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“Z-MAN” THE MAN AT DECORAH, EXTENDS POINTS LEAD IN CASEY'S GENERAL STORES HUNT FOR THE O’REILLY USMTS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP DECORAH, Iowa (Aug. 16) – Zack VanderBeek notched his fourth victory of the season Saturday night at the Upper Iowa Speedway in Decorah, Iowa, as the O'Reilly USMTS National Tour wrapped up a hardcore swing of events that began on June 29 just a few miles away in Cresco, Iowa. With the budgets, equipment, nerves and energy of the teams running on life support, VanderBeek out-dueled Kelly Shryock in a caution-free 40-lap main event that saw all 22 starters finish the feature race on the tricky quarter-mile oval. The 4th Annual Summer Challenge was the 15th event in 18 days, and the sixth race in the Casey's General Stores Hunt for the O'Reilly USMTS National Championship. Teams will get nearly two weeks to catch their breath before returning to action on Thursday, Aug. 28, a the Highway 3 Raceway in Allison, Iowa. Tim Donlinger grabbed the lead from polesitter John Allen at the drop of the green flag Saturday night, but fourth-starting Shryock zipped into the lead one lap later. The eight-time O'Reilly USMTS National Champion stayed up front until lap 12 when VanderBeek, who started seventh, shot into the lead. With no yellow flags to slow the pace, lapped traffic was thick and heavy throughout the last half of the race, and allowed Shryock to regain the lead on lap 21. Five laps later, VanderBeek returned the favor and maneuvered his way through the pack over the final 14 circuits to take the win. VanderBeek, who won the first O'Reilly USMTS race at the Upper Iowa Speedway in 2005, pocketed $2,000 for his efforts and padded his points lead in his quest to become the 2008 O'Reilly USMTS National Champion. Shryock hung on for second, Jon Tesch came from 10th to finish third, Al Hejna from 11th to fourth and Donlinger rounded out the top-5 finishers which, ironically, also entered the event as the top-5 in points. Alan Mondus garnered was sixth, Dereck Ramirez came from 15th to finish seventh and earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award, Corey Dripps finished eighth, Allen slipped to ninth and Darrin Walch completed the top-10. In the Casey's General Stores Hunt for the O'Reilly USMTS National Championship, VanderBeek leads Tesch by 27 points (585 to 558), while Shryock sits third with 553. Donlinger is fourth with 546 markers, followed by Hejna (541), Allen (494), Ramirez (492), Tommy Weder Jr. (464), Mondus (438) and Brandon Kenny (416). Before the O'Reilly USMTS National Tour gets things cranked back up in a dozen days, the O'Reilly USMTS Southern Series returns to action with a doubleheader in the Lone Star State. On Friday, Aug. 22, the O'Reilly USMTS Southern Series returns to the Golden Triangle Raceway Park in Beaumont, Texas, then invades the Gator Motorplex in Willis, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 23. The Golden Triangle Raceway Park is a 1/4-mile high-banked clay oval located 9.5 miles west of I-10 on US 90 (SSR). For race day information, call the track hotline at (409) 752-7200 or visit www.gtraceway.com on the World Wide Web. The Gator Motorplex is a 1/4-mile high-banked clay oval located off I-45 to Shepherd Hill (Exit 98), then east, then 1.4 miles south on SR 75. The track's official website is online at www.gatormotorplex.net. To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, call the headquarters at (515) 832-7944 or visit www.usmts.com online for the latest news and information from the USMTS — America's Hottest Ticket on Dirt. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = OFFICIAL RESULTS United States Modified Touring Series O’Reilly USMTS National Tour - Casey's General Stores Hunt for the O'Reilly USMTS National Championship 4th Annual Summer Challenge Upper Iowa Speedway, Decorah, Iowa Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008 Showing finishing position, car number, driver, hometown and starting position in parentheses. The top 8 drivers in passing points accumulated in the heat races re-draw for starting positions 1-8 in the Holley "A" Main. ISKY RACING CAMS HEAT RACE #1 (10 laps): 1. 55 - Alan Mondus -- Lakeville, MN (2) 2. 98 - John Allen -- Chanute, KS (5) 3. 02 - Tommy Weder Jr. -- Woodward, OK (4) 4. 19 - Richie Gustin Jr. -- Gilman, IA (3) 5. 21b - Brandon Kenny -- Woodward, OK (7) 6. 30 - Mark Massey -- Worthington, IA (1) 7. 18 - Justin Boney -- Leavenworth, KS (6) 8. 35 - Jeff Schluetter -- New Hampton, IA (8) DNF NEW VISION GRAPHICS HEAT RACE #2 (10 laps): 1. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS (2) 2. 5w - Darrin Walch -- Postville, IA (1) 3. 31 - Corey Dripps -- Waterloo, IA (4) 4. 7 - Al Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (6) 5. 4r - Dereck Ramirez -- Woodward, OK (5) 6. 74 - Mark Noble -- Blooming Prairie, MN (7) 7. 26p - Kevin Pittman -- Waterloo, IA (3) Q.E.M., INC. HEAT RACE #3 (10 laps): 1. 3d - Tim Donlinger -- Rochester, MN (1) 2. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (2) 3. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (5) 4. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (7) 5. 14j - Jake Neal -- Omaha, NE (6) 6. 72 - Doug Hillson -- Blooming Prairie, MN (4) 7. 70 - Matt Sweeney -- Waukon, IA (3) HOLLEY “A” MAIN (40 laps): 1. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (7) 2. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (4) 3. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (10) 4. 7 - Al Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (11) 5. 3d - Tim Donlinger -- Rochester, MN (2) 6. 55 - Alan Mondus -- Lakeville, MN (3) 7. 4r - Dereck Ramirez -- Woodward, OK (15) 8. 31 - Corey Dripps -- Waterloo, IA (9) 9. 98 - John Allen -- Chanute, KS (1) 10. 5w - Darrin Walch -- Postville, IA (8) 11. 19 - Richie Gustin Jr. -- Gilman, IA (12) 12. 74 - Mark Noble -- Blooming Prairie, MN (16) 13. 02 - Tommy Weder Jr. -- Woodward, OK (5) -1 Lap 14. 14j - Jake Neal -- Omaha, NE (14) -1 Lap 15. 21b - Brandon Kenny -- Woodward, OK (13) -1 Lap 16. 18 - Justin Boney -- Leavenworth, KS (19) -1 Lap 17. 35 - Jeff Schluetter -- New Hampton, IA (22) -1 Lap 18. 72 - Doug Hillson -- Blooming Prairie, MN (18) -1 Lap 19. 30 - Mark Massey -- Worthington, IA (17) -1 Lap 20. 70 - Matt Sweeney -- Waukon, IA (21) -1 Lap 21. 26p - Kevin Pittman -- Waterloo, IA (20) -1 Lap 22. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS (6) -2 Laps Lap Leaders: Donlinger 1, Shryock 2-11, VanderBeek 12-20, Shryock 21-26, VanderBeek 27-40. Total Laps Led: VanderBeek 23, Shryock 16, Donlinger 1. AFCO Pole Winner: Mondus. Provisional Starters: none. Ruter Farms Long Tow: Green (593.03 miles). KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Ramirez (started 15th, finished 7th). Next O'Reilly USMTS National Tour Event: Thursday, Aug. 28, Highway 3 Raceway, Allison, Iowa. O'Reilly USMTS National Championship Points: VanderBeek 585, Tesch 558, Shryock 553, Donlinger 546, Hejna 541, Allen 494, Ramirez 492, Weder 464, Mondus 438, Kenny 416. Rookies Rockin’ Sports Bar Rookie of the Year Points: Kenny 977, Ramirez 965, Bryan Rowland 647, Rodney Sanders 193, Colt Mather 191. COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Sput’s 413, Mullins 341, Wanders 322, A.S.I. 299, JR 262. Chassis Builders Championship Points: Skyrocket 431, Hughes 358, Kraft 294, Harris 266, GRT 120. Contingency Awards: AFCO Racing Products – Mondus. American Racer – Schluetter. Belleville Motorsports – not awarded. BSB Manufacturing – not awarded. Hawk Performance – VanderBeek, Allen. Isky Racing Cams – Mondus. KSE Racing Products – Ramirez. Marsh Racing Wheels – Pittman. New Vision Graphics – Green. Nitroquest Web Solutions – Tesch. Quarter Master – VanderBeek, Dripps. QuickTime Performance Parts – Ramirez. Real Racing Wheels – not awarded. Ruter Farms – Green. TrackTek Racing Fuel – not awarded. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = TITLE SPONSOR: O’Reilly Auto Parts. PRESENTING SPONSOR: Casey’s General Stores. OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Race Tires, Arizona Sport Shirts, AwesomeRaceSuits.com, Bear Tire Company, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Childhelp, Gressel Racing, Houston Specialty Products Co., Karl Chevrolet, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, New Vision Graphics, Nitroquest Web Solutions, Q.E.M., Inc., TrackTek Racing Fuel, Western Flyer Xpress. PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Boom Drilling, Buzzard Racing Engines, Day Motor Sports, Kraft/Ramirez Race Cars, Olympic Fire Protection, Rookies Rockin’ Sports Bar, Ruter Farms, Yeager Machine. CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Belleville Motorsports, Bert Transmission, BSB Manufacturing, COMP Cams, Duralite Racing Wheels, Dynatech Racing Exhaust, GRT Race Cars, Hawk Performance, Holley Performance Products, Hyperco, ISKY Racing Cams, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, Quarter Master, QuickTime Performance Race Parts, Real Racing Wheels, US Brake. |