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JIM FALLS, Wis. -- After a thrilling 40-lap USMTS Casey’s Cup Series event Thursday night at the Eagle Valley Speedway in Jim Falls, Wis., Ryan Gustin was back in familiar territory: victory lane.
The win was a complete turnaround from Wednesday night after the Marshalltown, Iowa, speedster failed to qualify for the feature race and had to watch the trailer—a rare vantage point for the two-time defending USMTS national champion.
Thursday’s setting was far more common with a lightning-fast pass-anywhere-you-want racetrack, a field of uncommonly talented drivers and ‘The Reaper’ crossing beneath the checkered flags before anybody else on the racetrack.
From the outside of the front row, Joey Jensen of Forest Lake, Minn., grabbed the lead at the start of the main event. His reign lasted just two laps before Lucas Schott wrestled away the top spot.
Two laps later, Gustin moved into the runner-up spot but was showing no signs of challenging Schott for the lead.
With no cautions to slow the pace of the race, Schott had pulled out to a comfortable lead by the time he reached lapped traffic just past the halfway point. That’s when Gustin began to close the gap.
Mired behind a pair of back-markers embroiled in their own battle, the 16-year-old from Chatfield, Minn., watched as Gustin powered by on the outside to take the lead away on lap 30.
Schott stayed within striking distance, but Gustin flawlessly executed the final 10 laps to score a $4,000 victory and his 64th career USMTS win while ‘Cool Hand Luke’ held on for a career-best second-place finish.
Meanwhile, Jensen and Slayton, Minn.’s Jason Krohn had their own two-man battle going on. Krohn snagged third away from Jensen on lap 19, but Jensen was able to sneak back by the 2007 USMTS national champ with just two laps to go.
Behind Krohn, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce Northern Region points leader Stormy Scott held off Craig Thatcher for the fifth position while Kelly Shryock, Matt Leer, Johnny Scott and Austin Siebert rounded out the top 10.
Eric Pember started 22nd and finished 15th to earn the Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger Award in his first USMTS race of the season.
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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series – USMTS Casey’s Cup Series
Farm Boy BBQ Sauce Northern Region presented by Day Motor Sports
Inaugural Event presented by Anderson Race Engines
Eagle Valley Speedway, Jim Falls, Wis.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine, laps completed and money won. The top 12 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.
JRi SHOCKS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (2) 110 Chad Mahder (R), Eau Claire, Wis.
2. (6) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
3. (8) 30 Matt Leer, Bruce, Wis.
4. (9) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
5. (7) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo.
6. (3) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
7. (1) 01 Joey Galloway (R), Manor, Sask., Canada.
8. (5) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Adel, Iowa.
9. (4) 40 Kevin Adams, Cameron, Wis.
“A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (5) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, 40, $4000.
2. (3) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn., Hughes/Sput’s, 40, $1500.
3. (2) V2 Joey Jensen, Forest Lake, Minn., GRT/Tim’s, 40, $1000.
4. (8) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn., MBCustom/Sput’s, 40, $900.
5. (6) 2s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., LG2/ProPower, 40, $800.
6. (7) 91 Craig Thatcher, Knapp, Wis., GRT/TriStar, 40, $700.
7. (11) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, Skyrocket/ProPower, 40, $750.
8. (4) 30 Matt Leer, Bruce, Wis., Shaw/Adams, 40, $500.
9. (9) 1st Johnny Scott, Arroyo Hondo, N.M., Hughes/ProPower, 40, $650.
10. (13) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo., GRT/Mullins, 40, $500.
11. (17) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, Hughes/Sput’s, 40, $550.
12. (12) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/ProPower, 40, $425.
13. (16) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $475.
14. (14) 54 Jeremy Houle (R), Ham Lake, Minn., MBCustom/Speedwerx, 40, $375.
15. (22) 89 Eric Pember, Pittsville, Wis., Hughes/Mullins, 39, $450.
16. (24) 7 Ron Jones, Princeton, Minn., MBCustom/Sput’s, 39, $300.
17. (23) 99h Trevor Hunt (R), Kearney, Mo., GRT/Mullins, 39, $450.
18. (19) 95 Keith Foss, Winona, Minn., Skyrocket/Grove, 36, $300.
19. (10) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustom/Geddes, 29, $300.
20. (20) R1 Jay Richardson (R), Spring Valley, Wis., SSR/MAS, 27, $300.
21. (18) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, 26, $300.
22. (21) 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa, Rage/RoushYates, 16, $400.
23. (15) 33x Adam Hensel, Baldwin, Wis., Rocket/Malcuit, 10, $300.
24. (1) 110 Chad Mahder (R), Eau Claire, Wis., GRT/Anderson, 7, $300.
Lap Leaders: Jensen 1-2, Schott 3-29, Gustin 30-40.
Total Laps Led: Schott 27, Gustin 11, Jensen 2.
Margin of Victory: 0.563 second.
Farm Boy BBQ Sauce Northern Region Points: S. Scott 667, VanderBeek 610, Jensen 605, Hughes 587, J. Scott 572, Ramirez 571, Schott 570, Shryock 561, Hunt 508, Dripps 506.
Rookie of the Year Points: Hunt 1389, Galloway 1326, Big Eagle 1099, Shane Sprinkle 380, Jeff Conner 371.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: ProPower 185, Mullins 161, Sput’s 149, RoushYates 136, Geddes 130.
Tiger Rear Ends Manufacturers Championship Points: Hughes 201, GRT 163, MBCustoms 152, Skyrocket 148, LG2 143.
Contingency Awards:
MSD Ignition – Gustin, Schott.
