Shryock draws first blood in ‘The Hunt’

jdearing

Administrator
Staff member
JETMORE, Kan. (Aug. 12) – The Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship presented by Bad Boy Mowers kicked off Thursday night with the debut of the mud-slinging USMTS Modifieds at the Great American Dirt Track in Jetmore, Kan.

With thermometers bursting at 105 degrees during the day, race fans in attendance were rewarded with a spectacular WIX Filters “A” Main that will go down as one of the all-time great finishes in USMTS history.

With 12 wins under his belt (plus another in the USMTS Castle Rock Recruiting Southern Series), Ryan Gustin came into the event as the winningest driver in 2010 with the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour, but it was nine-time and defending USMTS National Champion Kelly Shryock who entered as the points leader in The Hunt.

Sporting his new #8 Snickers Skyrocket, Colt Mather drew the pole position for the 40-lap main event and paced the first two laps around the super-fast high-banked 3/8-mile oval before giving way to Gustin as the leaders completed lap 3.

It wasn’t long before it looked like Gustin was well on his way to a $3,000 payday, another victory and sole possession of the points lead, but Gustin’s straight-away was wiped out when the race’s first caution waved on lap 27 when a broken drive shaft forced Rodney Sanders to bring his machine to a stop on the front stretch.

On the restart, Shryock had his hands full with Jason Hughes, Jason Krohn, Tommy Myer and Mather as the five drivers raced two- and three-wide while Gustin maintained a three-car-length advantage.

Action slowed again on lap 31 when Corey Dripps coasted over the turn 1 embankment with a broken ball joint to bring out the yellow flag.

Gustin got a powerful restart this time and quickly put ten car-lengths between himself and the field, but he third and final caution occurred with four laps to go to give his pursuers one final opportunity to pounce on the leader.

This time Shryock stayed glued to the back bumper of Gustin on the restart, and snuck underneath the 19-year-old in turn 1 as they completed lap 37. The two raced side by side through turns 3-4 with Shryock beating Gustin by a nose to lead the 38th lap.

The final two laps were something to behold as the pair fought for every inch of territory. Shryock edged ahead of Gustin down the back-stretch, and then Gustin crossed-over in turn 4 to take the low line from Shryock.

They crossed beneath the white flag in a dead heat and looked like Siamese twins joined at the door for the entire final lap. They entered turn 1, exited turn 2, entered turn 3 and exited turn 4 glued to each other and trading blows like Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed at the end of Round 15.

With Shryock up against the wall and Gustin on the gas to his left, they crossed beneath the checkered flag with Shryock getting there first by the diameter of his front bumper (0.099 second according to the AMB Timing & Scoring transponders).

For Shryock, it was his third USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour win of the season and 156th of his storied career. Gustin, who was just seven years old when Shryock won his first USMTS title in 1999, had to settle for the runner-up paycheck while Myer came home third after starting 12th.

Hughes finished fourth and Zack VanderBeek captured the fifth spot and earned the PBM Performance Hard Charger Award after starting 19th on the 24-car grid.

Krohn, Jon Tesch, Dereck Ramirez, Mather and Brandon Morton rounded out the top-10 finishers.

With he win, Shryock increased his points lead over Gustin, but only by three points (177 to 167). VanderBeek remains third with 161 markers, followed by Myer (129), Tesch (128), Hughes (127), Ramirez (124), Krohn (114), Mather (96) and Al Hejna (92).

The Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship presented by Bad Boy Mowers continues on Friday night with the third stop of the year at the Humboldt Speedway in Humboldt, Kan.

Hughes leads all drivers with seven career wins at Humboldt, including both ends of a doubleheader back in March. In addition to Hughes, race fans can expect to see at least three other former Humboldt Speedway winners, including Shryock (3 wins at Humboldt), Johnny Bone Jr. (2) and Jon Tesch.

Drivers expected to defend their home turf include 2008 Humboldt Speedway track champion Jess Folk Jr. and his brother Justin “Whitey” Folk, John Allen, Rodney Sigg, Ryan Whitworth, Scott Daniels, Dennis Bishop, Brian McGowen, Jessy Willard, Riley Whitworth, Dan Daniels, Gary Langworthy Jr., Jake Richards and others.

Pit gates will open at 5:00, grandstand gates open at 6:00, hot laps start at 7:30 and racing will start at 8:00 sharp. B-Mods and Factory Stocks will also be on the racing card.

Don't forget to get your coupon worth $2 off adult admission Friday at Casey’s General Stores locations in Chanute, Iola and Yates Center. Check out www.caseys.com for more information or to find the location nearest you.

Tim Donlinger and his #3D Cheetos-sponsored Ramirez Modified will be meeting and greeting fans from 12:00 to 2:00 at the Casey’s store at 220 W. Cherry in Chanute while Colt Mather and his #8 Snickers-sponsored Skyrocket Modified will be at the Iola store located at 712 E. Madison Ave. from 12:00 to 2:00.

The Humboldt Speedway is a quarter-mile semi-banked clay oval located on US 169 to the Humboldt Exit, then 0.1 mile west, then 0.5 mile south, then 0.9 mile east on Georgia Rd. For more information call 620-431-2470 (office) or 620-473-3694 (track) or visit www.humboldtspeedway.com.

During the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship presented by Bad Boy Mowers, drivers will be grappling for their piece of nearly $50,000 in points fund money and thousands in contingency awards. Entrants will lock horns on a nightly basis for $3,000 to win and more than $400,000 in prize money up for grabs during the 20-race, 45-day campaign.

Thu Aug 12 … Great American Dirt Track, Jetmore, KS (winner: Kelly Shryock)
Fri Aug 13 … Humboldt Speedway, Humboldt, KS ($3000 to win)
Sat Aug 14 … Caney Valley Speedway, Caney, KS ($3000 to win)
Sun Aug 15 … Monett Speedway, Monett, MO ($3000 to win)
Wed Aug 18 … Hamilton County Speedway, Webster City, IA ($3000 to win)
Thu Aug 19 … Hancock County Speedway, Britt, IA ($3000 to win)
Fri Aug 20 … Mississippi Thunder Speedway, Fountain City, WI ($3000 to win)
Sat Aug 21 … Adams County Speedway, Corning, IA ($3000 to win)
Thu Aug 26 … Nevada Speedway, Nevada, MO ($3000 to win)
Fri Aug 27 … LA Raceway, La Monte, MO ($3000 to win)
Sat Aug 28 … 24 Raceway Park, Moberly, MO ($3000 to win)
Tue Aug 31 … Marshalltown Speedway, Marshalltown, IA ($3000 to win)
Wed Sep 1 … Southern Iowa Speedway, Oskaloosa, IA ($3000 to win)
Thu Sep 2 … Highway 3 Raceway, Allison, IA ($3000 to win)
Fri Sep 3 … Chateau Raceway, Lansing, MN ($3000 to win)
Sat Sep 4 … Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN ($3000 to win)
Sun Sep 5 … Dodge County Speedway, Kasson, MN ($3000 to win)
Thu Sep 23 … Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN ($2000 to win)
Fri Sep 24 … Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN ($4000 to win)
Sat Sep 25 … Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN ($6000 to win)

The Hunt will wrap up at the Deer Creek Speedway with the 12th Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 23-25, where the 2010 USMTS National Champion will be crowned.

Film crews will be on hand Friday night and throughout the entire Hunt to capture all of the action for the Dirt Knights television show.

For the first time on television, the high-octane lifestyle of the tireless touring titans of the USMTS will be revealed as film crews for the Dirt Knights television series will be capturing the action at every race during the Hunt for the USMTS Casey's General Stores National Championship presented by Bad Boy Mowers.

Dirt Knights will be an on-going dramatic series of one-hour programs that will air during the highly coveted Sunday evening time slot for 13 weeks. The much-anticipated TV show is set to debut in January of 2011 on VERSUS cable sports network, reaching more than 75 million households.

Visit www.dirtknights.com on the World Wide Web for more information or to view the trailer. Also look for Dirt Knights on Facebook and Twitter.

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
The Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship presented by Bad Boy Mowers
Inaugural Event
Great American Dirt Track, Jetmore, Kan.
Thursday, August 12, 2010

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 12 drivers in passing points accumulated in the heat races are locked into the WIX Filters “A” Main, with the top 8 re-drawing for starting positions 1-8.

ISKY RACING CAMS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (4) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D.
2. (6) 12 Jason Hughes, Westville, Okla.
3. (3) 65 Tommy Myer, Blooming Prairie, Minn.
4. (8) 3d Tim Donlinger, Rochester, Minn.
5. (9) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
6. (2) 18 Chase Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.
7. (5) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
8. (7) 81 Danny Charles (R), Bashor, Kan.
9. (1) 12g Jeremy Green (R), Enid, Okla.

NEW VISION GRAPHICS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (3) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
2. (2) 02 Tommy Weder Jr., Woodward, Okla.
3. (7) 8 Colt Mather, Webster, Iowa.
4. (1) 25p Mike Petersilie, Hoisington, Kan.
5. (6) 12h Mike Hansen, Alton, Iowa.
6. (4) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa.
7. (8) 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa.
8. (5) M80 Jim Mathieson, Sioux City, Iowa.
9. (9) 9 Shelby Stapel, Garden City, Kan.

SCHOENFELD HEADERS HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (1) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
2. (8) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn.
3. (2) 813 Justin Boney, DeSoto, Kan.
4. (4) 63 Ryan Whitworth (R), Humboldt, Kan.
5. (6) 13 Brent Burkhart, Hutchinson, Kan.
6. (7) 75 Alan Sharpensteen, Amarillo, Texas.
7. (5) 8r Jesse Richter, Great Bend, Kan.
8. (3) M15 Michael Martin, Dodge City, Kan.

EIBACH SPRINGS HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (1) 1st Johnny Scott (R), Las Cruces, N.M.
2. (3) 11 Brandon Morton, Coweta, Okla.
3. (5) 5j John Schwab, Liberal, Kan.
4. (4) 112 Jim Armstrong, Liberal, Kan.
5. (7) 17 Lucas Conley (R), Spring Hill, Kan.
6. (6) 311 Adam Schrag, Hutchinson, Kan.
7. (2) 98 Danny Keller, Dodge City, Kan.
8. (8) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (12 laps, top 6 advance):
1. (1) 813 Justin Boney, DeSoto, Kan.
2. (7) 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa.
3. (2) 25p Mike Petersilie, Hoisington, Kan.
4. (5) 75 Alan Sharpensteen, Amarillo, Texas.
5. (4) 12h Mike Hansen, Alton, Iowa.
6. (6) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa.
7. (9) 81 Danny Charles (R), Bashor, Kan., $90.
8. (10) M15 Michael Martin, Dodge City, Kan., $75.
9. (8) 8r Jesse Richter, Great Bend, Kan., $75.
10. (3) 112 Jim Armstrong, Liberal, Kan., $75.
DNS - 12g Jeremy Green (R), Enid, Okla., $90.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (12 laps, top 6 advance):
1. (1) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
2. (10) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
3. (4) 13 Brent Burkhart, Hutchinson, Kan.
4. (7) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
5. (5) 18 Chase Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.
6. (3) 17 Lucas Conley (R), Spring Hill, Kan.
7. (9) M80 Jim Mathieson, Sioux City, Iowa, $90.
8. (2) 63 Ryan Whitworth (R), Humboldt, Kan., $90.
9. (8) 98 Danny Keller, Dodge City, Kan., $75.
10. (6) 311 Adam Schrag, Hutchinson, Kan., $75.
11. (11) 9 Shelby Stapel, Garden City, Kan., $75.

WIX FILTERS “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (2) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, Skyrocket/ProPower, 40, $3000.
2. (3) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, 40, $1500.
3. (12) 65 Tommy Myer, Blooming Prairie, Minn., GRT/Sput’s, 40, $1000.
4. (4) 12 Jason Hughes, Westville, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $900.
5. (19) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, Skyrocket/Sput’s, 40, $800.
6. (7) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, 40, $700.
7. (8) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D., Ramirez/Sput’s, 40, $650.
8. (13) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Ramirez/ProPower, 40, $600.
9. (1) 8 Colt Mather, Webster, Iowa, Skyrocket/Sput’s, 40, $550.
10. (5) 11 Brandon Morton, Coweta, Okla., Morton/STK, 40, $400.
11. (6) 1st Johnny Scott (R), Las Cruces, N.M., Hughes/ASI, 40, $450.
12. (11) 3d Tim Donlinger, Rochester, Minn., Ramirez/Sput’s, 40, $425.
13. (22) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa, Harris/JR, 40, $400.
14. (9) 02 Tommy Weder Jr., Woodward, Okla., Hughes/Clements, 40, $375.
15. (23) 17 Lucas Conley (R), Spring Hill, Kan., Hughes/Conley, 40, $350.
16. (18) 75 Alan Sharpensteen, Amarillo, Texas, SRP/Tim’s, 40, $300.
17. (16) 25p Mike Petersilie, Hoisington, Kan., FirstClass/AMS, 40, $250.
18. (17) 13 Brent Burkhart, Hutchinson, Kan., BMS/Tim’s, 36, $250.
19. (21) 18 Chase Junghans, Manhattan, Kan., Hughes/Sput’s, 36, $300.
20. (14) 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa, BC/Mullins, 31, $300.
21. (10) 5j John Schwab, Liberal, Kan., Ramirez/Klein, 27, $300.
22. (15) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, Hughes/Sput’s, 27, $300.
23. (20) 12h Mike Hansen, Alton, Iowa, GRT/PerfOnly, 13, $300.
DNS - 813 Justin Boney, DeSoto, Kan., $250.

(R) = DandyLand Farms Rookie of the Year contender.

WIX Filters Lap Leaders: Mather 1-2, Gustin 3-37, Shryock 38-40.
Total Laps Led: Gustin 35, Shryock 3, Mather 2.
Margin of Victory: 0.099 second.
AFCO Pole Winner: Krohn.
PBM Performance Products Hard Charger: VanderBeek (started 19th, finished 5th).
Ruter Farms Long Tow: Myer (688.24 miles).
Next Race: Friday, Aug. 13, Humboldt Speedway, Humboldt Kan.
Points Standings: Shryock 177, Gustin 167, VanderBeek 161, Myer 129, Tesch 128, Hughes 127, Ramirez 124, Krohn 114, Mather 96, Hejna 92.
DandyLand Farms Rookie of the Year Points: Scott 1353, Nick Deal 772, Curt Myers 619, Mark Elliott 512, Ryan Peckham 510.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 309, Sput’s 306, ASI 153, ProPower 135, AEM 126.
Chassis Builders Championship Points: Skyrocket 306, Hughes 304, GRT 237, Ramirez 207, BC 134.

Contingency Awards:
Ai-Racing – Mather.
American Racer – Keller.
ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems – not awarded.
Dart Machinery – Donlinger.
Eibach Springs – Scott.
Forty9Designs.com – Hughes, Mather.
Hooker Harness – Hejna.
Isky Racing Cams – Tesch.
KSE Racing Products – Tesch.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Hansen.
Out-Pace Racing Products – Scott.
PBM Performance Products – VanderBeek.
Quarter Master – Shryock, Ramirez.
QuickTime – Tesch.
Real Racing Wheels – Hejna, Conley.
Schoenfeld Headers – Gustin.
WIX Filters – Shryock, Gustin.

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USMTS TITLE SPONSORS: Casey’s General Stores, Castle Rock Recruiting.

USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, AwesomeRacesuits.com, GoPro, Intercomp, Karl Chevrolet, Kevko Oil Pans & Components, New Vision Graphics, Nitroquest, RACEceiver.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Allstar Performance, Arnold Motor Supply, ASi Racewear, Bad Boy Mowers, Bear Tire, Big Dog Chassis & Fabrication, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Cagle Motorsports, Centex Motorsports, DandyLand Farms, Day Motor Sports, Dirt Track Racing School, Dirthead.com, DirtKnights.com, Falcon Wind Power, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, Gressel Oil Field Service, Intensitee Custom Racewear, Just Say Yes, Karl Performance Parts, Olympic Fire Protection, Ramirez Race Cars, Ruter Farms, WIX Filters, Yeager Machine.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Ai-Racing, Belleville Motorsports, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, COMP Cams, Dart Machinery, Dynatech Racing Exhaust, Eibach Springs, Fast Shafts, Forty9Designs.com, 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, QuickTime Inc, Real Racing Wheels, RHS – Racing Head Service, Schoenfeld Headers, US Brake, Willy’s Carburetor & Dyno Shop, WIX Filters.
 




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