FAIRMONT, Minn. (June 28) – Defending USMTS National Champion Ryan Gustin of Marshalltown, Iowa, sailed to a $4,000 payday Thursday night as he led wire to wire to capture the main event at the Fairmont Raceway.

From the time his Gressel Racing team unloaded his Hughes Chassis from the hauler, Gustin’s night went about as perfect as he could have asked for.

Coming from third to win Eibach Springs Heat Race #3, Gustin earned the most passing points which allowed him to draw first in the redraw among the top 8 qualifiers. ‘The Reaper’ drew the pole, and then went on to lead all 35 laps of the Swan Energy “A” Main.

When the race’s first and only caution waved on lap 6, Gustin’s lead was already half the length of a straight-away at the big half-mile oval.

Back under green, Gustin powered away again while Rodney Sanders blasted by Jason Hughes to take over second place. From there, the duo put distance between them and the rest of the pack but Sanders was never able to mount a serious challenge to Gustin’s lead.

Meanwhile, Terry Phillips found his way into the top 5 from the 12th starting spot and got around Hughes with 10 laps to go. Phillips then slipped by Sanders in the final turn to garner the runner-up finish at the checkered flag with Hughes close behind in fourth and Mike Sorensen following in the fifth position.

Sixth through tenth were Zack VanderBeek, Stormy Scott, Ryan Ruter, Kelly Shryock and Clayton Wagamon.

While Sanders is tied atop the USMTS Casey’s Cup Series standings, Gustin now holds a 57-point advantage over Sanders in the USMTS National Championship Series points. Hughes sits third, followed by Stormy Scott, Shryock, Johnny Scott, Chase Junghans, Jason Krohn, Dereck Ramirez and Chris Brown.

A driver’s best 20 finishes will determine the final rankings where the 2012 USMTS National Champion will earn a record $30,000.

With three races complete in the five-race summer kick-off swing, the series invades the Highway 3 Raceway in Allison, Iowa, on Friday for another $4,000-to-win battle. Also on the racing card will be the Iron Man Challenge for USRA B-Mods, plus USRA Stock Cars and USRA Hobby Stocks. Grandstand gates open at 5:00 and hot laps begin at 6:30 with racing to follow.

The Highway 3 Raceway is a 1/2-mile semi-banked clay oval located 0.3 miles north of SR 3 on S. Main St. (at the Butler County Fairgrounds). For more information, call 515-297-1691 or 319-267-9977 on race day. Check out www.highway3raceway.com online to learn more.

To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, visit www.usmts.com online or call 515-832-7944. You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
USMTS National Championship Series
Fairmont Raceway, Fairmont, Minn.
Thursday, June 28, 2012

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.

BEYEA CUSTOM HEADERS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (1) 20s Stormy Scott (R), Las Cruces, N.M.
2. (2) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
3. (3) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
4. (4) 555 Ryan Ruter, Kanawha, Iowa.
5. (6) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D.
6. (8) 7 Eric Dailey, Armstrong, Iowa.
7. (5) 25 Ron Keith (R), Shawnee, Kan.
8. (7) R21 Ryan Schaffer, Corning, Iowa.

HOOKER HARNESS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (3) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
2. (1) 90 Steve Wetzstein, West Concord, Minn.
3. (7) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
4. (6) 5 Brandon Beckendorf, Danube, Minn.
5. (8) 71 Jason Cummins, New Richland, Minn.
6. (5) 186 Jeremy Payne, Springfield, Mo.
7. (4) 27 Don Gerritsen Jr., Rock Rapids, Iowa.
8. (2) 63 Josh Meyer, Fairmont, Minn.

EIBACH SPRINGS HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (1) 21 Chris Brown, Spring, Texas.
2. (2) 19 Mike Sorensen, Rochester, Minn.
3. (6) 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla.
4. (3) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
5. (4) 22 Jeff Ignaszewski (R), Wells, Minn.
6. (7) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa.
7. (5) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.

PBM PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (2) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
2. (4) 14w Clayton Wagamon, Blaine, Minn.
3. (5) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn.
4. (1) 22b Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan.
5. (6) 18 Chase Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.
6. (7) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
7. (3) 00 Mark Gartner (R), Mapleton, Minn.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN (12 laps, top 10 advance):
1. (2) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D.
2. (1) 22b Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan.
3. (3) 18 Chase Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.
4. (7) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
5. (5) 7 Eric Dailey, Armstrong, Iowa.
6. (11) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
7. (6) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa.
8. (8) 186 Jeremy Payne, Springfield, Mo.
9. (9) 25 Ron Keith (R), Shawnee, Kan.
10. (4) 22 Jeff Ignaszewski (R), Wells, Minn.
11. (10) 27 Don Gerritsen Jr., Rock Rapids, Iowa, Razor/HarryHeads, $100.
12. (12) 00 Mark Gartner (R), Mapleton, Minn., $100.
13. (13) R21 Ryan Schaffer, Corning, Iowa, IROC/Mullins, $100.
14. (14) 63 Josh Meyer, Fairmont, Minn., Skyrocket/JRM, $100.

SWAN ENERGY “A” MAIN (35 laps):
1. (1) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, 35, $4000.
2. (12) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., GRT/Hatfield, 35, $2200.
3. (3) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, Hughes/Geddes, 35, $1600.
4. (2) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 35, $1200.
5. (10) 19 Mike Sorensen, Rochester, Minn., Hughes/Action, 35, $1000.
6. (8) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, Skyrocket/Sput’s, 35, $800.
7. (5) 20s Stormy Scott (R), Las Cruces, N.M., Hughes/ProPower, 35, $700.
8. (15) 555 Ryan Ruter, Kanawha, Iowa, Sidebiter/Sput’s, 35, $600.
9. (20) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, Skyrocket/RoushYates, 35, $650.
10. (4) 14w Clayton Wagamon, Blaine, Minn., Wheeler/Wagamon, 35, $500.
11. (14) 71 Jason Cummins, New Richland, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, 35, $475.
12. (7) 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/ProPower, 35, $450.
13. (13) 5 Brandon Beckendorf, Danube, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, 35, $425.
14. (17) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D., GRT/Sput’s, 35, $400.
15. (23) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa, BC/JRM, 34, $400.
16. (22) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., Hughes/ProPower, 34, $400.
17. (6) 21 Chris Brown, Spring, Texas, Skyrocket/RoushYates, 34, $400.
18. (19) 18 Chase Junghans, Manhattan, Kan., GRT/Sput’s, 34, $400.
19. (24) 186 Jeremy Payne, Springfield, Mo., GRT/RoushYates, 34, $400.
20. (18) 22b Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan., Hughes/Mullins, 34, $400.
21. (26) 22 Jeff Ignaszewski (R), Wells, Minn., Skyrocket/JP, 34, $300.
22. (25) 25 Ron Keith (R), Shawnee, Kan., GRT/Mullins, 34, $400.
23. (11) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn., Hughes/Sput’s, 24, mechanical, $400.
24. (21) 7 Eric Dailey, Armstrong, Iowa, Skyrocket/Grawmondbeck’s, 24, mechanical, $400.
25. (16) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/ProPower, 24, mechanical, $400.
26. (9) 90 Steve Wetzstein, West Concord, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, 6, mechanical, $400.

(R) = Rookie of the Year contender.

Integra Lap Leader: Gustin 1-35.
Total Laps Led: Gustin 35.
Margin of Victory: 3.217 seconds.
Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger: Shryock (started 20th, finished 9th).
Dominator Race Products Hard Luck: Meyer.
Next Race: Friday, June 29, Highway 3 Raceway, Allison, Iowa.
USMTS National Championship Series Points: Gustin 1178, Sanders 1121, Hughes 1080, S. Scott 1062, Shryock 1035, J. Scott 1008, Junghans 948, Krohn 914, Ramirez 905, Brown 898.
Rookie of the Year Points: S. Scott 1941, Daniel Hilsabeck 1297, Keith 980, Casey Penn 956, Thomas Tillison Jr. 627.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Geddes 247, Mullins 242, ProPower 209, Sput’s 183, Yeoman 122, RoushYates 122.
Tiger Rear Ends Manufacturers Championship Points: Hughes 301, GRT 273, Skyrocket 215, Shaw 99, Sidebiter 93.

Contingency Awards:
AERO Race Wheels – Wetzstein.
American Racer – Keith.
Beyea Custom Headers – S. Scott.
Dominator Race Products – Meyer.
Eibach Springs – Brown.
Forty9Designs.com – Hughes, Shryock.
Hooker Harness – Gustin.
Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – Gustin.
KEVKO Oil Pans & Components – Shryock.
KSE Racing Products – VanderBeek.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Ramirez.
Nitroquest – Gerritsen.
Mesilla Valley Transportation – Shryock.
PBM Performance Products – VanderBeek.
R2C Performance Products – Phillips.
Real Racing Wheels – Tesch.

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

USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Awesome Race Suits, Cheetos, Dominator Race Products, Intercomp, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, New Vision Graphics, Nitroquest, RACEceiver, SLAP Energy, Snickers.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Arbor Masters, Arnold Motor Supply, ASi Racewear, Beebe Heating & Air Conditioning, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Dirthead.com, DirtKnights.com, Erson Cams, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, Intensitee Custom Racewear, Mesilla Valley Transportation, O’Brien Enterprises, Olympic Fire Protection, Ramirez Motorsports, Road Runner Trucking, Ruter Farms, Sybesma Graphics, Yeager Machine.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AERO Race Wheels, AFCO Racing Products, Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, CPD Racing Tools, Eibach Springs, Fast Shafts, Forty9Designs.com, Genesis Shocks, Hooker Harness, Integra Racing Shocks & Springs, Keyser Manufacturing, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, PBM Performance Products, Quarter Master, Real Racing Wheels, Tiger Rear Ends.