Tanner Mullens of Wichita got the better of polesitter Will Krup on the opening lap as the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt kicked off the opening night main event of the inaugural Ed Gressel Memorial at the 81 Speedway.

A caution on the fourth lap slowed the pace early on, but from there it was green flag racing with Mullens distancing himself from Krup, who gave way to Jeremy Nelson for the second spot on lap 10.

A flat tire for Nelson with four laps to go gave Mullens plenty of padding to cruise to his first USMTS win at his home track, but a flat tire on the VanderBuilt Race Car of Cayden Carter—last year’s Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year—with just two laps to go set a new tone for the final two-lap sprint to the end.

Mullens, 30, who was the top USMTS rookie in 2020, had no problems with the restart as he sailed to a margin of victory of more than two seconds over Jake Timm, who snagged the runner-up spot from Krup at the finish line after Krup also blew a tire just before he crossed beneath the checkered flags.

The win was worth $3,000 to Mullens—a three-time Hutchinson Nationals winner and 2017 NCRA champion. It was his first at 81 Speedway but the eighth of his career, tying him with Brandon Davis, Ryan Ruter, Tommy Weder Jr. and another former driver for Gressel Racing, Ricky Thornton Jr., on the all-time USMTS wins list. It was the 26th USMTS feature hosted by the 81 Speedway with Mullens becoming the 15th different winner.

After turning down $500 earlier after finishing second in the Kansasland Dash 4 Cash, it appeared Mullens made the right decision.

“The luck we’ve been having I didn’t want to put ourselves any further behind,” Mullens said in victory lane. “Obviously got to keep your right rear under you and when I got to lapped traffic I just kind of left a gap there in case somebody got beside me, but I just didn’t want to push it and get tangled up in there.

After going two-for-two last weekend in the Sooner State with a win at the Red Dirt Raceway during the American Racer USRA Modified Series event, and then a dominating triumph in the USRA Modified season opener at the Longdale Speedway on Saturday, Mullens is in a Gressel-like groove for the next two nights.

“He kind of gave me my first taste to running USMTS and I’ll forever be grateful for that,” Mullens said of Ed Gressel who passed away last May and was a fixture at the 81 Speedway. “He was a really good guy and we’re all going to miss him.”

Behind Mullens, Timm and Krup it was Tom Berry Jr. and Zack VanderBeek completing the first five to the finish line. Sixth through tenth went to Jake O’Neil, six-time 81 Speedway winner Rodney Sanders, Terry Phillips, Jim Chisholm and Jason Hughes.

Both Krup and Mullens turned down $500 to start sixth in the main event after finishing first and second in the Kansasland Dash 4 Cash, so Friday’s value climbs to $1,250 ($750 plus $500 carried over). The same rules and procedures apply on Saturday where the Kansasland Dash 4 Cash is worth $1,000, but if Friday’s money is unclaimed then Saturday’s prize increases to a $2,250 dangling carrot.

The inaugural Ed Gressel Memorial continues Friday with a top prize of $5,000 up for grabs with JLR Property Management 316 A-Mods and AutoTech Service Super Stocks making up the undercard. Saturday’s finale will see no less than $10,000 going to the winner with the Heyglassman.com Stock Cars joining the show with the Summit USMTS Modifieds.

Joe Wright—a former crew member for Gressel Racing—put up $800 for long-distance travelers with $200 each to the farthest from each direction. The winners were Dan Ebert of Lake Shore, Minn. (776 miles north), Billy Jack Brutchin of Gladewater, Texas (487 miles south), Chase Holland, Success, Miss. (862 miles east) and Kelsie Foley of Tucson, Ariz. (1,017 miles west). Foley won the overall MVT Long Tow Award and an extra $100 for gas money.

Mel Hambelton Ford Open House: Mel Hambelton Ford in Wichita, Kan., invites all race fans, drivers, crew members and their families to the 3rd Annual USMTS Open House on Friday, April 21, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Meet your favorite drivers while you enjoy food, fun, contests and more. Click here to learn more.

Live Music: A perfect blend of country and rock from the nation’s heartland since 2012, the Midwest’s most prominent Heartland Rock band, Tequila Ridge will be playing live music following the races on Friday night.

Cornhole Tournament: 81 Speedway will host a Cornhole Tournament and silent auction for door panels on Saturday. Winners will receive cornhole boards as prizes. Click here to register. Space is limited. The cost is $50 per team and the tournament starts at 10 a.m. for more information call (316) 304-1454 or email 81speedwayevents@gmail.com.

• VP Racing Fuels-Heartland is adding incentives to driver’s competing in Saturday’s main event. If the driver who starts 2nd wins, hey will get an extra $200 in honor of the Gressel Racing No. 2G driven by Brandon Givens. If the driver who starts 19th wins, he will get an extra $1,900 in honor of the No. 19R driven by Ryan Gustin. If the driver who starts 25th wins, he will get an extra $2,500 in honor of the No. 25 driven for Ed Gressel by Scott Green.

• The Ed Gressel Memorial features a special one-of-a-kind victory lane banner. The 10×20 sign will be autographed by USMTS drivers, and then after Saturday’s finale one lucky person will take the banner home. Proceeds will go to the choice of Ed’s widow, Cinde Gressel. Bidding starts Thursday.

• Adam Gressel will offer a $1,000 cash award for Saturday’s FK Rod Ends Hard Charger Award winner, which makes the award worth a total of $1,100 for the most prolific passer in the feature race. Thursday’s FK Rod Ends Hard Charger Award went to Chisholm who started 16th and finished 9th.

• Even more ‘Reaper Madness’ ensues as Chris Sutton with the RPM Speedway in Hays, Kan., has a crisp $100 bill for the 19th-place finisher in honor of the Gressel Racing No. 19R driven by Gustin, who garnered two Summit USMTS National Championships while driving for Gressel Racing.

For complete event information, check out the FAST FACTS or visit 81speedway.com.

For its Silver Anniversary season, the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt currently features 45 nights of racing at 15 of America’s premier dirt track racing venues in nine states. The winners of those events are set to earn more than $300,000 with nearly $2 million in purses and prize money earmarked for the 2023 campaign.

Watch every USMTS event online live and on-demand from anywhere on any device with RacinDirt. Download the app at Roku, Amazon Fire, iOS, Apple TV or on Google Play.

Visit usmts.com for schedules, points, photos, souvenirs, videos and more. Follow our social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Click here to get USMTS news delivered to your inbox.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt
Inaugural Ed Gressel Memorial – Night 1 of 3
81 Speedway, Park City, Kan.
Thursday, April 20, 2023

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver and hometown. Heat race lineups are determined via group qualifying. The top 12 in heat race passing points advance to the Summit Racing Equipment “A” Main with the top 8 in the Kansasland Dash 4 Cash setting the first 4 rows of the “A” Main.

SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (5) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
2. (1) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
3. (4) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
4. (2) G3 Brendon Gemmill, Wichita, Kan.
5. (3) 15WK Kale Westover, Altus, Okla.
6. (10) 38T Dylan Thornton, Orcutt, Calif.
7. (11) 15W Wyatt Gaggero, Wichita, Kan.
8. (9) 96 Logan Johnson, Haysville, Kan.
9. (7) 78 Billy Jack Brutchin, Gladewater, Texas
10. (8) 1M Cody Gearhart, Dwight, Kan.
11. (6) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (2) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
2. (4) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
3. (3) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
4. (5) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
5. (7) 712 Trevor Hughes, Salina, Okla.
6. (1) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
7. (9) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
8. (6) 8 Dillon McCowan, Urbana, Mo.
9. (11) 30 Dalton Kirk, Edgerton, Kan.
10. (10) 44T Tanner Black, Otis, Kan.
11. (8) 25C Cody Thompson, Sioux City, Iowa

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (1) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
2. (3) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
3. (5) K9 Will Krup, Mt. Carmel, Ill.
4. (2) 55 Chris Kratzer, Lyons, Kan.
5. (4) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
6. (6) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
7. (7) 7D Davis Givens, Hutchinson, Kan.
8. (8) 11N Gene Nicholas, Lowell, Ark.
9. (9) 96JR Jon Herring Jr., Woodward, Okla.
10. (10) 22N Kevin Newell, Wichita, Kan.
11. (11) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.

WIELAND HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (2) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
2. (4) 0 Jake O’Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
3. (5) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
4. (1) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo.
5. (3) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
6. (6) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
7. (7) 01 Jacob Hobscheidt, Plattsmouth, Neb.
8. (10) 25 Scott Green, Derby, Kan.
9. (9) 44K Kelsie Foley, Tucson, Ariz.
10. (8) 40 Jessy Willard, Mound City, Kan.

VP RACING HEAT RACE #5 (8 laps):
1. (3) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn.
2. (5) 11X Tom Berry Jr., Des Moines, Iowa
3. (6) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
4. (4) 127 Paden Phillips, Chanute, Kan.
5. (2) 45 Chase Holland, Success, Miss.
6. (8) 99T T.J. Tolan, Valley Center, Kan.
7. (1) 22B Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan.
8. (10) 747 Colton Eck, Goddard, Kan.
9. (9) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa
10. (7) 96X Taton Hansen, Spicer, Minn.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 6 advance):
1. (2) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
2. (1) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
3. (3) 127 Paden Phillips, Chanute, Kan.
4. (4) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
5. (7) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
6. (9) 45 Chase Holland, Success, Miss.
7. (5) 712 Trevor Hughes, Salina, Okla.
8. (8) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
9. (11) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
10. (16) 44K Kelsie Foley, Tucson, Ariz.
11. (12) 01 Jacob Hobscheidt, Plattsmouth, Neb.
12. (10) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
13. (18) 44T Tanner Black, Otis, Kan.
14. (20) 96X Taton Hansen, Spicer, Minn.
15. (14) 22B Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan.
16. (19) 1M Cody Gearhart, Dwight, Kan.
17. (15) 30 Dalton Kirk, Edgerton, Kan.
18. (17) 78 Billy Jack Brutchin, Gladewater, Texas
19. (6) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo.
20. (13) 747 Colton Eck, Goddard, Kan.
21. (21) 25C Cody Thompson, Sioux City, Iowa

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 6 advance):
1. (2) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
2. (17) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
3. (3) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
4. (5) 55 Chris Kratzer, Lyons, Kan.
5. (1) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
6. (15) 96JR Jon Herring Jr., Woodward, Okla.
7. (4) G3 Brendon Gemmill, Wichita, Kan.
8. (6) 38T Dylan Thornton, Orcutt, Calif.
9. (7) 15WK Kale Westover, Altus, Okla.
10. (9) 15W Wyatt Gaggero, Wichita, Kan.
11. (18) 22N Kevin Newell, Wichita, Kan.
12. (13) 96 Logan Johnson, Haysville, Kan.
13. (10) 8 Dillon McCowan, Urbana, Mo.
14. (14) 11N Gene Nicholas, Lowell, Ark.
15. (11) 7D Davis Givens, Hutchinson, Kan.
16. (19) 40 Jessy Willard, Mound City, Kan.
17. (12) 25 Scott Green, Derby, Kan.
18. (20) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis.
19. (8) 99T T.J. Tolan, Valley Center, Kan.
20. (16) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa

KANSASLAND DASH 4 CASH (6 laps):
1. (2) K9 Will Krup, Mt. Carmel, Ill.
2. (1) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
3. (3) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn.
4. (5) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
5. (7) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
6. (4) 11X Tom Berry Jr., Des Moines, Iowa
7. (6) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
8. (8) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.

SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT “A” MAIN (30 laps):
1. (2) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan.
2. (4) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
3. (1) K9 Will Krup, Mt. Carmel, Ill.
4. (6) 11X Tom Berry Jr., Des Moines, Iowa
5. (5) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
6. (11) 0 Jake O’Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
7. (10) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
8. (8) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
9. (16) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa
10. (15) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
11. (13) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
12. (12) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
13. (19) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
14. (18) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
15. (21) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla.
16. (27) 38T Dylan Thornton, Orcutt, Calif.
17. (25) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
18. (17) 127 Paden Phillips, Chanute, Kan.
19. (23) 45 Chase Holland, Success, Miss.
20. (22) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan.
21. (26) 65X Carlos Ahumada Jr., El Paso, Texas
22. (14) 10C Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa
23. (9) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
24. (3) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn.
25. (29) 65 Tyler Davis, Haysville, Kan.
26. (20) 55 Chris Kratzer, Lyons, Kan.
27. (28) 15WK Kale Westover, Altus, Okla.
28. (24) 96JR Jon Herring Jr., Woodward, Okla.
29. (7) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa

Lap Leader: Mullens 1-30.
Total Laps Led: Mullens 30.
Margin of Victory: 2.124 seconds.
Time of Race: 16 minutes, 15.056 seconds (2 cautions).
Provisional Starters: Ebert, Ahumada.
Emergency Provisionals: T. Davis, Westover.
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Chisholm (started 16th, finished 9th).
Entries: 53.
Next Race: Friday, April 21, 81 Speedway, Park City, Kan.
Summit USMTS National Championship Points: Hughes 630, T. Phillips 619, O’Neil 610, Wolff 608, Ebert 596, Fuqua 583, Chisholm 566, VanderBeek 565, Berry 560, Krup 556.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: Berry 560, Krup 556, Christian 471, Nelson 471, Holland 437.
Miller Welders USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: TBD.
Callies/JE Pistons USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: TBD.

Contingency Awards:
Aero Race Wheels – Thompson.
American Racer – T. Davis.
Beyea Custom Headers – Berry.
BigDeal Car Care – Mullens, Timm.
Bryke Racing – Christian.
BSB Manufacturing – Ahumada.
Champ Pans – VanderBeek.
Collins Brothers Towing – Nelson.
Deatherage Opticians – Fuqua.
Edelbrock – Duvall.
Fast Shafts – T. Phillips.
FK Rod Ends – Chisholm.
Hooker Harness – Ramirez.
Hyperco – Sanders.
Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – P. Phillips.
Joe Wright – Brutchin, Ebert, Foley, Holland.
Keyser Manufacturing – Hughes.
KSE Racing Products – Chisholm.
MD3 – Mullens.
Mel Hambelton Racing – Timm.
Mesilla Valley Transportation – Foley.
Midwest Wrap Co. – Carter.
Penske Racing Shocks – Bleess.
PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain – Willard.
QA1 – Carter.
Quarter Master – Chisholm.
RacerWebsite.com – Christian.
Salty’s BBQ & Catering – Timm.
Simpson Performance Products – Timm.
Summit Racing Equipment – Black, Gearhart, Herring, P. Phillips, Newell.
Super Clean – Mullens.
Swift Springs – Chisholm, P. Phillips, Mullens.
Sybesma Graphics – Krupp.
VP Racing – Mullens.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products – Eck.
Wilwood Disc Brakes – Sanders.