"Viva" la Mark Smith at Route 66 Motor Speedway

Advice from Mark's Mom pays off in USMTS victory lane for the first time.

12th Annual Amarillo Ambush presented by B&J Welding and Walkcon Construction.  Night 1 of 2
Route 66 Motor Speedway, Amarillo, TX

Weather Conditions via NWS Amarillo, TX
95 Degrees
Fair Skies
20-25 MPH winds, gust to 40 MPH

Car Counts via MRP live timing and scoring
USMTS: 46
USRA Limited Mods: 24
USRA Street Stocks: 24
USRA Tuners: 16

Quick Qualifiers:
Group A: Tanner Mullens 16.379 **Overall Quick Time Winner**
Group B: Joe Chisholm 16.545 

Dice of Doom Invert: 4 

Race Race Wheels B-Mains:
B-main #1: Carlos Ahumada Jr.
B-main #2: Jake Gallardo  

Provisionals: Troy Girolamo, Nathan Smith.  22 cars DNQ for the feature.  24 car A-main feature. 
Next Race:
12th Annual Amarillo Ambush presented by B&J Welding and Walkcon Construction. Night 2 of 2
Route 66 Motor Speedway, Amarillo, TX 

**SUMMIT USMTS National Championship presented by RacinDirt Points Standings after 6-20-2025 Post Tech** 

 *Denotes Grant Junghans Rookie of the Year Contenders
** Not the official USMTS points.  I'll take results from MRP, USMTS rulebook and calculate from those for my standings.

 Top 10 Topless Recap:  

1. Mark Smith: As noted in my title and sub caption, this was Mark's first USMTS win in his "Viva Chevy" MB Customs 2ss.  It's been a up and down journey this year with USMTS.  The speed has been there, just putting it all together for heat and feature was lacking a little fine tuning.  It wasn't from the lack of effort from his crew as he always makes sure to credit them when being interviewed. Mark did what he needed to do given the track conditions, but a USMTS win is a USMTS win in my book.  He credited his Mom reminding him to be patient and good things will happen.  A good thing happened with a happy driver and crew in victory lane.  I have mentioned this in our Discord group, Mark and Nathan reminded me of a driver that's ran USMTS in the past. It took a few DNF's and learning nights, once he got that first USMTS win he picked up several more.  Along with a championship last year in a regional touring series.  Look for more positive things from the Smith Brothers going forward. Their Rio Valley Racing page can be found here to keep up to date on their progress.
2. Terry Phillips:  TP's ran enough of these races in his hall of fame career where you just have to not overdrive the car and conserve your tires.  Terry was able to sneak by Kale on the white flag lap when Kale tried to make a move for the lead.  Hard racing and track conditions made for a post lap discussion, but cooler heads prevailed. As I've said in the past, a race yesterday was just that. Can't get it back and get ready for the next.  
3. Tanner Mullens: Consistency has been key as I've written about Tanner regularly this season. Given the track and weather, Tanner ran what the track was going to provide.  Sneaking in a 3rd on the last lap with Kale and Terry's last lap racing extended his lead over Strickler for 3rd overall in my points standings.
4. Kale Westover: One thing I'll always respect about Kale is he'll not just settle for a place if there's a chance to move up a place.  Whether the results are good or bad, he'll race the same as he's being raced. He's had good results when USMTS comes to his region.  He talked about how he was trying to represent the regional and local drivers competing with USMTS.  A former King of American prelim winner, the 15w is always one to watch when checking in the back gate.
5. A.J. Sharpensteen: It's fun when a newcomer races with USMTS, let alone gets a top 10.  That means I can look into their driver career for some information.  He's been running regularly at Route 66 this year which came in handy.  Had one of the bigger hard charger heat race results of the year going from 12th place to 4th place in his heat race.  That gave him a top 8 start in the A-main finishing off with a top 5 finish.  A good showing from his team.
6. Stormy Scott:  Since our last visit with Stormy, he's announced an alliance with CDR race cars to expand those services around the Amarillo region.  As I wrote at King of America, I expected him to run regionally as he built up his mod program again for a more serious run next year.  That's proven to be correct running around his new hometown with a couple of wins and top 5's.
7. Rodney Sanders: Cooled off a little after his hot streak the last couple of races.  Starting 12th in the a-main, still was able to advance 5 places.  As he says, a little fine tuning and look for a few more places forward for night 2 in Amarillo.
8. Gary Christian: Another solid top 10 finish for the #58 CDR race car.  Despite starting 16th, took advance of the cautions to find his way through the field to earn his 8th place finish.  With the cars going topless this weekend, hopefully Gary will have his flashy helmet with the Hochatown Saloon colors represented.
9. Carlos Ahumada Jr: Carlos returned to the USMTS events this weekend.  A prior full-time driver with the series, he's enjoyed a little break while running closer to his hometown.  Picking up the b-main win, he was able to advance 4 places.  Look for more of the same for night 2 in Amarillo. Always has a sharp looking car thanks to Bear Graphix. If you have the opportunity, you should also follow along with Carlos and crew on their social media platforms.
10.  Xavier Ortega: Xavier is a regular at the Vado Speedway, but has ventured up to my local tracks here in Northern Iowa/Southern Minnesota area this season.  He's had some good runs also at Route 66 that helped navigate around the track. A good competitor in the southwest region of the country.

Honorable Mention: Troy Girolamo
You'll likely recognize his "G-Style Transport" logo proudly displayed on the #8 cars of Kyle Stricker no matter what type of car Kyle is running.  It's been a rough season for Troy, but I've noticed the past few races he's getting more comfortable in the car and advancing more in the heat races. He even picked up a career best finish during this stretch of races.  Yes, he'll still have a few of the "G-Style Energy Services Caution flags" but it's not from trying hard or wanting to improve this season.  A hard worker away from the track with several businesses under the "G-Style" flag, it's allowed Troy and Kyle to run with the USMTS this season.  Sticking it out this season has so far earned Troy 12th in my national points standings.  I think we all can hope he'll be at the award banquet for a few words on the microphone. Aside from Joe Duvall, you'll get a straight answer and something that'll be stuck in your head from Troy.  Thanks for your support of dirt track racing in all the ways you have contributed to the sport.