WORTHINGTON, Minn. -- Not even a caution midway through the 40-lap main event could deter Ryan Gustin as he walloped the field to score his eighth USMTS National Championship Series victory of the season Sunday night at the Nobles County Speedway in Worthington, Minn.

After a hearty battle with Kelly Shryock in Beyea Custom Headers Heat Race #1, ‘The Reaper’ went on to lead every lap of the Swan Energy “A” Main en route to another $4,000 paycheck as he looks to defend his crown.

While Gustin awed the fans with another flawless display of driving talent that they will someday tell their grandchildren about, the rest of the main event competitors kept the crowd entertained with some heated battles for position and plenty of two- and three-wide racing action.

After Gustin crossed the finish line with a cushion of nearly eight seconds, 2007 USMTS National Champion Jason Krohn emerged as the battle-hardened runner-up with Jon Tesch following in third after starting 13th.

Two more former titlists rounded out the top 5 with 2010 USMTS National Champion Jason Hughes finishing fourth and nine-time USMTS National Champion Kelly Shryock coming home in fifth.

Zack VanderBeek, Rodney Sanders, Terry Phillips, Chris Brown and Dereck Ramirez rounded out the top 10.

The USMTS National Championship Series returns to the track on Wednesday, Aug. 1, at the Buena Vista Raceway in Alta, Iowa, before heading 72 miles east to the Mineral City Speedway in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on Thursday, Aug. 2. The tripleheader weekend wraps up at the Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Iowa, on Friday, Aug. 3.

But before that happens, the drivers have a little business to take care of this Wednesday through Saturday, July 25-28, as the Best of the Best in open-wheel dirt modified racing invade the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., for the 2nd Annual World Modified Dirt Track Championship presented by Hanson Tire Service.

More than 100 top-flight drivers and teams will take part in the unique event, with one driver leaving the track Saturday night with a $25,000 paycheck.

Each of the championship main event qualifiers will pocket a minimum $1,500. Saturday’s program will feature an “alphabet soup” of main events that will culminate with a 31-car starting field in the championship race. Even if a driver has some tough luck during qualifying on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, he or she still has the chance to climb the ladder of main events on Saturday to earn a spot in the finale.

This event is sanctioned by the United States Modified Touring Series and all USMTS rules apply. No points will be awarded for this event and no license is required. Tires allowed are the American Racer KK704, stamped Hoosier G60 or Wissota Hoosier 35. The Wissota Hoosier 35 will only be permitted for licensed Wissota drivers and the racecar must be completely Wissota legal.

The Deer Creek Speedway sits on 60 acres of scenic rural rolling hills with one of America’s most popular state-of-the-art racing complexes and a busy modern campground. The 3/8-mile high-banked clay oval is located 11.3 miles south of I-90 (exit 209) on US 63 (0.7 mile north of SR 16) in Spring Valley, Minn. For more info, call toll-free 877-DCS-RACE or 507-346-2342 on raceday or visit www.deercreekspeedway.com online.

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/ustmts and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/usmts.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
USMTS National Championship Series
Nobles County Speedway, Worthington, Minn.
Sunday, July 22, 2012

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine builder, laps completed, reason out (if any) and money won. The top 8 drivers in passing points accumulated in the heat races re-draw for starting positions 1-8.

BEYEA CUSTOM HEADERS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (1) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
2. (2) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
3. (3) 20s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
4. (6) 21 Chris Brown, Spring, Texas.
5. (4) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
6. (7) 22b Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan.
7. (5) 17 Garry Oskerson, Fairmont, Minn.

HOOKER HARNESS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (1) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
2. (2) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
3. (4) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn.
4. (5) 27 Don Gerritsen Jr., Rock Rapids, Iowa.
5. (6) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D.
6. (7) 23 Brandon Davis, Castle Rock, Colo.
7. (3) 10 Mike Steensma, Luverne, Minn.

EIBACH SPRINGS HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (4) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo.
2. (1) 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa.
3. (3) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
4. (5) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
5. (6) 3 Jason Briese, Cleghorn, Iowa.
6. (7) 84 Cody Ahrendt, Inwood, Iowa.
7. (2) 13 Ryan Engels, Arlington, S.D.

SWAN ENERGY “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (1) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, 40, $4000.
2. (4) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn., Hughes/Sput’s, 40, $2200.
3. (13) 14 Jon Tesch, Watertown, S.D., GRT/Sput’s, 40, $1700.
4. (9) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $1200.
5. (5) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, Skyrocket/RoushYates, 40, $1000.
6. (7) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, Skyrocket/Sput’s, 40, $800.
7. (12) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, Hughes/Geddes, 40, $700.
8. (6) 75 Terry Phillips, Springfield, Mo., GRT/Hatfield, 40, $600.
9. (10) 21 Chris Brown, Spring, Texas, Skyrocket/RoushYates, 40, $550.
10. (15) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/ProPower, 40, $500.
11. (17) 23 Brandon Davis, Castle Rock, Colo., Hughes/Geddes, 40, $475.
12. (16) 22b Rick Beebe, Shawnee, Kan., Hughes/Mullins, 39, $450.
13. (19) 17 Garry Oskerson, Fairmont, Minn., Shaw/, 39, $350.
14. (11) 27 Don Gerritsen Jr., Rock Rapids, Iowa, Razor/HarryHeads, 36, $325.
15. (8) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., Hughes/ProPower, 32, $400.
16. (3) 20s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., Hughes/ProPower, 32, $400.
17. (14) 3 Jason Briese, Cleghorn, Iowa, Skyrocket/JRM, 32, $300.
18. (21) 13 Ryan Engels, Arlington, S.D., TRE/Ryan, 32, $300.
19. (2) 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa, BC/ProPower, 31, $400.
20. (20) 10 Mike Steensma, Luverne, Minn., Hughes/Sput’s, 28, $400.
21. (18) 84 Cody Ahrendt, Inwood, Iowa, Shaw/Action, 20, $400.

(R) = Rookie of the Year contender.

Integra Lap Leader: Gustin 1-40.
Total Laps Led: Gustin 40.
Margin of Victory: 7.971 seconds.
Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger: Tesch (started 13th, finished 3rd).
Next Race: Wednesday-Saturday, July 25-28, Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, Minn.
USMTS National Championship Series Points: Gustin 1865, Hughes 1660, Sanders 1647, Brown 1534, Shryock 1512, J. Scott 1488, S. Scott 1466, Ramirez 1438, VanderBeek 1371, Chase Junghans 1278.
Rookie of the Year Points: S. Scott 2057, Daniel Hilsabeck 1374, Ron Keith 1219, Casey Penn 956, Thomas Tillison Jr. 789.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 342, Geddes 317, ProPower 288, Sput’s 264, RoushYates 194.
Tiger Rear Ends Manufacturers Championship Points: Hughes 407, GRT 363, Skyrocket 304, Sidebiter 143, Shaw 125.

Contingency Awards:
AERO Race Wheels – Ahrendt.
American Racer – VanderBeek.
Beyea Custom Headers – Gustin.
Dominator Race Products – Gerritsen.
Eibach Springs – Phillips.
Forty9Designs.com – Hughes, Brown.
Hooker Harness – VanderBeek.
Integra Racing Shocks & Springs – Gustin.
KEVKO Oil Pans & Components – Brown.
KSE Racing Products – J. Scott.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Steensma.
Nitroquest – not awarded.
Mesilla Valley Transportation – Tesch.
PBM Performance Products – not awarded.
R2C Performance Products – Krohn.
Real Racing Wheels – not awarded.

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USMTS TITLE SPONSORS: Casey’s General Stores, Swan Energy.

USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Awesome Race Suits, Cheetos, Dominator Race Products, Intercomp, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, New Vision Graphics, Nitroquest, RACEceiver, SLAP Energy, Snickers.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Arbor Masters, Arnold Motor Supply, ASi Racewear, Beebe Heating & Air Conditioning, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Dirthead.com, DirtKnights.com, Erson Cams, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, Intensitee Custom Racewear, Mesilla Valley Transportation, O’Brien Enterprises, Olympic Fire Protection, Ramirez Motorsports, Road Runner Trucking, Ruter Farms, Sybesma Graphics, Yeager Machine.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AERO Race Wheels, AFCO Racing Products, Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, CPD Racing Tools, Eibach Springs, Fast Shafts, Forty9Designs.com, Genesis Shocks, Hooker Harness, Integra Racing Shocks & Springs, Keyser Manufacturing, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, PBM Performance Products, Quarter Master, Real Racing Wheels, Tiger Rear Ends.