Gustin earns hard-fought USMTS victory at Deer Creek Speedway

Gustin earns hard-fought USMTS victory at Deer Creek Speedway

SPRING VALLEY, Minn. -- With ten nights of racing action slated for the Deer Creek Speedway this season – including the inaugural $20,000-to-win Hanson Tire World Modified Dirt Track Championship looming two months from now – a field of 62 drivers invaded the 3/8-mile high-banked clay oval Saturday night for a thriller that is sure to bring back all 2,000 of the fans in attendance for more of the same later this season.

Polesitter Keith Foss led the field into the first turn but fellow front row starter Bob Timm wrestled the lead away the next time around to lead the first lap of the 40-lap WIX Filters “A” Main for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour powered by Swan Energy.

Timm continued to lead with Foss, Jon Tesch and Ryan Gustin following him around the high side of the racing surface for the first 13 laps when the race’s first caution waved just as the leaders had caught the tail of the field.

The restart gave Timm a clear track ahead of him and he took advantage of the opportunity be executing a powerful restart to stretch his lead out the three car-lengths by the end of the next lap back under green.

While Timm maintained a comfortable cushion, the battles for position behind him were miraculous and many. Tesch dove under Foss each lap but Foss powered back around the outside with Gustin in tow until action slowed again with 27 laps in the books when Jason Cummins wound up against the wall in turn 3.

Foss, Gustin and Tesch made it three-wide for second as the lead pack exited the second corner. Timm was able to hold on to the spot, but the trio behind him performed the same dance the very next lap with Foss and Gustin banging wheels.

Contact from behind sent Tommy Myer into a spin to bring out another caution with 31 of 40 laps complete. The restart saw Gustin in second ahead of Foss and Tesch, with Kelly Shryock and Jason Hughes now up to challenge the front-running group.

Timm felt the pressure from his pursuers for the first time on lap 32 as Gustin pulled alongside the leader, and then continued to aggressively challenge the Mississippi Thunder Speedway owner over the next two laps.

Gustin secured the lead for the first time as he crossed beneath the flagstand to complete lap 34 just before the final yellow flag of the contest waved with six orbits remaining.

Back under green, ‘The Reaper’ wheeled his machine around the high side of the track as Hughes, Tesch and Shryock all slipped past Timm.

Hughes challenged Gustin briefly during the 35th lap, but Gustin settled in and sailed away over the final five laps to score his ninth USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour powered by Swan Energy victory of the season and his first at the Deer Creek Speedway.

Gustin did, however, win the Non-Qualifiers feature during the 2008 Featherlite Fall Jamboree at the track, which is not included in his career win total which reached 33 Saturday night.

The win was worth $2,000 to Gustin plus an additional $400 from Hanson Tire Service of Leroy and Preston, Minn., which kicked in $1,400 for the top five finishers in the main event.

Hughes, who started 19th, claimed the runner-up paycheck and the Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger Award while Tesch settled for a third-place finish after challenging at the front of the field the entire distance.

Shryock and rookie Brandon Davis rounded out the top five, with Corey Dripps, Jason Krohn, Johnny Scott, Jason Miller and Timm finishing sixth through tenth.

Set your TIVO or DVR recorder because the best racing on Sunday will be at the Dodge County Speedway in Kasson, Minn., for the 10th Annual Stars & Stripes Shootout. Grandstand gates will open at 4 p.m. with hot laps at 5:30 and the first heat race taking the green flag at 6 p.m. USRA Karl Performance Parts B-Mods, Midwest Mods, Super Stocks and Street Stocks are also on tap.

The Dodge County Speedway is located 1.1 mile north of US 14 on SR 57 (at the Dodge County Fairgrounds). For more info, call 651 226-3706 or 507 634-6400 on raceday or visit www.dodgecountyspeedway.com online.

Memorial Day will find the series at the Chateau Raceway in Lansing, Minn., for the 4th Annual Guttormson Memorial. This race was originally scheduled for Friday but was rained out and postponed to Monday. Gates open at 3 p.m. with hot laps at 5 and racing to follow. Also racing will be Midwest Mods, Pure Stocks and Hornets.

The Chateau Raceway is a 1/3-mile semi-banked clay oval located 5.0 miles north of Austin on US 218 to the Lansing exit, then 1.3 miles eat on CR 2, then 0.4 mile south on CR 25, then 0.3 mile east . For more info, call 507-391-2486 or 507-433-4578 on raceday or visit www.chateauraceway.net.

Race fans can pick up $2-off grandstand admission coupons for all three shows at Casey's General Store locations in Austin, Owatonna, Rochester and Stewartville throughout the weekend. To find the location nearest you, check out www.caseys.com online.

To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, visit www.usmts.com online or call 515-832-7944. You can also follow the USMTS on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour powered by Swan Energy
9th Annual A&A Electric Southern MN Spring Challenge
Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, Minn.
Saturday, May 28, 2011

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine builder, laps completed, reason out (if any) and money won. The top 14 drivers in passing points accumulated in the heat races are locked into the “A” Main, with the top 8 re-drawing for starting positions 1-8.

ISKY RACING CAMS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (1) 66 Dan Bohr, Decorah, Iowa.
2. (4) 49 Bob Timm, Winona, Minn.
3. (2) 96 Greg Jensen, Albert Lea, Minn.
4. (6) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
5. (7) 10 Mike Steensma, Luverne, Minn.
6. (3) 44 Adam Hensel, Barron, Wis.
7. (8) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa.
8. (5) 7 Eric Dailey (R), Armstrong, Iowa.
9. (9) 8 Colt Mather, Webster, Iowa.
10. (10) 14W Clayton Wagamon (R), Blaine, Minn.
11. (11) 30 Shane Wehrs (R), Bangor, Wis.

NEW VISION GRAPHICS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (2) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D.
2. (4) 12M Jason Miller, Osceola, Wis.
3. (5) 65 Tommy Myer, Blooming Prairie, Minn.
4. (1) 28 Bill Clemens, Chatfield, Minn.
5. (6) 45 Todd Scharkey, Kasson, Minn.
6. (3) 1K Pat Graham, Ames, Iowa.
7. (7) 21x Joe Wernecke, Dodge Center, Minn.
8. (10) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
9. (8) 55 Shaun Wehlage (R), Stockton, Minn.
10. (9) 49jr Jake Timm (R), Winona, Minn.
11. (11) 60 Kurt Krauskopf, Decorah, Iowa.

EIBACH SPRINGS HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (3) 71 Jason Cummins, New Richland, Minn.
2. (1) 26 Bob Gierke (R), Westport, Minn.
3. (6) 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa.
4. (2) B1 Jeff Larson (R), Freeport, Ill.
5. (8) 555 Ryan Ruter, Kanawha, Iowa.
6. (7) Y69 Mike Gregg, Morton, Minn.
7. (4) 27 Don Gerritsen Jr., Rock Rapids, Iowa.
8. (9) 5 Brandon Beckendorf (R), Danube, Minn.
9. (5) 99S Bobby Swanson, Kasson, Minn.
10. (10) 74 Mark Noble, Blooming Prairie, Minn.

PBM PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (7) 90 Steve Wetzstein, West Concord, Minn.
2. (4) 96x Jay Ihrke, Dover, Minn.
3. (1) 7K Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn.
4. (2) 01 Brandon Aggen, Rushmore, Minn.
5. (3) 25 Andy Bohnstengel (R), Winona, Minn.
6. (10) 59 Hank Rollinger Jr., Buffalo City, Wis.
7. (6) 5R Ryan York, Racine, Minn.
8. (8) 5W Darrin Walch, Postville, Iowa.
9. (9) 69 Lucas Schott (R), Chatfield, Minn.
10. (5) 20 Cole Queensland (R), Grand Meadow, Minn.

A&A ELECTRIC & UNDERGROUND HEAT RACE #5 (8 laps):
1. (6) 19R Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
2. (9) 50iii Brandon Davis (R), Medford, Minn.
3. (1) 29D Brad Dierks (R), Clarence, Iowa.
4. (5) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
5. (2) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn.
6. (10) 72 Doug Hillson, Blooming Prairie, Minn.
7. (3) 77 Tom Brink (R), Winona, Minn.
8. (7) 4A Joel Alberts, Mantorville, Minn.
9. (8) 18 Mick Glenn, Minnesota City, Minn.
10. (4) R4 Ron Ver Beek, Oskaloosa, Iowa.

HANSON TIRE SERVICE HEAT RACE #6 (8 laps):
1. (1) 95 Keith Foss (R), Winona, Minn.
2. (2) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
3. (5) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
4. (3) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
5. (6) 99 Jason Grimes (R), Jamestown, N.D.
6. (8) 02 Jacob Dahle, Morristown, Minn.
7. (10) 50W Andrew Wiste, Adams, Minn.
8. (4) 42 Tim Donlinger, Rochester, Minn.
9. (7) 29H Joe Horgdal (R), Kasson, Minn.
10. (9) 1L Brad Loveday (R), Fort Frances, Ont., Canada.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (2) 29D Brad Dierks, Clarence, Iowa.
2. (4) 01 Brandon Aggen, Rushmore, Minn.
3. (3) 555 Ryan Ruter, Kanawha, Iowa.
4. (1) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
5. (5) 59 Hank Rollinger Jr., Buffalo City, Wis., Hughes/Sput’s, $75.
6. (11) 7 Eric Dailey (R), Armstrong, Iowa, Skyrocket/Growmondbecks, $90.
7. (13) 99S Bobby Swanson, Kasson, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, $90.
8. (7) 02 Jacob Dahle, Morristown, Minn., Hughes/Sput’s, $90.
9. (6) 99 Jason Grimes (R), Jamestown, N.D., Hughes/Dakota, $90.
10. (9) 21x Joe Wernecke, Dodge Center, Minn., Sidebiter/KSE, $90.
11. (14) 29H Joe Horgdal (R), Kasson, Minn., Skyrocket/, $90.
12. (10) 77 Tom Brink (R), Winona, Minn., TRE/Grove, $90.
13. (16) 1L Brad Loveday (R), Fort Frances, Ont., Canada, Skyrocket/Mullins, $90.
14. (8) 44 Adam Hensel, Barron, Wis., GRT/, $75.
15. (12) 42 Tim Donlinger, Rochester, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, $90.
16. (15) 74 Mark Noble, Blooming Prairie, Minn., /, $90.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (2) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
2. (4) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
3. (1) 96 Greg Jensen, Albert Lea, Minn.
4. (3) 28 Bill Clemens, Chatfield, Minn.
5. (5) 72 Doug Hillson, Blooming Prairie, Minn., Hillson/CRE, $90.
6. (10) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
7. (6) 25 Andy Bohnstengel (R), Winona, Minn., Skyrocket/Brink, $90.
8. (8) 1K Pat Graham, Ames, Iowa, Razor/JR, $75.
9. (11) 5W Darrin Walch, Postville, Iowa, Skyrocket/Sput’s, $90.
10. (14) 14W Clayton Wagamon (R), Blaine, Minn., Wheeler/, $90.
11. (15) 20 Cole Queensland (R), Grand Meadow, Minn., Pierce/Action, $90.
12. (7) Y69 Mike Gregg, Morton, Minn., Shaw/GMPP, $90.
13. (12) 8 Colt Mather, Webster, Iowa, Skyrocket/Sput’s, $90.
14. (9) 27 Don Gerritsen Jr., Rock Rapids, Iowa, Skyrocket/HarryHeads, $75.
15. (13) 69 Lucas Schott (R), Chatfield, Minn., Hughes/Action, $90.
16. (16) 30 Shane Wehrs (R), Bangor, Wis., Hughes/Tomcat, $90.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #3 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (1) 7K Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn.
2. (4) 10 Mike Steensma, Luverne, Minn.
3. (5) 45 Todd Scharkey, Kasson, Minn.
4. (6) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn.
5. (2) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, Hughes/Geddes, $140.
6. (8) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa, BC/JR, $90.
7. (11) 4A Joel Alberts, Mantorville, Minn., Skyrocket/Action, $90.
8. (13) 18 Mick Glenn, Minnesota City, Minn., Pierce/, $90.
9. (7) 50W Andrew Wiste, Adams, Minn., Skyrocket/Premier, $75.
10. (16) 60 Kurt Krauskopf, Decorah, Iowa, Harris/Sput’s, $75.
11. (10) 5 Brandon Beckendorf (R), Danube, Minn., Skyrocket/, $90.
12. (12) 55 Shaun Wehlage (R), Stockton, Minn., Action/Run, $90.
13. (15) R4 Ron Ver Beek, Oskaloosa, Iowa, Skyrocket/Midstate, $75.
14. (3) B1 Jeff Larson (R), Freeport, Ill., DirtWorks/Mullins, $90.
15. (14) 49jr Jake Timm (R), Winona, Minn., Hughes/Sput’s, $90.
16. (9) 5R Ryan York, Racine, Minn., Skyrocket/Baiers, $75.

WIX FILTERS “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (3) 19R Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, 40, $2450.
2. (19) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $1900.
3. (4) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D., GRT/Sput’s, 40, $1300.
4. (13) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, Skyrocket/ProPower, 40, $1150.
5. (8) 50iii Brandon Davis (R), Medford, Minn., BC/GMPP, 40, $1000.
6. (11) 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa, BC/Mullins, 40, $600.
7. (17) 7K Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn., Hughes/Sput’s, 40, $650.
8. (16) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., Hughes/ASI, 40, $700.
9. (9) 12M Jason Miller, Osceola, Wis., Matrix/Mullins, 40, $550.
10. (2) 49 Bob Timm, Winona, Minn., Hughes/Sput’s, 40, $500.
11. (23) 45 Todd Scharkey, Kasson, Minn., Hughes/Sput’s, 40, $450.
12. (22) 96 Greg Jensen, Albert Lea, Minn., /, 40, $300.
13. (14) 65 Tommy Myer, Blooming Prairie, Minn., GRT/Sput’s, 40, $400.
14. (5) 66 Dan Bohr, Decorah, Iowa, GRT/Sput’s, 40, $375.
15. (27) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, Skyrocket/Sput’s, 40, $350.
16. (25) 28 Bill Clemens (R), Chatfield, Minn., /, 40, $300.
17. (21) 555 Ryan Ruter, Kanawha, Iowa, Sidebiter/KSE, 40, $300.
18. (10) 96x Jay Ihrke, Dover, Minn., Fegers/Dean, 40, $300.
19. (24) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/ProPower, 40, $300.
20. (15) 29D Brad Dierks, Clarence, Iowa, Shaw/Sperry, 40, $250.
21. (12) 26 Bob Gierke (R), Westport, Minn., Taylor/Tim’s, 40, $300.
22. (1) 95 Keith Foss (R), Winona, Minn., DirtDueler/Brink, 35, suspension, $300.
23. (7) 90 Steve Wetzstein, West Concord, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, 27, mechanical, $300.
24. (6) 71 Jason Cummins, New Richland, Minn., Hughes/Sput’s, 26, crash, $300.
25. (20) 10 Mike Steensma, Luverne, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, 19, mechanical, $300.
26. (26) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, 17, mechanical, $300.
27. (18) 01 Brandon Aggen, Rushmore, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, 13, mechanical, $300.

(R) = Rookie of the Year contender.

Integra Lap Leaders: Timm 1-33, Gustin 34-40.
Total Laps Led: Timm 33, Gustin 7.
Margin of Victory: 0.799 second.
AFCO Pole Winner: Wetzstein.
Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger: Hughes (started 19th, finished 2nd).
Ruter Farms Long Tow Award: Scott (1,322 miles).
Provisional Starter: VanderBeek.
Next Race: Sunday, May 29, Dodge County Speedway, Kasson, Minn.
Yeager Machine Upper Midwest Region Points: Gustin 101, Hughes 95, Tesch 91, Shryock 87, Davis 84, Dripps 81, Krohn 78, Scott 76, B. Timm 75, Miller 74.
Rookie of the Year Points: Clyde Dunn Jr. 976, Jimmy Ray 971, Jeff Rowland 843, Philip Houston 807, John Webb 800.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 216, ProPower 162, ASI 154, Geddes 106, Sput’s 96.
Chassis Builders Championship Points: Hughes 224, Skyrocket 180, GRT 124, Ramirez 80, TRE 67.