By Dan Bailey and USMTS.com
Fountain City, WI (August 16th, 2013) – Jason Hughes emerged with the victory Friday night after a thrilling 40-lap main event at the Mississippi Thunder Speedway for Round 7 of the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup.
For most of the race, you could have thrown a blanket over the top four of Craig Thatcher, Rodney Sanders, Hughes and Stormy Scott as they jockeyed and jousted for position in every turn.
Sanders drew the pole but it was Thatcher getting the advantage at the drop of the green flag with Dan Bohr, Hughes and Daniel Hilsabeck in tow.
After leading his first lap in United State Modified Touring Series competition, Thatcher proceeded to lead another 23 circuits before Sanders snuck underneath to lead lap 25.
Meanwhile, Hughes moved past Bohr on the fourth lap and Scott made his way into fourth on lap 8. The pair shadowed the two front-runners the rest of the time with Scott edging ahead of Hughes for third on lap 19.
With the top three claiming a monopoly on the bottom groove, Hughes moved up the track and went searching for a different line. He found it quickly and reclaimed the third spot from Scott with 26 laps complete and then disposed of Thatcher the next time around.
For the next ten laps, Hughes was able to pull alongside Sanders in the straight-aways but was never able to make the pass.
With six laps remaining, a lapped car forced Hughes to go high in turn 1 and Scott was able to pull ahead as they exited turn 2. Hughes, However, regained his momentum and reclaimed the second spot in the next corner.
With five laps to go, Sanders had to deal with lapped traffic and Hughes got the assist he needed. Accelerating out of turn 2 on lap 36, Hughes raced past Sanders on the outside and officially took the lead when they crossed beneath the flagstand side by side to complete the 37th lap.
Hughes was flawless over the final four orbits of Bob Timm’s immaculate high-banked 3/8-mile oval and took the checkered flag to earn a $5,100 paycheck while Sanders settled for the runner-up position for the second time in as many nights.
Scott and Thatcher finished third and fourth, respectively, while defending track champion Lucas Schott followed the leaders in fifth.
Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup points leader Johnny Scott had to scratch and claw his way through the field for the second night in a row, and walked away with a sixth-place finish. Two-time USMTS National Champion Ryan Gustin was seventh, Joey Jensen finished eighth, Bohr nabbed the ninth spot and Jake Timm rounded out the top 10.
With seven of 17 scheduled ‘Hunt’ races in the books, Johnny Scott continues to lead a tight formation. Twin brother Stormy Scott is just 12 points behind (700 to 688) while Sanders is a mere 10 markers behind them and Hughes is fourth with 670 points. Jeremy Payne, Zack VanderBeek, Chris Brown, Kelly Shryock, Schott and Dereck Ramirez complete the top 10 in the standings.
VAN MINSEL COLLECTIONS EMOTION-FILLED B-MOD WIN
Jon Van Minsel is a ‘smiler’; before a race, after a race . . . most likely even during a race. During Friday night’s Black Horse Bar & Grill USRA B-Mod portion of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Winona program at MISSISSIPPI THUNDER SPEEDWAY, no one would have faulted him for roaming the pits without his trademark smile as less than two weeks ago, the Spring Grove, MN racer, and his entire family laid to rest Jon’s father.
But, as race time rolled around, there was Jon, next to his familiar #1 . . . smile and all. By the end of the evening, that smile was absolutely huge. But there was work, dedication and determination needed to bring forth the success that had the crowd cheering at the end of the 18-lap main event.
After winning the night’s third heat race, Van Minsel lined up outside the fifth row for the “Coca-Cola Bottling 18” feature. As several competitors battled for the lead through the opening 12 laps, Van Minsel had his work cut out for him, needing to work through the top half of the 28 car field. But, like a good ol’ Ginsu knife from a late-80s TV commercial, Van Minsel sliced through the field with smooth and clean precision on his hunt to the front.
While the #1 was working towards the front, no fewer than eight other drivers spent time battling in the top five within legitimate reach of the top spot. Pole Sitter spent the first 11 laps in the lead pack, putting the silver #7M out front on lap 6. Former B-Mod champion Kyle Jumbek spent the first two circuits in the lead before dropping out the top-5 on lap 6. Jake Timm enjoyed two stays out front, leading a total of 6 laps, and B-Mod hot-shoe Parker Hale showed off his brand new Jack Links Beef Jerky “Squatch Stick” wrap at the front of the field for a three-lap stay.
But on lap 13 Van Minsel completed his trek to the top, taking the lead and closing out the feature in style with a great battle for the win with Hale. Van Minsel climbed from his car in the MISSISSIPPI THUNDER SPEEDWAY Victory Lane, thrust his arms victoriously into the air . . . and there was his smile; bigger and happier than ever, “That was fun working through the field like that. And racing with Parker there at the end, he’s a great competitor and it’s fun to race someone like that.” remarked Van Minsel about the race to the win. And when asked about the life-changing events of the past couple weeks, his smile never faltered, “I know that my Dad was in this car with me tonight!”
Hale held on for second, with 2012 Track Champion Erik Kanz completing the top three finishing positions.
Looking back, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that Van Minsel collected the feature win, as he did turn in the evening’s fasted lap, a 16.617 screamer early in the main that topped the field.
PROVINZINO WINS 600 MOD FEATURE
Joe Provinzino raced with determination Friday night and was not about to let anyone challenge him for the evening’s feature win. “Had some things develop through the early evening that really motivated me to push as hard as I can,” commented the Chanhassen, MN racer. Provinzino jumped from the pole and never once relinquished the lead en route to picking up the feature win.
First heat race winner Bob Cisewski finished just inside the top-5, behind 2012 Track Champion Greg Wohletz, current point leader Don Werner and Curt Luhmann at the end of the 18-lap feature.
WOJCIK DOES IT AGAIN, FOR THE 7TH STRAIGHT TIME
Doug Wojcik was an attrition loaded Jailhouse Saloon WISSOTA Street Stock feature, collecting his 7th straight feature win and 9th of the 2013 season. Shaun Mann and Cory Hanson finished second and third.
SPRUNG, HOFF & LaDUKE WIN ON THE LIGHTNING SPEEDWAY
Ben Sprung won a caution filled OutLaw Mini Mod $500 to win feature on The Lightning Speedway, while A.J. Hoff collected his third Sunshine Sanitation A Mini Mod feature win of the season with Matthew LaDuke dominating the Sunshine Sanitation B Mini Mod feature.
Racing resumes next Friday night August 23rd with another night of high-speed action at MISSISSIPPI THUNDER SPEEDWAY; bring the family and friends and enjoy Loberg’s Auto Glass & Repair Night on-track action from the River City Manufacturing USRA Modifieds, Coordinated Business Systems WISSOTA Super Stocks, Black Horse Bar & Grill USRA B-Mods, Jailhouse Saloon WISSOTA Street Stocks, Redbox+ 600 Modifieds, & Elmer’s Auto Salvage MTS Pure Stocks battling on ‘The Big 1/3-Mile’ while the Sunshine Sanitation A and B Mini-Mods will again attack ‘The Lightning Speedway’ for their evening’s action!
MISSISSIPPI THUNDER SPEEDWAY is located 3.0 miles north of Fountain City on Wisconsin Highway 35. For more information, call 608-687-3282 or visit www.mississippithunder.com on the World Wide Web.
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MISSISSIPPI THUNDER SPEEDWAY is presenting its 2013 ‘FIFTH ANNIVERSARY SEASON’ of top-notch dirt track action in Fountain City, WI. The high-banked 1/3 mile dark-clay oval is quickly becoming known as one of the best speedways in the upper Midwest presenting dirt track racing in a fan and family friendly atmosphere every Friday night throughout the racing season.
For all details, continue visiting the MISSISSIPPI THUNDER SPEEDWAY web site: www.MississippiThunder.com
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FRIDAY AUGUST 16th COCA-COLA BOTTLING COMPANY OF WINONA NIGHT RESULTS
OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
The Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup – Round 7 of 17
Mississippi Thunder Speedway, Fountain City, Wis.
Friday, Aug. 16, 2013
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 are locked into the “A” Main, with the top 8 re-drawing for starting positions 1-8.
BEYEA CUSTOM HEADERS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (2) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
2. (6) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
3. (5) 2s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
4. (8) 186 Jeremy Payne, Springfield, Mo.
5. (7) 99h Trevor Hunt (R), Kearney, Mo.
6. (3) 89 Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas.
7. (9) 89 Eric Pember, Pittsville, Wis.
8. (4) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
9. (1) 00 Masen Big Eagle (R), Manor, Sask., Canada.
JRi SHOCKS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (1) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
2. (2) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Adel, Iowa.
3. (5) V2 Joey Jensen, Forest Lake, Minn.
4. (3) 11 Lance Hofer, Cochrane, Wis.
5. (9) 95 Keith Foss, Winona, Minn.
6. (8) 21 Chris Brown, Spring, Texas.
7. (7) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D.
8. (6) W Cory Williams, Spring Valley, Wis.
9. (4) 72 Doug Hillson, Blooming Prairie, Minn.
EIBACH SPRINGS HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (2) 66 Dan Bohr, Decorah, Iowa.
2. (1) 10 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
3. (4) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
4. (3) 49 Bob Timm, Winona, Minn.
5. (6) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
6. (8) 33x Adam Hensel, Baldwin, Wis.
7. (9) 65 Tommy Myer, Blooming Prairie, Minn.
8. (7) 77 Tom Brink, Winona, Minn.
9. (5) 110 Chad Mahder (R), Eau Claire, Wis.
PBM PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (4) 91 Craig Thatcher, Knapp, Wis.
2. (7) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
3. (3) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn.
4. (8) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
5. (1) 14w Clayton Wagamon, Blaine, Minn.
6. (5) 24jr Jeff Lien Jr. (R), Mora, Minn.
7. (9) 15 Chris Loberg, Menomonie, Wis.
8. (6) 01 Joey Galloway (R), Manor, Sask., Canada.
9. (2) 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa.
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (1) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
2. (2) 95 Keith Foss, Winona, Minn.
3. (4) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
4. (6) 89 Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas.
5. (7) 89 Eric Pember, Pittsville, Wis.
6. (5) 21 Chris Brown, Spring, Texas.
7. (3) 49 Bob Timm, Winona, Minn., GRT/BuckBuilt, $100.
8. (10) 77 Tom Brink, Winona, Minn., Skyrocket/Grove, $100.
9. (9) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
10. (8) 15 Chris Loberg, Menomonie, Wis., Skyrocket/Sput’s, $80.
11. (11) 00 Masen Big Eagle (R), Manor, Sask., Canada, GRT/Tim’s, $200.
12. (12) 110 Chad Mahder (R), Eau Claire, Wis., GRT/Anderson, $100.
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (1) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn.
2. (5) 33x Adam Hensel, Baldwin, Wis.
3. (3) 99h Trevor Hunt (R), Kearney, Mo.
4. (2) 11 Lance Hofer, Cochrane, Wis.
5. (7) 65 Tommy Myer, Blooming Prairie, Minn.
6. (4) 14w Clayton Wagamon, Blaine, Minn., Wheeler/Wagamon, $100.
7. (6) 24jr Jeff Lien Jr. (R), Mora, Minn., Matrix/Sput’s, $80.
8. (9) W Cory Williams, Spring Valley, Wis., Tripod/RPM, $80.
9. (11) 72 Doug Hillson, Blooming Prairie, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, $100.
10. (8) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D., GRT/Sput’s, $100.
11. (10) 01 Joey Galloway (R), Manor, Sask., Canada, GRT/Tim’s, $200.
12. (12) 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa, Rage/RoushYates, $100.
CASEY’S GENERAL STORES “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (6) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $5100.
2. (1) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustom/Geddes, 40, $2000.
3. (9) 2s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., GRT/ProPower, 40, $1500.
4. (2) 91 Craig Thatcher, Knapp, Wis., GRT/TriStar, 40, $1000.
5. (8) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn., Hughes/Sput’s, 40, $900.
6. (12) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., GRT/ProPower, 40, $900.
7. (7) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, 40, $700.
8. (10) V2 Joey Jensen, Forest Lake, Minn., GRT/Tim’s, 40, $650.
9. (4) 66 Dan Bohr, Decorah, Iowa, GRT/Sput’s, 40, $500.
10. (5) 10 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn., GRT/BuckBuilt, 40, $550.
11. (13) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, Hughes/Sput’s, 40, $600.
12. (22) 65 Tommy Myer, Blooming Prairie, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, 40, $550.
13. (11) 186 Jeremy Payne, Springfield, Mo., GRT/RoushYates, 40, $425.
14. (3) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Adel, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, 40, $400.
15. (15) 95 Keith Foss, Winona, Minn., Skyrocket/Grove, 40, $375.
16. (21) 89 Eric Pember, Pittsville, Wis., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $350.
17. (19) 89 Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas, Hughes/Mullins, 40, $325.
18. (14) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, 40, $300.
19. (18) 99h Trevor Hunt (R), Kearney, Mo., GRT/Geddes, 39, $500.
20. (20) 11 Lance Hofer, Cochrane, Wis., GRT/BK’s, 39, $300.
21. (17) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/ProPower, 39, $400.
22. (23) 21 Chris Brown, Spring, Texas, Hughes/Mullins, 39, $400.
23. (24) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, Skyrocket/ProPower, 39, $500.
24. (16) 33x Adam Hensel, Baldwin, Wis., Rocket/Malcuit, 10, $300.
(R) = Rookie of the Year contender.
Lap Leaders: Thatcher 1-24, Sanders 25-36, Hughes 37-40.
Total Laps Led: Thatcher 24, Sanders 12, Hughes 4.
Margin of Victory: 0.691 second.
Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger: Myer (started 22nd, finished 12th).
Points Standings: J. Scott 700, S. Scott 688, Sanders 678, Hughes 670, Payne 586, VanderBeek 567, Brown 545, Shryock 534, Schott 504, Ramirez 494.
Rookie of the Year Points: Hunt 1630, Galloway 1535, Big Eagle 1235, Jeff Conner 855, Adam Penn 598.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: ProPower 347, Mullins 307, RoushYates 303, Geddes 297, Sput’s 280.
Tiger Rear Ends Manufacturers Championship Points: Hughes 377, GRT 354, MBCustom 323, Skyrocket 256, LG2 214.
Contingency Awards:
AERO Race Wheels – Hensel.
American Racer – Hunt.
Beyea Custom Headers – Sanders.
BSB Manufacturing – Schott, Gustin.
Buck Monson Photos – Hughes.
Crane Cams – Hughes.
Dominator Race Products – Hofer.
Edelbrock – S. Scott.
Eibach Springs – Bohr.
FK Rod Ends – Foss.
Forty9Designs.com – Hilsabeck, Hunt.
Fuel Safe – J. Scott.
GRT Race Cars – S. Scott.
Hooker Harness – Payne.
JRi Shocks – Gustin.
KEVKO Oil Pans & Components – Bohr.
Keyser Manufacturing – J. Timm.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Shryock.
Mesilla Valley Transportation – Myer.
MSD Ignition – Hughes.
PBM Performance Products – Thatcher, Hughes.
Power Lift Racing Products – Whiteaker.
Real Racing Wheels – all non-qualifiers.
VP Racing Fuels – Hughes.