NEW RICHMOND, Wis. —A week void of good luck and sprinkled with some bad luck forced Dereck Ramirez to do what fans have become accustomed to — figuring it all out for the finale and heading home with the biggest check.
It happened again Saturday night as Ramirez was the class of the field for the final night of the 23rd annual Masters at the Cedar Lake Speedway. It was the 22nd win of his USMTS career but first at this race track.
The defending champion of the Summit USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt, Ramirez drew the No. 4 chip to put his No. 4r machine in the fourth starting spot for the 30-car, 45-lap main event.
But it was Jake O’Neil earning the pole for the third night in a row, and in position to back up his winning effort on Friday night.
O’Neil jumped out to an early lead but it was obvious this would not be a runaway as Clayton Wagamon tore up the cushion by taking the longest way around the high-banked three-eighths-mile oval.
For Wagamon, it was the fastest way though and he blasted ahead of O’Neil to take the lead with five laps in the books. His lead lasted 13 laps before Ramirez used the middle of the racetrack to maneuver his way into the top spot.
Ramirez never trailed again as he was able to navigate heavy lapped traffic in the closing laps to keep a charging O’Neil behind him at the checkers.
The win was worth $10,000 to the 35-year-old from Woodward, Okla., and his third of the season.
Between Ramirez, O’Neil (6 wins) and points leader Dustin Sorensen (4 wins) three trio have claimed 13 of the 18 feature races in 2022. Those same three won all three Masters main event this weekend.
Behind O’Neil, Jake Timm finished third while never leaving the top five and Friday’s runner-up Tanner Mullens held off Sorensen for the fourth spot.
The finish:
Dereck Ramirez, Jake O’Neil, Jake Timm, Tanner Mullens, Dustin Sorensen, Rodney Sanders, Clayton Wagamon, Zack VanderBeek, Dan Ebert, Terry Phillips, Cayden Carter, Darrell Nelson, Carlos Ahumada Jr., Tyler Wolff, Daniel Bargender, Jacob Bleess, Shane DeVolder, Brandon Givens, Jeremy Nelson, Tyler Davis, Dylan Thornton, Kyle Brown, Brandon Dolman, Cory Crapser, Ryan Gierke, Darron Fuqua, Dave Cain, Lance Mari, Shane Sabraski, Jason Hughes.
Keyword: Ramirez Masters Cedar Lake Foes