Gustin ends wild weekend with runner-up in Atchison

Ryan Gustin and the Gressel Racing team embarked on a three-race weekend with the Modified, May 1-3, with a pair of USMTS shows in Kansas and Missouri and a non-sanctioned event in Kansas on Sunday.

Friday found the team back a the Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., where 'The Reaper' has had past success in both Late Model and Modified competition. In Friday's 30-lap USMTS main event, Gustin kept the leaders in his sight for the entire distance but had to settle for a fourth-place finish behind Terry Phillips, Rodney Sanders and Jason Hughes.

On Saturday, the team headed to the Randolph County Raceway in Moberly, Mo., where a rain shower at race time pushed the start back about an hour, and also made for a fast and rough high-banked half-mile dirt track the rest of the night. Gustin was one of many who was bitten by mechanical woes, getting knocked out of competition on lap 18.

The team took part in a special $2,000-to-win Outlaw Modified show in Atchison, Kan., on the fun and racy 1/5-mile bullring. As usual, Gustin put on a show for the fans and took home a runner-up finish with a pass of two cars on the final lap of the feature.