Hughes Collects USMTS Debut at Valley Speedway

After driving down to Warrensburg, Missouri with some friends on Saturday night only to get rained out, we drove home yet that night to cap off a disappointing night. Fortunately we had a good time despite no racing action. When I heard that Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Missouri postponed their original show from Friday night and pushed it back to Sunday, I decided that was going to be the first of hopefully a list of new tracks I attend this year. So after getting home so late (or early, depending on your perspective) the night before, I woke up early Sunday morning and made the trek back down to the Kansas City area by myself this time for some USMTS action. It was a bit disappointing only seeing a field of 27 USMTS modifieds, but it was understandable after having to cancel shows both Friday and Saturday. Also on the slate of action on the bullring would be the Midwest Outlaw Vintage cars and the mod-lites/dwarf cars. Ironically, there were three drivers from Iowa racing in the mod-lite division. At one point during their twenty-lap feature, the Iowa guys were running 1-2-3. Mike Kennedy, running third at the time, would get spun by a local driver (#64, didn't catch the name). The flagman was quick on the yellow as neither car came to a stop, but both found their way to the back of the field. Up front it was all Randy Bryan as he held off Charlie Brown for the win. The #64 rebounded to finish third while Mike Kennedy finished seventh. The finale of the evening was the 40-lap USMTS feature. Chase Junghans and nine-time series champion Kelly Shryock redrew the front row as Junghans took command from the start. He would only lead the first two circuits before relinquishing the reigns over to Shryock on lap three. While the lead changed hands up front, Ryan Gustin was quickly screaming towards the front on the bottom side. He quickly dissected the field and found himself in fourth in just two laps after starting eleventh. Dustin Boney and Gustin both made their way by Junghans to climb into second and third, respectfully, before Gustin later grabbed the runner-up position away from Boney. While I was somewhat focusing on Gustin's climb up the leaderboard, I also noticed Rodney Sanders making a bit of noise. The Texas driver, who started ninth, used the high side to dispose of Junghans on his way to the fourth spot. After seeing Sander's progression, I then noticed that Jason Hughes was also on the prowl a few spot behind him. Hughes, who won the b-main event and started 15th, had cut the field in half and saw himself in the seventh position somewhere around the lap ten mark. Back up front Gustin closed in on Shryock for the lead and ducked to the inside of the Skyrocket man exiting turn four. As they battled side by side entering turn one, Gustin would gain the momentum on the turn two exit and propel himself into the lead. Dustin Boney was running a great line on the top groove and also made the pass on Shryock for the second position before a caution was shown on lap thirteen. The restart proved to be a big break for Rodney Sanders. He dove to the inside on the exit of turn two and powered by both Shryock and Boney to advance into the second spot. A lap later Boney would slow to a stop in turn four with a left rear flat tire, temporarily ending his hopes of a great run. The top three at that point were Gustin, Sanders, and Hughes. Hughes powered by Sanders on the restart and quickly closed in on Gustin. With Gustin hugging the inside groove, Hughes motored on by in the outside groove and took the lead away. Another caution slowed the pace at the halfway point. Gustin would lose a couple spots following the restart to Sanders and Shryock before Shryock bowed out to the infield. A number of cautions plagued the event in the final ten laps. That set up a great battle between Sanders and Gustin for the runner up position as Jason Hughes had them all covered on this night as he picked up his fifth win of the season. Rodney Sanders finished second, Ryan Gustin was third, Jon Tesch finished fourth, and Bryan Rowland completed the top five. Not only did Hughes collect the win, but his Hughes chassis garnered four of the top five spots. Racing action concluded around 8:30, and it was time to hit the road for home. Think I got home sometime around the 1:30am mark. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of racing and passing I saw throughout the night. Upon arrival the track crew was adding water to the surface and it appeared it would be a hammer down track on the top side. The track crew needs a lot of props for getting it in racing condition and providing a racey surface. Grain Valley Speedway is the first new track of the season for me. That means I'm not one closer to that magical 100 total track plateau that I'm aiming at achieving sometime this year. Just three more to go! - Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!