VanderBeek denies Dillard in USMTS barnburner at Heart O' Texas Speedway

ELM MOTT, Texas (Feb. 18) -- Round 2 of USMTS Winter Speedweeks picked up right where it left off last week with another barnburner that came down to the wire Thursday during the 7th Annual Day Motor Sports Texas Spring Nationals at the Heart O' Texas Speedway.

Cade Dillard battled door to door with polesitter J.P. Dowell for the first three laps before slowly pulling away and extending his lead over the 26-car field until the first of three cautions slowed the pace with 15 laps in the books.

Back under green, Dillard again drove away from the pack while Dowell, Austin Arneson, Johnny Scott and Zack VanderBeek waged war for the next four spots.

When the yellow flag waved again on lap 24, Dillard once again watched his sizeable advantage evaporate.

VanderBeek snuck past Arneson on the restart to claim the second position while Hughes jumped up to fourth with Dowell hanging on to fifth. Meanwhile, Ryan Gustin broke into the top 10 after starting 22nd on the grid.

Dillard continued to set the pace for the next dozen orbits with VanderBeek staying close behind and Hughes challenging in every corner, but caution flew over the race with four laps remaining in the 40-lapper.

On the restart, VanderBeek churned away on the high side and began to apply heavy pressure to the race-long leader. With the white flag in the air, Dillard and VanderBeek came to the stripe side by side with VanderBeek just edging Dillard for the top spot.

Coming to the checkered flags, VanderBeek drove around the outside of Dillard as they exited the final turn and crossed the finish line ahead of Dillard by less than three-tenths of a second.

"I think this is my first one (last-lap pass) in an "A" Main, and with this group of guys it's tough to win these deals," an elated VanderBeek said in victory lane. "Last-lap passes are awesome."

While VanderBeek collected $2,000 for claiming his 29th career United States Modified Touring Series victory, Dillard was forced to settle for the runner-up paycheck-his fourth straight top-five finish to start the 2016 campaign.

"It's tough to lead when you don't know where you're supposed to be. You're just kind of a sitting duck," VanderBeek added, "but he (Dillard) raced me clean and I appreciate that. He's a good racer."

Hughes wound up third with Gustin, who won the first-ever USMTS event here on May 5, 2011, roared past 18 competitors en route to a fourth-place finish and the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award.

Arneson rounded out the top five while Jesse Sobbing, Dereck Ramirez, Johnny Scott, Scott Drake and Dowell completed the top ten.

With the win, Dillard took over the lead in the points standings of the Production Jars Southern Region presented by Day Motor Sports. His lead is just one point (371 to 370) over Hughes with VanderBeek (348), Gustin (338) and Sobbing (332) fill the rest of the first five positions.

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.

For unfortunate fans unable to make one or more of these blockbuster events, every lap of every race at every event during USMTS Winter Speedweeks will be broadcast live on RacinDirt.com. Visit www.racindirt.com/livevideo for ordering information.

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.

The third round of USMTS Winter Speedweeks happens at the Ark-La-Tex Speedway for the 5th Annual Cajun Clash on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 25-27, and then wraps up at the Southern Oklahoma Speedway in Ardmore, Okla., Thursday-Saturday, March 3-5.

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.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

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
7th Annual Day Motor Sports Texas Spring Nationals - Night 1 of 3
Heart O' Texas Speedway, Elm Mott, Texas
Thursday, Feb. 18, 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. (1) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
2. (2) 34 Michael Walker (R), Alvarado, Texas.
3. (8) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
4. (5) 11j Justin Radcliff, China Springs, Texas.
5. (7) A1 Phil Dixon, Crosby, Texas.
6. (3) 99 Jeff Needham, Ennis, Texas.
7. (6) 12d Scott Drake, Joplin, Mo.
8. (4) 35g Barry Gifford (R), Ponca City, Okla.

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (2) 10 Austin Arneson, Fargo, N.D.
2. (4) 89c Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas.
3. (1) 4m Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas.
4. (3) 303 Chase Jupe (R), Waco, Texas.
5. (5) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
6. (7) 85 Thomas Tillison Jr., Wellston, Okla.
7. (6) 2s Stormy Scott, Arroyo Hondo, N.M.
8. (8) 4w Tyler Wolff (R), Fayetteville, Ark.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (6) 2 Casey Arneson, Fargo, N.D.
2. (4) 121 Bobby Ruffin (R), Crandall, Texas.
3. (8) 8 Steve Miller, Rosanky, Texas.
4. (7) 4 Cody Bauman (R), Eureka, Ill.
5. (2) 49jr Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
6. (1) 8 Kyle Strickler (R), Mooresville, N.C.
7. (3) 7 John Webb, Pauls Valley, Okla.
8. (5) 8x Chad Thomsen (R), Louisburg, Kan.

PBM PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (3) 13x J.P. Dowell, Killeen, Texas.
2. (4) 99 Jesse Sobbing, Malvern, Iowa.
3. (5) 23k Ben Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan.
4. (7) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
5. (6) 2w Paul White, Temple, Texas.
6. (8) 15h Sam Hafertepe Jr. (R), Rockwall, Texas.
7. (1) 4 Billy Vogel (R), West Fargo, N.D.
8. (2) 13 Jerry Frydrych, Austin, Texas.

DAY MOTOR SPORTS HEAT RACE #5 (8 laps):
1. (2) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La.
2. (5) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
3. (7) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas.
4. (6) 010 Jeremy Willis, Forney, Texas.
5. (1) 88r A.J. Vasquez (R), Garden City, Mich.
6. (4) 13g David Goode, Copperas Cove, Texas.
7. (8) 60 William Gould, Calera, Okla.
8. (3) 9 Kevin Rutherford (R), Flower Mound, Texas.

YOUDIRT.COM HEAT RACE #6 (8 laps):
1. (1) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
2. (2) 49 Chadd Howell (R), Waurika, Okla.
3. (3) 717 George Egbert IV, Salado, Texas.
4. (5) 5 Kevin Green, Waco, Texas.
5. (7) 88xxx Clyde Dunn Jr., Sunnyvale, Texas.
6. (6) 6 Brock Bauman (R), Eureka, Ill.
7. (4) 123 Logan Robertson (R), Shamrock, Texas.

REAL RACING WHEELS "B" MAIN #1 (12 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (1) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas.
2. (2) 23k Ben Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan.
3. (3) 4m Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas.
4. (6) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
5. (5) A1 Phil Dixon, Crosby, Texas, Fast1/CB, $80.
6. (9) 60 William Gould, Calera, Okla., Shaw/BMS, $60.
7. (8) 8 Kyle Strickler (R), Mooresville, N.C., Harris/VED, $80.
8. (7) 15h Sam Hafertepe Jr. (R), Rockwall, Texas, Kraft/Wells, $80.
9. (10) 7 John Webb, Pauls Valley, Okla., MBCustom/Wegner, $80.
10. (4) 11j Justin Radcliff, China Springs, Texas, BMS/Fletcher, $60.
11. (11) 35g Barry Gifford (R), Ponca City, Okla., Shaw/Yeoman, $80.
12. (12) 13 Jerry Frydrych, Austin, Texas, CAM/, $60.

REAL RACING WHEELS "B" MAIN #2 (12 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (1) 34 Michael Walker (R), Alvarado, Texas.
2. (3) 717 George Egbert IV, Salado, Texas.
3. (6) 49jr Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
4. (4) 5 Kevin Green, Waco, Texas.
5. (9) 12d Scott Drake, Joplin, Mo.
6. (7) 85 Thomas Tillison Jr., Wellston, Okla., Hughes/Geddes, $80.
7. (11) 4w Tyler Wolff (R), Fayetteville, Ark.
8. (10) 4 Billy Vogel (R), West Fargo, N.D., LG2/Durham, $80.
9. (2) 4 Cody Bauman (R), Eureka, Ill., GRT/Mullins, $80.
10. (12) 9 Kevin Rutherford (R), Flower Mound, Texas, Shaw/Wes's, $80.
11. (5) 88xxx Clyde Dunn Jr., Sunnyvale, Texas, MBCustom/Mullins, $80.
12. (8) 13g David Goode, Copperas Cove, Texas, GRT/GMPP, $60.

REAL RACING WHEELS "B" MAIN #3 (12 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (1) 49 Chadd Howell (R), Waurika, Okla.
2. (4) 303 Chase Jupe (R), Waco, Texas.
3. (2) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
4. (9) 2s Stormy Scott, Arroyo Hondo, N.M.
5. (5) 2w Paul White, Temple, Texas, Hughes/GMPP, $80.
6. (7) 99 Jeff Needham, Ennis, Texas, Skyrocket/Bailey, $60.
7. (6) 88r A.J. Vasquez (R), Garden City, Mich., LG2/Farris, $80.
8. (11) 8x Chad Thomsen (R), Louisburg, Kan., Shaw/Driskell, $80.
9. (8) 6 Brock Bauman (R), Eureka, Ill., GRT/Mullins, $80.
10. (10) 123 Logan Robertson (R), Shamrock, Texas, Hughes/PPE, $80.
11. (3) 010 Jeremy Willis, Forney, Texas, Sidebiter/Performance, $60.

S&S FISHING & RENTAL "A" MAIN (40 laps):
1. (7) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, LG2/Sput's, 40, $2000.
2. (2) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La., MBCustom/Geddes, 40, $1500.
3. (6) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $1000.
4. (22) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, 40, $800.
5. (3) 10 Austin Arneson, Fargo, N.D., GRT/Durham, 40, $700.
6. (12) 99 Jesse Sobbing, Malvern, Iowa, Harris/GMPP, 40, $650.
7. (8) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., LG2/Cornett, 40, $600.
8. (4) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., Lethal/Durham, 40, $550.
9. (25) 12d Scott Drake, Joplin, Mo., MBCustom/GMPP, 40, $500.
10. (1) 13x J.P. Dowell, Killeen, Texas, GRT/Wornhor, 40, $300.
11. (16) 23k Ben Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan., LG2/Speedway, 40, $425.
12. (11) 121 Bobby Ruffin (R), Crandall, Texas, LG2/M&M, 40, $400.
13. (20) 49jr Jake Timm, Winona, Minn., LG2/BuckBuilt, 40, $375.
14. (9) 8 Steve Miller, Rosanky, Texas, Rocket/TRD, 40, $350.
15. (10) 89c Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas, GRT/Durham, 40, $400.
16. (18) 303 Chase Jupe (R), Waco, Texas, GRT/Mullins, 40, $300.
17. (13) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas, MBCustom/Geddes, 40, $300.
18. (26) 4w Tyler Wolff (R), Fayetteville, Ark., MBCustom/Hatfield, 40, $400.
19. (23) 5 Kevin Green, Waco, Texas, Shaw/, 40, $200.
20. (19) 4m Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas, Rocket/LRE, 40, $300.
21. (15) 49 Chadd Howell (R), Waurika, Okla., GRT/Geddes, 40, $300.
22. (21) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., MBCustom/Wornhor, 40, $400.
23. (14) 34 Michael Walker (R), Alvarado, Texas, Kraft/ProPower, 40, $300.
24. (5) 2 Casey Arneson, Fargo, N.D., GRT/Durham, 35, $400.
25. (24) 2s Stormy Scott, Arroyo Hondo, N.M., Lethal/Mullins, 22, $300.
26. (17) 717 George Egbert IV, Salado, Texas, MBCustom/Mullins, 21, $300.

(R) = Rookie of the Year contender.

Lap Leaders: Dillard 1-38, VanderBeek 39-40.
Total Laps Led: Dillard 38, VanderBeek 2.
Margin of Victory: 0.267 second.
Provisional Starters: Drake, Wolff.
Sybesma Graphics Pole Award: C. Arneson.
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Gustin (started 22nd, finished 4th).
Entries: 47.
Next Race: Friday, Feb. 19, Heart O' Texas Speedway, Elm Mott, Texas.
Production Jars Southern Region Points: Dillard 371, Hughes 370, VanderBeek 348, Gustin 338, Sobbing 332, Duvall 300, Drake 294, Whiteaker 269, Wolff 267, Kates 265.
Rookie of the Year Points: Wolff 267, B. Bauman 231, Jupe 225, Vogel 222, Howell 221.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 37, Geddes 36, Sput's 31, GMPP 27, Durham 20.
Manufacturers Championship Points: Hughes 37, MBCustoms 36, LG2 33, Harris 28, GRT 26.

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

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

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, Rivers Edge Scrap Management, Snickers, Sour Patch Kids, YouDirt.com.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Allstar Performance, Bell Helmets, 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.

##

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