On Tuesday, June 16th, the United States Modified Touring Series (USMTS) made their way to the Park Jefferson Speedway in Jefferson, South Dakota. Perhaps nobody was as excited as South Dakota driver Jon Tesch. Tesch was celebrating a birthday tonight as the USMTS begins a three-day swing through South Dakota.
Before the USMTS feature hit the track, two support classes ran their features as the eleven hornets and eleven bmods checked into action.
Kyle Davis grabbed the early lead in the twelve lap hornet feature, but he soon gave way to Zach Ankrum on lap two. Just behind the new leader the action heated up momentarily as three cars battled door handle to door handle on the backstretch. A few laps later Chuck Rose settled into the second spot, but that would soon change as Tim Cass charged his way to the front. Cass put his car on the bottom groove and raced by Rose for second, but he would not stop there. Cass immediately put pressure on Ankrum and the two swapped the lead a time or two. Ankrum looked to have things under control until the final set of corners when Cass set his car on the cushion and powered his machine to the exciting win. Ankrum was second, Rose, third, Michael Denney fourth, and Randy Cass rounded out the top five.
Eleven bmods hit the track next and Kirk Beatty jumped out to the lead early from his outside front row start. Harvey Vande Weerd started his march to the front by sneaking to the inside of Greg Golden just before the halfway point of the sixteen lap race. He would soon zone in on the race leader until a caution waved on lap ten. Jesse Sobbing made a move to the inside of Golden for third, but didn't have enough speed to keep the position at the line. Vande Weerd remained on the rear bumper of Golden until he jumped the cushion with just two laps to go. Kirk Beatty went on to take the easy win followed by Greg Golden in second, Jesse Sobbing third, Harvey Vande Weerd slipped back to fourth, and Darin Roepke rounded out the top five.
- I hope I got the winner and second place drivers' names correct. Didn't hear the announcer when they were mentioned. Winner was #21 red car and second place was one of the #20 cars.
After a few moment to do the top eight redraw in the pit area with threatening weather moving in, the USMTS finale hit the track for their thirty-five laps of action. Jay Noteboom used the high line to grab the lead in the early going, but Chris Abelson didn't let him get too far out front. Abelson challenged Noteboom several times on the inside, but didn't have the exit speed out of the corner to take over the top spot. Behind them, South Dakota driver Jon Tesch was making his move to the front as he had moved up to fourth on lap six. NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace made his presence felt as he challenged Chris Abelson for the runner up spot. Noteboom's luck would turn sour as he cut down a left rear tire on lap eight and exited the track. Abelson inherited the lead, but Tesch quickly made up ground thanks to a few cautions and crossed the line just before a caution came out again. Once Tesch got to the front, nothing was going to prevent him from taking home the birthday win. Tesch set sail and toasted the competition as he won by a half-lap.
While the top spot was never in doubt, the battle for second was an exciting one. Chris Abelson's motor made a popping noise down the front stretch and would retire to the pit area on the backstretch. Kenny Wallace, Al Hejna, and Mike Hansen were in a pack for second that saw Hejna dive to the inside of Wallace. Wallace had the momentum off the cushion to keep him in control, but Hejna would soon be on the other end of pressure as Mike Hansen tried Hejna's move on him. Hansen had the spot for a lap before Hejna powered back by. Wallace would use that battle to his advantage as he took home second by a few car lengths. Hansen would eventually get the position for good to finish third, Hejna settled for fourth, and Bob Moore completed the top five.
The Sioux City area had its share of rain the last couple of days, but the track crew did an outstanding job in getting the track ready to go for tonight's show. The track was smooth, and even with all the rain, it appeared to be slick throughout the night. Tire smoke could be seen on just about every USMTS modified at one point or another throughout the night. But the track had multiple grooves of racing to give the fans an exciting show. Few cautions kept the show moving as a quick pace, which turned out to be a blessing as a short time later the rain came again.
The USMTS heads north tomorrow (Wednesday) as they visit the Casino Speedway in Watertown, South Dakota. Hometown driver Jon Tesch looks to repeat as he heads back to his territory while drivers like Kelly Shryock look to dethrone him. Shryock is looking to break a 50-race winless streak that dates back to August of last year.
-Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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