OGILVIE, Minn. — Alex Williamson’s first USMTS victory was a big one, netting $10,000 after leading all 40 laps of the inaugural Mod Wars main event Saturday at the Ogilvie Raceway.
Many of the top drivers in the Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey’s points battle were unable to avoid the cause of several caution flags, and that made for a shake-up in the points and some big money going to a bunch of fresh faces in a 40-lapper that lasted nearly 45 minutes.
As the Sybesma Graphics Pole Award winner, Williamson set the pace for the start of the race and jumped out to leader to first handful of laps around the high-banked three-eighths-mile dirt oval.
Just as the leader caught the rear of the pack, the race’s first yellow flag waved to slow the pace and give Williamson a clear track for the restart but before another lap could be completed a second caution emerged for a multi-car tangle in turn four involving Tyler Wolff, Jason Hughes, Dustin Sorensen, Rodney Sanders and several others.
While under caution as the field was getting aligned, points leader Jake O’Neil pulled out of formation as his mount rolled to a stop. Mechanical troubles ended his night and his string of victories at three.
Back under green flag racing, Williamson set sail and expanded his lead over Jody Bellefeuille to nearly a full straight-away by the time they reach the halfway mark of the 40-lap contest.
With 23 laps complete, Sanders pulled into the infield and called it quits which left the four-time USMTS national champ and O’Neil out of the top 20 on the final scoresheets.
Williamson led the field back to the green flag and continued to churn the thin cushion against the outside wall of the Ogilvie Raceway while Bellefeuille — the track’s Wissota Modified points leader — used the rest of the racing surface to find a way around the leader.
Meanwhile, Jake Timm and Jacob Bleess kept the pressure on Bellefeuille with Shane Sabraski close behind in the top five.
After another quick caution with 13 laps to go, Williamson continued to use up the top groove with Landon Atkinson clawing his way into fourth with 11 laps to go, but a two-car tangle with nine laps remaining erased yet another growing advantage for Williamson.
Yellow fever continued with seven laps to go when Dan Ebert got together with Dereck Ramirez, sending Ebert to the back of the field while Ramirez retained his position in eighth.
Bellefeuille showed a lot of respect to the leader on the restart, choosing to leave Williamson just enough room to scoot past on the high side rather than slamming the door with a slide job.
He never got another shot as Williamson powered his way to his first-ever USMTS victory and a $10,000 paycheck as the inaugural Mod Wars champion.
Atkinson got by Bellefeuille for the runner-up spot while Bleess and Gierke completed the top five.
The finish:
Alex Williamson, Landon Atkinson, Jody Bellefeuille, Jacob Bleess, Ryan Gierke, Darron Fuqua, Jake Timm, Dereck Ramirez, Tanner Mullens, Zack VanderBeek, Jeremy Nelson, Dustin Sorensen, Dan Ebert, J.T. Johnson, Terry Phillips, Jayson Good, Tyler Davis, Brandon Dolman, Brandon Givens, Carlos Ahumada Jr., Tyler Wolff, Brooks Strength, Shane Sabraski, Lucas Schott, Dave Cain, Matt Leer, Rodney Sanders, Jake O’Neil, Taton Hansen, Jason Hughes.