Hot Schott parks in Park Jeff winner's circle


JEFFERSON, S.D. (Aug. 25)--The United States Modified Touring Series paid its eighth visit to the Park Jefferson Speedway on Saturday, and Lucas Schott emerged as the eighth different winner of the USMTS River City Rumble.

It was a much-needed rebound for the 22-year-old from Chatfield, Minn. A mechanical failure while leading the feature race last Saturday at the Salina Highbanks Speedway dropped him from first to worst in the final running order.

And while 'Cool Hand Luke' padded his bank account to the tune of $3,500 it was the opposite for points leader Johnny Scott who won last the main event a week ago but was a victim of a broken engine and the first to retire from Saturday's race.

Terry Phillips took the top spot away from polesitter Dereck Ramirez when the green flag waved to start the Casey's General Stores "A" Main but Schott, who started fourth, took control on lap 6 and set the pace for the final 29 loops around the dirt oval.



Phillips held on for second with Ramirez following him home in third. Rodney Sanders, who won the last race here in 2016, finished fourth and Kent Arment netted the final spot among the top five.

Zack VanderBeek, Jake O'Neil, Stormy Scott, Adam Kates and Joe Duvall completed the top ten.

Sandy's Sunday: 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 to celebrate the life of the track's "Chairman of the Board" at the 3rd Annual Sandy Benson Memorial presented by Riddle's Jewelry and Jurgens Printing.

A top prize of $4,000 is up for grabs for the USMTS competitors with no less than $450 to start the main event. 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 as he dusts off his No. 14 GRT Race Cars mount and makes his annual start where he'll be shooting for his third victory in the tenth year of the USMTS summertime classic at his hometown track.

Ryan Gustin captured last year's feature and 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.

The pit gate opens at 4 p.m. and grandstands open at 5. Hot laps begin at 6:30 and the green flag waves at 7 p.m.

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 available at Casey's General Stores locations in Milbank, Watertown and Webster. For the location nearest you, visit www.caseys.com.

"Big Daddy" Joe Duvall, driver of the No. 91 Spike Hardcore Energy entry, will be at the Casey's General Store located at 405 10th St. SW in Watertown from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. to meet 'n' greet fans.

The Motel of Choice for the Sandy Benson Memorial is the Quality Inn & Suites, located one block west on Hwy. 212 just off I-29 at exit 177 (behind McDonald's). The racer rate code is USMTS.

Now in its 65th 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 www.casinospeedway.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
8th Annual USMTS River City Rumble
Park Jefferson Speedway, Jefferson, S.D.
Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018

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 8 redrawing for the first 8 starting spots and the rest of the field lining up by heat race passing points.

SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (2) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
2. (4) 2s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
3. (1) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis.
4. (3) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
5. (5) 0 Jake O'Neil (R), Tucson, Ariz.
6. (6) 57 Duke Erickson, Sioux Falls, S.D.
7. (7) 27 Don Gerritsen Jr., Rock Rapids, Iowa.

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (1) 9 Kent Arment, Aberdeen, S.D.
2. (4) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
3. (3) 1st Johnny Scott, Cameron, Mo.
4. (5) 5k Kyle Prauner (R), Norfolk, Neb.
5. (7) 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan.
6. (2) 88 Sean Barragan, Sergeant Bluff, Iowa.
7. (6) 44v Harvey Vande Weerd, Alton, Iowa.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (1) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
2. (4) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
3. (3) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
4. (2) 14 Todd Boulware, Jefferson, S.D.
5. (6) 8c Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.
6. (5) 48 Bobby Moore, Sioux City, Iowa.

CASEY'S GENERAL STORES "A" MAIN (35 laps):
1. (4) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn., MBCustoms/Hill, 35, $3500.
2. (2) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., GRT/Durham, 35, $2175.
3. (1) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/Cornett, 35, $1650.
4. (9) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustoms/Hatfield, 35, $1440.
5. (3) 9 Kent Arment, Aberdeen, S.D., Hughes/Mullins, 35, $800.
6. (6) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, VanderBuilt/Stoen, 35, $1135.
7. (15) 0 Jake O'Neil (R), Tucson, Ariz., LG2/Cornett, 35, $1030.
8. (5) 2s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., VanderBuilt/Mullins, 35, $925.
9. (13) 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan., LG2/Speedway, 35, $875.
10. (11) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., MBCustoms/ChevPerf, 35, $700.
11. (10) 5k Kyle Prauner (R), Norfolk, Neb., Razor/ChevPerf, 34, $375.
12. (8) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis., MBCustoms/Troy's, 34, $350.
13. (19) 27 Don Gerritsen Jr., Rock Rapids, Iowa, Skyrocket/HarryHeads, 34, $275.
14. (18) 48 Bobby Moore, Sioux City, Iowa, GRT/ChevPerf, 34, $250.
15. (20) 44v Harvey Vande Weerd, Alton, Iowa, Razor/ChevPerf, 34, $250.
16. (16) 57 Duke Erickson, Sioux Falls, S.D., Dominator/Hansen, 34, $250.
17. (14) 8c Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo., GRT/ChevPerf, 34, $300.
18. (12) 14 Todd Boulware, Jefferson, S.D., GRT/ChevPerf, 33, $250.
19. (17) 88 Sean Barragan, Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, BMS/ChevPerf, 13, $250.
20. (7) 1st Johnny Scott, Cameron, Mo., VanderBuilt/Durham, 9, $725.

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

Lap Leaders: Phillips 1-5, Schott 6-35.
Total Laps Led: Schott 30, Phillips 5.
Margin of Victory: 2.651 seconds.
Time of Race: 15 minutes, 58.009 seconds.
Provisional Starters: none.
Eibach Spring Forward Award: O'Neil (advanced 8 positions).
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: O'Neil (started 15th, finished 7th).
Entries: 20.
Next Race: Sunday, Aug. 26, Casino Speedway, Watertown, S.D.
USMTS Hunt for the Casey's Cup Points: J. Scott 2841, S. Scott 2649, Sanders 2642, O'Neil 2563, Schott 2546, VanderBeek 2536, Phillips 2497, Ramirez 2477, Kates 1834, Duvall 1816.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: O'Neil 2071, Lance Mari 1138, Carlos Ahumada Jr. 760, Zane Ferrell 692, Billy Vogel 610.
USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: Durham 270, Mullins 227, Cornett 219, Hatfield 214, Hill 193.
USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: VanderBuilt 321, MBCustoms 305, GRT 232, Hughes 230, LG2 215.

Contingency Awards:
American Racer - Clark.
Beyea Custom Headers - Clark.
BSB Manufacturing - S. Scott.
Casey's General Stores - Sanders.
Champ Pans - Arment.
Deatherage Opticians - Prauner.
E3 Spark Plugs - Ramirez.
Edelbrock - VanderBeek.
Eibach - O'Neil.
Fast Shafts - Arment.
FK Rod Ends - O'Neil.
Forty9 Designs - Moore, Barragan.
GRT Race Cars - Moore.
Hooker Harness - Gerritsen.
Integra Shocks & Springs - Boulware.
Jerovetz Motorsports Racing Parts - Vande Weerd.
Keyser Manufacturing - Duvall.
KSE Racing Products - Kates.
Maxima Racing Oils - Schott.
Out-Pace Racing Products - Erickson.
QA1 - Sanders.
RacerWebsite.com - Vande Weerd.
Simpson Performance Products - Ramirez.
Swift Springs - Schott, Gerritsen.
Sybesma Graphics - Ramirez.
Tire Demon - Prauner.
VP Racing Fuels - Schott.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products - Phillips.
Wilwood Disc Brakes - O'Neil

Scott pretty in pink with USMTS Watertown win


WATERTOWN, S.D. (Aug. 26)--Johnny Scott was the first driver out of the race Saturday night at the Park Jefferson Speedway but he was the first one to the finish line Sunday night at the Casino Speedway, taking one giant leap toward his first USMTS national championship and a $50,000 check.

For his 12th triumph of the 2018 campaign, Scott's take-home pay was more than $4,000 for winning the 3rd Annual Sandy Benson Memorial at the high-banked quarter-mile bullring in Watertown, S.D.

Three drivers led their first feature race laps during the USMTS Hunt for the Casey's Cup powered by Summit before Scott took command and checked out to a margin of victory of more than five seconds.

Polesitter Travis Saurer led the first lap but Tyler Peterson snuck by to lead the second go-around. After five laps at the front, he gave way to Dereck Ramirez who looked to have the car to beat.

Meanwhile, Scott wasted little time in joining a tremendous four-car battle at the front. Despite starting eighth, he was fourth by lap 4 and then followed Ramirez into second with seven laps in the books.

By lap 20, Ramirez had pulled out to a four-car-length advantage while Scott still had his hands full with Peterson. A flat tire for Jake O'Neil on lap 21 slowed the pace and brought out the race's fourth yellow flag.

Back under green, Ramirez continued to lead by scooting around the low side while Scott raced through the middle and high lines. But after crossing underneath the flagstand to complete the 25th lap, Ramirez moved up and Scott willingly assumed the bottom groove of the racing surface.

And despite a final caution with 14 laps to go, that was the closest Ramirez would ever get to Scott again as the 28-year-old native of Las Cruces, N.M., ran off and hid while Ramirez was left to defend the runner-up finish from Peterson.

Adam Kates raced among the top five for the entire 40 laps, eventually earning a fourth-place finish while Terry Phillips advanced from the seventh row to finish fifth.

Stormy Scott passed ten cars to get to sixth at the checkers, with Saurer, Tyler McDonald, Zack VanderBeek and Rodney Sanders rounding out the top ten.

Working Labor Day Weekend: Four big nights are on tap for Labor Day Weekend, beginning Thursday, Aug. 30, with the make-up event from Friday's rain-out at the Rapid Speedway in Rock Rapids, Iowa.

The series stops at the Fayette County Speedway in West Union, Iowa, on Friday, Aug. 31, and Saturday, Sept. 1, at the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., before completing the four-night swing on Sunday, Sept. 2, at the Cresco Speedway in Cresco, Iowa.

The final points race in the USMTS Hunt for the Casey's Cup powered by Summit will take place on Thursday, Sept. 20, during opening night of the 20th Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree.

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
3rd Annual Sandy Benson Memorial
Casino Speedway, Watertown, S.D.
Sunday, Aug. 26, 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. (1) 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan.
2. (6) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
3. (3) 57 Duke Erickson, Sioux Falls, S.D.
4. (8) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
5. (4) 20 Trevor Anderson (R), Watertown, S.D.
6. (7) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
7. (2) 8c Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.
8. (9) 10c Chad Olsen, Hendricks, Minn.
9. (5) 21 Kurtis Clark, Madison, S.D.

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (1) 1st Johnny Scott, Cameron, Mo.
2. (2) 21x Travis Saurer, Elizabeth, Minn.
3. (4) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D.
4. (3) 24s Mike Stearns, Hecla, S.D.
5. (8) 5m Tyler McDonald, Huron, S.D.
6. (6) 85 Jayson Good, Watertown, S.D.
7. (7) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
8. (9) 2s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
9. (5) 51 Alex Guthmiller, Huron, S.D.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (2) 0 Jake O'Neil (R), Tucson, Ariz.
2. (1) 24d Scott Ward, Watertown, S.D.
3. (5) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
4. (6) 9 Kent Arment, Aberdeen, S.D.
5. (9) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
6. (4) 41 Jordan Foster, Henry, S.D.
7. (8) 37jr Morgan Ward, Watertown, S.D.
8. (7) 3 Arne Anderson, Watertown, S.D.
9. (3) 1j Matt Jeratowski, Madison, S.D.

MSD PERFORMANCE HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (7) 1tpo Tyler Peterson, Hickson, N.D.
2. (3) 48 Brent Dutenhoffer (R), Watertown, S.D.
3. (2) 32 Jesse Young, Warner, S.D.
4. (5) 5k Kyle Prauner (R), Norfolk, Neb.
5. (9) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis.
6. (1) 9 Tyler Anglin, Aberdeen, S.D.
7. (6) 1 Ryan Engels, Watertown, S.D.
8. (4) 5 Luke Lick, Rosholt, S.D.
9. (8) 52x David McDonald, Huron, S.D.

REAL RACING WHEELS "B" MAIN #1 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (2) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
2. (3) 5k Kyle Prauner (R), Norfolk, Neb.
3. (1) 32 Jesse Young, Warner, S.D.
4. (4) 24s Mike Stearns, Hecla, S.D.
5. (5) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
6. (6) 41 Jordan Foster, Henry, S.D., SSR/Sput's, $75.
7. (7) 37jr Morgan Ward, Watertown, S.D., LG2/C&C, $75.
8. (10) 3 Arne Anderson, Watertown, S.D., Arrow/Sturdy, $75.
9. (9) 10c Chad Olsen, Hendricks, Minn., MBCustoms/Tim's, $75.
10. (12) 1j Matt Jeratowski, Madison, S.D., Arrow/Sturdy, $75.
11. (11) 21 Kurtis Clark, Madison, S.D., GRT/Bruns, $75.
12. (8) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.

REAL RACING WHEELS "B" MAIN #2 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (3) 5m Tyler McDonald, Huron, S.D.
2. (9) 2s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
3. (2) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis.
4. (1) 9 Kent Arment, Aberdeen, S.D.
5. (11) 51 Alex Guthmiller, Huron, S.D.
6. (12) 52x David McDonald, Huron, S.D., MBCustoms/Dakota, $75.
7. (4) 20 Trevor Anderson (R), Watertown, S.D.
8. (8) 1 Ryan Engels, Watertown, S.D., TRE/Victory, $75.
9. (5) 85 Jayson Good, Watertown, S.D.
10. (7) 8c Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo.
11. (10) 5 Luke Lick, Rosholt, S.D., GRT/CNC, $75.
12. (6) 9 Tyler Anglin, Aberdeen, S.D., MasterSbilt/Sput's, $75.

CASEY'S GENERAL STORES "A" MAIN (40 laps):
1. (8) 1st Johnny Scott, Cameron, Mo., VanderBuilt/Durham, 40, $4400.
2. (4) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/Cornett, 40, $1875.
3. (3) 1tpo Tyler Peterson, Hickson, N.D., BlackWidow/ProPower, 40, $1000.
4. (5) 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan., LG2/Speedway, 40, $1050.
5. (13) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., GRT/Durham, 40, $940.
6. (16) 2s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., VanderBuilt/Mullins, 40, $835.
7. (1) 21x Travis Saurer, Elizabeth, Minn., MBCustoms/PerfAuto, 40, $450.
8. (14) 5m Tyler McDonald, Huron, S.D., MBCustoms/Dakota, 40, $450.
9. (9) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, VanderBuilt/Stoen, 40, $705.
10. (23) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustoms/Hatfield, 40, $675.
11. (10) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn., MBCustoms/Hill, 40, $650.
12. (20) 9 Kent Arment, Aberdeen, S.D., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $450.
13. (19) 24s Mike Stearns, Hecla, S.D., MasterSbilt/Tim's, 40, $450.
14. (2) 48 Brent Dutenhoffer (R), Watertown, S.D., Hughes/Sput's, 40, $450.
15. (18) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis., MBCustoms/Troy's, 40, $450.
16. (7) 0 Jake O'Neil (R), Tucson, Ariz., LG2/Cornett, 40, $575.
17. (25) 85 Jayson Good, Watertown, S.D., MasterSbilt/Tim's, 40, $450.
18. (24) 8c Chris Clark, Jackson, Wyo., GRT/PerfAuto, 39, $450.
19. (26) 20 Trevor Anderson (R), Watertown, S.D., Arrow/Victory, 39, $450.
20. (22) 51 Alex Guthmiller, Huron, S.D., MBCustoms/Dakota, 32, $450.
21. (11) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D., GRT/Sput's, 31, $450.
22. (12) 57 Duke Erickson, Sioux Falls, S.D., Dominator/Hansen, 26, $450.
23. (15) 5k Kyle Prauner (R), Norfolk, Neb., Razor/ChevPerf, 15, $450.
24. (17) 32 Jesse Young, Warner, S.D., MasterSbilt/Sturdy, 8, $450.
25. (21) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., MBCustoms/ChevPerf, 5, $650.
26. (6) 24d Scott Ward, Watertown, S.D., LG2/C&C, 0, $450.

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

Lap Leaders: Saurer 1, Peterson 2-6, Ramirez 7-25, J. Scott 26-40.
Total Laps Led: Ramirez 19, J. Scott 15, Peterson 5, Saurer 1.
Margin of Victory: 5.055 seconds.
Time of Race: 22 minutes, 2.033 seconds (5 cautions).
Provisional Starters: Sanders, Clark, T. Anderson (track), Good (track).
Eibach Spring Forward Award: S. Scott (advanced 18 positions).
FK Rod Ends Hard Charger: S. Scott (started 16th, finished 6th).
Entries: 36.
Next Race: Thursday, Aug. 30, Rapid Speedway, Rock Rapids, Iowa.
USMTS Hunt for the Casey's Cup Points: TBD.
Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year Points: O'Neil 2046, Lance Mari 1163, Carlos Ahumada Jr. 760, Zane Ferrell 692, Prauner 627.
USMTS Engine Builder of the Year Points: Durham 280, Mullins 233, Cornett 228, Hatfield 216, Hill 194.
USMTS Manufacturers Championship Points: VanderBuilt 331, MBCustoms 310, Hughes 239, GRT 238, LG2 222.