NEW RICHMOND, Wis. — Fans watching from the grandstands of the Cedar Lake Speedway were treated to a barnburner Friday night that ended with Cayden Carter in victory lane on the second night of the 24th Annual Masters.
Headlining the event at the state-of-the-art high-banked clay oval, the racers in the Summit USMTS National Championship put on a show with five drivers sharing a straightaway over the final dozen laps of the main event.
Young gun Ryan Gierke took the lead from polesitter and defending USMTS national champ Dustin Sorensen and paced the first 16 laps before Sorensen was able to steal the lead after a spirited side-by-side battle for several laps.
Meanwhile, following close behind were Tom Berry Jr., Carter, Jake O’Neil and Joe Chisholm with all six drivers within striking distance of first place.
Berry moved into second on the fifth lap and then Sorensen took it away on lap six before tracking down Gierke and taking control.
Things got really interesting when Chisholm—making just his fifth USMTS start—jogged by Berry for third place. Berry, however, battled back and took it back one lap later while O’Neil and Carter made it a four-car tussle for third place on lap 25.
Running the extreme high side, O’Neil looked to be headed for the front when Carter had to slide up in front of O’Neil to dodge lapped traffic. That chance encounter showed last year’s Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year a more preferred line.
Carter used a longer way around the racetrack to run down Sorensen, taking the lead with five to go. From there he split two lapped cars perfectly before speeding away from the pack for his third career USMTS triumph.
“I think Jake O’Neill won me that race,” Carter revealed as confetti rained down on the 29-year-old in victory lane. “I saw him and heard him out there and I moved up and it (the racing surface) was cleaned up and was starting to rubber up, so I’m like ‘I got to go or I’m going to lose.’ I knew my car was pretty good. I just bided my time there the first 20 some laps and then once it finally slicked all the way off we were getting better and better.
“Once I got to the lead I caught them two lapped cars running side by side and they just opened up. I knew I had to go for it and happened to get by. That definitely helped me out… Just a great win here tonight.”
While Carter pocketed $5,000 for the win, Sorensen had to settle for the runner-up paycheck with O’Neil, Berry and tenth-starting Tanner Mullens the first five to cross the finish line.
Feature Finish (45 Laps)
1. (6) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa, 2. (1) 28 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn., 3. (7) 0 Jake O’Neil, Tucson, Ariz., 4. (4) 11X Tom Berry Jr., Des Moines, Iowa, 5. (10) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan., 6. (5) K9 Will Krup, Mt. Carmel, Ill., 7. (11) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn., 8. (8) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., 9. (13) 44 Darrell Nelson, Hermantown, Minn., 10. (3) 19 Joe Chisholm, Osage, Iowa, 11. (16) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, 12. (15) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., 13. (2) 26G Ryan Gierke, Villard, Minn., 14. (14) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa, 15. (9) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif., 16. (17) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark., 17. (19) 30 Matt Leer, Bruce, Wis., 18. (20) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn., 19. (26) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, 20. (24) 45 Chase Holland, Success, Miss., 21. (27) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas, 22. (21) 38T Dylan Thornton, Orcutt, Calif., 23. (22) 5K Tyler Kaeter, St. Cloud, Minn., 24. (25) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., 25. (18) 44H Adam Hensel, Baldwin, Wis., 26. (28) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn., 27. (12) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan., 28. (23) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa