Patience, new engine power Hughes to USMTS win at Ogilvie


OGILVIE, Minn. (Aug. 13) -- With four straight rain-outs heading into Saturday's United States Modified Touring Series event at the Ogilvie Raceway, the drivers were patient as they waited to return to racing.

Jason Hughes had a little more patience left in the tank Saturday night as he overcame some salty competition and a sour engine to claim his first win in the Hunt for the USMTS Casey's Cup powered by S&S Fishing & Rental.

"It was a little choppy in places, but with all the rain they've had up here the track was in pretty good shape," Hughes said in Widow Wax Victory Lane. "It's a real nice place and we love coming here to race."

Hughes earned the Sybesma Graphics Pole Award by earning the most passing points among the 32 entries, but the cost was a broken engine and his team had to scramble to replace the powerplant before feature time.

The defending USMTS national champ and current points leader drew the seventh starting spot for the 42-lap main event, and had to deal with some serious challenges on his way to the front of the field.

He dropped back to eighth at the end of the first lap while polesitter Johnny Scott shot out to the lead. Hughes regained that spot one lap later and was fourth by lap eight.

Meanwhile, Scott continued to hold serve but sixth-starting Jacob Bleess had passed four cars to move ahead of Scott Drake for the second position while Rodney Sanders shadowed Hughes in fifth.

Hughes got around Drake on lap 12 and, after several attempts, moved ahead of Bleess for second on the 21st go-around.

But Bleess did not go away quietly. The rookie Modified racer regained the spot and held Hughes at bay until he was able to get by for good four laps later.

Setting his sights on the leader, Hughes closed in quickly on Scott and snagged the top spot away with 31 laps in the books.

Tenth-starting Jesse Sobbing followed into second two laps later and narrowed the gap between himself and the leader, but Hughes was flawless over the final eight circuits and held on to claim his 11th USMTS feature win of the 2016 campaign.

The win was worth $3,000 to Hughes as he notched his 144th career win and third at the high-banked Ogilvie Raceway.

Sobbing and Scott remained second and third while Sanders claimed the fourth spot ahead of Cade Dillard, who earned the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award by coming from the 16th starting spot.

Bleess, Drake, Zack VanderBeek, Dereck Ramirez and Jody Bellefeuille rounded out the top 10.

Hughes padded his points lead in the Hunt for the USMTS Casey's Cup, but not my much. Sobbing holds down the second spot, 30 points behind Hughes, while Dillard (-44), Sanders (-65) and VanderBeek (-100) complete the top five in the rankings.

On Sunday, the Mason City Motor Speedway in Mason City, Iowa, hosts the next round of the Hunt for the USMTS Casey's Cup powered by S&S Fishing & Rental.

Sunday's show will also feature USRA Stock Cars, USRA B-Mods, USRA Hobby Stocks and Rookies Rockin' Tuners tackling the legendary speedplant. The pit gate opens at 4:00, spectator gates open at 5:00, hot laps kick off at 6:30 and racing gets underway at 7:00.

General admission tickets are $20, juniors and seniors are just $15 and kids 10 and under are free. Pit passes are $35. Race fans can pick up $2-off coupons at Casey's General Stores locations in Clear Lake, Manly, Mason City and Nora Springs on race day.

The Mason City Motor Speedway is a semi-banked 1/2-mile clay oval located 5.1 miles east of I-35 at exit 194 on SR 122 (at the North Iowa Fairgrounds). For more information, check out www.masoncitymotorspeedway.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 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
The Hunt for the USMTS Casey's Cup powered by S&S Fishing & Rental - Event #4 of 18
Ogilvie Raceway, Ogilvie, Minn.
Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine builder, laps completed and money won.

MSD HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (3) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
2. (2) 49jr Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
3. (5) 99 Jesse Sobbing, Malvern, Iowa.
4. (1) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Adel, Iowa.
5. (6) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La.
6. (4) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
7. (7) 11 Jody Bellefeuille, Duluth, Minn.
8. (8) 24jr Jeff Lien Jr., Mora, Minn.

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (1) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
2. (2) 15* Ryan Mikkelson (R), Jamestown, N.D.
3. (5) 2s Stormy Scott, Arroyo Hondo, N.M.
4. (6) 21t Lance Town, Wellsville, Kan.
5. (3) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
6. (7) 37 Mike Jergens (R), Plover, Iowa.
7. (4) B29 Blonde Bomber Mitchell, Pea Ridge, Ark.
8. (8) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (1) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
2. (7) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
3. (4) 49 Bob Timm, Winona, Minn.
4. (6) 81 Mike Densberger (R), Lincoln, Neb.
5. (3) 99 Jett Big Eagle (R), Manor, Sask., Canada.
6. (2) 00 Masen Big Eagle, Manor, Sask., Canada.
7. (5) 89jr J.T. Johnson, Princeton, Minn.
8. (8) 4 Cody Bauman (R), Eureka, Ill.

ALPINESTARS HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (2) 14w Clayton Wagamon, Blaine, Minn.
2. (4) 21 Jacob Bleess (R), Chatfield, Minn.
3. (6) 91 Scott Drake, Joplin, Mo.
4. (3) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
5. (7) 6 Brock Bauman (R), Eureka, Ill.
6. (1) 40 Charlie Hillukka, Big Lake, Minn.
7. (5) 23 Adam Kates (R), Tonganoxie, Kan.
8. (8) 06 Jeremy Nelson, Zimmerman, Minn.

REAL RACING WHEELS "B" MAIN #1 (10 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (4) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
2. (1) 21t Lance Town, Wellsville, Kan.
3. (7) 11 Jody Bellefeuille, Duluth, Minn.
4. (3) 6 Brock Bauman (R), Eureka, Ill.
5. (5) 37 Mike Jergens (R), Plover, Iowa.
6. (6) 00 Masen Big Eagle, Manor, Sask., Canada., GRT/Tim's, $90.
7. (2) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Adel, Iowa., Hilsabeck/Mullins, $90.
8. (10) 4 Cody Bauman (R), Eureka, Ill.
9. (9) 24jr Jeff Lien Jr., Mora, Minn., Matrix/Sput's, $75.
10. (8) 89jr J.T. Johnson, Princeton, Minn., Shaw/Tim's, $75.

REAL RACING WHEELS "B" MAIN #2 (10 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (5) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
2. (3) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La.
3. (2) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
4. (9) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis.
5. (4) 99 Jett Big Eagle (R), Manor, Sask., Canada.
6. (1) 81 Mike Densberger (R), Lincoln, Neb.
7. (6) 40 Charlie Hillukka, Big Lake, Minn., SSR/Newgard, $75.
8. (8) 23 Adam Kates (R), Tonganoxie, Kan., LG2/Speedway, $90.
9. (10) 06 Jeremy Nelson, Zimmerman, Minn.
10. (7) B29 Blonde Bomber Mitchell, Pea Ridge, Ark., Hughes/BMS, $90.

CASEY'S GENERAL STORES "A" MAIN (42 laps):
1. (7) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 42, $3000.
2. (10) 99 Jesse Sobbing, Malvern, Iowa, Harris/GMPP, 42, $1700.
3. (1) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., Lethal/Durham, 42, $1200.
4. (5) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustom/Hatfield, 42, $1000.
5. (16) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La., MBCustom/ASI, 42, $900.
6. (6) 21 Jacob Bleess (R), Chatfield, Minn., MBCustom/BK, 42, $700.
7. (4) 91 Scott Drake, Joplin, Mo., MBCustom/GMPP, 42, $700.
8. (14) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, LG2/Sput's, 42, $650.
9. (18) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., LG2/Cornett, 42, $600.
10. (17) 11 Jody Bellefeuille, Duluth, Minn., MBCustom/Hill, 42, $450.
11. (8) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn., Millennium/Ebert, 42, $400.
12. (13) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., MBCustom/BMS, 42, $450.
13. (11) 2s Stormy Scott, Arroyo Hondo, N.M., Lethal/Mullins, 42, $425.
14. (12) 49 Bob Timm, Winona, Minn., LG2/BuckBuilt, 42, $325.
15. (21) 37 Mike Jergens (R), Plover, Iowa, Harris/KSE, 42, $375.
16. (15) 21t Lance Town, Wellsville, Kan., Phoenix/Driskell, 42, $350.
17. (23) 4 Cody Bauman (R), Eureka, Ill., GRT/GMPP, 42, $400.
18. (22) 99 Jett Big Eagle (R), Manor, Sask., Canada, MBCustom/ProPower, 32, $300.
19. (24) 81 Mike Densberger (R), Lincoln, Neb., Jet/Speedway, 32, $300.
20. (20) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis., MBCustom/Tim's, 25, $300.
21. (19) 6 Brock Bauman (R), Eureka, Ill., GRT/Mullins, 23, $400.
22. (2) 14w Clayton Wagamon, Blaine, Minn., Hughes/Wagamon, 19, $250.
23. (3) 49jr Jake Timm, Winona, Minn., LG2/BuckBuilt, 7, $300.
24. (9) 15* Ryan Mikkelson (R), Jamestown, N.D., GRT/Dakota, 7, $300.
25. (25) 06 Jeremy Nelson, Zimmerman, Minn., MBCustom/Sput's, 6, $250.

(R) = Rookie of the Year contender.

Lap Leaders: J. Scott 1-30, Hughes 31-42.
Total Laps Led: J. Scott 30, Hughes 12.
Margin of Victory: 0.627 second.
Time of Race: 26 minutes, 24.485 seconds.
Provisional Starters: C. Bauman, Densberger, Nelson (track).
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Dillard (started 16th, finished 5th).
Entries: 32.
Next Race: Sunday, Aug. 14, Mason City Motor Speedway, Mason City, Iowa.
USMTS Casey's Cup Points: Hughes 954, Sobbing 924, Dillard 910, Sanders 889, VanderBeek 854, C. Bauman 829, Duvall 817, J. Scott 816, Ramirez 803, S. Scott 783.
Grant Junghans Rookie of the Year Points: C. Bauman 1464, B. Bauman 1441, J. Big Eagle 1330, Jergens 1149, Tyler Wolff 1137.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 352, Durham 240, Sput's 235, ASI 228, GMPP 218.
Manufacturers Championship Points: Hughes 355, MBCustoms 338, LG2 269, Harris 242, GRT 233.

Contingency Awards:
Allstar Performance - VanderBeek.
American Racer - J. Big Eagle.
Bell Helmets - C. Bauman.
Beyea Custom Headers - Dillard.
BSB Manufacturing - B. Bauman.
Day Motor Sports - J. Timm, Mikkelson.
Deatherage Opticians - Bellefeuille.
Edelbrock - J. Scott.
Eibach Springs - Duvall.
Fast Shafts - Ebert.
FK Rod Ends - Jergens.
Forty9Designs.com - B. Timm, Densberger.
Fuel Safe - Bleess.
GRT Race Cars - Mikkelson.
Hooker Harness - S. Scott.
Integra Shocks & Springs - J. Big Eagle.
Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Service - Town.
Kevko Oil Pans & Components - Ramirez.
Keyser Manufacturing - Bellefeuille.
KSE Racing Products - Dillard.
Midwest Sheet Metal - J. Timm.
MSD - Sanders, Hughes.
Out-Pace Racing Products - Town.
PBM Performance Products - J. Scott.
QA1 - Sobbing.
Real Racing Wheels - all non-qualifiers.
Sybesma Graphics - Hughes.
VP Racing Fuels - Hughes.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products - Ebert.
Wilwood Engineering - Drake.

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USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: Alpinestars, American Racer Racing Tires, Argo Manufacturing, Casey's General Stores, Chix Gear Racewear, COMP Cams, CP-Carrillo, Day Motor Sports, Deatherage Opticians, Fast Shafts, Intercomp, 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, Out-Pace Racing Products, PBM Performance Products, QA1 Precision Products, Quarter Master, Real Racing Wheels, Sybesma Graphics, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, Wilwood Engineering.