JACKSON, Minn. (Aug. 30) – Krohn topples Tesch in USMTS action at Jackson
Krohn topples Tesch in USMTS action at Jackson
JACKSON, Minn. (Aug. 30) – One year and nine days after his last trip to victory lane, 2007 USMTS national champion Jason Krohn blasted back to the top of the dirt Modified racing world Thursday night with a thrilling win at the Jackson Speedway in round 10 of the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup.
With 27 wins to his credit, Krohn ranks sixth among all drivers in career USMTS victories. But only two of those have come in the last two seasons, including Thursday night where he showed his desire to win is as strong as ever.
“We tried everything over the last two seasons,” said the 40-year-old from nearby Slayton, Minn.
He went from a Skyrocket Chassis to a Hughes Chassis, back to a Skyrocket and back to a Hughes again. He even pulled out the Modified he rode to the USMTS National Championship in 2007. And then he met dirt late model standout Jimmy Mars at the Gopher 50 early last month at the Deer Creek Speedway.
“We were looking to buy a late model, and Jimmy was on his four-wheeler checking out the track at Deer Creek,” Krohn said. “We got to talking and I gave him a call, then we went to Wisconsin to check out his operation.
“These guys know what they’re doing.”
Despite being a new player in the highly-competitive dirt Modified chassis business, Krohn was so impressed he ordered a new chassis from MB Customs – just the seventh they’ve built – and debuted his new ride last Friday at the Chateau Raceway in Lansing, Minn., where the USMTS Modifieds will travel to tomorrow night. He finished second that night.
Krohn brought home a sixth-place finish in his first USMTS race in the new configuration Wednesday night at the Fairmont Raceway, but despite drawing the eighth starting spot for the second straight night, he was determined to win Thursday night at the track where he cut his teeth.
Dereck Ramirez took the lead at the start of Thursday’s 30-lap main event on the big half-mile at the Jackson County Fairgrounds, but Jon Tesch blasted into the lead on lap 4 and was in control for most of the race.
Tesch, who is fifth on the all-time list with seven more USMTS wins than Krohn, set a torrid pace on a fast and tacky track while Krohn slowly clawed his way to the front. He was fifth after the first lap, fourth on lap 5 and third by the sixth lap when the red flag waved when Garry Oskerson rolled over in turn 1.
Oskerson was unhurt in the crash, and Krohn used the restart to slip by Jason Hughes for second place. Two laps later, the race’s second caution came out when Hughes slowed on the track with a broken ignition.
Tesch was able to pull away on the restart while Krohn dropped to third behind Wednesday’s winner, Ryan Ruter with 12th-starting Ryan Gustin moving in to challenge Jason Cummins for fourth.
The race was slowed for the third and final time with 12 laps to go when Daniel Hilsabeck came to a stop on the high side of turn 4. On the restart, Gustin shot around the high side of Cummins to take fourth while Krohn went to the low side to challenge Ruter for second.
Krohn made the pass stick and, in the process, discovered a new line he found to his liking. Over the next six laps, Krohn was unable to cut into Tesch’s six-car-length advantage, but began to nibble away at the deficit with five laps to go.
Diving hard into the third turn, Krohn edged ahead of Tesch through the corner and took the lead as they completed lap 28. The pair took the white flag with Tesch’s nose glued to Krohn’s rear bumper, and they drag-raced side by side down the back-stretch on their way to the finish line.
With Tesch now using the low line and Krohn up top, Krohn drove a bit deeper into turn 3 and exited turn 4 with a half-car-length advantage. He streaked beneath the checkered flag for the win with Tesch again in his shadow but having to settle for the runner-up paycheck.
The victory was worth $3,000 and was Krohn’s first in USMTS competition since Aug. 21 last year at the Nobles County Speedway in Worthington, Minn. Prior to that, his most recent win was Aug. 28, 2010, at the now-closed 24 Raceway in Moberly, Mo., during ‘The Hunt’ that season.
With the win, Krohn became the eighth different winner in ten races during the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup. Krohn also won the last time the USMTS Modifieds invaded the Jackson Speedway on Aug. 5, 2010.
The USMTS made their first visit to Jackson during the series’ inaugural season in 1999. Krohn also won that night, but that time it was in a 15-lap Stock Car feature where he took the lead from Randy Brands with three laps to go.
Ruter, who started ninth, held on for third while Gustin and Cummins rounded out the top 5 finishers. Zack VanderBeek finished sixth, Richie Gustin was seventh, Mark Noble took eighth, Kelly Shryock brought home ninth and Rodney Sanders completed the top 10.
Friday will find the series at Darin Toot’s Chateau Raceway in Lansing, Minn., for the 7th Annual Cedar River Race where the 1/3-mile semi-banked clay oval always provides for exciting side-by-side racing from the drop of the first green flag to the final checkered flag.
Gates open at 5 p.m. with hot laps at 7 and racing at 7:30. Also racing Friday night will be WISSOTA Midwest Mods, Street Stocks and Pure Stocks.
Al Hejna will be meeting and greeting fans from 12-2 p.m. at the 1702 12th St. SW Casey’s General Store in Austin on Friday. Coupons good for $2 off admission can be found in Austin, Blooming Prairie and Mantorville locations.
The Chateau Raceway is located 5.0 miles north of Austin on US 218 to the Lansing exit, then 1.3 miles eat on CR 2, then 0.4 mile south on CR 25, then 0.3 mile east . For more info, call 507-391-2486 or 507-433-4578 on raceday or visit www.chateauraceway.net.
On Saturday, the USMTS Modifieds will tackle the popular Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., and Sunday will be anything but a time for relaxing as a full program of events is on tap at the Dodge County Speedway in Kasson, Minn.
To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, visit www.usmts.com online or call 515-832-7944. You can also like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ustmts and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/usmts.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
The Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup – Round 10 of 18
Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012
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 16 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.
BEYEA CUSTOM HEADERS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (1) 71 Jason Cummins, New Richland, Minn.
2. (7) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
3. (6) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
4. (4) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
5. (2) 99h Trevor Hunt (R), Liberty, Mo.
6. (8) 63 Josh Meyer, Fairmont, Minn.
7. (9) 5 Brandon Beckendorf, Danube, Minn.
8. (5) 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa.
9. (3) 2s Stormy Scott (R), Las Cruces, N.M.
HOOKER HARNESS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (1) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D.
2. (4) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
3. (3) 555 Ryan Ruter, Kanawha, Iowa.
4. (6) 186 Jeremy Payne, Springfield, Mo.
5. (5) 0 Richie Gustin, Gilman, Iowa.
6. (8) 10 Mike Steensma, Luverne, Minn.
7. (7) 17 Garry Oskerson, Fairmont, Minn.
8. (2) 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla.
9. (9) 1m Jeff Maasch, Vesta, Minn.
EIBACH SPRINGS HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (2) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck (R), Waukee, Iowa.
2. (1) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
3. (4) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn.
4. (6) 74 Mark Noble, Blooming Prairie, Minn.
5. (3) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
6. (7) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
7. (8) 5* Casey Penn (R), Shreveport, La.
8. (9) 1a Dwaine Hanson, Lakefield, Minn.
9. (5) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa.
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN (10 laps, all starters advance):
1. (1) 10 Mike Steensma, Luverne, Minn.
2. (2) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
3. (4) 5* Casey Penn (R), Shreveport, La.
4. (5) 17 Garry Oskerson, Fairmont, Minn.
5. (9) 2s Stormy Scott (R), Las Cruces, N.M.
6. (7) 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa.
7. (6) 1a Dwaine Hanson, Lakefield, Minn.
8. (9) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa.
9. (3) 5 Brandon Beckendorf, Danube, Minn.
DNS – 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/ProPower, $75.
DNS – 1m Jeff Maasch, Vesta, Minn., J-Car/, $75.
SWAN ENERGY “A” MAIN (30 laps):
1. (8) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn., MBC/Sput’s, 30, $3000.
2. (1) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D., GRT/Sput’s, 30, $1700.
3. (9) 555 Ryan Ruter, Kanawha, Iowa, Sidebiter/Sput’s, 30, $1200.
4. (12) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, 30, $1000.
5. (7) 71 Jason Cummins, New Richland, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, 30, $900.
6. (4) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, Hughes/Sput’s, 30, $800.
7. (14) 0 Richie Gustin, Gilman, Iowa, GRT/Yeoman, 30, $700.
8. (11) 74 Mark Noble, Blooming Prairie, Minn., Kraft/Gaerte, 30, $650.
9. (18) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, Skyrocket/ProPower, 30, $700.
10. (15) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, Hughes/Geddes, 30, $550.
11. (2) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/ProPower, 30, $500.
12. (5) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., Hughes/ProPower, 30, $450.
13. (17) 10 Mike Steensma, Luverne, Minn., Hughes/Sput’s, 30, $400.
14. (19) 5* Casey Penn (R), Shreveport, La., Hughes/Geddes, 30, $375.
15. (13) 99h Trevor Hunt (R), Liberty, Mo., Hughes/Hatfield, 29, $350.
16. (21) 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa, BC/ProPower, 30, overheating, $325.
17. (23) 7 Al Hejna, Clear Lake, Iowa, BC/JRM, 30, retired, $300.
18. (6) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck (R), Waukee, Iowa, GRT/Mullins, 30, $300.
19. (22) 1a Dwaine Hanson, Lakefield, Minn., Harris/, 30, $250.
20. (16) 63 Josh Meyer, Fairmont, Minn., Skyrocket/JRM, 30, $250.
21. (3) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 30, ignition, $400.
22. (10) 186 Jeremy Payne, Springfield, Mo., GRT/RoushYates, 30, $400.
23. (20) 17 Garry Oskerson, Fairmont, Minn., Shaw/, 30, crash, $250.
DNS – 2s Stormy Scott (R), Las Cruces, N.M., Hughes/ProPower, 0, did not start, $400.
DNS – 5 Brandon Beckendorf, Danube, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, 0, did not start, $90.
(R) = Rookie of the Year contender.
Integra Lap Leaders: Ramirez 1-3, Tesch 4-27, Krohn 28-30.
Total Laps Led: Tesch 24, Ramirez 3, Krohn 3.
Margin of Victory: 0.264 second.
Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger: Shryock (started 18th, finished 9th).
Next Race: Friday, Aug. 31, Chateau Raceway, Lansing, Minn.
USMTS Casey’s Cup Series Points: Ryan Gustin 976, Sanders 969, S. Scott 884, J. Scott 855, Hughes 853, VanderBeek 815, Payne 766, Rowland 758, Shryock 757, Ramirez 743.
Rookie of the Year Points: S. Scott 2157, Hilsabeck 1512, Ron Keith 1219, Penn 1065, Thomas Tillison Jr. 904.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 452, Geddes 409, ProPower 381, Sput’s 362, RoushYates 262.
Tiger Rear Ends Manufacturers Championship Points: Hughes 528, GRT 479, Skyrocket 398, Sidebiter 201, BC 182.
Contingency Awards:
AERO Race Wheels – Oskerson.
American Racer – Hejna.
Beyea Custom Headers – Cummins.
Dominator Race Products – Oskerson.
Eibach Springs – Hilsabeck.
Forty9Designs.com – Ryan Gustin, Shryock.
Hooker Harness – Tesch.
Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – Tesch.
KEVKO Oil Pans & Components – Shryock.
KSE Racing Products – Krohn.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Payne.
Nitroquest – Beckendorf.
Mesilla Valley Transportation – Shryock.
PBM Performance Products – not awarded.
R2C Performance Products – Tesch.
Real Racing Wheels – Steensma.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
USMTS TITLE SPONSORS: Casey’s General Stores, Swan Energy.
USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Awesome Race Suits, Cheetos, Dominator Race Products, Intercomp, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, New Vision Graphics, Nitroquest, RACEceiver, SLAP Energy, Snickers.
USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Arbor Masters, Arnold Motor Supply, ASi Racewear, Beebe Heating & Air Conditioning, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Dirthead.com, DirtKnights.com, Erson Cams, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, Intensitee Custom Racewear, Mesilla Valley Transportation, O’Brien Enterprises, Olympic Fire Protection, Ramirez Motorsports, Road Runner Trucking, Ruter Farms, Sybesma Graphics, Yeager Machine.
USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AERO Race Wheels, AFCO Racing Products, Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, CPD Racing Tools, Eibach Springs, Fast Shafts, Forty9Designs.com, Genesis Shocks, Hooker Harness, Integra Racing Shocks & Springs, Keyser Manufacturing, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, PBM Performance Products, Quarter Master, Real Racing Wheels, Tiger Rear Ends.
