PARK CITY, Kan. — The Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt was back at the 81 Speedway for a second night of the inaugural Ed Gressel Memorial on Friday, and Tyler Wolff was back in flawless form as he notched his second wire-to-wire triumph of the season.
Several of his chasers stayed close early on but Wolff always found an extra burst of speed whenever anybody got close. Yellow flags on laps 13 and 22 wiped out his lead on two occasions, but both kept him from having to deal with a swarm of soon-to-be lapped cars.
Thursday’s winner, Tanner Mullens, and Cayden Carter kept Wolff in their sights but neither threatened the rim-riding Wolff for the lead. That all changed after the second restart when Rodney Sanders powered around the high side of the three-eighths-mile dirt oval to jump from sixth to second in less than a lap.
From there, Sanders stayed within striking distance of Wolff, finally making a charge with two laps to go. ‘The Rocket’ peaked underneath Wolff’s No. 4W Lobo Racing machine but Gary Christian’s broken ride sitting at the top of turn two forced the race’s third yellow flag to wave.
Two more quick cautions occurred but on each occasion Wolff drove away from Sanders, eventually taking the checkered flag with about a five-car-length cushion over the four-time Summit USMTS National champion.
Despite starting third, Wolff led all 35 laps and pocketed the $5,000 winner’s share of the prize money.
“I am a mess, I am wore out but that’s a good run there,” an elated Wolff said in victory lane. “I knew that start would be critical and thought I’d had to take advantage of it. I gotta thank (Jimmy) Mars and ECE Racing Engines. We put a different engine in it and this thing screams. We’ve been having to tone it down all weekend.
“I trust Rodney very well and know that he’s not going to do anything crazy. He’s a teammate of mine so I really appreciate that, but it was awesome to see him up around behind me. It made me happy I knew that we had two good MB cars. and that’s good.”
RacinDirt co-owner/pit reporter Trenton Berry advised Wolff to get a designated driver if he went anywhere after his victory celebration because no Kansas State Trooper would believe he hadn’t been drinking.
“I got enough for bail, we’re good,” replied Wolff, who was soaked with warm Coors Light—one of Ed Gressel’s favorite beverages.
With the win, Wolff now has four at four racetracks in four states. He’s the first two-time winner this season and the 16th different winner in the 27 USMTS main events held at the 81 Speedway.
Behind Sanders, Jake O’Neil crossed the finish line third with Carter finishing fourth and Dereck Ramirez taking the checkers in fifth.
Feature Finish (35 Laps)
1. (4) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark., 2. (7) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, 3. (2) 0 Jake O’Neil, Tucson, Ariz., 4. (3) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa, 5. (6) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., 6. (1) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan., 7. (5) 11X Tom Berry Jr., Des Moines, Iowa, 8. (8) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., 9. (9) 44T Tanner Black, Otis, Kan., 10. (14) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan., 11. (15) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa, 12. (10) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn., 13. (17) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., 14. (12) K9 Will Krup, Mt. Carmel, Ill., 15. (25) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn., 16. (18) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan., 17. (11) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, 18. (13) 45 Chase Holland, Success, Miss,19. (21) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan., 20. (20) 01 Jacob Hobscheidt, Plattsmouth, Neb., 21. (28) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa, 22. (16) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn., 23. (19) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla., 24. (22) 25C Cody Thompson, Sioux City, Iowa, 25. (23) 30 Dalton Kirk, Edgerton, Kan., 26. (24) 55 Chris Kratzer, Lyons, Kan., 27. (26) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas, 28. (29) 15WX Kale Westover, Altus, Okla., 29. (27) 38T Dylan Thornton, Orcutt, Calif., 30. (30) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.