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BRAINERD, Minn. (Sept. 19) – Jon Tesch came into the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship as one of the hottest drivers in the country, and his name was penciled as the 2009 USMTS National Champion on the pick 'em list of many a race fan. Tesch had won the previous three 'Hunt' openers, but things got off to a slow start this year when he struggled to a 15th-place finish at the LA Raceway on Aug. 11. Things didn't get much better from there. Thirteen races later, he finally scored his first top-5 finish of the 18-race championship campaign Friday night with a fourth-place finish at the North Central Speedway. Saturday night at the Brainerd, Minn., speedplant was even better for the 33-year-old from Watertown, S.D., as he dominated the 40-lap Sunoco “A” Main and earned his first trip to victory lane since winning the Great Plains Region finale at the Noble County Speedway on July 26. “We had a really great season going, but everything just kind of went downhill when the Hunt started,” Tesch explained in victory lane. “We finally got our first top-five last night and now a win tonight, so I'd say Brainerd's been pretty good to me.” After earning his second AFCO Pole Award in as many nights, Ryan Gustin redrew the pole position and led the first lap of the main event. But Tesch, who started on the outside of the front row, powered around Gustin to take the lead on lap 2. Tesch never relinquished the top spot over the final 39 laps, but the on-track action and battles for position behind him kept the crowd entertained. Corey Dripps moved up to third on the sixth lap and used a rim-riding line to challenge Gustin for the runner-up spot a few laps later. While Gustin and Dripps fought it out for second with Jason Hughes and Tim Donlinger hot on their tails, Tesch entered lapped traffic near the midway point of the race. The back- markers gave no assistance to Tesch's pursuers and he cleared six of them in three laps without missing a beat. With 12 laps to go, Tommy Myer's motor expired. His ensuing spin in turn 1 brought out the yellow flag and the end to a long green flag stretch. On the restart, Dripps slid up behind Gustin in the first turn then shot down low to edge into second as they raced down the back-stretch. The pass was negated, however, when a multi-car pile-up in turn 1 reset the field back to the last completed lap. The incident sidelined four racecars, including Scott Green who flipped end over end along the outside retaining wall. Although his mount was completely destroyed, Green was able to walk away without injury. Tesch handled the restart flawlessly and won going away to claim the $3,000 top prize. Gustin, meanwhile, held on for the runner-up finish ahead of Dripps while Hughes took fourth ahead of 11th-starting Rodney Sanders. After transferring from a Real Racing Wheels "B" Main, Kelly Shryock started 15th in the main event and worked his way up to sixth to earn the PBM Performance Products Hard Charger Award for the second straight night. Zack VanderBeek followed in seventh, with Donlinger, Al Hejna and Dereck Ramirez rounding out the top-10 finishers. Shryock's nine-spot improvement in the 40-lap nightcap gave him the most passing points of the 24 starters, and helped him keep a firm grip on the points lead as he seeks his unprecedented ninth USMTS National Championship. With just three events remaining, Shryock now leads Hughes by 119 points (1,419 to 1,310) and has three provisionals remaining in his war chest. Gustin closed the gap slightly and trails Hughes by 16 markers, while VanderBeek and Sanders are tied for fifth with 1,252 each. Tesch has 1,190 and climbed to sixth with his victory. Donlinger is seventh with 1,170, followed by Ramirez (1,163), Myer (1,157) and Dripps (1,012). IT'S JAMBOREE TIME ... The Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship will wrap up next weekend at the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., with the 11th Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree and the crowning of the 2009 USMTS National Champion. Slated for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 24-26, more than 100 drivers have already etched their name on the list of early entries. The Featherlite Fall Jamboree is the undisputed marquee event for America’s “who's who” of dirt Modified racing as they converge on the Deer Creek Speedway near the tiny rural town of Spring Valley, Minn., for a possible $12,000 to win over three big days. Three complete shows are on tap each night, with an open practice session on Wednesday to kick off the festivities. Special events include the annual Golf Scramble, Karaoke Night and dozens of other activities and special awards plus the incredible and dazzling Hanson Tire Laser Light Show prior to the main event each night. Along with the high-powered USMTS Modifieds, the 11th Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree will also feature WISSOTA Midwest Mods with a combined total purse of nearly $200,000. Tickets may be purchased online at www.deercreekspeedway.com or by calling toll-free 877-DCS-RACE. For track or campground info, call (507) 346-2342 or email info@deercreekspeedway.com. The Deer Creek Speedway is a 3/8-mile high-banked clay oval located off of I-90 at Exit 209, then 11.3 miles south on US 63 (0.7 mile north of SR 16). Every seat in the house is a good one, and good seats are still available. The Windmill Hotel Event Center will be offering special rates in their hotel, RV park and bar & grille. Single rooms are priced at just $39.95 instead of the regular $60.00 rate. The hotel offers a continental breakfast among other great amenities. Eighteen RV sites are also available with electricity and two 50-amp hook-ups or sixteen 30-amp hookups. Drink and food specials will be available in the bar & grille. The Windmill Hotel Event Center is located at 120 State Hwy. 16 in Dexter, Minn., just off of I-90. For more information or to make reservations, call 507-584-6440. The Featherlite Fall Jamboree is made possible by the great racers and fans, as well as our sponsors: Featherlite Trailers, Action Engineering, A & A Electric & Underground, Carroll's Corn, Casey's General Stores, Dakota Bumper, Dirt Doctor Trucking, Fast Shafts, Hanson Tire Service, L & D Ag Service, Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Ruter Farms. 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):1. 12 -
Jason Hughes -- Westville, OK (1)
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):1.
2r - Ricky Roche -- International Falls, MN (1)
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2
(12 laps, top 4 advance):
SUNOCO “A” MAIN (40 laps):
Sunoco Lap Leaders:
Gustin 1, Tesch 2-40.
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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