The 13th Annual Summit USMTS Spring Nationals wrapped up at the Rocket Raceway Park on Sunday evening with a second straight night of nail-biting action.
Jake Timm was the quickest driver out of the gate, earning the Swift Springs Fastest Lap Award after posting the quickest one-lap time during heat race group qualifying. From there, he earned the Sybesma Graphics Pole Award and set the pace for the start of the main event.
Timm jumped out to lead the first five laps but gave way to Tyler Wolff on the sixth lap. Looking to rebound from a late-race mishap that likely extinguished a top-three performance the previous night, Wolff led the next 21 laps while Timm and 2021 USMTS National Champion kept him in their crosshairs.
Following the race’s third and final caution on lap 11, Timm regained second from Ramirez while Will Krup and Dan Ebert moved into the top five after disposing of Chris Henigan.
Wollf extended his lead to just under a full second over Timm by lap 15 but Timm narrowed the gap to nearly nothing by the halfway point of the 40-lapper, showing Wolff his nose on the inside of the first turn as the leaders engaged a swam of back-markers.
With 13 laps to go, Timm raced underneath of Wolff and the duo made contact. Wolff bounced up the track while Ramirez drafted Timm into the second spot.
“I don’t always start at the top but it was still pretty slimy on both ends. I knew at some point it was going to come in for a little bit and I was just going to waiting for it,” Timm said of his move from the pole to a higher lane right away. “When Tyler slid me there I kind of figured he was he was getting it going so I came over here and I tried it and, man, it was not ready. I about parked it almost I thought I was going to spin.”
The top three ran nose-to-tail under lap 32 when Wolff got back by Ramirez and set his sights on Timm. Once in second place, however, Wolff was unable to track down Timm as the 26-year-old from Winona, Minnesota, sailed to a $5,000 victory and the fifth of his USMTS career.
“I’m going to have to apologize,” Timm added, “but I just knew my window of opportunity was getting small with the with the lanes tightening up and I just got in one of them ruts and hooked it. We jumped tires but definitely not the way you want to win.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for,” said Wolff, who held on to take home the runner-up paycheck. “We were racing hard having a good time and just got together there. We both stayed in it and he beat me back around, so we’ll work on our car. We’re pretty close.”
Improving on a forgettable Saturday night effort, Ramirez remained in third while Krup and Ebert followed him to the checkered flag in fourth and fifth.
The Finish:
Feature (40 Laps): 1. (1) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn., 2. (2) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark., 3. (3) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., 4. (5) K9 Will Krup, Mt. Carmel, Ill., 5. (6) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn., 6. (10) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan., 7. (18) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., 8. (4) 16 Chris Henigan, Marshall, Texas, 9. (12) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa, 10. (19) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La., 11. (13) 10 Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa, 12. (24) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan., 13. (8) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis., 14. (15) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan., 15. (7) 4RJ Jared Russell, Wagoner, Okla., 16. (20) 25C Cody Thompson, Sioux City, Iowa, 17. (27) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan., 18. (25) 11X Tom Berry Jr., Des Moines, Iowa, 19. (9) 28 Cory Davis, Seminole, Texas, 20. (22) 4D Bo Day, Greenville, Texas, 21. (21) 0 Jake O’Neil, Tucson, Ariz., 22. (26) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., 23. (16) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, 24. (29) 38DT Dylan Thornton, Orcutt, Calif., 25. (14) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas, 26. (28) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, 27. (11) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn., 28. (23) 47 Jack Sartain, Royse City, Texas, 29. (17) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn.