BAYTOWN, Texas — The USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour powered by Swan Energy kicked off the 2011 season Thursday with the first of three nights at the Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas.

A field of 72 cars and drivers checked in to do battle in the Inaugural Texas Spring Nationals at the 3/8-mile clay oval located just east of Houston.

Twenty-year-old Ryan Gustin was the winningest driver during the 2010 season but it was Jason Hughes who took home the title of USMTS National Champion. The duo was at it again in Thursday’s lidlifter with Gustin getting the best of his 36-year-old counterpart.

Gustin, who picked up a win one week ago during Speedweeks in Florida, drew the pole position for the start of the 35-lap “A” Main while Hughes drew the eighth spot out of the eight drivers in the redraw.

A quick yellow flag came out before the first lap could be completed, but the field went caution-free the rest of the distance with Gustin leading the charge.

Heavy lapped traffic with less than 10 laps to go hindered the progress of ‘The Reaper’ and allowed Hughes to close in on his rear bumper.

With five laps to go, Hughes darted to the low side of the racing surface and nosed ahead of Gustin at the flagstand.

Undeterred, Gustin fought back three laps later to regain the lead for good and beat the defending USMTS National Champion to the finish line by two car-lengths.

Gustin’s 25th career USMTS triumph was worth $2,000 to the Marshalltown, Iowa, phenom and positioned him as the points leader in the Southeast Region.

Hughes, from Watts, Okla., earned the runner-up paycheck while Chris Brown of Spring held off fellow Texan John O Whittington of Vidor for the third spot.

Fertile, Iowa’s Kelly Shryock was running third in his heat race when a spin put him to the rear of the field and eventually into a Real Racing Wheels “B” Main, which he won.

In the main event, the nine-time USMTS National Champion clawed his way from 16th on the starting grid to finish fifth and earned the Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger Award.

Dereck Ramirez, Jason Krohn, Randy Timms, Rodney Sanders and Bumper Jones rounded out the top-10 finishers.

In Limited Modified action, Sean Jones of Mansfield came from the 12th starting spot to take the win and $500 top prize. Shane Hebert of Lafayette, La., finished second, followed by Corey Babbitt of Channelview, Howard Willis of Dayton and Randy Timms of Wheatland, Okla.

The Inaugural Texas Spring Nationals continues this weekend with $2,000 to win Friday and the winner of Saturday’s main event pocketing $3,000.

USRA Western Flyer HotMods (Limited Mods) will also be running for $700 to win Friday and $1,000 to win Saturday.

On Friday, the pit gate opens at 3 p.m., grandstands open at 5 and racing begins at 6:30. On Saturday, pit gates open at 3 p.m., grandstands open at 4 and the first heat race hits the track at 5:30.

The Royal Purple Raceway is located just east of Houston on I-10 to exit 799, then 2.5 miles south on SH 99 (Grand Parkway), then 0.3 mile west on FM 565.

For more information, call the track office at 281-383-7223 or visit www.royalpurpleraceway.com 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
USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour powered by Swan Energy
Inaugural Texas Spring Nationals
Royal Purple Raceway, Baytown, Texas
Thursday, February 17, 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 14 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. (5) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn.
2. (1) 8 Willy Kraft, San Antonio, Texas.
3. (9) 5t Randy Timms, Wheatland, Okla.
4. (12) 5w John O Whittington, Vidor, Texas.
5. (6) 30 Chase Allen, Midlothian, Texas.
6. (7) 34 Ben Stephens, Hattiesburg, Miss.
7. (8) 717 George Egbert IV, Salado, Texas.
8. (11) 156 Steve Pugh, Anderson, Texas.
9. (10) 4b Danny Booth (R), Paris, Texas.
10. (2) 68 Danny Barringer, Lufkin, Texas.
11. (4) 211 Richie Ginn (R), Baton Rouge, La.
12. (3) 21 Johnny Fennewald, Appleton City, Mo.

NEW VISION GRAPHICS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (8) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
2. (1) 88xxx Clyde Dunn Jr., Sunnyville, Texas.
3. (3) 85d Mark Dotson, Cameron, Mo.
4. (2) L1 Larry Clevenger, Greenwood, La.
5. (5) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
6. (4) 12t Tyler Townsend, Longview, Texas.
7. (11) 2 Jerry Standifer, Howe, Okla.
8. (9) 10 Austin Arneson, Fargo, N.D.
9. (7) 10 Aaron Jordan (R), Benton, La.
10. (10) 88xx Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas.
11. (6) E26 Dallas Everett (R), Beebe, Ark.
12. (12) 64 Jay Sale, Edmond, Okla.

EIBACH SPRINGS HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (3) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
2. (7) 12c Corey Babbitt, Channelview, Texas.
3. (6) 2 Kenny Gaddis, Hallsville, Texas.
4. (8) 18s Cody Smith, Kaufman, Texas.
5. (10) 65 Tommy Myer, Blooming Prairie, Minn.
6. (9) 69 Lucas Schott (R), Chatfield, Minn.
7. (5) 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla.
8. (12) 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa.
9. (4) A1 Phil Dixon, Crosby, Texas.
10. (11) 148 Russell Moore (R), Conroe, Texas.
11. (2) 76 Jeff Rowland (R), Pauls Valley, Okla.
12. (1) 955 Robert Metz Jr., Lumberton, Texas.

PBM PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (1) 111 Bumper Jones, Mesilla Park, N.M.
2. (6) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
3. (2) 78 Trevor Egbert, Salado, Texas.
4. (3) 66x Mike Dillard, Allen, Texas.
5. (4) 89 Steven Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas.
6. (5) 9 Jimmy Ray, Las Cruces, N.M.
7. (10) 71 Philip Houston (R), Odessa, Texas.
8. (9) 02 Tommy Weder Jr., Woodward, Okla.
9. (8) 37w Scott Ward, Watertown, S.D.
10. (7) 00 Darrel Dawson, Midlothian, Texas.
11. (11) 25 Ron Keith, Shawnee, Kan.
12. (12) 22y Randy Keith, Shawnee, Kan.

HEAT RACE #5 (8 laps):
1. (3) 1 T.J. Herndon (R), Atwood, Tenn.
2. (5) 71 Robert Baker (R), Benton, Ark.
3. (11) 29d Brad Dierks (R), Clarence, Iowa.
4. (10) 9 Shane Hebert, Lafayette, La.
5. (1) 76 Jesse Manning (R), Brazoria, Texas.
6. (4) 69b Tim Boudreaux, Cleveland, Texas.
7. (12) 9n Brent Nicholas, Baytown, Texas.
8. (6) 99 Landon Anderson (R), Richmond, Texas.
9. (9) 19 Doug Begnaud (R), Cypress, Texas.
10. (7) 7x Rory Jordan, Victoria, Texas.
11. (2) 707 P.J. Egbert, Copperas Cove, Texas.
12. (8) 95 Keith Foss (R), Winona, Minn.

HEAT RACE #6 (8 laps):
1. (5) 3c Chris Brown, Spring, Texas.
2. (7) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
3. (2) 23 Howard Willis, Dayton, Texas.
4. (8) 22b Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan.
5. (4) 51 Tracy Denby Jr., Vidor, Texas.
6. (6) 87 John Webb, Pauls Valley, Okla.
7. (11) 41 Joe Bob Veach, Crosby, Texas.
8. (1) 360 Jason Boyd (R), Tomball, Texas.
9. (9) 56 David Horner, Houston, Texas.
10. (10) 15g Bubba Gates, Santa Fe, Texas.
11. (3) 74 Topper Dugas (R), Denham Springs, La.
12. (12) 21 Troy Seidl, Magnolia, Texas.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (1) 2 Kenny Gaddis, Hallsville, Texas.
2. (2) 18s Cody Smith, Kaufman, Texas.
3. (5) 69 Lucas Schott (R), Chatfield, Minn.
4. (8) 71 Philip Houston (R), Odessa, Texas.
5. (11) 10 Austin Arneson, Fargo, N.D., $60.
6. (3) 78 Trevor Egbert, Salado, Texas, $80.
7. (15) 88xx Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas, $80.
8. (4) L1 Larry Clevenger, Greenwood, La., $80.
9. (10) 717 George Egbert IV, Salado, Texas, $80.
10. (13) A1 Phil Dixon, Crosby, Texas, $80.
11. (6) 76 Jesse Manning (R), Brazoria, Texas, $80.
12. (14) 56 David Horner, Houston, Texas, $80.
13. (7) 2 Jerry Standifer, Howe, Okla., $80.
14. (16) 15g Bubba Gates, Santa Fe, Texas, $60.
15. (18) 74 Topper Dugas (R), Denham Springs, La., $80.
16. (9) 69b Tim Boudreaux, Cleveland, Texas, $60.
17. (20) 21 Troy Seidl, Magnolia, Texas, $80.
18. (17) 76 Jeff Rowland (R), Pauls Valley, Okla., $80.
19. (12) 360 Jason Boyd (R), Tomball, Texas, $80.
20. (19) 955 Robert Metz Jr., Lumberton, Texas, $80.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (5) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
2. (2) 22b Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan.
3. (11) 02 Tommy Weder Jr., Woodward, Okla.
4. (3) 23 Howard Willis, Dayton, Texas.
5. (8) 12t Tyler Townsend, Longview, Texas, $80.
6. (13) 37w Scott Ward, Watertown, S.D., $80.
7. (9) 87 John Webb, Pauls Valley, Okla., $80.
8. (12) 4b Danny Booth (R), Paris, Texas, $80.
9. (4) 66x Mike Dillard, Allen, Texas, $80.
10. (10) 156 Steve Pugh, Anderson, Texas, $80.
11. (15) 00 Darrel Dawson, Midlothian, Texas, $80.
12. (17) 25 Ron Keith, Shawnee, Kan., $60.
13. (7) 41 Joe Bob Veach, Crosby, Texas, $60.
14. (14) 148 Russell Moore (R), Conroe, Texas, $80.
15. (16) 211 Richie Ginn (R), Baton Rouge, La., $80.
16. (19) 22y Randy Keith, Shawnee, Kan., $60.
17. (6) 51 Tracy Denby Jr., Vidor, Texas, $80.
18. (1) 8 Willy Kraft, San Antonio, Texas, $60.
19. (18) 21 Johnny Fennewald, Appleton City, Mo., $80.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #3 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (4) 30 Chase Allen, Midlothian, Texas.
2. (2) 85d Mark Dotson, Cameron, Mo.
3. (3) 65 Tommy Myer, Blooming Prairie, Minn.
4. (17) 707 P.J. Egbert, Copperas Cove, Texas.
5. (9) 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa, $80.
6. (8) 9 Jimmy Ray, Las Cruces, N.M., $80.
7. (1) 88xxx Clyde Dunn Jr., Sunnyville, Texas, $80.
8. (7) 34 Ben Stephens, Hattiesburg, Miss., $80.
9. (12) 10 Aaron Jordan (R), Benton, La., $80.
10. (6) 9n Brent Nicholas, Baytown, Texas, $80.
11. (15) 7x Rory Jordan, Victoria, Texas, $80.
12. (10) 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla., $80.
13. (13) 19 Doug Begnaud (R), Cypress, Texas, $80.
14. (16) E26 Dallas Everett (R), Beebe, Ark., $80.
15. (5) 89 Steven Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas, $80.
16. (14) 68 Danny Barringer, Lufkin, Texas, $80.
17. (11) 99 Landon Anderson (R), Richmond, Texas, $80.
18. (18) 64 Jay Sale, Edmond, Okla., $80.
19. (19) 95 Keith Foss (R), Winona, Minn., $80.

“A” MAIN (35 laps):
1. (1) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, 35, $2000.
2. (8) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 35, $1500.
3. (7) 3c Chris Brown, Spring, Texas, Skyrocket/ProPower, 35, $1000.
4. (12) 5w John O Whittington, Vidor, Texas, Pierce/CB, 35, $800.
5. (16) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, Skyrocket/, 35, $800.
6. (2) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Ramirez/ProPower, 35, $600.
7. (3) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn., Hughes/Sputs, 35, $550.
8. (10) 5t Randy Timms, Wheatland, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 35, $500.
9. (9) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, Hughes/Geddes, 35, $450.
10. (13) 111 Bumper Jones, Mesilla Park, N.M., GRT/Sputs, 35, $425.
11. (6) 1 T.J. Herndon (R), Atwood, Tenn., GRT/KMF, 35, $400.
12. (19) 22b Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan., Hughes/Mullins, 35, $375.
13. (22) 02 Tommy Weder Jr., Woodward, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 35, $350.
14. (14) 9 Shane Hebert, Lafayette, La., Hughes/ASI, 35, $325.
15. (20) 85d Mark Dotson, Cameron, Mo., GRT/KSE, 35, $300.
16. (5) 29d Brad Dierks (R), Clarence, Iowa, Shaw/Sperry, 35, $300.
17. (26) 707 P.J. Egbert, Copperas Cove, Texas, Hughes/Lingo, 35, $300.
18. (17) 30 Chase Allen, Midlothian, Texas, Chase Allen/Allard, 35, $300.
19. (21) 69 Lucas Schott (R), Chatfield, Minn., Hughes/Action, 35, $300.
20. (25) 23 Howard Willis, Dayton, Texas, Evolution/CB, 35, $300.
21. (4) 12c Corey Babbitt, Channelview, Texas, TRE/, 34, $300.
22. (24) 71 Philip Houston (R), Odessa, Texas, SRP/JR, 34, $300.
23. (15) 2 Kenny Gaddis, Hallsville, Texas, Hughes/, 34, $300.
24. (11) 71 Robert Baker (R), Benton, AR, Shaw/Marks, 34, $300.
25. (23) 65 Tommy Myer, Blooming Prairie, Minn., GRT/Sputs, 12, mechanical, $300.
26. (18) 18s Cody Smith, Kaufman, Texas, Hughes/Chase, 7, mechanical, $300.

(R) = Rookie of the Year contender.

Lap Leaders: Gustin 1-29, Hughes 30-32, Gustin 33-35.
Total Laps Led: Gustin 32, Hughes 3.
Margin of Victory: 0.540 second.
Pole Winner: Hughes.
Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger: Shryock (started 16th, finished 5th).
Next Race: Friday, Feb. 18, Royal Purple Raceway, Baytown, Texas.
Southeast Region Points: Gustin 103, Hughes 96, Brown 91, Whittington 87, Shryock 84, Ramirez 81, Krohn 78, Timms 76, Sanders 74, Jones 72.
Rookie of the Year Points: Herndon 70, Dierks 60, Schott 55, Houston 52, Baker 50.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 10, ProPower 9, CB 8, Sputs 7, Geddes 6.
Chassis Builders Championship Points: Hughes 10, Skyrocket 9, Pierce 8, Ramirez 7, GRT 6.

Contingency Awards:
American Racer – not awarded.
Eibach Springs – Ramirez.
Forty9Designs.com – Whittington, Sanders.
Hooker Harness – Weder.
ISKY Racing Cams – Krohn.
KSE Racing Products – Hughes.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Smith.
New Vision Graphics – Hughes.
Nitroquest – Metz, Fennewald, Foss.
Out-Pace Racing Products – Herndon.
Mesilla Valley Transportation – Shryock.
PBM Performance Products – Jones.
Real Racing Wheels – Arneson, Townsend, Dripps.
Ruter Farms – not awarded.

LIMITED MODIFIEDS

HEAT RACE # 1:
1. (1) 5T Randy Timms, Wheatland, Okla
2. (7) 9 Shane Hebert, Lafayette, La.
3. (2) 12m Howard Willis, Dayton, Texas.
4. (5) 24 Corey Babbitt, Channelview, Texas.
5. (3) 26g J.J. Jennings, Corpus Christi, Texas.
6. (4) 1b Grant Brown, Silsbee, Texas.
7. (6) 3J Kevin Dupont, Carencro, La.
8. (8) 11 Tommy Jones, Houston, Texas.

HEA RACE #2:
1. (4) 94 Sean Jones, Mansfield, Texas.
2. (5) 33 Bobby Fehring, Mountain View, Texas.
3. (1) 44 Marcus Berndt, Katy, Texas.
4. (6) 99 Donald Hebert, Scott, La.
5. (3) 211 Chad Fitzgerald, Baytown, Texas.
6. (7) 17 Frankie Rash, Houston, Texas.
7. (2) 46 Randy Bridges, Marvel, Texas.
8. (8) 13md Brandon Buhler, Livingston, La.

HEAT RACE #3:
1. (2) 90 Dustin Butcher, Corpus Christi, Texas.
2. (6) 11jr Johnny Brown, Lumberton, Texas.
3. (3) 48P John Paul Talkington, Denham Springs, La.
4. (4) 188 Derek Rashall, Dayton, Texas.
5. (7) 25 Brian Brooks, Inez, Texas.
6. (5) X Jerry Dugas, Denham Springs, La.

“A” MAIN:
1. (12) 94 Sean Jones, Mansfield, Texas, $500.
2. (8) 9 Shane Hebert, Lafayette, La., $300.
3. (11) 24 Corey Babbitt, Channelview, Texas, $200.
4. (10) 12m Howard Willis, Dayton, Texas, $150.
5. (1) 5t Randy Timms, Wheatland, Okla., $120.
6. (13) 26g J.J. Jennings, Corpus Christi, Texas, $100.
7. (18) 3j Kevin Dupont, Carencro, La., $90.
8. (7) 33 Bobby Fehring, Mountain View, Texas, $80.
9. (17) X Jerry Dugas, Denham Springs, La., $75.
10. (3) 11jr Johnny Brown, Lumberton, Texas, $70.
11. (19) 46 Randy Bridges, Marvel, Texas, $65.
12. (14) 25 Brian Brooks, Inez, Texas, $60.
13. (5) 188 Derek Rashall, Dayton, Texas, $55.
14. (2) 48p John Paul Talkington, Denham Springs, La., $50.
16. (16) 17 Frankie Rash, Houston, Texas, $50.
17. (15) 1b Grant Brown, Silsbee, Texas, $50.
18. (9) 90 Dustin Butcher, Corpus Christi, Texas, $50.
19. (20) 89 Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas, $50.
20. (6) 99 Donald Hebert, Scott, La., $50.
21. (4) 44 Marcus Berndt, Katy, Texas, $50.
DNS – 211 Chad Fitzgerald, Baytown, Texas, $0.
DNS – 11 Tommy Jones, Houston, Texas, $0.
DNS – 13md Brandon Buhler, Livingston, La., $0.

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USMTS TITLE SPONSORS: Casey’s General Stores, Swan Energy.

USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Awesome Race Suits, GoPro, Intercomp, Karl Chevrolet, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, New Vision Graphics, Nitroquest, RACEceiver.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Arnold Motor Supply, ASi Racewear, Bad Boy Mowers, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Day Motor Sports, Dirt Track Racing School, Dirthead.com, DirtKnights.com, 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, Yeager Machine.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Belleville Motorsports, COMP Cams, Dynatech Racing Exhaust, Eibach Springs, Fast Shafts, Forty9Designs.com, Genesis Shocks, GRT Race Cars, Hooker Harness, Hypercoil Springs, ISKY Racing Cams, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, Out-Pace Racing Products, PBM Performance Products, Quarter Master, Real Racing Wheels, RHS – Racing Head Service, Schoenfeld Headers, US Brake, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, Willy’s Carburetor & Dyno Shop.