WEBSTER CITY, Iowa — Tom Berry Jr. found redemption on the second night of the 13th annual USMTS Spring Classic as he scored a $5,000 victory after coming up one lap short on Thursday at the historic Hamilton County Speedway.
With the best of the best in dirt modified racing on the grounds, the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt produced yet another thriller on a cold night at the oldest racetrack in the Hawkeye State.
The second of three nights of racing saw four-time Summit USMTS National Champion Jason Hughes take the early from the outside of the from row with Berry, the polesitter, slipping back a few spots when the green flag waved.
Berry eventually worked his way past some tough competition before wrestling the top spot away from Hughes with 12 laps in the books.
The 28-year-old originally from Medford, Ore., led the rest of the way for his second win of the 2023 campaign.
“I figured Todd (Staley) was going to cancel so we were kind of behind on tire work,” Berry said. “We had a winning car last night and it didn’t result in that, and just shows how good our team is and how consistent we are no matter what the track conditions.”
One night earlier, Berry collided with Ebert and then took the lead with seven laps remaining. Ebert returned the favor with an aggressive slide job on the final lap to steal the win.
“My dad just taught me from a young age to speak with your steering wheel and beat him on the track. It didn’t turn out our way and there’s no reason to bad mouth someone in that incident — we were just racing hard. It is what it is and we moved past it. If you hold on to it you’re not worrying about tonight.
“I wasn’t even thinking I was going to run after qualifying and we just dug down. You really just had to know where to be on the track to maneuver and I feel like I was maneuvering better and all these guys, and just maybe a little younger and a little bit more in shape,” Berry said with a smile.
The finish of Friday night’s feature looked like the next-to-last lap of Thursday’s as Ebert came across the line in second place behind Berry.
Hughes held on to finish third while Will Krup bested another four-time champ, Rodney Sanders, for fourth after a great battle between those two.
Darron Fuqua came from 13th to get sixth at the stripe, but Brandon Givens earned the FK Rod Ends Hard Charger Award after racing to a seventh-place paycheck after rolling off 19th on the 24-car grid.
The finish:
Tom Berry Jr., Dan Ebert, Jason Hughes, Will Krup, Rodney Sanders, Darron Fuqua, Brandon Givens, Zack VanderBeek, Dereck Ramirez, Alex Williamson, Jim Chisholm, Tyler Davis, Jacob Bleess, Terry Phillips, Tyler Wolff, Jake O’Neil, Kyle Brown, Cayden Carter, Lance Mari, Jacob Hobscheidt, Gary Christian, Dylan Thornton, Tanner Mullens, Jeremy Nelson
Keyword: Berry Gets Redemption In Iowa