Last-lap pass propels Chisholm to USMTS win in Webster City

May 22, 2024

Blue skies and dry weather finally greeted the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt when they showed up Wednesday at the Karl Chevrolet Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City, Iowa, for the 14th Annual USMTS Spring Classic.

After snagging the Sybesma Graphics Pole Award, Gary Christian of Broken Bow, Okla., set sail and set the pace throughout the entire 35-lap main event—all except for the final few hundred feet as Jim Chisholm snatched the lead and the win in the final turn.

Following back-to-back rainouts in Texas this month, the weather and wetness again threatened this week’s show but USMTS President and track promoter Todd Staley and his staff worked the soil all week and finally produced a nearly flawless racing surface for the drivers in attendance.

“This is probably one of the best racetracks we’ve raced on all season here on the tour,” Chisholm declared. “It really sucks we didn’t get one more cars, but even with the rain and everything else you know, Todd (Staley) came together and gave us one hell of a show.

“I thought earlier I was going to get around Gary but he fired so well after those restarts. “I don't know if I was just in my head a little bit, and I missed marks a couple different times, but he started taking my Lane a little bit down over there and I was getting a little tight in the traffic.

“At the end of race he moved it back up and I’m like if I can just get underneath him getting in, there wasn't really a lot on the top and they were trying to diamond back down to get a run, but as long as I can just be there—you know, kind of in the way. I figured I could do it.”

In all, five Gorsuch Performance Caution Flags slowed the momentum of the feature race. The first yellow waved during the second Fast Shafts Heat Race when Rodney Sanders saw a good run end in a cloud of smoke.

‘The Rocket’ went to a backup, and then stored through field to finish fifth after starting 17th on the grid to earn the FK Rod Ends Hard Charger Award.

Christian settled for the runner-up paycheck while Dan Ebert snuck past Kyle Brown on the final lap to claim the third spot and final position on the Featherlite Trailers Top-3 podium.

“The race car was good. Hats off to Jim,” Christian said. “He just got me on the last lap, last corner so if you’re on the other side of that it feels pretty good but we keep working hard. We’ve got a winning car, so we’ll get a few,”

Including Wednesday night’s contest, the Hamilton County Fairgrounds has hosted 26 USMTS events in 25 years. The only previous winners on hand were Jason Hughes, Terry Phillips and Ebert as Chisholm notched his first in Webster City and eighth of his short USMTS career.

Sixth through tenth, respectively, were Alex Williamson, Troy Morris III making his series debut, Phillips, Tanner Mullens and Dereck Ramirez.

Opening in July 1910, the Hamilton County Speedway is the oldest speedway in the state of Iowa. In 1938, work began on the current location at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds. The semi-banked half-mile dirt track was completed in the spring of 1939, and the first races were held on the track in September of that year.

The first of four straight shows in the Collins Brothers Towing USMTS North Region presented by Featherlite gets going on Thursday, May 23, at the fast and furious Fayette County Speedway in West Union, Iowa, for the 11th Annual War in West Union.

Defending champion Zack VanderBeek, Ryan Gustin and Terry Phillips are the only two-time winner’s in West Union. Jake Neal won the inaugural event in 2008 with Lucas Schott, Rodney Sanders and Dereck Ramirez also one-time champs here.

USRA Stock Cars, USRA Hobby Stocks and USRA Tuners will also be racing. The gates open at 5 p.m. with hot laps at 7 and racing to follow.

FCS is a semi-banked 3/8-mile clay oval located 0.9 mile south of US 18 on SR 150, then 0.1 mile east on SR 56 (at the Fayette County Fairgrounds) to 504 S Vine St, West Union, IA 52175. Surf racefayettecountyspeedway.net to learn more.

The wildly popular Mississippi Thunder Speedway in Fountain City, Wis., hosts the 12th Annual Spring Shootout built by LT Construction on Friday, May 24, followed by the 21st Annual LR Waste Services Southern Minnesota Spring Challenge at the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., on Saturday, May 25.

The 120-hour grind wraps up Sunday, May 26, at the Pritchard Family Auto Stores Mason City Motor Speedway in Mason City, Iowa, for the 9th Annual USMTS Mod Mania.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt
Mel Hambelton Racing USMTS Central Region
14th Annual USMTS Spring Classic
Karl Chevrolet Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City, Iowa
Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver and hometown. Heat race lineups are determined via group qualifying. The top 12 in heat race passing points advance to the Summit Racing Equipment “A” Main.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (1) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
2. (2) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
3. (3) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
4. (4) 26S Steven Glenn, Hamilton, Mo.
5. (6) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
6. (7) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
7. (8) 12MH Mike Hansen, Dickinson, N.D.
8. (5) 01 Jacob Hobscheidt, Plattsmouth, Neb.

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (2) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
2. (6) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
3. (8) 55H A.J. Hoff, Mantorville, Minn.
4. (1) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
5. (3) 7G Gabe Hodges, Lebo, Kan.
6. (7) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
7. (5) 12H Jason Hahne, Webster City, Iowa
8. (4) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (2) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
2. (6) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
3. (5) 07X Troy Morris III, Bakersfield, Calif.
4. (7) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
5. (3) 25C Cody Thompson, Sioux City, Iowa
6. (4) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
7. (8) 43 Zach Brom, Winona, Minn.
8. (1) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN (8 laps, all advance):
1. (2) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
2. (1) 25C Cody Thompson, Sioux City, Iowa
3. (3) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
4. (9) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
5. (5) 12MH Mike Hansen, Dickinson, N.D.
6. (8) 01 Jacob Hobscheidt, Plattsmouth, Neb.
7. (6) 43 Zach Brom, Winona, Minn.
8. (7) 12H Jason Hahne, Webster City, Iowa
9. (4) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
DNS – 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.

SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT “A” MAIN (35 laps):
1. (10) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
2. (1) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
3. (7) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
4. (2) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
5. (17) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
6. (3) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
7. (8) 07X Troy Morris III, Bakersfield, Calif.
8. (4) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
9. (15) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
10. (9) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
11. (13) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
12. (19) 01 Jacob Hobscheidt, Plattsmouth, Neb.
13. (5) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
14. (14) 7G Gabe Hodges, Lebo, Kan.
15. (12) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
16. (6) 55H A.J. Hoff, Mantorville, Minn.
17. (21) 12H Jason Hahne, Webster City, Iowa
18. (16) 25C Cody Thompson, Sioux City, Iowa
19. (18) 12MH Mike Hansen, Dickinson, N.D.
20. (11) 26S Steven Glenn, Hamilton, Mo.
21. (20) 43 Zach Brom, Winona, Minn.
22. (22) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
DNS – 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
DNS – 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.

Lap Leaders: Christian 1-34, Chisholm 35.
Total Laps Led: Christian 34, Chisholm 1.
Margin of Victory: 0.295 second.
Time of Race: 27 minutes, 18.105 seconds (5 cautions).
Provisional Starters: none.
Emergency Provisionals: none.
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Sanders (started 17th, finished 5th).
Entries: 24.
Next Race: Thursday, May 23, Fayette County Speedway, West Union, Iowa.
Summit USMTS National Championship Points: Timm 802, Ebert 769, Chisholm 758, Phillips 752, Sanders 721, Hughes 718, Mullens 692, Davis 685, Christian 673, Ramirez 672.
Mel Hambelton Racing USMTS Central Region Points: Darron Fuqua 199, Timm 188, Phillips 173, Hobscheidt 163, Cade Dillard 159.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: Hobscheidt 614, Hodges 531, D.J. Shannon 409, Glenn 378, Boone Evans 291.
FK Rod Ends USMTS Hard Charger Points: Sanders 45, Chisholm 43, Ebert 43, Timm 38, Hobscheidt 35.
Miller Welders USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: Mullens 74, Rage 57, MBCustoms 48, Hughes 45, Skyrocket 44.
Callies/JE Pistons USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 74, KSE 61, OFI 58, ProPower 53, Durham 51.

Contingency Awards:
Aero Race Wheels – Sanders.
American Racer – Mullens.
Bear Graphix – Hejna.
Beyea Custom Headers – Brown.
Bryke Racing – Davis.
BSB Manufacturing – Brom.
Champ Pans – Sanders.
Danny Crane Racing Engines – Williamson.
Deatherage Opticians – Morris.
Edelbrock – Phillips.
Fast Shafts – Williamson.
Featherlite Trailers – Chisholm, Christian, Ebert.
FK Rod Ends – Sanders.
Gorsuch Performance Solutions – Chisholm.
Hooker Harness – Hobscheidt.
Hyperco – Christian.
Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – Thompson.
Keyser Manufacturing – Ramirez.
KSE Racing Products – Mullens.
MD3 – Christian.
Mesilla Valley Transportation – Morris.
Mel Hambelton Racing – Lavasseur, Mari.
MSD Performance – Brown.
Penske Racing Shocks – Timm.
PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain – Ramirez.
QA1 – Hoff.
Quarter Master – Mullens.
RacerWebsite.com – Brom.
Rush RaceGear by Austin Witt – Hoff.
Simpson Race Products – Brown.
Summit Racing Equipment – Brom, Hahne, Hejna, Morris, Timm.
Sweet Manufacturing – Hoff.
Swift Springs – Brown, Chisholm.
Sybesma Graphics – Christian.
Total Power –Hughes.
Victory Fuel – Chisholm.
VP Racing – Chisholm.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products – Hahne.
Wilwood Disc Brakes – Morris.

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USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Beyea Headers, Callies Performance Products, Chevrolet Performance, Fast Shafts, Featherlite Trailers, FK Rod Ends, KSE Racing Products, Malvern Bank, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Nitroquest Media, PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain, RacinDirt, Summit Racing Equipment, TicketSmarter, VP Racing - Heartland, Wieland.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: ARMI Contractors, Boomtest Well Service, Boubin Tire & Automotive, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Collins Brothers Towing, Gene Nicholas, LLC, Hacienda Mechanical, Hochatown Saloon, Mel Hambelton Ford, Miller Welders, PBM Performance Products, Rancho Milagro Racing, Salty's BBQ & Catering, Shop Quik Stores, STAKT Products, YouDirt.com.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AERO Race Wheels, AFCO Racing Products, Allstar Performance, Bear Graphix, Bryke Racing, BSB Manufacturing, Champ Pans, Danny Crane Racing Engines, Deatherage Racing Opticians, Edelbrock, Gorsuch Performance Solutions, Gunshepherd.com, Hooker Harness, Hyperco, Integra Racing Shocks and Springs, JE Pistons, Keyser Manufacturing, MD3, Mel Hambelton Racing, MSD Performance, Penske Racing Shocks, Performance Bodies & Parts, QA1, Quarter Master, RacerWebsite.com, Real Racing Wheels, Rush RaceGear by Austin Witt, Simpson Performance Products, Sweet Manufacturing, Swift Springs, Sybesma Graphics, Total Power, Victory Fuel, Victory Vault, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, Wilwood Racing.