Sorensen secures seventh career win in 2022 USMTS season opener

The build-up to the 24th season for the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt began the moment the checkered flag waved Halloween Weekend last year.

The Best of the Best in dirt modified racing did not disappoint Friday at the Rocket Raceway Park as the 2022 campaign kicked off with the first night of the 12th Annual Texas Spring Nationals.

Continuing where he left off last season with a sweep of the Summit USRA Nationals, Dustin Sorensen of Rochester, Minn., captured his seventh career USMTS victory and a $5,000 paycheck for his efforts.

The defending Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series national champion avoided multiple pitfalls throughout the night, beginning with a collision with an infield tire which dropped him into a sixth-row start in Real Racing Wheels “B” Main #2.

After winning that with a next-to-last lap pass of Rick Beebe, Sorensen began his quest in the 40-lap main event from the 14th starting spot while Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year contenders Kyle Brown and Jimmie Williams occupied the front row.

Four-time USMTS National Champion Jason Hughes screamed around the high side to take the lead from Brown at the flagstand as they completed the third lap, and before another lap could be completed, the yellow appeared for a second time when Dan Ebert and Chase Allen collided and thwarted Dereck Ramirez’s pass of Brown for second.

With Hughes navigating the top side of the wide 1/3-mile oval, a wild battle for second between Ramirez and 14th-starting Dustin Sorensen developed but was short-lived when the two came together and Ramirez skidded to a stop at the bottom of the track while Sorensen squeaked through with no visible damage.

Back under green flag racing, Hughes continued to lead with Sorensen staying within striking distance, finally able to pull alongside Hughes with 10 laps to go but unable to complete the pass.

The last nine laps were nail-biters with both racers using every inch of the racing surface as they slid under, between and above thick lapped traffic.

With four laps remaining, Sorensen was finally able to drive underneath Hughes and secure the lead by the time they exited turn four. He never trailed again.

Although he was unable to snap his winless dry spell of more than three years, Hughes was one of the strongest cars all night and finished a solid second behind Sorensen with another multi-time series champion, Rodney Sanders, finishing third ahead of Tanner Mullens and Tyler Davis.

Terry Phillips, Tyler Wolff, Kale Westover, Fito Gallardo and Jayson Good completed the top 10.

Racin’ for 10k Saturday: We’ll do it all over again Saturday at the Rocket Raceway Park for the second night of the 12th Annual Texas Spring Nationals. USRA Stock Cars, USRA Limited Mods/B-Mods and USRA Factory Stocks also return to the fast and wide quarter-mile high-banked dirt oval.

Saturday’s finale will see a top prize of $10,000 for the Summit USMTS Modifieds while Stock Cars, Limited Mods/B-Mods and Factory Stocks battle for $600 to win and $75 to start. Grandstand open at 4 p.m. with qualifying at 5:45 and the first heat race at 6 p.m.

If you can’t be there in person, watch every lap of every race with your RacinDirt Pit Pass.

The Rocket Raceway Park holds 3,400 spectators and its elevated grandstands offer superb viewing from any seat. The venue can be found in Lamar County—about 15 minutes west of Paris and 25 minutes east of Bonham. The physical location is 16369 US Hwy 82, Petty, TX 75470.

Learn more at RocketRacewayPark.com and follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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 presented by RacinDirt
12th Annual Texas Spring Nationals – Night 1 of 2
Rocket Raceway Park, Petty, Texas
Friday, March 4, 2022

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 Summit Racing Equipment “A” Main.

SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (2) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
2. (4) 12H Mike Hansen, Dickinson, N.D.
3. (1) 47 Jack Sartain, Terrell, Texas
4. (6) 22B Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan.
5. (10) 2G Kenny Gaddis, Diana, Texas
6. (11) 2R Michael Riskey, Caddo Mills, Texas
7. (3) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn.
8. (9) 5K Tyler Kaeter, St. Cloud, Minn.
9. (8) 5RX Robby Minten, LaCoste, Texas
10. (5) 11N Gene Nicholas, Lowell, Ark.
11. (7) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (2) 28B Wendall Bolden, Greenville, Texas
2. (1) 12T Tyler Townsend, Diana, Texas
3. (3) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
4. (4) 85 Jayson Good, Watertown, S.D.
5. (6) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
6. (7) 7 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis.
7. (10) 90 Ryan Wetzstein, West Concord, Minn.
8. (9) 53JT Justin Thornton, Chandler, Ariz.
9. (8) 5R Ryan Doyon, LaCoste, Texas
10. (5) 1J Matt Jeratowski, Madison, S.D.
11. (11) J17 Jake Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (1) G17 Fito Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.
2. (2) 12J Jason Ingalls, Longview, Texas
3. (3) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas
4. (4) 15W Kale Westover, Altus, Okla.
5. (5) 44F Shane DeVolder, Pacifica, Calif.
6. (6) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
7. (7) 49JR. Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
8. (8) 8 Dillon McCowan, Urbana, Mo.
9. (9) 369 Bart Taylor, Sheridan, Wyo.
10. (11) 24B Chris Bragg, Springtown, Texas
11. (10) 101 Tyson Dickson, Lubbock, Texas

MSD PERFORMANCE HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (2) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
2. (4) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
3. (1) 55 Chris Kratzer, Wichita, Kan.
4. (6) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
5. (5) 130 Chase Allen, Midlothian, Texas
6. (3) 55H A.J. Hoff, Mantorville, Minn.
7. (10) 38T Dylan Thornton, Santa Maria, Calif.
8. (7) D25 David Tanner, Wichita Falls, Texas
9. (9) 9 Kevin Rutherford, Flower Mound, Texas
10. (8) 75J Jeremy LaCoe, Lincoln, Ark.
11. (11) 44X Bryan Gunwall, Brookston, Texas

VP RACING FUELS HEAT RACE #5 (8 laps):
1. (1) 2 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
2. (4) 82W Jimmie Williams, Denison, Texas
3. (3) 18M Wayne Melton, Caddo Mills, Texas
4. (5) 82 Max Eddie Thomas, Quinlan, Texas
5. (8) 07H Chase Holland, Saucier, Miss.
6. (7) 77 Ronnie Yanacsek, Amarillo, Texas
7. (10) USA1 Chris Hawkins, Neosho, Mo.
8. (6) 99 Jeff Needham, Ennis, Texas
9. (9) 99B Jared Baird, Norman, Okla.
10. (11) 511 Tanner Barnhart, N. Little Rock, Ark.
11. (2) 33Z Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa

WRISCO HEAT RACE #6 (8 laps):
1. (1) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
2. (4) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
3. (2) 7X Chris Dawson, Lubbock, Texas
4. (6) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
5. (3) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
6. (5) 00S Chris Spalding, Montgomery City, Mo.
7. (7) 88XXX Clyde Dunn Jr., Rockwall, Texas
8. (8) 410 Justin McCoy, Grandview, Texas
9. (10) 7 Sean Gaddis, Diana, Texas
10. (9) 64 Casey Fowler, Grand Saline, Texas
11. (11) 3C Cary Cullins, Tuttle, Okla.

RHRSWAG.COM HEAT RACE #7 (8 laps):
1. (1) 56 Colton Horner, Houston, Texas
2. (4) 4D Bo Day, Greenville, Texas
3. (5) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
4. (6) 16 Chris Henigan, Marshall, Texas
5. (8) 2GB Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
6. (2) 18A Landon Atkinson, Little Falls, Minn.
7. (9) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
8. (7) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.
9. (10) 11B Donnie Barnhart, North Little Rock, Ark.
10. (3) 66X Mike Dillard, McKinney, Texas

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (2) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
2. (5) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
3. (4) 2G Kenny Gaddis, Diana, Texas.
4. (6) 15W Kale Westover, Altus, Okla.
5. (8) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
6. (12) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan., Mullens/Driskell, $110.
7. (9) 7 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis., VanderBuilt/OFI, $110.
8. (10) 18A Landon Atkinson, Little Falls, Minn., Lethal/Geddes, $110.
9. (15) 410 Justin McCoy, Grandview, Texas, GRT/Durham, $110.
10. (14) 8 Dillon McCowan, Urbana, Mo., Rage/Yeoman, $110.
11. (20) J17 Jake Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M., GR2/Stoen, $110.
12. (17) 24B Chris Bragg, Springtown, Texas, Hughes/KSE, $110.
13. (13) 88XXX Clyde Dunn Jr., Rockwall, Texas, MBCustoms/Hatfield, $110.
14. (7) 2GB Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
15. (19) 64 Casey Fowler, Grand Saline, Texas, MBCustoms/Craft, $110.
16. (11) USA1 Chris Hawkins, Neosho, Mo., Kryptonite/Shinook, $110.
17. (18) 11N Gene Nicholas, Lowell, Ark., Hughes/Mullins, $110.
18. (21) 3C Cary Cullins, Tuttle, Okla., DirtWorks/Mullins, $110.
19. (3) 7X Chris Dawson, Lubbock, Texas, MBCustoms/ASI, $110.
20. (16) 369 Bart Taylor, Sheridan, Wyo., VanderBuilt/Tim's, $110.
21. (1) 12J Jason Ingalls, Longview, Texas, IRP/Shipley, $110.
DNS – 11B Donnie Barnhart, N. Little Rock, Ark., GRT/Marks, $110.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (12) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn.
2. (4) 22B Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan.
3. (1) 12T Tyler Townsend, Diana, Texas.
4. (2) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas.
5. (9) 55H A.J. Hoff, Mantorville, Minn., VanderBuilt/Stoen, $110.
6. (3) 47 Jack Sartain, Terrell, Texas, IRP/Shipley, $110.
7. (13) 5K Tyler Kaeter, St. Cloud, Minn., SSR/Chubb's, $110.
8. (7) 2R Michael Riskey, Caddo Mills, Texas, $100.
9. (11) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
10. (16) 9 Kevin Rutherford, Flower Mound, Texas.
11. (14) D25 David Tanner, Wichita Falls, Texas, MBCustoms/Hatfield, $110.
12. (17) 1J Matt Jeratowski, Madison, S.D., MBCustoms/Hanson, $110.
13. (19) 101 Tyson Dickson, Lubbock, Texas, IRP/Yeoman, $100.
14. (18) 33Z Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa.
15. (15) 8C Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo., Hughes/Cornett, $110.
16. (5) 16 Chris Henigan, Marshall, Texas, GRT/Stoen, $110.
17. (10) 90 Ryan Wetzstein, West Concord, Minn., MBCustoms/Stoen, $110.
18. (8) 44F Shane DeVolder, Pacifica, Calif., VanderBuilt/Stoen, $110.
19. (6) 82 Max Eddie Thomas, Quinlan, Texas, MBCustoms/Wells, $110.
DNS – 5RX Robby Minten, LaCoste, Texas, IRP/Chevrolet, $110.
DNS – 511 Tanner Barnhart, North Little Rock, Ark., GRT/Marks, $110.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #3 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (1) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
2. (5) 85 Jayson Good, Watertown, S.D.
3. (4) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
4. (8) 130 Chase Allen, Midlothian, Texas.
5. (11) 00S Chris Spalding, Montgomery City, Mo., MBCustoms/MidState, $100.
6. (6) 07H Chase Holland, Saucier, Miss., MBCustoms/Wall2Wall, $110.
7. (18) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas.
8. (10) 38T Dylan Thornton, Santa Maria, Calif., Evolution/HalaBuilt, $110.
9. (14) 99 Jeff Needham, Ennis, Texas, Skyrocket/Wells, $100.
10. (3) 55 Chris Kratzer, Wichita, Kan., Hughes/Mullens, $110.
11. (17) 99B Jared Baird, Norman, Okla., MBCustoms/Stoen, $110.
12. (19) 44X Bryan Gunwall, Brookston, Texas, GRT/BMS, $110.
13. (2) 18M Wayne Melton, Caddo Mills, Texas, MBCustoms/Wells, $110.
14. (9) 77 Ronnie Yanacsek, Amarillo, Texas, MBCustoms/Hatfield, $100.
15. (7) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
16. (13) 53JT Justin Thornton, Chandler, Ariz., Devilbiss/Mullins, $110.
17. (16) 5R Ryan Doyon, LaCoste, Texas, IRP/Best, $110.
18. (12) 49JR Jake Timm, Winona, Minn., MBCustoms/OFI, $110.
19. (15) 7 Sean Gaddis, Diana, Texas, MBCustoms/PTS, $110.
DNS – 75J Jeremy LaCoe, Lincoln, Ark., GRT/LaCoe, $110.
DNS – 66X Mike Dillard, McKinney, Texas, Hughes/Wornhor, $100.

SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (14) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn., MBCustoms/Action, 40, $5000.
2. (4) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $3000.
3. (13) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustoms/Hatfield, 40, $2000.
4. (10) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan., Mullens/Mullens, 40, $1500.
5. (11) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan., BillsBuilt/Mullins, 40, $1000.
6. (15) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., GRT/Durham, 40, $900.
7. (26) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark., MBCustoms/Mullins, 40, $800.
8. (22) 15W Kale Westover, Altus, Okla., WesternFlyer/Hatfield, 40, $750.
9. (9) G17 Fito Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M., GR2/Stoen, 40, $700.
10. (18) 85 Jayson Good, Watertown, S.D., MBCustoms/Stoen, 40, $675.
11. (16) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn., VanderBuilt/KSE, 40, $650.
12. (29) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas, Hughes/BMS, 39, $235.
13. (17) 22B Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan., GRT/Mullins, 39, $600.
14. (30) 2GB Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan., Hughes/Mullins, 39, $185.
15. (12) 56 Colton Horner, Houston, Texas, MBCustoms/Durham, 39, $550.
16. (28) 33Z Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa, VanderBuilt/Stoen, 39, $150.
17. (23) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas, MBCustoms/Hatfield, 39, $530.
18. (19) 2G Kenny Gaddis, Diana, Texas, MBCustoms/PTS, 39, $525.
19. (21) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif., MRT/Durham, 33, $520.
20. (20) 12T Tyler Townsend, Diana, Texas, Lethal/PTS, 24, $515.
21. (2) 82W Jimmie Williams, Denison, Texas, Mullens/Kustom, 24, $405.
22. (5) 4D Bo Day, Greenville, Texas, MBCustoms/Mullins, 14, $505.
23. (8) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/Cornett, 14, $500.
24. (1) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa, Harris/MidState, 8, $500.
25. (6) 12H Mike Hansen, Dickinson, N.D., Hughes/Mullins, 8, $500.
26. (25) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn., Mullens/Stoen, 7, $500.
27. (7) 28B Wendall Bolden, Greenville, Texas, MBCustoms/Bullet, 4, $500.
28. (24) 130 Chase Allen, Midlothian, Texas, IRP/Shipley, 3, $500.
29. (27) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn., Lethal/ProPower, 3, $110.
30. (3) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., MBCustoms/Stoen, 2, $500.

Lap Leaders: Brown 1-3, Hughes, 4-36, Sorensen 37-40.
Total Laps Led: Hughes 33, Sorensen 4, Brown 3.
Margin of Victory: 0.693 second.
Time of Race: 28 minutes, 36.384 seconds (3 cautions).
Provisional Starters: Schott, Wolff.
Emergency Provisionals: Ebert, Ahumada, Givens, Carter.
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Westover (started 22nd, finished 8th).
Entries: 76.
Next Race: Saturday, March 5, Rocket Raceway Park, Petty, Texas.
Summit USMTS National Championship Points: Sorensen 101, Hughes 98, Sanders 91, Mullen 87, Davis 84, Phillips 81, Wolff 78, Westover 76, F. Gallardo 74, Good 72.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: Horner 62, Carter 60, Brown 51, D. Barnhart 45, T. Barnhart 45, DeVolder 45, Hawkins 45, Hoff 45, Holland 45, Jeratowski 45, Kratzer 45, McCowan 45, Spalding 45, Taylor 45, D. Thornton 45, J. Thornton 45, Wetzstein 45.
Miller Welders USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: MBCustoms 10, Hughes 9, Mullens 8, BillsBuilt 7, GRT 6.
Compstar/JE Pistons USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: Action 10, Mullins 9, Hatfield 8, Mullens 7, Durham 6.

Contingency Awards:
Beyea Custom Headers – Mullens.
BigDeal Car Care – Sorensen.
Bryke Racing – Horner.
BSB Manufacturing – Williams.
Champ Pans – Davis.
Deatherage Opticians – Givens.
Edelbrock – F. Gallardo.
Fast Shafts – Bolden.
FK Rod Ends – Westover.
Hooker Harness – Ahumada.
Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – Mari.
Keyser Manufacturing – Good.
KS Engineering – Bleess.
KSE Racing Products – F. Gallardo.
Mel Hambelton Ford Racing – Hughes.
Mesilla Valley Transportation – Clark.
Midwest Wrap Co. – Ramirez.
Penske Racing Shocks – Beebe.
QA1 – Hughes.
RacerWebsite.com – Fowler.
Simpson Performance Products – Brown.
Summit Racing Equipment – Ramirez, Mullens, Sorensen, Hughes.
Super Clean – Sorensen.
Swift Springs – Duvall, Sorensen, Houston.
Sybesma Graphics – Brown.
Tire Demon – D. Barnhart.
VP Racing Fuels – Sorensen.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products – Thomas.
Wilwood Disc Brakes – Hughes.