Story By: JEREMY PETERS / TANNER MULLENS RACING – WICHITA, KS – Tanner Mullens concluded a busy slate of late-July racing on Saturday in Caney Valley Speedway victory lane aboard his Mel Hambelton Ford / Sandlian Iron & Metal Auto Salvage No. 02 Strength Roofing & Siding / Fuqua Trucking / Mullens Race Car Modified.
The Wichita, Kan., racer made a late pass for the lead to claim his third win of the season and the first of his career with the Heartland Modified Tour.
“I was hoping we would quit having some yellows,” Mullens said. “So he had to kind of slow down a little bit and I had something to work with to try and get by him. We were pretty good. We’re still trying some stuff. We need to be a little bit better. I can’t thank all the fans enough for coming out, it’s pretty close to home for me. I love coming down here.”
After a long week, Mullens competed at the quarter-mile track in Caney, Kansas, as part of a 25-car USRA Heartland Modified Tour (HMT) field. He won his heat race from the pole in his No. 02 car and drew the sixth starting spot in the 30-lap, $2,000-to-win A-Main. Mullens moved into the runner-up position on the sixth circuit, then took over the lead with nine laps left as he passed Trevor Hughes in heavy lapped traffic.
Mullens never looked back and went on to score the victory by 2.090 seconds over Randal Schiffelbein Jr., with Tyler Wolff, Brandon Givens and Tyler Davis completing the top five.
The triumph was Mullens’ first HMT victory and his third feature event win of 2024 overall. He has now also won an A-Main on two consecutive weekends, having picked up a Summit USMTS victory at Mason City (Iowa) Motor Speedway on July 20.
This week, Mullens’ full slate kicked off with a trip to Iowa’s Davenport Speedway to compete in the One Nation Under Modifieds (ONUM)-sanctioned Davenport Deal. On Monday, 23 Modifieds were on the property of the quarter-mile track for the first night of preliminary action, which saw Mullens claim runner-up finishes in both his heats. He rolled off sixth in the night’s $2,000-to-win feature and came home in the eighth spot.
The Davenport Deal’s remaining two nights of action, including Wednesday’s slated $20,000-to-win finale, fell to Mother Nature.
Mullens and his team next joined the USRA Heartland Modified Tour for the weekend, beginning with a $2,000-to-win program at Humboldt (Kansas) Speedway that brought 33 Modifieds to the quarter-mile oval on Friday. Mullens claimed the checkered flag in his heat and started the 30-lap main event from fourth. He advanced one position in the race and finished third behind Paden Phillps and Tyler Wolff. Gary Christian and Gunner Martin completed the top five.
The next night, Mullens won at Caney Valley Speedway, giving him podium finishes on back-to-back nights.
Tanner will return with the United States Modified Touring Series this weekend for the 15th annual Slick Mist Show-Me Shootout at Lucas Oil Speedway (Wheatland, Mo.). Both Friday and Saturday’s event will offer a $5,000 payday to the winner.