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Flawless Hughes completes weekend sweep at Humboldt Speedway

HUMBOLDT, Kan. (March 14) – After completion of five heat races at the Humboldt Speedway Sunday afternoon, many of those in attendance – including some competitors – weren’t making predictions about who would win the main event, but rather how many laps it would take for one driver in particular to take the lead.

The answer: 7.

Jason Hughes was the winningest USMTS driver in 2009, garnering nineteen feature race triumphs – more than double any other driver’s tally. He topped a thrilling Featherlite Fall Jamboree finale at the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., last September and wound up third in the final USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour standings, then won the opening night of the Texas Winter Nationals where he clinched his second straight USMTS Southern Series title as the remainder of the weekend fell to rain and snow.

The Westville, Okla., chassis builder opened the 2010 season in February with a fifth-place finish in the postponed Texas Winter Nationals opener, and then grabbed a runner-up finish the second night before dominating the third and final night for a $5,000 payday in front of a packed house at the Houston Raceway Park.

He’s won every race since.

Two weeks after the Houston event, Hughes pocketed $16,000 with a win in Las Cruces, N.M., and added another $4,000 to his 2010 tax return with a sweep of this past weekend’s fifth annual Havoc at The Hummer doubleheader at Humboldt.

After failing to qualify for Saturday night’s main event, Zack VanderBeek of New Sharon, Iowa, roared back on Sunday to dominate his heat race, and then drew the pole position for the 40-lap “A” Main.

VanderBeek led the first two laps, but Johnny Scott of Las Cruces, N.M., powered around the outside to snag the top spot on lap 3.

Meanwhile, Hughes was on his way to the front from his sixth-place starting spot. He picked off Tommy Weder Jr. for fourth on lap 2, muscled his way by Rodney Sanders for third on lap 3 and passed VanderBeek for the runner-up spot on lap 5.

Hughes pulled alongside Scott as the pair crossed beneath the flagstand side by side to complete the sixth lap with Scott being scored the leader by .001 second. One lap later, Hughes was solidly in front.

With no caution flags to slow the pace, Hughes caught the rear of the field on lap 13 and lapped traffic would be a mainstay for the remaining 27 circuits.

While Hughes continued to cruise around the top side of the 3/8-mile oval, Johnny Bone Jr. found the low side of the racing surface to his liking and was cutting into Hughes’ advantage with every passing lap.

Things got really interesting with 10 laps to go. Hughes found himself slowed by a back-marker on lap 32, which allowed Bone to duck underneath in turn 3. Bone led by a nose as they completed the 33rd lap, but the tables were turned in the next corner as Hughes was able to use a lapped car to regain the lead.

The two #12 machines made contact as they exited the fourth turn. Hughes held a slight advantage at the end of lap 35 with Bone on his rear bumper and Weder closing the gap back to third.

With three lapped cars in front of him, Hughes dove deep into turn 3 and split two cars before sliding up in front of the third at the start-finish line. The aggressive move added three car-lengths between him and Bone, allowing Hughes to cruise the final three laps to the checkered flag.

Bone made up ground on the final laps, but it was not enough to improve from a runner-up finish. Weder crossed the finish line third, with VanderBeek holding on for fourth and Sanders rounding out the top five.

Sixth through tenth, respectively, went to Bryan Rowland, Dereck Ramirez, Scott, Brian Bolin and Terry Schultz.

Bolin, who started 19th, garnered the PBM Performance Hard Charger Award. He also passed 17 cars in Saturday’s main event for a total of 27 competitors passed for the weekend.

With the win, Hughes solidified his place at the top of the points standings with a 32-point margin (214 to 182) over Bolin. Kelly Shryock sits third with 175 points, followed Bone (165), John Allen (158), Dan Daniels (156), Mark Dotson (153), Weder (138), Ramirez (137) and VanderBeek (133).

Despite failing to qualify for Sunday’s main event, Ryan Whitworth continues to lead the DandyLand Farms Rookie of the Year standings over Scott, Rick Beebe, Melvin Pilcher, Austin Siebert and Lucas Conley.

Thanks to the weekend performance by Hughes, Mullins Race Engines is atop the COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year standings while his Hughes Racing Chassis leads rival car builders in the Chassis Builders Championship points.

UP NEXT: The rugged USMTS road warriors march on next weekend with trips to the Outlaw Motor Speedway near Muskogee, Okla., on Friday, March 19, and the West Siloam Speedway in West Siloam Springs, Okla., on Saturday, March 20.

This will be the first visit to the Outlaw Motor Speedway since a two-day show May 8-9, 2003, that saw Jason Hughes and Tommy Myer walk away victorious.

Both events are expected to attract a powerful field of entries as both points will be awarded for both the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour and USMTS Castle Rock Recruiting Southern Series.

To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, visit www.usmts.com online or call 515-832-7944. You can also follow the USMTS on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour – Falcon Wind Power Mo-Kan Region
5th Annual Havoc at The Hummer – Event #2 of 2
Humboldt Speedway, Humboldt, Kan.
Sunday, March 14, 2010

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine builder, laps completed, reason out (if any) and money won. The top 14 drivers in passing points accumulated in the heat races are locked into the “A” Main, with the top 8 re-drawing for starting positions 1-8.

ISKY RACING CAMS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):1. (1) 12b Johnny Bone Jr., Pea Ridge, Ark.
2. (7) 6 Justin Folk, Iola, Kan.
3. (6) 98 John Allen, Chanute, Kan.
4. (3) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D.
5. (8) 36 Kenny Wallace, Concord, N.C.
6. (4) 73 Mickey Burrell, Fair Grove, Mo.
7. (2) 81 Danny Charles, Bashor, Kan.
8. (5) 22b Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan.
9. (9) 3b Nic Bidinger, Perry, Kan.

HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (1) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
2. (6) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
3. (2) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
4. (4) 8 Colt Mather, Webster, Iowa
5. (7) 9d Scott Daniels, Humboldt, Kan.
6. (3) 31 John Williams, Haughton, La.
7. (5) 5 Steve Holzkamper, Gentry, Ark.
8. (8) 25 Scott Green, Derby, Kan.
9. (9) 39 Gary Langworthy Jr., Coffeyville, Kan.

DIRTHEAD.COM HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (3) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
2. (4) 20 Tommy Weder Jr., Woodward, Okla.
3. (2) 3d Dan Daniels, Humboldt, Kan.
4. (9) 11s Scotty Bough, Nevada, Mo.
5. (5) 1c Chris Deaton, Wann, Okla.
6. (6) 85d Mark Dotson, Cameron, Mo.
7. (1) 555 Ryan Ruter, Kanawha, Iowa
8. (8) 39 Luke Driskell, Stilwell, Kan.
9. (7) Z3 Mike Albertsen, Audubon, Iowa

EIBACH SPRINGS HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (3) 90 Terry Schultz, Sedalia, Mo.
2. (1) 5c Don Crnkovich, Olathe, Kan.
3. (2) X2 Brian Bolin, Fort Scott, Kan.
4. (6) 2 Grant Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.
5. (7) 47 Melvin Pilcher, Springdale, Ark.
6. (5) 63 Ryan Whitworth, Humboldt, Kan.
7. (4) 11 Josh Griggs, Dewey, Okla.
8. (8) 12x Cody Elnicki, Girard, Kan.

HEAT RACE #5 (8 laps):
1. (7) 12 Jason Hughes, Westville, Okla.
2. (3) 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla.
3. (2) 12h Mike Hansen, Alton, Iowa
4. (4) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo.
5. (5) 18 Chase Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.
6. (8) 17 Lucas Conley, Spring Hill, Kan.
7. (6) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa
8. (1) 23 Brandon Davis, Castle Rock, Colo.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 6 advance):
1. (3) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D.
2. (2) 2 Grant Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.
3. (1) X2 Brian Bolin, Fort Scott, Kan.
4. (11) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa
5. (5) 47 Melvin Pilcher, Springdale, Ark.
6. (14) 3b Nic Bidinger, Perry, Kan.
7. (12) 25 Scott Green, Derby, Kan., $90.
8. (8) 85d Mark Dotson, Cameron, Mo., $90.
9. (4) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo., $90.
10. (6) 18 Chase Junghans, Manhattan, Kan., $90.
11. (9) 81 Danny Charles, Bashor, Kan., $90.
12. (7) 73 Mickey Burrell, Fair Grove, Mo., $90.
13. (10) 555 Ryan Ruter, Kanawha, Iowa, $90.
14. (13) 12x Cody Elnicki, Girard, Kan., $75.
15. (15) Z3 Mike Albertsen, Audubon, Iowa, $75.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 6 advance):
1. (4) 9d Scott Daniels, Humboldt, Kan.
2. (2) 36 Kenny Wallace, Concord, N.C.
3. (9) 5 Steve Holzkamper, Gentry, Ark.
4. (1) 12h Mike Hansen, Alton, Iowa
5. (6) 17 Lucas Conley, Spring Hill, Kan.
6. (3) 8 Colt Mather, Webster, Iowa
7. (7) 31 John Williams, Haughton, La., $90.
8. (5) 1c Chris Deaton, Wann, Okla., $90.
9. (8) 63 Ryan Whitworth, Humboldt, Kan., $90.
10. (11) 22b Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan., $90.
11. (10) 11 Josh Griggs, Dewey, Okla., $90.
12. (13) 23 Brandon Davis, Castle Rock, Colo., $90.
13. (14) 39 Gary Langworthy Jr., Coffeyville, Kan., $90.
14. (12) 39 Luke Driskell, Stilwell, Kan., $75.

“A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (6) 12 Jason Hughes, Westville, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $2000.
2. (8) 12b Johnny Bone Jr., Pea Ridge, Ark., TRE/Homegrown, 40, $1500.
3. (5) 20 Tommy Weder Jr., Woodward, Okla., Skyrocket/Sput’s, 40, $1000.
4. (1) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, Skyrocket/Sput’s, 40, $900.
5. (3) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, Hughes/87Auto, 40, $800.
6. (9) 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla., Skyrocket/Sput’s, 40, $700.
7. (13) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Ramirez/ProPower, 40, $650.
8. (4) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $600.
9. (19) X2 Brian Bolin, Fort Scott, Kan., Hughes/Yeoman, 40, $550.
10. (7) 90 Terry Schultz, Sedalia, Mo., Mach1/Schultz, 40, $500.
11. (21) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, Skyrocket/Sput’s, 40, $450.
12. (14) 3d Dan Daniels, Humboldt, Kan., Hughes/Marlar’s, 40, $425.
13. (15) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D., Ramirez/Sput’s, 40, $400.
14. (23) 47 Melvin Pilcher, Springdale, Ark., TRE/Ora’s, 40, $375.
15. (20) 5 Steve Holzkamper, Gentry, Ark., TRE/Shinook, 40, $350.
16. (10) 98 John Allen, Chanute, Kan., Hughes/Mullins, 39, $300.
17. (16) 9d Scott Daniels, Humboldt, Kan., TRE/Allen’s, 39, $250.
18. (11) 5c Don Crnkovich, Olathe, Kan., Skyrocket/Sput’s, 39, $250.
19. (17) 2 Grant Junghans, Manhattan, Kan., Hughes/ProPower, 39, $300.
20. (24) 17 Lucas Conley, Spring Hill, Kan., Hughes/Conley, 39, $300.
21. (26) 8 Colt Mather, Webster, Iowa, Skyrocket/Sput’s, 39, $300.
22. (18) 36 Kenny Wallace, Concord, N.C., Impressive/Mullins, 39, $300.
23. (25) 3b Nic Bidinger, Perry, Kan., Evolution/Mullins, 39, $300.
24. (12) 11s Scotty Bough, Nevada, Mo., DirtWorks/Wehmeyer, 39, $250.
25. (22) 12h Mike Hansen, Alton, Iowa, GRT/PerfOnly, 29, mechanical, $300.
26. (2) 6 Justin Folk, Iola, Kan., Mach1/Folk, 1, mechanical, $250.

(R) = DandyLand Farms Rookie of the Year candidate.

Lap Leaders: VanderBeek 1-2, Scott 3-6, Hughes 7-32, Bone 33, Hughes 34-40.
Total Laps Led: Hughes 33, Scott 4, VanderBeek 2, Bone 1.
AFCO Pole Winner: Hughes.
PBM Performance Products Hard Charger: Bolin (started 29th, finished 9th).
Next Race: Friday, March 19, Outlaw Motor Speedway, Oktaha, Okla.
Falcon Wind Power Mo-Kan Region Points: Hughes 214, Bolin 182, Shryock 175, Bone 165, Allen 158, D. Daniels 156, Dotson 153, Weder 138, Ramirez 137, VanderBeek 133.
DandyLand Farms Rookie of the Year Points: Whitworth 130, Scott 129, Beebe 120, Pilcher 118, Siebert 103, Conley 103.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 20, Sput’s 17, Yeoman 11, Homegrown 10, Marlar’s 9.
Chassis Builders Championship Points: Hughes 20, Skyrocket 17, TRE 13, GRT 12, Ramirez 10.

Contingency Awards:
Ai-Racing – Bolin.
American Racer – Weder.
Eibach Springs – Schultz.
Isky Racing Cams – Bone.
KSE Racing Products – Bone.
PBM Performance Products – Bolin.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Folk.
Out-Pace Racing Products – Shryock.
Quarter Master – Hughes, Scott.
QuickTime Inc. – Ramirez.
Real Racing Wheels – Bidinger, Mather.

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USMTS TITLE SPONSORS: Casey’s General Stores, Castle Rock Recruiting.

USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Race Tires, Awesome Racewear, AwesomeRacesuits.com, Intercomp, Karl Chevrolet, Kevko Oil Pans & Components, New Vision Graphics, Nitroquest, RACEceiver.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: ASi Racewear, Bear Tire, Big Dog Chassis & Fabrication, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, DandyLand Farms, Day Motor Sports, Dirt Track Racing School, Dirthead.com, Falcon Wind Power, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, Gressel Oil Field Service, Intensitee Custom Racewear, Just Say Yes, Olympic Fire Protection, Ramirez Race Cars, Ruter Farms, Yeager Machine.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Ai-Racing, Belleville Motorsports, COMP Cams, Dynatech Racing Exhaust, Eibach Springs, Fast Shafts, Forty9 Designs, GRT Race Cars, Hyperco, Isky Racing Cams, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, Out-Pace Racing Products, PBM Performance Products, Quarter Master, QuickTime Inc, Real Racing Wheels, RHS – Racing Head Service, US Brake.