WATERTOWN, S.D. (June 17) – The wild and enthusiastic fans at the Casino Speedway made it loud and clear Wednesday night. Given the choice of a 40- or 50-lap USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour main event, the jam-packed standing-room-only grandstand voted overwhelmingly to extend the length of the race.
NASCAR fan favorite Kenny Wallace, who was starting 13th in the field, even chimed in.
“I think we need to go the extra distance to help out Jon Tesch,” Wallace jokingly told the partisan crowd in Tesch's hometown. "Plus we get to burn some extra fuel and rubber to help out the environment."
Starting 17th in the 24-car field, perhaps the extra 10 laps would help Tesch claim his third Team Electronics Summer Slam victory in five years.
It made no difference to Al Hejna, though, as the “A-Train” took the lead on lap 3 and then proceeded to dominate the final 47 laps to claim his third Sunoco "A" Main of the season. Like Tesch had done the previous night at the Park Jefferson Speedway, Hejna had a half-lap lead when he streaked beneath the checkered flag to claim the $2,000 top prize.
Despite the added length in the feature race, anxious drivers looking to gain an early advantage on the high-banked 1/4-mile oval made for a slow start with four caution flags waving before a single lap could be completed.
Once the race got rolling, however, the action throughout the field was non-stop. Even Hejna stayed busy despite his huge lead as he spent most of his time in traffic, lapping up to the eighth-place finishing Wallace.
DandyLand Farms Rookie of the Year contenders Grant Junghans and Mike Hansen started on the front row of the main event, with Junghans leading the first three laps before Hejna muscled by on the inside to take the lead for good.
Hansen was able to claim the second spot after battling with Dereck Ramirez and Tesch for the second half of the race. With Ramirez garnering third place, Tesch earned the PBM Performance Products Hard Charger Award by passing 13 competitors en route to a fourth-place finish.
After starting 16th. Mike Lineberry climbed as high as third at one point before finishing fifth for his fourth straight top-10 finish in the Great Plains Region.
Junghans held on for sixth, Steven Pfeifer finished seventh in just his second career USMTS start, Wallace was eighth, 2005 event winner Tommy Myer was ninth and Corey Dripps bounced back from a flat tire on lap 30 to round out the top-10 finishers.
With a lot of passing points earned, Tesch continues atop the Great Plains Region standings over Hejna with a 24-point cushion (491 to 467). Myer is third with 459 markers, followed by Dripps (436), Kelly Shryock (387), Lineberry (378), Ramirez (366), Jake Neal (358), Rich Lewerke (330) and Junghans (316).
THURSDAY, JUNE 18 - HUSET'S SPEEDWAY
Greg and Steve Rubin's historic Huset's Speedway will rumble on Thursday night as the USMTS Casey's General Stores National Tour pays a visit to the popular 3/8-mile high-banked clay oval for the fourth straight year.
Eight-time USMTS National Champion Kelly Shryock of Fertile, Iowa, visited victory lane in the first two installments at the speedplant near Sioux Falls, S.D., in 2006 and 2007 while Hejna is the defending champion of the event.
Gates open at 5:00 with hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7:00. Also on the racing card will be USRA B-Mods and USRA Hobby Stocks racing for national points in the American Racer USRA Weekly Racing Series.
The Huset's Speedway is located east of Brandon on I-90 to Exit 406, then 2.5 miles south on SR 11. For more information, call the track office at (605) 582-3819 or the track hotline on race day at (605) 582-3536 or check out www.husets-speedway.com on the World Wide Web.
To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, call the headquarters at (515) 832-7944 or visit www.usmts.com online for the latest news and information from the USMTS.
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OFFICIAL RESULTS
USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour (Great Plains Region)
5th Annual Team Electronics Summer Slam
Casino Speedway, Watertown, S.D.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Showing finishing position, car number, driver, hometown and starting position in parentheses. The top 12 drivers in passing points accumulated in the heat races are locked into the Sunoco “A” Main, with the top 8 re-drawing for starting positions 1-8.
ISKY RACING CAMS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. 9 - Kent Arment -- Aberdeen, SD (1)
2. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (3)
3. 31 - Corey Dripps -- Waterloo, IA (4)
4. 14j - Jake Neal -- Omaha, NE (5)
5. 20 - Jordan Foster -- Henry, SD (2)
6. 65 - Tommy Myer -- Blooming Prairie, MN (6)
7. 18 - Chase Junghans -- Manhattan, KS (8)
8. 3a - Arne Anderson -- Watertown, SD (7)
NEW VISION GRAPHICS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. 83 - Joe Waba -- Watertown, SD (3)
2. 2 - Grant Junghans -- Manhattan, KS (5)
3. 31 - Scott Hansen -- Garden City, SD (6)
4. 36 - Kenny Wallace -- Concord, NC (8)
5. 13 - Ryan Engels -- Arlington, SD (2)
6. 98 - Josh Reisch -- Luverne, MN (7)
7. 49x - Jay Poidinger -- Somerset, WI (1)
8. 55 - David Orr -- Bristol, SD (4)
BRODIX HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. 7 - Al Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (3)
2. 12h - Mike Hansen -- Alton, IA (5)
3. 10h - Nate Heinrich -- Madison, MN (7)
4. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (4) DNF
5. 7t - Telly Thompson -- Watertown, SD (8)DNF
6. 20 - Anthony Mann -- Luverne, MN (1) DNF
7. 29g - Rich Hesse -- Hinton, IA (6) DNF
8. B1 - Scott Ward -- Watertown, SD (2) DQ (did not go to scales)
AWESOME RACEWEAR HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. 21 - Jim Horejsi -- Echo, MN (8)
2. M80 - Jim Mathieson -- Sioux City, IA (1)
3. 11c - Chris Prussman -- Brookings, SD (4)
4. 87 - Curt Kranz -- Watertown, SD (6)
5. 97 - Rich Lewerke -- Garner, IA (3)
6. 10 - Jay Triplett -- Brookings, SD (2) DNF
7. 1m - Matt Sheesley -- Rapid City, SD (7) DNF
8. 99 - Dave Thompson -- Watertown, SD (5) DNF
INTERCOMP HEAT RACE #5 (8 laps):
1. 32 - Steven Pfeifer -- Bowbells, ND (2)
2. 4r - Dereck Ramirez -- Woodward, OK (4)
3. 72 - Mike Lineberry -- Fremont, NE (1)
4. Z3 - Mike Albertsen -- Audubon, IA (6)
5. 4e - Justin Elmer -- Buffalo, WY (5)
6. 96 - Dennis Haven -- Brentford, SD (3)
7. 37 - Ron Anderson -- Watertown, SD (7) DNF
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. 36 - Kenny Wallace -- Concord, NC (1)
2. 65 - Tommy Myer -- Blooming Prairie, MN (8)
3. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (5)
4. 14j - Jake Neal -- Omaha, NE (4)
5. 13 - Ryan Engels -- Arlington, SD (6)
6. 18 - Chase Junghans -- Manhattan, KS (10)
7. 11c - Chris Prussman -- Brookings, SD (2)
8. 10 - Jay Triplett -- Brookings, SD (9)
9. 4e - Justin Elmer -- Buffalo, WY (7)
10. 87 - Curt Kranz -- Watertown, SD (3)
11. 55 - David Orr -- Bristol, SD (13)
12. 99 - Dave Thompson -- Watertown, SD (14) DNF
13. 29g - Rich Hesse -- Hinton, IA (11) DNF
14. 37 - Ron Anderson -- Watertown, SD (12) DNF
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. 31 - Corey Dripps -- Waterloo, IA (1)
2. 72 - Mike Lineberry -- Fremont, NE (2)
3. 20 - Anthony Mann -- Luverne, MN (8)
4. 98 - Josh Reisch -- Luverne, MN (7)
5. 97 - Rich Lewerke -- Garner, IA (6)
6. Z3 - Mike Albertsen -- Audubon, IA (3)
7. 96 - Dennis Haven -- Brentford, SD (9)
8. 1m - Matt Sheesley -- Rapid City, SD (11) DNF
9. B1 - Scott Ward -- Watertown, SD (13) DNF
10. 49x - Jay Poidinger -- Somerset, WI (10) DNF
11. 3a - Arne Anderson -- Watertown, SD (12) DNF
12. 20 - Jordan Foster -- Henry, SD (5) DNF
13. 7t - Telly Thompson -- Watertown, SD (4) DNS
SUNOCO “A” MAIN (50 laps):
1. 7 - Al Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (3)
2. 12h - Mike Hansen -- Alton, IA (2)
3. 4r - Dereck Ramirez -- Woodward, OK (4)
4. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (17)
5. 72 - Mike Lineberry -- Fremont, NE (16)
6. 2 - Grant Junghans -- Manhattan, KS (1)
7. 32 - Steven Pfeifer -- Bowbells, ND (6)
8. 36 - Kenny Wallace -- Concord, NC (13)
9. 65 - Tommy Myer -- Blooming Prairie, MN (15) -1 Lap
10. 31 - Corey Dripps -- Waterloo, IA (14) -1 Lap
11. 9 - Kent Arment -- Aberdeen, SD (8) -1 Lap
12. 14j - Jake Neal -- Omaha, NE (19) -1 Lap
13. 10h - Nate Heinrich -- Madison, MN (9) -1 Lap
14. 97 - Rich Lewerke -- Garner, IA (21) -1 Lap
15. 21 - Jim Horejsi -- Echo, MN (5) -1 Lap
16. 83 - Joe Waba -- Watertown, SD (7) -1 Lap
17. M80 - Jim Mathieson -- Sioux City, IA (12) -1 Lap
18. 49x - Jay Poidinger -- Somerset, WI (22) -2 Laps
19. 31 - Scott Hansen -- Garden City, SD (11) DNF
20. 13 - Ryan Engels -- Arlington, SD (24) DNF
21. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (10) DNF
22. 20 - Anthony Mann -- Luverne, MN (18) DNF
23. 10 - Jay Triplett -- Brookings, SD (23) DNF
24. 98 - Josh Reisch -- Luverne, MN (20) DNF
Lap Leaders: G. Junghans 1-2, Hejna 3-50.
Total Laps Led: Hejna 48, G. Junghans 2.
AFCO Pole Winner: Horejsi.
Provisional Starters: Lewerke, Poidinger, Triplett (track), Engels (track).
Ruter Farms Long Tow: Ramirez (782.64 miles).
PBM Performance Products Hard Charger: Tesch (started 17th, finished 4th).
Next Race: Thursday, June 18, Huset's Speedway, Brandon, S.D. (Great Plains Region).
Great Plains Region Points: Tesch 491, Hejna 467, Myer 459, Dripps 436, Shryock 387, Lineberry 378, Ramirez 366, Neal 358, Lewerke 330, G. Junghans 316.
DandyLand Farms Rookie of the Year Points: G. Junghans 315, M. Hansen 259, Lewerke 201, Albertsen 132, Tate Cole 124.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Sput’s 202, Mullins 156, a.s.i. 139, JR 96, AEM 63.
Chassis Builders Championship Points: Skyrocket 188, Ramirez 186, Hughes 164, Harris 102, GRT 99.
Contingency Awards:AFCO Racing Products – Horejsi.
American Racer – Hesse.
Isky Racing Cams – Arment.
KSE Racing Products – Arment.
PBM Performance Products – Tesch.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Reisch.
Nitroquest – Ramirez.
Out-Pace Racing Products – Arment.
Quarter Master – Hejna, Wallace.
QuickTime Performance Parts – Pfeiffer.
Real Racing Wheels – C. Junghans, Albertsen.
Ruter Farms – Ramirez.
NASCAR fan favorite Kenny Wallace, who was starting 13th in the field, even chimed in.
“I think we need to go the extra distance to help out Jon Tesch,” Wallace jokingly told the partisan crowd in Tesch's hometown. "Plus we get to burn some extra fuel and rubber to help out the environment."
Starting 17th in the 24-car field, perhaps the extra 10 laps would help Tesch claim his third Team Electronics Summer Slam victory in five years.
It made no difference to Al Hejna, though, as the “A-Train” took the lead on lap 3 and then proceeded to dominate the final 47 laps to claim his third Sunoco "A" Main of the season. Like Tesch had done the previous night at the Park Jefferson Speedway, Hejna had a half-lap lead when he streaked beneath the checkered flag to claim the $2,000 top prize.
Despite the added length in the feature race, anxious drivers looking to gain an early advantage on the high-banked 1/4-mile oval made for a slow start with four caution flags waving before a single lap could be completed.
Once the race got rolling, however, the action throughout the field was non-stop. Even Hejna stayed busy despite his huge lead as he spent most of his time in traffic, lapping up to the eighth-place finishing Wallace.
DandyLand Farms Rookie of the Year contenders Grant Junghans and Mike Hansen started on the front row of the main event, with Junghans leading the first three laps before Hejna muscled by on the inside to take the lead for good.
Hansen was able to claim the second spot after battling with Dereck Ramirez and Tesch for the second half of the race. With Ramirez garnering third place, Tesch earned the PBM Performance Products Hard Charger Award by passing 13 competitors en route to a fourth-place finish.
After starting 16th. Mike Lineberry climbed as high as third at one point before finishing fifth for his fourth straight top-10 finish in the Great Plains Region.
Junghans held on for sixth, Steven Pfeifer finished seventh in just his second career USMTS start, Wallace was eighth, 2005 event winner Tommy Myer was ninth and Corey Dripps bounced back from a flat tire on lap 30 to round out the top-10 finishers.
With a lot of passing points earned, Tesch continues atop the Great Plains Region standings over Hejna with a 24-point cushion (491 to 467). Myer is third with 459 markers, followed by Dripps (436), Kelly Shryock (387), Lineberry (378), Ramirez (366), Jake Neal (358), Rich Lewerke (330) and Junghans (316).
THURSDAY, JUNE 18 - HUSET'S SPEEDWAY
Greg and Steve Rubin's historic Huset's Speedway will rumble on Thursday night as the USMTS Casey's General Stores National Tour pays a visit to the popular 3/8-mile high-banked clay oval for the fourth straight year.
Eight-time USMTS National Champion Kelly Shryock of Fertile, Iowa, visited victory lane in the first two installments at the speedplant near Sioux Falls, S.D., in 2006 and 2007 while Hejna is the defending champion of the event.
Gates open at 5:00 with hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7:00. Also on the racing card will be USRA B-Mods and USRA Hobby Stocks racing for national points in the American Racer USRA Weekly Racing Series.
The Huset's Speedway is located east of Brandon on I-90 to Exit 406, then 2.5 miles south on SR 11. For more information, call the track office at (605) 582-3819 or the track hotline on race day at (605) 582-3536 or check out www.husets-speedway.com on the World Wide Web.
To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, call the headquarters at (515) 832-7944 or visit www.usmts.com online for the latest news and information from the USMTS.
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OFFICIAL RESULTS
USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour (Great Plains Region)
5th Annual Team Electronics Summer Slam
Casino Speedway, Watertown, S.D.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Showing finishing position, car number, driver, hometown and starting position in parentheses. The top 12 drivers in passing points accumulated in the heat races are locked into the Sunoco “A” Main, with the top 8 re-drawing for starting positions 1-8.
ISKY RACING CAMS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. 9 - Kent Arment -- Aberdeen, SD (1)
2. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (3)
3. 31 - Corey Dripps -- Waterloo, IA (4)
4. 14j - Jake Neal -- Omaha, NE (5)
5. 20 - Jordan Foster -- Henry, SD (2)
6. 65 - Tommy Myer -- Blooming Prairie, MN (6)
7. 18 - Chase Junghans -- Manhattan, KS (8)
8. 3a - Arne Anderson -- Watertown, SD (7)
NEW VISION GRAPHICS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. 83 - Joe Waba -- Watertown, SD (3)
2. 2 - Grant Junghans -- Manhattan, KS (5)
3. 31 - Scott Hansen -- Garden City, SD (6)
4. 36 - Kenny Wallace -- Concord, NC (8)
5. 13 - Ryan Engels -- Arlington, SD (2)
6. 98 - Josh Reisch -- Luverne, MN (7)
7. 49x - Jay Poidinger -- Somerset, WI (1)
8. 55 - David Orr -- Bristol, SD (4)
BRODIX HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. 7 - Al Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (3)
2. 12h - Mike Hansen -- Alton, IA (5)
3. 10h - Nate Heinrich -- Madison, MN (7)
4. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (4) DNF
5. 7t - Telly Thompson -- Watertown, SD (8)DNF
6. 20 - Anthony Mann -- Luverne, MN (1) DNF
7. 29g - Rich Hesse -- Hinton, IA (6) DNF
8. B1 - Scott Ward -- Watertown, SD (2) DQ (did not go to scales)
AWESOME RACEWEAR HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. 21 - Jim Horejsi -- Echo, MN (8)
2. M80 - Jim Mathieson -- Sioux City, IA (1)
3. 11c - Chris Prussman -- Brookings, SD (4)
4. 87 - Curt Kranz -- Watertown, SD (6)
5. 97 - Rich Lewerke -- Garner, IA (3)
6. 10 - Jay Triplett -- Brookings, SD (2) DNF
7. 1m - Matt Sheesley -- Rapid City, SD (7) DNF
8. 99 - Dave Thompson -- Watertown, SD (5) DNF
INTERCOMP HEAT RACE #5 (8 laps):
1. 32 - Steven Pfeifer -- Bowbells, ND (2)
2. 4r - Dereck Ramirez -- Woodward, OK (4)
3. 72 - Mike Lineberry -- Fremont, NE (1)
4. Z3 - Mike Albertsen -- Audubon, IA (6)
5. 4e - Justin Elmer -- Buffalo, WY (5)
6. 96 - Dennis Haven -- Brentford, SD (3)
7. 37 - Ron Anderson -- Watertown, SD (7) DNF
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. 36 - Kenny Wallace -- Concord, NC (1)
2. 65 - Tommy Myer -- Blooming Prairie, MN (8)
3. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (5)
4. 14j - Jake Neal -- Omaha, NE (4)
5. 13 - Ryan Engels -- Arlington, SD (6)
6. 18 - Chase Junghans -- Manhattan, KS (10)
7. 11c - Chris Prussman -- Brookings, SD (2)
8. 10 - Jay Triplett -- Brookings, SD (9)
9. 4e - Justin Elmer -- Buffalo, WY (7)
10. 87 - Curt Kranz -- Watertown, SD (3)
11. 55 - David Orr -- Bristol, SD (13)
12. 99 - Dave Thompson -- Watertown, SD (14) DNF
13. 29g - Rich Hesse -- Hinton, IA (11) DNF
14. 37 - Ron Anderson -- Watertown, SD (12) DNF
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. 31 - Corey Dripps -- Waterloo, IA (1)
2. 72 - Mike Lineberry -- Fremont, NE (2)
3. 20 - Anthony Mann -- Luverne, MN (8)
4. 98 - Josh Reisch -- Luverne, MN (7)
5. 97 - Rich Lewerke -- Garner, IA (6)
6. Z3 - Mike Albertsen -- Audubon, IA (3)
7. 96 - Dennis Haven -- Brentford, SD (9)
8. 1m - Matt Sheesley -- Rapid City, SD (11) DNF
9. B1 - Scott Ward -- Watertown, SD (13) DNF
10. 49x - Jay Poidinger -- Somerset, WI (10) DNF
11. 3a - Arne Anderson -- Watertown, SD (12) DNF
12. 20 - Jordan Foster -- Henry, SD (5) DNF
13. 7t - Telly Thompson -- Watertown, SD (4) DNS
SUNOCO “A” MAIN (50 laps):
1. 7 - Al Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (3)
2. 12h - Mike Hansen -- Alton, IA (2)
3. 4r - Dereck Ramirez -- Woodward, OK (4)
4. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (17)
5. 72 - Mike Lineberry -- Fremont, NE (16)
6. 2 - Grant Junghans -- Manhattan, KS (1)
7. 32 - Steven Pfeifer -- Bowbells, ND (6)
8. 36 - Kenny Wallace -- Concord, NC (13)
9. 65 - Tommy Myer -- Blooming Prairie, MN (15) -1 Lap
10. 31 - Corey Dripps -- Waterloo, IA (14) -1 Lap
11. 9 - Kent Arment -- Aberdeen, SD (8) -1 Lap
12. 14j - Jake Neal -- Omaha, NE (19) -1 Lap
13. 10h - Nate Heinrich -- Madison, MN (9) -1 Lap
14. 97 - Rich Lewerke -- Garner, IA (21) -1 Lap
15. 21 - Jim Horejsi -- Echo, MN (5) -1 Lap
16. 83 - Joe Waba -- Watertown, SD (7) -1 Lap
17. M80 - Jim Mathieson -- Sioux City, IA (12) -1 Lap
18. 49x - Jay Poidinger -- Somerset, WI (22) -2 Laps
19. 31 - Scott Hansen -- Garden City, SD (11) DNF
20. 13 - Ryan Engels -- Arlington, SD (24) DNF
21. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (10) DNF
22. 20 - Anthony Mann -- Luverne, MN (18) DNF
23. 10 - Jay Triplett -- Brookings, SD (23) DNF
24. 98 - Josh Reisch -- Luverne, MN (20) DNF
Lap Leaders: G. Junghans 1-2, Hejna 3-50.
Total Laps Led: Hejna 48, G. Junghans 2.
AFCO Pole Winner: Horejsi.
Provisional Starters: Lewerke, Poidinger, Triplett (track), Engels (track).
Ruter Farms Long Tow: Ramirez (782.64 miles).
PBM Performance Products Hard Charger: Tesch (started 17th, finished 4th).
Next Race: Thursday, June 18, Huset's Speedway, Brandon, S.D. (Great Plains Region).
Great Plains Region Points: Tesch 491, Hejna 467, Myer 459, Dripps 436, Shryock 387, Lineberry 378, Ramirez 366, Neal 358, Lewerke 330, G. Junghans 316.
DandyLand Farms Rookie of the Year Points: G. Junghans 315, M. Hansen 259, Lewerke 201, Albertsen 132, Tate Cole 124.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Sput’s 202, Mullins 156, a.s.i. 139, JR 96, AEM 63.
Chassis Builders Championship Points: Skyrocket 188, Ramirez 186, Hughes 164, Harris 102, GRT 99.
Contingency Awards:AFCO Racing Products – Horejsi.
American Racer – Hesse.
Isky Racing Cams – Arment.
KSE Racing Products – Arment.
PBM Performance Products – Tesch.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Reisch.
Nitroquest – Ramirez.
Out-Pace Racing Products – Arment.
Quarter Master – Hejna, Wallace.
QuickTime Performance Parts – Pfeiffer.
Real Racing Wheels – C. Junghans, Albertsen.
Ruter Farms – Ramirez.
