Sanders in seventh heaven at Heart O' Texas Speedway
ELM MOTT, Texas-By taking advantage of the road less traveled and a timely late-race restart, Rodney Sanders of Happy, Texas, rolled to his seventh straight United States Modified Touring Series victory Tuesday night at the Heart O' Texas Speedway near Waco.

After two straight years of rained-out events for the USMTS Casey's Cup powered by S&S Fishing & Rental at the high-banked quarter-mile clay oval, the return of the high-powered USMTS machines drew a huge middle-of-the-week crowd to the track.

Riding an historic six-race winning streak into Tuesday's event, Sanders struggled in his heat race and later claimed the first of two Real Racing Wheels "B" Mains to advance to the main event where he started 13th.

With Sanders six rows behind, polesitter Dereck Ramirez of Woodward, Okla., led the field to the green flag to start the 40-lap "A" Main and quickly took control with Stormy Scott, Steve Whiteaker Jr., Cody Smith, Clyde Dunn Jr. and others giving chase.

By the halfway point in the race, Ramirez had nearly a three-second lead over his nearest pursuer and looked poised to claim his third win of the season.

Meanwhile, Sanders was holding his own in the seventh spot by utilizing the high side of the speedway while most of the other 24 starters found the short way around to their liking, but still nearly half a track behind the leader.

After an opening-lap caution, the race's second yellow flag waved with 26 laps in the books and Ramirez leading Whiteaker, Smith, Dunn, Triston Dycus, Sanders and Scott back to the green flag for the restart.

As the field screamed through the first corner, heartbreak struck for Ramirez as a faulty fuel pump killed the power on his machine and forced him to pull into the infield and out of the race while Smith was able to slip past Whiteaker to take over the lead.

Smelling blood in the water, Sanders continued to pound away at the extreme high side of the track. He raced by Dycus on the restart, drove past Dunn on lap 27 and whizzed by Whiteaker on lap 28.

Coming to the start-finish line to complete the 29th lap, Sanders shot from the top of the track and squirted underneath Smith as they entered the first turn and powered into the lead as they raced down the back-stretch.

From that point forward, Sanders scooted around the low side of the racing surface and expanded his advantage over the final ten laps to claim his seventh straight $3,000 victory.

Sweetening the celebration for Sanders was winning for his dad, Marcus, who celebrated his birthday watching his son claim his 56th career triumph.

Whiteaker continued his strong USMTS Southern Speedweek with a runner-up finish while Cade Dillard powered to a third-place finish ahead of Dunn.

Grant Junghans, who won the other Real Racing Wheels "B" Main earlier, came from 14th to finish fifth while Bobby Malchus, Smith, Scott, Justin Radcliff and Kevin Rutherford rounded out the top 10.

USMTS Southern Speedweek action moves to the Devil's Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas, on Wednesday night.

Pit gates open at 4 p.m. and the grandstands open at 6 with the first heat race at 8 p.m.

Adult tickets are $20 while seniors age 60 and older, members of the military and youth ages 13-15 get in for $10. There is no admission charge for kids ages 12 and under. Pit passes are $30.

The event will also feature Limited Modifieds racing for $1,000 to win.

The Devil's Bowl Speedway is a high-banked, D-shaped half-mile dirt oval located 3.2 miles south of US 80 on Lawson Rd. For more information call 972-222-2421 (tickets) or 972-222-2818 (office) or visit www.devilsbowl.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 - Double H Bands Southern Region presented by Day Motor Sports
4th Annual Event
Heart O' Texas Speedway, Elm Mott, Texas
Tuesday, June 23, 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. (1) 18s Cody Smith, Kaufman, Texas.
2. (3) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La.
3. (5) 4m Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas.
4. (7) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Adel, Iowa.
5. (8) 38 Ronnie Gould III (R), Seminole, Okla.
6. (6) 7x Rory Jordan, Victoria, Texas.
7. (4) 64 Jay Sale, Edmond, Okla.
8. (2) 1b Brandon Hood, McGregor, Texas.

DAY MOTOR SPORTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (2) 5* Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
2. (4) 89c Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas.
3. (6) 11j Justin Radcliff, China Springs, Texas.
4. (1) 715 J.P. Dowell, Killeen, Texas.
5. (5) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
6. (7) 24b Chris Bragg (R), Springtown, Texas.
7. (3) 123 Logan Robertson (R), Shamrock, Texas.
8. (8) 11 Dustin Allen (R), Enid, Okla.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (1) 14t Triston Dycus, Waxahachie, Texas.
2. (6) 45t Eric Tomlinson, Waco, Texas.
3. (2) 2 Grant Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.
4. (5) 5w John Whittington, Vidor, Texas.
5. (7) 99 Jesse Sobbing (R), Malvern, Iowa.
6. (4) 2 Casey Arneson (R), Fargo, N.D.
7. (3) 5 Shane Sprinkle, Andrews, Texas.
8. (8) 30 Chase Allen, Midlothian, Texas.

PBM PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (3) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
2. (7) 88xxx Clyde Dunn Jr., Sunnyvale, Texas.
3. (5) 9 Kevin Rutherford, Flower Mound, Texas.
4. (8) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
5. (2) 13 Jerry Frydrych, Austin, Texas.
6. (4) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas.
7. (6) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
8. (1) 707 P.J. Egbert, Copperas Cove, Texas.

REAL RACING WHEELS "B" MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (4) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
2. (1) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Adel, Iowa.
3. (2) 5w John Whittington, Vidor, Texas.
4. (3) 715 J.P. Dowell, Killeen, Texas.
5. (6) 2 Casey Arneson (R), Fargo, N.D.
6. (10) 30 Chase Allen, Midlothian, Texas, CAM/Herring, $90.
7. (5) 24b Chris Bragg (R), Springtown, Texas, CAM/Premier, $90.
8. (8) 5 Shane Sprinkle, Andrews, Texas, MBCustom/PPE, $90.
9. (7) 64 Jay Sale, Edmond, Okla., MBCustom/Mullins, $90.
10. (9) 1b Brandon Hood, McGregor, Texas, Hot/, $75.

REAL RACING WHEELS "B" MAIN #2 (8 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (1) 2 Grant Junghans, Manhattan, Kan.
2. (3) 99 Jesse Sobbing (R), Malvern, Iowa.
3. (6) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas.
4. (7) 123 Logan Robertson (R), Shamrock, Texas.
5. (4) 13 Jerry Frydrych, Austin, Texas.
6. (5) 7x Rory Jordan, Victoria, Texas, Shaw/Mullins, $90.
7. (9) 11 Dustin Allen (R), Enid, Okla.
8. (2) 38 Ronnie Gould III (R), Seminole, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, $400.
9. (8) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
10. (10) 707 P.J. Egbert, Copperas Cove, Texas, GRT/Lingo, $75.

CASEY'S GENERAL STORES "A" MAIN (40 laps):
1. (13) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustom/Geddes, 40, $3000.
2. (3) 89c Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas, GRT/Mullins, 40, $1700.
3. (8) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La., LG2/Geddes, 40, $1200.
4. (6) 88xxx Clyde Dunn Jr., Sunnyvale, Texas, MBCustom/Mullins, 40, $1000.
5. (14) 2 Grant Junghans, Manhattan, Kan., MBCustom/Sput's, 40, $900.
6. (10) 4m Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas, Rocket/Wells, 40, $800.
7. (4) 18s Cody Smith, Kaufman, Texas, Smith/Mullins, 40, $700.
8. (2) 5* Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $650.
9. (9) 11j Justin Radcliff, China Springs, Texas, BMS/Fletcher, 40, $500.
10. (11) 9 Kevin Rutherford, Flower Mound, Texas, Shaw/Barr, 40, $450.
11. (23) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., MBCustom/Mullins, 39, $500.
12. (17) 5w John Whittington, Vidor, Texas, Pierce/CB, 39, $450.
13. (19) 715 J.P. Dowell, Killeen, Texas, GRT/ECR, 33, $350.
14. (5) 14t Triston Dycus, Waxahachie, Texas, GRT/Wells, 31, $400.
15. (24) 11 Dustin Allen (R), Enid, Okla., GRT/Dunsworth, 30, $375.
16. (21) 2 Casey Arneson (R), Fargo, N.D., GRT/Durham, 28, $350.
17. (16) 99 Jesse Sobbing (R), Malvern, Iowa, MBCustom/Sput's, 27, $400.
18. (7) 45t Eric Tomlinson, Waco, Texas, LG2/Outlaw, 26, $250.
19. (1) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., LG2/Cornett, 26, $400.
20. (18) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas, MBCustom/PPE, 26, $400.
21. (22) 13 Jerry Frydrych, Austin, Texas, CAM/, 24, $250.
22. (12) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., MBCustom/Mullins, 20, $400.
23. (20) 123 Logan Robertson (R), Shamrock, Texas, Hughes/PPE, 14, $300.
24. (15) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Adel, Iowa, Hilsabeck/Mullins, 0, $300.

(R) = Rookie of the Year contender.

Lap Leaders: Ramirez 1-26, Smith 27-29, Sanders 30-40.
Total Laps Led: Ramirez 26, Sanders 11, Smith 3.
Margin of Victory: 2.925 seconds.
Provisional Starters: J. Scott, D. Allen.
Sybesma Graphics Pole Award: Dunn.
Hard Charger: Sanders (started 13th, finished 1st).
Entries: 32.
Next Race: Wednesday, June 24, Devil's Bowl Speedway, Mesquite, Texas.
Double H Bands Southern Region Points: Sanders 391, Junghans 338, J. Scott 335, Ramirez 335, S. Scott 304, Sobbing 291, Dillard 283, Duvall 256, Houston 252, Whiteaker 242.
Rookie of the Year Points: Sobbing 1911, C. Arneson 1664, Ben Kates 1360, Austin Arneson 1073, Gould 937.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Geddes 233, Sput's 200, Mullins 184, Durham 148, Cornett 126.
Manufacturers Championship Points: MBCustom 264, LG2 250, GRT 234, Hughes 200, Shaw 84.

Contingency Awards:
AERO Race Wheels - Hilsabeck.
Allstar Performance - S. Scott.
American Racer - Hilsabeck.
Beyea Custom Headers - Junghans.
BSB Manufacturing - Frydrych.
Chix Gear Racewear - Dillard.
Deatherage Opticians - Dunn.
Edelbrock - Dycus.
Eibach Springs - Whittington.
FK Rod Ends - D. Allen.
Forty9Designs.com - Dycus, Ramirez.
Fuel Safe - Malchus.
GRT Race Cars - Arneson.
Hooker Harness - Dowell.
KEVKO Oil Pans & Components - Radcliff.
Keyser Manufacturing - Rutherford.
KSE Racing Products - Dillard.
Marsh Racing Wheels - Robertson.
Midwest Sheet Metal - Hilsabeck.
MSD Ignition - Smith, Sanders.
PBM Performance Products - Ramirez, Sanders.
QA1 - Dillard.
R2C Performance Products - Whiteaker.
Real Racing Wheels - all non-qualifiers.
Sybesma Graphics - Dunn.
Tilton Engineering - Dunn.
VP Racing Fuels - Sanders.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products - J. Scott.
Wilwood Disc Brakes - Smith.

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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, Malvern Trust & Savings Bank, 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, Midwest Sheet Metal, 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

Email: jeff@usmts.com
Web: www.usmts.com