ELM MOTT, Texas (May 5) – After rain wiped out plans for the inaugural USMTS event at the Heart O’ Texas Speedway each of the last two seasons, the third time was the charm as Mother Nature delivered a picture-perfect day for racing Thursday.

Forty-three of the nation’s fastest and most furious Modified drivers descended on Gene Adamcik’s quarter-mile clay oval near Waco, Texas, and delivered an exciting night of racing for the throng of fans who had waited patiently for three years.

The event was first rained-out on May 3, 2009, and at that time Ryan Gustin was just 18 years old and had just won his first and only USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour powered by Swan Energy a few months earlier.

Gustin found his way back to victory lane again Thursday night, but this time for his sixth win of the season and 30th USMTS triumph in his young career.

After five heat races that clicked off without a single caution flag, Sean Jones was the AFCO Pole Award winner by earning the most passing points and then redrew the pole position for the start of the 40-lap WIX Filters “A” Main.

Jones jumped out to a four-car-length bulge in just one lap and paced the field of 26 starters through the first seven laps. Meanwhile, Rodney Sanders worked his way into second before Gustin grabbed the second spot away just before the race’s first caution.

On the restart, Jones again maintained the top spot with Gustin and Sanders giving chase, but after just one more lap Jones’ crate-powered machine veered off the track in turn 1 and came to a halt atop the embankment in turn 2, bringing out the second yellow flag.

With Jones dropping from first to last for the next restart, Gustin was in control but Sanders, 21, kept the 20-year-old Gustin within striking distance. The leaders encountered lapped traffic on lap 27 and Sanders closed in on Gustin.

With 10 laps to go, Gustin went to the high side while Sanders dove to the bottom as the two attempted to split the lapped car of Rory Jordan. As they exited turn 4, Gustin completed the pass but Jordan and Sanders made contact which sent Sanders head-on into an inside tire barrier.

The incident brought out the final caution of the race with Jimmy Ray, 13th-starting Jason Hughes and 19th-starting Johnny Scott sitting second, third and fourth behind Gustin for the restart.

Despite owning nine wins in the sixteen previous feature races so far this season, Hughes and Scott were unable to mount a challenge for the lead. However, Ray pressured Gustin in every turn for the remainder of the contest but had to settle for the runner-up paycheck at the finish line.

Hughes and Scott held on for third and fourth, respectively, while Shane Hebert climbed all the way to fifth after starting 25th and earned the Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger Award.

Brad Doherty finished sixth, Jason Grimes grabbed the seventh spot, Keith Green was eighth, Jones rebounded to finish ninth and Heart O’ Texas Speedway track points leader Chase Jupe rounded out the top-10.

The win, worth $2,000, moved Gustin into the points lead in the Day Motor Sports Southwest Region after four completed events. Scott is second, followed by Hughes, Sanders, Kelly Shryock, Bobby Malchus, Hebert, Bryan Rowland, Ray and Dereck Ramirez.

Shryock struggled in the USMTS main event, but still took home a trophy as he drove Shannon “Slider” Young’s SLY1 to victory in the 20-lap HotMod feature race.

Action moves to the Cowtown Speedway in Kennedale, Texas on Friday night for another $2,000-to-win contest. Hughes finished fourth in the last USMTS event at “The Fastest Little Dirt Track in Texas” in 2008 while three Cowtown locals – George White, Bryan Sugg and Glenn Leuschner – successfully defended their home turf and claimed the top three spots.

Pit gates will open at 4 p.m., grandstands open at 5, hot laps are at 6:30 and the green flag waves at 7 p.m. Also on the racing card will be Limited Mods and Bombers/Hobby Stocks.

The Cowtown Speedway is a quarter-mile high-banked clay oval located off of I-20 at exit 442-A, then 1.7 miles southeast on Mansfield Hwy., then 1.4 miles southwest on New Hope Rd. For day-of-race information, call 817-478-9952 or check out www.cowtownspeedway.com on the World Wide Web.

On Saturday night, May 7, the scene will be Virgil Page’s Lake Country Speedway in Ardmore, Okla., with racing slated for 8 p.m. The Lake Country Speedway is a 3/8-mile semi-banked clay oval located just off of I-35 at exit 29, then 0.7 mile east on US 70, then 1.8 miles south on US 77. For race day information, call 580-220-7565 or visit www.lakecountryspeedwayok.com online.

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
USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour powered by Swan Energy
Inaugural Event
Heart O’ Texas Speedway, Elm Mott, Texas
Thursday, May 5, 2011

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 “A” Main, with the top 8 re-drawing for starting positions 1-8.

ISKY RACING CAMS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (2) 2 Kenny Gaddis, Hallsville, Texas.
2. (3) 303 Chase Jupe, Waco, Texas.
3. (4) 707 P.J. Egbert (R), Copperas Cove, Texas.
4. (6) 2 Paul White, Temple, Texas.
5. (1) 71h Philip Houston (R), Odessa, Texas.
6. (8) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
7. (5) 156 Steve Pugh (R), Anderson, Texas.
8. (7) 78 Trevor Egbert (R), Salado, Texas.
9. (9) 14t Tristan Dycus, Midlothian, Texas.

NEW VISION GRAPHICS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (3) 41m Steve McMackin, Greenville, Texas.
2. (1) 410 Brad Doherty (R), Ennis, Texas.
3. (2) 5t Randy Timms, Wheatland, Okla.
4. (7) 18s Cody Smith, Kaufman, Texas.
5. (4) 87 John Webb (R), Pauls Valley, Okla.
6. (6) 11 Wesley Hamilton (R), Killeen, Texas.
7. (5) 87 Justin McCoy (R), Ovilla, Texas.
8. (9) 88xxx Clyde Dunn Jr. (R), Sunnyville, Texas.
9. (8) 60 William Gould, Calera, Okla.

EIBACH SPRINGS HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (6) 24 Sean Jones, Mansfield, Texas.
2. (2) 99 Jason Grimes (R), Jamestown, N.D.
3. (1) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
4. (4) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
5. (3) 7x Rory Jordan, Victoria, Texas.
6. (8) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
7. (5) 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla.
8. (7) 88xx Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas.

PBM PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (2) 5g Keith Green, Waco, Texas.
2. (4) 9 Jimmy Ray (R), Las Cruces, N.M.
3. (3) 76 Jesse Manning (R), Brazoria, Texas.
4. (7) 9 Shane Hebert, Lafayette, La.
5. (1) 76 Jeff Rowland (R), Pauls Valley, Okla.
6. (6) 82 Brandon Houk (R), Venus, Texas.
7. (5) 94 Nick Hardcastle, Corpus Christi, Texas.
8. (8) 51 Tracy Denby Jr., Vidor, Texas.

HEAT RACE #5 (8 laps):
1. (2) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
2. (4) 717 George Egbert IV (R), Salado, Texas.
3. (8) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
4. (3) 30 Chase Allen, Midlothian, Texas.
5. (1) 12g Jeremy Green (R), Enid, Okla.
6. (7) 8 Steve Miller, Georgetown, Texas.
7. (6) 45t Eric Tomlinson (R), Robinson, Texas.
8. (5) 12 Scooter Bates, Killeen, Texas.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 7 advance):1. (2) 5t Randy Timms, Wheatland, Okla.
2. (1) 18s Cody Smith, Kaufman, Texas.
3. (4) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
4. (3) 76 Jesse Manning (R), Brazoria, Texas.
5. (6) 7x Rory Jordan, Victoria, Texas.
6. (8) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
7. (13) 78 Trevor Egbert (R), Salado, Texas.
8. (5) 71h Philip Houston (R), Odessa, Texas, SRP/JR, $80.
9. (14) 51 Tracy Denby Jr., Vidor, Texas, Skyrocket/Harris, $80.
10. (12) 45t Eric Tomlinson (R), Robinson, Texas, Hughes/Outlaw, $80.
11. (10) 156 Steve Pugh (R), Anderson, Texas, Skyrocket/ProPower, $80.
12. (9) 11 Wesley Hamilton (R), Killeen, Texas, Pierce/Centex, $80.
13. (15) 14t Tristan Dycus, Midlothian, Texas, Kraft/Wells, $80.
14. (11) 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/ProPower, $80.
15. (7) 12g Jeremy Green (R), Enid, Okla., Ramirez/Janes, $80.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 7 advance):1. (2) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
2. (4) 30 Chase Allen, Midlothian, Texas.
3. (5) 87 John Webb, Pauls Valley, Okla.
4. (7) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
5. (3) 2 Paul White, Temple, Texas.
6. (13) 88xx Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas.
7. (1) 9 Shane Hebert, Lafayette, La.
8. (11) 94 Nick Hardcastle, Corpus Christi, Texas, Skyrocket/Hardcastle, $60.
9. (6) 76 Jeff Rowland (R), Pauls Valley, Okla., Hughes/Boyd’s, $80.
10. (9) 82 Brandon Houk (R), Venus, Texas, Harris/Lenmar, $80.
11. (10) 87 Justin McCoy (R), Ovilla, Texas, Skyrocket/KSP, $80.
12. (15) 60 William Gould, Calera, Okla., Shaw/BMS, $60.
13. (8) 8 Steve Miller, Georgetown, Texas, Hughes/Cantrell, $80.
14. (12) 88xxx Clyde Dunn Jr., Sunnyville, Texas.
15. (14) 12 Scooter Bates, Killeen, Texas, Pierce/Brooks, $60.

WIX FILTERS “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (5) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, 40, $2000.
2. (7) 9 Jimmy Ray (R), Las Cruces, N.M., AOS/GMPP, 40, $1500.
3. (13) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $1000.
4. (19) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., Hughes/ASI, 40, $800.
5. (25) 9 Shane Hebert, Lafayette, La., Hughes/ASI, 40, $800.
6. (9) 410 Brad Doherty (R), Ennis, Texas, GRT/Craft, 40, $600.
7. (10) 99 Jason Grimes (R), Jamestown, N.D., Hughes/Dakota, 40, $550.
8. (2) 5g Keith Green, Waco, Texas, Hughes/, 40, $300.
9. (1) 24 Sean Jones, Mansfield, Texas, PCR/GMPP, 40, $450.
10. (8) 303 Chase Jupe, Waco, Texas, Hughes/Centex, 40, $250.
11. (23) 88xx Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas, Hughes/Wells, 40, $400.
12. (16) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Ramirez/ProPower, 40, $375.
13. (17) 87 John Webb (R), Pauls Valley, Okla., Hughes/Shoulders, 40, $350.
14. (22) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, Skyrocket/ProPower, 40, $400.
15. (6) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, Hughes/Geddes, 40, $400.
16. (24) 78 Trevor Egbert (R), Salado, Texas, Hughes/Centex, 40, $300.
17. (20) 7x Rory Jordan, Victoria, Texas, Hughes/Mullins, 40, $250.
18. (18) 76 Jesse Manning (R), Brazoria, Texas, Evolution/Hall, 40, $300.
19. (11) 707 P.J. Egbert (R), Copperas Cove, Texas, Hughes/Lingo, 18, radiator, $300.
20. (12) 5t Randy Timms, Wheatland, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 18, A-frame, $300.
21. (14) 18s Cody Smith, Kaufman, Texas, Hughes/Chase, 17, crash, $300.
22. (26) 88xxx Clyde Dunn Jr. (R), Sunnyville, Texas, Hughes/Mullins, 17, crash, $300.
23. (21) 2 Paul White, Temple, Texas, Hughes/Centex, 17, suspension, $300.
24. (3) 717 George Egbert IV (R), Salado, Texas, DirtWorks/Centex, 14, radiator, $300.
25. (4) 2 Kenny Gaddis, Hallsville, Texas, Hughes/Gaddis, 13, suspension, $300.
26. (15) 30 Chase Allen, Midlothian, Texas, CAM/Allard, 6, steering, $300.
27. (27) 41m Steve McMackin, Greenville, Texas, DirtWorks/Cotton, did not start, 0, $100.

(R) = Rookie of the Year contender.

Integra Lap Leaders: Jones 1-8, Gustin 9-40.
Total Laps Led: Gustin 32, Jones 8.
Margin of Victory: 1.017 seconds.
AFCO Pole Winner: Jones.
Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger: Hebert (started 25th, finished 5th).
Provisional Starter: Dunn.
Next Race: Friday, May 6, Cowtown Speedway, Kennedale, Texas.
Day Motor Sports Southwest Region Points: Gustin 364, Scott 353, Hughes 351, Sanders 309, Shryock 305, Malchus 302, Hebert 273, B. Rowland 255, Ray 247, Ramirez 233.
Rookie of the Year Points: Dunn 727, Ray 707, P. Egbert 661, J. Rowland 638, Webb 591.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 159, ProPower 117, ASI 114, Sput’s 76, Geddes 69.
Chassis Builders Championship Points: Hughes 167, Skyrocket 128, GRT 101, Ramirez 68, TRE 67.

Contingency Awards:American Racer – Shryock.
CPD Racing Tools – not awarded.
Eibach Springs – Jones.
Forty9Designs.com – Scott, Jones.
Hooker Harness – Ramirez.
Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – Gustin.
ISKY Racing Cams – Gaddis.
KSE Racing Products – not awarded.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Allen.
New Vision Graphics – not awarded.
Nitroquest – J. Green, Dunn.
Mesilla Valley Transportation – Hebert.
PBM Performance Products – not awarded.
Real Racing Wheels – Houston, J. Rowland.
Ruter Farms – not awarded.
WIX Filters – Gustin.

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

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

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Arnold Motor Supply, ASi Racewear, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, DAY Motor Sports, Dirthead.com, DirtKnights.com, Dirt Track Racing School, DrySlik Dirt Trak Racewear, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, Intensitee Custom Racewear, Karl Performance Parts, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Olympic Fire Protection, Ramirez Race Cars, Ruter Farms, Schwab’s Tinker Shop, Sybesma Graphics, Yeager Machine.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, COMP Cams, CPD Racing Tools, Eibach Springs, Fast Shafts, Forty9Designs.com, Genesis Shocks, Hooker Harness, Hypercoil Springs, ISKY Racing Cams, The Joie of Seating, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, Out-Pace Racing Products, PBM Performance Products, Quarter Master, Real Racing Wheels, RHS – Racing Head Service, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, WIX Filters.