Shryock sails to Iowa-Missouri Border War win at Bloomfield
by: Jeff Nun

BLOOMFIELD, Ia (May 5, 2006) - Kelly Shryock of Fertile, Iowa, picked up his second O’Reilly Auto Parts United States Modified Touring Series victory of the season Friday night as the inaugural Iowa-Missouri Border War kicked off with a full pit area and packed grandstand at the Mountain Dew Bloomfield Speedway in Bloomfield, Iowa.

The seven-time O’Reilly USMTS national champ started sixth on the grid as the 24-car field took the green in the 35-lap Holley "A" main. Using the low side of the 3/8-mile clay oval, Shryock methodically picked off competitors as he moved to the front of the field. On lap 12, Shryock caught race leader Mark Burgtorf and the two veterans raced side by side for three laps before Shryock secured the top spot on lap 15.

A few laps later, Burgtorf suffered a flat tire, causing him to tag the rear of the field after a visit to his pit area. The Quincy, Ill., pilot rebounded for a 14th-place finish at the end, while Shryock survived a late-race caution to hold off polesitter Ryan Ruter of Forest City, Iowa, by a nose for the $2,000 win.

Steering Tim Echevarria's No. 35 Bullet, Dean Mahlstedt of Clear Lake, Iowa, finished third while O’Reilly USMTS points leader Mark Noble took fourth -- the eighth top-5 finish in eight starts for the Blooming Prairie, Minn., ace. Clear Lake, Iowa's Al Hejna rounded out the top 5 finishers.

Zack VanderBeek of New Sharon, Iowa, scored his best finish of the 2006 season with a sixth-place result, while Jon Tesch of Watertown, S.D., took seventh. Tesch, who started 19th, earned the Olympic Fire Protection Hard Charger honors.

The second half of the Iowa-Missouri Border War doubleheader takes place on Saturday at the Pepsi Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo. The event will be the ninth of 75 races on the 2006 schedule, as well as the fourth of 14 scheduled events comprising the Central Region slate and the first of 13 in the Southern Region. USRA Stock Cars, USRA B-Modifieds, USRA Hobby Stocks and Outlaw Hobbies will also be on the card battling for national points in the USRA Casey's General Stores Weekly Racing Series.

Gates open at 3 p.m., with hot laps at 5 and racing slated to begin at 5:30. General admission grandstand tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for kids (6-12). Children under 6 are admitted free of charge. Pit passes are $25.

The Pepsi Scotland County Speedway is located 1.0 mile west of Memphis, Mo., on US 136 to SR 15, then east (at the Scotland County Fairgrounds).

NOTES:

• With his victory Friday night, Shryock helped propel his Skyrocket Chassis company into the points lead for the UNIJIG Builders Championship, taking a one-point lead (73 to 72) over Kraft Kar Race Cars. UNIJIG will award a $2,500 certificate towards a UNIJIG universal chassis jig to the driver representing the UNIJIG Builders Championship winning chassis builder.

• Noble continues to lead the O’Reilly National Driver Championship points over Shryock (821 to 730) as well as holding a 15-point bulge over Shryock (305 to 290) in the Central Region standings.

• With an impressive run from seventh to first in Friday's fifth heat race, Ruter took command in the season-long Home Pride Passing Points battle. The youngster now holds a 7.5-point advantage (46.5 to 39.0) over Jason Friesen of Sutton, Neb.

• Despite losing his lead in the Home Pride Passing Points national rankings, Friesen continues to dominate all rookie drivers in his quest to become the Rookies Rockin’ Sports Bar Rookie of the Year. Friesen leads Mike Steensma of Luverne, Minn., 178 to 136 points.

• Striving to keep their "Top Dog" status alive, Zack VanderBeek and Mike Wedelstadt swapped spots in the national points race, with VanderBeek moving to ninth from 10th, and Wedelstadt dropping from ninth to 10th. Any driver ranked in the top-10 in national points is guaranteed $400 when pulling into the pit gate. Mahlstedt, Steensma, Jeff Schluetter, Matt Gilbertson and Jay Poidinger currently sit in the 11th through 15th spots -- all within 100 points of breaking into "Top Dog" status. Of note, any driver missing an event will be ineligible for the "Top Dog" guarantee until he/she has competed in three consecutive events after missing one. Any driver that misses a total of five events during the season will become ineligible for the "Top Dog" guarantee for the remainder of the season.

• In the first Real Wheels “B” Main, Michael Long of Quincy, Ill., thrilled the crowd with a last-corner pass of Brantlee Gotschall to earn the fifth and final transfer spot into the Holley "A" Main. Long started 17th in the 15-lap race.

• Jason Cook picked up the win in Friday night's Hougland's Repair Shop USRA Stock Car feature, with Bobby Greiner Jr. coming home second and Mike Robinson third. In the USRA B-Mods, it was Tony Dunker, Jeff Waterman and Chris Leathers taking the top-3 spots. The Kirkland Auto USRA Hobby Stock feature was won by Todd Reitzler, with Ben Jones second and Jim Walker third. Tom Irwin, Larry Hopkins and Curtis Barnes were the top-3 in the Kollision Korner Hornets.

To learn more about the O’Reilly Auto Parts United States Modified Touring Series, call (515) 832-7944 or visit www.USMTS.com online.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
O’Reilly Auto Parts United States Modified Touring Series
Iowa-Missouri Border War
Mountain Dew Bloomfield Speedway, Bloomfield, Iowa
Friday, May 5, 2006

Showing finishing position, car number, driver, hometown and starting position in parentheses.

The top 12 drivers in Home Pride Passing Points accumulated in the heat races are locked into the Holley “A” Main, with the top 8 re-drawing for starting positions 1-8.

ISKY RACING CAMS HEAT #1 (10 laps):
1. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (1)
2. 7 - Al Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (3)
3. 25 - Scott Roberts -- Columbia, MO (2)
4. 7r - Jerry Pilcher -- Bloomfield, IA (5)
5. 20 - Dustin Boney -- Shawnee, KS (4)
6. 99 - Ted Allen -- Canton, MO (6)
7. 17p - Brad Pinkerton -- New Sharon, IA (7)
8. 17 - Steve Stewart -- Washington, IA (9)
9. 49x - Jay Poidinger -- Somerset, WI (8)

HEAT #2 (10 laps):
1. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (1)
2. 74 - Mark Noble -- Blooming Prairie, MN (3)
3. 5m - John VanDenBerg -- Oskaloosa, IA (2)
4. 65 - Tommy Myer -- Blooming Prairie, MN (9)
5. 4 - Brantlee Gotschall -- Nevada, MO (8)
6. 23 - Matt Gilbertson -- Montevideo, MN (4)
7. 7x - Tommy Elston -- Keokuk, IA (6)
8. 4r - Ron Ver Beek -- Oskaloosa, IA (5) DNF
9. 40 - Scott Dickey -- Packwood, IA (7) DNF

HEAT #3 (10 laps):
1. 1f - Jason Friesen -- Sutton, NE (1)
2. 69m - Mark Burgtorf -- Quincy, IL (5)
3. 14j - Jake Neal -- Omaha, NE (2)
4. 26 - Brad McEwan -- Storm Lake, IA (3)
5. 71 - David Holder -- Clarence, MO (7)
6. 82m - Ryan Meyer -- Liberty, IL (6)
7. 32 - Michael Bennett -- Des Moines, IA (9)
8. 105 - Kevin Peters -- Monmouth, IL (8)
9. 35 - Jeff Schluetter -- New Hampton, IA (4) DNF

HEAT #4 (10 laps):
1. 45 - Tony Fraise -- Donnellson, IA (2)
2. 35 - Dean Mahlstedt -- Clear Lake, IA (5)
3. 7ii - Mike Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (8)
4. 10 - Mike Steensma -- Luverne, MN (9)
5. 31 - Corey Dripps -- Waterloo, IA (7)
6. 55 - Alan Mondus -- Lakeville, MN (1)
7. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (3) DNF
8. 11 - Brandon Morton -- Coweta, OK (6) DNF
9. X - Mike Wedelstadt -- Hortonville, WI (4) DNF

HEAT #5 (10 laps):
1. 555 - Ryan Ruter -- Forest City, IA (7)
2. 12 - Mark Elliott -- Webster City,, IA (5)
3. 13 - David Mitchell -- Ashdown, AR (4)
4. 50 - Doug Buzzard -- Nevada, MO (2)
5. 36 - Ben McVinua -- Storm Lake, IA (6)
6. 5s - David Snyder -- Greentop, MO (9)
7. 77 - Jim Lynch -- Bloomfield, IA (8) DNF
8. 0 - Ron Gough -- Monroe City, MO (1) DNF
9. 18 - Michael Long -- Quincy, IL (3) DNS

REAL WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 5 advance):
1. 25 - Scott Roberts -- Columbia, MO (2)
2. 14j - Jake Neal -- Omaha, NE (3)
3. 31 - Corey Dripps -- Waterloo, IA (6)
4. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (12)
5. 18 - Michael Long -- Quincy, IL (17)
6. 4 - Brantlee Gotschall -- Nevada, MO (4)
7. 99 - Ted Allen -- Canton, MO (8)
8. 17p - Brad Pinkerton -- New Sharon, IA (11)
9. 11 - Brandon Morton -- Coweta, OK (14)
10. 82m - Ryan Meyer -- Liberty, IL (9)
11. 32 - Michael Bennett -- Des Moines, IA (10)
12. 49x - Jay Poidinger -- Somerset, WI (15)
13. 50 - Doug Buzzard -- Nevada, MO (5) DNF
14. 10 - Mike Steensma -- Luverne, MN (1) DNF
15. 35 - Jeff Schluetter -- New Hampton, IA (16) DNF
16. 5s - David Snyder -- Greentop, MO (7) DNF
17. 4r - Ron Ver Beek -- Oskaloosa, IA (13) DNS

REAL WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 5 advance):
1. 26 - Brad McEwan -- Storm Lake, IA (4)
2. 5m - John VanDenBerg -- Oskaloosa, IA (2)
3. 7r - Jerry Pilcher -- Bloomfield, IA (3)
4. 7x - Tommy Elston -- Keokuk, IA (11)
5. 71 - David Holder -- Clarence, MO (5)
6. 23 - Matt Gilbertson -- Montevideo, MN (8)
7. 77 - Jim Lynch -- Bloomfield, IA (10)
8. 20 - Dustin Boney -- Shawnee, KS (7)
9. X - Mike Wedelstadt -- Hortonville, WI (16)
10. 13 - David Mitchell -- Ashdown, AR (1)
11. 55 - Alan Mondus -- Lakeville, MN (9)
12. 0 - Ron Gough -- Monroe City, MO (14)
13. 36 - Ben McVinua -- Storm Lake, IA (6)
14. 105 - Kevin Peters -- Monmouth, IL (13) DNF
15. 17 - Steve Stewart -- Washington, IA (12) DNF
16. 40 - Scott Dickey -- Packwood, IA (15) DNF

HOLLEY “A” MAIN (35 laps):
1. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (6)
2. 555 - Ryan Ruter -- Forest City, IA (1)
3. 35 - Dean Mahlstedt -- Clear Lake, IA (4)
4. 74 - Mark Noble -- Blooming Prairie, MN (11)
5. 7 - Al Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (10)
6. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (2)
7. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (19)
8. 12 - Mark Elliott -- Webster City,, IA (5)
9. 1f - Jason Friesen -- Sutton, NE (8)
10. 7ii - Mike Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (9)
11. 25 - Scott Roberts -- Columbia, MO (13)
12. 26 - Brad McEwan -- Storm Lake, IA (14)
13. 65 - Tommy Myer -- Blooming Prairie, MN (12)
14. 69m - Mark Burgtorf -- Quincy, IL (3)
15. 10 - Mike Steensma -- Luverne, MN (23)
16. 7r - Jerry Pilcher -- Bloomfield, IA (18)
17. 45 - Tony Fraise -- Donnellson, IA (7)
18. 71 - David Holder -- Clarence, MO (22)
19. 35 - Jeff Schluetter -- New Hampton, IA (24)
20. 31 - Corey Dripps -- Waterloo, IA (17) DNF
21. 18 - Michael Long -- Quincy, IL (21) DNF
22. 7x - Tommy Elston -- Keokuk, IA (20) DNF
23. 14j - Jake Neal -- Omaha, NE (15) DNF
24. 5m - John VanDenBerg -- Oskaloosa, IA (16) DNF

AMSOIL Lap Leaders: Ruter 1-3, Burgtorf 4-14, Shryock 15-35.
Total Laps Led: Shryock 21, Burgtorf 11, Ruter 3.
Provisional Starters: Steensma, Schluetter.
Olympic Fire Protection Hard Charger: Tesch (started 19th, finished 7th).
Next Race: May 6, Pepsi Scotland County Speedway, Memphis, Mo.
O’Reilly National Driver Points (top 10): Noble 821, Shryock 730, Tesch 725, Ruter 629, Friesen 603, McEwan 595, Myer 575, A. Hejna 573, VanderBeek 521, Wedelstadt 506.
Central Region Points (top 10): Noble 305, Shryock 290, Tesch 275, A. Hejna 269, McEwan 233, Ruter 232, VanderBeek 226, Myer 220, Friesen 220, Steensma 212.
Home Pride Passing Points (top 5): Ruter 46.5, Friesen 39.0, Myer 39.0, McEwan 34.5, A. Hejna 34.5.
Rookies Rockin’ Sports Bar Rookie of the Year Points (top 5): Friesen 178, Steensma 136, Schluetter 113, Gilbertson 104, Poidinger 100.
UNIJIG Builders Championship Points (top 5): Skyrocket 73, Kraft 72, GRT 55, Hughes 50, BMS 40.

Contingency Awards:
Bassett Racing Wheel – Mahlstedt.
Belleville Motorsports – not awarded.
Boyer’s Engine Development – Shryock.
Dynatech Racing Exhaust – Shryock, Ruter.
Edelbrock – Shryock, Ruter.
Fast Shafts – A. Hejna.
GRT Race Cars – VanderBeek.
Isky Racing Cams – VanderBeek.
KEVKO Oil Pans & Components – Noble.
KSE Racing Products – Elliott.
Larson Racing Specialists – Myer.
Marsh Racing Wheels – not awarded.
QuickTime Performance Parts – Tesch.
RaceQuest – Shryock, Gotschall, Gilbertson.
Real Racing Wheels – Roberts, McEwan.
T.A.R. Race Car Bodies – M. Hejna.
UNIJIG – Friesen.