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Mullens snatches dramatic USMTS victory at Hamilton County

By USMTS (Webster City, IA) -- With a baby boy due any day now, Denise Mullens stayed home in Wichita, Kan., Saturday night but was able to watch on RacinDirt.TV as her husband, Tanner Mullens, performed a last-lap labor-inducing pass for the win at the Karl Chevrolet Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City, Iowa.

It was just one year and two days ago that Tanner Mullens captured his career-first victory with the Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey’s at the age of 27.

Tonight’s win in the 15th Annual USMTS Webster City Wrangler presented by BigDeal Car Care was worth $10,000—a nice gift with less than an hour remaining on his wife’s birthday.

Tanner Mullens set himself up for success by earning the Sybesma Graphics Pole Award and led the opening lap of the 35-lap feature at the historic half-mile clay oval, but the hottest driver on tour right now, Tyler Wolff, took control on the second lap.

From there, Wolff was in charge for the next 33 circuits while non-stop action and drama kept the competitors racing in spurts as a season-high ten cautions kept the field within striking distance of the leader.

While Mullens was trying to find victory lane for the first time in 2021, Jake O’Neil was hunting his third checkered flag in nine days. The pair fought tooth-and-nail for most of the race while Wolff was consistently able to pull away on each restart after a brief challenge each time.

Three of the yellow flags waved for two of the top three in the points battle. Rodney Sanders, who worked his way up to fourth got into turn three too hot and tagged the left rear of Mullens, sending the defending USMTS national champ spinning while Mullens carried on. Then, with just two laps remaining, the right rear tire exploded on Sanders’ machine, dropping him from the race in 22nd.

O’Neil was battling Mullens and chasing Wolff when his right rear tire went flat, causing him to pit for replacement rubber. He found his way back to 13th by the time the checkered flag waved 13 laps later.

After winning two features and leading the points battle early on, the gremlins have hitched a ride with Terry Phillips and stayed with hm again tonight. Riding in the top 10, mechanical woes sidelined the veteran racer on lap nine and he was paid for 26th place.

Meanwhile up front, Mullens began to reel in Wolff with five laps to go. Both were using the high line around the racetrack but Wolff was churning the cushion while Mullens was slightly lower and wheeling his ride through the smooth dark area.

Riding his rear bumper the final two laps, Wolff bobbled slightly in turn two as the pair were racing on the final lap. That created an opportunity for Mullens to dive low and slide up in front of Wolff in turn three.

There was never an issue with clearing the leader as Wolff got sucked into the heavy high side and grazed the guardrail while Mullens cruised by and led the final few hundred feet to score his fifth career win which tied him on the all-time wins list with Mike Sorensen, Dustin Sorensen and Greg Skaggs.

“I knew that’s probably the last chance I was going to get there and he kind of pushed down here (pointing at turn two) and I got beside him and I figured ‘What the hell, if I hit the fence I hit the fence.’

“We’ve been struggling really bad so it feels good to finally get a win… My wife back home, it’s her birthday so that’s a good day to win.”

Although Wolff was unable to notch his second win in three nights, he did hang on for his second runner-up finish in the same time span. Lucas Schott, q8th-starting Dustin Sorensen and Brooks Strength followed in the rest of the top-five spots.

It was a big boost in the points for Dereck Ramirez who came in on top and will expand his advantage with a sixth-place finish. Meanwhile, Kyle Brown clawed his way from 23rd on the starting grid to finish seventh and claimed the FK Rod Ends Hard Charger Award.

Four-time USMTS national champ Jason Hughes passed nine cars to finish eighth, Zack VanderBeek started and finished ninth and Landon Atkinson rounded out the top 10.

Masters up next: In less than two weeks, the Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey’s returns to the Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis., June 18-19, for the 22nd Annual Masters with $5,000 to win Friday and $10,000 to win Saturday.

Thursday will feature USRA Modifieds racing for $3,000 to win. CLS Late Models and USRA Late Models will be competing in complete shows all three nights too.

Taking dirt to a new level: The 2021 campaign for the Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey’s features 36 nights of racing with the winners of those main events set to take home over $300,000 in earnings from more than $1 million in prize money earmarked for those shows.

Twenty-six of the 36 race nights will pay at least $10,000 to win while the other 10 carry a $5,000 top prize. And if that weren’t enough, more than $230,000 is committed to the top ten finishers in the 2021 points standings with a record $70,000 reserved for the 2021 USMTS National Champion.

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.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS

United States Modified Touring Series
Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey’s
15th Annual USMTS Webster City Wrangler presented by BigDeal Car Care
Karl Chevrolet Hamilton County Speedway, Webster City, Iowa

Saturday, June 5, 2021

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine, laps completed and money won. The top 12 in heat race passing points advance to the Casey’s “A” Main.

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

1. (2) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
2. (4) 18A Landon Atkinson, Little Falls, Minn.
3. (1) 12L Lucas Lee (R), Paris, Tenn.
4. (3) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
5. (7) 00J J.D. Auringer, Waterloo, Iowa
6. (8) 41 Nate Hughes, Webster City, Iowa
7. (6) 21N Ben Nading (R), Ankeny, Iowa
8. (5) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
9. (9) 41A Thor Anderson (R), Rock Valley, Iowa

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):

1. (2) 1M Curt Myers, Cameron, Wis.
2. (3) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
3. (6) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
4. (7) 7II Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
5. (8) 211 Jesse Ely (R), Webster City, Iowa
6. (9) 369 Bart Taylor (R), Sheridan, Wyo.
7. (4) K19 Will Krup (R), Mt. Carmel, Ill.
8. (5) 12 Mark Elliott, Webster City, Iowa
9. (1) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):

1. (2) 89 Jesse Glenz (R), Chippewa Falls, Wis.
2. (3) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
3. (4) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
4. (1) 85 Jayson Good (R), Watertown, S.D.
5. (6) 1G Pat Graham, Ankeny, Iowa
6. (5) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
7. (9) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
8. (8) 3W Garett Wilson (R), Carlisle, Iowa
9. (7) 21K Kyle Brown (R), Madrid, Iowa

MSD PERFORMANCE HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):

1. (2) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
2. (3) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
3. (1) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
4. (4) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn.
5. (7) 2G Brandon Givens (R), Wichita, Kan.
6. (5) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
7. (8) 57 Duke Erickson, Sioux Falls, S.D.
8. (6) 5D Devon Havlik, Waterloo, Iowa

VP RACING FUELS HEAT RACE #5 (8 laps):

1. (1) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
2. (2) 444 Brooks Strength (R), Raymond, Miss.
3. (4) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
4. (6) 12H Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
5. (5) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
6. (3) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo.
7. (7) 209 Ron Ver Beek, Oskaloosa, Iowa
8. (8) 99 Nathan Hagar, Adair, Okla.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (12 laps, top 6 advance):

1. (1) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
2. (4) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
3. (3) 12H Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
4. (2) 7II Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
5. (5) 85 Jayson Good (R), Watertown, S.D.
6. (13) 21K Kyle Brown (R), Madrid, Iowa
7. (8) 41 Nate Hughes, Webster City, Iowa, Rage/Chevrolet, $100.
8. (6) 2G Brandon Givens (R), Wichita, Kan., Hughes/Mullins, $125.
9. (10) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
10. (7) 369 Bart Taylor (R), Sheridan, Wyo., VanderBuilt/Tim’s, $125.
11. (12) 3W Garett Wilson (R), Carlisle, Iowa, Skyrocket/Wilson, $100.
12. (14) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., MBCustoms/Stoen, $125.
13. (16) 41A Thor Anderson (R), Rock Valley, Iowa, GRT/Chevrolet, $125.
14. (15) 99 Nathan Hagar, Adair, Okla.
15. (9) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn., SSR/KSE, $125.
16. (11) 21N Ben Nading (R), Ankeny, Iowa, VanderBuilt/KSE, $125.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (12 laps, top 6 advance):

1. (2) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
2. (1) 12L Lucas Lee (R), Paris, Tenn.
3. (3) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn.
4. (5) 00J J.D. Auringer, Waterloo, Iowa
5. (7) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
6. (6) 1G Pat Graham, Ankeny, Iowa
7. (8) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo., MBCustoms/Durham, $125.
8. (9) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
9. (10) 57 Duke Erickson, Sioux Falls, S.D., MBCustoms/Stoen, $100.
10. (13) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.
11. (12) 12 Mark Elliott, Webster City, Iowa, Harris/Chevrolet, $100.
12. (11) 209 Ron Ver Beek, Oskaloosa, Iowa, IROC/Midstate, $125.
13. (4) 211 Jesse Ely (R), Webster City, Iowa, GRT/KSE, $100.
    DNS – 5D Devon Havlik, Waterloo, Iowa, Sidebiter/Jono’s, $100.
    DNS – K19 Will Krup (R), Mt. Carmel, Ill., MBCustoms/Mullins, $125.

CASEY’S “A” MAIN (35 laps):

1. (1) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan., Mullens/Mullens, 35, $10,000
2. (2) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark., MBCustoms/ECE, 35, $5000
3. (7) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn., MBCustoms/Stoen, 35, $3000
4. (18) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn., MBCustoms/Action, 35, $2000
5. (10) 444 Brooks Strength (R), Raymond, Miss., MBCustoms/Stoen, 35, $1700
6. (12) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/Cornett, 35, $1500
7. (23) 21 Kyle Brown (R), Madrid, Iowa, Harris/Tesar, 35, $1200
8. (17) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 35, $1000
9. (9) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, VanderBuilt/Stoen, 35, $900
10. (6) 18A Landon Atkinson, Little Falls, Minn., Lethal/Sower, 35, $850
11. (3) 89 Jesse Glenz (R), Chippewa Falls, Wis., MBCustoms/KSE, 35, $800
12. (4) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn., VanderBuilt/KSE, 35, $775
13. (13) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz., LG2/Cornett, 35, $750
14. (5) 1M Curt Myers, Cameron, Wis., Rage/Sputs, 35, $740
15. (19) 7II Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa, Rage/Chevrolet, 35, $735
16. (25) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas, Hughes/BMS, 35, $605
17. (14) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan., Hughes/Mullins, 35, $725
18. (26) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif., MRT/Yeoman, 35, $715
19. (21) 85 Jayson Good (R), Watertown, S.D., MBCustoms/Tim's, 35, $715
20. (24) 1G Pat Graham, Ankeny, Iowa, Victory/Chevrolet, 35, $710
21. (28) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo., Hughes/Cornett, 35, $125
22. (8) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustoms/Hatfield, 34, $700
23. (11) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan., MBCustoms/Driskell, 23, $125
24. (20) 00 J.D. Auringer, Waterloo, Iowa, Rage/KSE, 16, $125
25. (16) 12L Lucas Lee (R), Paris, Tenn., Hughes/Mullins, 14, $125
26. (15) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., GRT/Durham, 10, $125
27. (27) 99 Nathan Hagar, Adair, Okla., Hughes/Chevrolet, 9, $125
28. (22) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn., Lethal/Ebert, 5, $125

Lap Leaders: Mullens 1, Wolff 2-34, Mullens 35.

Total Laps Led: Wolff 33, Mullens 2.

Margin of Victory: 0.722 second.

Time of Race: 31 minutes, 56.465 seconds (10 cautions).

Provisional Starters: Ahumada, Mari.
Emergency Provisionals: Hagar, Clark.
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Brown (started 23rd, finished 7th).
Entries: 43.

Next Race: Friday-Saturday, June 18-19, Cedar Lake Speedway, New Richmond, Wis.

Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey’s Points: TBA.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: TBA.
Miller Welders USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: TBA.
Compstar USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: TBA.

Contingency Awards:
American Racer – Siebert.
Beyea Custom Headers – Sorensen.
BigDeal Car Care – Mullens.
Bryke Racing – Hejna.
BSB Manufacturing – Clark.
Champ Pans – Strength.
Deatherage Opticians – Myers.
Edelbrock – Glenz.
Eibach – Brown.
Fast Shafts – Myers.
FK Rod Ends – Brown.
Hooker Harness – Bleess.
Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – Good.
Jerovetz Motorsports Racing Parts – Mari.
K1 RaceGear by Ryan Bowers Motorsports – Siebert.
Keyser Manufacturing – Atkinson.
KS Engineering – Glenz.
KSE Racing Products – VanderBeek.
Maxima Racing Oils – Mullens.
Penske Racing Shocks – O’Neil.
PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain – Wolff.
QA1 – Sorensen.
RacerWebsite.com – Ahumada.
Simpson Performance Products – Sanders.
Summit Racing Equipment – Hejna, Sanders, Schott, VanderBeek, Wolff.
Super Clean – Mullens.
Swift Springs – Mullens, Brown.
Sybesma Graphics – Mullens.
Tire Demon – Nading.
VP Racing Fuels – Mullens.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products – Ely.
Wilwood Disc Brakes – Brown.

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