WHEATLAND, Mo. (May 14, 2025)—Ryan Gillmore posted his 70th feature victory since 2020 last Saturday night, when he prevailed in a thriller over Jon Sheets in the Clear Creek Golf Cars USRA B-Mod main event at Lucas Oil Speedway.

It might not have been the most-prestigious or largest-paying win of Gillmore's career, but considering the challenging offseason and the bit of speed Gillmore had been missing to start this season, this trip to victory lane had some special qualities.

Plus, considering the competition level, it's always meaningful when one wins in the USRA B-Mod class.

“There’s some serious contenders,” Gillmore said of the division. “There’s some guys that if they got an opportunity to go to the next step, they’re more than capable. When they’re racing and their stuff is right, they’re hard to out-run. You have to be up on the wheel every lap.”

Gillmore, a former USRA B-Mod national champion, had been stinging from a DNF a couple of weeks earlier that puts his Lucas Oil Speedway season championship plans in a deep hole. He wasn’t particularly happy with how his new Allen Autosports car was running in the heat race.

But the 32-year-old from Springfield, with help from crewman Jaren Martin, found and fixed his issues. Sometimes, it just takes clearing your head and channeling your focus.

“We just found some stuff wrong with the car, right after the head race,” Gillmore said. “I’ve been busy with a lot of different things and haven’t had time to give it what it needs and just overlooked a couple of pieces. It wasn’t anything really time consuming to fix, it was just an overlook.

“Once we got that taken care of, the car was back the way it was supposed to be the whole time. It wasn’t anybody’s fault but mine. Life has just been very busy lately. Too many coals in the fire.”

Gillmore can be excused for feeling a little bit behind to start the season. His wife, Ashley, had a double breast mastectomy in March after a high-risk lesion was detected. All has gone well in Ashley’s recovery and the prognosis for the future is excellent.

Still, Gillmore said it put racing and everything else in life in proper perspective. The diagnosis and subsequent surgery came quickly and put the race car, understandably, on the back burner.

“She’s going through the final leg of surgery on June 5, but there have been no hiccups along the way,” he said of Ashley. “She was able to go to the races with me on Saturday and recovery is going good. We’re waiting on that and then we should be able to resume with our lives and hopefully that’s the end of that kind of thing.”

And with his return to victory lane, Gillmore is looking to frequent it often the rest of the season as he continues to fine-tune the Dennis Choate-owned car built by Scotty Allen.

“We just missed a couple of things on the car, but we’re over that, I hope,” Gillmore said. “It was 100 percent different taking the green in the feature on Saturday that it had been.

“It is a new car and it’s a new design from Scotty. There was a little bit of anxiousness at the beginning of the year because the last car had been so good and this one started out good. I got behind a little bit. Me and JC Newell have new (Allen) cars and me and him are going back and forth with ideas. He drives different than I do, but we’re working hard to get it comfortable for us and for everyone else that has one.”

Gillmore looked the part in his late-race battle with Sheets, taking the lead with one lap to go after the two had spent several laps going back and forth. Asked if the entertaining racing was fun or stressful from inside the car, Gillmore affirmed that it was a blast.

“In hindsight, when everything pans out and there are no accidents or anything, win or lose that was gonna be fun,” Gillmore said. “There’s a group of people that … you can race hard and be respectful with. Jon is one of them.”

Gillmore is getting crew help from his long-time friend Austin Roberts, but only every other week due to Roberts’ work schedule. Martin has been filling in and doing an admirable job.

“I raced with his dad when I started and he was 12 or 13,” Gillmore said of Martin. “He has been helping me the last couple of weeks. We’ve been around one another a long time. He went on to work with Jason Hughes and John Allen on the road for a while. I have full trust in him. He knows his stuff and we work well together and it’s been fun.”

​

Gillmore’s sponsors include Choate Farms, Yeoman Racing Engines, Allen Autosports, Metal Magic Auto Hail Repair, Blind Spot Outdoors, C&M Gear Works, Polk County Glass, McCoy’s Iron and Metal, Ron Ron Motor Sports, CPD Racing Shocks, Bud’s Tire & Wheel, Swift Springs, Oz Designs and Poolside Cabanas by Rachel Choate.

It's Public Safety Appreciation Night at the Races on Saturday night will find all police, fire and rescue personnel admitted free with ID. The Clear Creek Golf Cars USRA B-Mods will headline the racing with a 25-lap, $750-to-win feature. The Hickamo Super Stocks, Arctic Food Equipment Modifieds and O'Reilly Auto Parts Stock Cars also will be in action.

The Hickamo Super Stocks feature rained out on April 27 will be made up, resuming with running order at the time the race was halted under caution, and run as the first race on the program. Grandstands and pits open at 4 p.m. with hot laps at 6:30 and opening ceremonies at 7.

As usual throughout the 2025 season, grandstand admission for the Weekly Racing Series program is $5 for ages 6-and-over with kids 5-and-under free. Pit passes are $35.

At the Off Road course: UTV Short-Course Off Road racing returns for Round 2 with practice and qualifying on Friday and racing on Saturday. Race classes will include Vet NA & Turbo, Women's N & Turbo, 700 CC, Mini Stock, Sportsman NA, Mini Limited, Pro-Am NA, Sportsman Turbo, Youth 1000, Pro NA, Mini Modified, Pro-Am Turbo and Pro Turbo.

Racing is tentatively set to begin at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday with practice sessions starting at 1 p.m. Friday and qualifying at 3:50.

Friday Off Road Grandstand Admission:
Ages 6 and over - $15
Kids (5 and under) - FREE
Adult (13 & up) 2-Day - $35
Youth Ages (6-12) - 2-Day $25
(All tickets include access to the Off-Road pit area)
(2-Day tickets include entry to the Dirt Track Event on Saturday night)

Saturday Off Road Grandstand Admission:
Adults (13 and up) - $20
Youth (age 6 to 12) - $10
Kids (age 5 and under) - FREE
(All tickets include access to the off road pit area)
(Saturday tickets include entry to the Dirt Track event Saturday night)

For information on tickets or camping for any Lucas Oil Speedway event in 2025, contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 295-6043 or email her at nmcmillan@lucasoilspeedway.com for more information.

To learn more about the USRA, check out www.usraracing.com and follow our social media platforms on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube. For exclusive promotions delivered to your inbox, click here to subscribe today.

The United States Racing Association (USRA) was formed in 2002, and currently sanctions eight divisions at some of the finest speedways in America. With the incredible support of dozens of marketing partners, the USRA is able to provide points funds and contingency awards that are second to none in dirt track racing. Thousands of racers compete in the Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series at some of the most elite dirt track facilities in America.

The 12th Annual Summit USRA Nationals happens Sept. 30 through Oct. 4 at the legendary Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo., featuring USRA Modifieds, USRA Stock Cars, USRA B-Mods, USRA Hobby Stocks and USRA Tuners in their Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series national points finales.

The 6th Annual Summit USRA Southern Nationals returns to the Boothill Speedway in Greenwood, La., from Oct. 16-18, featuring USRA Limited Mods and Sunoco USRA Factory Stocks in their final Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series national points event.

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

USRA Presenting Sponsors: Boubin Tire & Automotive, Brodix Cylinder Heads, PBM Performance Products, YouDirt.com.

USRA Contingency Sponsors: AERO Race Wheels, AFCO Racing Products, Allstar Performance, Bryke Racing, BSB Manufacturing, Champ Pans, Dynamic Drivelines, Edelbrock, Gorsuch Performance Solutions, Hooker Narness, Hyperco, Integra Racing Shocks & Springs, JE Pistons, Keyser Manufacturing, KS Engineering, Landrum Performance Springs, MD3, MSD Performance, Performance Bodies & Parts, QA1, Quarter Master, QuickCar Racing Products, RaceQuip, RacerWebsite.com, Real Racing Wheels, Rush RaceGear by Austin Witt, Sweet Manufacturing, Swift Springs, Sybesma Graphics, Total Power, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes.