PETTY, Texas — The Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt kicked off the 25th season of racing Saturda with opening night of the 13th Annual Summit Spring Nationals at Rocket Raceway Park.
Despite a wet week in North Texas, an event record 87 entries packed the pit area with many of them having one eye on Saturday’s $10,000 winner’s share of the purse and the other on the $100,000 awaiting the 2023 USMTS National champion in November.
Five of the drivers in the first six rows to start the 40-lap main event were seeking their first USMTS victory, but when the checkered flag waved it was just four as Tom Berry Jr. scored his first win in the kickoff to his quest for the Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year title.
After battling his way in the redraw among the top eight qualifiers, Berry garnered the Sybesma Graphics Pole Award and led the field to the drop of the green flag. Zack VanderBeek challenged on the opening lap but a quick caution reset the field.
Berry took off on the restart and led the next 29 laps while surviving five yellow flags and navigating a racing surface wrought with “character,” but with 10 laps to go his first threat came in the form of Terry Phillips, who slipped underneath Berry to lead lap 30.
Berry came right back and continued to remain faithful to the top side of the racetrack on both ends while Phillips searched high and low for any advantage he could find. Phillips snuck by at the flagstand again to be scored the leader on lap 38, but Berry would not be shaken.
Berry regained the lead and sent a shower of sparks down the frontstretch wall as he nipped Phillips at the checked flag by about two-tenths of a second. Berry’s first USMTS triumph paid $10,000 to the 27-year-old originally from Medford, Oregon, and now residing in Des Moines, Iowa.
“Me and Phillips are good buddies,” Berry said in victory lane. “We’ve probably burned 1,000 laps together with the crate stuff so I appreciate Terry for not giving it to me but he didn’t dirty me up for the win.”
A third generation racer, Berry comes from a deeply rooted family legacy which includes his grandfather, Bill Berry, who was a professional drag boat racer, holding the world record in 1967 and 1968, and his father, Tom Berry Sr.—a professional AMA flat track racer from 1970-1980.
“I can’t thank everyone enough for sticking it out. It’s a little chilly out here with the wind and what not and I’m just grateful to be up here. My dad died about six years ago on Tuesday so he is definitely looking over me on this one.”
Phillips, whose family legacy is also well-known and is even called out with his new Bloodline Race Cars business, settled for second but made quick work of the cobwebs that may be lurking beneath his new design.
Another rookie contender, Gary Christian bested fellow Oklahoma racer Jason Hughes to finish third while Darron Fuqua passed 20 competitors to round out the top five at the stripe.
The Finish:
Feature (40 Laps): 1. (2) 11X Tom Berry Jr., Des Moines, Iowa, 2. (8) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., 3. (4) 58X Gary Christian, Broken Bow, Okla., 4. (6) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., 5. (25) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan., 6. (21) 0 Jake O’Neil, Tucson, Ariz., 7. (22) 10B Brandon Givens, Wichita, Kan., 8. (20) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn., 9. (5) 02 Tanner Mullens, Wichita, Kan., 10. (13) K9 Will Krup, Mt. Carmel, Ill., 11. (16) 49 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn., 12. (14) 4 Jeremy Nelson, Alexandria, Minn., 13. (17) 24C Jim Chisholm, Osage, Iowa, 14. (1) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, 15. (12) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn., 16. (26) 10 Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa, 17. (10) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark., 18. (11) 4RJ Jared Russell, Wagoner, Okla., 19. (3) 16 Chris Henigan, Marshall, Texas, 20. (18) 01 Jacob Hobscheidt, Plattsmouth, Neb., 21. (7) 7X Chris Dawson, Lubbock, Texas, 22. (9) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls, Wis., 23. (15) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La., 24. (19) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., 25. (23) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, 26. (24) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., 27. (27) 21K Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa
Keyword: Berry Blasts To First USMTS Win At Rocket