It was a familiar face in victory lane as the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship rolled into unfamiliar territory Saturday night.
After three rain-outs earlier this season, the Caney Valley Speedway finally got cooperation from Mother Nature which resulted in a huge field of cars, a jam-packed grandstand and Jason Hughes in victory lane for the second straight night.
A field consisting of 55 of the toughest Modified drivers on the planet converged on the quarter-mile bullring located just a few miles north of the Oklahoma border.
While the drivers provided the standing-room-only crowd with a night of non-stop action, promoter Kerry Gorby and his crew provided the drivers with a smooth racetrack that featured multiple racing lines from the start of the first heat race to the drop of the checkered flag in the 40-lap Sunoco “A” Main.
John Allen, who has multiple wins at the facility during their weekly USRA Modified program, drew the pole position for the start of the feature race, but Hughes was able to edge ahead to lead the first lap.
Four laps later, Morgan Bagley moved around Allen to take over the runner-up spot. Bagley kept Hughes within a few car-lengths throughout the contest, and closed up on his bumper over the last few laps as Hughes struggled with lapped traffic. Hughes, however, never relinquished the top spot and sailed on to capture his second $3,000 paycheck in as many nights.
Dustin Boney used the extreme high side of the racing surface to charge his way to a third-place finish, while Kelly Shryock settled for fourth ahead of defending USMTS National Champion Tim Donlinger, who started 12th.
Sixth through tenth, respectively, were Dereck Ramirez, Allen, Eddie Martin, Ron Ver Beek and Bryan Rowland.
For the first time in five races, Rodney Sanders failed to qualify for the main event and had to use one of his provisionals to get into the show. He passed eight cars en route to a 15th-place finish, but allowed Shryock to expand his points lead and Hughes to close the gap behind him.
With five of 18 events complete in the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship, Shryock leads Sanders by 30 points (512 to 482), while Hughes shot all the way up to third with 435 markers. Zack VanderBeek is fourth with 430, followed by Ramirez (419), Bagley (396), Tommy Myer (389), Ryan Gustin (387), Boney (366) and Jon Tesch (366).
Action moves north for round 6 of the ‘Hunt’ on Thursday, Aug. 20, at the Steele County Speedway in Owatonna, Minn., for another $3,000-to-win showdown and the first of three straight nights at three unique racetracks in three States.
Past winners at the Steele County Speedway include Shryock (7), Myer (5), Jason Krohn (2), Mark Noble, Bruce Hanford, Mike Hejna, VanderBeek, Hughes, Donlinger and Tommy Weder Jr.
SUNOCO “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. 12 - Jason Hughes—Westville, OK (2)
2. 5r - Morgan Bagley—Longview, TX (4)
3. 22 - Dustin Boney—Tonganoxie, KS (6)
4. 3 - Kelly Shryock—Fertile, IA (5)
5. 3d - Tim Donlinger—Rochester, MN (12)
6. 4r - Dereck Ramirez—Woodward, OK (3)
7. 25 - John Allen—Chanute, KS (1)
8. 51 - Eddie Martin—Stilwell, OK (8)
9. 4r - Ron Ver Beek—Oskaloosa, IA (9)
10. 20r - Bryan Rowland—Woodward, OK (16)
11. 14 - Jon Tesch—Watertown, SD (11)
12. 19r - Ryan Gustin—Marshalltown, IA (20)
13. 2 - Grant Junghans—Manhattan, KS (7)
14. 7k - Jason Krohn—Slayton, MN (22)
15. 20 - Rodney Sanders—Happy, TX (23)
16. 12t - Tyler Townsend—Longview, TX (10)
17. 9 - Ken Schrader—Concord, NC (15)
18. 33z - Zack VanderBeek—New Sharon, IA (18)
19. 31 - Corey Dripps—Waterloo, IA (19)
20. 65 - Tommy Myer—Blooming Prairie, MN (24)
21. 10 - Mike Steensma—Luverne, MN (17)
22. 39 - Gary Langworthy Jr.—Coffeyville, KS (25)
23. 25 - Scott Green—Derby, KS (14)
24. 1x - Colby Artherton—Bartlesville, OK (26) -1 Lap
25. 12b - Johnny Bone Jr.—Pea Ridge, AR (13) DNF
26. 75 - Joe Wright—Beggs, OK (21) DNF
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