Gustin notches 90th USMTS win at Fairmont


FAIRMONT, Minn. (Aug. 31)--When Zack VanderBeek broke down on lap 14 Thursday night at the Fairmont Raceway, Ryan Gustin inherited the lead and that's where 'The Reaper' remained for the final 11 laps as he picked up his third win during the USMTS Hunt for the Casey's Cup powered by S&S Fishing & Rental and 90th of his United States Modified Touring Series career.

While a broken fan blade thwarted VanderBeek's chance for his first win during The Hunt, flat tires were the culprit for many of the other competitors.

Tyler Wolff suffered a flat tire on lap 8, and Dereck Ramirez had the same problem while running second behind VanderBeek. Cade Dillard was also a victim of worn out rubber.

While Dillard could only climb back to 11th and Ramirez settled for a 14th-place finish, Wolff had a spectacular run from the rear of the field.

Restarting 22nd with 18 orbits to go, Wolff found something a car-width higher than the lane preferred by the others and clawed his way to a fourth-place finish after nipping Stormy Scott for position on the final lap.

While Gustin earned $4,500 for a day's work, R.C. Whitwell crossed the finish line second in front of points leader Jason Hughes.

Scott started 15th and finished fifth, 14th-starting Pat Graham was sixth, Ricky Thornton Jr. finished seventh after starting 11th, eighth went to 17th-starting Jake Timm, Philip Houston nabbed ninth from the 18th starting spot and Cory Crapser advanced two positions to complete the top 10.

The series heads to the Fayette County Speedway in West Union, Iowa, on Friday for the fifth visit by the USMTS since 2007 when Jason Krohn won the inaugural event there.

Jake Neal picked up his first and only USMTS victory the following year, and Gustin won here in 2009.

The series returned last year with VanderBeek getting the win.

The pit gate opens at 4 p.m., grandstands open at 4:30, hot laps begin at 6:30 and racing starts at 7. Adult tickets are $20, kids ages 11 & under get in for free and pit passes are $30.

Coupons good for $2 off adult admission available at Casey's General Stores locations in Clermont, Decorah, Fairbank, Fredericksburg, Maynard, Oelwein, Ossian, Postville, Strawberry Point, Sumner, Tripoli and West Union. To find the location nearest you, visit www.caseys.com.

USMTS driver Curt Myers and his Snickers-sponsored machine will be at the Casey's General Store located at 102 E. Bradford in West Union from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fans can get a special $5-off 'Hot Ticket' directly from Myers during his appearance.

Presented by Appliance Plus of West Union, the Iron Man Challenge featuring Holley USRA Stock Cars and Out-Pace USRA B-Mods will be back in the spotlight with the tireless USMTS touring titans.

The Fayette County Speedway is a semi-banked 3/8-mile clay oval located 0.9 mile south of US 18 on SR 150, then 0.1 mile east on SR 56 (Vine St.). For more information, call (563) 422-5202 or (563) 422-5286 or visit www.fayettecountyspeedway.net online.

Saturday takes the tireless USMTS touring titans to the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., and the five-night swing wraps up Sunday at the Cresco Speedway in Cresco, Iowa.

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 S&S Fishing & Rental
10th Annual USMTS Summer Spectacular
Fairmont Raceway, Fairmont, Minn.
Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine builder, laps completed and money won.

SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (1) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
2. (4) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La.
3. (6) 2t Jake O'Neil (R), Tucson, Ariz.
4. (3) 1s Travis Saurer (R), Elizabeth, Minn.
5. (8) 20rt Ricky Thornton Jr., Chandler, Ariz.
6. (9) 2s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
7. (10) 49jr Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
8. (2) 27 Don Gerritsen Jr., Rock Rapids, Iowa.
9. (7) 14 Amanda Stiffler (R), Farmdale, Ohio.
10. (5) 4d Tim Donlinger, Rochester, Minn.

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (4) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
2. (5) 90 Steve Wetzstein, West Concord, Minn.
3. (1) 01 Brandon Aggen, Rushmore, Minn.
4. (9) 96 R.C. Whitwell (R), Tucson, Ariz.
5. (8) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis.
6. (7) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas.
7. (3) 8L Lyle Sathoff, Armstrong, Iowa.
8. (6) 00 Mark Gartner, Mapleton, Minn.
9. (2) 55 Cory Mahder (R), Eau Claire, Wis.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (3) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
2. (5) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
3. (1) 1m Curt Myers, Cameron, Wis.
4. (2) 1g Pat Graham, Ankeny, Iowa.
5. (4) 14 Scott Stiffler (R), Farmdale, Ohio.
6. (7) 4w Tyler Wolff (R), Fayetteville, Ark.
7. (6) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn.
8. (9) 7c Ben Chukuske, Sherburn, Minn.
9. (8) 8c Chris Clark (R), Jackson, Wyo.

REAL RACING WHEELS "B" MAIN (10 laps, top 8 advance):
1. (1) 2s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
2. (2) 14 Scott Stiffler (R), Farmdale, Ohio.
3. (5) 49jr Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
4. (3) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas.
5. (4) 4w Tyler Wolff (R), Fayetteville, Ark.
6. (7) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn.
7. (6) 8L Lyle Sathoff, Armstrong, Iowa.
8. (9) 27 Don Gerritsen Jr., Rock Rapids, Iowa.
9. (10) 00 Mark Gartner, Mapleton, Minn., $75.
10. (11) 14 Amanda Stiffler (R), Farmdale, Ohio.
11. (8) 7c Ben Chukuske, Sherburn, Minn., B&B/ChevPerf, $75.
DNS - 55 Cory Mahder (R), Eau Claire, Wis.
DNS - 8c Chris Clark (R), Jackson, Wyo., GRT/Hunter, $90.
DNS - 4d Tim Donlinger, Rochester, Minn., LG2/Cornett, $75.

CASEY'S GENERAL STORES "A" MAIN (25 laps):
1. (4) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, 25, $4500.
2. (5) 96 R.C. Whitwell (R), Tucson, Ariz., MBCustoms/Hatfield, 25, $1700.
3. (8) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 25, $1200.
4. (19) 4w Tyler Wolff (R), Fayetteville, Ark., MBCustoms/Hatfield, 25, $1000.
5. (15) 2s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., VanderBuilt/Mullins, 25, $900.
6. (14) 1g Pat Graham, Ankeny, Iowa, Victory/Karl, 25, $800.
7. (11) 20rt Ricky Thornton Jr., Chandler, Ariz., Shaw/Mullins, 25, $700.
8. (17) 49jr Jake Timm, Winona, Minn., MBCustoms/Sput's, 25, $650.
9. (18) 71 Philip Houston, Odessa, Texas, MBCustoms/KPE, 25, $600.
10. (12) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls, Wis., MBCustoms/Troy's, 25, $550.
11. (7) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La., MBCustoms/ASI, 25, $500.
12. (13) 1s Travis Saurer (R), Elizabeth, Minn., MBCustoms/Dakota, 25, $450.
13. (22) 27 Don Gerritsen Jr., Rock Rapids, Iowa, Skyrocket/HarryHeads, 25, $350.
14. (2) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., LG2/Cornett, 25, $400.
15. (21) 8L Lyle Sathoff, Armstrong, Iowa, Skyrocket/Ricke's, 25, $300.
16. (16) 14 Scott Stiffler (R), Farmdale, Ohio, Taylor/HRE, 18, $350.
17. (9) 01 Brandon Aggen, Rushmore, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput's, 18, $250.
18. (1) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, VanderBuilt/Sput's, 15, $300.
19. (3) 2t Jake O'Neil (R), Tucson, Ariz., Hughes/Mullins, 14, $300.
20. (10) 1m Curt Myers, Cameron, Wis., GRT/Sput's, 14, $300.
21. (24) 14 Amanda Stiffler (R), Farmdale, Ohio, Taylor/HRE, 14, $300.
22. (23) 55 Cory Mahder (R), Eau Claire, Wis., MBCustoms/Power Line, 6, $300.
23. (20) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn., MBCustoms/Sput's, 5, $300.
24. (6) 90 Steve Wetzstein, West Concord, Minn., MBCustoms/Sput's, 1, $250.

(R) = Grant Junghans Rookie of the Year contender

Lap Leaders: VanderBeek 1-14, Gustin 15-25.
Total Laps Led: VanderBeek 14, Gustin 11.
Margin of Victory: 1.511 seconds.
Time of Race: 27 minutes, 54.192 seconds (6 cautions).
Provisional Starters: Mahder, A. Stiffler.
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Wolff (started 19th, finished 4th).
Entries: 28.
Next Race: Friday, Sept. 1, Fayette County Speedway, West Union, Iowa.
Hunt for the Casey's Cup Points: Hughes 1758, Scott 1711, Dillard 1645, Ramirez 1609, Whitwell 1539, VanderBeek 1525, Gustin 1522, Timm 1520, Saurer 1464, Thornton 1464.
Grant Junghans Rookie of the Year Points: Whitwell 1994, Saurer 1912, Wolff 1819, Zane DeVilbiss 1549, Adam Kates 1484.
Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 507, Sput's 416, ASI 390, Hatfield 310, Cornett 287.
Manufacturers Championship Points: Hughes 500, MBCustoms 494, VanderBuilt 434, GRT 369, LG2 355.