Johnny Scott keeps USMTS fire burning in Fergus Falls

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (Aug. 10)--Johnny Scott doesn't show any signs of slowing down.

A steady diet of top-five finishes propelled Scott to the top of the USMTS Hunt for the Casey's Cup standings prior to the summer break, but six victories in his last thirteen starts-including a wire-to-wire win in Friday's feature at the I-94 Speedway-has put the 28-year-old New Mexico native in prime position to collect his first USMTS national title.

In Friday night's 40-lap nightcap at the Fergus Falls, Minn., speedplant, Scott got the jump on polesitter Dan Ebert to start the race and then survived four cautions and pressure from Ebert to score a $3,425 payday.

While the top two remained that way the entire distance, many others in the 24-car starting field did not.

Brady Gerdes made the most of his Real Racing Wheels "B" Main win by charging from 14th on the grid to a third-place finish beneath USMTS starter Ryne Staley's double checkered flags.

Lucas Schott started and finished fourth and Rodney Sanders slipped from third to finish fifth, but Stormy Scott followed Gerdes through the pack to place sixth after rolling off from the 16th starting spot.

Terry Phillips, Jake Timm, Ryan Gustin and Dereck Ramirez rounded out the top ten.

The win was Johnny Scott's first in five tries at the I-94 Speedway, but his series-best ninth overall triumph this season and 39th of his career. Two of his wins during the 2018 campaign came in the Summit USMTS Southern Series season opener back in February where he is also the points leader with just the inaugural Summit Southern Nationals in November to decide that title.

With a record $50,000 to win the USMTS national championship and $10,000 up for grabs to the Summit USMTS Southern Series champ, Johnny Scott is in the driver's seat to sit at the head table during the USMTS awards banquet in January.

SATURDAY: By the time you read this, teams are already loaded up and burning the midnight diesel as the USMTS heads to the the Wagamon family's Ogilvie Raceway in Ogilvie, Minn., for the 7th Annual Chubbs Performance Modified Madness presented by U.S. Army on Saturday night.

Stormy Scott, has won three times at Ogilvie and Jason Hughes has two victories here. Other past USMTS winners here include Jeremy Payne, Jason Krohn, Zack VanderBeek, Jake Timm and Shane Sabraski.

Gates open 4 p.m. and the first heat race takes the green flag at 6:30. WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds will also be in action and racing for $3,001 to win. WISSOTA Mod Fours round out the program.

Adult general admission tickets are $20. Seniors (age 55 and up), students (ages 13-18) and military get in for $18. Kids ages 12 and under are free. Pit passes are $35.

Fans can pick up $2-off discount coupons on race day at Casey's General Stores locations in Cambridge, Foley, Milaca, North Branch, Ogilvie, Pine City, Princeton and Zimmerman. To find the location nearest you, go to www.caseys.com.

Zack Vanderbeek and his Oreo-sponsored Modified will be making an appearance at the Casey's located at 400 W. Hwy. 23 in Ogilvie from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.

The Ogilvie Raceway is a 3/8-mile semi-banked dirt oval located 2.0 miles east of Ogilvie on the south side of SR 23 (1539 MN-23, Ogilvie, MN 56358). For more information, call (763) 267-4572 or visit www.ogilvieraceway.com.

SUNDAY: The Mason City Motor Speedway in Mason City, Iowa, hosts the 7th Annual Diamond Jo Casino "All-In 77" at the historic North Iowa Fairgrounds clay oval now in its third year under USMTS legend Al Hejna.

This will be the ninth USMTS event held here. Six different drivers won each of the first six, beginning with Ryan Ruter's victory in 2009. Mike Steensma, Kelly Shryock and Jason Hughes also tasted USMTS glory when the track was still known as I-35 Speedway.

Two events were staged in 2016 with Rodney Sanders and Cade Dillard topping those shows. Ryan Gustin won both main events last year after an early-season rain-out in June forced double features for the August show.

Sunday's blockbuster will feature Holley USRA Stock Cars, Out-Pace USRA B-Mods, Cook Racing Supplies USRA Hobby Stocks and Rookies Rockin' USRA Tuners running for increased prize money as well as track, regional and national points in the Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series.

The pit gate opens at 4 p.m., grandstands open at 5 and hot laps begin at 6 with racing to follow. Adult general admission tickets are $20. Seniors (65+), members of the military and first responders get in for $17. Juniors ages 11-16 are just $10 and kids 10 and under are free. A pit pass costs $35.

Coupons good for $2 off adult admission are available at Casey's General Store locations in Clear Lake, Forest City, Garner, Lake Mills, Manly, Mason City, Nora Springs, Northwood, Osage, Sheffield and St. Ansgar.

"Big Daddy" Joe Duvall will have his Spike Hardcore Energy No. 91 machine at the Casey's located at 6 Plaza Dr. in Clear Lake from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday.

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 (3700 4th St SW, Mason City, IA 50401). For more information, call (641) 424-6515 or check out www.masoncitymotorspeedway.com.

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. Keep up to speed with everything USMTS by joining our email list at www.usmts.com/subscribe.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
USMTS Hunt for the Casey's Cup powered by Summit
4th Annual Casey's General Stores Summersota Nationals
I-94 Speedway, Fergus Falls, Minn.
Friday, Aug. 10, 2018


Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine builder, laps completed and money won. The top 12 in heat race passing points advance to the Casey's General Stores "A" Main with the top 8 redrawing for the first 8 starting spots.

SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (3) 1st Johnny Scott, Cameron, Mo.
2. (1) 1m Curt Myers, Cameron, Wis.
3. (6) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn.
4. (9) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
5. (2) 01 Brandon Aggen, Rushmore, Minn.
6. (7) 90 Steve Wetzstein, West Concord, Minn.
7. (5) 21x Travis Saurer, Elizabeth, Minn.
8. (4) 52 Jason Thoennes, Garfield, Minn.
9. (8) 0 Jake O'Neil (R), Tucson, Ariz.

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (1) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
2. (2) 49jr Jake Timm, Minnesota City, Minn.
3. (5) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa
4. (7) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa
5. (3) 5x Dan Pederson, Underwood, Minn.
6. (6) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
7. (9) 88 Randy Klein (R), Lisbon, N.D.
8. (4) 5 Luke Lick, Rosholt, S.D.
9. (8) 24 Brandon Dolman, Alexandria, Minn.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (4) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
2. (1) 10 Casey Arneson, Fargo, N.D.
3. (2) 53 Chris Mensen, Carlos, Minn.
4. (5) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis.
5. (7) 2x Brady Gerdes, Villard, Minn.
6. (6) 1tpo Tyler Peterson, Hickson, N.D.
7. (8) 2s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
8. (3) 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan.

MSD PERFORMANCE HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (3) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
2. (1) 5x Scot Danzeisen, Herman, Minn.
3. (2) 1b Jason Blascyk, Kensington, Minn.
4. (5) 6t Corky Thomas, Glyndon, Minn.
5. (8) 19sb Lance Mari (R), Imperial, Calif.
6. (7) 36 Danny Bayer, Elrosa, Minn.
7. (6) 8c Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.
8. (4) 2j Blake Jegtvig, Hawley, Minn.

REAL RACING WHEELS "B" MAIN #1 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (1) 53 Chris Mensen, Carlos, Minn.
2. (6) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
3. (2) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis.
4. (8) 21x Travis Saurer, Elizabeth, Minn.
5. (9) 52 Jason Thoennes, Garfield, Minn.
6. (10) 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan.
7. (3) 19sb Lance Mari (R), Imperial, Calif., MRT/Yeoman, $125.
8. (4) 01 Brandon Aggen, Rushmore, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput's, $75.
9. (7) 88 Randy Klein (R), Lisbon, N.D., MBCustoms/Tim's, $90.
10. (5) 90 Steve Wetzstein, West Concord, Minn., MBCustoms/Sput's, $75.
11. (11) 0 Jake O'Neil (R), Tucson, Ariz.

REAL RACING WHEELS "B" MAIN #2 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (3) 2x Brady Gerdes, Villard, Minn.
2. (7) 2s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
3. (6) 1tpo Tyler Peterson, Hickson, N.D.
4. (10) 2j Blake Jegtvig, Hawley, Minn.
5. (2) 6t Corky Thomas, Glyndon, Minn.
6. (9) 5 Luke Lick, Rosholt, S.D., GRT/CNC, $75.
7. (8) 8c Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo., GRT/ChevPerf, $200.
8. (5) 36 Danny Bayer, Elrosa, Minn., SSR/Scott's, $75.
9. (4) 5x Dan Pederson, Underwood, Minn., MBCustoms/Stoen, $75.
10. (1) 1b Jason Blascyk, Kensington, Minn., GRT/Sower, $75.
11. (11) 24 Brandon Dolman, Alexandria, Minn., SSR/Adams, $75.

CASEY'S GENERAL STORES "A" MAIN (40 laps):
1. (2) 1st Johnny Scott, Cameron, Mo., VanderBuilt/Hill, 40, $3425.
2. (1) 60 Dan Ebert, Lake Shore, Minn., Millennium/Ebert, 40, $1500.
3. (14) 2x Brady Gerdes, Villard, Minn., SSR/Sput's, 40, $1100.
4. (4) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn., MBCustoms/Hill, 40, $1300.
5. (3) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustoms/Hatfield, 40, $1075.
6. (16) 2s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., VanderBuilt/Mullins, 40, $970.
7. (10) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., GRT/Durham, 40, $865.
8. (6) 49jr Jake Timm, Minnesota City, Minn., MBCustoms/Sput's, 40, $450.
9. (11) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/TriStar, 40, $425.
10. (7) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/Cornett, 40, $760.
11. (18) 1tpo Tyler Peterson, Hickson, N.D., BlackWidow/ProPower, 40, $375.
12. (12) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, VanderBuilt/Sput's, 40, $705.
13. (21) 52 Jason Thoennes, Garfield, Minn., MasterSbilt/Mullins, 40, $250.
14. (19) 21x Travis Saurer, Elizabeth, Minn., MBCustoms/PerfAuto, 40, $300.
15. (24) 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan., LG2/Speedway, 40, $625.
16. (17) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis., MBCustoms/Troy's, 40, $275.
17. (15) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., MBCustoms/ChevPerf, 40, $525.
18. (23) 0 Jake O'Neil (R), Tucson, Ariz., LG2/Cornett, 37, $620.
19. (22) 6t Corky Thomas, Glyndon, Minn., Hughes/G-Force, 31, $225.
20. (20) 2j Blake Jegtvig, Hawley, Minn., Hughes/Sturdy, 26, $225.
21. (5) 10 Casey Arneson, Fargo, N.D., VanderBuilt/Durham, 25, $275.
22. (9) 5x Scot Danzeisen, Herman, Minn., Danzeisen/Danzeisen, 17, $225.
23. (13) 53 Chris Mensen, Carlos, Minn., GRT/Saurer, 13, $225.
24. (8) 1m Curt Myers, Cameron, Wis., Hughes/Sput's, 6, $275.

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

Lap Leader: J. Scott 1-40.
Total Laps Led: J. Scott 40.
Margin of Victory: 1.079 seconds.
Time of Race: 21 minutes, 32.938 seconds (4 cautions).
Provisional Starters: O'Neil, Kates.
Eibach Spring Forward Award: S. Scott (advanced 16 positions).
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Gerdes (started 14th, finished 3rd).
Entries: 34.
Next Race: Saturday, Aug. 11, Ogilvie Raceway, Ogilvie, Minn.
USMTS Hunt for the Casey's Cup Points: J. Scott 2403, S. Scott 2232, Sanders 2232, VanderBeek 2163, O'Neil 2147, Schott 2111, Ramirez 2082, Phillips 2071, Kates 1505, Duvall 1480.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: O'Neil 1985, Mari 971, Carlos Ahumada Jr. 760, Zane Ferrell 692, Billy Vogel 610.
USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: Durham 235, Mullins 194, Sput's 189, Hatfield 180, Cornett 180.
USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: VanderBuilt 277, MBCustoms 261, Hughes 194, GRT 193, LG2 178.