Sartain’s scores second USMTS win at Rocket Raceway Park

Alan Piquette

The Rocket Raceway Park in Petty, Texas, hosted the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt on Friday for opening night of the 14th Annual Texas Spring Nationals, and local Lone Star State hero Jack Sartain left ‘em scratching their heads.

Another one-hit wonder entering the weekend liftoff, Kale Westover used the pole position to claim the early while Sartain, who started 13th on the 28-car grid, began his march to the front.

Two Gorsuch Performance caution flags in the first two laps—the second of which saw points leader Jason Hughes get upside down in a multi-car melee—kept the field bunched.

For the first half of the 20-lap race, Westover remained out front but Jake Timm and Gary Christian were doing their best to keep Westover in sight. Little did they know the threat was behind them.

By lap 15, Sartain was already nipping at the leader’s heels. Then, using a lapped car as pick, stormed by Westover on the inside of turn two to grab the lead with 21 down and 19 to go.

Timm, who was working to chase down Sartain, brought out the next yellow when a flat right rear tire sent him to the Danny Crane Racing Engines hot pit, and out of contention for the win.

One laps later, Carlos Ahumada Jr. hooked the cushion and flipped his Hughes Chassis to force the second red flag of the contest.

With a $5,000 paycheck just a few feet away, Westover broke and collected a hard-charging Joe Duvall. The fifth and final caution set up a green-white-checkered finish, but Sartain wasn’t rattled and pulled away for the win.

“That was great. I didn’t know if I ever going to win one of these things,” Sartain said. “These guys are so good and it’s just hard when you don’t race with them all the time. Luckily, I’ve got Tyler Davis and he tells me everything to do.”

It was Sartain’s second USMTS triumph in a little more than three years, but the first for Davis’s new BOM Motorsports MK1 Race Cars.

“The car was excellent tonight. I kind of found me a groove that worked. I just gassed the hell out of it.

“Down here in three and four there was a little thin strip and I could literally get the car turned in and put it on the mat and just drive all the way through three and four wide open. I kept going ‘Man, this is going to go away but it stayed with me the whole race.”

Although the Royse City racer passed 12 cars en route to his visit to Victory Fuel Victory Lane, Christian did one better and passed 13 on his way to a runner-up finish despite a wheel-banging restart earlier that almost took them both out of the race.

Completing the Featherlite Top-3 finishers was Terry Phillips while Dan Ebert was actually the most prolific passer as he started 20th before climbing his way to a fourth-place finish and the FK Rod Ends Hard Charger Award.

Tanner Mullens was fifth while Alex Williamson, Sean Gaddis, Davis, Timm and Mike Hansen completed the top ten.

The second night of the 14th Annual Texas Spring Nationals happens Saturday night with the Summit USMTS Modifieds headlining the action. USRA Stock Cars, USRA Limited Mods and Sunoco USRA Factory Stocks will battle for Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series national points.

For more information including payouts, rules, event times and ticket prices, check out the FAST FACTS for the 14th Annual USMTS Texas Spring Nationals.

In 2023—the most competitive season in USMTS history—18 different winners claimed victory utilizing 17 different chassis manufacturers in the 34 races that were held. What’s more, there were 17 competitors who attended every event.

This year’s Summit USMTS National Champion could pocket more than $180,000 in post-season earnings at the end of the year.

The series champion will earn $50,000 and each of the three regions pay $10,000 to win the points. If a driver can win all three regions and the national points, a whopping $100,000 bonus awaits.

And don’t forget, the RacinDirt TV Challenge is $30,000 which will be split evenly between all drivers with perfect attendance in 2024. Currently, there are 48 still standing.

With live and on-demand coverage of nearly every event plus exclusive interviews, instant replays, multiple camera angles and more, RacinDirt is your source for USMTS action. In addition to their robust website at RacinDirt.TV, race fans can access content on your desktop and laptop computers, as well as a suite of apps for added convenience including Roku, Amazon Fire, iOS, Apple TV and Google Play.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt
14th Annual USMTS Texas Spring Nationals – Night 1 of 2
Rocket Raceway Park, Petty, Texas
Friday, March 1, 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 (10 laps):

  1. (1) 15 Kale Westover, Altus, Okla.
  2. (3) 47 Jack Sartain, Royse City, Texas
  3. (4) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
  4. (5) 13J Triston Dycus, Maypearl, Texas
  5. (6) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
  6. (7) 01 Jacob Hobscheidt, Plattsmouth, Neb.
  7. (8) 24M Manuel Williams II, Fouke, Ark.
  8. (9) 54T Matthew Day, Farmersville, Texas
  9. (10) 11N Gene Nicholas, Lowell, Ark.
  10. (2) 47M Trey Melton, Lubbock, Texas
  11. (11) 5 Jon Mitchell, Texarkana, Texas

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (10 laps):

  1. (1) 457 Boone Evans, Bullard, Texas
  2. (4) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
  3. (3) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
  4. (11) 12H Mike Hansen, Dickinson, N.D.
  5. (5) 88 Sam Osman, Spiro, Okla.
  6. (2) C8 Timothy Culp, Prattsville, Ark.
  7. (9) 100 Lee Patton, Ruston, La.
  8. (10) 12J Jason Ingalls, Longview, Texas
  9. (6) 78 Billy Jack Brutchin, Gladewater, Texas
  10. (8) 25 Joe Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
  11. (7) 12B Bryan Gunwall, Brookston, Texas

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (10 laps):

  1. (2) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
  2. (6) 64 Casey Fowler, Grand Saline, Texas
  3. (4) 55H A.J. Hoff, Mantorville, Minn.
  4. (3) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
  5. (8) 81 Ricky Ingalls, Longview, Texas
  6. (1) 15J Jason Webb, McKinney, Texas
  7. (11) 37 John Neal Reid, Loving, N.M.
  8. (10) 7G Gabe Hodges, Lebo, Kan.
  9. (7) 4M Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas
  10. (5) 24W Mason Williams, Fouke, Ark.
  11. (9) 80XX Jason Langford, Palestine, Texas

WIELAND METAL SERVICES HEAT RACE #4 (10 laps):

  1. (4) 45T Eric Tomlinson, Robinson, Texas
  2. (10) 2SS Mark Smith, Anthony, N.M.
  3. (5) 32S D.J. Shannon, Merced, Calif.
  4. (2) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
  5. (6) 22XX Jason Gamez, Kaufmann, Texas
  6. (9) 19R Chris Kratzer, Haysville, Kan.
  7. (11) 75J Jeremy LaCoe, Lincoln, Ark.
  8. (8) 88R A.J. Vasquez, Garden City, Mich.
  9. (1) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
  10. (3) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
  11. (7) 712 Trevor Hughes, Westville, Okla.

VP RACING HEAT RACE #5 (10 laps):

  1. (1) 410 Justin McCoy, Grandview, Texas
  2. (4) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
  3. (6) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
  4. (3) 99 Jared Baird, Norman, Okla.
  5. (8) 32 Mitchell Clement, Bonham, Texas
  6. (2) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
  7. (7) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
  8. (11) 12C Leland Cruz, Amarillo, Texas
  9. (5) 26S Steven Glenn, Hamilton, Mo.
  10. (10) 523 Landon Capps, Anna, Texas
  11. (9) 15G Geoff Lary, Minden, La.

CHEVROLET PERFORMANCE HEAT RACE #6 (10 laps):

  1. (2) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
  2. (3) 91 Joe Duvall, Justice, Okla.
  3. (9) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
  4. (8) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
  5. (10) 28 Cory Davis, Seminole, Texas
  6. (4) D25 David Tanner, Wichita Falls, Texas
  7. (1) 24 Manuel Williams Sr, Fouke, Ark.
  8. (5) 71 Chad Melton, Mineral Wells, Texas
  9. (7) 88S Nathan Smith, Anthony, N.M.
  10. (6) 7 Sean Gaddis, Diana, Texas

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 4 advance):

  1. (1) 47 Jack Sartain, Royse City, Texas
  2. (2) 32S D.J. Shannon, Merced, Calif.
  3. (5) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
  4. (6) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
  5. (3) 55H A.J. Hoff, Mantorville, Minn.
  6. (9) 15J Jason Webb, McKinney, Texas
  7. (10) 24M Manuel Williams II, Fouke, Ark.
  8. (7) 19R Chris Kratzer, Haysville, Kan.
  9. (13) 11N Gene Nicholas, Lowell, Ark.
  10. (12) 78 Billy Jack Brutchin, Gladewater, Texas
  11. (15) 47M Trey Melton, Lubbock, Texas
  12. (17) 5 Jon Mitchell, Texarkana, Texas
  13. (8) 75J Jeremy LaCoe, Lincoln, Ark.
  14. (4) 13J Triston Dycus, Maypearl, Texas
  15. (16) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
  16. (11) 24 Manuel Williams Sr., Fouke, Ark.
  17. (18) 712 Trevor Hughes, Westville, Okla.
  18. (14) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 4 advance):

  1. (1) 91 Joe Duvall, Justice, Okla.
  2. (2) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
  3. (5) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
  4. (4) 81 Ricky Ingalls, Longview, Texas
  5. (3) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
  6. (11) 7G Gabe Hodges, Lebo, Kan.
  7. (9) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
  8. (8) 01 Jacob Hobscheidt, Plattsmouth, Neb.
  9. (6) 22XX Jason Gamez, Kaufmann, Texas
  10. (10) 12C Leland Cruz, Amarillo, Texas
  11. (15) 12B Bryan Gunwall, Brookston, Texas
  12. (12) 88R A.J. Vasquez, Garden City, Mich.
  13. (17) C8 Timothy Culp, Prattsville, Ark.
  14. (18) 15G Geoff Lary, Minden, La.
  15. (7) 88 Sam Osman, Spiro, Okla.
  16. (13) 25 Joe Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
  17. (14) 26S Steven Glenn, Hamilton, Mo.
  18. (16) 523 Landon Capps, Anna, Texas

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #3 (15 laps, top 4 advance):

  1. (1) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
  2. (2) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
  3. (12) 7 Sean Gaddis, Diana, Texas
  4. (3) 99 Jared Baird, Norman, Okla.
  5. (6) 12J Jason Ingalls, Longview, Texas
  6. (7) D25 David Tanner, Wichita Falls, Texas
  7. (10) 4M Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas
  8. (13) 80XX Jason Langford, Palestine, Texas
  9. (4) 100 Lee Patton, Ruston, La.
  10. (5) 37 John Neal Reid, Loving, N.M.
  11. (9) 71 Chad Melton, Mineral Wells, Texas
  12. (8) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
  13. (11) 88S Nathan Smith, Anthony, N.M.
    DNS – 28 Cory Davis, Seminole, Texas
    DNS – 32 Mitchell Clement, Bonham, Texas
    DNS – 54T Matthew Day, Farmersville, Texas
    DNS – 24W Mason Williams, Fouke, Ark.

SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT “A” MAIN (40 laps):

  1. (13) 47 Jack Sartain, Royse City, Texas
  2. (15) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
  3. (7) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
  4. (20) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
  5. (10) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
  6. (17) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
  7. (21) 7 Sean Gaddis, Diana, Texas
  8. (18) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
  9. (2) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
  10. (12) 12H Mike Hansen, Dickinson, N.D.
  11. (4) 45T Eric Tomlinson, Robinson, Texas
  12. (22) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
  13. (14) 91 Joe Duvall, Justice, Okla.
  14. (1) 15 Kale Westover, Altus, Okla.
  15. (24) 99 Jared Baird, Norman, Okla.
  16. (5) 2SS Mark Smith, Anthony, N.M.
  17. (6) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
  18. (28) 12J Jason Ingalls, Longview, Texas
  19. (9) 410 Justin McCoy, Grandview, Texas
  20. (26) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
  21. (25) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
  22. (3) 64 Casey Fowler, Grand Saline, Texas
  23. (27) 19R Chris Kratzer, Haysville, Kan.
  24. (16) 32S D.J. Shannon, Merced, Calif.
  25. (19) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
  26. (11) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
  27. (8) 457 Boone Evans, Bullard, Texas
  28. (23) 81 Ricky Ingalls, Longview, Texas

Lap Leaders: Westover 1-21, Sartain 22-40.
Total Laps Led: Westover 21, Sartain 19.
Margin of Victory: 1.067 seconds.
Time of Race: 25 minutes, 21 seconds (5 cautions).
Provisional Starters: Schott, Ramirez.
Emergency Provisionals: Kratzer, J. Ingalls.
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Ebert (started 20th, finished 4th).
Entries: 65.
Next Race: Saturday, March 2, Rocket Raceway Park.
Summit USMTS National Championship Points: J. Hughes 247, Davis 243, Timm 242, Christian 241, Jim Chisholm 235, Phillips 235, Ebert 234, Mullens 230, Ramirez 212, Hansen 212.
ARMI Contractors USMTS Southern Region Points: J. Hughes 247, Davis 243, Timm 242, Christian 241, Jim Chisholm 235, Phillips 235.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: Hodges 167, Hobscheidt 158, Shannon 155, Evans 151, Langford 148.
FK Rod Ends USMTS Hard Charger Points: Jim Chisholm 20, Gaddis 19, Ebert 18, Christian 16, Hansen 15.
Miller Welders USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: BOM 23, Hughes 22, Mullens 22, Rage 18, CDR 16.
Callies/JE Pistons USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 28, KSE 19, Cornett 18, OFI 18, Durham 17.

Contingency Awards:
Aero Race Wheels – T. Hughes.
American Racer – Hansen.
Bear Graphix – Fowler.
Beyea Custom Headers – Ebert.
Bryke Racing – Baird.
BSB Manufacturing – Ramirez.
Champ Pans – Mullens.
Danny Crane Racing Engines – Williamson.
Deatherage Opticians – Clement.
Edelbrock – Timm.
Fast Shafts – Evans.
Featherlite Trailers – Sartain, Christian, Phillips.
FK Rod Ends – Ebert.
Gorsuch Performance Solutions – Sartain.
Hooker Harness – Jim Chisholm.
Hyperco – C. Melton.
Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – J. Ingalls.
Keyser Manufacturing – Hansen.
KSE Racing Products – Timm.
MD3 – Westover.
Mel Hambelton Racing – Hoff, Tanner.
Mesilla Valley Transportation – M. Smith, N. Smith (744.4 miles).
MSD Performance – Ebert.
Penske Racing Shocks – Duvall.
PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain – Duvall.
QA1 – Duvall.
Quarter Master – Timm.
RacerWebsite.com – Cruz.
Real Racing Wheels – Brown, Brutchin, Capps, Joe Chisholm, Cruz, Culp, Dycus, Gamez, Givens, Glenn, Gunwall, Hobscheidt, Hodges, Hoff, T. Hughes, LaCoe, Langford, Lary, Malchus, C. Melton, T. Melton, Mitchell, Nicholas, Osman, Patton, Reid, Smith, Tanner, Vasquez, Webb, Williams II, Williams Sr., Wolff.
Rush RaceGear by Austin Witt – M. Smith.
Simpson Race Products – Westover.
Summit Racing Equipment – Clement, T. Hughes, C. Melton, Mullens, Vasquez.
Sweet Manufacturing – M. Smith.
Swift Springs – Sartain.
Sybesma Graphics – Westover.
Total Power –Tomlinson.
Victory Fuel – Sartain.
VP Racing – Sartain.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products – Mitchell.
Wilwood Disc Brakes – Gaddis.

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