BAYTOWN, Texas (Nov. 15) – Jeremy Payne’s last visit to the Royal Purple Raceway in February left a bad taste in his mouth, but Thursday night he returned to the clay oval in Baytown, Texas, for the 6th Annual USMTS Texas Winter Nationals presented by Ron Craft Cadillac-Chevrolet to redeem himself and this time tasted victory.

On the final night of the USMTS Spring Nationals here on Feb. 25, Payne did a solo spin coming off of turn 4 while leading comfortably and saw a $4,000 payday slip through his fingers and into the hands of Johnny Scott.

It was a moment that launched a rough start to the 2012 season for the 27-year-old from Springfield, Mo., just a few weeks after leaving Terry Phillips Racing and venturing out to form his own team. It wasn’t until Aug. 10 at the Humboldt Speedway that Payne grabbed his first win of the year during the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup.

Driving the #186 GRT Modified with sponsorship from SLAP Energy Drinks, it was the beginning of a strong fall season for Payne. One month later, he captured the USMTS National Championship Series finale at the Ogilvie Raceway before closing out the month of September with a win at the Featherlite Fall Jamboree.

Fresh off of winning the highest-paying IMCA Modified race of the year in Las Vegas last weekend, Payne returned to the Lone Star State on a roll and looking to put to rest some unfinished business at the Royal Purple Raceway.

Payne came from tenth to finish third in his heat race, which placed him among the top eight in passing points among the 79 entries on hand. Just like his last time here, he drew the front row for the start of the feature race and jumped out to a big lead when the green flag waved.

But this time was different. Just one mid-race caution slowed the event, but this time it wasn’t for Payne. Instead, he was racing in his own zip code and led every lap to take his fourth USMTS win of the year and pocket the $2,000 winner’s share of the purse.

“I’ve always enjoyed racing here and the track was just perfect tonight. It was really slick and just love tracks like this,” Payne said following his ninth career USMTS victory and second at the former Houston Raceway Park. “We gave one away there in February, so it’s nice to get a win here the first night out.”

Last year’s USMTS Texas Winter Nationals Thursday night winner Chris Brown of nearby Spring, Texas, settled for the runner-up spot behind Payne while Gopher State great Jason Krohn charged from 11th on the starting grid to take home a third-place finish ahead of Jason Hughes and Johnny Scott.

Rodney Sanders, Mike Steensma, Zack VanderBeek, Shane Hebert and Steve Whiteaker Jr. rounded out the top 10 finishers while USMTS national champion Ryan Gustin faded to 11th after starting third. Hebert passed 13 cars in the 30-lapper to earn the Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger Award.

In USRA HotMod (Limited Mod) action, John O Whittington took the win in the 20-lap main event. He was followed across the finish line by Howard Willis, Travis Johnson, Corey Babbitt and Shane Hoefling.

The 6th Annual USMTS Texas Winter Nationals presented by Ron Craft Cadillac-Chevrolet continues for two more big nights at the state-of-the-art 3/8-mile high-banked clay oval. Friday’s first-place finisher pockets $3,000 and Saturday’s finale will carry a $4,000 top prize for the USMTS Modifieds. USRA HotMods will be racing $600 and $700 to win, respectively.

On Friday, the pit gate opens at 3 p.m., grandstands open at 5 and racing begins at 7. On Saturday, pit gates open at 3 p.m., grandstands open at 4 and the first heat race hits the track at 5:30.

Grandstand admission is $15 each night for adults, $5 for kids ages 6-12 and children 5 and under get in for free. Pit passes are $35 each night.

The Royal Purple Raceway is a state-of-the-art 3/8-mile high-banked clay oval with a main grandstand seating capacity of 7,500 which includes fourteen VIP luxury suites and boasts a modern Musco Lighting system suitable for television productions.

Located in Baytown, Texas, the facility is located east of Houston on I-10 to Exit 799, then 2.5 miles south on SH 99 (Grand Parkway), then 0.3 mile west on FM 565. Speedway entrance located at Gate 3. For more information, call the track office at 281-383-RACE or visit www.royalpurpleraceway.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 like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ustmts and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/usmts.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
6th Annual USMTS Texas Winter Nationals presented by Ron Craft Cadillac-Chevrolet
Royal Purple Raceway, Baytown, Texas
Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine builder and money won. The top 8 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) 36 Bryan Mewborn, Texarkana, Texas.
2. (1) 77K Ron Jones, Princeton, Minn.
3. (4) 9 Jimmy Ray, Las Cruces, N.M.
4. (6) 303 Chase Jupe, Waco, Texas.
5. (8) 4M Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas.
6. (5) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas.
7. (7) 85 Thomas Tillison Jr., Wellston, Okla.
8. (10) 23 Howard Willis, Dayton, Texas.
9. (9) 07 Paul Cates, Salina, Okla.
10. (3) 02 James Longpine, Drummond, Okla.

HOOKER HARNESS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (4) 89 Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas.
2. (10) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
3. (1) 25 Ron Keith, Shawnee, Kan.
4. (6) 14T Tristan Dycus, Midlothian, Texas.
5. (5) 9 Shane Hebert, Lafayette, La.
6. (9) 12C Corey Babbitt, Channelview, Texas.
7. (8) 60 William Gould, Calera, Okla.
8. (7) 77 Brian Craighead, Farmerville, La.
9. (2) 99X Triston Sikes, Hobbs, N.M.
10. (3) 7x Rory Jordan, Victoria, Texas.

EIBACH SPRINGS HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (3) 51 Eddie Martin, Stilwell, Okla.
2. (1) 34 Mickey Lassiter, Piedmont, Okla.
3. (6) 99H Trevor Hunt, Liberty, Mo.
4. (5) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
5. (4) 8t Dustin Hyde, Texarkana, Texas.
6. (8) 715 J.P. Dowell, Killeen, Texas.
7. (2) 51 Tracy Denby Jr., Vidor, Texas.
8. (9) C3 Rick Duke, Pineville, La.
9. (10) 15* Adam Penn, Shreveport, La.
10. (7) 18C Larry Clevenger, Greenwood, La.

PBM PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (6) 21 Chris Brown, Spring, Texas.
2. (3) 20 Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan.
3. (1) C22 Chase Delrio, West Monroe, La.
4. (2) 26 Bob Gierke, Westport, Minn.
5. (8) 5t Randy Timms, Wheatland, Okla.
6. (5) 5 Wes Armstrong, Marshall, Texas.
7. (4) 74 Mark Noble, Blooming Prairie, Minn.
8. (10) 56 Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyville, Texas.
9. (7) 22B John Webb, Pauls Valley, Okla.
10. (9) 8 Steve Miller, Georgetown, Texas.

HEAT RACE #5 (8 laps):
1. (1) 12 Lucas Lee, Paris, Tenn.
2. (3) 90 Terry Schultz, Sedalia, Mo.
3. (6) 18s Cody Smith, Kaufman, Texas.
4. (4) 57 Jason Armstrong, Marshall, Texas.
5. (10) 21 David Winslett, Bossier City, La.
6. (5) 76 Jesse Manning, Brazoria, Texas.
7. (7) 2 Chad Rockefeller, Baytown, Texas.
8. (8) 012 Patrick Petty, La Porte, Texas.
9. (9) 6X Rob Litton, Alexandria, La.
10. (2) 715 Jeff Hoegh, New Caney, Texas.

HEAT RACE #6 (8 laps):
1. (2) 83 Willy Kraft, Mico, Texas.
2. (5) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
3. (10) 186 Jeremy Payne, Springfield, Mo.
4. (7) 16 Chris Henigan, Marshall, Texas.
5. (1) A1 Phil Dixon, Crosby, Texas.
6. (4) 44 Christy Georges, El Paso, Texas.
7. (9) 1 T.J. Herndon, Atwood, Tenn.
8. (8) 55 Michael Lee, Paris, Tenn.
9. (3) 30 Dalton Knox, New Caney, Texas.
10. (6) 12P Trent Barker, Florien, La.

HEAT RACE #7 (8 laps):
1. (3) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
2. (5) 7K Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn.
3. (6) 22 Tracy Denby Sr., Vidor, Texas.
4. (10) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
5. (2) 15g Bubba Gates, Santa Fe, Texas.
6. (7) 5* Casey Penn, Shreveport, La.
7. (1) 61 Bobby Sikes Jr., Eunice, N.M.
8. (4) 68 Danny Barringer, Lufkin, Texas.
9. (9) 02 Gary Corbin, Ennis, Texas.
10. (8) 37 Joey Price, Great Falls, Mont.

HEAT RACE #8 (8 laps):
1. (4) 19R Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
2. (2) 10 Mike Steensma, Luverne, Minn.
3. (6) G17 Fito Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.
4. (5) 5W John O Whittington, Vidor, Texas.
5. (7) 2S Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
6. (1) 37H Garrett Higgins, Aztec, N.M.
7. (8) 2w Paul White, Temple, Texas.
8. (9) 44 Marcus Berndt, Katy, Texas.
9. (3) 11 Jeff Allgayer, El Campo, Texas.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 3 advance):
1. (1) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
2. (2) G17 Fito Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.
3. (7) 8t Dustin Hyde, Texarkana, Texas.
4. (5) 5W John O Whittington, Vidor, Texas, Pierce/CB, $80.
5. (13) 55 Michael Lee, Paris, Tenn., Harris/Mullins, $60.
6. (4) 21 David Winslett, Bossier City, La., IRP/TwinCity, $60.
7. (10) 2w Paul White, Temple, Texas, /, $80.
8. (9) 44 Christy Georges, El Paso, Texas, GRT/Barnett, $80.
9. (8) 5* Casey Penn, Shreveport, La., Hughes/Geddes, $80.
10. (15) 02 Gary Corbin, Ennis, Texas, Skyrocket/, $60.
11. (3) 9 Jimmy Ray, Las Cruces, N.M., AOS/AOS, $80.
12. (11) 2 Chad Rockefeller, Baytown, Texas, /, $60.
13. (14) 99X Triston Sikes, Hobbs, N.M., Skyrocket/PPE, $60.
14. (16) 18C Larry Clevenger, Greenwood, La., Skyrocket/EZ1, $80.
15. (12) C3 Rick Duke, Pineville, La., Skyrocket/, $60.
16. (6) 57 Jason Armstrong, Marshall, Texas, TRE/AMS, $80.
17. (17) 37 Joey Price, Great Falls, Mont., /, $60.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 3 advance):
1. (2) 77K Ron Jones, Princeton, Minn.
2. (3) 16 Chris Henigan, Marshall, Texas.
3. (6) 2S Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
4. (1) 99H Trevor Hunt, Liberty, Mo., Hughes/Hatfield, $80.
5. (14) 22B John Webb, Pauls Valley, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, $80.
6. (9) 37H Garrett Higgins, Aztec, N.M., GRT/GMPP, $60.
7. (4) 303 Chase Jupe, Waco, Texas, Hughes/Centex, $80.
8. (8) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas, Hughes/Geddes, $80.
9. (7) A1 Phil Dixon, Crosby, Texas, Fast1/Jackson, $60.
10. (16) 8 Steve Miller, Georgetown, Texas, Hughes/Extreme, $80.
11. (12) 44 Marcus Berndt, Katy, Texas, DirtWorks/AARE, $80.
12. (11) 61 Bobby Sikes Jr., Eunice, N.M., Skyrocket/Mullins, $60.
13. (13) 68 Danny Barringer, Lufkin, Texas, Skyrocket/Craft, $80.
14. (10) 85 Thomas Tillison Jr., Wellston, Okla., Hughes/Geddes, $80.
15. (15) 11 Jeff Allgayer, El Campo, Texas, Pierce/, $60.
16. (5) 4M Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas, Hughes/Wells, $80.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #3 (15 laps, top 3 advance):
1. (1) 18s Cody Smith, Kaufman, Texas.
2. (3) 25 Ron Keith, Shawnee, Kan.
3. (5) 5t Randy Timms, Wheatland, Okla.
4. (4) 14T Tristan Dycus, Midlothian, Texas, Kraft/Wells, $80.
5. (8) 5 Wes Armstrong, Marshall, Texas, TRE/AMS, $60.
6. (14) 6X Rob Litton, Alexandria, La., Skyrocket/Mullins, $80.
7. (13) 15* Adam Penn, Shreveport, La., Hughes/Geddes, $60.
8. (6) 12C Corey Babbitt, Channelview, Texas, TRE/CAM, $80.
9. (2) 34 Mickey Lassiter, Piedmont, Okla., TRE/, $60.
10. (7) 15g Bubba Gates, Santa Fe, Texas, DustDevil/, $80.
11. (12) 77 Brian Craighead, Farmerville, La., DirtWorks/Sput’s, $60.
12. (16) 715 Jeff Hoegh, New Caney, Texas, Skyrocket/AARE, $80.
13. (10) 51 Tracy Denby Jr., Vidor, Texas, Skyrocket/CB, $60.
14. (9) 1 T.J. Herndon, Atwood, Tenn., GRT/JRM, $80.
15. (11) 23 Howard Willis, Dayton, Texas, Evolution/Fox, $80.
16. (15) 02 James Longpine, Drummond, Okla., Hughes/Geddes, $60.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #4 (15 laps, top 3 advance):
1. (2) 10 Mike Steensma, Luverne, Minn.
2. (6) 9 Shane Hebert, Lafayette, La.
3. (4) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
4. (10) 74 Mark Noble, Blooming Prairie, Minn., Kraft/Gaerte, $80.
5. (7) 715 J.P. Dowell, Killeen, Texas, GRT/, $60.
6. (9) 60 William Gould, Calera, Okla., Shaw/BMS, $80.
7. (15) 7x Rory Jordan, Victoria, Texas, Hughes/Mullins, $80.
8. (13) 07 Paul Cates, Salina, Okla., Hughes/, $60.
9. (8) 76 Jesse Manning, Brazoria, Texas, Evolution/Hall, $80.
10. (12) 012 Patrick Petty, La Porte, Texas, /, $80.
11. (3) C22 Chase Delrio, West Monroe, La., Skyrocket/, $60.
12. (14) 30 Dalton Knox, New Caney, Texas, DirtWorks/, $60.
13. (1) 22 Tracy Denby Sr., Vidor, Texas, /, $60.
14. (5) 26 Bob Gierke, Westport, Minn., GRT/RoushYates, $80.
15. (16) 12P Trent Barker, Florien, La., /, $60.
16. (11) 56 Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyville, Texas, /Wells, $60.

SWAN ENERGY “A” MAIN (30 laps):
1. (2) 186 Jeremy Payne, Springfield, Mo., GRT/RoushYates, $2000.
2. (4) 21 Chris Brown, Spring, Texas, Hughes/RoushYates, $1500.
3. (11) 7K Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn., MBC/Sput’s, $1000.
4. (7) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, $800.
5. (6) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., Hughes/ProPower, $700.
6. (10) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, Hughes/Geddes, $600.
7. (18) 10 Mike Steensma, Luverne, Minn., Hughes/Sput’s, $550.
8. (15) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, Hughes/Sput’s, $500.
9. (22) 9 Shane Hebert, Lafayette, La., Hughes/ASI, $450.
10. (8) 89 Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas, Hughes/Mullins, $400.
11. (3) 19R Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, $350.
12. (25) 5t Randy Timms, Wheatland, Okla., Hughes/Geddes, $325.
13. (9) 83 Willy Kraft, Mico, Texas, Kraft/Gaerte, $200.
14. (13) 20 Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan., Hughes/Geddes, $300.
15. (1) 51 Eddie Martin, Stilwell, Okla., Hughes/Geddes, $200.
16. (12) 12 Lucas Lee, Paris, Tenn., LG2/Mullins, $200.
17. (17) 18s Cody Smith, Kaufman, Texas, CAM/Chase, $300.
18. (21) 25 Ron Keith, Shawnee, Kan., GRT/Mullins, $300.
19. (5) 36 Bryan Mewborn, Texarkana, Texas, Ramirez/CRT, $200.
20. (19) G17 Fito Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M., GRC/BMS, $300.
21. (24) 2S Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., Hughes/ProPower, $200.
22. (26) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/ProPower, $300.
23. (14) 90 Terry Schultz, Sedalia, Mo., GRT/Mullins, $300.
24. (16) 77K Ron Jones, Princeton, Minn., Hughes/Sputs, $300.
25. (23) 8t Dustin Hyde, Texarkana, Texas, CAM/CMS, $300.
26. (20) 16 Chris Henigan, Marshall, Texas, GRT/Riggins, $300.

Integra Lap Leader: Payne 1-30.
Total Laps Led: Payne 30.
Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger: Hebert (started 22nd, finished 9th).
Next Race: Friday-Saturday, Nov. 16-17, Royal Purple Raceway, Baytown, Texas.

Contingency Awards:
AERO Race Wheels – Henigan.
American Racer – Willis.
Beyea Custom Headers – Mewborn.
Dominator Race Products – Hyde.
Eibach Springs – Martin.
Forty9Designs.com – Hughes, Hebert.
Hooker Harness – Whiteaker.
Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – Payne.
KEVKO Oil Pans & Components – Hebert.
KSE Racing Products – Whiteaker.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Hyde.
Nitroquest – Price, Malchus, Longpine, Hafertepe.
Mesilla Valley Transportation – Hebert.
PBM Performance Products – Brown.
R2C Performance Products – Brown.
Real Racing Wheels – VanderBeek, Jones, Smith, Steensma.

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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.