Thursday August 13th marked the second-ever visit to the Springfield Raceway for the USMTS modifieds. Hometown favorite Terry Phillips was able to cash in on that night as he found his way to victory lane earlier this year. Last night, another familiar name in the area would take home the win.
Another great field of cars checked in for action last night as fifty-one modifieds were on hand. That's down a little bit from the previous two nights, but still plenty of good competition throughout the heat races. Once again the bmain events were stacked with good drivers trying to make their way into the feature event.
Dean Mahlstedt and Jeremy Payne sat on the front row when the green flag waved. One lap in the caution quickly came out as Ryan Gustin sat on the inside of turn two. Not sure if he got help or not, but the damage was done as he started seventh and would have to tag the tail of the field. Payne would jump out to the lead as he used the top side of the speedway. Bryan Rowland had got by Mahlstedt on the start, but Mahlstedt was able to pass Rowland back to take control of the runner up spot. Zach VanderBeek found the bottom side to his liking as he moved into the third spot after passing Rowland before a caution waved again on lap six.
VanderBeek took advantage of the restart as he powered his car to the top side to make the pass on Mahlstedt for second. Corey Dripps used the same line to get by Rowland to take over fourth. Another caution flag came out as two cars spun to a stop in turns one and two. While those cars were stopped, Jason Hughes had miscalculated the cushion and dipped his rear wheels off the track. Hughes was able keep his machine moving and was not penalized as being part of the yellow.
The restart provided a little excitement. Payne appeared to be heading to the top side when he changed lanes going into turn one. He cut down low and made contact with VanderBeek's car. Both competitors were able to continue, but I'm sure the extent of the contact probably worried both of them. Corey Dripps would lose a couple spots to Bryan Rowland and Jon Tesch until Tesch's car spun to a stop on the backstretch. I didn't see what happened to the South Dakota driver, but his car was towed away to the pits. By this time Minnesota driver Tommy Myer had advanced from his twelfth starting spot to grab the fifth spot, and got another spot on the restart after Tesch's mishap.
Rodney Sanders, the number two man in points, was on the move to the front throughout the race. Sanders qualified out of the first of three bmains and started 20th, but he sliced his way foward to the seventh spot before a caution flag waved again. This time the yellow would be for points leader Kelly Shryock as he suffered a right rear tire. Al Hejna also exited the track to the work area and both drivers would return before the green flag restarted the race.
With less the nine laps to go, Terry Phillips made the pass on Tommy Myer to take over the fourth spot. Rodney Sanders would crack the top five late in the race, but up front Jeremy Payne held off all challengers as he took home the big payday. It was a little redemption for Payne after he led every lap earlier this week in La Monte, but was later disqualified in post race tech for using a tire softener on his right rear tire. Payne would not have that issue to deal with last night as all cars passed post-race tech. Zach VanderBeek finished in a close second, Dean Mahlstedt finished third, Terry Phillips fourth, and Rodney Sanders rounded out the top five.
In other action, Dave Comer battled his way back from a broke left front tire in his heat to start rear of the field in the feature and made a last lap pass for the win in the Legends feature. Colt Cheevers took the lead away from Eric Tinderholt on lap two on his way to winning the sportmod feature. There was an issue with the time limit in the sportmods, so not sure they went the scheduled twenty laps.
Shryock's bad luck coupled with Sander's great run results in Sanders taking over the Hunt point lead, although only by a mere three points. After three races, Sanders is the only driver to finish in the top five in all three. The USMTS will travel north and west as they invade the Humboldt Speedway in Humboldt, Kansas tonight. Following that race, the series will head south to the Caney Valley Speedway in Caney, Kansas on Saturday. A four-day rest will follow that before the stars and cars make their way north for three races next week in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa.
For complete results, updated point standings, and more information on upcoming races, be sure to check out www.usmts.com.
-Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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