Three races. Two tracks. Three nights of thrilling USRA Heartland Modified Tour presented by Real Racing Wheels competition highlighted an action-packed Independence Day weekend.

The tour opened Thursday night at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri, before traveling north to I-35 Speedway in Winston, Missouri, for a Friday-Saturday doubleheader. By weekend’s end, Tanner Mullens added two more victories to his growing Heartland Modified Tour résumé, Gary Christian twice pushed him to the limit in dramatic fashion, and Dean Wille broke through for his first career HMT victory in one of the closest races of the season.

Lucas Oil Speedway welcomed a stout field of 48 competitors on Thursday night, and the feature delivered constant action from start to finish.

Bobby Williams paced the opening four circuits after starting from the pole before Christian wrestled away the lead on lap five. Multiple cautions throughout the event repeatedly erased Christian’s advantage while Mullens methodically worked his way forward from his 10th-place starting position.

The Wichita, Kansas driver finally completed his charge on lap 26, slipping past Christian for the lead. The battle, however, was far from settled.

Keeping Mullens within striking distance, Christian made one final bid entering turn one with two laps remaining. Contact between the leaders sent both cars sideways, with Christian’s machine coming to a stop to bring out the caution while Mullens narrowly kept his car rolling, avoiding a trip to the tail for the ensuing restart.

With one final opportunity in hand, Mullens executed two flawless restarts to secure his second Heartland Modified Tour victory of the season. Tyler Wolff charged from 15th to finish second, while championship leader Tyler Davis recorded the only top-five finish by a driver who both started and finished inside the top five. Terry Phillips crossed the line fourth, with Dean Wille completing the top five.

Friday night’s stop at I-35 Speedway produced a familiar storyline.

Mullens and Christian shared the front row and traded the lead twice during the opening four laps before Mullens finally secured the top spot on lap five. Christian refused to let the 02 machine escape, remaining within striking distance throughout the 25-lap contest.

As the leaders reached slower traffic just before halfway, Christian repeatedly pressured Mullens and nearly completed a pass to the inside before a timely caution erased the opportunity. Mullens again proved nearly flawless on the restart, rebuilding a slight advantage while Christian continued the pursuit.

Another caution inside the closing five laps again reset the field, but Mullens was equal to the challenge, controlling the final restart to earn back-to-back victories. Christian settled for another runner-up finish, while Keith Foss completed the podium ahead of rookie Cole Campbell and Davis.

Saturday night’s finale featured a different cast at the front, but perhaps the most competitive race of the weekend.

Dean Wille started alongside Trevor Hughes on the front row and powered into the lead at the drop of the green flag. Although the official box score shows Wille leading every lap, the race was anything but comfortable.

The feature’s lone caution didn’t wave until six laps remained, allowing Wille, Hughes, and Mullens to race within just a few car lengths of one another while navigating heavy traffic for much of the event. Hughes spent much of the race balancing two challenges—trying to pressure Wille for the lead while simultaneously fending off Mullens, who once again found himself in contention.

Following the lap 24 restart, Mullens slipped past Hughes and immediately set his sights on Wille, searching for a third consecutive weekend victory and his fourth Heartland Modified Tour triumph of the season.

Another caution with three laps remaining, after Rick Beebe came to a stop on the front stretch, created one final showdown. Mullens mounted one last charge around the outside, but Wille never flinched, holding off the hard-charging 02 to capture his first career Heartland Modified Tour victory.

Mullens finished second, Hughes claimed third, Dustin Hodges crossed the stripe fourth, and Davis continued his remarkable consistency with another fifth-place finish.

Following six completed events, Davis continues to lead the Heartland Modified Tour championship with 532 points, carrying a 49-point advantage over Hughes. Rookie Cole Campbell remains third, followed by Hodges, Chevy Coleman, Paden Phillips, Henry Chambers, Wyatt Gaggero, Bobby Williams, and Shadren Turner to round out the top ten.

Mullens has now won three of his four Heartland Modified Tour starts this season, while Wille’s breakthrough triumph became the first HMT victory of his career and moved the Warrensburg, Missouri driver to 13th in the championship standings.

The USRA Heartland Modified Tour presented by Real Racing Wheels now turns its attention to another Kansas doubleheader. Action resumes Friday, July 10, at Salt City Racing at the Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson, Kansas, where Mullens captured the 2025 tour victory. The weekend concludes Saturday, July 11, at 81 Speedway in Park City, Kansas, where previous Heartland Modified Tour winners include Rodney Sanders, Tyler Wolff, and Mullens, who owns two victories at the historic facility.

Media Results for Thursday July 2 2026 at Lucas Oil Speedway – Wheatland MO

USRA Heartland Modified Tour – 48 Entries

Pannell Chipping A Feature (30 Laps)

Tanner Mullens 2. Tyler Wolff 3. Tyler Davis 4. Terry Phillips 5. Dean Wille 6. Paden Phillips 7. Wyatt Gaggero 8. Chevy Coleman 9. Dustin Hodges 10. Tad Davis 11. Cole Campbell 12. Dakota Dale 13. Shadren Turner 14. Casey Thomas 15. Henry Chambers 16. Trevor Hughes 17. Bobby Williams 18. Mark Dotson 19. Kenton Allen 20. Jason Pursley 21. Rick Beebe 22. Chase Sigg 23. Gary Christian 24. Chad Lyle 25. Colson Kirk 26. Brent Holman 27. Jon Sheets 28. Brad Johnson 29. Robert Heydenreich

PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain Hard Charger: Tanner Mullens (+9)

Real Racing Wheels B Feature 1 (12 Laps)

Trevor Hughes 2. Shadren Turner 3. Dakota Dale 4. Colson Kirk 5. Joe Duvall 6. Cole Campbell 7. Jason Hughes 8. Jason Pursley 9. Andy Bryant 10. Chase Sigg 11. Troy Gudmonson 12. Jason Thompson 13. Steven Glenn 14. Greg Scheffler 15. Ben Stockton 16. Kenton Allen

Day Motor Sports B Feature 2 (12 Laps)

Paden Phillips 2. Jon Sheets 3. Casey Thomas 4. Chad Lyle 5. Jacob Potter 6. Mickey Burrell 7. Mark Schafman 8. Lucas Gibbs 9. Ryan Smith 10. Tyler Grooms 11. Lucas Dobbs 12. Rick Beebe 13. Tyler O’Neal 14. Skip Pope

Rick Beebe Heating & Air Conditioning Heat 1

Wyatt Gaggero 2. Brad Johnson 3. Robert Heydenreich 4. Dustin Hodges 5. Trevor Hughes 6. Colson Kirk 7. Dakota Dale 8. Chase Sigg 9. Jason Thompson 10. Jason Hughes 11. Steven Glenn 12. Kenton Allen

Smith Equipment Company Heat 2

Bobby Williams 2. Tad Davis 3. Mark Dotson 4. Tyler Wolff 5. Shadren Turner 6. Jason Pursley 7. Joe Duvall 8. Ben Stockton 9. Cole Campbell 10. Troy Gudmonson 11. Andy Bryant 12. Greg Scheffler

Kevko Racing Heat 3

Gary Christian 2. Tyler Davis 3. Tanner Mullens 4. Chevy Coleman 5. Paden Phillips 6. Casey Thomas 7. Jon Sheets 8. Chad Lyle 9. Mark Schafman 10. Rick Beebe 11. Lucas Gibbs 12. Cecil Dymond

Swift Springs Heat 4

Brent Holman 2. Henry Chambers 3. Dean Wille 4. Terry Phillips 5. Nic Bidinger 6. Jacob Potter 7. Tyler Grooms 8. Mickey Burrell 9. Ryan Smith 10. Lucas Dobbs 11. Tyler O’Neal 12. Skip Pope

Overall Quick Qualifier: Wyatt Gaggero (17.096)

Media Results for Friday July 3 2026 at I-35 Speedway – Winston MO

USRA Heartland Modified Tour – 30 Entries

Pannell Chipping A Feature (25 Laps)

Tanner Mullens 2. Gary Christian 3. Keith Foss 4. Cole Campbell 5. Tyler Davis 6. Trevor Hughes 7. Terry Phillips 8. Dustin Hodges 9. Jason Hughes 10. Chevy Coleman 11. Blake Arndt 12. Henry Chambers 13. Mark Dotson 14. Houston Johnson 15. Rick Beebe 16. Dakota Dale 17. Bobby Williams 18. Mickey Burrell 19. Jason Pursley 20. Paden Phillips 21. Troy Gudmonson 22. Tyler Grooms 23. Shadren Turner 24. Wyatt Gaggero 25. Steven Glenn

PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain Hard Charger: Dustin Hodges (+9)

Real Racing Wheels B Feature (10 Laps)

Steven Glenn 2. Troy Gudmonson 3. Houston Johnson 4. Mickey Burrell 5. Brad Johnson 6. Justin Franz 7. Tyler Grooms 8. Andrew Thomas 9. Tyler O’Neal 10. Richard Layne

Rick Beebe Heating & Air Conditioning Heat 1

Keith Foss 2. Blake Arndt 3. Cole Campbell 4. Terry Phillips 5. Dustin Hodges 6. Steven Glenn 7. Richard Layne 8. Tyler O’Neal

Smith Equipment Company Heat 2

Jason Hughes 2. Jason Pursley 3. Mark Dotson 4. Paden Phillips 5. Bobby Williams 6. Andrew Thomas 7. Houston Johnson

Kevko Racing Heat 3

Gary Christian 2. Trevor Hughes 3. Wyatt Gaggero 4. Henry Chambers 5. Rick Beebe 6. Mickey Burrell 7. Tyler Grooms 8. Justin Franz

Swift Springs Heat 4

Tanner Mullens 2. Tyler Davis 3. Shadren Turner 4. Chevy Coleman 5. Dakota Dale 6. Troy Gudmonson 7. Brad Johnson

Overall Quick Qualifier: Keith Foss (17.070)

Media Results for Saturday July 4 2026 at I-35 Speedway – Winston MO

USRA Heartland Modified Tour – 27 Entries

Pannell Chipping A Feature (30 Laps)

Dean Wille 2. Tanner Mullens 3. Trevor Hughes 4. Dustin Hodges 5. Tyler Davis 6. Gary Christian 7. Cole Campbell 8. Wyatt Gaggero 9. Shadren Turner 10. Chevy Coleman 11. Bobby Williams 12. Houston Johnson 13. Henry Chambers 14. Mickey Burrell 15. Keith Foss 16. Paden Phillips 17. Jason Pursley 18. Brad Johnson 19. Justin Franz 20. Tyler Grooms 21. Troy Gudmonson 22. Andrew Thomas 23. Tyler O’Neal 24. Rick Beebe 25. Blake Arndt 26. Dakota Dale 27. Terry Phillips

PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain Hard Charger: Brad Johnson (+9)

Rick Beebe Heating & Air Conditioning Heat 1

Trevor Hughes 2. Dustin Hodges 3. Tyler Davis 4. Paden Phillips 5. Mickey Burrell 6. Keith Foss 7. Tyler O’Neal

Smith Equipment Company Heat 2

Tanner Mullens 2. Bobby Williams 3. Blake Arndt 4. Wyatt Gaggero 5. Houston Johnson 6. Troy Gudmonson 7. Andrew Thomas

Kevko Racing Heat 3

Gary Christian 2. Chevy Coleman 3. Shadren Turner 4. Cole Campbell 5. Henry Chambers 6. Justin Franz 7. Brad Johnson

Swift Springs Heat 4

Dean Wille 2. Terry Phillips 3. Jason Pursley 4. Rick Beebe 5. Dakota Dale 6. Tyler Grooms

Overall Quick Qualifier: Keith Foss (17.061)

Current USRA Heartland Modified Tour Point Standings

1. Tyler Davis 532
2. Trevor Hughes (-49) 483
3. Cole Campbell (R) (-66) 466
4. Dustin Hodges (-72) 460
5. Chevy Coleman (-97) 435
6. Paden Phillips (-103) 429
7. Henry Chambers (-104) 428
8. Wyatt Gaggero (-109) 423
9. Bobby Williams (-117) 415
10. Shadren Turner (-120) 412

The USRA Heartland Modified Tour Presented by Real Racing Wheels enters year three in 2026, and we would like to recognize and thank our  season long partners. Please thank them, with your patronage for their support.

Gold Partners – Central Spray Foam & Cement Lifting, Day Motor Sports, Deatherage Opticians, Dirt Track Specialist, Dylan Scott Entertainment, Hochatown Saloon, Kevko Racing, Midwest Sheet Metal, Mel Hambelton Ford Racing, Pannell Chipping, RacinDirt.com, Real et Metal, Mel Hambelton Ford Racing, Pannell Chipping, RacinDirt.com, Real Racing Wheels, Rick Beebe Heating and Air Conditioning, Smith Equipment Company, Swift Springs, VP Racing Fuels Heartland, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products

Silver Partners – American Racer Tires, Buck Monson Photos, Bulletproof Tees and Racewear, Duvall Electric, Integra Shocks, JRT Trucking, Keyser Manufacturing, Midwest Automation, Photos By Boyd, Scotty Dogg’s Hideout

Bronze Partners – Bryke Racing, Fast Shafts, Freight Logistics Inc., KS Engineering, Maxima Racing Oil, Milburn Acreages by Tillison Enterprises, PEM Racing, Premier Lubricants, Schoenfeld Headers, Service Plumbing of Wichita, Transmissions Unlimited, Wagdog Spices, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Yeoman Race Engines

2026 Point Funds (ARMS, HMT, NLMS)
1. $7,500
2. $4,500
3. $3,500
4. $3,000
5. $2,500
6. $2,400
7. $2,300
8. $2,200
9. $2,100
10. $2,000
*80 Percent attendance required to remain point fund eligible

NEXT: Michael Ledford Passes Trevor Neville Late For Macon Win