With temperatures hovering around the 90* mark with hardly a hint of a breeze, things were a bit on the muggy side down in Memphis, Missouri Saturday night as the United States Modified Touring Series (USMTS) invaded the Scotland County Speedway. With this event being a "stand-alone" race, many touring regulars opted to stay up north to race rather then driving south for one event. But that didn't stop those in attendance from putting on a great show. Also on hand last night were the Dart Iron Man Challenge stock car series, hobby stocks, b-modifieds, and 4-cylinders.
There were only four 4-cylinder cars on hand last night. It would be Don DeMint taking the win from Illinois. Sorry I didn't catch the names of the other three competitors, but their cars numbers were 22E in second, 49 in third, and 4JJ in fourth place.
Up next would be the b-modifieds with twenty-one cars lined up in the starting blocks. Carter Vandenberg used the pole to grab the early lead, but Bill Gibson looked to the low side of the youngster to take command on lap two. Tyler Groenendyk was running in third before getting passed on the inside by Mike Shelton and Cayden Carter before the caution waved on lap six. On the restart Shelton snuck under Gibson for the lead while Carter followed Shelton's tire tracks to advance to the runner up position. Gibson and Carter would exchange positions for several laps as they ran side by side. Bert McDaniel, after starting thirteenth on the field, was making his way to the front as he passed Carter Vandenberg for fourth. Cayden Carter and Bill Gibson continued to seasaw for the runner up spot, but Carter would get the final say as he used the low line coming off turn four to snare the second spot at the finish. Mike Shelton picked up the win followed by Carter, Gibson, McDaniel, and Carter Vandenberg.
Next up would be the Dart Iron Man Challenge for USRA stock cars. Sixteen cars were set to do battle and pole-sitter Steve Jackson wasted no time in claiming the top spot. He would feel pressure from Shane Weller in the early going as Weller ducked inside of Jackson to take over the race lead. Following a couple of quick yellows, Weller would clip an implement tire on the inside of turn two, causing a chain reaction behind as he slowed up to bring out another caution flag. Mike VanGenderen and Jason Cook suffered flat tires with Cook retiring from the race.
When racing resumed, Jackson led the field once again but had new contenders behind him in Nathan Wood and Malcolm Teachout, who made the lengthy trip down from Granada, Minnesota. Teachout's run would come up short, however, as he suffered a right front flat a few laps later. That propelled Mark Elliott up to third before he, too, would suffer the same fate of a flat tire to end his night early. With the laps counting down, Wood would challenge Jackson for the lead as they were side by side on the final lap. Jackson would get enough traction exiting turn four to pick up the win as Wood settled for second. Michael Jaennette finished third, Mike VanGenderen fourth, and Jakoby Hooper rounded out the top five.
Nineteen hobby stocks were next to grace the track. Derek Kirkland would race to the lead from the outside front row start, but Clayton Crump was on the move as he advanced from twelfth to fourth before an early caution waved. Crump and Calvin Dhondt would split Jimmy Hayes as the duo advanced to third and fourth, respectively. As Crump continued his march towards the front, he looked under Donovan Nunnikhoven for second but was unable to complete the pass before a caution with two laps remaining. Crump would use the restart to his advantage as he hooked up on the bottom to pass Nunnikhoven for second, but it was too little too late as Derek Kirkland took home the flag to flag victory. Crump would finish second, Nunnikhoven third, Calvin Dhondt was fourth, and Matt Messamaker rounded out the top five.
It was now time for the USMTS modified feature. With twenty-seven cars on hand, three drivers failed to qualify with the field set with twenty-four. Outside front row starter Johnny Scott raced to the lead early with Ryan Peckham just behind in second. Peckham got a run on Scott as he dove to the inside to take the lead away from the New Mexico racer. Scott would later lose a few more positions as Kelly Shryock and Ryan Gustin made their way by in the next couple of laps. Shryock and Gustin would run single file on the inside groove as they both passed Pechham to take over the lead and second position, respectively.
Gustin would stalk Shryock for many laps while Al Hejna advanced to the third spot after passing Peckham. After laps of looking to the outside of Shryock, Gustin then changed lanes to the inside in turn three to make the pass for the lead. After a few quick cautions within a couple laps of each other Shryock, Hejna, and Colt Mather would race three-wide at the finish strip for the runner up spot with Mather powering his way to second. Mather would later push high in turn four to allow Hejna and Shryock to scoot back by. Mather would not give up, however, as he battled back to pass Shryock on the inside groove. By this time Gustin had built up a straight away lead. Two late cautions kept the field closer at the end, but the result was never in doubt as Ryan Gustin picked up his third consecutive USMTS win and seventh on the season. Al Hejna edged out Kelly Shryock for second while Colt Mather and Rodney Sanders completed the top five.
I must say that I was shocked when I showed up at the track yesterday afternoon. With all the water standing on the ground in the parking lot, the track was very dry and dusty as the track crew went to work. The water truck dropped plenty of water on the surface before race time. There were a few ruts in the corners, but the drivers knew where they were for the most part.
The USMTS will take Sunday off before jumping right back into action Monday night at the Fairmont Raceway in Fairmont, Minnesota. From there the traveling tour heads to the Mineral City Speedway in Fort Dodge, Iowa on Tuesday, the I-35 Speedway in Mason City, Iowa on Wednesday, the Redwood Speedway in Redwood Falls, Minnesota Thursday, and finish up the week at the Mississippi Thunder Speedway in Fountain City, Wisconsin on Friday. After that the road warriors will have roughly three weeks off before getting back into action in mid-July. For more information and the complete schedule, check out www.usmts.com.
Classes in action Monday night in Fairmont will be the USMTS and 305 sprint cars. Hot laps are scheduled to get underway at 7:00pm.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
No comments:
Post a Comment