Ryan Gustin made a great save last night at the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Iowa. Qualifying was terrible for the USMTS points leader and he had to take the 25th provisional starting spot just to be in the WIX Filters "A" Main. In another excellent 40-lapper that had four different leaders and only four cautions, 'The Reaper' rallied for a fourth-place finish -- two spots ahead of his nearest challenger in the points.
With 12 points races left on the schedule, this is far from over. While 58-point swings are mathematically possible, 40-point swings are much more probable -- that's just first place vs. 16th in a main event. Kelly Shryock, the nine-time titleist, made up a lot of points on Thursday but lost a couple last night and sits 82 points behind Gustin. But that's just two races. Gustin doesn't need any more bad luck in qualifying like he's had the last two nights or Shryock will be there.
Third in points is Jon Tesch, whom a lot of folks around the country got to know and like through the Dirt Knights television show. He is 136 behind Gustin and GRT Chassis' only hope at a USMTS title this year. Gustin drives a Hughes Chassis and Shryock drives a Skyrocket, of course. Tesch was one of the race leaders last night but ended up fifth. Had he been able to win, he'd be 16 points closer to the lead.
Fourth in points is the defending champion, Jason Hughes at 163 behind the leader. It was about this time last year that he went "back to basics" and got on a roll. He's been quietly moving closer to the front once again. Last night, another solid third -- one spot ahead of Gustin.
The man making the biggest moves this week is New Mexico's Johnny Scott who's won the last two races in another Hughes Chassis and is just one point behind Hughes. If they want to catch Gustin, however, Scott and Hughes are going to have to keep this up. They can't afford any bad nights if they want a championship. Scott is a great young racer and he has a bunch of wins at a variety of tracks now and it's great that he can now show his skills on a national stage this way.
The next two guys may not be out of it, but they are certainly in the long shot category now because they are 200 or more points back and have five guys to pass. Sixth is Skyrocket Chassis' other hope, Zack VanderBeek, who's been getting good finishes of late but started out slow. He almost had his first win of 'The Hunt' last night and had the lead with nine to go when Scott passed him and got the lead for the second and final time in the race. That left 'The Z-Man' to finish a strong second.
The other former champion Jason Krohn (Hughes Chassis) who did not qualify last night after getting his first win last week. Thanks to Gustin, he didn't get a provisional either. He lost points to everybody, including 42 to Gustin, and is seventh at -208.
Through 10 races, 18 drivers have perfect attendance. Those top seven are averaging about a minimum of $800 per race not counting what the points will pay, led by Gustin's more than $1,500 in earnings per race. If he wins the title, he'll average way over $2,000 per race with the $20,000 he gets for winning the title. He started off super hot but has been cooled off this week. He's proved himself well these last couple of years in a lot of areas. The next area may be dealing with the pressure of leading 'The Hunt.' The competition may being seeing chinks in the armor.
The bottom six of those 18 are only averaging $250 to $350 per race, but with perfect attendance each driver will earn $1,000 at least in points fund money. Keith Foss averages almost $700 per race through seven events, but has not competed in the last three events after mechnical woes in Rice Lake, Wis.
Looking forward to the Oklahoma-Missouri swing in mid-September!
