DayMotorSports.com Race Recap: Chisholm, Day, Whitehead win at Hunt County
GREENVILLE, Texas (Feb. 24, 2024) — Rising Modified star Jim Chisholm, local favorite Jimmy Day and Stock versatile racer/car builder Justin Whitehead all earned wins in their respective divisions, as officials hosted Night 2 of the USMTS Texas Winter Nationals Saturday at Hunt County Raceway.
Chisholm powered to victory in the headlining 50-lap A Main for United States Modified Touring Series (USMTS) teams; Day prevailed in a talent-filled affair for USRA Limited Modifieds; while Whitehead was triumphant in a hotly-contested tilt for Factory Stocks.
Neil Kemp (USRA Stock Cars) and Nick Lent (Eco Mods) were also feature winners on another perfect night for racing in North Texas.
Chisholm, of Osage, Iowa, started sixth on a 25-car grid, drove to the inside of Jason Hughes coming off Turn 2 to take command at lap 25 and pulled away to earn top honors. Hughes, who won Friday night’s season opener, settled for second, while Tanner Mullens filled out the podium.
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Dereck Ramirez (Woodward, OK) and Lucas Schott (Chatfield, MN) completed the top five.
“I have to thank Dan Wheeler, first of all,” Chisholm told veteran announcer Trenton Berry in Victory Lane. “We came here this weekend to a nee track to us, not really knowing what gear we needed. We actually didn’t even have the gears we needed.
“Dan loaned us the parts, and there was a night and day difference between Friday and tonight. I wish we could have had the same thing for Joe yesterday; that’s where a lot of our problems were coming from. We made a lot of adjustments on this car so far, this is the earliest I’ve ever won in a new one.”
Finishing sixth through 10th in the 50-lap USMTS A Main were Jake Timm, Gary Christian, Tyler Davis, Texas ace Rodney Sanders and Joe Duvall. Five cautions slowed the pace (laps 11, 12, 24, 24, 27), the last of which brought out the Red Flag for a hard wreck involving Jon Mitchell and Tim Culp.
Chisholm checked out during the final green-flag run, with a margin of victory of almost three seconds. Jason Ingalls, Mitchell, Christian, Ramirez, Mullens and Hughes won their respective qualifying Heats earlier in the evening, while Carlos Ahumada Jr. and Sanders won the B Features.
Day, of Greenville, started fourth on a 21-car grid, inherited the lead at lap 12 when Dalton Ragsdale suffered trouble during a the final caution period. Day held off a hard-charging Bobby Williams for top honors, while Justin Whitehead drove up from 11th to fill out the podium.
Dan Wheeler (Savage, MN) and Chase Hatton (De Berry, TX) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
“Man, I’m tired after that one,” Day said in Victory Lane. “It was a good track; and a fast track. I think there’s two lines, because I saw Whitehead show his nose on the inside. I thought, well, we’re either going to make it stick up top, or it was going to fall off the edge. I just ran it as hard as it would go.”
Finishing sixth through 10th in the USRA Limited Modified feature were Nick Lent, Matthew Riskey, Colby Williams, his brother Conner Williams, and Hunter O’Keefe. Three cautions slowed the pace, one before an official lap was scored. Day’s margin of victory was a sizable 1.466 seconds.
Whitehead, of Texarkana, led all 20 laps of a caution-free Factory Stock tilt in convincing fashion. Chase Hatton crossed the stripe in second, while North Texas icon Chris Davis filled out the podium. Kyle Blanton (Blossom, Texas) and John Parker Jr. (Dry Prong, Louisiana) completed the top five.
Finishing sixth through 10th in the Factory Stock feature were C.J. Howell, Richard George Jr., Johnny Torres, Junior McCall and Brandon Brown. With no cautions to slow his pace, Whitehead’s margin of victory over Hatton was a gigantic 3.138 seconds.
Night 2 of the ninth annual USMTS Texas Winter Nationals drew an impressive 113 entries spread across five divisions. Led by the mighty ground-pounding USMTS Mods with 50, there was ample talent in Josh Landers’ pit area on Saturday evening. With a re-worked track, the Mods put on a show.
Officials cranked out 14 qualifying Heats and three B Features in short order, then executed five exciting features capped by a thriller from the USMTS regulars. Teams from the nation’s leading Modified tour will now head to Kevin Sustaire’s Rocket Raceway Park to race this coming weekend.
You can replay every lap of Saturday night’s USMTS Texas Winter Nationals at Hunt County Raceway with a subscription at RaceON.com. Newly re-branded with a commitment to promote local racing, RaceON (formerly RaceON) has over 400 Live events on tap in 2024 from several states.
When you sign up for your membership today, choose your favorite (or hometown) track and start enjoying great content while supporting your local track even when you can’t attend in person.
RaceON.com Staff Writer
