Kenton Allen

This Friday and Saturday, June 21-22, the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt descends on the 81 Speedway in Park City, Kan, to honor racing legend Ed Gressel.

The 2nd Annual Ed Gressel Memorial pays $5,000 to win Friday's main event and a $10,000 top prize awaits Saturday night's highest finisher.

Gressel’s impact on racing throughout the Midwest remains largely unmatched. What began as a hobby working on cars at the 81 Speedway during the 1970s morphed into a top-tier modified team capturing checkered flag after checkered flag on the USMTS trail.

Along with his wife, Cinde, he was a supporter of the series since its infancy and was instrumental in the series growth as it’s seen today.

The list of drivers who have piloted the gold and blue for Gressel Racing is impressive. None could match Ryan Gustin’s resume driving the No. 19R Hughes Racing Chassis.

“The Reaper” collected two USMTS national championships and a $40,000 payday at the USRA Modified Nationals. Of his 103 career USMTS victories, 72 happened while racing for Gressel.

The last of his victories driving for Ed Gressel happened at the 81 Speedway.

Before Gustin it was Scott Green turning the wheel for Gressel, and after came names like R.C. Whitwell, Ricky Thornton Jr. and Tanner Mullens and Brandon Givens.

Alongside the Summit USMTS Modifieds on Friday will be Kansas Tow Company USRA B-Mods and JLR Property Management 316 A-Mods. TM Fencing Super Stocks and Rage Jerky Mini Stocks complete the three-division card Saturday. For event times, ticket prices and more, check out the FAST FACTS.

Friday and Saturday will be the 29th and 30th visits to the 81 Speedway by the USMTS.

Jake O’Neil is the defending champion of the Ed Gressel Memorial, and his three wins here have occurred in the last visits.

The series made its first voyage to the track on August 5, 2008, with four-time USMTS national champ Jason Hughes getting the win. He also won here in 2017.

The winningest driver here is five-time and defending USMTS national champ Rodney Sanders who has six victories on the 81 Speedway soil.

Ryan Gustin is second on that list with three triumphs while Jeremy Payne and Terry Phillips are both even with Hughes at two wins apiece.

One-hit wonders here include Stormy Scott, Cade Dillard, Jon Mitchell, Johnny Scott, Zack VanderBeek, Jacob Bleess, Cole Traugott, Tyler Davis, Tanner Mullens and Tyler Wolff.

If you can’t be there in person, witness all the action from anywhere on any device with RacinDirt. Watch live and get exclusive content on your desktop, laptop tablet or a suite of apps like Roku, Amazon Fire, iOS, Apple TV and Google Play.

The 81 Speedway is a 3/8-mile high-banked clay oval located at 7700 N Broadway, Park City, KS 67219. For more information call (316) 755-1781 or email. Follow the 81 Speedway on Facebook, Instagram and X.

Check out usmts.com for complete coverage of the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt.

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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.