Zack VanderBeek

Strength wears King of America X crown; Zack suffers first DNF in crown jewel

The first nine crowns were worn by eight of the biggest legends in dirt modified racing history, but Saturday night at the Humboldt Speedway it was Brooks Strength letting the world know that the new kids on the block are the new sheriffs in town as he wired the 60-lap main event at King of America X powered by Summit.

On Friday night it was Carlos Ahumada Jr. scoring his career-first USMTS victory, and Strength made it a sweep for the first-time visitors to victory lane with a dominating performance that paid off to the tune of $20,000 for the 21-year-old from Raymond, Mississippi.

“I’ve got to catch my breath for a minute. I’m speechless,” Strength said after climbing from his No. 444 MB Customs Race Car in victory lane. “You sit there and you prepare for this moment… I don’t even know what to think. It’s like I had tunnel vision out there, I said ‘Golly, are we hot-lapping? What are we doing? What’s going on?’ I’m speechless.”

Signs of his prowess this weekend were evident Friday night when Strength started second in that $5,000-to-win opening night feature race. Just past the halfway mark, Ahumada was the first to get around Strength, and then a few laps later Strength contacted Terry Phillips following the race’s first caution.

“I got bullied a little bit by the 75 and kind of lost my head, went in a little too hot,” Strength said. “You know, I just can’t believe it. Cannot believe it.”

That ended his hopes last night, but Saturday he was as cool as a cucumber in fending off challenges early from 2018 King of America winner Lucas Schott, battling through some heavy lapped traffic and then finally keeping 2014 event champion Rodney Sanders behind him in the closing laps.

Several competitors in the talent-rich field of 28 starters made impressive moves throughout the 60-lapper that saw just two brief cautions, but most could not continue charging the front. Strength, however, was the most consistent of all as he was nearly perfect in hitting his marks through 120 left-handers.

It was a solid effort both nights for Strength after failing to qualify for either main event three weeks ago at the RPM Speedway in Crandall, Texas, during the season opener for the Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey’s

“We got real discouraged right when we started off—didn’t make either show at Crandall—so kind of went home and regrouped. Cade Dillard… man, he put me right here. Can’t thank him enough.”

Strength is a contender for this year’s Grant Junghans Rookie of the Year title—an award his car builder Dillard won in 2014.

While he never saw the rear bumper of any of his pursuers, several racers put on a whale of a show for the fans behind Strength. Sanders, who started ninth, and 11th-starting Jake O’Neil joined strength on the proverbial podium while Phillips rebounded from what could have been a disastrous near-spin early on to finish fourth and keep a grip on the Wrisco points leader spoiler for another week.

Passing 14 cars en route to a fifth-place finish, Dereck Ramirez was the FK Rod Ends Hard Charger Award winner for the second night in a row. Defending King of America Ricky Thornton Jr. came from 17th on the gird to get sixth at the checkers with Tanner Mullens, Schott, Casey Skyberg and four-time USMTS national champ Jason Hughes completing the top 10.

Celebrating his 49th birthday on Saturday, Skyberg got a gift to remember when he drew the Sybesma Graphics Pole for the main event which paid no less than $1,000 to all starters.

A field of 92 competitors took part in King of America X powered by Summit, which was 92 more than last year’s event that was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic. King of America XI is planned for the third week of March 2022.

USMTS vs UMP at 34 Raceway: Competitors from the two most powerful empires in the dirt modified universe will come together Friday and Saturday, April 2-3, to battle at the 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, during the inaugural USMTS vs UMP Spring Challenge powered by MSD.

This will be the first-ever visit to the 34 Raceway by the touring titans of the Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey’s. Friday's main event will pay $5,000 to win and $500 to start, Saturday's finale has a $10,000 top prize up for grabs with a minimum $700 to start the feature race.

A trio of support classes will also compete both nights. Stock Cars and Sport/B-Mods race for $500 to win while Tuners/Sport Compacts battle for $200 to win each night.

Tickets can be purchased at the track on race day or in advance online at myracepass.com/tickets. As always, those unable to attend the event can catch every moment live as it happens with a subscription to racindirt.tv.

The 34 Raceway is a semi-banked 3/8-mile clay oval located 5.6 miles west of Highway 61 on Highway 34, and then three blocks north at 10463 S Prairie Grove Rd, West Burlington, IA 52655. For more information, call (319) 752-3434 or visit 34raceway.com.

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. Twenty-six of the 36 race nights will pay at least $10,000 to win while the other 10 carry a $5,000 top prize.

As if that weren’t enough, more than $230,000 is committed to the top ten finishers in the 2021 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
King of America X powered by Summit – Night 2 of 2
Humboldt Speedway, Humboldt, Kan.
Saturday, March 27, 2021

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, laps completed and money won. The top 12 in heat race passing points advance to the Casey’s “A” Main with the top 8 redrawing for starting positions 1-8.

SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (10 laps):
1. (2) 1ST Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
2. (5) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
3. (4) J17 Jake Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.
4. (10) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo.
5. (6) 27X Calvin Iverson, Eleva, Wis.
6. (1) 88S Chris Smith, Brewton, Ala.
7. (3) G17 Fito Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.
8. (7) 75T Tad Davis, Mt. Hope, Kan.
9. (12) 11JR Randal Schiffelbein Jr., Berryton, Kan.
10. (9) 99H Nathan Hagar, Adair, Okla.
11. (11) 38C Jason Pursley, Hermitage, Mo.
12. (8) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
13. (14) X Chris Moore, Madison, S.D.
14. (13) 3R Dustin Seitz, Madison, S.D.

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (10 laps):
1. (1) 37 Clint Johnson, Neosho, Mo.
2. (3) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn.
3. (4) 5H Brett Hoium, Villard, Minn.
4. (6) 49JR. Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
5. (2) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
6. (12) 11X Tom Berry Jr., Des Moines, Iowa
7. (5) 12L Lucas Lee, Paris, Tenn.
8. (10) 64 Casey Fowler, Grand Saline, Texas
9. (11) 88R A.J. Vasquez, Garden City, Mich.
10. (13) 51T Tim Thomas, West Fargo, N.D.
11. (9) 227 Chase Domer, Nevada, Mo.
12. (8) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
13. (7) 19R Chris Kratzer, Wichita, Kan.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (10 laps):
1. (2) 2X Brady Gerdes, Villard, Minn.
2. (3) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
3. (1) 89X Jesse Glenz, Cadott, Wis.
4. (5) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
5. (6) 20RT Ricky Thornton Jr., Adel, Iowa
6. (4) 7 Willie Gammill, Siloam Springs, Ark.
7. (10) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
8. (9) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
9. (7) 1M Curt Myers, Cameron, Wis.
10. (13) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.
11. (11) 9D8 Paden Phillips, Chanute, Kan.
12. (12) 86 Eric Main, Hutchinson, Kan.
13. (8) 77 Steven Bowers Jr., Topeka, Kan.

MSD PERFORMANCE HEAT RACE #4 (10 laps):
1. (2) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
2. (4) 444 Brooks Strength, Raymond, Miss.
3. (1) 26G Ryan Gierke, Villard, Minn.
4. (3) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
5. (8) 45J Johnny Broking, Grand Rapids, Minn.
6. (7) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
7. (5) 88 Nathan Smith, Anthony, N.M.
8. (12) 175 Jordan Grabouski, Beatrice, Neb.
9. (9) 26 Shawn Fletcher, Brainerd, Minn.
10. (11) 5J James Hanley, Cresbard, S.D.
11. (6) 24IH Mike Harrison, Highland, Ill.
12. (10) 54 Carlos Ahumada Sr., El Paso, Texas
13. (13) 15H Austin Harnick, Clare, MI

VP RACING FUELS HEAT RACE #5 (10 laps):
1. (1) 6 Casey Skyberg, Rapid City, S.D.
2. (3) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
3. (4) 56 Broc Bowen, Fannin, Texas
4. (2) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
5. (6) 40 Jessy Willard, Mound City, Kan.
6. (7) 2G Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
7. (11) 85 Jayson Good, Watertown, S.D.
8. (5) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
9. (8) 22S Cole Spacek, Phillips, Wis.
10. (12) 18A Landon Atkinson, Little Falls, Minn.
11. (9) 5D Devon Havlik, Waterloo, Iowa
12. (10) 3J Jake Nightingale, Hutchinson, Kan.
13. (13) 83 Kylie Kath, Claremont, Minn.

WRISCO HEAT RACE #6 (10 laps):
1. (2) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
2. (3) 7II Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
3. (1) 31M Travis Mosley, Batesville, Ark.
4. (7) 2SS Mark Smith, Anthony, N.M.
5. (6) 22 Jeff Spacek, Phillips, Wis.
6. (8) 1K Tim Karrick, Basehor, Kan.
7. (9) 369 Bart Taylor, Sheridan, Wyo.
8. (10) 57 Duke Erickson, Sioux Falls, S.D.
9. (5) 55 Michael Lee, Paris, Tenn.
10. (11) 1J Matt Jeratowski, Madison, S.D.
11. (12) 32 Jesse Young, Warner, S.D.
12. (13) 73 Ryan Nelson, Madison, Minn.
13. (4) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn.

RANCHO MILAGRO HEAT RACE #7 (10 laps):
1. (1) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
2. (2) 22H Dustin Hodges, Centralia, Mo.
3. (3) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
4. (4) 1TPO Tyler Peterson, Hickson, N.D.
5. (7) K19 Will Krup, Mt. Carmel, Ill.
6. (5) 15 Kale Westover, Blair, Okla.
7. (6) 5 Steve Holzkamper, Gentry, Ark.
8. (8) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.
9. (9) 8 Dillon McCowan, Urbana, Mo.
10. (11) 15J Jeremy Richey, Medford, Ore.
11. (12) 33 Chad Smith, Springdale, Ark.
12. (10) 42 Paul Niznik, Medford, Wis.
13. (13) 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 3 advance):
1. (4) 1TPO Tyler Peterson, Hickson, N.D.
2. (6) 20RT Ricky Thornton Jr., Adel, Iowa
3. (3) 26G Ryan Gierke, Villard, Minn.
4. (5) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
5. (12) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.
6. (8) 2G Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
7. (11) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
8. (2) 5H Brett Hoium, Villard, Minn.
9. (13) 1M Curt Myers, Cameron, Wis.
10. (15) 15J Jeremy Richey, Medford, Ore.
11. (18) 86 Eric Main, Hutchinson, Kan.
12. (7) 1K Tim Karrick, Basehor, Kan.
13. (16) 38C Jason Pursley, Hermitage, Mo.
14. (9) 369 Bart Taylor, Sheridan, Wyo.
15. (10) 88 Nathan Smith, Anthony, N.M.
16. (1) 7II Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
17. (19) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn.
18. (17) 5D Devon Havlik, Waterloo, Iowa
19. (14) 8 Dillon McCowan, Urbana, Mo.
20. (20) 15H Austin Harnick, Clare, Mich.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 3 advance):
1. (1) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo.
2. (4) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
3. (5) 45J Johnny Broking, Grand Rapids, Minn.
4. (10) 5 Steve Holzkamper, Gentry, Ark.
5. (14) 18A Landon Atkinson, Little Falls, Minn.
6. (11) 11JR Randal Schiffelbein Jr., Berryton, Kan.
7. (8) 88S Chris Smith, Brewton, Ala.
8. (6) 40 Jessy Willard, Mound City, Kan.
9. (13) 26 Shawn Fletcher, Brainerd, Minn.
10. (7) 7 Willie Gammill, Siloam Springs, Ark.
11. (15) 99H Nathan Hagar, Adair, Okla.
12. (17) 73 Ryan Nelson, Madison, Minn.
13. (2) 56 Broc Bowen, Fannin, Texas
14. (16) 227 Chase Domer, Nevada, Mo.
15. (9) 175 Jordan Grabouski, Beatrice, Neb.
16. (3) 31M Travis Mosley, Batesville, Ark.
17. (12) 88R A.J. Vasquez, Garden City, Mich.
18. (20) 83 Kylie Kath, Claremont, Minn.
19. (18) 54 Carlos Ahumada Sr., El Paso, Texas
20. (19) X Chris Moore, Madison, S.D.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #3 (15 laps, top 3 advance):
1. (4) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
2. (2) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
3. (5) K19 Will Krup, Mt. Carmel, Ill.
4. (11) 75T Tad Davis, Mt. Hope, Kan.
5. (13) 22S Cole Spacek, Phillips, Wis.
6. (3) 2SS Mark Smith, Anthony, N.M.
7. (17) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
8. (18) 3J Jake Nightingale, Hutchinson, Kan.
9. (1) 22H Dustin Hodges, Centralia, Mo.
10. (8) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
11. (16) 9D8 Paden Phillips, Chanute, Kan.
12. (9) G17 Fito Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.
13. (10) 64 Casey Fowler, Grand Saline, Texas
14. (15) 32 Jesse Young, Warner, S.D.
15. (14) 5J James Hanley, Cresbard, S.D.
16. (7) 85 Jayson Good, Watertown, S.D.
17. (12) 51T Tim Thomas, West Fargo, N.D.
18. (6) 22 Jeff Spacek, Phillips, Wis.
19. (19) 19R Chris Kratzer, Wichita, Kan.
20. (20) 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #4 (15 laps, top 3 advance):
1. (2) 89X Jesse Glenz, Cadott, Wis.
2. (1) J17 Jake Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.
3. (3) 49JR. Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
4. (17) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
5. (7) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
6. (19) 77 Steven Jr. Bowers, Topeka, Kan.
7. (11) 65X Carlos Jr. Ahumada, El Paso, Texas
8. (8) 15 Kale Westover, Blair, Okla.
9. (9) 12L Lucas Lee, Paris, Tenn.
10. (10) 57 Duke Erickson, Sioux Falls, S.D.
11. (12) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.
12. (14) 1J Matt Jeratowski, Madison, S.D.
13. (4) 11X Tom Berry Jr., Des Moines, Iowa
14. (6) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
15. (5) 27X Calvin Iverson, Eleva, Wis.
16. (15) 33 Chad Smith, Springdale, Ark.
17. (18) 42 Paul Niznik, Medford, Wis.
18. (16) 24IH Mike Harrison, Highland, Ill.
19. (13) 55 Michael Lee, Paris, Tenn.
20. (20) 3R Dustin Seitz, Madison, S.D.

CASEY’S “A” MAIN (60 laps):
1. (3) 444 Brooks Strength, Raymond, Miss., 60, $20,000.
2. (9) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, 60, $6000.
3. (11) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz., 60, $4000.
4. (5) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., 60, $3000.
5. (19) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., 60, $2500.
6. (17) 20RT Ricky Thornton Jr., Adel, Iowa, 60, $2000.
7. (12) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan., 60, $1700.
8. (4) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn., 60, $1500.
9. (1) 6 Casey Skyberg, Rapid City, S.D., 60, $1400.
10. (7) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., 60, $1300.
11. (10) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn., 60, $1200.
12. (22) 45J Johnny Broking, Grand Rapids, Minn., 60, $1100.
13. (14) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo., 60, $1090.
14. (6) 1ST Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., 60, $1080.
15. (27) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan., 60, $1070.
16. (13) 1TPO Tyler Peterson, Hickson, N.D., 60, $1060.
17. (2) 2X Brady Gerdes, Villard, Minn., 60, $1050.
18. (26) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark., 60, $1040.
19. (25) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas, 60, $1030.
20. (23) K19 Will Krup, Mt. Carmel, Ill., 60, $1025.
21. (24) 49JR Jake Timm, Winona, Minn., 60, $1020.
22. (8) 37 Clint Johnson, Neosho, Mo., 60, $1015.
23. (16) 89X Jesse Glenz, Cadott, Wis., 60, $1010.
24. (21) 26G Ryan Gierke, Villard, Minn., 60, $1005.
25. (28) 11X Tom Berry Jr., Des Moines, Iowa, 29, $1000.
26. (20) J17 Jake Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M., 27, $1000.
27. (15) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan., 21, $1000.
28. (18) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, 17, $1000.

Lap Leader: Strength 1-60.
Total Laps Led: Strength 60.
Margin of Victory: 1.506 seconds.
Time of Race: 22 minutes, 27.372 seconds (2 cautions).
Provisional Starters: Wolff, Tyler Davis.
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Ramirez (started 19th, finished 5th).
Entries: 92.
Next Race: Friday-Saturday, April 2-3, 34 Raceway, West Burlington, Iowa.

Contingency Awards:
Beyea Custom Headers – Phillips.
BigDeal Car Care – Fuqua.
Bryke Racing – Tyler Davis.
BSB Manufacturing – Timm.
Champ Pans – Ramirez.
Deatherage Opticians – Scott.
Edelbrock – Gerdes.
Eibach – Thornton.
Fast Shafts – Johnson, Strength.
FK Rod Ends – Ramirez.
Hooker Harness – Broking.
Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – Ahumada Jr.
Jerovetz Motorsports Racing Parts – Wolff.
K1 RaceGear by Ryan Bowers Motorsports – Williamson.
Keyser Manufacturing – Hughes.
KS Engineering – Sorensen.
KSE Racing Products – Skyberg.
Maxima Racing Oils – Strength.
Penske Racing Shocks – Siebert.
PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain – Westover, Erickson.
QA1 – J. Gallardo.
RacerWebsite.com – Moore.
Rookie’s Rockin’ Sports Bar – Williamson.
Simpson Performance Products – Scott.
Summit Racing Equipment – Broking, Glenz.
Super Clean – Strength.
Swift Springs – Strength, Fuqua.
Sybesma Graphics – Skyberg.
Tire Demon – Harnick.
VP Racing Fuels – Strength.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products – Kates.
Wilwood Disc Brakes – Mullens.