JEFFERSON, S.D. (July 19) – Less than a week before the $25,000-to-win World Modified Dirt Track Championship, Ryan Gustin is hitting his stride at the right time and looking invincible as he has on multiple occasions over the last three seasons with the United States Modified Touring Series.

The 21-year-old from Marshalltown, Iowa, laid eyes on Raceway Park in Jefferson, S.D., for the first time Thursday afternoon, and by night’s end ‘The Reaper’ had his fifth straight USMTS National Championship Series victory and another $4,000 check in his pocket.

It also matched his career-best win streak where he won five in a row from June 16 through June 22 during the 2010 campaign.

Gustin started on the outside of the front row in Thursday’s Swan Energy “A” Main and led all 40 laps en route to his ninth overall USMTS triumph this year, but he was pressured throughout the contest on the quarter-mile Raceway Park bullring.

Coming from the eighth starting spot, Chris Brown challenged early on but faded back to fifth in the latter stages of the race. As the laps wound down, seventh-starting Jason Hughes and fourteenth-starting Dereck Ramirez pulled in close behind Gustin, but could not muster the strength to challenge for the lead and settled for second and third at the finish.

Also on the charge was Johnny Scott, who finished fourth after tagging the rear of the field after a mishap early in the race.

In two previous trips to the former Interstate Speedway in 2005 and 2006, Kelly Shryock took the checkered flag both times and held on for a sixth-place finish this time.

Ryan Ruter, Rodney Sanders, Sean Barragan and Rick Beebe rounded out the top-10 finishers.

SILVER DOLLAR NATIONALS NEXT …

On Friday and Saturday, thousands of race fans will descend upon the I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb., for the 2nd Annual Silver Dollar Nationals. While the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series will compete in a $25,000-to-win main event, the USMTS Modifieds drivers will share the spotlight in the biggest dirt race in Nebraska History.

Friday’s event will be a $4,000-to-win USMTS National Championship Series contest while Saturday’s show will pay $2,000 to win and will serve as the final USMTS Casey’s Cup Series race of the season. The Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup begins Aug. 9, at the Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Mo. Seventeen races are on tap during ‘The Hunt’ with a $15,000 payoff awaiting the series champ.

For more information, visit www.i-80speedway.com or call the track office at 402-342-3453.

This week’s quadrupleheader wraps up on Sunday, July 22, for another $4,000-to-win USMTS National Championship Series blockbuster at the Nobles County Speedway in Worthington, Minn., with the exciting Iron Man Challenge featuring USRA B-Mods joining the program presented by Running Fleet & Farm. Also on tap at the 1/4–mile semi-banked dirt oval will be USRA Stock Cars and USRA Hobby Stocks racing for national points, as well as Micro-Sprint to round out the list of classes in action.

Pit gates will open at 2 p.m., grandstand gates open at 3 p.m., hot laps begin at 5:30 and racing starts at 6 p.m.

The Nobles County Speedway is located off of I-90 at Exit 43, then 0.4 mile south on SR 59, then 0.4 mile west on Oxford St., then 0.2 mile north on McMullan (Pioneer Village). For more information, call the track hotline at 507-360-3825 or check out www.noblescountyspeedway.net online.

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/ustmts and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/usmts.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

OFFICIAL RESULTS
USMTS National Championship Series
Raceway Park, Jefferson, S.D.
Thursday, July 19, 2012

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.

BEYEA CUSTOM HEADERS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (2) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
2. (3) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
3. (5) 55 Jim Cole, Sioux City, Iowa.
4. (1) 48 Bobby Moore, Sioux City, Iowa.
5. (8) 00c Chris Mills, Sioux City, Iowa.
6. (7) 22b Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan.
7. (6) M80 Jim Mathieson, Sioux City, Iowa.
8. (4) 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa.

HOOKER HARNESS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (1) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
2. (2) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
3. (4) 21 Chris Brown, Spring, Texas.
4. (3) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
5. (7) 555 Ryan Ruter, Kanawha, Iowa.
6. (5) 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla.
7. (6) 20s Stormy Scott (R), Las Cruces, N.M.

EIBACH SPRINGS HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (2) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D.
2. (1) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
3. (4) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
4. (5) 12h Mike Hansen, Alton, Iowa.
5. (6) 18 Chase Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.
6. (3) 88 Sean Barragan (R), Sioux City, Iowa.
7. (7) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN (12 laps, all advance):
1. (2) 555 Ryan Ruter, Kanawha, Iowa.
2. (1) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
3. (3) 18 Chase Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.
4. (4) 22b Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan.
5. (5) 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla.
6. (9) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn.
7. (7) M80 Jim Mathieson, Sioux City, Iowa.
8. (6) 88 Sean Barragan (R), Sioux City, Iowa.
9. (8) 20s Stormy Scott (R), Las Cruces, N.M.
10. (10) 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa.

SWAN ENERGY “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (2) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, $4000.
2. (7) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, $2200.
3. (14) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/ProPower, $1600.
4. (4) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., Hughes/ProPower, $1200.
5. (8) 21 Chris Brown, Spring, Texas, Skyrocket/RoushYates, $1000.
6. (5) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, Skyrocket/RoushYates, $800.
7. (13) 555 Ryan Ruter, Kanawha, Iowa, Sidebiter/Sput’s, $700.
8. (9) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, Hughes/Geddes, $600.
9. (20) 88 Sean Barragan (R), Sioux City, Iowa, Evolution/Yankton, $600.
10. (16) 22b Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan., Hughes/Mullins, $500.
11. (3) 55 Jim Cole, Sioux City, Iowa, Razor/JRM, $400.
12. (10) 12h Mike Hansen, Alton, Iowa, GRT/PerfOnly, $375.
13. (1) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D., GRT/Sput’s, $425.
14. (11) 00c Chris Mills, Sioux City, Iowa, Razor/JRM, $325.
15. (15) 18 Chase Junghans, Manhattan, Kan., GRT/Sput’s, $400.
16. (21) 20s Stormy Scott (R), Las Cruces, N.M., Hughes/ProPower, $400.
17. (18) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn., Hughes/Sput’s, $400.
18. (12) 48 Bobby Moore, Sioux City, Iowa, $400.
19. (6) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, Skyrocket/Sput’s, $400.
20. (19) M80 Jim Mathieson, Sioux City, Iowa, BeerBuilt/Mathieson, $300.
21. (17) 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/ProPower, $400.
22. (22) 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa, BC/ProPower, $400.

(R) = Rookie of the Year contender.

Integra Lap Leaders: Gustin 1-40.
Total Laps Led: Gustin 40.
Margin of Victory: 0.233 second.
Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger: Barragan (started 20th, finished 9th).
Next Race: Friday-Saturday, July 20-21, I-80 Speedway, Greenwood, Neb.
USMTS National Championship Series Points: Gustin 1786, Sanders 1598, Hughes 1572, Shryock 1466, J. Scott 1462, S. Scott 1428, Ramirez 1393, Brown 1376, VanderBeek 1224, Junghans 1220.
Rookie of the Year Points: S. Scott 2015, Daniel Hilsabeck 1369, Ron Keith 1219, Casey Penn 956, Thomas Tillison Jr. 789.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 315, Geddes 295, ProPower 268, Sput’s 246, RoushYates 171.
Tiger Rear Ends Manufacturers Championship Points: Hughes 378, GRT 335, Skyrocket 280, Sidebiter 132, Shaw 118.

Contingency Awards:
AERO Race Wheels – Dripps.
American Racer – Ruter.
Beyea Custom Headers – VanderBeek.
Dominator Race Products – not awarded.
Eibach Springs – Tesch.
Forty9Designs.com – J. Scott, Barragan.
Hooker Harness – Hughes.
Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – Gustin.
KEVKO Oil Pans & Components – not awarded.
KSE Racing Products – Brown.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Rowland.
Nitroquest – Dripps.
Mesilla Valley Transportation – Barragan.
PBM Performance Products – not awarded.
R2C Performance Products – 2ndinA.
Real Racing Wheels – Ruter.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

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

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

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Arbor Masters, Arnold Motor Supply, ASi Racewear, Beebe Heating & Air Conditioning, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Dirthead.com, DirtKnights.com, Erson Cams, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, Intensitee Custom Racewear, Mesilla Valley Transportation, O’Brien Enterprises, Olympic Fire Protection, Ramirez Motorsports, Road Runner Trucking, Ruter Farms, Sybesma Graphics, Yeager Machine.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AERO Race Wheels, AFCO Racing Products, Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, CPD Racing Tools, Eibach Springs, Fast Shafts, Forty9Designs.com, Genesis Shocks, Hooker Harness, Integra Racing Shocks & Springs, Keyser Manufacturing, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, PBM Performance Products, Quarter Master, Real Racing Wheels, Tiger Rear Ends.