BAYTOWN, Texas—Opening night of the 6th Annual USMTS Texas Spring Nationals was a coming out party for rookie contenders with Austin Arneson leading the charge and celebrating his career-first United States Modified Touring Series victory.

Arneson, 23, started the Mesilla Valley Transportation “A” Main at the Royal Purple Raceway from the outside of the front row, and left no doubt as to who the man to beat was tonight, leading all 30 laps and collecting $2,000 for his efforts.

The USMTS Rookie of the Year points leader from Fargo, N.D., followed Ryan Gustin to the checkered flag last Saturday at the Shady Oaks Speedway for what was a short-lived career-best second-place finish.

Driving the No. 10 UMotors GRT powered by Durham Racing Engines, Arneson became the first rookie to win a USMTS feature since Cade Dillard won his first in November—a non-points race at the Ark-La-Tex Speedway. The last driver to win a USMTS points race during his rookie season was Stormy Scott in 2012.

Jason Hughes of Watts, Okla., was the hard charger in Thursday’s contest, racing from tenth on the 26-car starting grid to second behind Arneson.

Clyde Dunn Jr. made his first start of 2015 pay off with a third-place finish while USMTS Rookie of the Year hopefuls Jesse Sobbing and Ben Kates finished fourth and fifth.

Sixth through tenth were Chris Henigan, Dillard, Philip Houston, Dereck Ramirez and Johnny Scott.

With his triumph, Arneson jumped up to second in the MVT Gulf Coast Border Region points standings behind Hughes. Houston, Ramirez and Sobbing fill out the rest of the top five positions.

The fifth event in the USMTS Casey’s Cup Series powered by S&S Fishing & Rental happens Friday night at the Royal Purple Raceway with a $3,000-to-win show and the second round of the 6th Annual USMTS Texas Spring Nationals presented by Double H Bands.

The pit gate opens at 3 p.m., grandstands open at 5, the driver’s meeting is at 6:30 and racing begins at 7. All times are one hour earlier on Saturday for the $4,000-to-win finale.

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 Friday and $40 on Saturday.

For those unable to attend in person, RacinDirt.com will carry all of the action live online from the 6th Annual USMTS Texas Spring Nationals with flag-to-flag action from start to finish. Visit www.RacinDirt.com for ordering information.

The Royal Purple Raceway is a modern facility 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. The track 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/usmts, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/usmts or subscribe to our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/usmtstv.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
USMTS Casey’s Cup Series powered by S&S Fishing & Rental – MVT Gulf Coast Border Region presented by Day Motor Sports
6th Annual USMTS Texas Spring Nationals presented by Double H Bands
Royal Purple Raceway, Baytown, Texas
Thursday, Feb. 19, 2014

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine builder and money won. The top 12 drivers in passing points accumulated in the heat races were locked into the “A” Main, with the top 8 re-drawing for starting positions 1-8.

MSD HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (1) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
2. (6) 88xxx Clyde Dunn Jr., Sunnyvale, Texas.
3. (2) 29 Keith Hammett, Brookland, Ark.
4. (3) J17 Jake Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.
5. (4) 5 Shane Sprinkle, Andrews, Texas.
6. (5) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
7. (7) 27 Chase Delrio, West Monroe, La.
8. (9) 87 John Webb, Pauls Valley, Okla.
9. (8) 18a Landon Atkinson (R), Little Falls, Minn.

HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (2) 77 Garrett Gregory (R), Tomball, Texas.
2. (5) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La.
3. (6) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas.
4. (3) 23 Howard Willis, Dayton, Texas.
5. (1) 21 Van Gemmill, Ponca City, Okla.
6. (9) 83 Eddie Martin, Stilwell, Okla.
7. (4) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
8. (7) 14k Stan Kraly, New Orleans, La.
9. (8) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (2) 7d Austin Theiss (R), Hockley, Texas.
2. (4) 2 Casey Arneson, Fargo, N.D.
3. (6) A1 Phil Dixon, Crosby, Texas.
4. (5) 34 Noah Daspit, Kiln, Miss.
5. (9) 2 Grant Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.
6. (3) 51 Tim Boudreaux, Cleveland, Texas.
7. (7) 410 Brad Doherty, Ennis, Texas.
8. (8) 4m Dev Malmlov, Moorhead, Minn.
9. (1) 9 Kevin Rutherford (R), Flower Mound, Texas.

PBM PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (1) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
2. (4) G17 Fito Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.
3. (5) 21 Chris Brown, Spring, Texas.
4. (3) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Adel, Iowa.
5. (2) 1* Adam Penn, Shreveport, La.
6. (6) 89c Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas.
7. (8) 6x Kyle Pleasant, Natchitoches, La.
8. (9) 16g Bubba Gates, Santa Fe, Texas.
9. (7) 4 Billy Vogel, West Fargo, N.D.

HEAT RACE #5 (8 laps):
1. (2) 99 Jesse Sobbing (R), Glenwood, Iowa.
2. (6) 23k Ben Kates (R), Tonganoxie, Kan.
3. (7) 21t Lance Town (R), Louisburg, Kan.
4. (5) 73 Donovan Lodge, Moline, Ill.
5. (4) 99Jr Rick Henry Jr., Pearland, Texas.
6. (8) 7jr Chad Ewell, Forney, Texas.
7. (3) SB2 Shane Bias, Everton, Mo.
8. (1) 59 Bob Sammann, Winona, Minn.
9. (9) 38 Ronnie Gould III (R), Seminole, Okla.

HEAT RACE #6 (8 laps):
1. (8) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
2. (6) 10 Austin Arneson (R), Fargo, N.D.
3. (7) 16 Chris Henigan, Marshall, Texas.
4. (1) 6 Brock Bauman (R), Eureka, Ill.
5. (4) 29 Preston Seratt (R), Dyersburg, Tenn.
6. (5) 4s T.J. Steele (R), Winnsboro, Texas.
7. (3) 4 Cody Bauman (R), Eureka, Ill.
8. (2) 2 Earl Whatley, Alvin, Texas.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (12 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (3) 2 Grant Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.
2. (4) J17 Jake Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.
3. (1) 21t Lance Town (R), Louisburg, Kan.
4. (5) 6 Brock Bauman (R), Eureka, Ill.
5. (2) A1 Phil Dixon, Crosby, Texas, Fast1/Jackson, $60.
6. (6) 21 Van Gemmill, Ponca City, Okla., Skyrocket/Sput’s, $80.
7. (10) 410 Brad Doherty, Ennis, Texas, GRT/Hatfield, $60.
8. (11) 87 John Webb, Pauls Valley, Okla., MBCustom/Mullins, $60.
9. (12) 4m Dev Malmlov, Moorhead, Minn., Victory/Mullins, $60.
10. (13) 18a Landon Atkinson (R), Little Falls, Minn., LG2/Sput’s, $80.
11. (7) 29 Preston Seratt (R), Dyersburg, Tenn., MBCustom/Mullins, $80.
12. (14) 4 Billy Vogel, West Fargo, N.D., LG2/Durham, $60.
13. (9) 6x Kyle Pleasant, Natchitoches, La., MBCustom/Hatfield, $80.
14. (8) 51 Tim Boudreaux, Cleveland, Texas, Skyrocket/Cleat, $60.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (12 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (1) 16 Chris Henigan, Marshall, Texas.
2. (2) 21 Chris Brown, Spring, Texas.
3. (3) 34 Noah Daspit, Kiln, Miss.
4. (5) 83 Eddie Martin, Stilwell, Okla.
5. (8) 89c Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas.
6. (13) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo., GRT/Mullins, $60.
7. (4) 23 Howard Willis, Dayton, Texas, Evolution/Fox, $80.
8. (6) 1* Adam Penn, Shreveport, La.
9. (11) 16g Bubba Gates, Santa Fe, Texas, DustDevil/, $60.
10. (7) 7jr Chad Ewell, Forney, Texas, GRT/Sisk, $60.
11. (12) 59 Bob Sammann, Winona, Minn., LG2/KSE, $80.
12. (9) 27 Chase Delrio, West Monroe, La., Hughes/Delrio, $60.
13. (10) SB2 Shane Bias, Everton, Mo., Shaw/Creason, $60.
14. (14) 38 Ronnie Gould III (R), Seminole, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, $80.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #3 (12 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (1) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas.
2. (4) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Adel, Iowa.
3. (7) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
4. (5) 5 Shane Sprinkle, Andrews, Texas.
5. (2) 29 Keith Hammett, Brookland, Ark., Bandit/Performance, $60.
6. (12) 2 Earl Whatley, Alvin, Texas, Fast1/Durham, $60.
7. (10) 4 Cody Bauman (R), Eureka, Ill., Impressive/Gade, $80.
8. (3) 73 Donovan Lodge, Moline, Ill., Kraft/105, $80.
9. (9) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., MBCustom/Mullins, $80.
10. (6) 99Jr Rick Henry Jr., Pearland, Texas, Shaw/Henry, $60.
11. (13) 9 Kevin Rutherford (R), Flower Mound, Texas, /, $80.
12. (11) 14k Stan Kraly, New Orleans, La., Skyrocket/ProPower, $60.
13. (8) 4s T.J. Steele (R), Winnsboro, Texas, GRT/Mullins, $80.

MESILLA VALLEY TRANSPORTATION “A” MAIN (30 laps):
1. (2) 10 Austin Arneson (R), Fargo, N.D., GRT/Durham, $2000.
2. (10) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, $1500.
3. (4) 88xxx Clyde Dunn Jr., Sunnyvale, Texas, MBCustom/Mullins, $1000.
4. (8) 99 Jesse Sobbing (R), Glenwood, Iowa, MBCustom/Sput’s, $800.
5. (3) 23k Ben Kates (R), Tonganoxie, Kan., Harris/Mullins, $700.
6. (14) 16 Chris Henigan, Marshall, Texas, GRT/Sput’s, $600.
7. (7) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La., LG2/Geddes, $550.
8. (15) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas, MBCustom/PPE, $500.
9. (6) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., LG2/Cornett, $450.
10. (9) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., Hughes/Mullins, $400.
11. (13) 2 Grant Junghans, Manhattan, Kan., MBCustom/Sput’s, $350.
12. (17) 21 Chris Brown, Spring, Texas, LG2/Durham, $325.
13. (5) 77 Garrett Gregory (R), Tomball, Texas, LG2/Durham, $200.
14. (11) 2 Casey Arneson (R), Fargo, N.D., GRT/Durham, $275.
15. (23) 83 Eddie Martin, Stilwell, Okla., Kraft/Clemens, $275.
16. (20) 34 Noah Daspit, Kiln, Miss., Hughes/Wall2Wall, $200.
17. (21) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, LG2/Sput’s, $400.
18. (24) 5 Shane Sprinkle, Andrews, Texas, MBCustom/RoushYates, $275.
19. (1) 7d Austin Theiss (R), Hockley, Texas, MBCustom/Mullins, $275.
20. (16) J17 Jake Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M., LG2/AOS, $275.
21. (26) 1* Adam Penn, Shreveport, La., Hughes/Mullins, $275.
22. (25) 89c Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas, GRT/Mullins, $400.
23. (22) 6 Brock Bauman (R), Eureka, Ill., Impressive/Gade, $275.
24. (19) 21t Lance Town (R), Louisburg, Kan., Phoenix/Driskell, $275.
25. (18) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Adel, Iowa, Hilsabeck/Mullins, $275.
26. (12) G17 Fito Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M., LG2/AOS, $275.

(R) = Rookie of the Year contender.

Lap Leaders: A, Arneson 1-30.
Total Laps Led: A. Arneson 30.
Margin of Victory: 1.977 seconds.
Provisional Starters: Whiteaker, Penn.
Sybesma Graphics Pole Award: Ramirez.
Hard Charger: Hughes (started 10th, finished 2nd).
Entries: 53.
Next Race: Friday, Feb. 20, Royal Purple Raceway, Baytown, Texas.
MVT Gulf Coast Border Region Points: Hughes 368, A. Arneson 320, Houston 315, Ramirez 312, Sobbing 307, VanderBeek 302, Dillard 300, Ryan Gustin 289, Scott 281, Whiteaker 278.
Rookie of the Year Points: A. Arneson 320, Sobbing 307, C. Arneson 266, Kates 265, Theiss 237.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 38, Sput’s 31, Durham 29, PPE 26, Cornett 25.
Manufacturers Championship Points: Hughes 37, GRT 36, LG2 32, MBCustom 30, Hilsabeck 19.

Contingency Awards:
AERO Race Wheels – F. Gallardo.
Allstar Performance – Houston.
American Racer – Junghans.
Beyea Custom Headers – Kates.
BSB Manufacturing – Penn.
Chix Gear Racewear – Dunn.
Deatherage Opticians – A. Arneson.
Edelbrock – Theiss.
Eibach Springs – Brown.
FK Rod Ends – Martin.
Forty9Designs.com – C. Arneson, Theiss.
Fuel Safe – Henigan.
GRT Race Cars – Henigan.
Hooker Harness – Gregory.
KEVKO Oil Pans & Components – Ramirez.
Keyser Manufacturing – Scott.
KSE Racing Products – Sobbing.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Hilsabeck.
Midwest Sheet Metal – Hilsabeck.
MSD Ignition – Scott, A. Arneson.
PBM Performance Products – Hughes, A. Arneson.
QA1 – A. Arneson.
R2C Performance Products – Hughes.
Real Racing Wheels – all non-qualifiers.
Sybesma Graphics – Ramirez.
Tilton Engineering – Sobbing.
VP Racing Fuels – A. Arneson.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products – Junghans.
Wilwood Disc Brakes – Dillard.

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USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Casey’s General Stores, Chix Gear Racewear, COMP Cams, Day Motor Sports, Deatherage Opticians, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, Fast Shafts, Intercomp, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, MSD, Nitroquest Media Group, RACEceiver, RacinDirt.com, S&S Fishing & Rental, VP Racing Fuels.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Arizona Sport Shirts, ASi Racewear, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Double H Bands, Duvall Electric, ElbowsUp.com, Integra Racing Shocks & Springs, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Olympic Fire Protection, Rivers Edge Scrap Management, Schwab’s Tinker Shop, UMotors Motorsports & Marine, Velocita-USA.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AERO Race Wheels, AFCO Racing Products, Allstar Performance, Bell Racing Helmets, Beyea Custom Headers, BSB Manufacturing, CPD Racing Tools, Crane Cams, Driven Racing Oil, Edelbrock, Eibach Springs, FK Rod Ends, Forty9 Designs, Fuel Safe, Genesis Racing Shocks, GRT Race Cars, Holley Performance, Hooker Custom Harness, JRi Shocks, Keyser Manufacturing, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, PBM Performance Products, QA1 Precision Products, Quarter Master, R2C Performance, Real Racing Wheels, Simpson Performance Products, Sybesma Graphics, Tilton Engineering, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes.