Ramirez returns to winner's circle at Royal Purple Raceway
BAYTOWN, Texas-Friday night at the Royal Purple Raceway, Dereck Ramirez returned to the winner's circle for the second time this season with a wire-to-wire win on the second night of the 6th Annual USMTS Texas Spring Nationals presented by Double H Bands.

Just a few hours south last Friday, the 28-year-old from Woodward, Okla., was the benefactor of Johnny Scott's late-race mechanical woes at the Shady Oaks Speedway, but this time Ramirez never trailed.

"Last night I was kicking myself in the butt, had a good enough car to win the race and it was all my fault," Ramirez said. "I just tried to get a little lower on the racetrack and hit a tractor tire and ruined my night, but tonight we got way away from the tires so it was a good thing. It was kind of an abusive track and it kind of wore me out. Guess I need to get in shape, maybe go work out."

Despite starting on the pole, turning consistent lap times and weaving through lapped traffic without any issues, Ramirez could never get away from Kyle Pleasant and Jason Hughes, and knew that leading the first lap right away was key.

"It was pretty important," Ramirez said. "I knew that if they got their momentum on the top there that I was done so I got a god jump on the start, put her on the top and just never came off my line. I saw Hughes duck underneath me at the end, so thank goodness I came up on some lapped cars and used them as a pick. It was a good car tonight."

Pleasant started on the outside of Ramirez on the front row and followed in his tire tracks for the entire 40-lap distance, all the while having to deal with a pesky Hughes who scoured the bottom of the racing surface trying to find a way around.

Hughes made a final dive to the bottom at the end, but Ramirez held his ground to pass the checkered flag first while Pleasant roared back around the outside and nipped Hughes by a bumper for the runner-up spot.

The win, worth $3,000, was the fourth for Ramirez in his United States Modified Touring Series career, with three of those coming on the 3/8-mile in Baytown, Texas.

Clyde Dunn Jr. followed up his third-place finish the previous night with a fourth on Friday while John O Whittington was close behind to round out the top five.

The rest of the top 10 had to fight for everything they got too.

Rookie contender Jesse Sobbing came from 15 on the starting grid to take sixth, Philip Houston passed four cars to finish seventh, veteran Eddie Martin nabbed eighth after starting 13th, Fito Gallardo went from 18th to ninth and last night's winner, Austin Arneson, used a provisional starting spot and passed 15 cars to claim the tenth position.

Midway through Friday's feature race, last year's USMTS Rookie of the Year, Cade Dillard, took a scary ride when his throttle stuck and launched his No. 97 machine hard into the turn 3 concrete barrier.

Although the car suffered extensive damage, Dillard was able to climb out and walk away without serious injury.

The sixth event in the USMTS Casey's Cup Series powered by S&S Fishing & Rental happens Saturday night at the Royal Purple Raceway with a $4,000-to-win show and the third round of the 6th Annual USMTS Texas Spring Nationals presented by Double H Bands.

The pit gate opens at 2 p.m., grandstands open at 4, the driver's meeting is at 5:30 and racing begins at 6 p.m. Grandstand admission is $15 for adults, $5 for kids ages 6-12 and children 5 and under get in for free. Pit passes are $40 on Saturday.

For those unable to attend in person, RacinDirt.com will carry all of the action live online with flag-to-flag action from start to finish. Visit www.RacinDirt.com for 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 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 Series powered by S&S Fishing & Rental - MVT Gulf Coast Border Region presented by Day Motor Sports
6th Annual USMTS Texas Spring Nationals presented by Double H Bands
Royal Purple Raceway, Baytown, Texas
Friday, Feb. 20, 2015

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. (2) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
2. (4) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La.
3. (7) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas.
4. (6) 89c Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas.
5. (8) 29 Preston Seratt (R), Dyersburg, Tenn.
6. (10) 21 Chris Brown, Spring, Texas.
7. (3) 2 Casey Arneson (R), Fargo, N.D.
8. (1) 9 Kevin Rutherford (R), Flower Mound, Texas.
9. (5) 23k Ben Kates (R), Tonganoxie, Kan.
10. (9) 4 Billy Vogel, West Fargo, N.D.

HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (1) J17 Jake Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.
2. (5) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
3. (7) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
4. (3) 4m Dev Malmlov, Moorhead, Minn.
5. (9) 99 Jesse Sobbing (R), Glenwood, Iowa.
6. (4) 7d Austin Theiss (R), Hockley, Texas.
7. (8) 16g Bubba Gates, Santa Fe, Texas.
8. (6) 5 Shane Sprinkle, Andrews, Texas.
9. (2) 6 Brock Bauman (R), Eureka, Ill.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (3) C8 Timothy Culp, Sheridan, Ark.
2. (5) 23 Howard Willis, Dayton, Texas.
3. (6) 77 Garrett Gregory, Tomball, Texas.
4. (2) 16 Chris Henigan, Marshall, Texas.
5. (9) 38 Ronnie Gould III (R), Seminole, Okla.
6. (7) 29 Keith Hammett, Brookland, Ark.
7. (8) 7jr Chad Ewell, Forney, Texas.
8. (4) 59 Bob Sammann, Winona, Minn.
9. (1) 51 Tim Boudreaux, Cleveland, Texas.

PBM PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (1) 88xxx Clyde Dunn Jr., Sunnyvale, Texas.
2. (2) 4s T.J. Steele (R), Winnsboro, Texas.
3. (3) G17 Fito Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.
4. (4) 87 John Webb, Pauls Valley, Okla.
5. (7) 34 Noah Daspit, Kiln, Miss.
6. (9) 410 Brad Doherty, Ennis, Texas.
7. (8) 21 Van Gemmill, Ponca City, Okla.
8. (6) 27 Chase Delrio, West Monroe, La.
9. (5) 18a Landon Atkinson (R), Little Falls, Minn.

HEAT RACE #5 (8 laps):
1. (3) 5w John O Whittington, Vidor, Texas.
2. (1) 73 Donovan Lodge, Moline, Ill.
3. (7) 83 Eddie Martin, Stilwell, Okla.
4. (4) A1 Phil Dixon, Crosby, Texas.
5. (9) 2 Earl Whatley, Alvin, Texas.
6. (8) SB2 Shane Bias, Everton, Mo.
7. (6) 10 Austin Arneson (R), Fargo, N.D.
8. (2) 4 Cody Bauman (R), Eureka, Ill.
9. (5) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.

HEAT RACE #6 (8 laps):
1. (2) 1* Adam Penn, Shreveport, La.
2. (6) 6x Kyle Pleasant, Natchitoches, La.
3. (3) 5a Josh Beckham, Choudrant, La.
4. (7) 2 Grant Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.
5. (1) 99jr Rick Henry Jr., Pearland, Texas.
6. (4) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo.
7. (8) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Adel, Iowa.
8. (9) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
9. (5) 14k Stan Kraly, New Orleans, La.

REAL RACING WHEELS "B" MAIN #1 (12 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (1) 83 Eddie Martin, Stilwell, Okla.
2. (3) 5a Josh Beckham, Choudrant, La.
3. (10) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Adel, Iowa.
4. (2) 73 Donovan Lodge, Moline, Ill.
5. (6) A1 Phil Dixon, Crosby, Texas, Fast1/Jackson, $70.
6. (13) 23k Ben Kates (R), Tonganoxie, Kan., Harris/Mullins, $90.
7. (7) 410 Brad Doherty, Ennis, Texas, GRT/Hatfield, $70.
8. (5) 4m Dev Malmlov, Moorhead, Minn., Victory/Mullins, $70.
9. (11) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., MBCustom/Mullins, $90.
10. (14) 18a Landon Atkinson (R), Little Falls, Minn., LG2/Sput's, $90.
11. (9) 16g Bubba Gates, Santa Fe, Texas, DustDevil/, $70.
12. (4) 38 Ronnie Gould III (R), Seminole, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, $90.
13. (8) 29 Keith Hammett, Brookland, Ark., Bandit/Performance, $70.
14. (12) 59 Bob Sammann, Winona, Minn., LG2/KSE, $90.
15. (15) 4 Billy Vogel, West Fargo, N.D., LG2/Durham, $70.

REAL RACING WHEELS "B" MAIN #2 (12 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (1) 77 Garrett Gregory, Tomball, Texas.
2. (2) 2 Grant Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.
3. (3) 89c Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas.
4. (5) 16 Chris Henigan, Marshall, Texas.
5. (6) 34 Noah Daspit, Kiln, Miss., Hughes/Wall2Wall, $70.
6. (8) 7d Austin Theiss (R), Hockley, Texas, MBCustom/Mullins, $90.
7. (10) 2 Casey Arneson (R), Fargo, N.D., GRT/Durham, $90.
8. (4) 2 Earl Whatley, Alvin, Texas, Fast1/Durham, $70.
9. (9) 7jr Chad Ewell, Forney, Texas, GRT/Sisk, $70.
10. (11) 9 Kevin Rutherford (R), Flower Mound, Texas, /, $90.
11. (13) 6 Brock Bauman (R), Eureka, Ill., Impressive/Gade, $90.
12. (7) 99Jr Rick Henry Jr., Pearland, Texas, Shaw/Henry, $70.
13. (12) 27 Chase Delrio, West Monroe, La., Hughes/Mullins, $70.
14. (14) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.

REAL RACING WHEELS "B" MAIN #2 (12 laps, top 4 advance):
1. (3) 99 Jesse Sobbing (R), Glenwood, Iowa.
2. (2) G17 Fito Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M.
3. (4) 29 Preston Seratt (R), Dyersburg, Tenn.
4. (6) 21 Chris Brown, Spring, Texas.
5. (10) 10 Austin Arneson (R), Fargo, N.D.
6. (8) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo., GRT/Mullins, $70.
7. (9) 21 Van Gemmill, Ponca City, Okla., Skyrocket/Sput's, $90.
8. (5) 87 John Webb, Pauls Valley, Okla., MBCustom/Wagner, $70.
9. (11) 5 Shane Sprinkle, Andrews, Texas, MBCustom/PPE, $90.
10. (13) 51 Tim Boudreaux, Cleveland, Texas, Skyrocket/Cleat, $70.
11. (7) SB2 Shane Bias, Everton, Mo., Shaw/Creason, $70.
12. (14) 14k Stan Kraly, New Orleans, La., Skyrocket/ProPower, $70.
13. (1) 4s T.J. Steele (R), Winnsboro, Texas, GRT/Mullins, $90.
14. (12) 4 Cody Bauman (R), Eureka, Ill., Impressive/Gade, $90

CASEY'S GENERAL STORES "A" MAIN (40 laps):
1. (1) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., LG2/Cornett, $3000.
2. (2) 6x Kyle Pleasant, Natchitoches, La., MBCustom/Hatfield, $1700.
3. (4) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, $1200.
4. (9) 88xxx Clyde Dunn Jr., Sunnyvale, Texas, MBCustom/Mullins, $1000.
5. (6) 5w John O Whittington, Vidor, Texas, Pierce/CB, $800.
6. (15) 99 Jesse Sobbing (R), Glenwood, Iowa, MBCustom/Sput's, $700.
7. (11) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas, MBCustom/PPE, $600.
8. (13) 83 Eddie Martin, Stilwell, Okla., Kraft/Gaerte, $550.
9. (18) G17 Fito Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M., LG2/Dynamic, $500.
10. (25) 10 Austin Arneson (R), Fargo, N.D., GRT/Durham, $450.
11. (24) 21 Chris Brown, Spring, Texas, LG2/Durham, $400.
12. (3) 1* Adam Penn, Shreveport, La., Hughes/Mullins, $375.
13. (8) J17 Jake Gallardo, Las Cruces, N.M., LG2/AOS, $350.
14. (14) 77 Garrett Gregory, Tomball, Texas, LG2/Durham, $275.
15. (12) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, LG2/Sput's, $400.
16. (17) 2 Grant Junghans, Manhattan, Kan., MBCustom/Sput's, $325.
17. (19) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Adel, Iowa, Hilsabeck/Mullins, $325.
18. (5) C8 Timothy Culp, Sheridan, Ark., Hughes/Sput's, $275.
19. (22) 73 Donovan Lodge, Moline, Ill., Kraft/105, $325.
20. (7) 23 Howard Willis, Dayton, Texas, Evolution/Fox, $325.
21. (16) 5a Josh Beckham, Choudrant, La., GRT/Sput's, $275.
22. (10) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La., LG2/Geddes, $400.
23. (21) 29 Preston Seratt (R), Dyersburg, Tenn., MBCustom/Sput's, $325.
24. (26) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., Hughes/Mullins, $400.
25. (23) 16 Chris Henigan, Marshall, Texas, GRT/Sput's, $325.
26. (20) 89c Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas, GRT/Mullins, $400.

(R) = Rookie of the Year contender.

Lap Leaders: Ramirez 1-40.
Total Laps Led: Ramirez 40.
Margin of Victory: 0.888 second.
Provisional Starters: A. Arneson, Scott.
Sybesma Graphics Pole Award: Culp.
Hard Charger: Brown (started 24th, finished 11th).
Entries: 55.
Next Race: Saturday, Feb. 20, Royal Purple Raceway, Baytown, Texas.
MVT Gulf Coast Border Region Points: Hughes 459, Ramirez 415, Houston 393, A. Arneson 392, Sobbing 388, VanderBeek 364, Dillard 352, Penn 334, Scott 331, Junghans 329.
Rookie of the Year Points: A. Arneson 392, Sobbing 388, C. Arneson 311, Kates 310, Theiss 282.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 46, Sput's 37, Cornett 35, Durham 31, PPE 31.
Manufacturers Championship Points: Hughes 45, LG2 42, GRT 41, MBCustom 39, Hilsabeck 23.

Contingency Awards:
AERO Race Wheels - Whiteaker.
Allstar Performance - Martin.
American Racer - Junghans.
Beyea Custom Headers - Whittington.
BSB Manufacturing - not awarded.
Chix Gear Racewear - Hughes.
Deatherage Opticians - Pleasant.
Edelbrock - Dunn.
Eibach Springs - Penn.
FK Rod Ends - VanderBeek.
Forty9Designs.com - Lodge.
Fuel Safe - Sobbing.
GRT Race Cars - Steele.
Hooker Harness - J. Gallardo.
KEVKO Oil Pans & Components - F. Gallardo.
Keyser Manufacturing - A. Arneson.
KSE Racing Products - J. Gallardo.
Marsh Racing Wheels - Henigan.
Midwest Sheet Metal - Dillard.
MSD Ignition - Hughes, Ramirez.
PBM Performance Products - Ramirez.
QA1 - Ramirez.
R2C Performance Products - Pleasant.
Real Racing Wheels - all non-qualifiers.
Sybesma Graphics - not awarded.
Tilton Engineering - Dunn.
VP Racing Fuels - Ramirez.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products - Brown.
Wilwood Disc Brakes - Houston.

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USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Casey's General Stores, Chix Gear Racewear, COMP Cams, Day Motor Sports, Deatherage Opticians, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, Fast Shafts, Intercomp, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, MSD, Nitroquest Media Group, RACEceiver, RacinDirt.com, S&S Fishing & Rental, VP Racing Fuels.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Arizona Sport Shirts, ASi Racewear, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Double H Bands, Duvall Electric, ElbowsUp.com, Integra Racing Shocks & Springs, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Olympic Fire Protection, Rivers Edge Scrap Management, Schwab's Tinker Shop, UMotors Motorsports & Marine, Velocita-USA.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AERO Race Wheels, AFCO Racing Products, Allstar Performance, Bell Racing Helmets, Beyea Custom Headers, BSB Manufacturing, CPD Racing Tools, Crane Cams, Driven Racing Oil, Edelbrock, Eibach Springs, FK Rod Ends, Forty9 Designs, Fuel Safe, Genesis Racing Shocks, GRT Race Cars, Holley Performance, Hooker Custom Harness, JRi Shocks, Keyser Manufacturing, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, PBM Performance Products, QA1 Precision Products, Quarter Master, R2C Performance, Real Racing Wheels, Simpson Performance Products, Sybesma Graphics, Tilton Engineering, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes.

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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