HomeOpen Wheel Modified NewsHouston gets it done, soars to victory in USMTS debut at East...

Houston gets it done, soars to victory in USMTS debut at East Texas Speedway

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Phillips Houston
Phillips Houston

PETTY, Texas-Philip Houston notched his second United States Modified Touring Series victory of the 2015 campaign as the USMTS Casey’s Cup powered by S&S Fishing & Rental invaded the new East Texas Speedway for the first time Thursday night.
Despite leading all 40 laps on the high-banked 3/8-mile dirt oval, the 38-year-old from Odessa, Texas, was never able to take a breath as several drivers took their turns at taking his place.

“I could hear somebody the whole time,” the cheerful winner said in victory lane. “I didn’t know who it was. Somebody punted me down the front stretch once, so I knew they were there.”

Early on, Houston was tested by polesitter Clyde Dunn Jr. and then, for most of the race, Bobby Malchus churned the cushion on the high side of the track and hoping Houston would make a mistake and give him the opening he needed.

He never got the chance.

“I was just trying to hit my marks every time-hit my line and just try and stay clean,” Houston added. “After the week we’ve had, we needed this one.”

As the laps wound down, Double H Bands Southern Region points leader Rodney Sanders found himself in the mix with the leaders, running several laps in the middle between Malchus and Dereck Ramirez.

But nobody had an answer for Houston, whose other first USMTS victory came in March during the Winter Meltdown at the Southern New Mexico Speedway.

“When we hot-lapped I said ‘This place feels familiar for some reason,’ and I think it was. It’s a lot like Las Cruces.”

Houston collected $3,000 for his efforts while Sanders, who started ninth, settled for the runner-up spot with Malchus and Ramirez close behind in third and fourth.

Johnny Scott was fifth with Cade Dillard, Dunn, Steve Whiteaker Jr., 22nd-starting Cody Smith and Jesse Sobbing rounding out the top 10 finishers.

USMTS Southern Speedweek continues Friday, June 26, as the Southern Oklahoma Speedway in Ardmore, Okla., hosts the Best of the Best in dirt modified racing for the 13th time since 2008.

Jason Hughes was the winner in 2008 and 2009 at the former Lake Country Speedway. John and Nikki Webb acquired the facility in 2011, breathed new life into the facility and renamed it Southern Oklahoma Speedway.

Since then, Rodney Sanders and Stormy Scott each have three wins, Ryan Gustin has two and visiting victory lane once previously are Johnny Scott and, most recently, Thomas Tillison Jr. who captured the final night of last year’s Halloween Havoc.

Gates open at 5 p.m. and racing gets underway at 7:30 for Friday’s $3,000-to-win event. General admission tickets are $20, seniors and youth ages 6-12 get in for $15 and children under 6 get in for free. Pit passes are $35. Limited Mods and Eco Lim Mods will also be racing.

The Southern Oklahoma Speedway is a semi-banked 3/8-mile clay oval located 0.7 mile east of I-35 (exit 29) on US 70, then 1.8 miles south on US 77. For more information call 405-627-1766 or click www.southernoklahomaspeedway.com to visit the track’s official website.

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 – Double H Bands Southern Region presented by Day Motor Sports
Inaugural Event
East Texas Speedway, Petty, Texas
Thursday, June 25, 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. (1) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
2. (2) 5* Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
3. (9) 77 Garrett Gregory (R), Tomball, Texas.
4. (8) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
5. (3) 38 Ronnie Gould III (R), Seminole, Okla.
6. (7) 68 Brandon Watson, Denison, Texas.
7. (6) 75 Patrick Daniel, Wills Point, Texas.
8. (5) 64 Jay Sale, Edmond, Okla.
9. (4) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Adel, Iowa.

DAY MOTOR SPORTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (3) 4m Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas.
2. (5) 88xxx Clyde Dunn Jr., Sunnyvale, Texas.
3. (1) 2 Grant Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.
4. (4) 24 Sean Jones, Mansfield, Texas.
5. (6) 11 Dustin Allen (R), Enid, Okla.
6. (7) 30 Chase Allen, Midlothian, Texas.
7. (2) 51 Rusty Trevathan Jr., Wylie, Texas.
8. (8) 123 Logan Robertson (R), Shamrock, Texas.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (5) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
2. (1) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
3. (3) 8t Dustin Hyde, Texarkana, Texas.
4. (4) 23k Ben Kates (R), Tonganoxie, Kan.
5. (7) 2 Casey Arneson (R), Fargo, N.D.
6. (8) 49s Caleb Shown, Hooks, Texas.
7. (6) 99 Jesse Sobbing (R), Malvern, Iowa.
8. (2) 7x Rory Jordan, Victoria, Texas.

PBM PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (2) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas.
2. (1) 89c Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas.
3. (6) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La.
4. (7) 5w John O Whittington, Vidor, Texas.
5. (3) 5 Shane Sprinkle, Andrews, Texas.
6. (8) 8 Steve Miller, Rosanky, Texas.
7. (4) 18s Cody Smith, Kaufman, Texas.
8. (5) 751 Rusty Trevathan, Wylie, Texas.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (1) 2 Grant Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.
2. (2) 24 Sean Jones, Mansfield, Texas.
3. (3) 2 Casey Arneson (R), Fargo, N.D.
4. (8) 99 Jesse Sobbing (R), Malvern, Iowa.
5. (5) 49s Caleb Shown, Hooks, Texas.
6. (10) 7x Rory Jordan, Victoria, Texas, Shaw/Mullins, $90.
7. (6) 68 Brandon Watson, Denison, Texas, GRT/Wornhor, $75.
8. (4) 38 Ronnie Gould III (R), Seminole, Okla., MBCustom/Mullins, $90.
9. (9) 64 Jay Sale, Edmond, Okla., MBCustom/Mullins, $90.
10. (7) 75 Patrick Daniel, Wills Point, Texas, LG2/Wells, $75.
11. (11) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Adel, Iowa.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (1) 8t Dustin Hyde, Texarkana, Texas.
2. (2) 23k Ben Kates (R), Tonganoxie, Kan.
3. (3) 11 Dustin Allen (R), Enid, Okla.
4. (4) 5 Shane Sprinkle, Andrews, Texas.
5. (8) 18s Cody Smith, Kaufman, Texas.
6. (5) 8 Steve Miller, Rosanky, Texas, Hughes/Extreme, $90.
7. (6) 30 Chase Allen, Midlothian, Texas.
8. (10) 751 Rusty Trevathan, Wylie, Texas, IRP/Hatfield, $75.
9. (7) 51 Rusty Trevathan Jr., Wylie, Texas, IRP/Yeoman, $75.
10. (9) 123 Logan Robertson (R), Shamrock, Texas, Hughes/PPE, $90.

CASEY’S GENERAL STORES “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (2) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas, MBCustom/Geddes, 40, $3000.
2. (9) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustom/Geddes, 40, $1700.
3. (6) 4m Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas, Rocket/LRE, 40, $1200.
4. (5) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., LG2/Cornett, 40, $1000.
5. (7) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., MBCustom/Mullins, 40, $900.
6. (3) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La., LG2/Geddes, 40, $800.
7. (1) 88xxx Clyde Dunn Jr., Sunnyvale, Texas, MBCustom/Mullins, 40, $700.
8. (10) 89c Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas, GRT/Mullins, 40, $650.
9. (22) 18s Cody Smith, Kaufman, Texas, Smith/Mullins, 40, $600.
10. (19) 99 Jesse Sobbing (R), Malvern, Iowa, MBCustom/Sput’s, 40, $550.
11. (13) 2 Grant Junghans, Manhattan, Kan., MBCustom/Sput’s, 40, $500.
12. (18) 11 Dustin Allen (R), Enid, Okla., GRT/Dunsworth, 40, $450.
13. (23) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Adel, Iowa, Hilsabeck/Mullins, 40, $425.
14. (24) 30 Chase Allen, Midlothian, Texas, CAM/Herring, 40, $400.
15. (11) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., MBCustom/Mullins, 40, $400.
16. (14) 8t Dustin Hyde, Texarkana, Texas, TRE/Mullins, 37, $275.
17. (16) 23k Ben Kates (R), Tonganoxie, Kan., GRT/Mullins, 32, $325.
18. (17) 2 Casey Arneson (R), Fargo, N.D., GRT/Durham, 27, $300.
19. (4) 5* Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., Hughes/Mullins, 26, $400.
20. (8) 77 Garrett Gregory (R), Tomball, Texas, LG2/Durham, 25, $300.
21. (21) 49s Caleb Shown, Hooks, Texas, Hughes/Mullens, 19, $250.
22. (15) 24 Sean Jones, Mansfield, Texas, LG2/Brooks, 14, $300.
23. (20) 5 Shane Sprinkle, Andrews, Texas, MBCustom/Geddes, 7, $300.
24. (12) 5w John O Whittington, Vidor, Texas, Pierce/CB, 0, $300

(R) = Rookie of the Year contender.

Lap Leader: Houston 1-40.
Total Laps Led: Houston 40.
Margin of Victory: 0.969 second.
Provisional Starters: Hilsabeck, C. Allen.
Sybesma Graphics Pole Award: Ramirez.
Hard Charger: Smith (started 22nd, finished 9th).
Entries: 33.
Next Race: Friday, June 26, Southern Oklahoma Speedway, Ardmore, Okla.
Double H Bands Southern Region Points: Sanders 564, Junghans 511, Ramirez 509, J. Scott 495, Sobbing 437, Houston 421, S. Scott 419, Dillard 414, Duvall 399, Whiteaker 388.
Rookie of the Year Points: Sobbing 1944, C. Arneson 1665, Kates 1418, Austin Arneson 1073, Gould 1027.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Geddes 248, Sput’s 216, Mullins 199, Durham 157, Cornett 141.
Manufacturers Championship Points: MBCustom 284, LG2 265, GRT 250, Hughes 210, Shaw 84.

Contingency Awards:
AERO Race Wheels – Sprinkle.
Allstar Performance – Whiteaker.
American Racer – Kates.
Beyea Custom Headers – J. Scott.
BSB Manufacturing – Shown.
Chix Gear Racewear – Malchus.
Deatherage Opticians – Kates.
Edelbrock – Ramirez.
Eibach Springs – D. Allen.
FK Rod Ends – Duvall.
Forty9Designs.com – C. Allen, S. Scott.
Fuel Safe – Dillard.
GRT Race Cars – Watson.
Hooker Harness – Hilsabeck.
KEVKO Oil Pans & Components – Smith.
Keyser Manufacturing – Sobbing.
KSE Racing Products – Gregory.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Jones.
Midwest Sheet Metal – Kates.
MSD Ignition – J. Scott, Houston.
PBM Performance Products – Houston.
QA1 – Malchus.
R2C Performance Products – Sanders.
Real Racing Wheels – all non-qualifiers.
Sybesma Graphics – Ramirez.
Tilton Engineering – Ramirez.
VP Racing Fuels – Houston.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products – 11th.
Wilwood Disc Brakes – 7th.

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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.

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Contact Info:

Jeff Nun

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