HUMBOLDT, Kan. — During the final three laps of the main event Friday night during King of America XIII presented by RacinDirt, second-generation rising star Jake Timm got the lead, lost it and then grabbed it back again as he took the checkers over Darron Fuqua with about 10 feet to spare.
The crown jewel for the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt, Ryan Whitworth’s Humboldt Speedway was once again the spot, and that led to a wild main event that had fans holding their breath until the end.
After a dominant heat race performance, Chad Wheeler garnered the Sybesma Graphics Pole Award and led the first two laps of the stacked 40-lap, 30-car race.
His time at the front of the field was just two shorts laps, however, as Jim Chisholm blasted into the lead—a spot he would be in control of for the next 35 times around the high banked clay oval at ‘The Hummer.’
The race’s first Gorsuch Performance Caution Flag waved on lap 14 for a minor incident, but Timm performed a major pass by Wheeler for second with 17 laps complete.
Seven laps later while battling with Fuqua and Dereck Ramirez for fourth, defending King of America champ Dan Ebert suffered a terminal mechanical failure, knocking him from the contest.
On lap 25, Fuqua passed Wheeler for third and looked like he may have himself a second straight win as he churned the dirt near the wall and began to chase down Chisholm and Timm.
Meanwhile, Timm closed the distance between himself and Chisholm. Timm took a look to the inside of the leader and nearly spun. He kept from spinning but lost precious ground to Chisholm.
The race’s final yellow flag was unfurled with four laps to go when Lucas Schott slowed on the racetrack. One lap later, another caution slowed the action with three laps of racing remaining.
This time, it was Chisholm who bobbled, and opened the door for Timm to slip by and into the lead. But Fuqua kept grinding on the seldom-used high side and blasted by Timm for the lead as they were shown the white flag.
This time, Timm cut a perfect corner around the bottom of turn two, and then outpowered Fuqua in the final turn to win the race to the flagstand and a $5,000 payday.
“I was just trying to be patient and I got up under Jim a couple times there and I made a mistake once and lost a bunch of ground,” Timm told RacinDirt’s Trenton Berry in USMTS Victory Fuel Victory Lane. “I didn’t know how many laps were left but I was running out of patience towards the end I guess. I got a good start at the end there was able to kind of kind of slide Fuqua a little bit.
“That was a fun one. I didn’t know if I was going to win ‘til I took the checkered. I was waiting for him to pull up alongside me at the finish.
Timm, who won his Real Racing Wheels B Main and came from 14th to triumph, claimed his first feature win of 2024 while tenth-starting Fuqua was the second driver to cross beneath the checkered flag.
Chisholm settled for third, despite leading 35 of the 40 laps around the quarter-mile bullring. Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year points leader Jacob Hobscheidt claimed a career-best fourth-place finish while Rodney Sanders, who started 20th and earned the FK Rod Ends Hard Charger Award, round out the top five.
Fuqua continues to lead Mel Hambelton Racing USMTS Central Region points by 11 markers over Timm, But Timm’s win guaranteed him the USMTS Weiland Points Leader spoiler for a second night when they fire them back up on Saturday.
Now in rarified air with some of the all-time greats, The win was Timm’s ninth of his USMTS career, which broke a tie on the all-time wins list with Ryan Ruter, Ricky Thornton Jr. and Tommy Weder Jr.
Timm’s now tied with fellow nine-time winners Brandon Davis and Brad Waits—both of whom are Minnesota racers. With 10 wins each, the late Mike Chasteen and Tanner Mullens sit just one spot ahead of Timm on the list.
Feature Finish (40 Laps)
1. (14) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn., 2. (10) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan., 3. (3) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa, 4. (8) 01 Jacob Hobscheidt, Plattsmouth, Neb., 5. (20) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, 6. (18) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan., 7. (13) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., 8. (16) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., 9. (6) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., 10. (22) 30 Jordan Grabouski, Beatrice, Neb., 11. (1) 88 Chad Wheeler, Muskogee, Okla., 12. (26) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La., 13. (9) 444 Brooks Strength, Raymond, Miss., 14. (2) 32 D.J. Shannon, Merced, Calif., 15. (17) 12H Mike Hansen, Dickinson, N.D., 16. (11) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla., 17. (21) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa, 18. (7) 7G Gabe Hodges, Lebo, Kan., 19. (28) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas, 20. (25) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan., 21. (19) 25 Joe Chisholm, Osage, Iowa, 22. (15) 127 Paden Phillips, Chanute, Kan., 23. (24) 55H A.J. Hoff, Mantorville, Minn., 24. (27) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa, 25. (23) 75M Gunner Martin, Sugar Creek, Mo., 26. (30) 457 Boone Evans, Bullard, Texas, 27. (29) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn., 28. (4) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn., 29. (5) 19SB Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif., 30. (12) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn., DNS – 15WX Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.