Johnny Scott tops Hunt for the USMTS feature at Nobles County Speedway

 

WORTHINGTON, Minn. -- Johnny Scott of Las Cruces, N.M., captured his first win during the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup Sunday evening at the Nobles County Speedway. It was his fourth overall win of the season and 13th of his USMTS career.

From the pole position, Scott took the lead at the start and never looked back, leading all 40 laps en route to a $3,000 payday and ending a 32-race dry spell.

It was a great night for several Southerners. Rodney Sanders of Happy, Texas, picked up his second runner-up finish in as many nights while Scott’s former boss, Bryan Rowland, took a third-place check back to Woodward, Okla., after starting 11th. Rowland’s current teammate and the winner’s older twin brother, Stormy Scott, was fourth.

Jon Tesch followed up his two wins the two previous nights with a fifth-place finish and Jason Hughes passed eleven competitors en route to finishing sixth. Jeremy Payne secured the seventh spot, nine-time USMTS national champion Kelly Shryock earned eighth, 22nd-starting Zack VanderBeek clawed his way to a ninth-place finish to grab the Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger Award and Oklahoman Dereck Ramirez rounded out the top 10.

The night wasn’t so good for Ryan Gustin, who won here just last month and came into Sunday’s event as the USMTS Casey’s Cup Series points leader. A flat tire early in the main event brought out a yellow flag and the ‘The Reaper’ tagged the back of the field after ducking into the pit area for new rubber. He later spun while fighting his way to the front of the field and the resulting caution forced him to retire from the race due to the two-caution rule. He wound up 24th.

With eight events in the books, Sanders leap-frogged over Gustin to take the series points lead by 14 (825 to 811) thanks to consistency throughout the campaign. In his 28 starts in the USMTS Casey’s Cup Series this season, ‘The Rocket’ has four wins, 23 top-fives and 27 top-ten finishes.

Stormy Scott, who came into ‘The Hunt’ as the points leader, has 763 points trails Gustin by 48 markers. The rest of the top ten are Hughes (705), Johnny Scott (696), Rowland (651), VanderBeek (650), Payne (640), Ramirez (619) and Shryock (596).

After a ten-day break, the drivers will suit up and fire up their engines for another five-race, five-track trek across Southern Minnesota to finish off August and usher in the month of September.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
USMTS Casey’s Cup Series – The Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup
Nobles County Speedway, Worthington, Minn.
Sunday, Aug. 19, 2012

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.

BEYEA CUSTOM HEADERS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (2) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
2. (3) 10 Mike Steensma, Luverne, Minn.
3. (6) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
4. (5) 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla.
5. (8) 17 Garry Oskerson, Fairmont, Minn.
6. (9) 01 Brandon Aggen, Rushmore, Minn.
7. (4) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
8. (7) 83 Willy Kraft, Mico, Texas.
9. (1) 95 Oliver Kollofski, Fairmont, Minn.

HOOKER HARNESS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (2) 71 Jason Cummins, New Richland, Minn.
2. (5) 20s Stormy Scott (R), Las Cruces, N.M.
3. (1) 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa.
4. (4) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa.
5. (3) 99h Trevor Hunt (R), Liberty, Mo.
6. (8) 74 Mark Noble, Blooming Prairie, Minn.
7. (9) 7 Eric Dailey, Armstrong, Iowa.
8. (6) 72 Doug Hillson, Blooming Prairie, Minn.
9. (7) 20z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.

EIBACH SPRINGS HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (2) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
2. (3) 186 Jeremy Payne, Springfield, Mo.
3. (4) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D.
4. (6) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
5. (5) 27 Don Gerritsen Jr., Rock Rapids, Iowa.
6. (7) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
7. (1) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo.
8. (8) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck (R), Waukee, Iowa.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN (10 laps, all advance):
1. (2) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
2. (3) 7 Eric Dailey, Armstrong, Iowa.
3. (1) 74 Mark Noble, Blooming Prairie, Minn.
4. (4) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
5. (6) 83 Willy Kraft, Mico, Texas.
6. (10) 20z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
7. (5) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo.
8. (8) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck (R), Waukee, Iowa.
9. (7) 72 Doug Hillson, Blooming Prairie, Minn.
10. (9) 95 Oliver Kollofski, Fairmont, Minn.

SWAN ENERGY “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (1) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., Hughes/ProPower, 40, $3000.
2. (4) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, Hughes/Geddes, 40, $1700.
3. (11) 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/ProPower, 40, $1200.
4. (6) 20s Stormy Scott (R), Las Cruces, N.M., Hughes/ProPower, 40, $1000.
5. (5) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D., GRT/Sput’s, 40, $900.
6. (17) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $800.
7. (3) 186 Jeremy Payne, Springfield, Mo., GRT/RoushYates, 40, $700.
8. (20) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, Skyrocket/ProPower, 40, $650.
9. (22) 20z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, Hughes/Sput’s, 40, $600.
10. (7) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/ProPower, 40, $550.
11. (24) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck (R), Waukee, Iowa, GRT/Mullins, 40, $500.
12. (18) 7 Eric Dailey, Armstrong, Iowa, Skyrocket/Grawmondbeck’s, 40, $450.
13. (8) 10 Mike Steensma, Luverne, Minn., Hughes/Sput’s, 40, $400.
14. (21) 83 Willy Kraft, Mico, Texas, Kraft/Gaerte, 40, $250.
15. (23) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo., GRT/Mullins, 40, $350.
16. (16) 27 Don Gerritsen Jr., Rock Rapids, Iowa, Razor/HarryHeads, 40, $250.
17. (9) 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa, BC/ProPower, 39, $300.
18. (13) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa, BC/JRM, 37, $300.
19. (12) 17 Garry Oskerson, Fairmont, Minn., Shaw/, 34, $250.
20. (2) 71 Jason Cummins, New Richland, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, 24, $400.
21. (14) 01 Brandon Aggen, Rushmore, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, 22, $300.
22. (19) 74 Mark Noble, Blooming Prairie, Minn., Kraft/Gaerte, 19, $300.
23. (15) 99h Trevor Hunt (R), Liberty, Mo., Hughes/Hatfield, 19, $300.
24. (10) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, 18, $400.
25. (25) 72 Doug Hillson, Blooming Prairie, Minn., Hillson/CRE, 1, $300.
DNS - 95 Oliver Kollofski, Fairmont, Minn., Skyrocket/Trondson, 0, $100.

(R) = Rookie of the Year contender.

Integra Lap Leader: J. Scott 1-40.
Total Laps Led: J. Scott 40.
Margin of Victory: 2.181 seconds.
Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger: VanderBeek (started 22nd, finished 9th).
Next Race: Wednesday, Aug. 29, Fairmont (Minn.) Raceway.
USMTS Casey’s Cup Series Points: Sanders 825, Gustin 811, S. Scott 763, Hughes 705, J. Scott 696, Rowland 651, VanderBeek 650, Payne 640, Ramirez 619, Shryock 596.
Rookie of the Year Points: S. Scott 2157, Hilsabeck 1508, Ron Keith 1219, Casey Penn 956, Thomas Tillison Jr. 904.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 434, Geddes 398, ProPower 367, Sput’s 342, RoushYates 253.
Tiger Rear Ends Manufacturers Championship Points: Hughes 512, GRT 464, Skyrocket 384, Sidebiter 183, BC 173.