The list of six-figure winners in dirt Late Model racing is one of the most exclusive clubs in the sport, and the newest member is Ryan Gustin.
With 13 wins under his belt with the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision prior to Saturday night, Gustin knew how to get the job done against the big dogs. But crown-jewel victories are what turn stars into legends. And Gustin’s performance in the $100,000-to-win USA Nationals at Cedar Lake Speedway was nothing short of legendary.
After starting on the outside of the front row and riding second early on, Gustin started to reel leader Garrett Alberson back in once he caught the back of the field. With 12 laps in the books, Alberson hit some bumps on the bottom of Turns 1 and 2, allowing Gustin to split the gap between him and the slower car of Tristan Chamberlain to grab the lead.
From the moment he took over the top spot, the Marshalltown, IA native made himself the man to beat. The list of drivers breathing down his neck was a who’s who of Late Model superstars – Brandon Sheppard, Jonathan Davenport, Hudson O’Neal and Brandon Overton to name a few. But Gustin never flinched. He ripped the cushion to perfection lap after lap, refusing to let a mistake open the door for someone else to get by.
Sheppard emerged as Gustin’s biggest threat late in the race, as he cut the gap from nearly two seconds with 20 to go down to less than half a second with 12 remaining. But before he could try a move, Devin Moran slowed on the frontstretch to set up a seven-lap sprint to the checkered flag.
Gustin needed the restart of his life, and he got exactly that. “The Reaper” ran away to a half-second lead after one lap, and kept growing it from there on the way to the first crown-jewel win of his career.
“The decision on what to do, seven laps to go, $100,000, you don’t know what to do,” Gustin said. “I just tried to use up the whole racetrack, float the middle and luckily it all worked out.”
Gustin’s Saturday showing was the culmination of a complete turnaround in performance at Cedar Lake. His first four USA Nationals appearances netted no finishes better than 13th. But something changed in 2024, as Gustin won his first World of Outlaws race at the track in preliminary action and scored a trio of top 10s on the weekend.
His newfound confidence at Cedar Lake was on full display in the closing laps, when Gustin was forced to decide whether to give up his tried-and-true top groove on the final run with the biggest payday in track history on the line.
“I knew that middle would be there,” Gustin said. “But I didn’t want to pull down there and get passed on the outside either. At the end there, I figured, ‘to hell with it, I’m going to run through the middle and protect the slider. If we get beat on the top, we get beat on the top.’ But it all worked out. Can’t thank these fans enough for coming out, this is an awesome race. To win this deal, my first crown jewel ever, I’m speechless, really.”
Coming home second was Marlar, tying his career best in the event from 2017. The 2018 World of Outlaws champion earned his keep driving from 16th to second prior to the final caution, but didn’t have enough for one more spot at the end.
“Fun race, the lap traffic was great and the racetrack was unbelievable,” Marlar said. “They got it the perfect amount of wet this time. It lasted the whole race, but the first part of it was manageable, we could race pretty good. It was an awesome race.”
O’Neal was the other big mover on the podium with a 15th-to-third drive. That continued his string of success in his limited Cedar Lake experience, as all three of his USA Nationals Feature starts have resulted in top-six finishes.
“We made a lot of progress coming into today,” O’Neal said. “Felt like we were good last night in the Heat Race, but still needed just a little bit more to maneuver up through there. Made the right changes today and was able to drive from 15th to the podium here, which we’re happy with. Lacked a little bit for the frontrunners, but we’ve got a good car anyway.”
Nick Hoffman earned FOX Factory Hard Charger honors by going from 25th to fourth, while third-starting Chris Madden crossed the line fifth.
RACE NOTES:
Garrett Alberson set the Dirt King Simulators Fastest Hot Lap.
Devin Moran and Ricky Thornton Jr. won the Landa Pressure Washers Last Chance Showdowns.
Brian Shirley won the Last Chance Qualifier.
Garrett Alberson won the Bilstein Pole Award.
Nick Hoffman won the FOX Factory Hard Charger Award.
Jake Timm was the MD3 Rookie of the Race.
Mike Marlar won the WELD Racing Second-Place Finisher Award.
Nick Hoffman was the ARP Fourth-Place Finisher.
Chris Madden was the MSD Fifth-Place Finisher.
Brandon Sheppard was the Swift Springs Sixth-Place Finisher.
Ricky Thornton Jr. was the VP Racing Fuels Eighth-Place Finisher.
Brandon Overton was the Lifeline USA Ninth-Place Finisher.
Cody Overton was the COMP Cams 10th-Place Finisher.
Tim McCreadie was the Cometic Gaskets 12th-Place Finisher.
UP NEXT: The 2025 World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision season rolls on with a four-race week at Highland Speedway (Wednesday, Aug. 13), Spoon River Speedway (Thursday, Aug. 14) and Maquoketa Speedway (Friday-Saturday, Aug. 15-16). For tickets and more event information, click here.
If you can’t make it to the track, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.
Feature (100 Laps): 1. 19R-Ryan Gustin[2]; 2. 157-Mike Marlar[16]; 3. 71-Hudson O’Neal[15]; 4. 9-Nick Hoffman[25]; 5. 44-Chris Madden[3]; 6. 1-Brandon Sheppard[8]; 7. 49D-Jonathan Davenport[4]; 8. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[20]; 9. 76-Brandon Overton[14]; 10. 2-Cody Overton[18]; 11. 32-Bobby Pierce[17]; 12. 9M-Tim McCreadie[10]; 13. 99-Devin Moran[19]; 14. 25F-Jason Feger[13]; 15. 49-Jake Timm[6]; 16. 58-Garrett Alberson[1]; 17. 19-Dustin Sorensen[9]; 18. B1-Brent Larson[11]; 19. 97-Cade Dillard[28]; 20. 16-Tyler Bruening[5]; 21. 11-Gordy Gundaker[22]; 22. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[12]; 23. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[30]; 24. 74X-Ethan Dotson[29]; 25. 40B-Kyle Bronson[21]; 26. 22*-Drake Troutman[26]; 27. 3S-Brian Shirley[23]; 28. 96-Tanner English[7]; 29. 11G-Trevor Gundaker[24]; 30. 1*-Chub Frank[27]