In USRA B-Mod action, Postville’s Josh Roney took the lead from polesitter Troy Hovey after one lap and led the final 19 circuits around the semi-banked 3/8-mile dirt oval to nail down his second Iron Man checkered flag of the year and third overall.

Dan Hovden of Decorah started 10th and, like his brother in the Stock Cars, came up one spot short of taking the win. Ben Moudry of Protivin was third, Alex Zwanziger scored a fourth-place paycheck and Hovey held on for fifth.

Sixth through 10th were Jim Chisholm, Kyle Anderson, Joe Chisholm, Trevor Fecht and Tianna Mithun.

Josh Roney won the USRA B-Mod main event.

Chris Hovden of Cresco claimed his 14th win of the season in the Mensink Racing Products USRA Hobby Stock 20-lapper with Waterloo’s Justin Lichty taking the checkered flag a distant second.

Austin Hoeft of Charles City was third, fourth went to 14th-starting Justin Hanson of Hawkeye and Scott Spilde of Cresco rounded out the top five.

Sixth through 10th were Josh Ludeking, Levi Sand, B.J. Dahl, Paul Seabrooke and Cody Torkelson.

Chris Hovden won the Mensink Racing Products USRA Hobby Stock main event.

Next Iron Man battles: The American Racer USRA Stock Cars of the Christie Door Company Iron Man Challenge built by Medieval Chassis return to action Saturday, Sept. 19, for the USRA Stock Car Nationals at the Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, Minn., and again on Sunday, Sept. 20, at the Mason City Motor Speedway.

The following week, USRA B-Mods join the USMTS Modifieds at Deer Creek for the 22nd Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 24-26.

Both classes, along with USRA Modifieds, Mensink Racing Products USRA Hobby Stocks and USRA Tuners, will provide the on-track action when the 2020 Iron Man champions are crowned on the final night of the 7th Annual Summit USRA Nationals powered by MyRacePass on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Oct. 1-3, at the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City, Iowa.

To learn more about the United States Racing Association, visit http://USRAracing.com. You can also like us on Facebook, visit us on Instagram, follow us on Twitter and watch us on YouTube. Keep up to speed with everything USRA and subscribe to the USRA e-Newsletter at http://USRAracing.com/subscribe.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS

United States Racing Association
Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series
Christie Door Company Iron Man Challenge built by Medieval Chassis
8th Annual War in West Union presented by Integra
Fayette County Speedway, West Union, Iowa

Sunday, Sept. 6, 2020

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown and laps completed. All drivers advanced to the Feature with the lineup determined by heat race passing points and the top-8 drawing for starting positions 1-8.

AMERICAN RACER USRA STOCK CARS

Heat #1 (8 laps):

(3) 97 Lynn Panos, Calmar, Iowa
(1) 60 Wyatt Medlin, Rockford, Iowa
(4) 55 Derek Dettmann, McGregor, Iowa
(2) 11B Jesse Brown, Nashua, Iowa
(5) 11 Jake Lampert, Caledonia, Minn.
(7) 14A Blake Adams, McIntire, Iowa
(6) 15L Brady Link, Waukon, Iowa

Heat #2 (8 laps):

(2) 1G Pat Graham, Ankeny, Iowa
(1) 47 Brayton Boyer, St. Lucas, Iowa
(3) 55H Troy Hansmeier, Waukon, Iowa
(4) LKY7 Brennan Welsh, Waukon, Iowa
(5) 2 Chris Roney, Decorah, Iowa
(6) 87 Dylan Suhr, Waterloo, Iowa

Heat #3 (8 laps):

(6) 15H Mitch Hovden, Decorah, Iowa
(4) 44 Dillon Anderson, Decorah, Iowa
(2) 23M Mathew Jones, Waukon, Iowa
(1) 99X Brandon Dietrich, Waukon, Iowa
(5) 33 Kevin Donlan, Decorah, Iowa
(3) 25 Dan Jones, Waukon, Iowa

Feature (20 laps):

(1) 44 Dillon Anderson, Decorah, Iowa, 20.
(7) 15H Mitch Hovden, Decorah, Iowa, 20.
(6) 1G Pat Graham, Ankeny, Iowa, 20.
(12) 99X Brandon Dietrich, Waukon, Iowa, 20.
(8) 55H Troy Hansmeier, Waukon, Iowa, 20.
(4) 97 Lynn Panos, Calmar, Iowa, 20.
(9) 23M Mathew Jones, Waukon, Iowa, 20.
(15) 33 Kevin Donlan, Decorah, Iowa, 20.
(18) 25 Dan Jones, Waukon, Iowa, 20.
(5) 55 Derek Dettmann, McGregor, Iowa, 20.
(19) 15L Brady Link, Waukon, Iowa, 20.
(16) 14A Blake Adams, McIntire, Iowa, 20.
(13) 11 Jake Lampert, Caledonia, Minn. , 20.
(17) 87 Dylan Suhr, Waterloo, Iowa, 20.
(10) 11B Jesse Brown, Nashua, Iowa, 20.
(3) 47 Brayton Boyer, St. Lucas, Iowa, 20.
(2) 60 Wyatt Medlin, Rockford, Iowa, 18.
(14) 2 Chris Roney, Decorah, Iowa, 13.
(11) LKY7 Brennan Welsh, Waukon, Iowa, 11.

Lap Leader: Anderson 1-20.

Total Laps Led: Anderson 20.

Margin of Victory: 0.689 second.

Time of Race: 8 minutes, 40.384 seconds.

Provisional Starters: none.

Entries: 19.

Next Race: Saturday, Sept. 19, Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, Minn.
Iron Man Points: Graham 1061, Brown 972, Hovden 833, Hansmeier 826, Suhr 745, Donlan 686, Steve Jackson 683, Todd Staley 639, Anderson 626, Panos 599.

USRA B-MODS

Heat #1 (8 laps):

(2) 98 Kyle Anderson, Decorah, Iowa
(4) 85 Ben Moudry, Protivin, Iowa
(1) 476 Troy Hovey, Decorah, Iowa
(6) 16 Dan Hovden, Decorah, Iowa
(3) 25 Joe Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
(8) 53 Tianna Mithun, New Richland, Minn.
(9) 20J Jeremy Grantham, Allison, Iowa
(7) 22B Chris Burlington, Spillville, Iowa
(5) 0 Jason Rohde, Fayette, Iowa

Heat #2 (8 laps):

(2) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
(5) 24 Tim Heins, Waukon, Iowa
(4) 15 Todd Schaufenbuel, New Hampton, Iowa
(1) 84 Wes Crawford, Fayette, Iowa
(6) 18 Jerry Luloff, Independence, Iowa
(3) 77JR Rayce Mullen, Pearl City, Ill.
(7) 28 Dayton Swatek, Cresco, Iowa
(8) 33 Jim Erickson, Mabel, Minn.

Heat #3 (8 laps):

(1) 32Z Alex Zwanziger, Walker, Iowa
(4) 8X Josh Roney, Postville, Iowa
(2) 10T Trevor Fecht, Allison, Iowa
(6) 32 Taylor Skauge, Caledonia, Minn.
(5) 49 Jake Steere, Tripoli, Iowa
(7) 56H Brandon Hare, Elma, Iowa
(3) 22 Ryan Thorsten, Decorah, Iowa
(8) 77R Derek Roney, Postville, Iowa

Feature (20 laps):

(2) 8X Josh Roney, Postville, Iowa, 20.
(10) 16 Dan Hovden, Decorah, Iowa, 20.
(3) 85 Ben Moudry, Protivin, Iowa, 20.
(5) 32Z Alex Zwanziger, Walker, Iowa, 20.
(1) 476 Troy Hovey, Decorah, Iowa, 20.
(8) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa, 20.
(4) 98 Kyle Anderson, Decorah, Iowa, 20.
(14) 25 Joe Chisholm, Osage, Iowa, 20.
(9) 10T Trevor Fecht, Allison, Iowa, 20.
(16) 53 Tianna Mithun, New Richland, Minn. , 20.
(13) 18 Jerry Luloff, Independence, Iowa, 20.
(15) 49 Jake Steere, Tripoli, Iowa, 20.
(6) 24 Tim Heins, Waukon, Iowa, 20.
(23) 33 Jim Erickson, Mabel, Minn. , 20.
(21) 22 Ryan Thorsten, Decorah, Iowa, 20.
(12) 84 Wes Crawford, Fayette, Iowa, 20.
(22) 22B Chris Burlington, Spillville, Iowa, 20.
(18) 77JR Rayce Mullen, Pearl City, Ill. , 20.
(25) 0 Jason Rohde, Fayette, Iowa, 20.
(20) 28 Dayton Swatek, Cresco, Iowa, 20.
(11) 32 Taylor Skauge, Caledonia, Minn., 16.
(17) 56H Brandon Hare, Elma, Iowa, 9.
(24) 77R Derek Roney, Postville, Iowa, 8.
(7) 15 Todd Schaufenbuel, New Hampton, Iowa, 5.
(19) 20J Jeremy Grantham, Allison, Iowa, 1.

Lap Leaders: Hovey 1, Roney 2-20.

Total Laps Led: Roney 19, Hovey 1.

Margin of Victory: 0.485 second.

Time of Race: 16 minutes, 35.496 seconds.

Provisional Starters: none.

Entries: 25.

Next Race: Friday-Saturday, Sept. 24-26, Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, Minn.

Iron Man Points: Hovden 938, Josh Roney 863, Moudry 843, Fecht 761, Jim Chisholm 625, Doug McCollough 544, Hovey 476, Skauge 468, Jared Timmerman 431, Joe Chisholm 427.

MENSINK RACING PRODUCTS USRA HOBBY STOCKS

Heat #1 (8 laps):