Stormy Scott snags foggy USMTS feature in Corpus Christi

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (Feb. 9) -- Although warmer weather greeted drivers and fans for the second night of the 2nd Annual Sparkling City Nationals presented by Double H Bands, a thick fog greeted the South Texas Speedway for Sunday's United States Modified Touring Series main event.

For a race that looked like it took place in Transylvania, it was a fitting that the 'New Mexico Nightmare' survived to take the victory and $4,000 winner's share of the prize money.

From the outside of the front row, Stormy Scott quickly disposed of polesitter and fellow Las Cruces, N.M., racer Jimmy Ray when the green flag was unfurled and proceeded to distance himself from the field.

A trio of caution flags on laps 14 and 24 kept the field within striking distance, but Scott stormed out to a huge lead on each restart and crossed the finish line more than four seconds ahead of runner-up Rick Beebe.

"It was treacherous out there," Scott admitted during his victory lane interview with USMTS announcer Lon Oelke. "I went through all of my tear-offs and it was pretty hard to see, but I can't complain. Everybody else had to race in the same conditions as me."

The first yellow flag waved with just two laps in the books. Among the casualties were Saturday night's winner, Jason Krohn, and last night's runner-up, Steve Whiteaker Jr. Rodney Sanders, who started sixth, was also involved in the multi-car crash, but was able to rejoin the race at the rear of the field.

The second caution on lap 14 enabled Scott's teammate, Bryan Rowland, to make a move around Beebe on the restart, but Beebe returned the favor 10 laps later on a restart after the third and final caution flew.

Jake Gallardo passed 12 cars en route to a third-place finish and the Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger Award. It was the second straight night he earned that honor. Although Cade Dillard passed 14 cars, he was not eligible for the award as a provisional starter.

Fourth went to Rowland with Daniel Hilsabeck fifth. Sixth through tenth were T.J. Steele, Johnny Scott, Sanders, 23rd-starting Dillard and 22nd-starting Joe Duvall.

Coupled with his fourth-place finish the night before, Sunday's win put Stormy Scott atop the MVT Gulf Coast Border Region points standings with a 23-point cushion (190 to 167) over Beebe and Sanders. Gallardo, Dillard, Johnny Scott, Krohn, Whiteaker, Tracy Denby Jr., Hilsabeck and Zack VanderBeek round out the top 10.

USMTS 'Speedweeks' continues next Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 13-15, with three nights under the lights at the Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas, for the 5th Annual USMTS Texas Spring Nationals presented by Double H Bands.

The USMTS Casey's Cup Series powered by Swan Energy event will pay $2,000 to win Thursday night's main event, $3,000 to win on Friday and $4,000 to win Saturday's finale at the state-of-the-art 3/8-mile high-banked clay oval which features a main grandstand seating capacity of 7,500 with 14 VIP luxury suites and a modern Musco Lighting system suitable for television productions.

An open practice on Wednesday, Feb. 12, from 6-9 p.m. will get the party started for next weekend's tilt in the MVT Gulf Coast Border Region presented by Day Motor Sports.

RacinDirt.TV will carry all of the action live from the Royal Purple Raceway online with flag-to-flag action from start to finish. Visit www.RacinDirt.tv for more ordering information.

The Royal Purple Raceway is located east of Houston on I-10 to Exit 799, then 2.5 miles south on SH 99 (Grand Parkway), then 0.3 mile west on FM 565. Speedway entrance located at Gate 3. For more information, call the track office at 281-383-RACE or visit www.royalpurpleraceway.com online.

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/usmts, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/usmts or check out our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/usmtstv.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
USMTS Casey's Cup powered by Swan Energy - MVT Gulf Coast Border Region presented by Day Motor Sports
2nd Annual Sparkling City Nationals presented by Double H Bands - Night 2 of 2
South Texas Speedway, Corpus Christi, Texas
Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine builder, laps completed, money won and reason out (if any). 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.

C&R RACING HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (1) 89c Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas.
2. (3) 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla.
3. (2) 76 Jesse Manning, Brazoria, Texas.
4. (4) J17 Jake Gallardo (R), Las Cruces, N.M.
5. (7) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
6. (5) 44 Joe Spillman (R), Marble Falls, Texas.
7. (6) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
8. (9) 24 Sean Jones, Mansfield, Texas.
9. (8) 36 Jeff Conner, Panora, Iowa.

JRi SHOCKS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (3) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
2. (1) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas.
3. (2) 7d Austin Theiss (R), Hockley, Texas.
4. (5) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
5. (4) 51 Tim Thomas, West Fargo, N.D.
6. (8) 186 Jeremy Payne, Springfield, Mo.
7. (9) 18s Cody Smith, Kaufman, Texas.
8. (6) 5 Shane Sprinkle (R), Andrews, Texas.
9. (7) 129 Jamie Campbell, Adkins, Texas.

PENN TRANSPORT HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (1) 51 Tracy Denby Jr., Vidor, Texas.
2. (4) 22b Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan.
3. (3) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Waukee, Iowa.
4. (5) 4s T.J. Steele (R), Winnsboro, Texas.
5. (7) 5* Adam Penn (R), Shreveport, La.
6. (6) 51 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
7. (2) 34 Michael Walker (R), Rosharon, Texas.
8. (8) 87 John Webb, Pauls Valley, Okla.
9. (9) 97 Cade Dillard (R), Robeline, La.

PBM PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (2) 9 Jimmy Ray, Las Cruces, N.M.
2. (4) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn.
3. (6) 2s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
4. (1) 78 Trevor Egbert, Salado, Texas.
5. (3) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
6. (5) 7x Rory Jordan, Victoria, Texas.
7. (8) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
8. (7) 125 Jason Borlace, San Antonio, Texas.

REAL RACING WHEELS "B" MAIN #1 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (1) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
2. (2) J17 Jake Gallardo (R), Las Cruces, N.M.
3. (3) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
4. (5) 186 Jeremy Payne, Springfield, Mo.
5. (8) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
6. (6) 51 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
7. (4) 51 Tim Thomas, West Fargo, N.D., Hughes/G-Force, $90.
8. (11) 36 Jeff Conner, Panora, Iowa, Skyrocket/Durham, $90.
9. (10) 87 John Webb, Pauls Valley, Okla., MBCustom/Mullins, $90.
10. (12) 97 Cade Dillard (R), Robeline, La.
11. (7) 18s Cody Smith, Kaufman, Texas, CAM/Chase, $90.
12. (9) 24 Sean Jones, Mansfield, Texas, LG2/Brooks, $90.

REAL RACING WHEELS "B" MAIN #2 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (1) 4s T.J. Steele (R), Winnsboro, Texas.
2. (3) 5* Adam Penn (R), Shreveport, La.
3. (2) 78 Trevor Egbert, Salado, Texas.
4. (4) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
5. (7) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
6. (8) 34 Michael Walker (R), Rosharon, Texas, Kraft/AARE, $90.
7. (6) 7x Rory Jordan, Victoria, Texas, Shaw/Mullins, $90.
8. (9) 5 Shane Sprinkle (R), Andrews, Texas, Hughes/RoushYates, $90.
9. (11) 129 Jamie Campbell, Adkins, Texas, /PerfMach, $70.
10. (5) 44 Joe Spillman (R), Marble Falls, Texas, CAM/Centex, $90.
11. (10) 125 Jason Borlace, San Antonio, Texas, /B&A, $70

CASEY'S GENERAL STORES "A" MAIN (40 laps):
1. (2) 2s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., LG2/ProPower, 40, $4000.
2. (3) 22b Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan., MBCustom/Mullins, 40, $1700.
3. (15) J17 Jake Gallardo (R), Las Cruces, N.M., GRC/BMS, 40, $1300.
4. (4) 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla., LG2/ProPower, 40, $1000.
5. (12) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Waukee, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, 40, $800.
6. (14) 4s T.J. Steele (R), Winnsboro, Texas, Hughes/Mullins, 40, $700.
7. (13) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., Ramirez/ProPower, 40, $600.
8. (6) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustom/Geddes, 40, $500.
9. (23) 97 Cade Dillard (R), Robeline, La., Sidebiter/Sput's, 40, $450.
10. (22) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., MBCustom/Mullins, 40, $400.
11. (7) 51 Tracy Denby Jr., Vidor, Texas, Skyrocket/CB, 40, $375.
12. (11) 7d Austin Theiss (R), Hockley, Texas, Hughes/Mullins, 40, $350.
13. (10) 76 Jesse Manning, Brazoria, Texas, GRT/105, 40, $325.
14. (18) 78 Trevor Egbert, Salado, Texas, Hughes/Sput's, 39, $300.
15. (1) 9 Jimmy Ray, Las Cruces, N.M., AOS/AOS, 33, $300, mechanical.
16. (16) 5* Adam Penn (R), Shreveport, La., Hughes/Geddes, 30, $300, retired.
17. (9) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas, LG2/RoushYates, 24, $300, mechanical.
18. (24) 51 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, Skyrocket/PTS, 23, $300, link bar.
19. (20) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan., Venom/Driskell, 19, $300, mechanical.
20. (17) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, LG2/Sput's, 15, $300, retired.
21. (21) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Ramirez/ProPower, 12, $300, retired.
22. (19) 186 Jeremy Payne, Springfield, Mo., GRT/Durham, 12, $300, mechanical.
23. (8) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn., MBCustom/Sput's, 2, $300, crash.
24. (5) 89c Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas, Hughes/Mullins, 2, $300, crash.

(R) = Rookie of the Year contender.

Lap Leaders: S. Scott 1-40.
Total Laps Led: S. Scott 40.
Margin of Victory: 4.175 seconds.
Provisional Starters: Dillard, Shryock.
Pole Award: Sanders.
Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger: Gallardo (started 15th, finished 3rd).
Next Race: Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 13-15, Royal Purple Raceway, Baytown, Texas.
MVT Gulf Coast Border Region Points Standings: S. Scott 190, Beebe 167, Sanders 167, Gallardo 161, Dillard 158, J. Scott 154, Krohn 152, Whiteaker 148, Denby 144, Hilsabeck 135, VanderBeek 135.
Rookie of the Year Points: Gallardo 161, Dillard 158, Steele 126, Theiss 113, A. Penn 110.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 18, ProPower 17, Sput's 16, Geddes 15, BMS 12.
Manufacturers Championship Points: MBCustom 19, LG2 18, Hughes 16, Sidebiter 12, GRC 12.

Contingency Awards:
American Racer - Smith.
Beyea Custom Headers - Duvall.
Brass Monkey Racing Products - Shryock.
C&R Racing - Whiteaker.
Edelbrock - Rowland.
FK Rod Ends - Ray.
Forty9Designs.com - Egbert, Fuqua.
Fuel Safe - Steele.
GRT Race Cars - Payne.
Hooker Harness - Manning.
JRi Shocks - Sanders.
KEVKO Oil Pans & Components - Dillard.
Keyser Manufacturing - Duvall.
Marsh Racing Wheels - Krohn.
Mesilla Valley Transportation - Gallardo.
MSD Ignition - S. Scott.
PBM Performance Products - Ray, S. Scott.
Power Lift Racing Products - Houston.
Real Racing Wheels - all non-qualifiers.
VP Racing Fuels - S. Scott.

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USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, AMP Energy, Casey's General Stores, COMP Cams, Day Motor Sports, Intercomp, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, MSD Ignition, Nitroquest Media Group, RACEceiver, RacinDirt.com, Snickers, SpiderWeb Modular Storage Solutions, Swan Energy.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Arizona Sport Shirts, ASi Racewear, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Double H Bands, ElbowsUp.com, Erson Cams, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, Integra Racing Shocks & Springs, Major League Bowhunter, Mesilla Valley Transportation, New Vision Graphics, Olympic Fire Protection, Penn Transport, S&S Fishing & Rental, United Cellular Services.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Bell Racing Helmets, Beyea Custom Headers, Brass Monkey Racing Products, C&R Racing, CPD Racing Tools, Edelbrock, FK Rod Ends, Forty9 Designs, Fuel Safe, Genesis Racing Shocks, GRT Race Cars, Hooker Harness, JRi Shocks, Keyser Manufacturing, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, PBM Performance Products, Power Lift Racing Products, Quarter Master, Real Racing Wheels, Sybesma Graphics, Tiger Rear Ends.