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BRAINERD, Minn. (Sept. 18) – The fat lady isn't singing quite yet, but she may be clearing her throat. Kelly Shryock's quest for a ninth title came one step closer to reality Friday as the 44-year-old from Fertile, Iowa, captured round 14 of the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship with a victory at the North Central Speedway in Brainerd, Minn. The win, worth $2,000, was Shryock's first during the ’Hunt’ and widened the gap between himself and his pursuers with just four races remaining in the points chase. DandyLand Farms Rookie of the Year Award winner Grant Junghans raced door to door with polesitter Tim Donlinger at the onset of Friday night's 35-lap Sunoco “A” Main. Junghans led by a nose at the end of each of the first four laps before Donlinger edged ahead to lead the fifth lap. Looking to score his second USMTS victory in as many races, Donlinger fought off the challenges of Junghans and opened up a four-car-length advantage before a caution slowed the pace on lap 14. Back under green, Donlinger had his hands full with Tommy Myer while Ryan Gustin looked for a way around the lead duo using the high side of the racing surface. A second yellow flag waved after the completion of lap 20. Donlinger drifted back to third behind Myer and Gustin after the restart, but the red flag flew for a six-car pile-up in turn 1 before a lap could be completed and Donlinger retained the top spot for the next restart. He never got the chance, however, as a faulty fuel pump forced the defending USMTS National Champion and his machine to the pits during the stoppage. Myer inherited the lead for the restart and led two circuits before Gustin powered into the top spot to lead lap 23. Meanwhile, Shryock was clawing his way to the front of the pack from the tenth starting spot, and moved into second one lap later. Shryock snatched the lead from Gustin on lap 31, then withstood the race's final caution period with four laps to go to take the checkered flag and earn the PBM Performance Products Hard Charger Award in he process. Friday's event was the debut for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour at the semi-banked 1/3-mile clay oval, and it was Shryock's first win since topping the inaugural event at the Elko Speedway on July 24. The runner-up paycheck went to Myer, with Gustin hanging on for third ahead of Jon Tesch and Jason Hughes. Sixth through tenth went to Zack VanderBeek, Rodney Sanders, Dereck Ramirez, Scott Green and Corey Dripps. Shryock's advantage in the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship is now 107 over Hughes (1329 to 1222). Gustin remains third with 1198 markers, followed by VanderBeek (1172), Sanders (1162), Myer (1106), Donlinger (1094), Ramirez (1087), Tesch (1086) and Al Hejna (931). Action continues at the North Central Speedway on Saturday with a $3,000 top prize up for grabs, and a minimum $300 to start the Sunoco “A” Main. Pit gates will open at 4 p.m., grandstands open at 5, hot laps begin at 6:15 and the green flag waves to start the first heat race at 6:45. The USMTS Modifieds will be joined by three classes of entry level competition as part of the Grassroots World Championships. Zack VanderBeek and his Doritos-sponsored Modified will be at the Casey's General Store located at 1205 Haven Rd. in Little Falls from 12:00 to 2:00. Fans can pick up $2-off discount coupons for Saturday night's races at Casey's General Stores locations in Little Falls, Milaca and Wadena. The North Central Speedway is a semi-banked 1/3-mile clay oval located 5 miles south of Brainerd at the junction of US 371 and Bus 371. For more information, visit the track's website at www.racencs.net or call 218-839-9280. Race day information is available by calling the track hotline at 218-829-1545. For those that can't attend in person, the next best thing is available again Saturday with live audio streaming of the entire night's events at www.racecastlive.com. The Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship will wrap up back at the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., with the 11th Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 24-26, where the 2009 USMTS National Champion will be crowned. 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):
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1
(12 laps, top 5 advance):
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2
(12 laps, top 5 advance):
SUNOCO “A” MAIN (35 laps):1.
3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (10)
Sunoco Lap Leaders:
Junghans 1-4, Donlinger 5-20, Myer 21-22, Gustin 23-30, Shryock 31-35.
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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