SPRING VALLEY, Minn. – One year ago Jason Hughes led only the last 100 feet in winning his second Featherlite Fall Jamboree to become the first repeat winner of the crown jewel of dirt Modified racing.
On Saturday night at the Deer Creek Speedway, the 36-year-old chassis builder from Westville, Okla., made his move into the top spot 18 laps sooner, but the result was still the same.
Thirty of the nation’s most talented drivers started three wide and ten rows deep in Saturday’s 50-lap main event for the USMTS Modifieds.
Rodney Sanders of Happy, Texas, grabbed the lead at the drop of the green flag from the middle of the front row with polesitter Al Hejna of Clear Lake, Iowa, and Bob Timm of Winona, Minn., following to complete the first lap.
Hejna’s nightmare season continued as he slowed one lap later to bring out the race’s first caution flag. The victim of a broken bellhousing, his elation in drawing the pole was short-lived as he wound up the first driver out of the race.
Back under green, Sanders pulled out to a four-car-length lead as Hughes, who started sixth, slipped underneath Timm to take the second spot.
Hughes pulled alongside Sanders on the eighth lap and the two ran door to door for the next four laps with Sanders leading by a nose each time they crossed beneath the flagstand.
Meanwhile, Marshalltown, Iowa’s Ryan Gustin was flying to the front of the pack after starting twelfth. Gustin got underneath Hughes on lap 12,
and then powered past Sanders coming out of turn 2 to take control and lead the 14th circuit.
From there, Gustin set sail and built a full straight-away lead over the field but his advantage was wiped out with 29 laps in the books when Steve Wetzstein’s machine went up in smoke in front of the grandstands and the yellow flag was displayed.
With Hughes and Jon Tesch of Watertown, S.D., now battling for second, Hughes elected to start on the inside for the double-file restart. When the green flag waved, Tesch flew around the outside and drove by Hughes to take over the runner-up spot.
But another quick caution before another lap could be completed gave Hughes the opportunity to rethink his choice, and this time he chose the outside lane for the do-over.
His decision paid off as he got the advantage over Tesch this time and moved in on Gustin’s bumper to challenge the 19-year-old for the lead.
With 32 laps in the books, Hughes made his move around the outside of Gustin and led “The Reaper” to the start-finish line to complete lap 33.
Hughes maintained about a four-car-length cushion throughout the next 13 orbits, but with five laps to go Kevin Stoa’s racecar erupted in flames in front of the standing-room-only grandstands to bring out the red flag. The fire extinguished itself and Stoa made his way to the pits with an assist from a push truck.
The fifth slowdown of the 50-lapper only delayed the inevitable. With the green flag waving, Hughes got a great jump on his chasers and cruised the final five laps around the high-banked 3/8-mile oval to take the checkered flag and claim his third Featherlite Fall Jamboree trophy.
Tesch edged Gustin for the runner-up spot, with Shane Hebert of Lafayette, La., and New Sharon, Iowa’s Zack VanderBeek rounding out the top five finishers. Sixth through tenth went to Sanders, Mike Sorensen, Tim Donlinger, Jeremy Payne and Friday night winner Terry Phillips.
After finishing first and second in the fifth and final Real Racing Wheels “B” Main in order to get into the main event, Sorensen got around 18 cars to take the seventh spot while Tommy Myer passed 17 cars en route to a 12th-place finish.
But it was Hebert who earned the PBM Performance Products Hard Charger Award by racing from 22nd on the starting grid to a fourth-place paycheck at the end of the contest.
Including $2,000 added to the winner’s share of the purse by Hanson Tire of Leroy and Preston, Minn., plus another $1,000 for the Past Champions Bonus, Hughes pocketed a cool $9,000 for the victory.
It was the 67th career USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour win for Hughes, and his 91st overall including his series-best 24 triumphs in the USMTS Castle Rock Recruiting Southern Series.
Moreover, it got him one step closer to claiming his first season-long title.
Saturday night’s win gave Hughes his second win, 15th top-five and 16th top-ten finish in 17 starts during the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship presented by Bad Boy Mowers.
All that he needs to do on Sunday is sign in, fire the motor and pull onto the track for his heat race to earn the minimum 45 points – enough to clinch the points crown.
For all intents and purposes, unless he decides to take the day off on Sunday and enjoy some fishing here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, Jason Hughes will be the 2010 USMTS National Champion and take home the $10,000 that comes with it.
Although the title appears to be out of reach, Gustin is in solid shape to claim his second straight runner-up finish in the final standings as he heads into Sunday’s finale with a 59-point advantage over Myer.
VanderBeek is 40 markers behind Myer, but has clinched at least a fourth-place final ranking while defending and nine-time USMTS National Champion Kelly Shryock looks to hold off Sanders, 2007 USMTS National Champion Jason Krohn and Tesch in a tight race for the fifth spot.
Dereck Ramirez is ninth and just four points ahead of Donlinger – the 2008 USMTS National Champion.
Hughes’ win also propelled Mullins Race Engines back into a tie with Sput’s Racing Engines for the COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Award. Whichever powerplant beats the other to the finish line first on Sunday will be this year’s recipient.
