DENISON, Iowa-Cade Dillard’s last-minute decision to make the 14-hour haul from Robeline, La., paid off to the tune of $3,000 Thursday with a thrilling United States Modified Touring Series victory at the Crawford County Speedway in Denison, Iowa.
“I wasn’t going to be able to come up here, but thanks to (USMTS President) Todd Staley hounding me about coming up here and running, and the support I get from Chris Brown and LG21 Race Cars, we decide to do it,” Dillard said in victory lane. “All of my crew guys were gone this week, so my dad took off work to come with me. It’s just me and him all weekend.”
The 24-year-old got a break early on when local favorite and former track champion Jesse Sobbing suffered a flat tire while leading, and then had to fend off furious challenges from Stormy Scott and Rodney Sanders in the late stages of the race to claim his second career USMTS trophy.
With Dillard to his right, Sobbing started on the pole and took charge of the race on the start.
As the first dozen laps ticked off, Sobbing amassed a three-second lead over the pack while Dillard, Casey Arneson, Stormy Scott, Rodney Sanders and others were in embroiled in furious battles for the next positions.
Sobbing’s hopes for a second USMTS win during his rookie season were dashed on lap 13 when a flat tire on his Home Pride machine forced him to stop at the top of turn 4.
After the caution, Arneson assumed control of the race but Dillard powered by on the outside the next time around to lead lap 15.
While Dillard continued to chew away at the cushion on the high side of the track, Scott made his way into the runner-up spot and slowly reeled in Dillard using the other half of the racing surface.
Scott pulled alongside of Dillard as the pair exited the fourth turn and led by a bumper as they completed the 28th lap, but Dillard grinded through the next corner to pull back in front and then drove to the low side in turn 3 to fill the preferred line of his pursuers.
At this point the yellow flag appeared for the final time, but Dillard now knew what he had to do.
Sanders grabbed the second spot from Scott on the restart, but Dillard’s strong start gave him a cushion that Sanders could not overcome and Dillard inched away over the final six laps to claim the winner’s paycheck.
“I saw Stormy underneath of me there and I knew the line was probably coming in down there, but I hated to break my rhythm because we had it going pretty good,” Dillard recalled. “The top was really good in (turns) one and two, but the bottom got cleaned up and was better in three and four. I heard on the RACEceiver that Stormy and Rodney were behind me, so I knew it was going to be a close race.”
Sanders finished in the runner-up position with Jason Hughes climbing up for third and Scott hanging on for fourth despite heavy damage to his rear spoiler during the final six-lap sprint.
Kelly Shryock turned a dominating win in his Real Racing Wheels “B” Main into a top five finish in the Casey’s General Stores “A” Main.
Despite his early-race disappointment, Sobbing clawed his way back over the final 22 laps to secure a sixth-place finish with Arneson seventh, Zack VanderBeek eighth, Grant Junghans ninth and Daniel Hilsabeck celebrating his 25th birthday with a tenth-place finish.
Three more big shows cap off the annual Memorial Day Weekend swing for the USMTS Casey’s Cup powered by S&S Fishing & Rental, beginning with the 8th Annual Guttormson Memorial on Friday, May 22, at the Chateau Raceway in Lansing, Minn.
In 16 previous visits to the Chateau Raceway, only three drivers have multiple wins.
Multi-time track champ Brandon Davis has three, including the most recent event during Memorial Day Weekend last year.
Tommy Myer and Jon Tesch both have two wins while single victories are in the back pockets of Joey Jensen, Mike Sorensen, Ryan Gustin, Doug Hillson, Jason Hughes, Tim Donlinger, Jason Krohn, Kelly Shryock and Mike Chasteen.
Pits open at 5 p.m., grandstands open at 5:30 and hot laps begin at 6:30 with racing to follow.
USRA B-Mods, Midwest Mods and Pure Stocks will round Friday’s card at the always-exciting semi-banked 1/3-mile gumbo clay oval.
Race fans can find discount coupons good for $2 off adult grandstand admission at Casey’s General Stores locations in Austin and Blooming Prairie. To find the location nearest you, visit www.caseys.com.
The Chateau Raceway is a located 5.0 miles north of Austin on US 218 (Lansing Exit), then 1.3 miles east on CR 2, then 0.4 mile south on CR 25, then 0.3 mile east on 266th St. For more information call 507-391-2486 or check out www.chateauraceway.net online.
On Saturday, the fast fun moves to the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., for the 13th Annual Minnesota Spring Challenge presented by A&A Electrical & Underground, and then on Sunday, May 24, the 13th Annual Stars & Stripes Shootout takes place at the Upper Iowa Speedway in Decorah, Iowa.
All three events will pay $3,000 to win and a minimum of $250 to start in the mega-competitive Farm Boy BBQ Sauce Northern Region presented by Day Motor Sports.
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 at www.facebook.com/usmts, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/usmts or subscribe to our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/usmtstv.
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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
USMTS Casey’s Cup Series powered by S&S Fishing & Rental – MSD Central Region presented by Day Motor Sports
Crawford County Speedway, Denison, Iowa
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine builder, laps completed and money won. The top 12 drivers in passing points accumulated in the heat races were locked into the “A” Main, with the top 8 re-drawing for starting positions 1-8.
MSD HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (3) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
2. (4) 2 Casey Arneson (R), Fargo, N.D.
3. (5) 89 Josh Most, Red Oak, Iowa.
4. (6) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
5. (2) 1r Craig Reetz, Denison, Iowa.
6. (1) 2r Dale Ransom, Deloit, Iowa.
7. (7) 40 Brian Green (R), Pierce City, Mo.
8. (8) 823 Jared Hansen, Audubon, Iowa.
MALVERN TRUST & SAVINGS BANK HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (1) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La.
2. (6) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
3. (4) 23k Ben Kates (R), Tonganoxie, Kan.
4. (2) 86d Dagan Heim (R), Rosemount, Minn.
5. (3) 23 Jim Thies, Mapleton, Iowa.
6. (5) 80 Steve Reetz, Arcadia, Iowa.
7. (7) T4 Ryan Topf, Charter Oak, Iowa.
8. (8) 07 Cory Crapser (R), Chippewa Falls, Wis.
EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (2) 2s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
2. (5) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
3. (8) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
4. (4) R21 Ryan Schaffer, Corning, Iowa.
5. (7) 26g Bob Gierke, Westport, Minn.
6. (1) 4 Billy Vogel, West Fargo, N.D.
7. (6) 17 Justin Sackett, Schaller, Iowa.
8. (3) 1ar Alex Reetz, Dunlap, Iowa.
PBM PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (3) 99 Jesse Sobbing (R), Malvern, Iowa.
2. (1) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Adel, Iowa.
3. (2) 1x Chris Abelson, Sioux City, Iowa.
4. (7) 2 Grant Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.
5. (4) 02 Kody Scholpp (R), Estevan, Sask., Canada.
6. (6) 15m Shane Demey, Denison, Iowa.
7. (5) 55d Nick Deal, Walnut, Iowa.
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (10 laps, top 6 advance):
1. (1) 1x Chris Abelson, Sioux City, Iowa.
2. (3) 26g Bob Gierke, Westport, Minn.
3. (2) 86d Dagan Heim (R), Rosemount, Minn.
4. (6) 4 Billy Vogel, West Fargo, N.D.
5. (7) 40 Brian Green (R), Pierce City, Mo.
6. (8) 17 Justin Sackett, Schaller, Iowa.
7. (4) 23 Jim Thies, Mapleton, Iowa., Razor/GMPP, $75.
8. (10) 1ar Alex Reetz, Dunlap, Iowa., Shaw/TNT, $75.
9. (5) 2r Dale Ransom, Deloit, Iowa., Harris/Ransom, $75.
10. (9) 823 Jared Hansen, Audubon, Iowa., Harris/Hansen, $75.
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (10 laps, top 6 advance):
1. (1) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
2. (2) R21 Ryan Schaffer, Corning, Iowa.
3. (4) 02 Kody Scholpp (R), Estevan, Sask., Canada.
4. (3) 1r Craig Reetz, Denison, Iowa.
5. (9) 07 Cory Crapser (R), Chippewa Falls, Wis.
6. (6) 15m Shane Demey, Denison, Iowa.
7. (8) 55d Nick Deal, Walnut, Iowa., Razor/WAM, $75.
8. (5) 80 Steve Reetz, Arcadia, Iowa, $75.
9. (7) T4 Ryan Topf, Charter Oak, Iowa., Edge/GMPP, $75.
CASEY’S GENERAL STORES “A” MAIN (35 laps):
1. (2) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La., LG2/Geddes, 35, $3000.
2. (5) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustom/Geddes, 35, $1700.
3. (8) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 35, $1200.
4. (6) 2s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., LG2/ProPower, 35, $1000.
5. (14) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, Skyrocket/ASI, 35, $900.
6. (1) 99 Jesse Sobbing (R), Malvern, Iowa, MBCustom/Sput’s, 35, $800.
7. (3) 2 Casey Arneson (R), Fargo, N.D., GRT/Durham, 35, $700.
8. (4) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, LG2/Sput’s, 35, $650.
9. (12) 2 Grant Junghans, Manhattan, Kan., MBCustom/Sput’s, 35, $600.
10. (9) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Adel, Iowa, Hilsabeck/Mullins, 35, $550.
11. (13) 1x Chris Abelson, Sioux City, Iowa, Razor/GMPP, 35, $400.
12. (11) 23k Ben Kates (R), Tonganoxie, Kan., GRT/Mullins, 35, $450.
13. (20) 1r Craig Reetz, Denison, Iowa, Rage/TNT, 35, $350.
14. (23) 17 Justin Sackett, Schaller, Iowa, Razor/C&C, 35, $325.
15. (16) R21 Ryan Schaffer, Corning, Iowa, LG2/GMPP, 35, $375.
16. (17) 86d Dagan Heim (R), Rosemount, Minn., Shaw/Murgic, 35, $350.
17. (21) 40 Brian Green (R), Pierce City, Mo., MBR/Marti, 35, $325.
18. (19) 4 Billy Vogel, West Fargo, N.D., LG2/Durham, 35, $250.
19. (15) 26g Bob Gierke, Westport, Minn., GRT/Tim’s, 30, $300.
20. (10) 89 Josh Most, Red Oak, Iowa, Edge/RHR, 30, $250.
21. (18) 02 Kody Scholpp (R), Estevan, SK, LG2/KSE, 12, $300.
22. (24) 15m Shane Demey, Denison, Iowa, BMS/GMPP, 7, $250.
23. (22) 07 Cory Crapser (R), Chippewa Falls, Wis., GRT/Tim’s, 7, $300.
24. (7) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., LG2/Cornett, $400.
(R) = Rookie of the Year contender.
Lap Leaders: Sobbing 1-13, Arneson 14, Dillard 15-27, Scott 28, Dillard 29-35.
Total Laps Led: Dillard 20, Sobbing 13, Arneson 1, Scott 1.
Margin of Victory: 1.849 seconds.
Provisional Starters: none.
Sybesma Graphics Pole Award: Sanders.
Hard Charger: Shryock (started 14th, finished 5th).
Entries: 31.
Next Race: Friday, May 22, Chateau Raceway, Lansing, Minn.
MSD Central Region Points: Sanders 435, Dillard 423, Scott 405, Sobbing 369, Shryock 366, Junghans 364, Arneson 352, Ryan Gustin 345, Ramirez 333, Hughes 309.
Rookie of the Year Points: Sobbing 1437, C. Arneson 1221, Kates 1088, Austin Arneson 1073, Ronnie Gould III 721.
Manufacturers Championship Points: LG2 165, MBCustom 160, GRT 151, Hughes 140, Hilsabeck 61.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Geddes 135, Mullins 134, Durham 127, Sput’s 117, Cornett 96.
Contingency Awards:
AERO Race Wheels – Ramirez.
Allstar Performance – VanderBeek.
American Racer – Hilsabeck.
Beyea Custom Headers – Shryock.
BSB Manufacturing – Scholpp.
Chix Gear Racewear – Hughes.
Deatherage Opticians – Dillard.
Edelbrock – Scott.
Eibach Springs – Kates.
FK Rod Ends – Schaffer.
Forty9Designs.com – Sackett, Gierke.
Fuel Safe – Sobbing.
GRT Race Cars – Gierke.
Hooker Harness – Reetz.
KEVKO Oil Pans & Components – Junghans.
Keyser Manufacturing – Hilsabeck.
KSE Racing Products – Hughes.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Crapser.
Midwest Sheet Metal – Sobbing.
MSD Ignition – Sanders, Dillard.
PBM Performance Products – Sobbing, Dillard.
QA1 – Sobbing.
R2C Performance Products – Sanders.
Real Racing Wheels – all non-qualifiers.
Sybesma Graphics – Sanders.
Tilton Engineering – Scott.
VP Racing Fuels – Dillard.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products – Abelson.
Wilwood Disc Brakes – Arneson.
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USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Casey’s General Stores, Chix Gear Racewear, COMP Cams, Day Motor Sports, Deatherage Opticians, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, Fast Shafts, Intercomp, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, Malvern Trust & Savings Bank, MSD, Nitroquest Media Group, RACEceiver, RacinDirt.com, S&S Fishing & Rental, VP Racing Fuels.
USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Arizona Sport Shirts, ASi Racewear, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Double H Bands, Duvall Electric, ElbowsUp.com, Integra Racing Shocks & Springs, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Olympic Fire Protection, Rivers Edge Scrap Management, Schwab’s Tinker Shop, UMotors Motorsports & Marine, Velocita-USA.
USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AERO Race Wheels, AFCO Racing Products, Allstar Performance, Bell Racing Helmets, Beyea Custom Headers, BSB Manufacturing, CPD Racing Tools, Crane Cams, Driven Racing Oil, Edelbrock, Eibach Springs, FK Rod Ends, Forty9 Designs, Fuel Safe, Genesis Racing Shocks, GRT Race Cars, Holley Performance, Hooker Custom Harness, JRi Shocks, Keyser Manufacturing, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, Midwest Sheet Metal, PBM Performance Products, QA1 Precision Products, Quarter Master, R2C Performance, Real Racing Wheels, Simpson Performance Products, Sybesma Graphics, Tilton Engineering, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes.