WEST UNION, Iowa – It must be something in their blood, as well as their right foot. Less than three weeks ago, 17-year-old Ryan Gustin became the youngest winner in the ten-year history of the United States Modified Touring Series when the second-generation racer captured the O’Reilly USMTS National Tour main event on a less-than-smooth racing surface at the Highway 3 Raceway in Allison, Iowa.
The youth movement continued on Tuesday night as Jake Neal, 18, etched his name in the record books with his career-first O’Reilly USMTS National Tour win at the twice-rain-postponed inaugural event at the Fayette County Speedway in West Union, Iowa.
Like his counterpart, Neal had to not only maneuver around the best dirt Modified drivers in the nation to get the win, but also navigate an extremely rough racetrack that had been ravaged by recent rainfall.
“That was a rough one. I’m glad I’ve been working out, but I just want to go back to the hauler and sleep,” Neal said in victory lane.
“This is one of my last races in this car. My dad and I do all the work on the car ourselves and he puts all the money into it. He’s ready to retire, so I need to find a new ride for next year,” added the winner.
His father, Scott, was also a successful dirt track racer in and around their hometown of Omaha, Neb.
Gustin started third in Tuesday’s 25-lap Holley “A” Main and quickly jumped to the lead, but was sidelined with mechanical problems on lap 4. Tommy Weder Jr. took over from there and led the next eight laps using the low side of the 3/8-mile high-banked oval while fending off the challenges of polesitter and AFCO Pole Award winner Steve Kosiski.
Using the high side of the track, Kosiski was able to work around Weder to lead laps 13-14, but a flat tire ended his run for the winner’s trophy as the yellow flag waved. Weder led the field to the green flag for the restart while Dereck Ramirez and Neal were involved in a tussle for second place.
Claiming the high line for himself, Neal disposed of Ramirez then closed in on Weder, taking the lead with a crossover pass coming out of turn 2 on the 18th circuit. From there, Neal was able to keep Weder at bay over the final seven laps to earn his career-first win.
Weder settled for the runner-up paycheck and Ramirez finished third while Tim Donlinger came from 14th to grab fourth at the checkered flags. Jon Tesch was fifth, Joey Schaefer sixth, Zack VanderBeek seventh, Jeff Schluetter eighth, Scott Green ninth and Darrin Walch rounded out the top-10 finishers.
| 
|