Dillard Driven to Mason City Victory Lane

Cade and crew makes the 431 mile drive from Lucas Oil Speedway for a little Sunday Funday at Mason City Motor Speedway. 

Night 4 of Memorial Day Swing  
Jerry Hejna Memorial Presented by Rookies Rockin' Sports Bar 
Mason City Motor Speedway, Mason City, Iowa 

Weather Conditions via NWS Des Moines, Iowa at hot laps 
70 Degrees
Partly Cloudy Skies
15-20 MPH winds from the NE 

Car Counts via MRP live timing and scoring:
USMTS: 34
USRA Stock Cars: 26
USRA Hobby Stocks: 24
USRA B-mods: 27
Outlaw Mini Mods: 22 

Qualifying Quick Time: $100 winner from Hodges Farming and Dredging. 
Group A: Shadren Turner: 14.688 *Overall Quick Time*
Group B: Kyle Brown: 14.907 
Dice of Doom Invert: 4.  As I discussed yesterday, this won't be included in the recap after tonight. I'll still keep track behind the scenes.  If they roll the dice again it'll be included. 
Real Racing Wheels B-Main Winners:
B-Main #1 Alex Williamson
B-Main #2 Trevor Hughes 
Provisionals: Jason Langford, Troy Girolamo (DNS feature), Mark Smith 
DNQ: 9 cars didn't make the field.  25 car starting field. 

Next Race: June 6-7, 2025, 19th Annual Doug Murphrey Memorial, Booth Hill Speedway, Greenwood, Louisiana  

**SUMMIT USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt Points Standings after 5-26-2025 Post Tech** 

 *Denotes Grant Junghans Rookie of the Year contenders 
** Points are how I read the USMTS rulebook.  If and when I get a hold of someone, I'll check on why a couple drivers didn't get the points I thought, they could've based on USMTS points. Points may be adjusted as needed. 

Top 10 Recap: 

1. Cade Dillard: The 97 team made the overnight drive to Mason City from Wheatland, MO.  As has been the case whenever he gets into his CDR car, it's competitive out of the box.  Mason City was no different, as he was able to get back by Rodney late in the race to collect his 2nd win at the track (the first was in the 1/2-mile configuration).  Up next a little CDR stable testing session with his customers before heading to MTS.  
2. Rodney Sanders: A steady night at Mason City for Rodney.  Lead the most laps to extend his national points lead over Jim Chisholm.  Wrapped up a productive weekend as his focus turns to MTS.
3. Reese Solander: Picked up his 3rd podium of the season.  Adapting very well with the Hodges Brothers Racing Skyrocket/Balanced Speed car.  For his first time at Mason City (that I'm aware of), it didn't look that way.  His only flaw was redrawing an 8.  A good weekend as he continues to build his A-Mod notebook.
4. Kyle Strickler: Despite starting 52nd, as he joked, he was able to move up from his true 11th starting position.  I reported earlier from Deer Creek that Kyle took what was in front of him.  Mason City was more of the same.  Still learning about this "point racing" stuff but another driver with a good weekend for 3 different style tracks.
5. Terry Phillips:  A previous winner at Mason City, TP lead the field for the second most laps tonight before fading back to 5th place. A good rebound after a rare off-night at Deer Creek.
6. Gary Christian: Another driver who's won multiple times at Mason City. This was a good rebound night for the team. Picked up a heat race win and ran within the top 5 most of the night.  Will be worthy of a whiskey sour when the team returns back to the Hochatown Saloon.
7. Jake Timm: The team needed to make a run back to the shop for repairs before the trip to Mason City.  A steady night for the team with a heat win and steady feature run.  Attention turns to now to the big special at MTS.
8. Jim Chisholm: I could cut and paste what I wrote about Brandon Davis and Deer Creek last night to Jim and Mason City.  Squeaked into the top 12 for the A-main after a second-place finish in his heat race.  A positive would be seeing how well the Skyrocket by Balance Speed customers ran this weekend.
9. Tanner Mullens:  A previous winner at Mason City who was looking for another trip to victory lane.  Within a few laps he felt something was wrong with the car.  Turns out mud in the wheel was the gremlin when returning to the hauler.  Two top 10's and a 12th at Deer Creek where he normally struggles is still a good weekend on the new car outside his local tracks.
10. Alex Williamson:  Alex returns to the top 10 recap tonight after a few nights off.  Won his B-Main and was able to move up 3 places.  More importantly, the car is in one piece at the end of the night. Another driver who's looking forward to MTS, a track he's familiar with and close to his shop.

Honorable Mention:  Jerry Hejna Family
It's pretty cool when families do memorial races in honor of a family member.  The Hejna #7 is well known by those in my parts and many tracks in the Midwest.  Between Jerry, Al, and Mike, they've had numerous wins, track championships and USMTS wins.  Another noticeable thing was the trophies that were given to the winners tonight.  They want to recognize the winners for the hard work and long hours in the shop. Of course, some beverages are in victory lane as well.  Al and Mike continue to support the local tracks and racers between sponsorships and the little things behind the scenes. 

Honorable Mention 1.2: Mississippi Thunder Speedway's $100,025-to win Modified World Championship
I've mentioned MTS numerous times over the last few days.  This is why. They have a big race coming up this week that deserves a lot of attention and shares. It's similar to last year's $100,000 event won by Cade Dillard.  This year, MTS ownership is running their version with some driver-friendly adjustments and a bigger purse. A full field of modifieds from across the country and representing multiple sanctions is expected. Stock Cars also compete for a $10,000. Check out their page linked here for all the information. It's a big risk to put on a show of this magnitude. As a former racer, Bob Timm knows the investment behind a car and wants to provide the teams with a nice payday at the end of the night Saturday.  It'll be a Who's Who in attendance, with some mystery drivers still not announced for a few teams.  This is a race you should try to attend in person and support if able.  Good luck and thank you to everyone who will be putting in some long hours before, during and after to make this a premiere event for the Modifieds. 

Follow Along: 
DirtInfo | Dirt Racing Analysis & Opinions: My writings can be found here.  As they say, things are "in the works" for some other projects.  Right now, I'll recap all the USMTS events, either in person, or thanks to the fine folks at RacinDirt | USMTS, Dirt Modifieds & Live Racing Streams.  The nights I'm at the track and in the pits,  I'll have a race recap similar to my Mason City USMTS fair race article. A modified version of the Recliner Reactions those nights will still be available. 

DirtInfo - YouTube I have a voice and face for writing so you won't see me here :).  A weekly podcast my discord friends put on with a buffet of racing topics, series, schedules and other topics of interest.  I will toss them a USMTS nugget or two when asked. More importantly, they'll always leave you with "One for the Road'.