REDWOOD FALLS, Minn. – Tommy Myer of Blooming Prairie, Minn., walked away with top honors Thursday night as the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour made its maiden voyage to the Redwood Speedway in Redwood Falls, Minn.
The win – his second of the year and 38th of his career – was worth $2,000 to the 45-year-old for his efforts after holding off Steve Wetzstein after trailing the West Concord, Minn., pilot for most of the race.
Wetzstein led the first 20 circuits of the 25-lapper, but the pair battled door to door for most of the event. With five laps remaining, Wetzstein bobbled in the turn and allowed Myer to claim the top spot which he never gave up.
Jim Horejsi of Echo, Minn., came home in third, with nine-time defending USMTS National Champion Kelly Shryock of Fertile, Iowa, finishing fourth after starting tenth on the starting grid.
Long tow Steven Whiteaker Jr. of Corpus Christi, Texas, claimed the fifth-place paycheck, followed by Wednesday’s winner Mike Steensma of Luverne, Minn., Louisiana leadfoot Shane Hebert, Oklahoma’s Tommy Weder Jr., ten-time 2010 winner Ryan Gustin of Marshalltown, Iowa, and Redwood Falls racer Mike Gregg rounding out the top-10 finishers.
Steensma, who started 17th, earned the PBM Performance Products Hard Charger Award.
With five races in the books for the Yeager Machine Upper Midwest Region, Shryock leads a tight points battle by nine points (457 to 448) over Myer while Gustin is just another 14 markers back in third. 2008 USMTS National Champion Tim Donlinger is fourth with 403 points, followed by 2007 titleist Jason Krohn (394), Jon Tesch (373), Wetzstein (369), Bumper Jones (362), Zack VanderBeek (360) and DandyLand Farms Rookie of the Year points leader Johnny Scott (345).
USMTS Northern Speedweek action moves to the Mississippi Thunder Speedway tomorrow (Friday, June 25). This will be the fourth straight season that the USMTS Modifieds have trekked to the picturesque facility near Fountain City, Wis., and the sixth event overall.
Pit gates will open at 3:30 p.m., grandstand gates open at 5:30, hot laps are slated to begin at 6:40 and the first heat race will take to the track at 7 p.m. Also on the racing card will be USRA Karl Performance Parts B-Mods, WISSOTA Street Stocks and Mini Mods.
Race fans can pick up a discount coupon worth $2 off an adult general admission by stopping in at one of the Casey’s General Stores locations in Sparta or Toma in Wisconsin, plus stores in Rochester or Zumbrota in Minnesota. For more information, or to find the Casey’s location nearest you, check out www.caseys.com online.
Kelly Shryock will be driving the NAPA Auto Parts “Two-Seater” Modified during intermission. The nine-time USMTS National Champion will be taking one lucky fan on a three-lap ride at full speed. Raffle tickets for the unique rim-riding experience will be on sale for $2 through the end of the heat races before one lucky fan will get the ride of his or her life!
Todd Scharkey captured the inaugural event at the former Tri-Oval Speedway on June 8, 2007, and Kelly Shryock picked up the win when the series returned the following month. Mother Nature won the first scheduled stop during the 2008 season and Al Hejna won on Aug. 15, 2008, in the final event staged on the tri-oval configuration.
In 2009, veteran Modified racer Bob Timm took over the reigns of the racetrack. Timm’s new role as promoter brought a new configuration, new clay surface and a new name. The facility was renamed Mississippi Thunder Speedway gone was the sweeping tri-oval shape in favor of a high-banked 1/3-mile oval. On May 25, Ryan Gustin won in dominating fashion, and then followed Tim Donlinger across the finish line on Aug. 21 during the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship.
Friday’s show at the Mississippi Thunder Speedway will be the eighth and final race to take place over the course of 11 days during the USMTS Northern Speedweek swing. Each race is worth a minimum of $2,000 to the winner with no less than $250 to start the main event. More than $100,000 in total prize money is up for grabs during the 11-race campaign.
USMTS Northern Speedweek Schedule:
Wed Jun 16 … Buena Vista Raceway, Alta, Iowa (winner: Ryan Gustin)
Thu Jun 17 ... Huset’s Speedway, Brandon, S.D. (winner: Ryan Gustin)
Sat Jun 19 ... Scotland County Speedway, Memphis, Mo. (winner: Ryan Gustin)
Mon Jun 21 ... Fairmont Raceway, Fairmont, Minn. (winner: Ryan Gustin)
Tue Jun 22 ... Mineral City Speedway, Fort Dodge, Iowa (winner: Ryan Gustin)
Wed Jun 23 ... I-35 Speedway, Mason City, Iowa (winner: Mike Steensma)
Thu Jun 24 ... Redwood Speedway, Redwood Falls, Minn. (winner: Tommy Myer)
Fri Jun 25 ... Mississippi Thunder Speedway, Fountain City, Wis. (4th Annual Event)
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 – Yeager Machine Upper Midwest Region
Redwood Speedway, Redwood Falls, Minn.
Inaugural Event
Thursday, June 24, 2010
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 12 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) 9 Shane Hebert, Lafayette, La.
2. (4) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn.
3. (6) 9 Jim Horejsi, Echo, Minn.
4. (5) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D.
5. (8) 111 Bumper Jones, Mesilla Park, N.M.
6. (9) 555 Ryan Ruter, Kanawha, Iowa.
7. (3) 72 Doug Hillson, Blooming Prairie, Minn.
8. (7) 5 Brandon Beckendorf, Danube, Minn.
9. (1) 10 Mike Steensma, Luverne, Minn.
NEW VISION GRAPHICS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (1) 1st Johnny Scott (R), Las Cruces, N.M.
2. (2) 87 Curt Lund, Redwood Falls, Minn.
3. (3) 18 Chase Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.
4. (8) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
5. (6) 95t Todd Brockman, Echo, Minn.
6. (7) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
7. (5) 74t Tim Pessek, Hutchinson, Minn.
8. (4) 18 Ben Panitzke, Redwood Falls, Minn.
9. (9) 3d Tim Donlinger, Rochester, Minn.
SCHOENFELD HEADERS HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (2) 12h Mike Hansen, Alton, Iowa.
2. (1) 90 Steve Wetzstein, West Concord, Minn.
3. (3) 69 Lucas Schott (R), Chatfield, Minn.
4. (6) 47 Ryan Canon (R), Clearwater, Minn.
5. (4) 43 Larry Revier, Olivia, Minn.
6. (7) 1m Jeff Maasch, Vesta, Minn.
7. (8) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
8. (5) Y69 Mike Gregg (R), Morton, Minn.
EIBACH SPRINGS HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (2) 65 Tommy Myer, Blooming Prairie, Minn.
2. (1) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
3. (4) 89 Steven Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas.
4. (6) 02 Tommy Weder Jr., Woodward, Okla.
5. (8) 8 Colt Mather, Webster, Iowa.
6. (7) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
7. (5) 4k Kent Willms (R), Willmar, Minn.
8. (3) 7w Kenneth Will, Windom, Minn.
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (10 laps, top 6 advance):
1. (2) 02 Tommy Weder Jr., Woodward, Okla.
2. (3) 111 Bumper Jones, Mesilla Park, N.M.
3. (11) 10 Mike Steensma, Luverne, Minn.
4. (10) Y69 Mike Gregg (R), Morton, Minn.
5. (6) 1m Jeff Maasch, Vesta, Minn., $75.
6. (8) 74t Tim Pessek, Hutchinson, Minn.
7. (5) 43 Larry Revier, Olivia, Minn., $75.
8. (4) 95t Todd Brockman, Echo, Minn., $75.
9. (1) 69 Lucas Schott (R), Chatfield, Minn., $90.
10. (7) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, $400.
11. (9) 5 Brandon Beckendorf, Danube, Minn., $75.
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (10 laps, top 6 advance):
1. (2) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D.
2. (3) 8 Colt Mather, Webster, Iowa.
3. (6) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
4. (1) 47 Ryan Canon (R), Clearwater, Minn.
5. (7) 72 Doug Hillson, Blooming Prairie, Minn.
6. (8) 4k Kent Willms (R), Willmar, Minn.
7. (9) 18 Ben Panitzke, Redwood Falls, Minn., $75.
8. (4) 555 Ryan Ruter, Kanawha, Iowa, $90.
9. (10) 7w Kenneth Will, Windom, Minn., $75.
10. (5) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, $400.
11. (11) 3d Tim Donlinger, Rochester, Minn., $400.
WIX FILTERS “A” MAIN (25 laps):
1. (5) 65 Tommy Myer, Blooming Prairie, Minn., GRT/Sput’s, 25, $2000.
2. (1) 90 Steve Wetzstein, West Concord, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, 25, $1500.
3. (2) 9 Jim Horejsi, Echo, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, 25, $1000.
4. (10) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, Skyrocket/ASI, 25, $900.
5. (11) 89 Steven Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas, Hughes/Mullins, 25, $800.
6. (17) 10 Mike Steensma, Luverne, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, 25, $700.
7. (4) 9 Shane Hebert, Lafayette, La., Hughes/Wall2Wall, 25, $650.
8. (13) 02 Tommy Weder Jr., Woodward, Okla., Hughes/Clements, 25, $600.
9. (18) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, 25, $550.
10. (19) Y69 Mike Gregg (R), Morton, Minn., Pro/, 25, $500.
11. (21) 72 Doug Hillson, Blooming Prairie, Minn., Hillson/CRE, 25, $450.
12. (14) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D., Ramirez/ASI, 23, $425.
13. (22) 74t Tim Pessek, Hutchinson, Minn., B&B/Pessek, 23, $275.
14. (9) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Ramirez/Sput’s, 15, mechanical, $375.
15. (12) 18 Chase Junghans, Manhattan, Kan., Hughes/Sput’s, 14, mechanical, $350.
16. (8) 1st Johnny Scott (R), Las Cruces, N.M., Hughes/ASI, 11, mechanical, $400.
17. (3) 87 Curt Lund, Redwood Falls, Minn., JCar/Ripka, 8, mechanical, $250.
18. (7) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, 7, mechanical, $400.
19. (16) 8 Colt Mather, Webster, Iowa, Skyrocket/Sput’s, 7, mechanical, $300.
20. (6) 12h Mike Hansen, Alton, Iowa, GRT/PerfOnly, 4, mechanical, $300.
21. (15) 111 Bumper Jones, Mesilla Park, N.M., TRE/BMS, 4, mechanical, $400.
22. (23) 4k Kent Willms (R), Willmar, Minn., Hughes/Victory, 3, mechanical, $300.
23. (20) 47 Ryan Canon (R), Clearwater, Minn., Hughes/Victory, 2, mechanical, $300.
(R) = DandyLand Farms Rookie of the Year contender.
WIX Filters Lap Leaders: Wetzstein 1-20, Myer 21-25.
Total Laps Led: Wetzstein 20, Myer 5.
Margin of Victory: 0.524 second.
AFCO Pole Winner: Hebert.
PBM Performance Products Hard Charger: Steensma (started 17th, finished 6th).
Ruter Farms Long Tow: Ramirez (771.18 miles).
Next Race: Friday, June 25, Mississippi Thunder Speedway, Fountain City, Wis.
Yeager Machine Upper Midwest Region Points: Shryock 457, Myer 448, Gustin 434, Donlinger 403, Krohn 394, Tesch 373, Wetzstein 369, Jones 362, VanderBeek 360, Scott 345.
DandyLand Farms Rookie of the Year Points: Scott 1173, Nick Deal 587, Mark Elliott 355, Lucas Conley 327, Ryan Peckham 317.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 180, Sput’s 169, ASI 132, KSE 68, AEM 49.
Chassis Builders Championship Points: Hughes 180, Skyrocket 166, GRT 139, Ramirez 116, TRE 94.
Contingency Awards:
Ai-Racing – Gustin.
American Racer – Scott.
Dart Machinery – Tesch.
Eibach Springs – Myer.
Forty9Designs.com – Shryock, Gustin.
Hooker Harness – not awarded.
Isky Racing Cams – Hebert.
KSE Racing Products – Scott.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Canon.
Out-Pace Racing Products – Hillson.
PBM Performance Products – Steensma.
Quarter Master – Myer, Weder.
QuickTime – Hebert.
Real Racing Wheels – Willms.
Schoenfeld Headers – Hansen.
WIX Filters – Myer, Wetzstein.
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