Kenton Allen

Chisholm spooks USMTS prey at 81 Speedway

The outlaw dirt modifieds of the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt wrapped up the Mel Hambelton Racing USMTS Central Region on Saturday at the 81 Speedway in Park City, Kan., with the 4th Annual Modified Spooktacular.

Sybesma Graphics Pole Award winner Rodney Sanders of Happy, Texas, jumped out to a huge lead when the green flag waved to start the 40-lap main event while Kale Westover fended off points leader Jim Chisholm for second.

Meanwhile, Gary Christian blasted from sixth to fourth on the opening lap and then raced by Chisholm for third on lap two.

Sanders, Westover and Christian followed each other nose-to-tail around the top side of the high-banked 3/8-mile dirt oval for the first ten laps when lapped traffic became part of the story.

With 15 laps in the books, national title contender Jake Timm of Winona, Minn., took a hit to his title chances and his No 49 Rage Chassis when he smacked the wall in turn one to cause the feature’s first caution.

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Back under green, Sanders pulled away from his pursuers as Westover and Christian traded slide-jobs in each corner. Meanwhile, Lake Shore, Minnesota’s Dan Ebert was holding off Chisholm for fourth while ‘Big Daddy’ Joe Duvall of Justice Okla., was in the mix in sixth.

However, the No. 20 MB Customs machine of Sanders began puffing smoke from beneath his hood and eventually slowed down the back-stretch with 14 laps to go.

Westover inherited the lead with 15 circuits remaining and Christian resumed his challenge for the lead with his fellow Sooner State speedster.

The race’s second caution flew with seven laps to go and wiped out a massive advantage the top two enjoyed over the rest of the pack.

The sparring continued between Westover and Christian as they fought for real estate around the high side, allowing Chisholm to sneak by when Westover got into the marbles in turn four.

Running fourth, Terry Phillips was the cause of the race’s final caution with four laps to go as he sat parked at the bottom of turns one and two.

Just like Westover and Christian before him, Chisholm just about gave it away when the rougher but faster route around the top nearly sucked him into the wall, but the 21-year-old from Osage, Iowa, was able to gather it in and get to the checkered flag first.

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Chisholm’s 13th career USMTS win came with a $5,000 paycheck and earn him the tile of Mel Hambelton Racing USMTS Central Region champion.

“We took off from the green and I really didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Chisholm told RacinDirt pit reporter Trenton Berry in Victory Fuel Victory Lane. “We tried running up top and I thought running that hard we’d roast tires doing that so Kind of went to the safe line, just riding. It looked like Rodney was going to check out and leave us in the dust.

Chisholm won the Collins Brothers Towing USMTS North Region presented by Featherlite points last month, and now has a second regional crown worth $10,000 each at the season-ending awards banquet on Saturday, January 25.

“I hit that blue slick going into (turn) one on the last lap and thought I was going to pile it into the fence. It’s one of the coolest trophies I’ve ever won and we’re going to cherish this one.”

For his efforts, Christian claimed the runner-up spot at the finish line to join Chisholm and Westover on the Featherlite Trailers Top-3 podium.

“Me and Kale was having a good race there and I really didn’t get it turned left for the corner and took a bite out of that wall,” Christian said of his war with Westover that allowed Chisholm to pounce on the leaders. “We had speed and felt like we should’ve capitalized on it, but we’ll keep going. That’s racing.”

“It feels really good, Westover said of his third-place finish. “We’ve been working hard—me and my dad—these past few weeks. We weren’t good down low, so we’ll take it home and strip everything off every corner of the car down to the nuts and bolts.”

Ebert and 23rd-starting Tanner Mullens completed the top five at the flagstand while sixth through tenth went to Kyle Brown, Tyler Davis, Duvall, Alex Williamson and Reece Solander.

Prior to racing on Saturday, trick-or-treating for the kids happened in the afternoon with a Halloween Walk and Trunk-or-Treat through the pits the kids.

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November Madness: The final four of the 2024 campaign happen Nov. 1-2 at the Boothill Speedway in Greenwood, La., followed by the season finale Nov. 8-9 at the Heart O’ Texas Speedway in Elm Mott, Texas, where Chisholm won an open event there in September.

Each night of the four races will pay $5,000 to win the main event and culminate with the crowning of the champion(s) of the ARMI Contractors USMTS South Region presented by Gene Nicholas, LLC, and Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt.

Currently third in the regional standings behind Timm and Ebert, a third regional title would not only assure Chisholm of his first USMTS national championship but also a huge bonus to bring his earnings to $180,000 for sweeping the points.

Check out USMTS.com for schedules, points, photos, souvenirs, videos and more. Follow our social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube. Don't forget to subscribe for free to get USMTS news delivered to your inbox plus Members Only benefits.

With live and on-demand coverage of every USMTS event plus exclusive interviews, instant replays, multiple camera angles and more, subscribe to RacinDirt for live streaming on all of your devices.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt
Mel Hambelton Racing USMTS Central Region
4th Annual Modified Spooktacular
81 Speedway, Park City, Kan.
Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver and hometown. Heat race lineups are determined via group qualifying. The top 12 in heat race passing points advance to the Summit Racing Equipment “A” Main.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (2) 19K Kyle Slader, Muskogee, Okla.
2. (3) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
3. (1) 55H A.J. Hoff, Mantorville, Minn.
4. (6) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
5. (4) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
6. (7) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
7. (5) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
8. (8) 37D Dakota Dale, Valley Center, Kan.
9. (9) 22N Kevin Newell, Wichita, Kan.
10. (10) 32 Tyler Barker, Springfield, Mo.

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (3) 15 Kale Westover, Altus, Okla.
2. (5) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
3. (6) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
4. (2) 96JR Jon Herring Jr., Woodward, Okla.
5. (4) 01 Jacob Hobscheidt, Plattsmouth, Neb.
6. (7) 0 Chris Kratzer, Haysville, Kan.
7. (9) 15WX Wyatt Gaggero, Wichita, Kan.
8. (10) 11JR Randal Schiffelbein Jr., Berryton, Kan.
9. (8) 44 Braden Stoner, Wichita, Kan.
10. (1) 7G Gabe Hodges, Lebo, Kan.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (2) 91 Joe Duvall, Justice, Okla.
2. (4) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
3. (6) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
4. (1) 17 Henry Chambers, Baldwin City, Kan.
5. (9) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
6. (8) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
7. (5) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.
8. (7) 7X Reece Solander, Emporia, Kan.
9. (3) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (10 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (1) 17 Henry Chambers, Baldwin City, Kan.
2. (4) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
3. (7) 7G Gabe Hodges, Lebo, Kan.
4. (2) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
5. (5) 37D Dakota Dale, Valley Center, Kan.
6. (6) 22N Kevin Newell, Wichita, Kan.
7. (3) 15WX Wyatt Gaggero, Wichita, Kan.
DNS - 01 Jacob Hobscheidt, Plattsmouth, Neb.
DNS - 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (10 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (1) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
2. (2) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
3. (4) 11JR Randal Schiffelbein Jr., Berryton, Kan.
4. (5) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.
5. (6) 7X Reece Solander, Emporia, Kan.
6. (3) 0 Chris Kratzer, Haysville, Kan.
7. (7) 44 Braden Stoner, Wichita, Kan.
8. (8) 32 Tyler Barker, Springfield, Mo.

SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (3) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
2. (6) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
3. (2) 15 Kale Westover, Altus, Okla.
4. (5) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
5. (23) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
6. (8) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
7. (15) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
8. (4) 91 Joe Duvall, Justice, Okla.
9. (16) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
10. (22) 7X Reece Solander, Emporia, Kan.
11. (14) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
12. (12) 96JR Jon Herring Jr., Woodward, Okla.
13. (18) 11JR Randal Schiffelbein Jr., Berryton, Kan.
14. (11) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
15. (10) 55H A.J. Hoff, Mantorville, Minn.
16. (20) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.
17. (17) 7G Gabe Hodges, Lebo, Kan.
18. (13) 17 Henry Chambers, Baldwin City, Kan.
19. (1) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
20. (19) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
21. (24) 01 Jacob Hobscheidt, Plattsmouth, Neb.
22. (7) 19K Kyle Slader, Muskogee, Okla.
23. (9) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
24. (21) 37D Dakota Dale, Valley Center, Kan.

Lap Leaders: Sanders 1-25, Westover 26-35, Chisholm 36-40.
Total Laps Led: Sanders 25, Westover 10, Chisholm 5.
Margin of Victory: 0.597 second.
Time of Race: 22 minutes, 25.798 seconds (3 cautions).
Provisional Starters: Mullens, Hobscheidt.
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Solander (started 22nd, finished 10th).
Entries: 29.
Next Race: Friday-Saturday, Nov. 1-2, Boothill Speedway, Greenwood, La.
Summit USMTS National Championship Points: Chisholm 2782, Timm 2701, Sanders 2569, Phillips 2500, Ebert 2414, Mullens 2307, Hughes 2257, Davis 2227, Williamson 2148, Christian 2136.
Mel Hambelton Racing USMTS Central Region Points (final): Chisholm 976, Phillips 911, Timm 870, Sanders 852, Ebert 842.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: Hobscheidt 2045, Gabe Hodges 1690, Steven Glenn 927, Joe Chisholm 739, D.J. Shannon 409.
FK Rod Ends USMTS Hard Charger Points: Sanders 161, Timm 157, Chisholm 138, Phillips 106, Ebert 99.
Miller Welders USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: Skyrocket 224, MBCustoms 221, Rage 205, Mullens 193, Bloodline 153.
Callies/JE Pistons USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: KSE 258, Mullins 229, OFI 209, Durham 183, Hatfield 179.

Contingency Awards:
Aero Race Wheels – Phillips.
American Racer – Hughes.
Bear Graphix – Slader.
Beyea Custom Headers – Ebert.
Bryke Racing – Hoff.
BSB Manufacturing – Hobscheidt.
Champ Pans – Mullens.
Danny Crane Racing Engines – Brown.
Deatherage Opticians – Solander.
Edelbrock – Duvall.
Fast Shafts – Westover.
Featherlite Trailers – Chisholm, Christian, Westover.
FK Rod Ends – Solander.
Gorsuch Performance Solutions – Chisholm.
Hooker Harness – Herring.
Hyperco – Mullens.
Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – Chambers.
Keyser Manufacturing – Solander.
KSE Racing Products – Williamson.
MD3 – Sanders.
Mel Hambelton Racing – Kratzer, Newell.
MSD Performance – Ebert.
Penske Racing Shocks – Schiffelbein.
PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain – Kratzer.
QA1 – Duvall.
Quarter Master – Williamson.
RacerWebsite.com – Barker.
Rush RaceGear by Austin Witt – Phillips.
Simpson Race Products – Slader.
Summit Racing Equipment – Gaggero, Hodges, Solander, Westover, Williamson.
Sweet Manufacturing – Lavasseur.
Swift Springs – Chisholm, Mullens, Solander.
Sybesma Graphics – Sanders.
Total Power – Wolff.
Victory Fuel – Chisholm.
VP Racing – Chisholm.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products – Barker.
Wilwood Disc Brakes – Davis.