12/7/2024
Ahumada Jr. takes 5th in Gateway Dirt Nationals finale
On the first full weekend in December, Carlos Ahumada Jr. closed out his 2024 campaign with the Castrol Gateway Dirt Nationals in St. Louis. He claimed a pair of strong top-five finishes in the Modified portion of the event on the 1/5-mile oval inside The Dome at America’s Center.
A 63-car field necessitated two preliminary nights, and Ahumada first took to the track on Thursday. He drove his Hacienda Motorsports No. 65x Modified to second in his heat race and rolled off sixth in the 20-lap, $3,000-to-win feature. He climbed four spots in the race and finished as runner-up, taking the checkered flag 0.836 seconds behind winner Ricky Thornton Jr. Third place went to Michael Long, with Drake Troutman and Mike Harrison rounding out the top five.
Ahumada’s strong Thursday finish also locked him into Saturday's $10,000-to-win main event.
He drew the second starting position for the 30-lap finale and came home fifth behind Trevor Neville, Trent Young, Harrison and Tyler Peterson.
During the 2024 season, Ahumada scored one feature win, nine top-five finishes and 19 top-10 results.
A complete rundown from the Castrol Gateway Dirt Nationals is here.
Article Credit: Josh James Artwork image
Article Media
