8/10/2024
Tanner Mullens
Pair of top-5 results for Mullens in Grant Junghans Memorial program
Starting on the first Wednesday in August, Tanner Mullens embarked on four consecutive days of racing between his Modified and Late Model. He drove to multiple strong results on the Summit USMTS schedule during the quartet of events.
On Wednesday, Mullens’ Bergman Tax & Accounting No. 02 Modified was one of 25 USMTS entries at Beatrice (Nebraska) Speedway for the third annual Battle by the Big Blue. After failing to transfer to the feature via his heat race, Mullens nabbed a fourth-place finish in the B-Main to start 18th in the 40-lap, $3,000-to-win main event. He climbed six spots in the race and registered a 12th-place result at the 3/8-mile track.
Next on the USMTS schedule were the seventh and eighth annual Grant Junghans Memorial events, taking place at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, on Thursday and Friday. Thursday’s show brought 35 Modifieds to the 4/10-mile racetrack, while 36 were in the pit area the following night.
Last year’s program fell to weather, with the makeup for the seventh-annual race taking place on Thursday at Lakeside. A special twist was incorporated into the night as the program included a pair of features. Each 22-lapper was worth $2,222 to the victor. Mullens claimed fourth in his heat and started from the pole in his main event. He turned in a third-place finish, rounding out the podium behind Chase Junghans and Tyler Wolff. Jake O’Neill and Alex Williamson took the fourth and fifth spots, respectively.
On Friday, a $12,222 first-place payout was on the line in the traditionally formatted eighth annual Grant Junghans Memorial. Although Mullens missed the transfer by one position in his heat, he won his B-Main to start 13th in the 42-lap A-Main. He charged ahead eight positions to finish fifth behind Wolff, Rodney Sanders, Terry Phillips and Tyler Davis.
Through the Beatrice and Lakeside events, Mullens is sixth in the USMTS point standings.
However, his racing slate didn’t conclude when the USMTS week did. Instead, he elected to race his No. 02 Late Model in the 20-car Revival Dirt Late Model Series show at Park City, Kansas’ 81 Speedway on Saturday evening.
Mullens qualified with the third-quickest time, putting him in the six-car dash on the on the 3/8-mile oval. But while running in the third spot, Mullens’ engine blew coming to the checkered flag. As a result, his evening ended before the 25-lap, $2,000-to win feature.
Full results from the week are at www.usmts.com an www.revivaldirtlatemodelseries.com.
Article Credit: Todd Boyd image
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