CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (Feb. 8) — The United States Modified Touring Series kicked off the 2014 campaign Saturday night at the South Texas Speedway with the first of 90 scheduled races this year and a visit to victory lane by 2007 USMTS National Champion Jason Krohn.

Hometown favorite Steve Whiteaker Jr. took the lead from the outside of the front row when the green flag waved to start the 40-lapper, and then built a commanding lead through the first half of the race.

Meanwhile, Krohn started sixth on the 24-car grid and charged into the second spot on lap 15.

The race’s first yellow flag waved five laps later for a tangle in turn 1 between Daniel Hilsabeck and Dereck Ramirez, which saw Whiteaker’s 10-car-length advantage evaporate.

Back under green, Krohn took just one lap to make his move and shot past Whiteaker to gain control of the top spot.

Whiteaker fought back the next time around but Krohn fended off the challenge and pulled away from there.

A second caution flag with seven laps to go gave Whiteaker another shot at the leader, but he was unable to place a detour in Krohn’s road to the winner’s circle.

The win was Krohn’s 30th USMTS triumph of his career and worth $3,000 to the 42-year-old Slayton, Minn., driver.

“It took a little while to get rolling, but once we got some momentum we were really fast,” Krohn said following the race. “I needed that yellow to catch the leader, but we had a fantastic car tonight. I could really put the car anywhere.”

Advancing seven spots in the feature race, reigning USMTS National Champion Rodney Sanders of Happy, Texas, came home in third with Stormy Scott of Las Cruces, N.M., fourth, and Robeline, La., racer Cade Dillard rounding out the top 5 finishers.

Sixth through tenth were Zack VanderBeek, Kelly Shryock, Johnny Scott, Tracy Denby Jr. and Rick Beebe.

Jake Gallardo, who passed 11 cars en route to an 11th-place finish, earned the Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger Award.

The 2nd Annual Sparkling City Nationals continues at the South Texas Speedway on Sunday with $4,000 awaiting the winner of the main event. Gates open at 3 p.m. with hot laps at 5 and racing at 5:30.

USRA Limited Mods will also be on the racing card with a $1,500 top prize at stake.

RacinDirt.TV will carry all of the action live online from every show during the four-week swing with flag-to-flag action from start to finish each night. Visit www.RacinDirt.tv for more information.

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/usmts, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/usmts or check out our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/usmtstv.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
USMTS Casey’s Cup powered by Swan Energy
MVT Gulf Coast Border Region presented by Day Motor Sports
South Texas Speedway, Corpus Christi, Texas.
Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine builder, laps completed, money won and reason out (if any). 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.

C&R RACING HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (1) 2s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
2. (7) 89c Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas.
3. (5) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La.
4. (3) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas.
5. (2) 34 Michael Walker (R), Rosharon, Texas.
6. (6) 87 John Webb, Pauls Valley, Okla.
7. (9) J17 Jake Gallardo, (R) Las Cruces, N.M.
8. (10) 9 Jimmy Ray, Las Cruces, N.M.
9. (4) 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla.
10. (8) 7x Rory Jordan, Victoria, Texas.

JRi SHOCKS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (1) 24 Sean Jones, Mansfield, Texas.
2. (5) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
3. (9) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Waukee, Iowa.
4. (8) 22b Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan.
5. (3) 44 Joe Spillman (R), Marble Falls, Texas.
6. (4) 5* Casey Penn, Shreveport, La.
7. (10) 18s Cody Smith, Kaufman, Texas.
8. (7) 186 Jeremy Payne, Springfield, Mo.
9. (6) 51 Tim Thomas, West Fargo, N.D.
10. (2) 5 Shane Sprinkle (R), Andrews, Texas.

PENN TRANSPORT HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (3) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn.
2. (5) 51 Tracy Denby Jr., Vidor, Texas.
3. (7) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
4. (2) 76 Jesse Manning, Brazoria, Texas.
5. (4) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
6. (6) 78 Trevor Egbert, Salado, Texas.
7. (8) 125 Jason Borlace, San Antonio, Texas.
8. (9) L1 Larry Clevenger, Greenwood, La.
9. (1) 87 Lawrence Mikuleneak, Corpus Christi, Texas.

PBM PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (1) 1* Adam Penn, Shreveport, La.
2. (4) 51 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
3. (3) 4s T.J. Steele (R), Winnsboro, Texas.
4. (2) 36 Jeff Conner, Panora, Iowa.
5. (8) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
6. (9) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
7. (5) 7d Austin Theiss (R), Hockley, Texas.
8. (7) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
9. (6) 129 Jamie Campbell, Adkins, Texas.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (12 laps, top 6 advance):
1. (2) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas.
2. (5) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
3. (10) 186 Jeremy Payne, Springfield, Mo.
4. (6) 87 John Webb, Pauls Valley, Okla.
5. (4) 34 Michael Walker (R), Rosharon, Texas.
6. (7) 78 Trevor Egbert, Salado, Texas.
7. (9) 9 Jimmy Ray, Las Cruces, N.M., AOS/AOS, $90.
8. (11) 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla., LG2/ProPower, $90.
9. (8) 125 Jason Borlace, San Antonio, Texas, /, $70.
10. (13) 7x Rory Jordan, Victoria, Texas, Shaw/Mullins, $90.
11. (3) 36 Jeff Conner, Panora, Iowa, Skyrocket/Durham, $90.
12. (1) 4s T.J. Steele (R), Winnsboro, Texas, Hughes/Mullins, $90.
13. (12) 87 Lawrence Mikuleneak, Corpus Christi, Texas, /, $70.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (12 laps, top 6 advance):
1. (1) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
2. (3) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
3. (2) 76 Jesse Manning, Brazoria, Texas.
4. (6) 5* Casey Penn, Shreveport, La.
5. (7) J17 Jake Gallardo (R), Las Cruces, N.M.
6. (4) 44 Joe Spillman (R), Marble Falls, Texas.
7. (8) 7d Austin Theiss (R), Hockley, Texas, Hughes/Mullins, $90.
8. (10) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan., Venom/Driskell, $90.
9. (5) 18s Cody Smith, Kaufman, Texas, CAM/Chase, $90.
10. (9) L1 Larry Clevenger, Greenwood, La., Skyrocket/PTS, $90.
11. (11) 51 Tim Thomas, West Fargo, N.D., Hughes/G-Force, $90.
12. (13) 5 Shane Sprinkle (R), Andrews, Texas, Hughes/RoushYates, $90.
13. (12) 129 Jamie Campbell, Adkins, Texas, /PerfMach, $70.

CASEY’S GENERAL STORES “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (6) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn., MBCustom/Sput’s, 40, $3000.
2. (2) 89c Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas, Hughes/Mullins, 40, $1700.
3. (10) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustom/Geddes, 40, $1200.
4. (7) 2s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., LG2/ProPower, 40, $1000.
5. (11) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La., Sidebiter/Sput’s, 40, $600.
6. (14) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, LG2/ProPower, 40, $700.
7. (9) 51 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, Skyrocket/PTS, 40, $600.
8. (15) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., Ramirez/ProPower, 40, $500.
9. (5) 51 Tracy Denby Jr., Vidor, Texas, Skyrocket/CB, 40, $450.
10. (12) 22b Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan., MBCustom/Mullins, 40, $400.
11. (22) J17 Jake Gallardo (R), Las Cruces, N.M., GRC/BMS, 40, $375.
12. (23) 78 Trevor Egbert, Salado, Texas, Hughes/Sput’s, 40, $350.
13. (20) 5* Casey Penn, Shreveport, La., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $325.
14. (19) 87 John Webb, Pauls Valley, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $300.
15. (13) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas, Hughes/RoushYates, 40, $300.
16. (21) 34 Michael Walker (R), Rosharon, Texas, Kraft/AARE, 40, $300.
17. (18) 76 Jesse Manning, Brazoria, Texas, GRT/105, 40, $300.
18. (24) 44 Joe Spillman (R), Marble Falls, Texas, CAM/Centex, 40, $300.
19. (17) 186 Jeremy Payne, Springfield, Mo., GRT/Durham, 32, $300, mechanical.
20. (1) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., MBCustom/Mullins, 24, $300, flat tire.
21. (16) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Ramirez/ProPower, 20, $300, crash.
22. (4) 24 Sean Jones, Mansfield, Texas, LG2/Brooks, 20, $300, mechanical.
23. (8) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Waukee, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, 19, $300, crash.
24. (3) 1* Adam Penn, Shreveport, La., Hughes/Geddes, 14, $300, mechanical.

(R) = Rookie of the Year contender.

Lap Leaders: Whiteaker 1-21, Krohn 22-40.
Total Laps Led: Whiteaker 21, Krohn 19.
Margin of Victory: 2.436 seconds.
Provisional Starters: None.
Pole Award: Whiteaker.
Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger: Gallardo (started 22nd, finished 11th).
Next Race: Sunday, Feb. 9, South Texas Speedway, Corpus Christi, Texas.
MVT Gulf Coast Border Region Points Standings: Krohn 101, Whiteaker 98, Sanders 91, S. Scott 87, VanderBeek 81, Shryock 78, J. Scott 76, Denby 74, Beebe 72.
Rookie of the Year Points: Gallardo 70, Walker 60, Spillman 56, Sprinkle 45, Steele 45, Theiss 45.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Sput’s 10, Mullins 9, Geddes 8, ProPower 7, PTS 6.
Manufacturers Championship Points: MBCustom 10, Hughes 9, LG2 8, Sidebiter 7, Skyrocket 6.

Contingency Awards:
American Racer – draw.
Beyea Custom Headers – Whiteaker.
Brass Monkey Racing Products – Spillman.
C&R Racing – S. Scott.
Edelbrock – Sanders.
FK Rod Ends – Houston.
Forty9Designs.com – Webb, Payne.
Fuel Safe – VanderBeek.
GRT Race Cars – Manning.
Hooker Harness – C. Penn.
JRi Shocks – Jones.
KEVKO Oil Pans & Components – Denby.
Keyser Manufacturing – Beebe.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Hilsabeck.
Mesilla Valley Transportation – Gallardo.
MSD Ignition – Krohn.
PBM Performance Products – A. Penn, Krohn.
Power Lift Racing Products – Manning.
Real Racing Wheels – all non-qualifiers.
VP Racing Fuels – Krohn.

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USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, AMP Energy, Casey’s General Stores, COMP Cams, Day Motor Sports, Intercomp, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, MSD Ignition, Nitroquest Media Group, RACEceiver, RacinDirt.com, Snickers, SpiderWeb Modular Storage Solutions, Swan Energy.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Arizona Sport Shirts, ASi Racewear, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Double H Bands, ElbowsUp.com, Erson Cams, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, Integra Racing Shocks & Springs, Major League Bowhunter, Mesilla Valley Transportation, New Vision Graphics, Olympic Fire Protection, Penn Transport, S&S Fishing & Rental, United Cellular Services.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Bell Racing Helmets, Beyea Custom Headers, Brass Monkey Racing Products, C&R Racing, CPD Racing Tools, Edelbrock, FK Rod Ends, Forty9 Designs, Fuel Safe, Genesis Racing Shocks, GRT Race Cars, Hooker Harness, JRi Shocks, Keyser Manufacturing, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, PBM Performance Products, Power Lift Racing Products, Quarter Master, Real Racing Wheels, Sybesma Graphics, Tiger Rear Ends.