Ramirez gets his kicks at Route 66

June 8, 2019

Dereck Ramirez disposed of Jake Gallardo on lap 11 of 40 at the Route 66 Motor Speedway on Saturday night, and then blasted his way through the field to score a $3,000 payday and the seventh win of his USMTS career.

It was the fifth win in the Lonestar State for the 32-year-old from Woodward, Texas, and his second of the Casey’s General Stores USMTS National Championship powered by Summit in 2019.

Earning the Sybesma Graphics Pole Award for a second straight night, Gallardo took control at the drop of the green flag while Ramirez, who started fourth, quickly moved to his rear bumper.

Ramirez snuck by to lead lap 7 but Gallardo fought back to regain the lead. It was short-lived, however, as Ramirez was back in control for good three laps later.

With just one caution early in the contest, Ramirez was able to decimate the field and lapped all but the top seven cars.

Meanwhile, Jake O'Neil nabbed his third runner-up finish in the last five events while Rodney Sanders overcame a tough starting position for a second straight night and finished third.

Kale Westover came from the 13th starting spot and held off Gallardo for fourth following a spirited battle between those two, but Carlos Ahumada Jr. was the FK Rod ends Hard Charger Award winner for racing to sixth after starting 21st on the grid.

Terry Phillips, Philip Houston, Adam Kates and Dee Gossett rounded out the top 10.

On to Wisconsin: The second crown jewel of the 2019 campaign takes place next Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 13-15, at the Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis., for the 20th Annual Masters presented by Allstar Performance.

Both USMTS and Super Late Model competitors will be battling for $3,000 to win Thursday and $5,000 to win Friday with a whopping $10,000 top prize up for grabs on Saturday night. USRA Late Models will also be running all three days.

The pits open at 2 p.m. and grandstands open at 5 with racing at 7 each night.

Spectator tickets are $25 Thursday, $30 Friday and $35 Saturday. Students (ages 6-16) are $12 Thursday, $15 Friday and $17 Saturday. Kids (5 & under) are free each day. Pit passes are $35 Thursday, $35 Friday and $45 Saturday.

If you are unable to attend, RacinDirt will have the entire production live via pay per view.

The Cedar Lake Speedway is a high-banked 3/8-mile clay oval located 1.0 mile east of SR 35 on SR 64, then 4.2 miles north on CR C to CR CC, then left 1.8 miles. For more information, call (612) 363-0479 or (715) 248-7119 or check out cedarlakespeedway.com.

To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, visit USMTS.com or call (515) 832-7944. You can also like the USMTS on Facebook, visit us on Instagram, follow us on Twitter, connect with us on LinkedIn and watch us on YouTube. Keep up to speed with everything USMTS and subscribe to the USMTS e-Newsletter.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
Casey’s General Stores USMTS National Championship powered by Summit
Summit USMTS Southern Series powered by MSD
10th Annual USMTS Amarillo Ambush presented by Genesis Racing Shocks
Route 66 Motor Speedway, Amarillo, Texas
Saturday, June 8, 2019

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine builder, laps completed and money won. The top 12 in heat race passing points advance to the Casey’s General Stores “A” Main with the top 8 redrawing for the first 8 starting spots.

SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (3) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
2. (2) 10 Dee Gossett, Amarillo, Texas.
3. (1) 99n Matt Newkirk (R), Amarillo, Texas.
4. (4) 2x Gene Weaver, Amarillo, Texas.
5. (6) 1T T.C. Hogan (R), Amarillo, Texas.
6. (7) 23g Jim Gress (R), Amarillo, Texas.
7. (5) 41h Eric Hughes (R), Odessa, Texas.
8. (8) 77 Ronnie Yanacsek (R), Amarillo, Texas.
9. (9) 32F Casey Fowler (R), Grand Salina, Texas.

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (1) 31 Neal DeBord (R), Amarillo, Texas.
2. (3) J17 Jake Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.
3. (7) 9 Jimmy Ray, Las Cruces, N.M.
4. (5) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
5. (6) 19sb Lance Mari, Imperial, Calif.
6. (4) 75 Alan Sharpensteen, Amarillo, Texas.
7. (2) 55G Braden Gress (R), Amarillo, Texas.
8. (8) 80 David Yanacsek (R), Amarillo, Texas.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (4) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
2. (2) 30 Travis Tipton (R), Duncan, Ariz.
3. (3) 15 Kale Westover (R), Blair, Okla.
4. (8) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
5. (7) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas.
6. (6) D25 David Tanner, Wichita Falls, Texas.
7. (1) 65x Carlos Ahumada Jr. (R), El Paso, Texas.
8. (5) G17 Fito Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.

GENESIS RACING SHOCKS HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (2) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
2. (1) 88R A.J. Vasquez, Garden City, Mich.
3. (4) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
4. (3) 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan.
5. (7) 23L Logan Robertson, Shamrock, Texas.
6. (8) 62 Hunter Marriott (R), Brookfield, Mo.
7. (6) 54 Carlos Ahumada Sr., El Paso, Texas.
8. (5) 10 Dustin Robinson (R), Post, Texas.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (10 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (1) 15 Kale Westover (R), Blair, Okla.
2. (2) 2x Gene Weaver, Amarillo, Texas.
3. (3) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas.
4. (4) 1T T.C. Hogan (R), Amarillo, Texas.
5. (8) 65x Carlos Ahumada Jr. (R), El Paso, Texas.
6. (9) 77 Ronnie Yanacsek (R), Amarillo, Texas., Rocket/PPE, $75.
7. (7) 41h Eric Hughes (R), Odessa, Texas., Shaw/Spreen, $75.
8. (5) 62 Hunter Marriott (R), Brookfield, Mo.
9. (6) 75 Alan Sharpensteen, Amarillo, Texas., SRP/Budlong, $75.
10. (10) G17 Fito Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M., GR2/ProPower, $90.
11. (11) 32F Casey Fowler (R), Grand Salina, Texas., Shaw/Kraft, $75.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (10 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (2) 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan.
2. (3) 23L Logan Robertson, Shamrock, Texas.
3. (4) 19sb Lance Mari, Imperial, Calif.
4. (5) 23g Jim Gress (R), Amarillo, Texas.
5. (7) 55G Braden Gress (R), Amarillo, Texas.
6. (1) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
7. (10) 10 Dustin Robinson (R), Post, Texas., WFRC/, $75.
8. (8) 54 Carlos Ahumada Sr., El Paso, Texas., LG2/BMS, $75.
9. (6) D25 David Tanner, Wichita Falls, Texas., MBCustoms/Geddes, $75.
10. (9) 80 David Yanacsek (R), Amarillo, Texas., TRE/Sanders, $75.

SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (4) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/Cornett, 40, $3000.
2. (8) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz., LG2/Cornett, 40, $1700.
3. (11) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustoms/Hatfield, 40, $1100.
4. (13) 15 Kale Westover (R), Blair, Okla., WFRC/Knowles, 40, $900.
5. (1) J17 Jake Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M., GR2/ProPower, 40, $800.
6. (21) 65x Carlos Ahumada Jr. (R), El Paso, Texas, GRT/BMS, 40, $800.
7. (10) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., GRT/Durham, 40, $650.
8. (17) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas, MBCustoms/KPE, 39, $600.
9. (14) 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan., LG2/Speedway, 39, $550.
10. (6) 10 Dee Gossett, Amarillo, Texas, MBCustoms/Carroll’s, 39, $350.
11. (7) 9 Jimmy Ray, Las Cruces, N.M., AOS/AOS, 39, $450.
12. (9) 88R A.J. Vasquez, Garden City, Mich., Hughes/Farris, 39, $300.
13. (20) 23g Jim Gress (R), Amarillo, Texas, GRT/McCabe, 37, $275.
14. (3) 30 Travis Tipton (R), Duncan, Ariz., Shaw/Tipton, 37, $250.
15. (22) 55G Braden Gress (R), Amarillo, Texas, GRT/McCabe, 37, $250.
16. (16) 23L Logan Robertson, Shamrock, Texas, Victory/Hatfield, 31, $325.
17. (12) 99n Matt Newkirk (R), Amarillo, Texas, Hughes/Newkirk, 26, $250.
18. (15) 2x Gene Weaver, Amarillo, Texas, GRT/PPE, 20, $250.
19. (2) 31 Neal DeBord (R), Amarillo, Texas, BillsBuilt/Blevins, 14, $250.
20. (19) 1T T.C. Hogan (R), Amarillo, Texas, GRT/Kuntz, 12, $250.
21. (23) 62 Hunter Marriott (R), Brookfield, Mo., Rage/KSE, 8, $300.
22. (5) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., MBCustoms/ChevPerf, 7, $300.
23. (18) 19sb Lance Mari, Imperial, Calif., MRT/Yeoman, 5, $300.
DNS – 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/TriStar, 0, $200.

(R) = Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year contender

Lap Leaders: J. Gallardo 1-6, Ramirez 7, J. Gallardo 8-10, Ramirez 11-40.
Total Laps Led: Ramirez 31, J. Gallardo 9.
Margin of Victory: 1.493 seconds.
Time of Race: 14 minutes, 2.624 seconds (1 caution).
Provisional Starters: Gustin, Marriott.
Eibach Spring Forward Award: Ahumada Jr. (advanced 12 positions).
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Ahumada Jr. (started 21st, finished 6th).
Entries: 33.
Next Race: Thursday, June 13, Cedar Lake Speedway, New Richmond, Wis.
Casey’s General Stores USMTS National Championship Points: Sanders 1434, Gustin 1312, Ramirez 1294, Marriott 1292, O'Neil 1206, Phillips 1079, Kates 1003, Duvall 972, Mike Striegel 935, Zack VanderBeek 934.
Summit USMTS Southern Series Points: Sanders 522, Phillips 489, Gustin 479, Duvall 413, Ramirez 392, Marriott 385, Kates 383, Ahumada Jr. 354, Robertson 342, O'Neil 281.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: Marriott 1292, Mike Striegel 935, Ahumada Jr. 549, Dustin Hodges 425, Nathan Hagar 415.
USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: Hughes 123, MBCustoms 122, LG2 99, Rage 94, GRT 87.
USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: Hatfield 104, Cornett 99, KSE 82, TriStar 79, Durham 69.

Contingency Awards:
American Racer – Ahumada Jr.
Beyea Custom Headers – Westover.
Bryke Racing – B. Gress.
BSB Manufacturing – Marriott.
Champ Pans – J. Gallardo.
Deatherage Opticians – Fowler.
E3 Spark Plugs – Sanders.
Edelbrock – Duvall.
Eibach – Ahumada Jr.
Fast Shafts – DeBord.
FK Rod Ends – Ahumada Jr.
Forty9 Designs – Tipton, DeBord.
Hooker Harness – J. Gress.
Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – Weaver.
Jerovetz Motorsports Racing Parts – Newkirk.
K1 RaceGear by Ryan Bowers Motorsports – Tanner.
Keyser Manufacturing – Gossett.
KSE Racing Products – Kates.
Maxima Racing Oils – Ramirez.
Out-Pace Racing Products – Robertson.
PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain – Ronnie Yanacsek.
QA1 – F. Gallardo.
RacerWebsite.com – Fowler.
Real Racing Wheels – all non-qualifiers.
Simpson Performance Products – Ramirez.
Swift Springs – Ramirez, Gossett.
Sybesma Graphics – Duvall.
Tire Demon – Ray.
VP Racing Fuels – Ramirez.
Wilwood Disc Brakes – Phillips.

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USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Casey’s General Stores, Chevrolet Performance, CP-Carrillo, Deatherage Opticians, Eibach Springs, Fast Shafts, FK Rod Ends, Intercomp, Jerovetz Motorsports Racing Parts, K1 RaceGear by Ryan Bowers Motorsports, KSE Racing Products, Malvern Bank, Mesilla Valley Transportation, MSD, MyRacePass, Nitroquest Media, Pace Performance, PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain, RacinDirt.com, RacingJunk.com, Snickers, Spike Hardcore Energy, Summit Racing Equipment, VP Racing Fuels, Wrisco Industries.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Arizona Sport Shirts, ASi Racewear, Boubin Tire & Automotive, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Duvall Electric, Eagle Moon Farm, Impact RaceGear, PBM Performance Products, RACEceiver, Rancho Milagro Racing, River’s Edge Scrap Management, Tony Moro Powder Coat, Top of the World Ranch, YouDirt.com.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: 905 Ink, AFCO Racing Products, Allstar Performance, Beyea Custom Headers, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Bryke Racing, BSB Manufacturing, Champ Pans, E3 Spark Plugs, Edelbrock, Forty9 Designs, Genesis Racing Shocks, Hooker Harness, Hyperco, Integra Racing Shocks and Springs, Keyser Manufacturing, Maxima Racing Oils, Out-Pace Racing Products, QA1, RacerWebsite.com, Real Racing Wheels, Simpson Performance Products, Swift Springs, Sybesma Graphics, Tire Demon, Wilwood Racing.