SPRING VALLEY, Minn. — Cayden Carter saw a season of hard work pay off with his first USMTS victory on Friday night during the second night of the 24th annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree at the Deer Creek Speedway.
Amid a tight points race for the Summit USMTS National Championship and a field filled with the best dirt modified racers on the planet, the 27-year-old from Oskaloosa, Iowa, fought off Steve Wetzstein early in the race. He then had to survive challenges from Dustin Sorensen and Jake O’Neil in the closing laps.
Set for 40 laps, the 27 starters raced 35 circuits clean and green when the first of two cautions slowed the pace. The yellow flag again waved two laps later to guarantee a tight finish at the high-banked 3/8-mile clay oval nestled in the rolling hills of Spring Valley, Minn.
While Sorensen had closed in on Carter while they battled lapped traffic, the clear track in front of him gave Carter a shot in the arm and he was able to cruise to the checkered flag, holding off a final-lap charge by O’Neil who set Sorensen back to third.
The win was worth $5,000 to Carter. He just needs to sign-in each of the last four USMTS events to guarantee himself the 2022 Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Award.
Rodney Sanders bested Terry Phillips for fourth following a fantastic late-race battle between two of the winningest USMTS drivers in the history of the Deer Creek Speedway.
Jim Chisholm, who also won his first USMTS feature earlier this season, passed eight cars to finish sixth while Darron Fuqua came from 18th to finish seventh and earn the FK Rod Ends Hard Charger Award.
Shane DeVolder, Jacob Bleess and Dan Ebert completed the top ten.
Not only was it Carter’s first triumph of the year, but it was also the first for VanderBuilt Race Cars which had four cars in the top 12 Friday night. Seven drivers have added their names to the list of USMTS main event winners during the last 24 seasons.
Keyword: Carter Becomes A First-Time USMTS Winner