O'Neil wows Worthington crowd with last-lap pass


WORTHINGTON, Minn. (Aug. 24)--Ever since Terry Philips nipped Dereck Ramirez by two one-thousandths of a second for the win on the first night of 'The Hunt' three weeks ago, the racing in the USMTS has been nothing short of incredible.

Saturday night was more of the same.

After a riveting 39 laps of racing around the Nobles County Speedway, the winner's paycheck at the 9th Annual USMTS Summer Slam presented by Beyea Custom Headers came down to a pass for the lead on the 40th and final lap of the main event.

One of the hottest drivers in the sport during the month of August, Phillips took command at the start of the race and set the pace for ten laps but tagged the guardrail in turn two, allowing Jon Tesch to take over the top spot.

Tesch led the procession around the extreme high side of the 1/4-mile clay oval for four circuits before he smacked the back-stretch wall and came to a stop at the top of turn three, ending his night and bringing out the race's first caution.

That gave the lead back to Phillips with Jake O'Neil and Ryan Gustin trading punches for the runner-up spot behind the veteran racer.

O'Neil eventually gained a solid grip on second place, and let Phillips know on several occasions that he was not going away.

Battling heavy lapped traffic the final three laps, Phillips took the white flag with O'Neil on his rear bumper, and the scooted around the low side as O'Neil churned the dark cushion around the high side.

On their way out of turn two, O'Neil pulled alongside of Phillips and beat him in the race to turn three. That was all she wrote, as the Tucson, Ariz., native kept Phillips behind him for the last few hundred feet and collected his seventh career USMTS win.

The $3,000 triumph was also the fourth of the 2019 campaign and second of the weekend for the 27-year-old while Phillips had to settle for back-to-back runner-up finishes in this event.

Gustin held firm for third with Hunter Marriott and Dereck Ramirez completing the top five. Adam Kates, Don Gerritsen Jr., Kyle Brown, Travis Saurer and Daniel Hilsabeck were sixth through tenth, respectively.

Kates advanced eight positions overall for the night to earn the Eibach Spring Forward Award, and nine spots in the feature race to take home an extra one hundred bucks as the FK Rod Ends Hard Charger Award winner.

Sunday for Sandy: Another classic is expected when the Casino Speedway in Watertown, S.D., hosts the USMTS Hunt for the Casey's Cup powered by Summit on Sunday, Aug. 25, to celebrate the life of Sandy Benson, the track's "Chairman of the Board."

Presented by Riddle's Jewelry and Jurgens Printing, the Sandy Benson Memorial will carry a top prize of $4,000 for the USMTS road warriors. On top of that, Wissota Midwest Mods will grapple for a $2,000 top prize and Wissota Street Stocks are looking at $1,500 to win their main event.

Fans can expect to see USMTS legend Jon Tesch at his hometown track as he pilots a USMTS Modified out of the Ramirez Motorsports stable. The Wizard of Watertown' will be shooting for his third career victory in the 11th running of the USMTS Summer Slam presented by Out-Pace Racing Products.

In addition to Tesch, Zack VanderBeek is also a two-time winner in Watertown. Tommy Myer took down the win in the first visit here in 2005 with Watertown's Scott Ward getting his first and only USMTS victory here in 2007. Al Hejna and Kelly Shryock picked up wins here in 2009 and 2011, respectively, while Ryan Gustin (2017) and Johnny Scott (2018) are the most recent winners here.

The pit gate opens at 4 p.m. and grandstands open at 5. Hot laps begin at 6 and the green flag waves at 6:30. Admission is $20 for adults, kids ages 8-13 are $5 and children 7 and under get in for free with a paid adult. Pit passes are $35.

Coupons good for $2 off adult admission are available at Casey's General Stores locations in Milbank, Watertown and Webster. To find the location nearest you, visit caseys.com.

Now in its 66th year of racing on the shores of beautiful Lake Kampeska in Watertown, S.D., the Casino Speedway is a semi-banked 1/4-mile clay oval located 4.0 miles northwest of US 212 on SR 20, then 0.7 mile south on Stokes-Thomas Lake Rd. (104 S Lake Dr, Watertown, SD 57201). For more information, call (605) 882-1221 or visit casinospeedway.com.

The Quality Inn & Suites® located at 800 35th Street Circle SE in Watertown is the Official Host Hotel of the weekend. To celebrate this mega-event, the Quality Inn & Suites is offering a great rate of $89 plus tax per night. Book today by calling (605) 886-3010 and mention the Casino Speedway races. Learn more about this great lodging experience at choicehotels.com.

To connect with the United States Modified Touring Series, visit usmts.com. You can also like us on Facebook, visit us on Instagram, follow us on Twitter, connect with us on LinkedIn and watch us on YouTube. Keep up to speed, get it first and subscribe to USMTS e-News.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
Casey's General Stores USMTS National Championship
USMTS Hunt for the Casey's Cup powered by Summit
9th Annual USMTS Summer Slam presented by Beyea Custom Headers
Nobles County Speedway, Worthington, Minn.
Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019

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

SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (1) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
2. (5) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
3. (4) 21K Kyle Brown (R), Madrid, Iowa
4. (8) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa
5. (7) 62 Hunter Marriott (R), Brookfield, Mo.
6. (3) 21x Travis Saurer, Elizabeth, Minn.
7. (6) 9 Jimmy Ray, Las Cruces, N.M.
8. (2) 0 Justin Remus (R), New Ulm, Minn.

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (2) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
2. (1) 27 Don Gerritsen Jr., Rock Rapids, Iowa
3. (3) 57 Duke Erickson (R), Sioux Falls, S.D.
4. (4) 14r Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D.
5. (6) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
6. (5) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Earlham, Iowa
7. (8) 19sb Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
8. (7) 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan.

CASEY'S GENERAL STORES "A" MAIN (40 laps):
1. (3) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz., LG2/Cornett, 40, $3000.
2. (2) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., GRT/Durham, 40, $1700.
3. (5) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/TriStar, 40, $1100.
4. (9) 62 Hunter Marriott (R), Brookfield, Mo., Rage/KSE, 40, $900.
5. (8) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/Cornett, 40, $800.
6. (15) 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan., LG2/Speedway, 40, $800.
7. (7) 27 Don Gerritsen Jr., Rock Rapids, Iowa, Skyrocket/HarryHeads, 40, $500.
8. (1) 21k Kyle Brown (R), Madrid, Iowa, Harris/Tesar, 40, $600.
9. (11) 21x Travis Saurer, Elizabeth, Minn., MBCustoms/ChevPerf, 39, $550.
10. (12) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Earlham, Iowa, Hilsabeck/Mullins, 39, $500.
11. (6) 57 Duke Erickson (R), Sioux Falls, S.D., Dominator/Hanson, 39, $450.
12. (14) 9 Jimmy Ray, Las Cruces, N.M., AOS/AOS, 39, $425.
13. (13) 19sb Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif., MRT/Yeoman, 20, $400.
14. (10) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustoms/Hatfield, 16, $375.
15. (4) 14r Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D., Hughes/Cornett, 15, $350.
16. (16) 0 Justin Remus (R), New Ulm, Minn., Medieval/Bruns, 1, $250.

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

Lap Leaders: Phillips 1-10, Tesch 11-14, Phillips 15-39, O'Neil 40.
Total Laps Led: Phillips 35, Tesch 4, O'Neil 1.
Margin of Victory: 0.396 second.
Time of Race: 16 minutes, 39.035 seconds (2 cautions).
Provisional Starters: none.
Eibach Spring Forward Award: Kates (advanced 8 positions).
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Kates (started 15th, finished 6th).
Entries: 16.
Next Race: Sunday, Aug. 25, Casino Speedway, Watertown, S.D.
Casey's General Stores USMTS National Championship Points: Sanders 2966, Ramirez 2796, Marriott 2668, Phillips 2505, Gustin 2469, O'Neil 2351, Kates 1925, Zack VanderBeek 1799, Mike Striegel 1706, Joe Duvall 1471.
USMTS Hunt for the Casey's Cup Points: Ramirez 1091, Sanders 1084, Phillips 1054, Marriott 1037, Gustin 782, O'Neil 781, Saurer 761, Kates 761, Mari 713, Mike Striegel 544.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: Marriott 2075, Mike Striegel 1571, Dustin Hodges 584, Carlos Ahumada Jr. 549, Nathan Hagar 415.
USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: MBCustoms 267, Hughes 266, GRT 213, Rage 205, LG2 195.
USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: Cornett 240, Hatfield 237, KSE 180, Durham 178, TriStar 139.


Phillips reaps rewards in Rocket-Reaper madness at Rock Rapids


ROCK RAPIDS, Iowa (Aug. 23)--With less than eight laps to go in the main event Friday night at the Rapid Speedway, an unusual turn of events paved the way for Terry Phillips to collect his fourth Casey's General Stores USMTS National Championship victory of the 2019 campaign.

From the outside of the front row, Ryan Gustin took charge at the drop of the green flag. A two-time winner of the USMTS Rapid Rumble presented by Wrisco, 'The Reaper' set a torrid pace for the first half of the race while Phillips pressured him the whole way.

The only other driver with two career wins at the 3/8-mile clay oval in the Northwest corner of Iowa, Rodney Sanders raced by Phillips just shy of halfway in the 40-lapper, and disposed of Gustin on the 22nd lap.

The race's second caution occurred with 30 laps complete when Jake O'Neil, who was running fourth and looking to back up his win on Thursday night in Webster City, spun into the infield at the exit of turn four.

The yellow flag slowed the pace and wiped out a sizeable advantage for Sanders, but Gustin had been reeling in 'The Rocket' since finding new life tip-toeing around the high side of the turns.

When the green flag returned, Phillips tried to stay with Sanders on the low side while Gustin made a bold challenge around the top. One lap later, Sanders and Gustin were door to door racing down the back-stretch when the exit of turn four swallowed its next victims.

Gunning to regain the lead he lost ten lap earlier, Gustin drove hard into the third turn and slipped over the banking in turn four. Meanwhile, as he tried to settle himself and power back onto the racing surface, Sanders spun into the infield in the same spot O'Neil had two lap earlier.

As the lead duo performed synchronized spinning, the center of the racetrack parted like the red sea and Phiillips' familiar red No. 75 came shooting out of the cloud of dust as he became the new leader.

Gustin regained control but Sanders stopped on the front-stretch to bring about the final yellow flag of the contest.

Phillips-a second-generation veteran racer nearly twice the age of Gustin and Sanders-nailed a flawless restart and was able to keep Gustin behind him until he streaked beneath the checkered flag with his 29th career USMTS triumph and a $3,000 paycheck for his efforts.

Gustin was denied his 101st series win and settled for second place while Dereck Ramirez finished third.

Hometown favorite Don Gerritsen Jr. raced from tenth on the starting grid and collected a career-best fourth-place finish with the nation's elite modified tour and Hunter Marriott rounded out the top five after starting 12th.

Lance Mari also recorded a career-best sixth-place finish and USMTS legend Jon Tesch-winner of the 2007 event here-drove a second car out of the Ramirez Motorsports stable to seventh, garnering both the Eibach Spring Forward Award and FK Rod Ends Hard Charger Award in the process after rolling off 18th.

Adam Kates was eighth at the finish line while Sanders regrouped and salvaged a ninth-place finish. Polesitter Travis Saurer completed the top ten.

Nobles Next: The USMTS ventures to the Nobles County Speedway in Worthington, Minn., on Saturday for the 9th Annual USMTS Summer Slam presented by Beyea Custom Headers.

The pit gate opens at 4 p.m., grandstands open at 5, hot laps at 7 and racing gets underway 7:30. Two bikes will be given away and there will be a candy toss for the kids too.

Rodney Sanders and Ryan Gustin have both tasted victory twice at the semi-banked 3/8-mile clay oval just off of I-90. Johnny Scott, Jason Krohn, Jon Tesch and Kelly Shryock have also tasted victory here.

Gustin will meet and greet fans at the Casey's General Store located at 1704 Oxford in Worthington from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. While you're there, get yourself a slice of delicious Casey's pizza, meet the 'The Reaper' and see his No. 19r Spike Hardcore Energy USMTS Modified.

Tickets are $20 for adults or $15 for seniors (65+) and juniors (12-16). Kids ages 11 and under are $5. Pit passes are $35.

Fans can grab coupons good for $2 off an adult ticket at Casey's locations in locations in Fulda, Windom and Worthington, plus Arnolds Park, George, Okoboji, Sibley and Spirit Lake in Iowa. For the location nearest you, visit caseys.com.

In addition to the USMTS, the on-track action will see the Arnold Motor Supply Iron Man Challenge featuring American Racer USRA Stock Cars and Out-Pace USRA B-Mods, plus Cook Racing Supplies USRA Hobby Stocks ($400 to win) and USRA Tuners ($200 to win).

The event is also a Summit Shootout qualifier for the Stock Cars, B-Mods and Hobby Stocks with Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series national points up for grabs in all four USRA divisions.

The Nobles County Speedway is located just off of I-90 at exit 43, then 0.4 mile south on SR 59, then 0.4 mile west on Oxford St., then 0.2 mile north on McMullan ((1600 Stower Dr., Worthington, MN 56187). For more information, check out noblescountyspeedway.com.

The four-day USMTS swing wraps up Sunday at the Casino Speedway in Watertown, S.D., for the Sandy Benson Memorial and 10th Annual USMTS Summer Slam presented by Out-Pace Racing Products. The main event winner will pocket $4,000 at that show.

To connect with the United States Modified Touring Series, visit usmts.com. You can also like us on Facebook, visit us on Instagram, follow us on Twitter, connect with us on LinkedIn and watch us on YouTube. Keep up to speed, get it first and subscribe to USMTS e-News.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
Casey's General Stores USMTS National Championship
Casey's Hunt for the USMTS National Championship
11th Annual Rapid Rumble presented by Wrisco
Rapid Speedway, Rock Rapids, Iowa
Friday, Aug. 23, 2019

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

SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (3) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz.
2. (5) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
3. (4) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa
4. (2) 27 Don Gerritsen Jr., Rock Rapids, Iowa
5. (1) 9 Jimmy Ray, Las Cruces, N.M.
6. (6) 57 Duke Erickson (R), Sioux Falls, S.D.

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (3) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
2. (1) 21x Travis Saurer, Elizabeth, Minn.
3. (5) 21k Kyle Brown (R), Madrid, Iowa
4. (2) 6 Dustin Kruse (R) Brandon, S.D.
5. (6) 782 Miah Christensen (R), Sioux Falls, S.D.
6. (4) 0 Justin Remus (R) New Ulm, Minn.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (1) 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan.
2. (6) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas
3. (2) 19sb Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif.
4. (4) 62 Hunter Marriott (R), Brookfield, Mo.
5. (3) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Earlham, Iowa
6. (5) 14r Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D.

CASEY'S GENERAL STORES "A" MAIN (40 laps):
1. (4) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., GRT/Durham, 40, $3000.
2. (2) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/TriStar, 40, $1700.
3. (8) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/Cornett, 40, $1100.
4. (10) 27 Don Gerritsen Jr., Rock Rapids, Iowa, Skyrocket/HarryHeads, 40, $700.
5. (12) 62 Hunter Marriott (R), Brookfield, Mo., Rage/KSE, 40, $700.
6. (9) 19sb Lance Mari, El Centro, Calif., MRT/Yeoman, 40, $650.
7. (18) 14r Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D., Hughes/Cornett, 40, $700.
8. (6) 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan., LG2/Speedway, 40, $550.
9. (5) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustoms/Hatfield, 40, $500.
10. (1) 21x Travis Saurer, Elizabeth, Minn., MBCustoms/ChevPerf, 40, $450.
11. (15) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Earlham, Iowa, Hilsabeck/Mullins, 40, $425.
12. (16) 57 Duke Erickson (R), Sioux Falls, S.D., Dominator/Hanson, 40, $400.
13. (7) 21k Kyle Brown (R), Madrid, Iowa, Harris/Tesar, 40, $375.
14. (13) 782 Miah Christensen (R), Sioux Falls, S.D., MBCustoms/JBM, 40, $225.
15. (11) 6 Dustin Kruse (R), Brandon, S.D., Sidebiter/AEI, 40, $325.
16. (3) 0 Jake O'Neil, Tucson, Ariz., LG2/Cornett, 30, $300.
17. (14) 9 Jimmy Ray, Las Cruces, N.M., AOS/AOS, 28, $300.
18. (17) 0 Justin Remus (R), New Ulm, Minn., Medieval/Bruns, 0, $200.

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

Lap Leaders: Gustin 1-21, Sanders 22-32, Phillips 33-40.
Total Laps Led: Gustin 21, Sanders 11, Phillips 8.
Margin of Victory: 1.039 seconds.
Time of Race: 22 minutes, 7.928 seconds (2 cautions).
Provisional Starters: none.
Eibach Spring Forward Award: Tesch (advanced 10 positions).
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: Tesch (started 18th, finished 7th).
Entries: 18.
Next Race: Saturday, Aug. 24, Nobles County Speedway, Worthington, Minn.
Casey's General Stores USMTS National Championship Points: Sanders 2902, Ramirez 2712, Marriott 2581, Phillips 2407, Gustin 2378, O'Neil 2250, Kates 1844, Zack VanderBeek 1799, Mike Striegel 1706, Joe Duvall 1471.
Casey's Hunt for the USMTS National Championship Points: Sanders 1020, Ramirez 1007, Phillips 956, Marriott 950, Gustin 691, Saurer 687, O'Neil 680, Kates 680, Mari 647, Mike Striegel 544.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: Marriott 2064, Mike Striegel 1571, Dustin Hodges 584, Carlos Ahumada Jr. 549, Nathan Hagar 415.
USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: MBCustoms 263, Hughes 258, GRT 204, Rage 198, LG2 185.
USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: Hatfield 236, Cornett 230, KSE 173, Durham 169, TriStar 131.