HUMBOLDT, Kan. — Dan Ebert was in the lion’s den Saturday night at the Humboldt Speedway for the finale of RacinDirt USMTS King of America XII, but he emerged a newly-crowned king at the end of a 60-lap battle.
After Terry Phillips won in impressive fashion on Thursday, most of the betting was heavy on his side again Saturday after his crew drew the pole for a second straight night.
It appeared that Phillips was on his way to another historic win as he pulled away from the pack and led the first 30 laps unchallenged. Only Ebert was able to stay with him and he eventually ran him down.
Ebert, from Lake Shore, Minnesota, made the winning pass with 33 laps down and 27 to go. His car just continued to get smaller in the windshield of every chaser.
With the threat of rain looming, Ebert made quick work of lapped traffic and never faltered. In his Collins Brothers Towing No. 60, Ebert took the checkered flag on lap 60 with a 4.984-second advantage.
“Unbelievable really. Special thanks to (Race Director) Todd, he said ‘We gotta hurry here the rain’s coming. Look at it, it’s going here,” Ebert said as the rain began to fall. “Early in the go I was just searching—trying some high, trying some low—and decided to go back to the bottom and see where we’ve been running. I just kept working him and working him but I had to be real careful not to slide my tires.”
It was no surprise to find Ebert near the front of the pack. With three top-ten efforts and a pair of top-five finishes so far this year, Ebert improved his score card with a $12,000 triumph on Saturday in becoming King Daniel XII — the 11th different winner of this event. It was his third USMTS triumph.
For Phillips, it was his second runner-up effort in four races, but it was enough for another healthy payday and enough to lay claim to the top spot in the national points standings.
Last year’s Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year, Cayden Carter, finished third and fans got to witness an amazing run by Rodney Sanders as the four-time USMTS National Champion started dead last in 30th and crossed the finish in fourth.
Zack VanderBeek was as solid as ever with a fifth-place finish.
The finish:
Dan Ebert, Terry Phillips, Cayden Carter, Rodney Sanders, Zack VanderBeek, Jim Chisholm, Jake O’Neil, Jason Hughes, Jeremy Nelson, Tyler Wolff, Dylan Thornton, Johnny Scott, Jake Timm, Ryan Gustin, Will Krup, Carlos Ahumada Jr., Jacob Bleess, Brandon Givens, Gary Christian, Chase Holland, Darron Fuqua, Dereck Ramirez, Kyle Brown, Kale Westover, Alex Williamson, Tanner Mullens, Al Hejna, Ryan Gierke, Ethan Dotson, Ricky Thornton Jr.
Keyword: Dan Ebert Is $12,000 King Of America