Best of the Best blast off in Baytown for 5th Annual USMTS Texas Spring Nationals presented by Double H Bands

BAYTOWN, Texas (Feb. 10) -- Less than 72 hours after shutting down their engines following Sunday's event at the South Texas Speedway in Corpus Christi, the goliaths of the dirt modified world invade the Royal Purple Raceway is Baytown, Texas, this week for another round of action in the USMTS Casey's Cup powered by Swan Energy.

Just a few miles down the road from NASA's Johnson Space Center, the 5th Annual USMTS Texas Spring Nationals presented by Double H Bands blasts off with practice on Wednesday night before things get real on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 13-15, with three nights under the lights at the state-of-the-art 3/8-mile high-banked clay oval.

Thursday's lid-lifter will pay $2,000 to win, and if you're a believer in numerology then you may be inclined to put your money on Zack VanderBeek when the series makes its 33rd start at the track on Thursday.

'The Z-Man' has five wins in Baytown, including the last event of 2013 where he drove his Casey's General Stores-sponsored #33z machine to back-to-back victories in the 7th Annual USMTS Winter Nationals.

This week's upcoming tripleheader may also be the shot in the arm that Jeremy Payne needs after struggling this past weekend.

One year earlier at the Royal Purple Raceway, Payne swept all three nights of the season-ending event-a feat that has yet to be duplicated in the 15-year history of the United States Modified Touring Series.

Texan Paul White won the first-ever USMTS event at the former Houston Raceway Park. Since then, two trips to victory lane have been made by Kelly Shryock, Dereck Ramirez, Rodney Sanders and Ryan Gustin while Alan Mondus, Tommy Weder Jr., Johnny Bone Jr., John O. Whittington, Chris Brown, Terry Phillips, Johnny Scott and Clyde Dunn Jr. have one victory each.

Jason Hughes leads all drivers with six career USMTS wins at the facility, but the 2010 USMTS national champion will not be a factor this week as he will be in Florida steering a dirt late model for the Rowland Racing team.

The team will be represented well this week, however, as team owner Bryan Rowland and teammate Stormy Scott will be in attendance. Fresh off his victory in the fog-riddled feature on Sunday, Scott sits atop the MVT Gulf Coast Region points standings entering Thursday's contest.

Other drivers expected at the Royal Purple Raceway this week include Rick Beebe and Joe Duvall, who teamed up earlier this season and proved to be a formidable duo in Corpus Christi, plus reigning USMTS national champion Rodney 'The Rocket' Sanders, Jake Gallardo, Cade Dillard, Johnny Scott, Jason Krohn, Steve Whiteaker Jr., Tracy Denby Jr., Daniel Hilsabeck, VanderBeek, Shryock, Trevor Egbert, T.J. Steele, Jesse Manning, Philip Houston, Austin Theiss, Adam Penn, John Webb, Jimmy Ray, Ramirez, Michael Walker, Joe Spillman, Darron Fuqua, Sean Jones, Cody Smith, Tim Thomas, Shane Sprinkle, Rory Jordan, Jeff Conner, Casey Penn, Larry Clevenger and more.

A possible $9,000 to win is up for grabs over three days for the USMTS Modifieds. Thursday's winner will take home $2,000 while Friday's first-place finisher pockets $3,000. Saturday's finale will carry a $4,000 top prize.

An open practice on Wednesday from 6-9 p.m. will get the party started. Admission to the grandstands is free on practice night. Pit passes are $20.

USRA Limited Mods will also be on the racing card each night with drivers battling for $500, $1,000 and $1,500 to win, respectively.

On Thursday and Friday, the pit gate opens at 3 p.m., grandstands open at 5 drivers meeting is at 6:30 and racing begins at 7 (all times are one hour earlier on Saturday).

Grandstand admission is $15 each night for adults, $5 for kids ages 6-12 and children 5 and under get in for free. Pit passes are $35 Thursday and Friday, $40 on Saturday.

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

The Royal Purple Raceway is a modern facility with a main grandstand seating capacity of 7,500 which includes fourteen VIP luxury suites and boasts a modern Musco Lighting system suitable for television productions.

The track 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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USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, AMP Energy, Casey's General Stores, COMP Cams, Day Motor Sports, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, 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, Integra Racing Shocks & Springs, Major League Bowhunter, Mesilla Valley Transportation, New Vision Graphics, Olympic Fire Protection, Penn Transport, Road Runner Crane, Road Runner Trucking, 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.