The United States Modified Touring Series has had its share of rainouts over the past couple of weeks. Shows originally scheduled in early September at Oskaloosa and Allison were rescheduled to the early part of this prior week, with Allison getting rained out once again on Tuesday. Then along comes the rain in southern Minnesota, putting a "wash" on the Wednesday night practice of the Fall Jamboree held at the Deer Creek Speedway near Spring Valley, Minnesota.
Not only did Wednesday night's rain force the cancellation of practice, but the resulting flood of Deer Creek that runs along the outskirts of the track property played havoc on the situation as well. The creek runs parallel to the pit area, forcing haulers and campers to evacuate to higher ground. Needless to say, Thursday night's races were also postponed.
Friday morning saw drying conditions as there was a strong breeze out of the northwest. Track crews worked hard to get the track in ideal shape as a practice session was held in the afternoon prior to the evenings races. With all the moisture, it was an unexpected surprise when dust was seen towards the end of practice.
As the opening ceremonies approached, it was noted that over 100 USMTS modifieds and nearly 40 Wissota midwest modifieds were checked in for action. Five heats and two b-mains narrowed the midwest modified field down to twenty-four starters. In USMTS action, eight heats races were run with the top twenty in passing points locking themselves in to the feature. Five b-mains would also be needed, taking the top two from each to set up a thirty-car field for their forty lap feature later on.
Brandon Davis would make a clean sweep in the Wissota midwest modified division as he picked up a heat race when and went on to capture the twenty-lap feature. The win was Davis' 41st win of the season. Greg Pfeifer Jr would finish second, Alan Mondus was third, Jerry Young fourth, and Mike Paulson rounded out the top five. Track announcer Todd Narveson also mentioned that Davis' incredible season also includes four track championships! Quite a remarkable season for a 19-year old driver.
The thirty-car, forty lap USMTS nightcap saw Darrin Walch and Jon Tesch on the front row with Walch getting the edge at the drop of the green flag. Tommy Myer, no stranger to victory lane at Deer Creek Speedway, started third and quickly worked under Tesch for the second position. He quickly focused his attention on Walch up front and seized the opportunity to duck low of him on lap three to secure the lead. Walch continue to backslide as Terry Phillips, Jon Tesch, Jeremy Payne, and Shane Hebert knocked him out of the top five. The first caution of the race came on lap nineteen that included Kelly Shryock and Mike Steensma tangling in turn one. On the ensuing restart Phillips used a slidejob in turn three to power by Myer for the race lead.
Action came to a screeching hault when the red flag came out for Corey Dripps. Dripps apparently got hung up on the fronstretch wall and made heavy contact with the opening to the pit area in turn one. Dripps would get out of the car under his own power and acknowledged the fans. Jon Tesch would work the outside groove as he made his way by Myer for the second position on the restart while points leader Jason Hughes made the pass on Ryan Gustin for the sixth spot. At the front of the field it was all Terry Phillips as he pocketed the winning payday and hardware. He was followed across the line by Jon Tesch, Tommy Myer, Jeremy Payne, and Jason Hughes. Hughes' strong run from seventeenth meant he pulled further ahead of Ryan Gustin in the point standings. The eighty-eight point margin would be extremely hard for the Marshalltown teenager to overcome with just two shows remaining.
I'd like to give a shout out to the track crew at the Deer Creek Speedway! With all the pictures that I saw of not only the track, but the grounds as well, I was extremely surprised that we were able to see races Friday night. The track was in excellent condition throughout the night and provided for three, four, and sometimes five-wide racing.
Now on to Saturday night. With Thursday's events rescheduled for Sunday, that meant that the originally scheduled "championship night" of the Fall Jamboree would still be held Saturday night. The big money would be on the line for drivers in both divisions, which both winner's share of the purse was increased by generous sponsors that stepped forward earlier in the day.
Although the sun came out for periods of time and the wind was not as strong, it seemed to be a bit colder then Friday night. Once again the same format would be used for qualifying for both classes. With the cold temperatures, I opted not to take my usual notes so I could keep my hands warm.
The Wissota midwest modified feature would be run green to checkered as they took to the track immediately following a track prep session. Brandon Davis would garner a second consecutive win on the weekend as he picked up the big money check. Dan Wheeler would come home second, Dustin Scott finished third, Jerry Young was fourth, and Wissota 100 winner Matt Leer completed the top five.
Before the USMTS feature took the green flag, a big screen tv in the infield displayed a trailer from the Dirt Knights television program that will be debuting in January on the Versus network. Following that clip, the drivers were introduced to the crowd with recorded video clips from earlier in the day. As the drivers organized for a photo, a big ball of fire went off behind the billboards. Hopefully somebody got a picture at the right time as it was a spectacular sight, not to mention a warm sensation. As the drivers buckled in and began their pace laps, fireworks on the backstretch went off.
Then it was time for business. Al Hejna, Rodney Sanders, and Bob Timm comprised the front row of the three-wide, eleven-row deep field of the best of the best. Sanders would get the advantage and lead the fourteen laps before relinquishing the lead to Ryan Gustin. Gustin, who had started twelfth, began to pull away from the field as he tried to cut in to Jason Hughe's insurmountable point lead. With Gustin looking strong and holding a straight away advantage, the caution flag came out on lap twenty-nine to bunch the field back up. Another quick caution followed, but when racing resumed Jason Hughes kept pace with Gustin and made his move on the outside of Gustin on lap thirty-two to take command of the race. While Gustin searched for a faster line behind, Hughes maintained his lead by running the cushion. When the smoke settled it would be Jason Hughes celebrating in victory lane. His efforts were rewarded with a $9,000 paycheck as sponsors stepped up and added money, but Hughes also garnered the "previous champion" bonus. Jon Tesch found the quick way around Gustin for second and third, respectively, with Shane Hebert and Zack VanderBeek rounding out the top five.
Hughes not only collected the hardware for the Fall Jamboree championship night, but his efforts all but clinched the 2010 National Championship for the Oklahoma driver. Hughes only needs to sign in and take the green flag in his heat race to become the fourth different national champion in USMTS history. To go along with these accolades, Hughes' own Hughes Chassis also won the Chassis Builders Championship.
Ryan Gustin should finish in the runner-up position in the national point standings. He holds a 59-point advantage over Tommy Myer. It would be the second consecutive season that Gustin has finished in that position as he finished behind Kelly Shryock last year.
The COMP Cams Engine Builders Championship is the only championship to be determined with Sunday's events. Mullins and Sputs are currently tied, so the engine that finishes ahead of the other will be crown victorious.
Sunday also marks the end of the 2010 National Tour for the USMTS. However, the USMTS still has 5 events on the calendar at this point in time as they have events in Texas. For more information, be sure to check out www.usmts.com.
I'd like to thank Todd and Janet Staley, along with their public relations director Jeff Nun, for their hospitality throughout the year. The entire USMTS staff were always willing to answers questions I may have had or taken the time to chat after the races.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
No comments:
Post a Comment