Hughes net $4,000 in USMTS finale at Shady Oaks Speedway

GOLIAD, Texas (Feb. 13) -- The USMTS Casey's Cup powered by S&S Fishing & Rental put the wraps on opening weekend of USMTS Speedweeks Saturday at the Shady Oaks Speedway and Jason Hughes put a bow on a strong weekend with a $4,000 victory.

After starting eighth, Hughes quickly moved toward the front of the field and muscled his way around Zack VanderBeek for third on lap 6 before joining a three-way fight for the lead with Bobby Malchus and Thursday night's winner, Rodney Sanders.

The defending USMTS national champ's job got a lot easier on lap 10 after Sanders made hard contact with Malchus. The result of the skirmish saw Malchus spinning while Sanders sailed over the turn 3 embankment.

While Sanders retired to the pits, Malchus, by rule, was unfortunately relegated to the rear of the pack for the restart which Hughes had the honor of pacing.

Ryan Gustin inherited the second spot and Cade Dillard assumed third when the pack went back to green flag racing, but neither was ever able to mount a serious challenge to Hughes who sailed to his 134th career United States Modified Touring Series triumph.

Behind Gustin and Dillard, VanderBeek held on for a fourth-place paycheck while 13th-starting Jesse Sobbing rounded out the top five finishers. Sixth through tenth were Casey Arneson,
Scott Drake, Cody Leonard, Joe Duvall and Steve Whiteaker Jr.

Duvall, who started next to Malchus on the front row, recovered from a lap-2 spin and clawed his way back to finish ninth, but Dillard went home with the KSE Hard Charger Award after passing 11 competitors from 14th on the starting grid.

After three events in the Production Jars Southern Region presented by Day Motor Sports, Hughes leads Dillard by one point (279 to 273) in the points standings. Gustin is third with 251 markers, followed by Sobbing (251), Duvall (248), VanderBeek (247), Drake (220), Tyler Wolff (211), Arneson (210) and Steve Whiteaker Jr. (207).

Round 2 of USMTS Winter Speedweeks moves to north to the Heart O' Texas Speedway outside of Waco, Texas, for the 7th Annual Day Motor Sports Texas Spring Nationals next Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 18-20.

Three complete shows are in the works with Wednesday practice from 6-9 p.m. Grandstand admission is free and pit passes are $20.

On Thursday, racing begins at 7:30 p.m. with USMTS Modifieds battling for $2,000 to win and Limited Mods racing for $500 to win. Spectator admission is $15 for adults, kids ages 6-12 are $5 and 5 and under are free. Pit passes are $35.

Friday's show will start at 8 p.m. with USMTS Modifieds racing for a $3,000 top prize while Limited Mods race for $600 to win and I-Stocks for $300 to win. Spectator admission is $15 for adults, kids ages 6-12 are $5 and 5 and under are free. Pit passes are $35

Saturday night will feature the same three classes with even bigger payouts. USMTS Modifieds will be going for $4,000 to win, Limited Mods $700 to win and I-Stocks $400 to win. Spectator admission is $20 for adults, kids ages 6-12 are $5 and 5 and under are free. Pit passes are $40.

The Heart O' Texas Speedway is a semi-banked 1/3-mile clay oval just off of I-35 at exit 343 (FM 308), then 0.6 mile north on east frontage road. For more information, call 254-829-2294 or check out www.heartotexspeedway.com online.

USMTS Winter Speedweeks resumes at the Ark-La-Tex Speedway in Vivian, La., Feb. 25-27, and then wraps up at the Southern Oklahoma Speedway in Ardmore, Okla., March 3-5.

Each show will pay $2,000, $3,000 and $4,000 to win, respectively, and will comprise the first dozen events in the Production Jars Southern Region presented by Day Motor Sports. RacinDirt.com will carry the action live from all four events.

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 and Instagram at www.instagram.com/usmts or subscribe to 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 S&S Fishing & Rental - Production Jars Southern Region presented by Day Motor Sports
Shady Oaks Speedway, Goliad, Texas
Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine builder, laps completed and money won. The top 12 drivers in passing points accumulated in the heat races were locked into the "A" Main, with the top 8 re-drawing for starting positions 1-8.

MSD HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (3) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
2. (2) 4m Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas.
3. (1) 35g Barry Gifford (R), Ponca City, Okla.
4. (5) 99 Jesse Sobbing, Malvern, Iowa.
5. (7) 42w Tyler Wolff (R), Fayetteville, Ark.
6. (9) 49jr Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
7. (4) 77 Garrett Gregory (R), Tomball, Texas.
8. (8) 8 Steve Miller, Rosanky, Texas.
9. (6) 4 Cody Bauman (R), Eureka, Ill.

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (1) 2 Casey Arneson, Fargo, N.D.
2. (2) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas.
3. (8) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
4. (4) 34 Mickey Lassiter (R), Piedmont, Okla.
5. (5) 12 Cody Leonard, Sinton, Texas.
6. (3) 34 Michael Walker (R), Alvarado, Texas.
7. (6) 38 Ronnie Gould III, Seminole, Okla.
8. (7) 68 Brandon Watson (R), Denison, Texas.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (1) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
2. (2) 10 Austin Arneson, Fargo, N.D.
3. (6) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
4. (4) 6 Brock Bauman (R), Eureka, Ill.
5. (7) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La.
6. (5) 12d Scott Drake, Joplin, Mo.
7. (3) 29 Jamie Campbell, Adkins, Texas.
8. (8) 89c Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas.

PBM PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (1) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
2. (2) 303 Chase Jupe (R), Waco, Texas.
3. (3) 21t Lance Town, Wellsville, Kan.
4. (4) 49 Chadd Howell (R), Waurika, Okla.
5. (7) 23k Ben Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan.
6. (5) 4 Billy Vogel (R), West Fargo, N.D.
7. (6) 137 William Pittaway, Corpus Christi, Texas.
8. (8) 15L Chris Lewis, Springdale, Ark.

REAL RACING WHEELS "B" MAIN #1 (10 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (1) 99 Jesse Sobbing, Malvern, Iowa.
2. (5) 12 Cody Leonard, Sinton, Texas.
3. (6) 12d Scott Drake, Joplin, Mo.
4. (3) 4w Tyler Wolff (R), Fayetteville, Ark.
5. (2) 6 Brock Bauman (R), Eureka, Ill.
6. (4) 23k Ben Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan.
7. (10) 89c Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas.
8. (7) 77 Garrett Gregory (R), Tomball, Texas, LG2/CHB, $100.
9. (9) 8 Steve Miller, Rosanky, Texas, Rocket/TRD, $100.
10. (8) 29 Jamie Campbell, Adkins, Texas, DirtWorks/Mission, $80.
11. (11) 4 Cody Bauman (R), Eureka, Ill., GRT/Mullins, $100.

REAL RACING WHEELS "B" MAIN #2 (10 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (3) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La.
2. (4) 49jr Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
3. (6) 4 Billy Vogel (R), West Fargo, N.D.
4. (5) 34 Michael Walker (R), Alvarado, Texas.
5. (1) 34 Mickey Lassiter (R), Piedmont, Okla.
6. (9) 68 Brandon Watson (R), Denison, Texas, GRT/Wornhor, $100.
7. (7) 38 Ronnie Gould III, Seminole, Okla., MBCustom/Mullins, $100.
8. (8) 137 William Pittaway, Corpus Christi, Texas, Shaw/KSE, $80.
9. (10) 15L Chris Lewis, Springdale, Ark., TRE/GNS, $80.
10. (2) 49 Chadd Howell (R), Waurika, Okla., GRT/Geddes, $100.

CASEY'S GENERAL STORES "A" MAIN (40 laps):
1. (8) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $4000.
2. (7) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, 40, $2700.
3. (14) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La., MBCustom/Geddes, 40, $1800.
4. (6) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, LG2/Sput's, 40, $1200.
5. (13) 99 Jesse Sobbing, Malvern, Iowa, Harris/GMPP, 40, $900.
6. (5) 2 Casey Arneson, Fargo, N.D., GRT/Durham, 40, $800.
7. (17) 12d Scott Drake, Joplin, Mo., MBCustom/GMPP, 40, $700.
8. (15) 12 Cody Leonard, Sinton, Texas, Harris/Wells, 40, $450.
9. (2) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., MBCustom/Mullins, 40, $600.
10. (24) 89c Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas, GRT/Durham, 40, $550.
11. (10) 303 Chase Jupe (R), Waco, Texas, GRT/Mullins, 40, $500.
12. (19) 4w Tyler Wolff (R), Fayetteville, Ark., MBCustom/Hatfield, 40, $450.
13. (16) 49jr Jake Timm, Winona, Minn., LG2/BuckBuilt, 40, $425.
14. (22) 34 Mickey Lassiter (R), Piedmont, Okla., GRT/Sput's, 40, $400.
15. (1) 4m Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas, Rocket/LRE, 40, $375.
16. (12) 21t Lance Town, Wellsville, Kan., Phoenix/Driskell, 40, $350.
17. (9) 10 Austin Arneson, Fargo, N.D., GRT/Durham, 40, $350.
18. (20) 34 Michael Walker (R), Alvarado, Texas, Kraft/ProPower, 40, $350.
19. (23) 23k Ben Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan., LG2/Speedway, 40, $350.
20. (11) 35g Barry Gifford (R), Ponca City, Okla., Shaw/Yeoman, 40, $350.
21. (18) 4 Billy Vogel (R), West Fargo, N.D., LG2/Durham, 40, $350.
22. (21) 6 Brock Bauman (R), Eureka, Ill., GRT/Mullins, 40, $350.
23. (3) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustom/Geddes, 40, $350.
24. (4) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas, MBCustom/Geddes, 40, $350.

(R) = Rookie of the Year contender.

Lap Leaders: Malchus 1-10, Hughes 11-40.
Total Laps Led: Hughes 30, Malchus 10.
Margin of Victory: 0.749 second.
Provisional Starters: Kates, Whiteaker.
Sybesma Graphics Pole Award: Gustin.
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Dillard (started 14th, finished 3rd).
Entries: 33.
Next Race: Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 18-20, Heart O' Texas Speedway, Elm Mott, Texas.
Production Jars Southern Region Points: Hughes 279, Dillard 273, Gustin 251, Sobbing 251, Duvall 248, VanderBeek 247, Drake 220, Wolff 211, C. Arneson 210, Whiteaker 207.
Rookie of the Year Points: Wolff 211, B. Bauman 186, Vogel 177, Howell 168, Jupe 165.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 29, Geddes 27, GMPP 21, Sput's 21, Durham 13.
Manufacturers Championship Points: Hughes 29 MBCustoms 27, LG2 23, Harris 22, GRT 19.

Contingency Awards:
Allstar Performance - Leonard.
American Racer - Malchus.
Beyea Custom Headers - Sobbing.
BSB Manufacturing - Vogel.
Day Motor Sports - Sanders, Houston.
Deatherage Opticians - Gifford.
Edelbrock - Sanders.
Eibach Springs - Wolff.
Fast Shafts - C. Arneson.
FK Rod Ends - Malchus.
Forty9Designs.com - Lassiter, Kates.
Fuel Safe - C. Arneson.
GRT Race Cars - Jupe.
Hooker Harness - Timm.
Integra Shocks & Springs - Walker.
Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Service - Town.
Kevko Oil Pans & Components - Duvall.
Keyser Manufacturing - Whiteaker.
KSE Racing Products - Dillard.
Midwest Sheet Metal - Malchus.
MSD - Gustin, Hughes.
PBM Performance Products - VanderBeek, Hughes.
QA1 - Hughes.
Real Racing Wheels - non-qualifiers.
Sybesma Graphics - Gustin.
VP Racing Fuels - Hughes.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products - Jupe.
Wilwood Engineering - Drake.

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USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Argo Manufacturing, Casey's General Stores, Chix Gear Racewear, COMP Cams, CP-Carrillo, Day Motor Sports, Deatherage Opticians, Fast Shafts, Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Service, Kevko Oil Pans & Components, KSE Racing Products, Leaf Racewear & Safety Equipment, Malvern Trust & Savings Bank, MSD, RacerWebsite.com, RacinDirt.com, RealTruck.com, S&S Fishing & Rental, The Joie of Seating, VP Racing Fuels.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: AMP Energy Drink, Arizona Sport Shirts, ASi Racewear, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Duvall Electric, ElbowsUp.com, Erson Cams, I-29 Trailer Sales, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Oreo, Production Jars, RACEceiver, Rivers Edge Scrap Management, Snickers, Sour Patch Kids, YouDirt.com.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Allstar Performance, Beyea Custom Headers, BSB Manufacturing, Driven Racing Oil, Edelbrock, Eibach Springs, FK Rod Ends, Forty9 Designs, Fuel Safe Racing Cells, Genesis Racing Shocks, GRT Race Cars, Holley Performance Products, Hooker Custom Harness, Integra Shocks & Springs, Keyser Manufacturing, Midwest Sheet Metal, PBM Performance Products, QA1 Precision Products, Quarter Master, Real Racing Wheels, Sybesma Graphics, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, Wilwood Engineering, Zero One Shocks & Service.

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Contact Info:
Jeff Nun
Communications Director
United States Modified Touring Series, Inc. (USMTS)
1715 W. 2nd St., P.O. Box 905
Webster City, IA 50595
Tel: 515-297-3835
Email: jeff@usmts.com
Web: www.usmts.com