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The Ark-La-Tex Speedway in Vivian, Louisiana, played host to the second round of the 10th Annual USMTS Cajun Clash Friday night with a rookie champ and a rookie title chaser stealing the show at the ‘Land of Three Wide.’
Another gathering of open-wheel modified muscle filled the pit area for the sixth race of the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt.
Cayden Carter earned the Sybesma Graphics Pole Award but it was ‘Big Daddy’ Joe Duvall who seizes control on the opening lap. With Carter following in Duvall’s tire tracks around the red clay oval, the yellow flag waved for the first time on lap 12 when the leader’s first lapped car spun just in front of the lead pack.
At the same time, Tyler Wolff retired with drivetrain issues and another quick caution slowed the pace on the restart when Cade Dillard stopped atop turn two with a flat tire.
The caution came out for a third time on lap 16 due to a five-car pile-up in turn four, but it was one lap too late for Duvall as Carter wrestled the lead away just in time to lead the field back to the green flag with Duvall, Jake O’Neil, Will Krup and Jade Luzenberg following.
Action was short-lived again when Luzenberg went sideways in the first corner, collecting Dan Ebert in the process and yielding the fourth caution and ending Luzenberg’s impressive effort.
Meanwhile, Carter exploded to a big lead over O’Neil and Duvall on the restart while multiple positions throughout the field put on a show for the fans until the fifth caution came out with 26 laps down and 14 to go.
The restart brought tom Berry Jr. into the picture as the rim-riding rookie picked off Rodney Sanders and Duvall in the first six laps. With eight to go, he drove around O’Neil for second and set his sights on Carter.
Lapped traffic with two laps to go made for a nail-biting finish that saw Carter forced to move to the outside, thus blocking Berry’s charge. Carter crossed the finish line with Berry at his side in second.
“I heard him out there, and knew I had to do something to just break his speed,” Carter reveled in victory lane. “He’s won a lot of big races the last few years so it’s great to get the win.”
Behind last years Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year and Berry, who is aiming at the same $10,000 title this season, it was O’Neil hanging on for third with Sanders edging Duvall for fifth.
Dereck Ramirez, Krup, Jim Chisholm, Jason Hughes and Carlos Ahumada Jr. completed the top ten on the near-perfect racing surface.
Action continues Saturday at the Ark-La-Tex Speedway for round three of the 10th Annual USMTS Cajun Clash and a $10,000 winner’s paycheck just waiting for a name to be written on it. USRA Limited Mods, Sunoco USRA Factory Stocks and USRA Tuners will also be on the card.
The Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt currently features 46 nights of racing at 15 of America's premier dirt track racing venues in nine states for its Silver Anniversary season. Just the winners of those events are set to earn more than $300,000 with nearly $2 million in purses and prize money earmarked for the 2023 campaign.
Watch every USMTS event online live and on-demand from anywhere on any device with RacinDirt. Download the app at Roku, Amazon Fire, iOS, Apple TV or on Google Play.
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
10th Annual USMTS Cajun Clash – Night 2 of 3
Ark-La-Tex Speedway, Vivian, La.
Friday, March 31, 2023
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 PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (1) 45 Chase Holland, Success, Miss.
2. (2) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.
3. (6) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
4. (5) 38T Dylan Thornton, Orcutt, Calif.
5. (7) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
6. (3) 76 Kyle Pleasant, Natchitoches, La.
7. (8) 24W Mason Williams, Fouke, Ark.
8. (10) D25 David Tanner, Wichita Falls, Texas
9. (9) 11N Gene Nicholas, Lowell, Ark.
DQ – (4) 24M Manuel Williams II, Fouke, Ark.
FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (1) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
2. (2) 6 Donnie Powers, Henderson, Texas
3. (4) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
4. (3) 7S Sean Gaddis, Diana, Texas
5. (6) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
6. (5) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn.
7. (7) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
8. (8) 38TX T.J. Tolleson, Bevins, Texas
9. (9) 71M Chad Melton, Mineral Wells, Texas
DNS – 64 Casey Fowler, Grand Saline, Texas
EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (2) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
2. (4) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
3. (6) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
4. (1) 24 Manuel Williams Sr, Fouke, Ark.
5. (3) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
6. (5) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
7. (7) D25W Kale Westover, Altus, Okla.
8. (8) 15 Chase Wascom, Denham Springs, La.
9. (9) 40 Jessy Willard, Mound City, Kan.
WIELAND HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (2) 46 Jade Luzenberg, Saucier, Miss.
2. (6) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
3. (4) 16 Chris Henigan, Marshall, Texas
4. (5) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
5. (8) 01 Jacob Hobscheidt, Plattsmouth, Neb.
6. (9) 12J Jason Ingalls, Longview, Texas
7. (1) C7 Corey Neil Jr., Bridge City, Texas
8. (7) 78 Billy Jack Brutchin, Gladewater, Texas
9. (3) 96 Taton Hansen, Spicer, Minn.
VP RACING HEAT RACE #5 (8 laps):
1. (2) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
2. (3) 11X Tom Berry Jr., Des Moines, Iowa
3. (5) K9 Will Krup, Mt. Carmel, Ill.
4. (6) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La.
5. (7) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
6. (1) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
7. (4) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
8. (9) 13J James McCreery, Midlothian, Texas
9. (8) 4RJ Jared Russell, Wagoner, Okla.
SUPER CLEAN HEAT RACE #6 (8 laps):
1. (1) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
2. (5) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
3. (2) 712 Trevor Hughes, Salina, Okla.
4. (4) 2G Kenny Gaddis, Diana, Texas
5. (9) 16B Randy Brown, Chowchilla, Calif.
6. (3) 56X Broc Bowen, Fannin, Texas
7. (8) 25C Cody Thompson, Sioux City, Iowa
8. (6) 56 Colton Horner, Houston, Texas
9. (7) 9R Barron Prince, Haughton, La.
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (1) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La.
2. (2) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
3. (6) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
4. (3) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
5. (7) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
6. (4) 712 Trevor Hughes, Salina, Okla.
7. (5) 2G Kenny Gaddis, Diana, Texas
8. (14) 4RJ Jared Russell, Wagoner, Okla.
9. (12) 38TX T.J. Tolleson, Bevins, Texas
10. (13) 11N Gene Nicholas, Lowell, Ark.
11. (11) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
12. (15) 64 Casey Fowler, Grand Saline, Texas
13. (10) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
14. (8) 56 Colton Horner, Houston, Texas
15. (9) 24W Mason Williams, Fouke, Ark.
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (1) 11X Tom Berry Jr., Des Moines, Iowa
2. (3) 16 Chris Henigan, Marshall, Texas
3. (2) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.
4. (4) 16B Randy Brown, Chowchilla, Calif.
5. (5) 7S Sean Gaddis, Diana, Texas
6. (10) D25W Kale Westover, Altus, Okla.
7. (7) 12J Jason Ingalls, Longview, Texas
8. (13) 71M Chad Melton, Mineral Wells, Texas
9. (9) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
10. (11) 13J James McCreery, Midlothian, Texas
11. (8) 76 Kyle Pleasant, Natchitoches, La.
12. (12) 15 Chase Wascom, Denham Springs, La.
13. (14) 9R Barron Prince, Haughton, La.
14. (15) 24M Manuel Williams II, Fouke, Ark.
15. (6) 24 Manuel Williams Sr, Fouke, Ark.
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #3 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (1) 38T Dylan Thornton, Orcutt, Calif.
2. (2) 6 Donnie Powers, Henderson, Texas
3. (3) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
4. (4) 01 Jacob Hobscheidt, Plattsmouth, Neb.
5. (6) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn.
6. (5) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
7. (7) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
8. (11) C7 Corey Neil Jr., Bridge City, Texas
9. (8) 56X Broc Bowen, Fannin, Texas
10. (10) D25 David Tanner, Wichita Falls, Texas
11. (14) 96 Taton Hansen, Spicer, Minn.
12. (12) 78 Billy Jack Brutchin, Gladewater, Texas
13. (13) 40 Jessy Willard, Mound City, Kan.
14. (9) 25C Cody Thompson, Sioux City, Iowa
SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (1) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
2. (14) 11X Tom Berry Jr., Des Moines, Iowa
3. (4) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
4. (5) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
5. (2) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
6. (6) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
7. (8) K9 Will Krup, Mt. Carmel, Ill.
8. (19) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
9. (7) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
10. (10) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
11. (17) 16 Chris Henigan, Marshall, Texas
12. (16) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
13. (22) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
14. (27) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
15. (13) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La.
16. (25) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
17. (15) 38T Dylan Thornton, Orcutt, Calif.
18. (9) 45 Chase Holland, Success, Miss.
19. (29) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
20. (11) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
21. (23) 16B Randy Brown, Chowchilla, Calif.
22. (26) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
23. (20) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.
24. (28) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
25. (21) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
26. (24) 01 Jacob Hobscheidt, Plattsmouth, Neb.
27. (18) 6 Donnie Powers, Henderson, Texas
28. (3) 46 Jade Luzenberg, Saucier, Miss.
29. (12) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
Lap Leaders: Duvall 1-15, Carter 16-40.
Total Laps Led: Carter 25, Duvall 15.
Margin of Victory: 0.130 second.
Time of Race: 28 minutes, 36.618 seconds (5 cautions).
Provisional Starters: Fuqua, Givens.
Emergency Provisionals: VanderBeek, K. Brown, Mullens.
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Berry (started 14th, finished 2nd).
Entries: 56.
Next Race: Saturday, April 1, Ark-La-Tex Speedway.
Summit USMTS National Championship Points: J. Hughes 488, Phillips 475, Ebert 454, O'Neil 451, Chisholm 442, Wolff 435, Fuqua 432, Carter 431, Ramirez 421, Krup 415.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: Krup 415, Berry 409, Christian 359, Nelson 345, Holland 329.
Miller Welders USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: Hughes 42, Mullens 38, MBCustoms 37, Bloodline 33, VanderBuilt 29, LG2 29.
Callies/JE Pistons USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 44, Cornett 42, Stoen 41, Durham 36, ProPower 32.
Contingency Awards:
Aero Race Wheels – Hansen.
American Racer – K. Gaddis.
Beyea Custom Headers – Sanders.
BigDeal Car Care – Carter, Berry.
Bryke Racing – Dillard.
BSB Manufacturing – R. Brown.
Champ Pans – Duvall.
Collins Brothers Towing – Wolff.
Deatherage Opticians – Mason Williams.
Edelbrock – O’Neil.
Fast Shafts – Ahumada.
FK Rod Ends – Berry.
Hooker Harness – Christian.
Hyperco – Nelson.
Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – Holland.
Keyser Manufacturing – Ahumada.
KSE Racing Products – J. Hughes.
MD3 – Carter.
Mel Hambelton Racing – Berry.
Midwest Wrap Co. – Givens.
Penske Racing Shocks – Phillips.
PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain – O’Neil.
QA1 – Berry.
Quarter Master – J. Hughes.
RacerWebsite.com – Nicholas.
Salty’s BBQ & Catering – Berry.
Simpson Performance Products – Holland.
Summit Racing Equipment – Ingalls, Williams Jr., Williams Sr., Mason Williams, Tanner.
Super Clean – Carter.
Swift Springs – Sanders, Henigan, Carter.
Sybesma Graphics – Carter.
VP Racing – Carter.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products – Nicholas.
Wilwood Disc Brakes – Krup.
