CORNING, Iowa – Jason Krohn had a lot on his mind Saturday afternoon he and his team rolled into the Adams County Speedway for Round 8 of the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship presented by Bad Boy Mowers – the least of which was preparing for that evening’s event at the big half-mile oval in Corning, Iowa.
But for 35 laps Saturday night, the 2007 USMTS National Champion was able to focus squarely on the task at hand and it paid off with his fifth victory of the season in front of a jam-packed grandstand at the half-mile oval in Corning, Iowa.
Jason Hughes drew the pole for the WIX Filters “A” Main, but was offering to trade back a few spots for any willing takers.
“This isn’t always where you want to be,” Hughes said. “Especially on a track like this with a bunch of lanes, it’s sometimes better to be able to sit back and pick the best line instead of them finding it before you.”
Nonetheless, Hughes jumped out to lead the first lap ahead of Chris Spieker and Krohn. Using the high side of the track, Spieker pulled alongside Hughes down the back-stretch on the second lap and the two touched briefly as they entered the third turn, prompting Hughes to move up to the top of the racing surface as they completed lap 3.
With the leaders running the high side, Krohn and VanderBeek worked the bottom groove while Tommy Myer was glued to the lead pack using the middle lane. Krohn showed Hughes the nose of his car on lap 10 and, again, Hughes quickly shifted gears and took to the bottom the next time around.
VanderBeek snuck by Krohn on lap 13 and closed up on Hughes’ bumper. Over the next 16 laps, Hughes and VanderBeek opened up a ten-car-length advantage over Krohn and the rest of the pack with Hughes gaining some separation as he and VanderBeek maneuvered through lapped traffic.
With eight laps remaining and Hughes seemingly in control for his first win during ‘The Hunt,’ the first and only caution of the race waved when Tommy Weder Jr. slowed on the front-stretch with problems under the hood of his Modified.
On the restart, Krohn used the middle lane to challenge Hughes in the first turn. Meanwhile, VanderBeek held off Dereck Ramirez for third while points leader Ryan Gustin muscled his way past Myer for fifth as the green flag waved.
For the next two laps, Hughes and Krohn battled door to door with Krohn leading for the first time as they crossed beneath the flagstand to complete lap 29. The final six laps belonged to Krohn and he led Hughes by a car-length at the checkered flag.
Gustin got by Ramirez on lap 30 and took third away from VanderBeek as they raced to the white flag. Myer finished fifth, Kelly Shryock moved up nine spots to secure sixth, Ramirez wound up seventh, Spieker held on to finish eighth and Corey Dripps earned the PBM Performance Products Hard Charger Award by racing to a ninth-place finish from 21st on the starting grid.
DandyLand Farms Rookie of the Year points leader Johnny Scott rounded out the top-10.
The win was worth $3,000 to the 38-year-old from Slayton, Minn., and his 22nd victory overall with the United States Modified Touring Series, but circumstances may earlier in the day might make this win his last of 2010.
Krohn received word earlier in the day that his close friend, Larry Rachuy, had suffered a massive heart attack. Krohn calls Rachuy his “right-hand man” and a vital member of his other team – the one that keeps his 3,500-acre family farm running smoothly while Krohn is off chasing checkered flags.
“Larry is the main reason I’m able to go racing,” Krohn said in victory lane. “Without him it would be impossible to do this.”
Rachuy is scheduled for quadruple bypass surgery at 7 a.m. Sunday morning, and Krohn said it would be at least eight to ten weeks before he’s back on his feet.
Farming has always trumped racing on his list of priorities, so Krohn’s return to the racetrack this season is questionable.
After his win Saturday night, Krohn is sixth in the standings. But like everybody else, they’re all chasing Gustin, who padded his points lead with a run from eleventh to third in the main event.
Hughes trails by just eleven points (790 to 779) while VanderBeek lurks in third with 746 markers. Myer is fourth with 707, followed by Shryock (690), Krohn (668), Ramirez (630), Jon Tesch (625), Rodney Sanders (621) and Tim Donlinger (614).
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