HomeDirt Late Model NewsRyan Gustin claims $10,000 Winter Extreme Tucson finale!

Ryan Gustin claims $10,000 Winter Extreme Tucson finale!

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Ryan Gustin – Mike Ruefer Photo

by Ryan Nueharth

Tucson, Arizona (January 19, 2014) Coming into the 2nd Annual NDRL Winter Extreme at Tucson International Raceway, Ryan Gustin knew the location of Freedom RV Victory Lane. He visited back in November of 2010 while driving his open wheel modified, and had been knocking on the door of a return trip all weekend long. On Sunday night, the pilot from Marshalltown, IA wasn’t going to just settle for knocking, he decided it was time to kick it in and take home the mini-series $10,000 top prize.

After winning his heat race and drawing the outside pole, Gustin outdueled fellow Hawkeye state competitor Chris Simpson on lap one and lead flag-to-flag for the self-proclaimed biggest win of his career. “We’ve won a lot of race in the mod, but this tops all those because of the cars here” said Gustin post-race.

“We had a great car all week, and I knew I had to get out in front of Simpson early,” he continued. Indeed, Simpson, who had been hampered by poor starting spots all week yet posted a series to top 10 finishes, found himself on the pole courtesy of his daughter who drew the pole. And after spending close to an hour on the phone earlier in the day with another Iowa driver & car builder Brian Birkhofer, seemed poised to take the win himself.

Simpson would trail Gustin for the first 13 laps until a slight slip in turn two allowed both Shane Clanton and John Blankenship to motor past. He would fight back to the inside of Blankenship on lap 14, but his run was negated by a slowing Mike Balcean and the races first yellow.

Immediately after the restart, the track again became low-lane dominate making it virtually impossible to pass. The lap 20 top 10 running order of Gustin, Clanton, Blankenship, Simpson, Diemel, Robinson, Junghans, Whitwell, Mars & Asplin would remain unchanged until the leader reached the back of the field on lap 28.

Gustin would put a lap on Garrett Alberson before encountering Justin Kay on lap 34. The 19r and 15k would come together off of turn two which sent Kay spinning off the nose of the leader down the backstretch. The near disaster brought back visions of the Silver Dollar Nationals for Gustin where contact with Kyle Berck cost him a shot at the $25,000 payday.

“I was daydreaming of I-80 and not paying attention” said Gustin of the incident. His fortune on this night was not nearly as cruel and the leader was able to continue with very minimal damage.

While Gustin was making his withdrawal from the luck bank, the good mojo for Simpson was running out as he cut-down a tire just after the restart and was unable to continue after heavy contact from the rear by Alberson.

The races final restart would give last years finale winner Clanton and Blankenship one last shot at Gustin, but track conditions negated any ideas they had of moving past the races only leader who ran uncontested over the final 16-laps for the win.

Full Results
NDRL ‘Kings of Dirt’ Winter Extreme – Night Six
Tucson International Raceway
Tucson, Arizona
Sunday, January 19, 2014

Feature
1. (2) 19R Ryan Gustin Marshalltown, IA $10,000
2. (3) 25 Shane Clanton Fayetteville, GA $5,000
3. (5) 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV $2,500
4. (6) 58 A.J. Diemel Elk Mound, WI $2,000
5. (4) 7R Kent Robinson Bloomington, IN $1,750
6. (10) 5 R.C. Whitwell Tucson, AZ $1,500
7. (8) 18 Chase Junghans Manhattan, KS $1,300
8. (12) 28 Jimmy Mars Menomonie, WI $1,200
9. (16) 14M Morgan Bagley Longview, TX $1,100
10. (13) 19 Tim Fuller Watertown, NY $1,000
11. (18) 1V Will Vaught Crane, MO $900
12. (14) 15S Donny Schatz Fargo, ND $800
13. (24) 77 Jordan Yaggy Rochester, MN $750
14. (9) 77A Justin Asplin Birch Tree, MO $700
15. (11) 91P Jason Papich Arroyo Grande, CA $700
16. (21) 43 Garrett Alberson Las Cruces, NM $700
17. (1) 32 Chris Simpson Oxford, IA $700
18. (19) 21 Billy Moyer Batesville, AR $700
19. (15) 15K Justin Kay Wheatland, IA $700
20. (22) 75 Terry Phillips Springfield, MO $700
21. (20) B5 Brandon Sheppard New Berlin, IL $700
22. (17) 6 Travis Dickes Madison, NE $700
23. (7) 10 Mike Balcean Winnipeg, MB $700
24. (23) 111 Max Blair Titusville, PA $700

B-Main #1 (Top 2 xfer)
1 21 Billy Moyer Batesville, AR
2 75 Terry Phillips Springfield, MO
3 7 Ricky Weiss Headingley, MB
4 86 Kyle Beard Trumann, AR
5 2T Trevor Glaser Tanqent, OR
6 7K Jason Krohn Slayton, MN
7 11 Steven Pfeifer Minot, ND
8 77L Cody Laney Torrance, CA
9 14 Sean Bray Tucson, AZ
10 7 Marshall Miles Tucson, AZ
11 14D Dean Moore Grand Junction, CO
DNS 27 Nick Bartels El Segundo, CA

B-Main #2
1 b5 Brandon Sheppard New Berlin, IL
2 111 Max Blair Titusville, PA
3 19T William Thomas Phenix City, AL
4 12 Jason Hughes Westville, OK
5 90 Lance Matthees Winona, MN
6 88 Matt Crafton Tulare, CA
7 8P Lonnie Parker Jr El Mirage, AZ
8 25Z Mason Zeigler Chalk Hill, PA
9 91T Tony Toste Pismo Beach, CA
10 06 Dave Smith Edmonton, AB
11 98D Dave Deetz Las Cruces, NM

B-Main #3
1 43 Garrett Alberson Las Cruces, NM
2 77 Jordan Yaggy Rochester, MN
3 56 Tony Jackson Jr Lebanon, MO
4 11 Pat Doar New Richmond, WI
5 21JR Billy Moyer Jr Batesville, AR
6 23 Brad Williams Tucson, AZ
7 32B Clay Daly Watsonville, CA
8 10N Robert Sanders Bakersfield, CA
9 24 Rick Ortega Las Cruces, NM
10 10TT Tyson Turnbull Estevan, SK
DNS 51 Joey Moriarty Phoenix, AZ

Heat #1
1 25 Shane Clanton Fayetteville, GA
2 10 Mike Balcean Winnipeg, MB
3 19 Tim Fuller Watertown, NY
4 21 Billy Moyer Batesville, AR
5 86 Kyle Beard Trumann, AR
6 2T Trevor Glaser Tanqent, OR
7 7K Jason Krohn Slayton, MN
8 77L Cody Laney Torrance, CA
9 14 Sean Bray Tucson, AZ

Heat #2
1 32 Chris Simpson Oxford, IA
2 18 Chase Junghans Manhattan, KS
3 15S Donny Schatz Fargo, ND
4 75 Terry Phillips Springfield, MO
5 7 Ricky Weiss Headingley, MB
6 11 Steven Pfeifer Minot, ND
7 14D Dean Moore Grand Junction, CO
8 7 Marshall Miles Tucson, AZ
9 27 Nick Bartels El Segundo, CA

Heat #3
1 19R Ryan Gustin Marshalltown, IA
2 77A Justin Asplin Birch Tree, MO
3 15K Justin Kay Wheatland, IA
4 19T William Thomas Phenix City, AL
5 90 Lance Matthees Winona, MN
6 12 Jason Hughes Westville, OK
7 25Z Mason Zeigler Chalk Hill, PA
8 91T Tony Toste Pismo Beach, CA
9 06 Dave Smith Edmonton, AB

Heat #4
1 58 A.J. Diemel Elk Mound, WI
2 5 RC Whitwell Tucson, AZ
3 14M Morgan Bagley Longview, TX
4 B5 Brandon Sheppard New Berlin, IL
5 111 Max Blair Titusville, PA
6 88 Matt Crafton Tulare, CA
7 8P Lonnie Parker Jr El Mirage, AZ
8 98D Dave Deetz Las Cruces, NM

Heat #5
1 7R Kent Robinson Bloomington, IN
2 91P Jason Papich Arroyo Grande, CA
3 6 Travis Dickes Madison, NE
4 23 Brad Williams Tucson, AZ
5 56 Tony Jackson Jr Lebanon, MO
6 21JR Billy Moyer Jr Batesville, AR
7 10N Robert Sanders Bakersfield, CA
8 32B Clay Daly Watsonville, CA
9 51 Joey Moriarty Phoenix, AZ

Heat #6
1 23 John Blankenship Williamson, WV
2 28 Jimmy Mars Menomonie, WI
3 1V Will Vaught Crane, MO
4 43 Garrett Alberson Las Cruces, NM
5 77 Jordan Yaggy Rochester, MN
6 11 Pat Doar New Richmond, WI
7 10TT Tyson Turnbull Estevan, SK
8 24 Rick Ortega Las Cruces, NM

For more information on the National Dirt Racing League including a complete 2014 schedule point your web browsers over to www.thendrl.com You can also keep up with all the latest up-to-the-minute news by following the NDRL on Twitter at @The_NDRL and you can also find us on Facebook located at https://www.facebook.com/nationaldirtracingleague If you have further questions or needs you can also contact NDRL Series Director Kelley Carlton atkcarlton@thendrl.com or call (864) 871-1442.

Official 2014 Winter Extreme Sponsors:
RideNow Powersports, Tucson Harley Davidson, Freedom RV, Hilton Garden Inn Tucson,O’Rielly Chevrolet, Papa John’s Pizza, and Residence Inn Tucson.

Official NDRL 2014 Sponsors:
Hoosier Racing Tires, VP Race Fuels, Arizona Sport Shirts, Keyser Manufacturing, Schaeffer’s Racing Oil and Lubricants, Capital Race Cars, Rocket Chassis, DirtonDirt.com, Bell, DirtWrap, Genesis Shocks, CV Products, Jason Dietsch Trailer Sales, JRi Shocks, and JNJ Motorsports Media.

The list of 2014 partners continues to grow, if you have questions or comments or if you are interested in becoming a sponsor of the NDRL contact Series Director Kelley Carlton at (864) 871-1442 / kcarlton@thendrl.com or NDRL Marketing Director Jason Babyak at (602) 647-0649 / jbabyak@thendrl.com.

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