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WEST UNION, Iowa (July 23) – The town may be 160 years old, but the nearly-as-old Fayette County Fairgrounds in West Union, Iowa, seems to prefer a more youthful appearance in it's winners circle. Thursday night at the Fayette County Speedway, Ryan Gustin of Marshalltown led all 40 laps of the main event as the mud-slinging Modifieds of the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour visited the 3/8-mile semi-banked clay oval for the first time since their debut here last September. Despite being just 18 years, 9 months and 7 days old, Gustin looked like a seasoned veteran in dominating the Sunoco "A" Main from start to finish in his #19 Skyrocket Modified. The feature went caution-free after a quick yellow flag to start the race, which forced Gustin to deal with lapped cars for the last half of the contest. By the time he streaked underneath the checkered flags, he had lapped up to the tenth-place finisher's rear bumper. Eight-time USMTS National Champion Kelly Shryock is still looking for his first win of the 2009 campaign, but delivered a strong showing Thursday night by finishing second after starting 13th on the 25-car grid. Al Hejna grabbed the third spot, Dereck Ramirez was fourth and Jon Tesch rounded out the top-5 finishers. Steve Wetzstein, Zack VanderBeek, Dan Bohr, defending USMTS National Champion Tim Donlinger and Corey Dripps finished sixth through tenth, respectively. Jake Neal, who won last year's event at West Union when he was just 18 years, 4 months and 19 days old, wound up 11th and the highest-finishing driver a lap down to Gustin. Tesch continues to lead the Yeager Machine Upper Midwest Region points standings, but saw his lead shrink with Shryock and Wetzstein earning the most passing points in the main event. The "Wizard of Watertown" now leads Wetzstein by just 11 points (794 to 783) while Shryock lurks in third with 767. Fourth-ranked VanderBeek has 749 markers, followed by Hejna (704), Gustin (651), Bohr (648), Ramirez (630), Donlinger (628) and Dripps (584). ELKO SPEEDWAY’S “DIRT NATIONALS” A ONE-OF-A-KIND EVENT Another new and exciting venue, and a one-of-a-kind event is in store for both fans and drivers on Friday and Saturday, July 24-25, as the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour invades the famed Elko Speedway in Elko, Minn., as the historic asphalt track is transformed into a dirt gridiron for the inaugural Dirt Nationals. Friday night's main event will pay $2,000 to win while Saturday night's victor will pocket $3,000. Drivers will again be battling for points in the Yeager Machine Upper Midwest Region. Elko Speedway owner Tom Ryan, who also owns a construction company, will be bringing in several tons of black dirt to make this a must-see show. Thousands of tickets have already been pre-sold, and fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance at a discounted price. Pits will open at 4:00 each day, with grandstand gates opening at 5:00, hot laps at 6:00 and racing at 7:00. Also appearing on the racing card both nights will be the IRA Outlaw Sprint Car Series and the INEX Legends Cars. There will be a live band playing after the races each night as part of the weekend festivities. The Elko Speedway is a 3/8-mile semi-banked clay (temporarily) oval located off of I-35 at Exit 76, then 1.6 miles west on CR 2, then 0.3 mile south on France Ave. in Elko, Minn. For more information, check out the track's Official Website at www.elkospeedway.com or call 952-461-7223. Race fans can pick up $2-off discount coupons on Friday at Casey's General Stores locations in Lonsdale, New Prague and Northfield. GREAT PLAINS REGION WRAPS UP SUNDAY AT NOBLES COUNTY SPEEDWAY On Sunday, July 26, the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour will move back to the Nobles County Speedway in Worthington, Minn., for an event that was postponed by rain on June 21. The racetrack is always in great shape and traditionally draws great fan support when the USMTS touring titans travel to town. This will be the final race in the Great Plains Region, with the first group of drivers getting qualified for The Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship, which begins on Aug. 11. Currently, there are 17 drivers in the Great Plains Region who can make the cut for ‘The Hunt.’ Eight-time USMTS National Champion Kelly Shryock found victory lane when the Series last visited the Nobles County Speedway in 2007. The 2008 event was rained-out. Pit gates open at 3:00, grandstands open at 4:30, hot laps are scheduled for 5:30 and the first heat race takes to the track at 6:00. A full program is on tap with USRA Stock Cars, USRA B-Mods and USRA Hobby Stocks racing for track and national points in the American Racer USRA Weekly Racing Series, plus the local Sportsman division in action. Race fans can pick up $2-off coupons on Sunday at both Casey's General Stores locations in Worthington. Check out www.caseys.com for more information or to find the Casey's General Store location nearest you. The Nobles County Speedway is a 1/4-mile semi-banked clay oval located off of I-90 at Exit 43, then 0.4 mile south on SR 59, then 0.4 mile west on Oxford St., then 0.2 mile north on McMullan (Pioneer Village) in Worthington, Minn. For more information, call the track hotline at 507-360-3825 or check out www.noblescountyspeedway.net 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): NEW VISION GRAPHICS
HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps): BRODIX HEAT RACE #3 (8
laps): REAL RACING WHEELS “B”
MAIN (10 laps, all advance): SUNOCO “A” MAIN (40
laps): Lap Leaders:
Gustin 1-40. Contingency Awards: = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 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, New Vision Graphics, 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, Dirthead.com, Gressel Oil Field Service, Just Say Yes, Ramirez Race Cars, Lone Star Super Gas, Olympic Fire Protection, Ruter Farms, WatchModsLive.com, Yeager Machine. USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Dynatech Racing Exhaust, Fast Shafts, 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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