Ryan Middaugh won the USRA Modified feature.

It may have been a cold night for the final race of the 2017 season at I-35 Speedway, but the racing on track hit the boiling point. Side-by-side finishes and three-wide racing marked a common theme for the night. I-35 Speedway drivers battled it out for final point positions and momentum heading into the off-season, while Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series national points contenders made their way to Winston, Mo., to try to better their positions as well.

Twenty Out-Pace USRA B-Mods took to the track to go to war. Bud Wilson jumped to the early lead, but Nic Hanes never let Wilson out of his sights. Meanwhile, Ryan Gilmore, the Out-Pace USRA B-Mod national points leader, moved his way to third. Those three would separate themselves from the rest of the field and settle the caution-free race among themselves.

At about the halfway point, Wilson began working his way through lapped traffic, and that is when Hanes made his move. Hanes worked his way through traffic a little better and moved to the lead. Gilmore followed suit, pushing Wilson back to third. Still in lapped traffic, Hanes would choose the wrong lane as a lap car moved to the bottom and Gilmore blitzed the top side of the speedway and moved to the point.

Hanes mounted one final charge and the two would drag race to the finish, Gilmore earning the checkered flag and gaining valuable points for the national championship chase. Hanes, Wilson, Cody Brill and Jake Richards, another top national points contender, rounded out the top five.

Ryan Gillmore won the Out-Pace USRA B-Mod feature.

The Holley USRA Stock Cars followed the lead of the B-Mods and put on another exciting show. Gary Donaldson set the pace early. Dean Wray worked his way to second from a fourth-place starting position, and began to chase down Donaldson. The cliché 'it’s one thing to catch someone, but another thing to pass them' echoed true for Wray as lap after lap he tried to find a way around Donaldson. Wray tried the outside and inside lanes, but was unable to find enough momentum to work his way around Donaldson.

Wray finally made the charge to the inside of Donaldson on the final lap, but the drag race to the line went to Donaldson, using high side momentum. The margin of victory ended up being just a few feet for Donaldson as Wray, Blake Peeler, Aaron Sauter and Donnie Brown made up the top five.

The final feature of the 2017 season for I-35 Speedway saw the USRA Modifieds battle side-by-side lap after lap. Unfortunately for the field, those battles were for second on back as USRA national points contender Ryan Middaugh had the field covered and led every lap on his way to his 14th victory of the season.

Derrick Hicks and Houston Johnson could not decide who wanted to finish second. Johnson, using the high side of the racetrack, and Hicks, using the low side, were the ones battling side-by-side almost all race long. Hicks moved ahead of Johnson before a lap 12 caution, but Johnson worked his way back around Hicks on the restart. They continued to battle as Middaugh slipped away.

When the checkered flag flew on the USRA Modifieds and the 2017 racing season, Johnson finished second and Hicks third. Lewis Jackson and Dennis Elliot rounded out the top five.

At the end of the night, I-35 Speedway crowned each of their 2017 track champions. Bud Wilson won the Out-Pace USRA B-Mod championship, Dean Wray won the Holley USRA Stock Car championship and Dennis Elliott won the USRA Modified championship. Congratulations to each on their title.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Racing Association
Summit Racing USRA Weekly Racing Series
I-35 Speedway, Winston, Mo.
Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017

USRA MODIFIEDS

Feature:
1. 21 Ryan Middaugh
2. 97 Houston Johnson
3. 78 Derrick Hicks
4. 3J Lewis Jackson
5. 29 Dennis Elliott
6. 99J Billie Hoover
7. 2H John Hanson
8. 175 Jason Park
9. 92 Tyler Grooms
10. 98 Austin Johnson
11. 96J BB Tex

HOLLEY USRA STOCK CARS

Feature:
1. 28D Gary Donaldson
2. 77 Dean Wray
3. 292 Blake Peeler
4. 83A Aaron Sauter
5. 28 Donnie Brown
6. 5 Jim Adkins
7. 17H Eddie Schwope III
8. 19 Jay Barnes
9. 32C Dillion Carlisle

OUT-PACE USRA B-MODS

Feature:
1. 66 Ryan Gilmore
2. 17X Nic Hanes
3. 22W Bud Wilson
4. 96 Cody Brill
5. 17J Jake Richards
6. 15 Ed Noll
7. 05 Jeremy Lile
8. B Blake Davidson
9. 57 Randy Ainsworth
10. 11P Jeremy Price
11. 15W Austin Charles
12. 37 Tyler Fudge
13. 13F Troy Fudge
14. 1 Kyle Henning
15. 22B Mitch Booher
16. 81 Jeff Jackson
17. 32 Dave Carlisle
18. 91 Eddie Schwope Jr.
19. 29 Jesse Johnson
20. 72 Anthony Hill