Gustin garners two wins, five top-10 finishes at Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout

Ryan Gustin and the Gressel racing team pulled double duty this past week, competing in both the Late Model and Modified during the 10th Annual Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout at the USA Raceway in Tucson, Ariz.

Action kicked off on Saturday, Jan. 9, with Gustin finishing seventh in his Late Model heat and sixth in his Modified qualifier. Mechanical problems kept him from advancing to the Late Model main event, but was able to climb his way into the Modified feature where gremlins sidelined the team again.

On Sunday, 'The Reaper' kept the Modified in the trailer and turned things around with a heat race win and a strong effort in the Late Model feature. Jonathan Davenport slid past Gustin for second on the 24th lap of the Late Model main event and shortly thereafter Gustin was headed to the pit area and unable to finish the race.

The team was back racing on both fronts again Wednesday, Jan. 13, and Gustin finished second in his heat race and then denied Cade Dillard a third consecutive Modified win to pick up the checkers and $2,000 top prize. Gustin raced from the front row outside to take victory honors ahead of Darron Fuqua, Todd Schute, polesitter Matt Gilbertson and Jake Hartung. In the Late Models, Gustin's sixth-place finish in his heat was good enough to make the main event where he again suffered mechanical woes and wound up with a 22nd-place paycheck.

After a day off from racing, Friday saw Gustin top the Modifieds for the second time in a row. He raced from fourth to win the 25-lapper ahead of Matt Leer and polesitter Brad Dierks. In Late Model competition, things began to look up with a strong "B" Main victory and then a charge from 16th on the starting grid to take sixth in the main event.

On Saturday, Darrel Lanigan denied some mid-race pressure from Gustin before racing away to secure the victory after Gustin was unable to finish the race. It was another great battle in the Modifieds with Gustin winning his heat race and then following Shute and Rodney Sanders to the stripe to claim the third spot in the "A" Main.

Sunday's finale saw Gustin win another Late Model "B" Main before thrilling the crowd with a dash from 18th to finish third in the feature race behind Jonathan Davenport and Ricky Thornton Jr. with no caution flag to help the cause. The team kept the Modified parked on Sunday.

Overall, Gustin made ten starts during the Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout and recorded two wins along with four top-5 and five top-10 finishes. He wound up 14th in overall Late Model points and seventh in the final Modified standings.

The Gressel Racing team will hit the campaign trail again with their Henryetta Ford-sponsored Hughes Chassis Modified in February with the USMTS Casey's Cup Series powered by S&S Fishing & Rental which launches Feb. 11 with a foursome of three-day shows in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.

Opening weekend takes place Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 11-13, at the Shady Oaks Speedway in Goliad, Texas, followed by tripleheader weekends at the Heart O’ Texas Speedway near Waco, Texas, Feb. 18-20; Ark-La-Tex Speedway in Vivian, La., Feb. 25-27; and Southern Oklahoma Speedway in Ardmore, Okla., March 3-5.

Each show will pay $2,000, $3,000 and $4,000 to win, respectively, and will comprise the first dozen events in the expanded 17-race Production Jars Southern Region presented by Day Motor Sports.