Gustin hustles for USMTS honors at Humboldt


HUMBOLDT, Kan. (June 5)--Marshalltown, Iowa's Ryan Gustin continued to wreak havoc on the competition Friday, picking up his second win in as many nights as the Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey's invaded the Humboldt Speedway for the 7th Annual USMTS Hummer Hustle presented by Fast Shafts.

The green flag waved to start the 40-lap main event and Gustin quickly disposed of Dustin Sorensen and went to work on Sybesma Pole Award winner Dereck Ramirez.

The matching green machines stayed that way for the first 20 laps when the second caution of the race occurred.

Gustin took charge with a brilliant move after the restart. The teammates remained that way until the 35th lap when Tucson's Jake O'Neil picked off Ramirez following the contest's fourth and final yellow flag.

O'Neil was able to run down Gustin but the leader must've smelled him coming because he pulled away over the final two loops to claim his second win in as many nights.

For his 103rd career USMTS triumph, 'The Reaper' earned a $3,000 reward while O'Neil settled for the runner-up paycheck. Ramirez followed in third and Dustin Sorensen bested Jacob Bleess for fourth after their sporty battle throughout the race.

Rodney Sanders was sixth, Terry Phillips recorded a seventh-place finish, Tanner Mullens earned eighth-place money, R.C. Whitwell nabbed ninth and Hunter Marriott was the tenth driver to cross the finish line.

With his third-place finish and Sanders back in sixth, Ramirez regained the points lead and will sport the flourescent yellow Wrisco Points Leader spoiler.

Trekking' to Tri-State: The series wraps up a four-night swing Saturday at the Tri-State Speedway in Pocola, Oklahoma, or the 6th Annual USMTS Juggernaut presented by Drive4JRT.com. USRA B-Mods and Factory Stocks will join the show.

Pit gates open at 4 p.m. and grandstands open at 6. Hot laps get rolling at 7 and the first heat race is slated to get the green flag at 7:30.

Eddie Martin was the winner when the series made their maiden voyage to the facility in 2008 and Jason Hughes was the winner of the next three shows. One of the most memorable events of 2018 saw Zack VanderBeek pass Rodney Sanders just a few feet from the finish line to take the win and last year's Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year, Hunter Marriott, is the defending race winner.

The Tri-State Speedway is a high-banked 3/8-mile clay oval located 1.6 miles west of the Arkansas-Oklahoma State line on US 271, then 0.3 mile north (1705 W Race Track Rd, Pocola, OK 74902). For more information, call (918) 575-1369 or check out tri-statespeedway.com.

Currently, the 2020 schedule for the Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey's is highlighted by 43 nights of racing at 28 unique dirt ovals for the 22nd season of competition for the world's Best of the Best in dirt modified racing.

To connect with the USMTS check out USMTS.com, like us on Facebook, follow on Twitter, check us out on Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel. Keep up to speed by joining our email list

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey's
7th Annual USMTS Hummer Hustle presented by Fast Shafts
Humboldt Speedway, Humboldt, Kansas
Friday, June 5, 2020

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine builder and laps completed. The top 12 in heat race passing points advance to the Casey's "A" Main.

SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (6) 19R Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa
2. (3) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn.
3. (2) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
4. (7) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark.
5. (8) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
6. (5) 00 Cody Jolly (R), Jasper, Mo.
7. (1) 55D Michael Dotson, Lathrop, Mo.
8. (4) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo.

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (2) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
2. (1) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
3. (3) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
4. (6) 227 Chase Domer, Nevada, Mo.
5. (4) 22H Dustin Hodges, Centralia, Mo.
6. (5) 9 Kevin Rutherford, Flower Mound, Texas
7. (8) 63 Jesse Folk Jr., Iola, Kan.
8. (7) 96J Jaxon Saathoff (R), Beatrice, Neb.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (2) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
2. (1) 444 Brooks Strength (R), Raymond, Miss.
3. (3) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
4. (4) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
5. (5) 96T R.C. Whitwell, Tucson, Ariz.
6. (6) 9D8 Paden Phillips, Chanute, Kan.
7. (8) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
8. (7) 47 Holt Johnston (R), Claremore, Okla.

MSD PERFORMANCE HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (1) 62 Hunter Marriott, Brookfield, Mo.
2. (2) 27X Calvin Iverson (R), Eleva, Wis.
3. (6) 65 Tyler Davis (R), Haysville, Kan.
4. (7) 02 Tanner Mullens (R), Wichita, Kan.
5. (4) 7 Shayne Bailey (R), Lathrop, Mo.
6. (5) 55 Nathan Hagar (R), Adair, Okla.
7. (3) 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan.
8. (8) 6 Casey Skyberg (R), Rapid City, S.D.

REAL RACING WHEELS "B" MAIN #1 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (1) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
2. (3) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
3. (2) 227 Chase Domer, Nevada, Mo.
4. (4) 96T R.C. Whitwell, Tucson, Ariz.
5. (9) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo.
6. (5) 00 Cody Jolly (R), Jasper, Mo., MBCustoms/Yeoman.
7. (6) 9D8 Paden Phillips, Chanute, Kan., BillsBuilt/KSB.
8. (8) 55D Michael Dotson, Lathrop, Mo.
9. (7) 63 Jesse Folk Jr., Iola, Kan., GRT/Wille.
10. (10) 47 Holt Johnston (R), Claremore, Okla.

REAL RACING WHEELS "B" MAIN #2 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (1) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
2. (2) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
3. (3) 22H Dustin Hodges, Centralia, Mo.
4. (4) 7 Shayne Bailey (R), Lathrop, Mo.
5. (7) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan.
6. (6) 55 Nathan Hagar (R), Adair, Okla.
7. (8) 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan.
8. (9) 96J Jaxon Saathoff (R), Beatrice, Neb., Jet/Speedway.
9. (10) 6 Casey Skyberg (R), Rapid City, S.D.
10. (5) 9 Kevin Rutherford, Flower Mound, Texas, MBCustoms/Wells.

CASEY'S "A" MAIN (40 laps):
1. (3) 19R Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/Cornett, 40.
2. (5) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz., LG2/Cornett, 40.
3. (1) 4R Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/Cornett, 40.
4. (2) 19 Dustin Sorensen, Rochester, Minn., MBCustoms/Action, 40.
5. (6) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn., VanderBuilt/KSE, 40.
6. (13) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustoms/Hatfield, 40.
7. (15) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., GRT/Durham, 40.
8. (11) 02 Tanner Mullens (R), Wichita, Kan., Mullens/Mullens, 40.
9. (19) 96T R.C. Whitwell, Tucson, Ariz., Longhorn/Mullins, 40.
10. (4) 62 Hunter Marriott, Brookfield, Mo., Rage/KSE, 40.
11. (16) 33Z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, VanderBuilt/Stoen, 40.
12. (9) 27X Calvin Iverson (R), Eleva, Wis., MBCustoms/Tim's, 40.
13. (14) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 40.
14. (17) 227 Chase Domer, Nevada, Mo., GRT/Schultz, 40.
15. (23) 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan., Jet/Speedway, 40.
16. (7) 444 Brooks Strength (R), Raymond, Miss., MBCustoms/Stoen, 40.
17. (8) 65 Tyler Davis (R), Haysville, Kan., Hughes/Mullins, 40.
18. (12) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., MBCustoms/Stoen, 40.
19. (21) 16 Austin Siebert, Grandview, Mo., MBCustoms/Durham, 40.
20. (18) 22H Dustin Hodges, Centralia, Mo., VanderBuilt/Crane, 40.
21. (25) 55 Nathan Hagar (R), Adair, Okla., GRT/Victory, 40.
22. (24) 55D Michael Dotson, Lathrop, Mo., GRT/ChevPerf, 40.
23. (26) 6 Casey Skyberg (R), Rapid City, S.D., Lethal/Mullins, 36.
24. (10) 4W Tyler Wolff, Fayetteville, Ark., MBCustoms/Hill, 36.
25. (20) 7 Shayne Bailey (R), Lathrop, Mo., GRT/ChevPerf, 36.
26. (22) 87 Darron Fuqua, Mayetta, Kan., MBCustoms/Driskell, 25.

(R) = Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year contender

Lap Leaders: Ramirez 1-20, Gustin 21-40.
Total Laps Led: Ramirez 20, Gustin 20.
Margin of Victory: 0.758 second.
Time of Race: 21 minutes, 52.383 seconds ( cautions).
Provisional Starters: Kates, Dotson, Hagar, Skyberg.
Eibach Spring Forward Award: Whitwell (advanced 10 positions).
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Whitwell (started 19th, finished 9th).
Entries: 32.
Next Race: Saturday, June 6, Tri-State Speedway, Pocola, Okla.
Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey's Points: Ramirez 775, Sanders 767, Hughes 707, Marriott 680, Iverson 657, Davis 643, VanderBeek 624, Skyberg 560, Bleess 542, T. Phillips 522.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: Iverson 657, Davis 643, Skyberg 560, Hagar 484, Bailey 395.
Jobbers Warehouse Supply USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: Hughes 81, MBCustoms 77, Rage 56, VanderBuilt 52, GRT 43.
Compstar/JE Pistons USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: Cornett 67, Hatfield 59, Mullins 55, KSE 51, Stoen 47.