BRAINERD, Minn. -- A grueling and often wet month of June came to a conclusion Saturday night as the USMTS National Tour made its final stop of USMTS Summer Speedweeks at the North Central Speedway in Brainerd, Minn.
It was also the last time that Zack VanderBeek would sport the colorful pink and black colors on his USMTS Modified in support of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure to help fight and find a cure for breast cancer.
And although he hadn’t led a single main event lap yet this season, VanderBeek found a way to put his special-themed machine in victory lane for the first time since the 4th Annual Texas Winter Nationals at the Houston Raceway Park last November.
VanderBeek drew the outside of the front row for the start of the 30-lap WIX Filters “A” Main but it was current USMTS Rookie of the Year points leader Jason Grimes taking control at the drop of the green flag to record his career-first laps as the leader of a USMTS feature race.
But the 30-year-old from Jamestown, N.D., gave way to the 2004 USMTS Rookie of the Year when VanderBeek squeezed past Grimes to lead the fifth circuit.
Back-to-back cautions on laps 11 and 12 didn’t help the cause of the rest of the 25-car field as VanderBeek was the class of the field for the final 25 laps.
The win was worth $2,000 to the New Sharon, Iowa, driver while Grimes held on for a career-best runner-up finish.
Friday night’s winner Rodney Sanders of Happy, Texas, came from the 11th starting position to garner a third-place showing while Scott Ward of Watertown, S.D., was fourth and nine-time USMTS National Champion Kelly Shryock took fifth.
Jon Tesch, Al Hejna, 17th-starting Ryan Gustin, Doug Hillson and Don Eischens completed the top 10.
Gustin continues atop the Yeager Machine Upper Midwest Region points standings with a 57-point advantage (538 to 481) over Shryock and VanderBeek is just two points back in third with 479 markers. Fourth is Sanders with 424, followed by Tesch (415), Corey Dripps (412), Jason Miller (395), Hejna (392), Grimes (379) and Jason Krohn (376).
After a well-deserved vacation of nearly three weeks, the USMTS National Tour returns to action on Tuesday, July 12 at the I-35 Speedway in Mason City, Iowa.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
OFFICIAL RESULTS
USMTS National Tour
Yeager Machine Upper Midwest Region
3rd Annual Mod
Mania presented by Brandl Motors
North Central Speedway, Brainerd,
Minn.
Saturday, June 25, 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 16 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. (2) 37w Scott
Ward, Watertown, S.D.
2. (3) 72 Doug Hillson, Blooming Prairie, Minn.
3.
(6) 99 Jason Grimes (R), Jamestown, N.D.
4. (1) 7J Rick Jacobson, Wilton,
Minn.
5. (5) 14W Clayton Wagamon (R), Blaine, Minn.
6. (4) 1L Brad Loveday
(R), Fort Frances, Ont., Canada.
7. (7) 15T Eric Thiesse, Brainerd, Minn.
NEW VISION GRAPHICS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (1) 33z
Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
2. (2) 12M Jason Miller, Osceola,
Wis.
3. (3) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D.
4. (5) 9e Don Eischens,
Richmond, Minn.
5. (4) 47 Ryan Canon, Clearwater, Minn.
6. (6) 56 Chris
Spieker, Massena, Iowa.
7. (7) 31V Jason Voigt (R), St. Cloud, Minn.
EIBACH SPRINGS HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (2) 7 Al Hejna,
Clear Lake, Iowa.
2. (7) 7A Shane Sabraski, Rice, Minn.
3. (5) 60 Dan
Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
4. (3) 69 Justin Jones (R), Bemidji, Minn.
5. (1)
11E Jerry Esler, Motley, Minn.
6. (4) 5 Brandon Beckendorf (R), Danube,
Minn.
7. (6) 11 Ryan Peckham, Corning, Iowa.
PBM PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (3) 3
Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
2. (1) 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa.
3.
(2) 20H Jeff Hart, Hibbing, Minn.
4. (7) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy,
Texas.
5. (6) 19R Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
6. (4) 57S Don Shaw,
Ham Lake, Minn.
7. (5) 71 Tim Siercks, Princeton, Minn.
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (10 laps, top 8
advance):
1. (1) 19R Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
2. (5) 1L
Brad Loveday (R), Fort Frances, Ont., Canada.
3. (7) 5 Brandon Beckendorf
(R), Danube, Minn.
4. (11) 11 Ryan Peckham, Corning, Iowa.
5. (8) 57S Don
Shaw, Ham Lake, Minn.
6. (9) 15T Eric Thiesse, Brainerd, Minn.
7. (12) 71
Tim Siercks, Princeton, Minn.
8. (3) 47 Ryan Canon, Clearwater, Minn.
9.
(2) 14W Clayton Wagamon (R), Blaine, Minn.
10. (4) 11E Jerry Esler, Motley,
Minn., Fastrack/Speedworx, $75.
11. (6) 56 Chris Spieker, Massena, Iowa,
IROC/PerfMach, $90.
12. (10) 31V Jason Voigt (R), St. Cloud, Minn.,
RCT/Vresco, $90.
WIX FILTERS “A” MAIN (30 laps):
1. (2) 33z Zack
VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, Skyrocket/Sput’s, 30, $2000.
2. (1) 99 Jason
Grimes (R), Jamestown, N.D., Hughes/Dakota, 30, $1500.
3. (11) 20 Rodney
Sanders, Happy, Texas, Hughes/Geddes, 30, $1000.
4. (5) 37w Scott Ward,
Watertown, S.D., Arrow/Sput’s, 30, $800.
5. (7) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile,
Iowa, Skyrocket/ProPower, 30, $800.
6. (12) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D.,
GRT/Sput’s, 30, $700.
7. (8) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa, BC/JR, 30,
$650.
8. (17) 19R Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, 30,
$700.
9. (3) 72 Doug Hillson, Blooming Prairie, Minn., Hillson/CRE, 30,
$550.
10. (14) 9e Don Eischens, Richmond, Minn., Fegers/Adams, 30,
$500.
11. (10) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn., Millenium/Speedworx, 30,
$350.
12. (13) 20H Jeff Hart, Hibbing, Minn., Millenium/, 30, $300.
13.
(16) 69 Justin Jones (R), Bemidji, Minn., Jones/Tim’s, 30, $400.
14. (19) 5
Brandon Beckendorf (R), Danube, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, 30, $375.
15. (15)
7J Rick Jacobson, Wilton, Minn., SP/, 30, $250.
16. (20) 11 Ryan Peckham,
Corning, Iowa, IROC/PerfMach, 30, $350.
17. (21) 57S Don Shaw, Ham Lake,
Minn., /, 30, $250.
18. (25) 14W Clayton Wagamon (R), Blaine, Minn.,
Wheeler/Wagamon, 29, $300.
19. (18) 1L Brad Loveday (R), Fort Frances, Ont.,
Canada, Skyrocket/Mullins, 29, $300.
20. (6) 7A Shane Sabraski, Rice, Minn.,
Shaw/, 29, $250.
21. (4) 12M Jason Miller, Osceola, Wis., Matrix/Mullins, 12,
flat tire, $300.
22. (9) 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa, BC/Mullins, 11,
mechanical, $300.
23. (23) 71 Tim Siercks, Princeton, Minn., Shaw/, 8,
mechanical, $250.
24. (22) 15T Eric Thiesse, Brainerd, Minn., Affordable/, 2,
mechanical, $250.
25. (24) 47 Ryan Canon, Clearwater, Minn., Victory/Victory,
2, mechanical, $250.
(R) = Rookie of the Year contender.
Integra Lap Leaders: Grimes 1-4, VanderBeek
5-30.
Total Laps Led: VanderBeek 26, Grimes
4.
Margin of Victory: 1.371 seconds.
AFCO Pole
Winner: Sabraski.
Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard
Charger: Gustin (started 17th, finished 8th).
Ruter Farms
Long Tow Award: Peckham (477 miles).
Provisional
Starter: Wagamon.
Next Race: Tuesday, July 12, I-35
Speedway, Mason City, Iowa.
Yeager Machine Upper Midwest Region
Points: Gustin 538, Shryock 481, VanderBeek 479, Sanders 424, Tesch
415, Dripps 412, Miller 395, Hejna 392, Grimes 379, Jason Krohn
376.
Rookie of the Year Points: Grimes 1359, Clyde Dunn Jr.
976, Jimmy Ray 971, Jeff Rowland 843, Philip Houston 807.
COMP Cams
Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 341, ProPower 275, Sput’s
229, ASI 167, Geddes 143.
Tiger Rear Ends Manufacturers Championship
Points: Hughes 364, Skyrocket 309, GRT 226, BC 118, Ramirez 80.
