The USMTS Southern Series was back in action at the Battleground Speedway in Highlands, Texas last night as the first night of a triple-header weekend. Forty-five USMTS modifieds were on hand along with 48 limited modifieds in action Thursday night at the 3/8-mile speedplant. Upon arrival, USMTS president Todd Staley greeted me and introduced me to the promoter. After spending a few minutes chatting with me, he was off to continue getting things ready for the evening.
As mentioned forty-eight limited modifieds were on hand, which were run in six heat races. The top three transferred directly to the feature while the rest went to one of two B-main events. The feature was scheduled to go twenty-five laps with Paul White leading the field to the green from the pole. White jumped out front by turn one, but the first lap failed to get put in the books as ten cars were involved in a big wreck in turn one. Four of those cars were able to return to the track after making repairs, but the decision was made to reduce the scheduled distance down to twenty laps.
White would again get the jump on the field when the green flag waved again, with Howard Willis giving chase close behind. Another caution would fly about five laps in, where once again the decision was made to reduce the laps to just fifteen. By this time, only thirteen cars remained on the track. White was able to keep a steady distance between himself and Howard Willis the remainder of the race, picking up a cool $1,000 paycheck. Brad Ball took home third place.
Also scheduled for twenty-five laps and a $1,000 payday, the USMTS modifieds made their presence on the track. New Mexico driver Bumper Jones redrew the pole position, but it would be Garrett Durrett assuming the top spot on lap one. Scott Green made his presence known as he dove to the inside of Jones a couple laps in to grab the runner up spot. Green would not stop there as he carried his momentum to the lead around Durrett on the next circuit. Howard Willis was a man on a mission as he quickly climbed his way to fourth after starting tenth. A caution on lap six bunched the field up, with Jones regaining the top spot on the restart. Willis and Scott Green both slipped under Durrett to move up to second and third, respectively.
Willis closed in on the rear bumper of Jones before slipping back a couple of car lengths. Meanwhile, the two drivers atop the Southern Series point standings were going at it side by side deeper in the pack as Kelly Shryock and Jason Hughes battled for the eighth spot. Both drivers advanced out of a B-main event. Morgan Bagley also had a great run as he started sixteenth and was up to the fifth spot around the midway point of the race. Up front, Willis made the low side stick as he passed Jones for the lead amidst lapped traffic. Willis would not look back as he slowly separated himself and went on to take the win. Bumper Jones, Scott Green, Dereck Ramirez, and Morgan Bagley rounded out the top five.
1. E Howard Willis
2. 111 Bumper Jones
3. 25 Scott Green
4. 4R Dereck Ramirez
5. 5R Morgan Bagley
6. 33z Zack VanderBeek
7. 12 Jason Hughes
8. 3 Kelly Shryock
9. 58 Garrett Durrett
10. 561 David Horner
11. 20 Rodney Sanders
Hughes gained a few points on Shryock's slim lead, narrowing the gap to just eight points in the Southern Series Hunt. Two more races are on hand at the Battleground Speedway this weekend before the Hunt concludes with a three-day extravaganza at Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Texas the first weekend of December.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
No comments:
Post a Comment