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O’Neil conquers ‘The Creek’ again, cashes another $10,000 USMTS check

Jake O’Neil’s mastery of the Deer Creek Speedway continued Saturday as he captured the J&S JCB Fastrac 40 in the 16th Labor Day Weekend visit by the Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey’s.

Heavy rain throughout the week battered the region, forcing Friday night’s show at the Mississippi Thunder Speedway to be canceled, but the Deer Creek track crew worked around the clock to get the legendary high banks in race-ready condition.

Like normal, the track surface was fast and full of multiple grooves to choose from, but uncharacteristically bumpy thanks to Mother Nature’s beat down this week.

“I really do,� O’Neil said after announcer Todd Narveson asked if he loves Deer Creek. “It’s not often you see it with characteristics like this. It's tricky enough as it is and then you put that in there it's hard to get around this place.�

The 29-year-old from Tucson, Ariz., tracked down leader Alex Williamson on lap 24 to lead the final 17 circuits and score his series-best seventh main event victory of the 2021 campaign.

“Alex did a great job the whole race—I really didn't think I was going to get them there. I wasn't as good at stopping and going on the bottom like they were so the only thing I could do is just not slow down make it a big circle and luckily it paid off for us.

“I had one good restart over here and I just timed it perfect and I got a couple cars and that's probably what won the race. Hats off to Deer Creek for trying to make a best track they can get. They worked on it all night you know they put in a great effort. It was racy and you could move around a little bit—at least I could—but never hit the same spot twice.�

Along winning this event last year and sweeping the Featherlite Fall Jamboree a few weeks later, O’Neil has claimed four of the last five feature races at ‘The Creek.’ In the 16 shows here on Labor Day Weekend, O’Neil also became just the second repeat winner of the event, joining Tim Donlinger who won in 2007 and again in 2008 during his USMTS national title run.

O’Neil scooted past seven cars to get be the first driver to see the checkered flag Saturday night, but runner-up Terry Phillips—also a five-time former winner at the Deer Creek Speedway—raced from 11th on the starting grid to finish second and earn the FK Rod Ends Hard Charger Award.

Dustin Sorensen, whose father, Mike Sorensen, won this event in 2010, finished third while Williamson held on for fourth ahead of Jason Hughes—the all-time winningest USMTS competitor here with 14 career victories.

John Doelle was sixth, Jake Timm wound up seventh, two-time USRA Modified national champ Lucas Schott earned an eighth-place paycheck, Tyler Davis passed 17 of his fellow racers to nab the ninth spot and Dereck Ramirez rounded out the top 10.

Also uncharacteristic at the Deer Creek Speedway, two-time defending USMTS national champion Rodney Sanders has garnered 10 checkered flags here but struggled to an 11th-place finish among the 62 entrants Saturday.

War is coming: On Sunday, the series will make its only appearance of the 2021 campaign at the fabulous Fayette County Speedway in West Union, Iowa for the 9th Annual USMTS War in West Union presented by RHRSwag.com.

This will be the eighth visit by the USMTS since 2007 when Jason Krohn won the inaugural event here. Jake Neal picked up his first and only USMTS victory the following season and Ryan Gustin won here in 2009.

Zack VanderBeek got the win in 2016 and Gustin became the first two-time winner of this event in 2017. Lucas Schott broke through in 2018, Rodney Sanders won in 2019 and Terry Phillips is the defending champion of the event.

The pits open at 3 p.m. and grandstands open at 4 with hot laps slated for 5:15. Racing gets underway at 6 p.m.

Medieval USRA Stock Cars, USRA B-Mods and Mensink Racing Products USRA Hobby Stocks are also on the card and all three classes will be awarded national points in the Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series.

The Fayette County Speedway is one of the oldest, continuously running racetracks in Iowa. In the 1930s, the Fayette County Fairgrounds was a horse track that circled just about the entire fairgrounds. The present pit area is the old back stretch for the former half-mile track. In 1991, Jerry Blue built the 3/8-mile track that is raced on today and operated by the Fayette County Ag Society Race Committee.

The Fayette County Speedway 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 (Vine St.). For more information, visit fayettecountyspeedway.net and follow the track on Facebook and Twitter.

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.

Most main events will pay at least $10,000 to win while others carry a minimum $5,000 top prize. And if that weren’t enough, more than $230,000 is committed to the top 10 finishers in the final 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
16th Annual USMTS J&S JCB Fastrac 40
Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, Minn.
Saturday, Sept. 4, 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. (1) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
2. (4) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
3. (2) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
4. (6) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn.
5. (5) 444 Brooks Strength (R), Raymond, Miss.
6. (3) 35B David Baxter (R), Eau Claire, Wis.
7. (7) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
8. (9) 96 Taton Hansen (R), Spicer, Minn.
9. (10) 29H Joe Horgdal, Kasson, Minn.
10. (8) 209 Ron Ver Beek, Oskaloosa, Iowa.
11. (11) 9X Randy Jonsgaard, Winona, Minn.

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):

1. (4) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis.
2. (1) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
3. (2) 4A Joel Alberts, Mantorville, Minn.
4. (9) 44 Adam Hensel, Baldwin, Wis.
5. (3) 22T Michael Truscott (R), Chippewa Falls, Wis.
6. (5) 18A Landon Atkinson, Little Falls, Minn.
7. (7) 51K Darwin Karau, Kasson, Minn.
8. (8) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
9. (10) 45 Levi Nielsen, Mason City, Iowa.
10. (6) 21M Dean Mahlstedt, Clear Lake, Iowa.
11. (11) 51W J.T. Wasmund (R), Pine Island, Minn.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):

1. (1) 94JR John Doelle, Arcadia, Wis.
2. (2) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
3. (4) 50III Brandon Davis, Hayfield, Minn.
4. (3) 30 Matt Leer, Bruce, Wis.
5. (5) 1M Curt Myers, Cameron, Wis.
6. (8) 20JR Chase Rudolf (R), Norwalk, Iowa.
7. (10) 21X Jake Smith (R), Chippewa Falls, Wis.
8. (7) 71 Jason Cummins, New Richland, Minn.
9. (9) 4S Craig Shaw, Dexter, Minn.
10. (6) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.

MSD PERFORMANCE HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):

1. (4) 90 Ryan Wetzstein (R), West Concord, Minn.
2. (3) 90X Keith Foss, Winona, Minn.
3. (1) 55H A.J. Hoff (R), Mantorville, Minn.
4. (2) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
5. (5) 85 Jayson Good (R), Watertown, S.D.
6. (6) 33 Joe Ludemann, Grand Meadow, Minn.
7. (7) 2 Andrew Bleess (R), Chatfield, Minn.
8. (8) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.
9. (10) 7J Corey Jones (R), Zimmerman, Minn.
10. (9) 98D Mitch Madery (R), Kasson, Minn.

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

1. (1) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn.
2. (3) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La.
3. (2) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
4. (4) 49JR Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
5. (6) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
6. (5) 24S Charlie Steinberg, Kasson, Minn.
7. (7) 8S Tony Schill, Oakdale, Minn.
8. (10) 24 Aaron Benson (R), Clear Lake, Iowa.
9. (8) 369 Bart Taylor (R), Sheridan, Wyo.
10. (9) 61T Tammy Soma-Clark, Rochester, Minn.

WRISCO HEAT RACE #6 (8 laps):

1. (2) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
2. (4) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
3. (1) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
4. (3) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
5. (6) 98 Kevin Stoa, Albert Lea, Minn.
6. (8) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa.
7. (7) 2G Brandon Givens (R), Wichita, Kan.
8. (9) 23B Brett Bumgardner, Hawkeye, Iowa.
9. (5) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas.
10. (10) 70 Greg Jensen, Albert Lea, Minn.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B� MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 4 advance):

1. (1) 44 Adam Hensel, Baldwin, Wis.
2. (6) 444 Brooks Strength (R), Raymond, Miss.
3. (3) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
4. (7) 20JR Chase Rudolf (R), Norwalk, Iowa.
5. (2) 4A Joel Alberts, Mantorville, Minn.
6. (11) 24 Aaron Benson (R), Clear Lake, Iowa, $100.
7. (9) 24S Charlie Steinberg, Kasson, Minn., GRT/Flyin'J, $125.
8. (12) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
9. (13) 29H Joe Horgdal, Kasson, Minn., $100.
10. (15) 98D Mitch Madery (R), Kasson, Minn., $125.
11. (14) 209 Ron Ver Beek, Oskaloosa, Iowa, IROC/Midstate, $125.
12. (5) 22T Michael Truscott (R), Chippewa Falls, Wis., $125.
13. (4) 30 Matt Leer, Bruce, Wis., MBCustoms/Stoen, $125.
14. (10) 2 Andrew Bleess (R), Chatfield, Minn., $100.
15. (8) 21X Jake Smith (R), Chippewa Falls, Wis., $125.
    DNS – 9X Randy Jonsgaard, Winona, Minn., $125.
    DNS – 4S Craig Shaw, Dexter, Minn., Lethal/KSE, $125.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B� MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 4 advance):

1. (1) 50III Brandon Davis, Hayfield, Minn.
2. (3) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn.
3. (2) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
4. (4) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
5. (5) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif., MRT/Yeoman, $125.
6. (8) 18A Landon Atkinson, Little Falls, Minn., Lethal/Sower, $125.
7. (9) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn., VanderBuilt/KSE, $125.
8. (10) 8S Tony Schill, Oakdale, Minn., SSR/KSE, $125.
9. (7) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa, Rage/Chevrolet, $125.
10. (13) 45 Levi Nielsen, Mason City, Iowa, $100.
11. (11) 96 Taton Hansen (R), Spicer, Minn., $125.
12. (14) 369 Bart Taylor (R), Sheridan, Wyo., VanderBuilt/Tim's, $125.
13. (6) 1M Curt Myers, Cameron, Wis., Rage/Sput's, $125.
14. (16) 61T Tammy Soma-Clark, Rochester, Minn., $100.
15. (12) 71 Jason Cummins, New Richland, Minn., Tri-Built/Baier's, $125.
16. (15) 21M Dean Mahlstedt, Clear Lake, Iowa, $125.
17. (17) 51W J.T. Wasmund (R), Pine Island, Minn., MBCustoms/Stoen, $125.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B� MAIN #3 (15 laps, top 4 advance):

1. (3) 49JR Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
2. (1) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
3. (5) 98 Kevin Stoa, Albert Lea, Minn.
4. (8) 33 Joe Ludemann, Grand Meadow, Minn.
5. (6) 85 Jayson Good (R), Watertown, S.D.
6. (14) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas.
7. (2) 55H A.J. Hoff (R), Mantorville, Minn., GRT/Action, $125.
8. (10) 2G Brandon Givens (R), Wichita, Kan., Hughes/Mullins, $125.
9. (7) 35B David Baxter (R), Eau Claire, Wis., Rocket/Baxter, $100.
10. (13) 7J Corey Jones (R), Zimmerman, Minn., VanderBuilt/Tim's, $125.
11. (12) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo., Hughes/Cornett, $125.
12. (9) 51K Darwin Karau, Kasson, Minn., Killer/Flyin'J, $100.
13. (4) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
14. (15) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
15. (11) 23B Brett Bumgardner, Hawkeye, Iowa, Hughes/Midnight, $125.
16. (16) 70 Greg Jensen, Albert Lea, Minn., $100.

CASEY’S “A� MAIN (40 laps):

1. (8) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz., LG2/Cornett, 40, $10,000.
2. (11) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., GRT/Durham, 40, $5100.
3. (6) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn., MBCustoms/Action, 40, $3000.
4. (3) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn., SSR/KSE, 40, $2000.
5. (1) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $1700.
6. (5) 94JR John Doelle, Arcadia, Wis., Rocket/Stoen, 40, $1500.
7. (15) 49JR Jake Timm, Winona, Minn., MBCustoms/OFI, 40, $1200.
8. (7) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn., MBCustoms/Stoen, 40, $1000.
9. (26) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan., Lethal/Mullins, 40, $900.
10. (19) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/Cornett, 40, $850.
11. (18) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustoms/Hatfield, 40, $800.
12. (27) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas, Hughes/BMS, 40, $775.
13. (20) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan., Mullens/Mullens, 40, $750.
14. (12) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark., MBCustoms/ECE, 40, $740.
15. (24) 33 Joe Ludemann, Grand Meadow, Minn., 40, $735.
16. (25) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, VanderBuilt/Stoen, 40, $730.
17. (28) 85 Jayson Good (R), Watertown, S.D., MBCustoms/Stoen, 40, $725.
18. (21) 98 Kevin Stoa, Albert Lea, Minn., 40, $720.
19. (16) 444 Brooks Strength (R), Raymond, Miss., MBCustoms/Stoen, 40, $715.
20. (22) 20JR Chase Rudolf (R), Norwalk, Iowa, Rage/KSE, 40, $710.
21. (23) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn., Lethal/Ebert, 40, $705.
22. (29) 4A Joel Alberts, Mantorville, Minn., VanderBuilt/Action, 40, $700.
23. (10) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La., MBCustoms/Stoen, 31, $700.
24. (4) 90 Ryan Wetzstein (R), West Concord, Minn., MBCustoms/Stoen, 27, $700.
25. (30) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan., MBCustoms/Driskell, 15, $700.
26. (9) 90X Keith Foss, Winona, Minn., 15, $500.
27. (14) 50III Brandon Davis, Hayfield, Minn., Tri-Built/KSE, 10, $700.
28. (2) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis., VanderBuilt/Scott's, 6, $700.
29. (13) 44 Adam Hensel, Baldwin, Wis., MBCustoms/OFI, 4, $700.

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