The moonlit skies over Volusia Speedway Park brought the energy of Halloween to the track as surprises packed the four Feature races around the 1/2-mile track.
The Top Gun Sprint Cars, DIRTcar UMP Modifieds, 3/4 Modifieds, and Crown Vics took on the challenge that brought high-stakes points, and the crowning of a champion in the UMP Modifieds.
Top Gun Sprint Cars
Tyler Clem continued to prove his mastery in a 360 Sprint Car around Volusia aboard his No.6S Smith Racing machine.
The 2021 Series champion started the night from the outside of the front row alongside Indian Trail, NC driver Jacob McLain to the drop of the green flag, but used his outside spot to quickly gain momentum and speed by McLain for the lead on the opening lap.
While Clem commanded the field, current Top Gun Sprints points leader Nick Snyder challenged fellow title contender Luke Hill for second place until Hill’s motor let go on his No.41 Sprint Car on Lap 13.
On the restart, Snyder, of Marco Island, FL inherited the second-place spot and gave Clem any challenge he could provide. He was no match, as the St. Petersburg, FL native crossed the finish line with a two-second margin for his sixth career Top Gun Sprints win at Volusia.
“Thankfully, we were able to hold on for the last few laps,” Clem said. “All those restarts worked to my favor a bit, then I didn’t want them towards the end. That’s how it goes. I’m just thankful to be back in Victory Lane. I love coming here, I love this place. It’s treated me well so I’m glad to be back.”
Snyder finished second to keep his lead healthy heading into the season finale on Nov. 2. Jacksonville Beach, FL driver Matt Kurtz rounded out Saturday night’s podium. Northport, FL driver Stephen Darvalics finished fourth, and Zephyrhills, FL native PJ Reutimann earned a top five in his first career race at Volusia.
Feature (25 Laps): 1. 6S-Tyler Clem[2]; 2. 116-Nick Snyder[3]; 3. 92-Matt Kurtz[8]; 4. 20C-Stephen Darvalics[6]; 5. 00-PJ Reutimann[7]; 6. 67-Jacob McLain[1]; 7. 16-Tyler Porter[9]; 8. 51-Dustin Burtron[15]; 9. 28-Kenneth Ives Jr[16]; 10. 75-Robert Tyler[5]; 11. 10TRB-Bob Martin[12]; 12. 10X-Joel Charles[11]; 13. 65-JR Steele[14]; 14. 41-Luke Hill[4]; 15. 14-Danny Jones[13]; 16. (DNF) 11K-Joshua Kunstbeck[10]; 17. (DNS) 3A-AJ Maddox; 18. (DNS) 48X-Dylan Hull
DIRTcar UMP Modifieds
While Zac Oedewaldt celebrated his first career Volusia Speedway Park win, Seth Geary was feeling the emotions of winning a DIRTcar UMP Modified championship.
The 20 laps of racing began with his father, Zane, and Deland, FL driver Robert Gast racing for the early lead. Then, on the third lap, Gast spun and brought out the caution for Oedewaldt to inherit the top spot.
On the restart, Hunter Gustafson led the field with momentum, but Oedewaldt made an incredible charge by going from sixth to the lead on Lap 4.
On Lap 5, DIRTcar UMP Modified points leader Seth Geary and Paul Shead, of Deland, FL, collided in Turn 4. While Shead could continue his race, Geary was done for the night. However, the Gibsonton, FL driver clinched his first career Volusia Speedway Park championship by taking the green flag in the Feature.
Back at the front of the field, Oedewaldt continued to show the way, but a hard-charging Eric Moon made the climb from 7th to third and had to use a lot of his time to battle Gustafson. With the two drivers focused on overtaking each other, Oedewaldt expanded his lead to over four seconds.
While a late caution evaporated Oedewaldt’s lead, no gremlins affected the No.Z1, as he drove to a one-second gap to capture his first career Volusia checkered flag.
“That was great to be able to get out front on that restart because it was key,” Oedewaldt said. “The (fresh dirt) was definitely up top, and there was a heck of a lip that you had to hit just right to make it work. It was a matter of hitting your marks lap after lap.
“We were here in April and we blew a motor up running second. You know, I feel like we left one on the table there, and to come back here is just bittersweet to be able to get the job done tonight.”
Moon, of Zephyrhills, FL, finished second in both the Feature and championship standings to wrap up the points season. Gustafson, of Howey In The Hills, FL, got the last step on the night’s podium. Shead made the tough climb from 20th to finish fourth on the night and earned the Hard Charger Bonus. Fruitland Park, FL driver Garret Stewart rounded the top five.
Feature (20 Laps): 1. Z1-Zac Oedewaldt[10]; 2. 07-Eric Moon[7]; 3. 15-Hunter Gustafson[3]; 4. 80-Paul Shead[20]; 5. 34S-Garret Stewart[11]; 6. 21X-Ivedent Lloyd[28]; 7. 60-Jim Manka[5]; 8. 11Z-Zane Oedewaldt[2]; 9. 78-Raymond Rogers[15]; 10. 70H-Jim Britt[4]; 11. 3D-Makayla Tyrrell[14]; 12. 23-Kevin Dugger[19]; 13. 17S-Steve Shead[18]; 14. 34P-Jim Passino[12]; 15. (DNF) 12G-Robert Gast[1]; 16. (DNF) 3S-Josh Sanford[24]; 17. (DNF) 99-Wade Olmsted[21]; 18. (DNF) 1P-Mike Phillips[26]; 19. (DNF) 51-Dalton Lanich[8]; 20. (DNF) 33-Kenny Mihalik[13]; 21. (DNF) 7G-Seth Geary[6]; 22. (DNF) 39-Carter Fair[23]; 23. (DNF) 11P-Charlie Phillips[16]; 24. (DNF) 222-Cory Hupp[17]; 25. (DNF) 16-Tony Campbell[27]; 26. (DNS) 18A-Jared Allison; 27. (DNS) 00B-Buzzie Reutimann; 28. (DNS) 34-Rob Giffen
3/4 Modifieds
While he’s out of contention for a second consecutive 3/4 Modifieds title, Jesse Powers still knows how to get to Volusia Victory Lane.
While the Port Orange, FL driver began the Feature from the pole position, Powers was disadvantaged on the bottom line – giving way for Orlando, FL driver Chase Cooke to take the lead.
Cooke held his own against the veteran of Powers by mixing lines from the top to the bottom to stall the momentum of the No.32.
Powers muscled out to the lead on Lap 8 after Cooke overstepped the car while battling for the gold medal position.
While DeLeon Springs, FL driver Dustin Peterson, and Lake Helen, FL driver Timmy Hogan gained significant ground in the remaining circuits, Powers drove to score his third win of the 2024 season.
“It kind of worried me after the Heat race because I didn’t get the traction I needed,” Powers said. “The track changed a lot from Heat to Feature, the car came to life, and I knew I had to hang on. Chase gave me a good run. That was a fun battle with the kid, and I could hear Dustin out of my left ear and I was getting worried the last couple of laps. The car went from tight to loose all of a sudden so I was fighting all I could from there.”
Peterson and Hogan joined Powers on the podium by finishing second and third respectively. Deland, FL driver Chris Olmstead finished fourth, and Pierson, FL driver Will Inabnett cemented the top five.
Feature (15 Laps): 1. 32-Jesse Powers[1]; 2. 51-Dustin Peterson[4]; 3. 859-Timmy Hogan[13]; 4. 7-Chris Olmstead[12]; 5. 57H-William Inabnett[6]; 6. 9-Logan Malone[10]; 7. (DNF) 5-Chase Cooke[2]; 8. (DNF) 27-Steven Powers[8]; 9. (DNF) 16-Brian Schrunk[5]; 10. (DNF) 48-Josh Panetti[9]; 11. (DNF) 59-Robert Bowen[7]; 12. (DNF) 57-Ethyn Hwan[3]; 13. (DNF) 29-Nathyn Hwan[11]
Crown Vics
Bloomingdale, GA driver William Gross and Deland, FL driver Tuck Trentham brought the field to the green flag, with Trentham immediately taking charge of the 15 Lap showdown.
While the VSP icon maintained a steady lead over the field, fellow Deland, FL driver Dalton Strehle methodically made ground on the field after starting the Feature in last place.
Finding that he could make the top’s lip work for his No.24 Crown Vic, Strehle continued to make significant hay on Trentham as the laps continued to tick down.
A daring move with three laps to go saw Strehle rip by Trentham on the high side, then cut low to chop the No.33’s opportunity to respond to the pass.
With a clear track in his sights after the comeback, Strehle picked up the Feature win to conclude the Fall night of racing.
“This is the funnest and cheapest class to get into,” Strehle said. “I’ve run it all from Street Stocks, Thunder Stocks, and this is by far the best class to get into. I was biding my time in the Heat race, wasn’t patient enough, and tore the front end up. It was fun to drive and get the win.”
Trentham finished second, and Palm City, FL driver David Bruner finished third. Indiantown, FL driver Stephen Bruner wound up fourth, and Volusia, FL driver Lightning Lowery bookended the Feature’s top five results.
Feature (15 Laps): 1. 24-Dalton Strehle[11]; 2. 33-Tuck Trentham[2]; 3. 54-David Bruner[3]; 4. 316-Stephen Bruner[5]; 5. 00-Lightning Lowrey[4]; 6. 144-William Gross[1]; 7. 14-Billy Marlin[7]; 8. 47-Joey Falcone[9]; 9. 08E-William Edge[10]; 10. (DNF) 45-Fred Lowrey[8]; 11. (DNF) 12-Robert Gast[6]
Up Next: Volusia Speedway Park is back in action for the Points Season Finale on Saturday, Nov. 16. The night will feature 604 Late Models, 602 Late Models, 3/4 Modifieds, and Thunder Stocks to decide their four champions.
The next time the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds will compete at VSP is the 11th Annual Emil & Dale Reutimann Memorial from Nov. 21-23. For Reutimann Memorial tickets, CLICK HERE.
If you can’t make it to the track, watch every lap live on DIRTVision – available either online or through the DIRTVision App.