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PONTOON BEACH, Ill. (May 29) – Zack VanderBeek passed Jason Hughes on lap 21 Friday night, then held off Dereck Ramirez over the final 14 laps in winning the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour main event in the Inaugural Event presented by Budweiser at Kevin and Tammy Gundaker's historic Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Ill. From the outside of the front row, Hughes followed polesitter Kelly Shryock for the first circuit before capturing the lead the second time around. Two laps later, Dereck Ramirez grabbed the top spot and held it until lap 12 when Hughes again powered to the point. Looking to garner his sixth Hughes USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour victory of the season, Hughes paced the next eight laps before seventh-starting VanderBeek slipped past to lead lap 21. From there, VanderBeek held a four-car-length advantage over Ramirez to the finish of the 35-lapper while Hughes failed to finish the Sunoco "A" Main due to mechanical troubles. For VanderBeek, the win was worth $2,000 and was his second triumph in eight days. Shryock hung on to the third spot, followed by Michael Long, who got as high as third before settling for a fourth-place finish ahead of Rodney Sanders. Long, however, pocketed the PBM Performance Products Hard Charger after passing 13 competitors from his 17th starting position. Jon Tesch, 22nd-starting Terry Phillips, Marty Smith Jr., Steve Lach and Dustin Boney rounded out the top-10. Hughes now holds a slim 11-point lead in the Bear Tire Mo-Kan Region points over Shryock (717 to 706), while Sanders is third with 700. Fourth is VanderBeek (687), with Johnny Bone Jr. (684), Boney (659), Ramirez (635), Bryan Rowland (604), Scott Green (590) and Tesch (563) sitting sixth through tenth, respectively. FROM THE BEACH TO THE LAKE ... On Saturday, May 30, the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour will trek to unchartered territory again with a visit to the popular Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo. The 1/3-mile semi-banked clay oval offers a 75-foot-wide racing surface, with 10 degrees of banking in the corners and 5 degrees in the straight-aways. Built in 2004, the state-of-the-art facility features seating for more than 5,000 fans, handicap parking and seating, a playground for children, MUSCO lighting and closed-circuit TV. The USMTS was scheduled to christen the track one month after its opening on June 20, 2004, but that event was canceled due to inclement weather. A top prize of $2,000 is up for grabs Saturday night with a minimum $250 to start the Sunoco "A" Main. Danny Crane leads the Lake Ozark Speedway locals in to challenge the USMTS invaders, with Steve Cain, Jason Russell, Vance Wilson, Rowland Blythe, Dane Gundaker, Curt Potter, Howard Hall, Curt Rackers, Larry Winn and others expected to also take part in the inaugural event presented by Advantage Metals. The pits will open at 4:00 and grandstands open at 5:00. Hot laps begin at 6:30 and the first green flag is scheduled to wave at 7:00. 360 Winged Sprints, , UMP Pro Late Models and Street Stocks join the action Saturday night. Race fans can pick up $2-off coupons on race day at the Casey's General Stores locations in California, Eldon, Osage Beach and Versailles. The Lake Ozark Speedway is a 1/3-mile semi-banked clay oval located south of Eldon on US 54, then 0.1 mile east on SR 52, then 0.5 mile north on Twiggy Ln. (frontage road). For more information call 800-617-9077 or check out www.lakeozarkspeedway.com on the World Wide Web. 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. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
OFFICIAL RESULTS Showing finishing position, car number, driver, hometown and starting position in parentheses. The top 12 drivers in passing points accumulated in the heat races are locked into the Sunoco “A” Main, with the top 8 re-drawing for starting positions 1-8.
ISKY RACING CAMS HEAT RACE #1 (8
laps):
BRODIX HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
AWESOME RACEWEAR HEAT RACE #3 (8
laps):
INTERCOMP HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1
(12 laps, top 4 advance):
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2
(12 laps, top 4 advance):
SUNOCO “A” MAIN (35 laps):
Lap Leaders:
Shryock 1, Hughes 2-3, Ramirez 4-12, Hughes 13-20, VanderBeek 21-35.
Contingency Awards:AFCO
Racing Products – Ramirez. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = USMTS TITLE SPONSOR: Casey’s General Stores. USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Awesome Racewear, AwesomeRaceSuits.com, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, COMP Cams, Intensitee Custom Racewear, Intercomp, Karl Chevrolet, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, Nitroquest, PBM Performance Products, Sunoco Race Fuels. USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: ASi Racewear, Bear Tire, Big Dog Chassis & Fabrication, DandyLand Farms, Day Motor Sports, Diamond Oil Company, Gressel Oil Field Service, Just Say Yes, Ramirez Race Cars, Lone Star Super Gas, Olympic Fire Protection, Ruter Farms, Yeager Machine. USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Dynatech Racing Exhaust, Hyperco, ISKY Racing Cams, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, Out-Pace Racing Products, Quarter Master, QuickTime Performance Race Parts, Real Racing Wheels, US Brake.
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