WEBSTER CITY, Iowa — Kelly Shryock took the lead, lost the lead and then defending his lead en route to winning the main event Saturday night as the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship powered by Swan Energy invaded the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City, Iowa.
Shryock took the lead from his outside front row starting spot, but polesitter Dereck Ramirez battled past the nine-time USMTS National Champion after a restart on lap 2 to regain the point with three laps complete.
Two laps later, Shryock pulled even with Ramirez before negotiating the sweeping turn at the half-mile speedplant and powering around Ramirez to move back in front on the sixth circuit.
Caution flags on laps 12 and 21 kept the field bunched up but Shryock was flawless on each restart while Ramirez, defending USMTS National Champion Jason Hughes and hometown favorite Mark Elliott continued to apply pressure.
Elliott disposed of Ramirez for second on lap 21 and began to narrow the gap between himself and Shryock. But misfortune struck on lap 24 when the yellow flag made its fourth appearance of the race when Elliott slowed on the track with a flat tire.
Back under green, the fastest car on the track was Rodney Sanders. The 21-year-old from Happy, Texas, won the Real Racing Wheels “B” Main earlier to get a spot in the WIX Filters “A” Main where he maneuvered his way from 17th into the runner-up spot with six laps to go.
But it seemed that following Shryock was a bad omen as Sanders saw his chances at victory slip away when he tagged the outside wall in turn 3 with just four laps remaining.
Shryock was perfect again on the race’s final restart as he held Hughes and Ramirez at bay for the remaining two-mile stretch to pick up a $2,110 paycheck and his tenth win of the season.
Tommy Myer came from the 11th starting spot to finish fourth, but it was Ryan Gustin who garnered the Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger Award by finishing fifth after rolling off 18th on the grid.
Sixth through tenth were Zack VanderBeek, Mark Dotson, Jon Tesch, Kevin Pittman and Jason Krohn.
The final event of the current five-race swing happens Sunday night at the Nobles County Speedway in Worthington, Minn. Gates open at 4 p.m., hot laps are scheduled for 5:30 and the first heat race takes to the track at 6 p.m.
The night’s racing action will also feature the hard-as-nails Iron Man Challenge for USRA Karl Chevrolet Stock Cars and USRA Karl Performance Parts B-Mods.
Race fans can pick up $2-off coupons for Sunday’s event at both Casey’s General Stores locations in Worthington. Check out www.caseys.com for more information or to find the location nearest you.
The Nobles County Speedway is a 1/4-mile semi-banked clay oval located off of I-90 at Exit 43, then 0.4 mile south on SR 59, then 0.4 mile west on Oxford St., then 0.2 mile north on McMullan (Pioneer Village). For more information, call the track hotline at (507) 360-3825 or check out www.noblescountyspeedway.net online.
To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, visit www.usmts.com online or call 515-832-7944. You can also follow the USMTS on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube.
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OFFICIAL RESULTS
The Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship powered by Swan Energy
7th Annual Event
Hamilton County Speedway, Webster City, Iowa
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine builder, laps completed, reason out (if any) and money won. The top 16 drivers in passing points accumulated in the heat races are locked into the “A” Main, with the top 8 re-drawing for starting positions 1-8.
ISKY RACING CAMS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (2) 85d Mark Dotson, Cameron, Mo.
2. (1) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
3. (3) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn.
4. (5) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D.
5. (7) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
6. (6) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
7. (4) 72 Doug Hillson, Blooming Prairie, Minn.
NEW VISION GRAPHICS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (2) 12e Mark Elliott, Webster City, Iowa.
2. (3) 8 Colt Mather, Webster, Iowa.
3. (1) 65 Tommy Myer, Blooming Prairie, Minn.
4. (4) R4 Ron Ver Beek, Oskaloosa, Iowa.
5. (7) 22b Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan.
6. (6) 56 Chris Spieker, Massena, Iowa.
7. (5) 26f Dan Fetters, Montour, Iowa.
EIBACH SPRINGS HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (3) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
2. (1) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
3. (6) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
4. (4) 11 Ryan Peckham (R), Corning, Iowa.
5. (5) 69 Lucas Schott (R), Chatfield, Minn.
6. (2) 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla.
7. (7) 15m Shane Demey (R), Denison, Iowa.
PBM PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (1) 22 Dustin Boney, Platte City, Mo.
2. (3) 95 Keith Foss (R), Winona, Minn.
3. (2) 26p Kevin Pittman, Waterloo, Iowa.
4. (6) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
5. (4) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa.
6. (7) 18 Chase Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.
7. (5) 25t Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa.
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN (10 laps, top 8 advance):
1. (6) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
2. (1) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
3. (4) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa.
4. (2) 22b Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan.
5. (9) 72 Doug Hillson, Blooming Prairie, Minn.
6. (7) 56 Chris Spieker, Massena, Iowa.
7. (10) 26f Dan Fetters, Montour, Iowa.
8. (12) 25t Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa.
9. (3) 69 Lucas Schott (R), Chatfield, Minn., Hughes/GMPP, $90.
10. (5) 18 Chase Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.
11. (8) 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/ProPower, $90.
12. (11) 15m Shane Demey (R), Denison, Iowa, BMS/Demey, $90.
WIX FILTERS “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (2) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, Skyrocket/ProPower, 30, $2110.
2. (9) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 30, $1600.
3. (1) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/ProPower, 30, $1000.
4. (11) 65 Tommy Myer, Blooming Prairie, Minn., GRT/GMPP, 30, $900.
5. (18) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, 30, $910.
6. (3) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, Skyrocket/Sput’s, 30, $910.
7. (7) 85d Mark Dotson, Cameron, Mo., GRT/KSE, 30, $650.
8. (14) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D., GRT/Sput’s, 30, $700.
9. (12) 26p Kevin Pittman, Waterloo, Iowa, Victory/AEM, 30, $550.
10. (10) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn., Hughes/Sput’s, 30, $500.
11. (13) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., Hughes/ASI, 30, $550.
12. (5) 12e Mark Elliott, Webster City, Iowa, 30, $425.
13. (22) 56 Chris Spieker, Massena, Iowa, IROC/PerfMach, 30, $500.
14. (19) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa, BC/JR, 30, $475.
15. (8) 8 Colt Mather, Webster, Iowa, Skyrocket/Sput’s, 30, $350.
16. (21) 72 Doug Hillson, Blooming Prairie, Minn., Hillson/CRE, 30, $300.
17. (20) 22b Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan., Hughes/Mullins, 30, $400.
18. (25) 18 Chase Junghans, Manhattan, Kan., GRT/Sput’s, 30, $300.
19. (24) 25t Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa, Harris/Mullins, 30, $300.
20. (4) 22 Dustin Boney, Platte City, Mo., Hughes/Sput’s, 30, $500.
21. (17) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, Hughes/Geddes, 26, suspension, $510.
22. (6) 95 Keith Foss (R), Winona, Minn., Skyrocket/Brink, 24, mechanical, $500.
23. (16) 11 Ryan Peckham (R), Corning, Iowa, IROC/PerfAuto, 16, flat tire, $300.
24. (15) R4 Ron Ver Beek, Oskaloosa, Iowa, Skyrocket/Midstate, 12, mechanical, $250.
25. (23) 26f Dan Fetters, Montour, Iowa, Sidebiter/KSE, 7, mechanical, $300.
(R) = Rookie of the Year contender.
Integra Lap Leaders: Shryock 1-2, Ramirez 3-5, Shryock 6-30.
Total Laps Led: Shryock 27, Ramirez 3.
Margin of Victory: 0.747 second.
AFCO Pole Winner: VanderBeek.
Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger: Gustin (started 18th, finished 5th).
Provisional Starter: Junghans.
Next Race: Sunday, Aug. 21, Nobles County Speedway, Worthington, Minn.
National Championship Points: Gustin 758, Shryock 671, Hughes 630, Tesch 617, Krohn 567, Scott 566, VanderBeek 556, Boney 512, Myer 508, Foss 502.
Rookie of the Year Points: Jason Grimes 1672, Foss 1571, Schott 1493, Clyde Dunn Jr. 976, Jimmy Ray 971.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 498, ProPower 402, Sput’s 367, Geddes 224, ASI 212.
Tiger Rear Ends Manufacturers Championship Points: Hughes 522, Skyrocket 459, GRT 360, BC 207, Sidebiter 133.
Contingency Awards:
American Racer – Rowland.
CPD Racing Tools – not awarded.
Eibach Springs – VanderBeek.
Forty9Designs.com – Myer, Pittman.
Hooker Harness – Spieker.
Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – Shryock.
ISKY Racing Cams – Dotson.
The Joie of Seating – Dotson, Scott.
KSE Racing Products – Mather.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Fetters.
New Vision Graphics – Mather.
Nitroquest – Demey.
Mesilla Valley Transportation – Gustin.
PBM Performance Products – Boney.
Real Racing Wheels – Schott, Rowland.
Ruter Farms – not awarded.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products – VanderBeek.
WIX Filters – Shryock.
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USMTS TITLE SPONSORS: Casey’s General Stores, Swan Energy.
USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Awesome Race Suits, Cheetos, Intercomp, Karl Chevrolet, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, New Vision Graphics, Nitroquest, RACEceiver, SLAP Energy, Snickers.
USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Arnold Motor Supply, ASi Racewear, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, DAY Motor Sports, Dirthead.com, DirtKnights.com, Dirt Track Racing School, DrySlik Dirt Trak Racewear, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, Intensitee Custom Racewear, Karl Performance Parts, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Olympic Fire Protection, Ramirez Race Cars, Ruter Farms, Schwab’s Tinker Shop, Sybesma Graphics, Yeager Machine.
USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, COMP Cams, CPD Racing Tools, Eibach Springs, Erson Cams, Fast Shafts, Forty9Designs.com, Genesis Shocks, Hooker Harness, Hypercoil Springs, ISKY Racing Cams, The Joie of Seating, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, Out-Pace Racing Products, PBM Performance Products, Quarter Master, Real Racing Wheels, RHS – Racing Head Service, Tiger Rear Ends, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, WIX Filters.