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OSKALOOSA, Iowa (September 1) – Wherever you find the
mud-slinging Modifieds of the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour,
there are several big-league names that always come up when discussing
possible winners and top-runners, but the name Brad Pinkerton is never one
of them.
That is, unless you're at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Among his accomplishments at the facility are multiple track championships, including two (Stock Car and Modified) in one season twice (2003 and 2006); two victories in the $10,000-to-win USRA Great American Stock Car Shootout; and three USMTS National Tour victories since 2005. Make that four. Pinkerton showed once again Tuesday night that perhaps no driver in history knows their way around the Mahaska County Half-Mile Monster like the 35-year-old from nearby New Sharon, Iowa, as he garnered his fourth career win with the United States Modified Touring Series — all of them coming at Osky — in round 8 of the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship. The win, worth $3,000, was Pinkerton's third in the last five USMTS events staged at the historic half-mile oval, but Tuesday's triumph was in doubt until the final corner as Al Hejna made sure “Pinky” didn't stink up the show. After capturing the AFCO Pole Award during qualifying heats, Hejna kept it pure by drawing the pole for the 30-lap Sunoco “A” Main while Pinkerton started third on the 24-car grid. Hejna jumped out ahead of Jason Krohn to lead the first lap with Pinkerton and Jon Tesch in tow. With Hejna hugging the low line around the racing surface, Pinkerton used his favored high line to dispose of Krohn on lap 3 then set his sights on Hejna. As the field completed the sixth lap, Pinkerton charged into the first turn and powered around the outside of Hejna to edge into the lead. A caution for debris slowed the pace as the leaders crossed beneath the flagstand to complete lap 7 with Pinkerton hanging on to a car-length advantage. After the restart, Hejna moved to the top of the racetrack to mirror Pinkerton's line and kept the pressure on the leader throughout the rest of the contest. The action slowed again on lap 10 when Ryan Gustin came to a stop in turn 2 with a flat tire. While under caution, points leader Kelly Shryock also pitted to replace a flat left front tire he had been nursing since the previous restart. Back under green, Pinkerton and Hejna continued running nose to tail as they chewed away at the top groove. Meanwhile, the field behind them continued to thrill the crowd with three- and sometimes four-wide battles throughout the pack, including a fight for third between Jason Hughes, Krohn and Tesch. The yellow flag waved again on lap 18 for debris on the track which bunched the field for a restart with 12 laps to go. After getting the green flag, drivers chasing the leaders searched high and low for an advantage. But before another lap could be completed, the action came to an abrupt halt when Oskaloosa pilot Ron Ver Beek slammed head-on into the tire barrier entering turn 3. The impact resulted in Ver Beek's mount jumping into the air and turning a complete “360” in mid-air before slamming back on all four wheels in the middle of the turn. After a few anxious minutes while safety crews attended to local favorite, the grandstand roared their approval when Ver Beek climbed out of his broken racecar under his own power. His Modified, however, was transformed into scrap yard fodder and likely ended his run in the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship. The restart saw Pinkerton again hold his spot while Hejna began angling off the corners to challenge for the top spot. Hejna, who rolled into victory lane when the USMTS visited the Southern Iowa Speedway just 27 days ago, got up beside Pinkerton on several occasions, but was never able to shut the door and had to settle for the runner-up paycheck. Hughes, who won here on May 19, took home third, followed by Krohn and Tim Donlinger, who came from the 12th starting spot to finish fifth with a late-race pass of Tesch. Although Donlinger earned the PBM Performance Products Hard Charger Award, Dereck Ramirez and Zack VanderBeek were the passing masters in this main event. Ramirez started 21st next to VanderBeek in the 20th spot and the pair came across the finish line seventh and eighth, respectively. However, both drivers were forced to use provisional starting spots to get into the main event, so neither were able to earn passing points in the feature race. Like Donlinger, Rodney Sanders passed seven cars to finish ninth while Gustin rebounded from his earlier flat tire to round out the top-10 finishers. Shryock, who started ninth, came back from his lap-10 pit stop to score an 11th-place finish. However, the points leader in the ’Hunt’ saw some of his advantage evaporate as eight of the other drivers among the top-10 in points finished in front of the eight-time USMTS National Champion. Shryock's lead is now 62 points (769 to 707) over Sanders in the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship. Gustin remains third with 680 points, while Hughes jumped two spots to fourth with 670 markers. VanderBeek and Ramirez are tied for fifth with 666, followed by Donlinger (622), Tesch (605), Krohn (580), Hejna and Tommy Myer (tied at 569). TOMORROW ... The 5th Annual Hawkeye Summer Classic presented by Car Country and Schroeder Racing Products on Wednesday, Sept. 2, will be the 15th USMTS-sanctioned event since 1999 on the half-mile clay oval at the Butler County Fairgrounds in Allison, Iowa. And the completion of Wednesday's $3,000-to-win event at the Highway 3 Raceway will put the first half of the 18-race Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship in the history books. Past winners at the speedplant include Kelly Shryock (3 wins), Kevin Pittman (2), John Logue, Mike Sorensen, Johnny Saathoff, Ryan Ruter, Mark Noble, Mike Hejna, Tim Donlinger, Ryan Gustin and Jon Tesch, who won the most recent event here on June 3. Pits open at 4:00, grandstand gates open at 5:00, hot laps are at 6:30 and racing starts at 7:00. Also on the night's program will be USRA Karl Chevrolet Stock Cars ($400 to win), USRA Karl Chevrolet B-Mods ($400 to win), USRA Hobby Stocks ($400 to win) and Hornets ($100 to win). Zack VanderBeek and his Doritos-sponsored Modified will be at the Casey's General Store located at 100 Cherry St. in Allison from 12:00 to 2:00. Fans can pick up $2-off discount coupons for Wednesday night's races at Casey's General Stores locations in Allison, Aplington and Clarksville. The Highway 3 Raceway is located 0.3 miles north of SR 3 on S. Main St. (at the Butler County Fairgrounds). For more information, check out the track's website at www.highway3raceway.com or call 319-267-9977 for day-of-race updates. Remaining events in the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship: Thu Sep 3 … Buena Vista Raceway, Alta, IA ($3,000 to win) 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): AWESOME RACEWEAR HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps): INTERCOMP HEAT RACE #5 (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 (30 laps): Lap Leaders: Hejna 1-6,
Pinkerton 7-30. 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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