Dan Powers won the USRA Modified main event.

Boats, barbecue and celebration are always in store come Labor Day Weekend. But before props turn and coals get hot, there was racing action to attend Saturday night at Park City’s 81 Speedway.

John Allen and crew had another well-prepped surface in store as Alternative Pest Management presented USRA Modified action on the 3/8-mile dirt oval.

Twenty-four drivers signed in to do battle.

In just their second starts of the year—the first for each coming back in June—Dan Powers and brother Josh Lanterman proved they did not forget how to get around the track that their uncle C. Ray Hall owned and promoted for nearly 50 years.

When the feature's green flag waved, it was polesitter Jake Nightingale who jumped out to the early lead. Fifth-starting Powers immediately went to work on the bottom side of the speedway, having to patiently wait out a battle over the second spot between Brody Robe and Paden Phillips. Powers found his way by Phillips before an early caution waved at the completion of lap four.

On the restart, Robe briefly wrestled the lead away from Nightingale, while Powers switched his line to run up against the new retaining wall around the top side. Robe and Nightingale traded the lead back and forth over the next two circuits before Powers went on the attack.

Racing the leaders three-wide off of turn four, Powers took over the lead at the completion of lap nine. The running order remained the same until a lap-13 caution slowed action once again. On the ensuing restart, Nightingale followed Powers around the top side and executed a slider off of turn four to complete lap 14. Not to be outdone, Powers returned the favor the very next corner at the exit of turn two, taking over the race lead for good.

Meanwhile, 10th-starting Lanterman had worked his way in the top five, settling a long mid-race battle between himself, Patrick McManus and T.J. Tolan. Just ahead, Scott Green and Paden Phillips were locked in a battle for the third spot while Lanterman slowly reeled them in. Green ran into trouble with two laps to go—a blown radiator hose causing the No. 25 to spin in the middle of turns one and two.

On the races final restart, Nightingale made one last attempt at a pass for the win to no avail. Lanterman bested Phillips over the battle for third, and 15th-starting Kendall Kemp rounded out the top five.

When asked about the win, Powers commented, “It was a fun race for sure. The track was good, and I knew the top was going to be the place to be. I got stuck on the bottom early and just had to wait until I could get up top. Once I was able to get up there, I was able to build some momentum and get around those guys. It was a fun night and I can’t thank my guys enough for helping me throw this thing together this year. I’ve won a lot of races here, but this one is a little extra special. It’s fun to race out of town but it’s good to be back here at home; this place will always be home.”

The night's hard charger went to Tolan who gained 12 spots in a run from his 18th starting spot to finish in sixth. Shelby Stucky and Patrick McManus both turned in impressive runs of their own with Stucky going from 14th to seventh and McManus from 20th to eighth.

Heat race wins were picked up by Powers, Nightingale and Phillips.

Racing action featuring USRA Modifieds returns next Saturday, Sept. 12, along with the URSS Sprint Car Series, Chunky Poodle Rookie Modifieds and HeyGlassman.com Stock Cars. Gates open at 5 p.m. with racing at 7. Tickets are $15, children 10 and under are free.

For more information, visit race81speedway.com or find us on the MyRacePass app. You can also find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Racing Association
Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series
81 Speedway, Park City, Kan.
Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver and hometown.

USRA MODIFIEDS

Heat #1:
1. (6) 4 Dan Powers, Wichita, Kan.
2. (1) 32R Daniel Richey, Wichita, Kan.
3. (4) 61 Walt Brookshire, Wichita, Kan.
4. (2) 44 Braden Stoner, Wichita, Kan.
5. (3) 020 Fred Freeman, Hutchinson, Kan.
6. (5) 2K Kendall Kemp, Maize, Kan.
DNS – 21C Cody Schniepp, Wichita, Kan.
DNS – A2 Randy Wilson, Wichita, Kan.

Heat #2:
1. (3) 3J Jake Nightingale, Hutchinson, Kan.
2. (5) 0 Brody Robe, Wichita, Kan.
3. (2 25 Scott Green, Derby, Kan.
4. (4) 4A Josh Lanterman, Derby, Kan.
5. (6) 32B Bob Bills, Wichita, Kan.
6. (7) 429 Shelby Stucky, Hutchinson, Kan.
7. (1) 711 Brock Lane, Wichita, Kan.
DNS – 6JR Brian Franz, Halstead, Kan.

Heat #3:
1. (1) 9D8 Paden Phillips, Chanute, Kan.
2. (2) 2W Richard Wilson, Wichita, Kan.
3. (6) 69 Cecil Dymond, Goddard, Kan.
4. (4) 52C Alex Cammon, Wichita, Kan.
5. (3) 99T T.J. Tolan, Valley Center, Kan.
6. (5) 5* Jason McGehee, Wichita, Kan.
7. (7) 71 Patrick McManus, Derby, Kan.
DNS – G3 Brendon Gemmill, Wichita, Kan.

Feature:
1. (5) 4 Dan Powers, Wichita, Kan.
2. (1) 3J Jake Nightingale, Hutchinson, Kan.
3. (10) 4A Josh Lanterman, Derby, Kan.
4. (6) 9D8 Paden Phillips, Chanute, Kan.
5. (15) 2K Kendall Kemp, Maize, Kan.
6. (17) 99T T.J. Tolan, Valley Center, Kan.
7. (14) 429 Shelby Stucky, Hutchinson, Kan.
8. (19) 71 Patrick McManus, Derby, Kan.
9. (2) 69 Cecil Dymond, Goddard, Kan.
10. (7) 32R Daniel Richey, Wichita, Kan.
11. (13) 020 Fred Freeman, Hutchinson, Kan.
12. (16) 711 Brock Lane, Wichita, Kan.
13. (9) 25 Scott Green, Derby, Kan.
14. (4) 0 Brody Robe, Wichita, Kan.
15. (3) 61 Walt Brookshire, Wichita, Kan.
16. (8) 2W Richard Wilson, Wichita, Kan.
17. (11) 44 Braden Stoner, Wichita, Kan.
18. (12) 32B Bob Bills, Wichita, Kan.
19. (18) 5* Jason McGehee, Wichita, Kan.
20. (20) A2 Randy Wilson, Wichita, Kan.
DNS – 52C Alex Cammon, Wichita, Kan.
DNS – 21C Cody Schniepp, Wichita, Kan.
DNS – 6JR Brian Franz, Halstead, Kan.
DNS – G3 Brendon Gemmill, Wichita, Kan.