DECORAH, Iowa — A mesmerizing Memorial Day Weekend for the Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey’s concluded Sunday at Upper Iowa Speedway with a third different winner in three nights as Tyler Wolff withstood every challenge to win the 13th annual USMTS Nordic Nationals presented by PBM Performance Products.
The 36-year-old from Fayetteville, Ark., started on the outside of the front row and was able to beat Sybesma Graphics Pole Award winner Lucas Lee to the flagstand to lead the opening circuit.
Lee challenged Wolff for the lead on multiple occasions and Dereck Ramirez nearly snuck by in the late stages of the race, but through four caution flags and constant pressure from the inside and outside Wolff never wavered.
Following a restart with 12 laps to go, Ramirez changed his line and made a charge to the outside of Wolff as they exited turn two. Wolff widened his line down the back-stretch and the two cars touched with a shower of sparks spraying off the barrier.
Wolff held the line and held on for the rest of the race to score his second career USMTS win.
“I hate that for me and Dereck,” an elated Wolff said in victory lane. “I thought he was on the inside of me. I looked down and couldn’t see him and the next thing I know I was up by the wall. I hate that we got into each other but that was definitely my fault… but that was awesome.”
The first triumph for the driver of the ARMI Contractors No. 4W MB Customs USMTS Modified came in 2017 at the Springfield Raceway where he led every lap in a dominating performance, but that one wasn’t worth $10,000.
“I was just trying to hit my marks and stay after it. I knew that the track races really nice and round so it kind of gave me a benefit out front so I just trying to hang in there and make it make it all 40 laps.”
Wolff leading every lap doesn’t come close to telling the whole story as the action behind him was intense from start to finish.
Lee scratched and clawed his way to a $5,000 runner-up paycheck while 10th-starting Rodney Sanders was able to get around Ramirez for the third spot.
Now leading Ramirez by three points in the standings, Sanders will reclaim the Wrisco Points Leader spoiler when the series visits the Park Jefferson Speedway next Friday, June 4.
Jake O’Neil fought his way from 14th on the grid to complete the top five while three-time Nordic Nationals champ Zack VanderBeek was sixth, followed by Tanner Mullens, Dustin Sorensen, Johnny Scott and Brooks Strength rounding out the top 10 at the Winneshiek County Fairgrounds.
The finish:
Tyler Wolff, Lucas Lee, Rodney Sanders, Dereck Ramirez, Jake O’Neil, Zack VanderBeek, Tanner Mullens, Dustin Sorensen, Johnny Scott, Brooks Strength, Terry Phillips, Jason Hughes, J.T. Wasmund, Darron Fuqua, Lucas Schott, Jesse Glenz, Tyler Davis, Landon Atkinson, Dan Ebert, Jacob Bleess, Will Krup, Carlos Ahumada Jr., Brandon Givens, Curt Myers, Alex Williamson, Lance Mari, Brandon Davis.