Myer masters USMTS Modifieds at Mississippi Thunder Speedway

After a three-week summer vacation, the touring titans returned to Bob Timm’s 3/8-mile clay oval in Fountain City, Wis., on Tuesday night and Tommy Myer picked up right where he left off.

Myer captured the inaugural event at the Redwood Speedway the night before the rained-out event last month, but the hiatus didn’t slow his momentum as he picked up his third USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour victory of the season and pocketed the $2,000 winner’s share of the prize money.

The veteran from Blooming Prairie, Minn., drew the pole for the 35-lap WIX Filters “A” Main, but had to fend off a challenge from USRA Modified national points leader Josh Angst during the early stages of the race.

Angst slipped by Myer to lead the 11th circuit, but Myer jumped back into the lead as they completed lap 12. Again on lap 13, Angst held the advantage at the flagstand but the next time around saw Myer cross the stripe first and he never gave up the lead again.

Meanwhile, Ryan Gustin was charging through the field from his 21st starting spot and worked his way into the top 5 with less than 10 laps to go.

The race’s first caution waved on lap 27 when Kelly Shryock came to a stop on the racing surface with a flat tire, and the final yellow flag was displayed with four laps to go after a minor spin in the corner. Although the slow-downs bunched the field up behind the leader, Myer would not be denied his 39th career USMTS triumph.

Jason Krohn battled past Angst to garner the runner-up honors while Gustin settled for fourth-place money at the pay window. Al Hejna finished fifth, Zack VanderBeek snagged the sixth spot, seventh went to Steve Wetzstein, Tim Donlinger earned an eighth-place finish, Dereck Ramirez nabbed ninth and Jon Tesch rounded out the top 10 finishers.

Coupled with Shryock’s late-race misfortune and eventual 15th-place finish, Myer dropped the nine-time USMTS national champion from the top spot in the rankings. Gustin also moved ahead of Shryock and sits just 13 points in arrears to Myer (596 to 583). Shryock fell to third with 564 markers, followed by Krohn (534), Donlinger (530), Tesch (495), Wetzstein (450), VanderBeek (441), Doug Hillson (424) and Ramirez (410).

All three of Myer’s wins have come in the rough-and-tumble Yeager Machine Upper Midwest Region where the USMTS Modifieds will be slinging mud for the next four straight nights, including Wednesday’s tilt at the Dodge County Speedway in Kasson, Minn. – site of Myer’s first victory of he 2010 season.