The American Racer USRA Modified Series powered by Day Motor Sports invaded the Salina Highbanks Speedway in Pryor, Oklahoma, for the first time Saturday for the 5th Annual Funkadelic Dirt Track & Honky Tonk Extravaganza.

As the driver atop the passing points after heats races were complete, Chad Wheeler had the first opportunity to accept or turn down the Front Row Challenge presented by S&S Fishing & Rental.

Wheeler said, ‘I do’ and opted to start last on the starting grid and a shot at a $5,000 cash bonus if he could navigate his way to a victory in the main vent presented by AmeriFlex Hose & Accessories..

When the green flag waved, it was cagey veteran and former USMTS regular Steve Holzkamper on the pole while former USRA B-Mod National Champion found himself on the outside of the front row for the start of the 30-lap main event.

The initial start brought about the race’s first caution when mechanical failure plagued Gillmore and he came to a stop at the top of the first set of turns.

The second double-file start saw ‘Big Daddy’ Joe Duvall inherit the second starting spot and he took full advantage of his gift by taking the lead when the race got underway.

When a second yellow flag appeared with two laps in the books, Wheeler had already passed eight cars and was inside the top 20, but Duvall took off and left the field in his wake when racing resumed.

A third caution points title contender wiped out Duvall’s lead, and the next restart showed Trevor Hughes, Jared Russell, Holzkamper and former USRA Modified National Champion Greg Skaggs following in Duvall’s tire tracks.

Meanwhile, Wheeler was 11th with just six laps complete, and by the time the leaders locked in the tenth orbit, he had already cracked the top five and salivating at his opportunity to collect a $5,000 bonus from S&S Fishing & Rental.

While Duvall was keeping Davis about a ten-car-lengths behind him, Wheeler snuck by Skaggs for fourth on lap 17. Lap 21, however, was one of change as Wheeler slipped into third while Davis snuck underneath Duvall to take the lead.

Wheeler brought the crowd to their collective feet as he roared past Duvall to grab second and then set put Davis squarely in his crosshairs.

Although he would have preferred to be part of the lead battle, Kenton Allen found himself in the middle of Wheeler and Davis as the they went three-wide down the backstretch, but contact from Davis sent Allen spinning over the embankment at the top of turn three and the yellow flag waved for a fourth time.

Coasting around the racetrack under caution, Wheeler’s front end collapsed and he was out of the race after an historic run from last to first, but Shane and Shelley Sprinkle’s money stayed in the bank with the Front Row Challenge uncollected.

Back to green flag racing, Davis wrapped things up with a walk in the park to the checkered flag while Duvall held off 17th-starting Kale Westover for runner-up honors.

“I knew it was a long race and as slick as it was (in turn four), I paced myself pretty early and left plenty for the end,” Davis declared in victory lane. “We got to lapped traffic and I probably was a little too cautious.

“I figured the yellows weren’t helping us with Wheeler—I’m sure he was clicking along there—and I kept trying to get a glance at the scoreboard but my roof post was in the way. We had a really good car, and I probably should’ve pushed it a little earlier until I saw Wheeler, but we got lucky there and we won. I’m happy.”

For his efforts, Davis took home a grand total of $2.500 in cash including lap-leader bonus money and contingency awards.

And while Duvall settled for second when the dust settled, his lengthy time as the leader earned his enough bonus money to make him Mr. Money of the race with a $3,150 paycheck.

Jared Russell was fourth and Skaggs finished where he started in fifth. The rest of the top ten were Gabe Hodges, Holzkamper, Hughes, Tate Cole and Kenny Gaddis, who started 21st on the 25-car grid.

Passing 14 of his fellow competitors, Westover earned the Dickson Transport Hard Charger Award presented by Fast Shafts. Earlier in the night during the drives meeting, Dakota Dale and Jarron Hitchcock each pocketed a crisp $100 bill curtesy of Oklahoma Tidbits.

The 5th Annual Funkadelic Dirt Track & Honky Tonk Extravaganza was made possible by the efforts of the impeccable racer and social media superstar known as ‘Big Daddy.’ Duvall raised most of the special awards and lap money for this one-of-a-kind event.

Special thanks to Deatherage Opticians, Dickson Transport, Fast Shafts, Heartland VP Racing, Mel Hambleton Racing, Oklahoma Tidbits, Panther Creek Construction, S&S Fishing & Rental, Swift Springs and Winning Edge Carburetion for putting up more than $6,000 in cash, product and various awards for the competitors.

Lap Leader Bonus sponsors include Tyler Akins, Black Out Motorsports, Blake Hahn Racing, Bulletproof Tees, Danny Crane Racing Engines, Dave's Marine, Express Racecars, Brenda Gibbs, Grand Bandit Racing, Grand Meridian RV Cabin & Tiny Home Resort, Hughes Racing Chassis, JRT Trucking, Kip Hughes, Tina & Jeff Landon, Loaded Dice Club, MMBT Motorsports, Peterbilt Steve, Jacob Potter, Pig-N-Out, Theodore Concrete, Tri-City Speedway, Vanderbilt Racecars and XR Events. Between them, an additional $2,150 was doled out to the leader of each lap.

With ten shows in the books and seven nights of racing left to go, here’s the remaining ARMS schedule:

Saturday, Aug. 26 – Boothill Speedway, Greenwood, La.
Thursday, Aug. 31 – Hunt County Speedway, Greenville, Texas
Friday, Sept. 1 – 67 Speedway, Texarkana, Ark.
Saturday, Sept. 2 – Rocket Raceway Park, Petty, Texas
Sunday Sept. 3 – Ark-La-Tex Speedway, Vivian, La.
Friday, Oct. 27 – Rocket Raceway Park, Petty, Texas
Saturday, Oct. 28 – Rocket Raceway Park, Petty, Texas

Each of the venues will host one or more events with a minimum of $2,000 to win and an unequaled year-end points fund. All events also award Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series national points.

With a schedule featuring stops at the finest dirt ovals in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, the American Racer USRA Modified Series powered by Day Motor Sports presents the who’s who of dirt modified racing to fans all across the southern United States of America.

Special thanks to American Racer, ARMI Contractors, Day Motor Sports, Duvall Electric, RaceOnTexas.com, RacerWebsite.com, RacinDirt.TV, Star 1 Roofing & Construction, Summit Racing Equipment, Texas Locomotive Solutions, TNT Auto Parts and Transmissions Unlimited for their support of the American Racer USRA Modified Series powered by Day Motor Sports.

More information about the ARMS is available at usraracing.com. You can also get social with the ARMS on Facebook and Twitter.

Drivers can pre-enter for any or all ARMS events at MyRacePass.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Racing Association
Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series
American Racer USRA Modified Series powered by Day Motor Sports
Salina Highbanks Speedway, Pryor, Okla.
Saturday, July 22, 2023

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, laps completed and money won.

USRA MODIFIEDS

Mel Hambleton Racing Heat #1 (8 laps):
1. (2) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
2. (9) 88 Chad Wheeler, Muskogee, Okla.
3. (5) 15G Wyatt Gaggero, Wichita, Kan.
4. (4) 03 Josiah Robinson, Kansas, Okla.
5. (7) 17 Roy Long, Stilwell, Okla.
6. (6) 9 Kenton Allen, Chanute, Kan.
7. (8) 78B Blake Moler, Wichita, Kan.
8. (1) 68 Jarron Hitchcock, Tulsa, Okla.
9. (3) 2G Kenny Gaddis, Diana, Texas.
DNS – 7X Chris Dawson, Lubbock, Texas.

Mel Hambleton Racing Heat #2 (8 laps):
1. (2) 5 Steve Holzkamper, Gentry, Ark.
2. (3) 17JR Drake Long, Stilwell, Okla.
3. (5) 7 Sean Gaddis, Diana, Texas.
4. (4) 18 Casey Lindell, Porter, Okla.
5. (9) 712 Trevor Hughes, Salina, Okla.
6. (6) 24 Toby Lindell, Muskogee, Okla.
7. (1) 47 Josh Harney, Prairie Grove, Ark.
8. (7) 13 Jonathon Beyer, Inola, Okla.
9. (8) 911 Waylon Weaver, Claremore, Okla.

Mel Hambleton Racing Heat #3 (8 laps):
1. (1) 84 Ryan Gillmore, Springfield, Mo.
2. (4) 27 Greg Skaggs, Coweta, Okla.
3. (7) 4R Jared Russell, Wagoner, Okla.
4. (3) 37D Dakota Dale, Valley Center, Kan.
5. (8) 55 Chris Kratzer, Lyons, Kan.
6. (9) 151 Lucas Gibbs, Udall, Kan.
7. (2) 247 Jarret Dotson, Baxter Springs, Kan.
8. (5) 1 Mike Wroblewski, Muskogee, Okla.
9. (6) 55H Nathan Hagar, Adair, Okla.

Mel Hambleton Racing Heat #4 (8 laps):
1. (1) 7G Gabe Hodges, Lebo, Kan.
2. (8) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
3. (3) D25 David Tanner, Wichita Falls, Texas.
4. (5) 89 Tate Cole, Fort Gibson, Okla.
5. (2) 15 Chase Wascom, Denham Springs, La.
6. (4) 37V Joey Vaughn, Siloam Springs, Ark.
7. (9) 71 Jay Rierson, Booneville, Ark.
8. (7) 78D Dillon Moler, Wichita, Kan.
9. (6) 15W Kale Westover, Altus, Okla.

Panther Creek Construction “B” Main #1 (10 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (1) 712 Trevor Hughes, Salina, Okla.
2. (2) 55 Chris Kratzer, Lyons, Kan.
3. (5) 15 Chase Wascom, Denham Springs, La.
4. (11) 15W Kale Westover, Altus, Okla.
5. (6) 9 Kenton Allen, Chanute, Kan.
6. (4) 17 Roy Long, Stilwell, Okla.
7. (8) 47 Josh Harney, Prairie Grove, Ark.
8. (9) 13 Jonathon Beyer, Inola, Okla., $100.
9. (7) 71 Jay Rierson, Booneville, Ark. , $100.
10. (12) 68 Jarron Hitchcock, Tulsa, Okla., $200.
11. (3) 03 Josiah Robinson, Kansas, Okla., $100.
12. (10) 78D Dillon Moler, Wichita, Kan., $100.
DNS – 7X Chris Dawson, Lubbock, Texas.

Panther Creek Construction “B” Main #2 (10 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (1) 89 Tate Cole, Fort Gibson, Okla.
2. (4) 151 Lucas Gibbs, Udall, Kan.
3. (3) 18 Casey Lindell, Porter, Okla.
4. (2) 37D Dakota Dale, Valley Center, Kan.
5. (5) 24 Toby Lindell, Muskogee, Okla., $100.
6. (10) 2G Kenny Gaddis, Diana, Texas.
7. (7) 247 Jarret Dotson, Baxter Springs, Kan.
8. (6) 78B Blake Moler, Wichita, Kan., $100.
9. (8) 1 Mike Wroblewski, Muskogee, Okla., $100.
10. (9) 55H Nathan Hagar, Adair, Okla., $100.
DNS – 911 Waylon Weaver, Claremore, Okla., $100.
DNS – 37V Joey Vaughn, Siloam Springs, Ark., $100.

AmeriFlex Hose & Accessories “A” Main (30 laps):
1. (6) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan., 30, $2500.
2. (3) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., 30, $3150.
3. (17) 15W Kale Westover, Altus, Okla., 30, $1200.
4. (7) 4R Jared Russell, Wagoner, Okla., 30, $800.
5. (5) 27 Greg Skaggs, Coweta, Okla., 30, $700.
6. (4) 7G Gabe Hodges, Lebo, Kan., 30, $600.
7. (1) 5 Steve Holzkamper, Gentry, Ark., 30, $500.
8. (11) 712 Trevor Hughes, Salina, Okla., 30, $550.
9. (12) 89 Tate Cole, Fort Gibson, Okla., 30, $500.
10. (21) 2G Kenny Gaddis, Diana, Texas, 30, $350.
11. (15) 15 Chase Wascom, Denham Springs, La., 30, $325.
12. (13) 55 Chris Kratzer, Lyons, Kan., 30, $300.
13. (22) 17 Roy Long, Stilwell, Okla., 30, $275.
14. (19) 9 Kenton Allen, Chanute, Kan., 30, $250.
15. (18) 37D Dakota Dale, Valley Center, Kan., 30, $350.
16. (23) 247 Jarret Dotson, Baxter Springs, Kan., 30, $250.
17. (10) D25 David Tanner, Wichita Falls, Texas, 27, $250.
18. (8) 17JR Drake Long, Stilwell, Okla., 27, $250.
19. (24) 88 Chad Wheeler, Muskogee, Okla., 27, $250.
20. (16) 18 Casey Lindell, Porter, Okla., 17, $250.
21. (14) 151 Lucas Gibbs, Udall, Kan., 10, $250.
22. (9) 7 Sean Gaddis, Diana, Texas, 6, $250.
23. (20) 24 Toby Lindell, Muskogee, Okla., 2, $250.
24. (2) 84 Ryan Gillmore, Springfield, Mo., 30, $250.
DNS – 15G Wyatt Gaggero, Wichita, Kan., 0, $100.

Lap Leaders: Duvall 1-21, Davis 22-30.
Total Laps Led: Duvall 21, Davis 9.
Margin of Victory: 1.787 seconds.
Time of Race: 31 minutes, 52.729 seconds (4 cautions).
Provisional Starters: Long, Dotson.
Dickson Transport/Fast Shafts Hard Charger: Westover (started 17th, finished 3rd).
Entries: 37.
Next Race: Saturday, Aug. 26, Boothill Speedway, Greenwood, La.
Points Standings: TBD.

Contingency Awards:
Deatherage Opticians – Beyer, Moler, K. Gaddis.
Dickson Transport – Westover.
Fast Shafts – Westover.
Heartland VP Racing – Harney, Dotson.
Mel Hambleton Racing – Duvall, Holzkamper, Gillmore, Hodges, Wheeler, Long, Skaggs, Davis.
Oklahoma Tidbits – Dale, Hitchcock.
Panther Creek Construction – Hughes, Cole.
S&S Fishing & Rental – Wheeler.
Swift Springs – Long, K. Gaddis.
Winning Edge Carburetion – Davis.

For more than two decades, the USRA has attracted more and more racetracks and dirt track racers each year through fair, logical and cost-effective rules accompanied by an organization that puts the racers, racetracks and their fans first. In the 2023 Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series, as many as 60 of America’s finest dirt ovals plan to host more than 1,000 nights of racing.

USRA competitors can register online at MyRacePass today. Alternatively, you can call (515) 832-6000 to register by phone, or submit a completed USRA License Application by email at office@usraracing.com or fax (515) 832-7958. You can download the application at usraracing.com/downloads.

To learn more, check out usraracing.com for schedules, points, photos, souvenirs, videos and more. Follow our social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Click here to get USRA news delivered to your inbox.

USRA OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Beyea Headers, Chevrolet Performance, Christie Door Company, Fast Shafts, FK Rod Ends, KS Engineering, KSE Racing Products, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Nitroquest Media, PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain, RacinDirt, Summit Racing Equipment, Sunoco Race Fuels.

USRA PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Allen Autosports Race Cars, ARMI Contractors, Boubin Tire & Automotive, Brodix Cylinder Heads, DAY Motorsports, Duvall Electric, Gunshepherd.com, Innovative AutoGlass & Window Tint, PBM Performance Products, Star 1 Roofing & Construction, Stealth Thru Tubing, Texas Locomotive Solutions, TNT Auto Parts, YouDirt.com.

USRA CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Allstar Performance, Bryke Racing, BSB Manufacturing, Champ Pans, Edelbrock, Hooker Harness, Hyperco, Integra Racing Shocks & Springs, JE Pistons, K1 RaceGear by Ryan Bowers, Keyser Manufacturing, Landrum Performance Springs, MD3, Medieval Chassis, MSD, Performance Bodies & Parts, QA1, Quarter Master, QuickCar Racing Products, RacerWebsite.com, Real Racing Wheels, Swift Springs, Sybesma Graphics, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes.

USRA RACETRACKS: 67 Speedway of Texarkana, 81 Speedway, Alien Motor Speedway, Ark-La-Tex Speedway, Arrowhead Speedway, Bolivar Speedway, Boothill Speedway, Callaway Raceway, Caney Valley Speedway, Cedar Lake Speedway, Crawford County Speedway, Cresco Speedway, Dallas County Speedway, Deer Creek Speedway, Diamond Park Speedway, Eagle Valley Speedway, Elk City Motorsports Park, Fairmont Raceway, Fayette County Speedway, Hamilton County Speedway, Humboldt Speedway, Hunt County Raceway, I-35 Speedway, I-90 Speedway, Lakeside Speedway, Lawton Speedway, Legacy Speedway, Longdale Speedway, Lucas Oil Speedway, Mason City Motor Speedway, Mississippi Thunder Speedway, Monett Raceway, Outlaw Motor Speedway, Rapid Speedway, Red Cedar Speedway, Red Dirt Raceway, Rocket Raceway Park, Route 66 Motor Speedway, Sabine Speedway, Salina Highbanks Speedway, Sandia Speedway, Sports Park Raceway, Springfield Raceway, Super Bee Speedway, Thunder Valley Speedway, Tomahawk Speedway, Tri-State Speedway, Tulsa Speedway, US 36 Raceway, Vado Speedway Park, West Texas Raceway, Winneshiek Raceway.