LANSING, Minn. — Lance Mari typically speaks softly but always carries a big right foot, and he laid to rest any doubters Friday night with his career-first USMTS victory at the Chateau Speedway.
The 13th annual event presented by Zumbrota Ford once again produced a magical night of racing that kept the drivers on their toes while series and track officials continued to knead the racing surface after two days of persistent rain.
While it retained some “character,” the track was in the best shape of the night by the time the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt took to the third-mile dirt oval for their 40-lap main event.
Lucas Schott and Jacob Bleess—both from nearby Chatfield, Minn.—shared the front row for the start of the race and it was Bleess gaining the advantage when the green flag dropped.
The third lap saw Tyler Wolff grab the lead but Bleess battled back to lead lap 4. They swapped the top spot two more times before Wolff took control with six laps in the books.
Two cautions in the first eight laps didn’t offer any help to Wolff’s pursuers as he drove off to a healthy advantage each time. The yellow flag waved for a third time, however, with 24 laps down and this time it was for Wolff.
The leader’s No. 4w ARMI machine slowly slid sideways at the top of the first turn and was finished off by a lapped car, forcing him out of the race and handing the reigns over to four-time USMTS champion Rodney Sanders.
Seeking his first win since May 29 last year at the Deer Creek Speedway, was up to the challenge and he pulled away from the field but Mari, who started 16th on the 27-car grid, looked high and low for a way around Sanders before sliding over the cushion atop turn two and relinquishing second to Tanner Mullens.
Mari eventually recaptured second from Mullens was Sanders was far ahead and looked to be on his way to ending his nearly year-long drought, but with four laps to go Sanders pulled to the top of the fourth turn to bring out the fourth and final caution, and ending his night less than a mile from paydirt.
Mari was the leader when the green flag returned and he was still the leader when the checkered flag waved moments later. For Mari, his first USMTS triumph was worth $10,000 and a well-deserved prize for perseverance.
The finish:
Lance Mari, Tanner Mullens, Dereck Ramirez, Jake Timm, Jason Hughes, Jake O’Neil, Dan Ebert, Ryan Wetzstein, Zack VanderBeek, Terry Phillips, Dustin Sorensen, Chase Holland, Cayden Carter, Jacob Bleess, Chris Clark, Rodney Sanders, Lucas Schott, Shane DeVolder, Kyle Brown, Garitt Wytaske, Tyler Wolff, Jeremy Nelson, Dylan Thornton, Curt Myers, Jayson Good, Darron Fuqua, Steve Wetzstein.