Sanders Scores top prize at North Iowa Fair Night #1
I am super pumped to introduce you to another contributor here at DirtInfo: Brad Gorman! For my money, there isn't a better guy out there to bring you insight into the intense battle taking shape at the top of the USMTS Championship standings this season.
Sliding into Victory Lane with Dirtslider38
After racing at the ½ mile Fairmont Raceway Thursday night, the stars and cars of the Summit USMTS touring series presented by RacinDirt made the drive to the ⅓ mile Prichard Family Auto Stores Mason City Motor Speedway. Along with three nights of racing thanks to Kabrick Distributing, fans have the opportunity to enjoy the North Iowa Fair taking place as well.
24 drivers checked in for night #1. 3 heats, a B-main and a 40-lap feature was on the agenda. The winner would be collecting $5,000 for their efforts. Support classes were 2 person cruisers, Western Iowa non-wing sprints cars and, the fan favorite, school bus races.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (10 laps) JT Wasmund scoring the win over Gabe Hughes and Tyler Davis. JT has made the Sunday trip for weekly shows and it showed collecting the heat win.
FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (10 laps): This heat got off to a rough start going into turn 1. The cars of Gary Christian, Kyle Brown, Steve Lavasseur and Jon Plowman all involved. Plowman would need to be towed off with a damaged left front. Kyle Brown's recent bad luck continued as his Harris 21k would have parts failure requiring a tow a lap later. Once the green flag flew, they were able to finish the race. Alex Williamson, another driver who will visit the weekly program at Mason City when his schedule allows, picked up the heat win. He was pretty proud of his 46-night motor from KS Engineering and the quality of work Kevin Stoa builds.
EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (10 laps):
This was packed with plenty of drivers in the top 10 in points . When the checker flag flew, Terry Phillips picked up the heat win over his neighbor in the pits Tanner Mullens. TP has taken a liking to Mason City picking up wins in the past. A surprise was Jake Timm and Jim Chisholm only able to get 5th and 6th respectably. This would lead them to a B-main.
Due to only 24 cars, everyone made the race. The B-main would determine starting spots after the heat passing points were added up. Jim Chisholm and Jake Timm would finish 1-2 respectably.
I was able to hurry down to the Victory Vault redraw to see how the top 8 would start.
Victory Vault redraw by passing points:
Gary Christian....7th
JT Wasmund.....3rd
Terry Phillips.... 4th
Alex Williamson.....8th
Gabe Hodges....pole
Tanner Mullen...6th
Aaron Benson...5th
Cayden Carter...2nd
As the USMTS A-Main was in their parade laps, AJ Hoff pulled into the Danny Crane Racing Engines Hot Pit with a parts failure. After shuffling the lineup, green flag flew and Aaron Benson went from 5th to the lead by turn 2. Much to the excitement and approval of his family and friends sitting near me. Aaron would lead the first 19 laps before Rodney Sanders passed him. Racing would continue until lap 30 for a caution involving Kyle Brown's 21k.
On the following lap, Sanders, Timm, and Chisholm's close racing resulted in Sanders spinning. Much to the relief of Sanders and his fans, the caution was being called for debris on the track before Sanders spin. Everyone would get their positions back.
The last 7 laps were a fantastic battle between Timm and Sanders. Rodney was able to use the high lane and whistled Dixie past Timm for the win. This would be Rodney's 121st USMTS in his legendary career. Jake Timm and Jim Chisholm rounded out the Featherlite top 3.
Saturday's program and classes will be the same as Friday's. The national point race continues to be close. With each night going forward, every A-Main finish spot is so valuable. Please continue to support your local dirt tracks to be able to bring exciting series and drivers to our home tracks.
Odds and Ends Stats
Thanks to MyRacePass and DirtDraft for the stats and hometown info.
SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT “A” MAIN (40 laps scheduled)
1. 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas $5000 payday
2. 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
3. 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
4. 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
5. 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
6. 01 Jacob Hobscheidt, Plattsmouth, Neb.
7. 24 Aaron Benson, Clear Lake, Iowa
8. 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
9. 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
10. 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
11. 51W J.T. Wasmund, Pine Island, Minn.
12. 7G Gabe Hodges, Lebo, Kan.
13. 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls , Wis.
15. 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
16. 96 Taton Hansen, Spicer, Minn.
17. 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
18. 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
19. 17 Jon Plowman, Woodbine, Iowa
20. 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
21. 02D Cole Denner, Ionia, Iowa
22. 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
23. 23 Darwin Karau, Kasson, Minn.
DNS – 55H A.J. Hoff, Mantorville, Minn. Parts failure on parade laps.
Lap Leaders: Aaron Benson 1-18, Rodney Sanders 19-30, Jake Timm 31-38, Rodney Sanders 39-40.
Total Laps Led: Aaron Benson 18, Rodney Sanders 14, Jake Timm 8.
Entries: 24.
Hard Chargers
Jake Timm +14
Jim Chisholm +12
Jacob Hobscheidt +12
Rodney Sanders +11
Steve Lavasseur +7
Dan Ebert +5
Jon Plowman +5
Jake O'Neil. +3
Tanner Mullens +1
Kyle Brown +1
Cole Denner +1
Terry Phillips 0
Zack VanderBeek 0
Darwin Karau 0
Lost Positions
Aaron Benson -2
Taton Hansen -2
Jason Hughes -3
Tyler Davis -6
Cayden Carter -7
JT Wasmund -8
Gary Christian -10
Alex Williamson -10
Gabe Hodges -11
AJ Hoff -13 DNS due to parts failure parade laps
DirtDraft Tasty Nuggets (Dirtslider38 on DirtDraft)
I remain in 7th place nationally -228 from first. No changes from Fairmont Raceway in gained or lost position. Started the year in 255th place 🏁.
DirtDraft USMTS National Championship points
1st Taterracing8
2nd WhoaNellyRacing -106
3rd kthartmann -144
4th Cpt_Africa_ -146
5th jbag82 -178
6th JoeMoe222 -214
7th Dirtslider38 as Pete from Home Improvement would say "that would be me". -228
8th Langer34 -306
9th Eric17 -336
10 VogtRacing -342
Dirtslider38 DirtDraft Mason City picks
Jim Chisholm 3rd = 96 points
Aaron Benson 7th = 88 points
Zack VanderBeek 10th = 82 points
Cole Denner 21st = 60 points
AJ Hoff 24th = 54 points
Final results
380 points, tied for 172th out of 920 players
Post Race debrief:
When there were only 24 drivers running, I was going to go top heavy on my 3 top priced drivers and hoped my lower priced drivers would sneak up a position or two. It's almost a crime not to pick Jim Chisholm lately . His team runs well and consistency in his results. Same with Aaron Benson, he was my quiet local pick. I've seen him run many times locally and have good results. VanderBeek will always give me a consistent finish when he's able to run. AJ was the 3rd highest driver picked on DirtDraft last night. His DNS took a bit out of the score, it is what it is. Cole, he's a local driver from my hometown area so why not pick him.
Disclaimer My opinion with fantasy racing results, I'm not associated with any teams, series or marketing partners. No disrespect to them, how they finish nightly. Especially after how much they spend up and down the road to provide entertainment and brighten people's spirits.
Overall, not a bad fantasy night. Especially when this season I'm not putting much thought behind my picks. Usually just colors on the car or a sponsor I like. A good first night of three at the Prichard Family Auto Stores Mason City Motor Speedway. Hopefully the weather behaves and by Sunday some of the drivers running at their weekly tracks are able to run at Mason City.
Thanks for reading, until the checker flag flies again. 🏁
About me:
I've been a fan and follower of USMTS for 20 years. Along with attending over 100 USMTS races. My favorite memory is waving the checkers for Zack VanderBeek at Fayette County Speedway during cancer survivor night. I'm also a local storm spotter for 25 years between two counties.
Follow me on X @bgormaniawx - I'll ramble about racing, weather/post storm reports. Plus, I'll talk and show pictures of our 12 kids. 😉
