The USMTS series kicked off the Great Plains region in "cool"er temperatures at the Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, Nebraska on Friday night. A diverse field of 45 modifieds packed the pits along with 24 stock cars. Cruisers were also on the docket for the evening.
Two drivers who earned the most passing points in the heat races, Jon Tesch and Ryan Gustin, redrew the front row with Gustin on the pole. Before a lap could be completed, the caution flag waved twice. The first was for a spin in turn one, but the second yellow proved to be "the big one." Scott Dickey made contact with the wall exiting turn two and made contact with another car, causing a chain reaction behind them. Half of the field was involved in some shape or form, but nine calling it a night as a result.
When green flag racing resumed, Gustin inched forward to grab the lead. Gustin pushed high in turn four, making contact with Jon Tesch. Tesch had to hit the brakes to avoid brushing the concrete wall, losing a spot in the process. The caution flew again shortly thereafter. On lap four, Tommy Myer used the inside lane to get by Mike Wedelstadt to take over the third spot. At this time, most of the cars remaining were running the top side of the speedway. Gustin's machine bobbled on the exit of turn four, allowing Tesch to reel in the leader. The top three (Gustin, Tesch, and Myer) had distanced themselves out front by a straight away.
By lap twelve, many cars began searching for other lines to run. Tesch found the inside line to his liking in turns three and four, keeping pace and pulling to the inside of Gustin. Six laps later, fourth-place running Wedelstadt saw his night come to a premature end as his motor blew up entering turn three. During the caution, Tommy Myer (was running 3rd) made a visit to the work area. He would return and have a good finish.
With five laps to go, Tesch was hot on Gustin's heels for the lead. Gustin continued to run the top side on both ends of the race track while Tesch continually used the low line in turns three and four. With two laps to go, Gustin was able to put some distance on Tesch exiting turn two and went on to take the h0tly contested win. Jon Tesch would finish second, Tommy Myer third, Josh Reisch fourth, and Zack VanderBeek fifth. Only thirteen cars finished out of twenty-six that had started. Kelly Shryock crossed the line in third after starting 17th, but was later disqualified for being some 14 pounds light at the scale.
At the start of the 2010 racing season, Ryan Gustin informed me his plans for the year. "Pretty much the same as last year, two regions and the Hunt." Little did he know he would receive a phone call from Ed Gressel, a car owner out of Wichita, Kansas. Gressel fields the car for Scott Green, a former rookie of the year winner. Gustin has spent the last two weeks working with Gressel and the rest of the team. He entered the Southern Series race at Outlaw Motor Speedway last Friday night. After getting a feel for the car, Gustin went to work on making changes to the "basic" setup to accommodate his driving style. After seeing his victory Friday night at Junction Motor Speedway, I think he's found the sweet spot.
In stock car action a driver from Sioux Falls, South Dakota took home the easy win. Newton, Iowa's Mike VanGenderen finished second while Fort Dodge area driver Matt Fox was fourth. I caught VanGenderen as he was leaving the track, and he joked that he won the "stock car" feature, but finished second in the race. I got a chuckle out of that. Apparently he thought the winner's car was a bit "modified" compared to the rest of the field.
The doubleheader at Junction Motor Speedway is scheduled to kick off Saturday afternoon with hot laps set for 2pm and racing to follow. Rain is in the forecast, but officials have reserved Sunday for a raindate if necessary.
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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