GREENWOOD, Neb. -- They threw everything but the kitchen sink at Kelly Shryock but the nine-time USMTS National Champion turned away each and every challenge to win the 30-lap WIX Filters “A” Main at the I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb., for opening night at the inaugural Silver Dollar Nationals.
Like many of his previous 171 career victories with the USMTS National Tour, Shryock was just plain good, but a little good fortune – or bad fortune, depending on which way you look at it – also played a part in putting the 46-year-old from Fertile, Iowa, in victory lane for the eighth time this season.
Shryock started third in his heat race and was on his way to finishing in the same position when the second-place car of Rodney Sanders blew a motor on the final lap and allowed Shryock to go by for the runner-up finish.
That gave Shryock just enough passing points to earn the eighth and final redraw for the main event. After the other seven qualifiers were done with their draws only the Ace of Spades remained, giving Shryock the pole position for the start of the feature race.
It was outside front row starter Mike Steensma, however, who gained the advantage at the drop of the green flag and jumped out front to lead the first two laps around the high-banked 4/10-mile clay oval.
Shryock battled back on the high side of the corners and powered his way around Steensma to lead lap 3 just before the first of three cautions slowed the action when Johnny Scott’s engine expired down the back-stretch.
The restart saw Shryock maintain his advantage over Steensma but Ryan Gustin, who came from the last row of his heat race to beat Steensma, was up to third after drawing the seventh starting spot.
Four laps later, Gustin drove underneath Steensma to claim second place and with 15 of the 30 laps in the books, ‘The Reaper’ was all over the rear bumper of Shryock’s #3 Skyrocket.
Lap 16 saw the second yellow flag wave when Ryan Schaffer stopped on the track with steam billowing from under his hood. While under caution, 2007 USMTS National Champion Jason Krohn relinquished the sixth position as he pulled into the pits with an overheating engine, joining Kyle Berck and Zack VanderBeek who suffered the same fate earlier in the race.
When the green flag unfurled again, Jeremy Payne jumped up to challenge Shryock and Gustin as the trio wrestled for real estate in turn 2 while Steensma and Jason Hughes shadowed them in fourth and fifth.
Shryock and Gustin continued to battle for the top spot lap after lap with Shryock on the high side and Gustin hugging the bottom groove, and then drag-racing side by side down the long back-stretch on several occasions.
Suddenly, Gustin slowed with 22 laps complete and ducked into the pits with a blown engine. Meanwhile, the race’s third and final caution reared its head for debris n the track while Corey Dripps’ night also came to an end with mechanical troubles.
The final restart with eight to go found Payne challenging Shryock for the lead, but keeping one eye behind him as Hughes was pressuring for the spot. Two laps later, Hughes secured second place and began to reel in Shryock.
Crossing beneath the white flag, Hughes pulled door to door with Shryock and then dove to the bottom of the first turn while Shryock remained faithful to the cushion lurking just inches away from the outside wall.
Hughes edged out to about a two-car-length advantage through the corner, but Shryock powered by on the outside once again and held his ground into the next corner and back to the checkered flag to take the win and avoid a repeat of earlier this year when Hughes passed him on the final lap to win in Humboldt, Kan.
Payne held on for a third-place showing behind the defending USMTS National Champion while Sanders came from 15th on the grid to grab the fourth spot. Earlier, Sanders came from last to finish second in Real Racing Wheels “B” Main #1 after swapping engines following his heat race disappointment.
Steensma crossed the finish line in fifth and 2008 USMTS National Champion Tim Donlinger raced from 18th to sixth to earn the Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger Award. Seventh through tenth were Dereck Ramirez, Chris Spieker, Terry Phillips and Jacob Dahle.
The USMTS National Tour is back in action for a second straight night on Saturday for the finale of the inaugural Silver Dollar Nationals at the I-80 Speedway. Along with a complete show of USMTS Modifieds, Late Models will be racing for $25,000 to win in their main event.
Saturday night’s race will be the final event in the Farm Boy BBQ Sauce Great Plains Region where Shryock holds a 49-point cushion over Gustin for the regional title. Sanders, Jason Grimes, Krohn, VanderBeek, Chase Junghans, Dripps, Jon Tesch and Scott Ward round out the top-10 standings.
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