LOCUST GROVE, Ark. - Jared Landers may not have been the fastest car in the beginning or at the end of Saturday's USMTS Southern Series main event at Batesville Motor Speedway, but he was fast enough to take home the $3,000 top prize and his first USMTS Southern Series victory in front of his hometown fans.

Landers started fourth in the 24-car field and quickly moved into second place behind eight-time defending O'Reilly USMTS national champ and current USMTS Southern Series points leader Kelly Shryock of Fertile, Iowa. Although Shryock appeared to be en route to his fifth USMTS Southern Series victory, his No. 3 Skyrocket Modified began to puff smoke around lap 15. With flames beginning to ignite on the exhaust pipes and his trailing smoke screen worsening, officials were forced to black-flag Shryock on lap 22, handing the top spot to Landers.

The youngster from Batesville put his good fortune to good use and kept the competition at bay over the final 18 laps, just edging out Wayne Brooks at the finish line. Brooks, who started 21st, set a blistering pace as he masterfully worked his way through the field but came up one position -- and perhaps one lap -- short of capturing the win.

Canadian Steve Arpin grabbed third while Oklahoma's Tommy Weder Jr. took fourth. Floral, Ark.'s Brandon Smith rebounded from an early-race incident and charged through the pack to score a fifth-place paycheck.

Shryock continues to top the USMTS Southern Series rankings with 773 points, while Steve Holzkamper hung on to second place with 629 points. Third through 10th, respectively, are Randy Timms (606), Weder (604), Greg Skaggs (601), Zack VanderBeek (595), Jason Hughes (547), Rodney Sanders (539), Jamie Burford (496) and David Mitchell (477).

Up next for the USMTS Southern Series will be a tripleheader tour through Arkansas and Louisiana. On Thursday, July 26, a return trip to Batesville is on tap to make up the rained-out event this past Friday. The Batesville event will precede a Friday, July 27, show at Monticello (Ark.) Speedway and Saturday, July 28, contest at Fast Trax Speedway in Chatham, La. All three events will be USMTS Southern Series events and will pay $3,000 to win.

The O’Reilly Auto Parts United States Modified Touring Series national tour kicks back into gear with a five-day, five-track trek through the State of Minnesota over the Memorial Day Weekend. The Yeager Machine Northeast Region swing begins at Chateau Raceway in Lansing on Thursday, May 24. From there, the rugged road warriors invade the Murray County Speedway in Slayton on Friday, May 25. The O’Reilly USMTS visits the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley on Saturday, May 26, then heads to the Kasson Speedway on Sunday, May 27. The pentathlon of power winds up at the Steele County Speedway in Owatonna for the 4th Annual Memorial Day Shootout on Monday, May 28.

To learn more about the O’Reilly Auto Parts United States Modified Touring Series or USMTS Southern Series, call the headquarters office at (515) 832-7944 or visit www.usmts.com online.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
USMTS Southern Series
Presented by S & S Liquidations
Batesville Motor Speedway, Locust Grove, Ark.
Saturday, May 12, 2007

Showing finishing position, car number, driver, hometown and starting position in parentheses. The top 12 drivers in Home Pride Passing Points accumulated in the Heats are locked into the Holley “A” Main, with the top 8 re-drawing for starting positions 1-8.

ISKY RACING CAMS HEAT #1 (10 laps):
1. 5r - Sean Jones -- Mansfield, TX (2)
2. 7m - Brandon Melton -- Longview, TX (1)
3. 8 - Steve Miller -- Georgetown, TX (3)
4. 60b - Mike Bowers -- N. Little Rock, AR (4)
5. 4x - Bobby Malchus -- Red Oak, TX (6)
6. 28 - Ronnie Jeffrey -- Batesville, AR (5)
7. 78 - Larry Hull -- Old Appleton, MO (8)
8. 87 - Jeff Taylor -- Cave City, AR (9)
9. 01 - Joey Galloway -- Emo, ON, CAN (7) DNS

HEAT #2 (10 laps):
1. 00eh - Steve Arpin -- Rochester, MN (3)
2. L51 - Jason Wilkey -- Batesville, AR (1)
3. 05 - Michael Robertson -- Minden, LA (7)
4. 26 - Patrick Linn -- Little Rock, AR (6)
5. 4r - Derek Ramirez -- Woodward, OK (5)
6. 99r - Brad Buck -- Paragould, AR (4)
7. F1 - Tyson Franks -- Oil Trough, AR (8)
8. M16 - Micah Gavin -- Oil Trough, AR (2)

HEAT #3 (10 laps):
1. 88x - Tim Clonch -- Quinlan, TX (2)
2. 12 - Johnny Bone, Jr. -- Pea Ridge, AR (3)
3. 19 - Jamie Burford -- Keatchie, LA (4)
4. 5t - Randy Timms -- Wheatland, OK (6)
5. 21w - Wayne Brooks -- Bald Knob, AR (7)
6. 85d - Mark Dotson -- Cameron, MO (5)
7. 76 - Chase Allen -- Midlothian, TX (8)
8. 17 - Charles Lasater -- Garland, TX (1) DNF

HEAT #4 (10 laps):
1. 21 - Chris Brown -- Cleveland, TX (1)
2. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Colcord, OK (3)
3. 11 - Brandon Morton -- Coweta, OK (2)
4. C8 - Timothy Culp -- W. Monroe, LA (4)
5. 20 - Robbie McClain -- Hot Springs, AR (6)
6. 27 - Greg Skaggs -- Bixby, OK (8)
7. 54 - Dena Wilson -- Coweta, OK (7)
8. 99 - James Emerson -- Pleasant Plains, AR (5)

HEAT #5 (10 laps):
1. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (5)
2. 23 - Brandon Smith -- Floral, AR (7)
3. 01 - Peyton Taylor -- Batesville, AR (4)
4. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (1)
5. 16 - Chris Henigan -- Marshall, TX (6)
6. 20 - Rodney Sanders -- Happy, TX (2)
7. 73 - Shawn Walsh -- Ash Flat, AR (3)
8. 18 - Jack Sullivan -- Greenbrier, AR (8)

HEAT #6 (10 laps):
1. 777 - Jared Landers -- Batesville, AR (3)
2. 02 - Tommy Weder, Jr. -- Woodward, OK (6)
3. 88xxx - Clyde Dunn, Jr. -- Sunnyville, TX (1)
4. 21B - Brandon Kenny -- E. Woodward, OK (5)
5. 5 - Steve Holzkamper -- Gentry, AR (7)
6. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS (4)
7. 52 - Trevor Latham -- Rogers, AR (8) DNF
8. 13 - David Mitchell -- Ashdown, AR (2) DNF

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 5 advance):
1. L51 - Jason Wilkey -- Batesville, AR (1)
2. 26 - Patrick Linn -- Little Rock, AR (4)
3. 01 - Peyton Taylor -- Batesville, AR (2)
4. C8 - Timothy Culp -- W. Monroe, LA (6)
5. 21w - Wayne Brooks -- Bald Knob, AR (7)
6. 87 - Jeff Taylor -- Cave City, AR (16)
7. 11 - Brandon Morton -- Coweta, OK (3)
8. 16 - Chris Henigan -- Marshall, TX (9)
9. 18 - Jack Sullivan -- Greenbrier, AR (18)
10. 27 - Greg Skaggs -- Bixby, OK (10)
11. 20 - Rodney Sanders -- Happy, TX (12)
12. 99r - Brad Buck -- Paragould, AR (11)
13. 76 - Chase Allen -- Midlothian, TX (14)
14. 54 - Dena Wilson -- Coweta, OK (15)
15. 78 - Larry Hull -- Old Appleton, MO (13)
16. 17 - Charles Lasater -- Garland, TX (17)
17. 21B - Brandon Kenny -- E. Woodward, OK (5)
18. 4x - Bobby Malchus -- Red Oak, TX (8)
19. 01 - Joey Galloway -- Emo, ON, CAN (19)

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 5 advance):
1. 19 - Jamie Burford -- Keatchie, LA (1)
2. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (6)
3. 5t - Randy Timms -- Wheatland, OK (4)
4. 88xxx - Clyde Dunn, Jr. -- Sunnyville, TX (3)
5. 5 - Steve Holzkamper -- Gentry, AR (7)
6. 60b - Mike Bowers -- N. Little Rock, AR (5)
7. 73 - Shawn Walsh -- Ash Flat, AR (15)
8. 85d - Mark Dotson -- Cameron, MO (11)
9. 28 - Ronnie Jeffrey -- Batesville, AR (10)
10. 4r - Derek Ramirez -- Woodward, OK (9)
11. 99 - James Emerson -- Pleasant Plains, AR (17)
12. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS (12)
13. F1 - Tyson Franks -- Oil Trough, AR (13)
14. 20 - Robbie McClain -- Hot Springs, AR (8)
15. 13 - David Mitchell -- Ashdown, AR (18)
16. 8 - Steve Miller -- Georgetown, TX (2)
17. M16 - Micah Gavin -- Oil Trough, AR (16)
18. 52 - Trevor Latham -- Rogers, AR (14)

HOLLEY “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. 777 - Jared Landers -- Batesville, AR (4)
2. 21w - Wayne Brooks -- Bald Knob, AR (21)
3. 00eh - Steve Arpin -- Rochester, MN (5)
4. 02 - Tommy Weder, Jr. -- Woodward, OK (6)
5. 23 - Brandon Smith -- Floral, AR (2)
6. 5r - Sean Jones -- Mansfield, TX (8)
7. 21 - Chris Brown -- Cleveland, TX (3)
8. 88x - Tim Clonch -- Quinlan, TX (7)
9. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Colcord, OK (11)
10. L51 - Jason Wilkey -- Batesville, AR (13)
11. 5t - Randy Timms -- Wheatland, OK (18)
12. 12 - Johnny Bone, Jr. -- Pea Ridge, AR (10)
13. 88xxx - Clyde Dunn, Jr. -- Sunnyville, TX (20)
14. 26 - Patrick Linn -- Little Rock, AR (15)
15. 5 - Steve Holzkamper -- Gentry, AR (22)
16. 4x - Bobby Malchus -- Red Oak, TX (23)
17. 11 - Brandon Morton -- Coweta, OK (24)
18. C8 - Timothy Culp -- W. Monroe, LA (19)
19. 7m - Brandon Melton -- Longview, TX (12)
20. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (16)
21. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (1) DNF
22. 19 - Jamie Burford -- Keatchie, LA (14) DNF
23. 01 - Peyton Taylor -- Batesville, AR (17) DNF
24. 05 - Michael Robertson -- Minden, LA (9) DNF

Lap Leaders: Shryock 1-22, Landers 23-40.
Total Laps Led: Shryock 22, Landers 18.
Pole Award: Shryock.
Provisional Starters: Morton, Malchus.
Olympic Fire Protection Hard Charger: Brooks (started 21st, finished 2nd).
Next USMTS Southern Series Event: July 26, Batesville Motor Speedway, Locust Grove, Ark.
Next O’Reilly USMTS National Event: May 24, Chateau Raceway, Lansing, Minn.
USMTS Southern Series Points: Shryock 773, Holzkamper 629, Timms 606, Weder 604, Skaggs 601, VanderBeek 595, Hughes 547, Sanders 539, Burford 496, Mitchell 477.
USMTS Southern Series Home Pride Passing Points: Shryock 43½, VanderBeek 34½, Bone 33, Hughes 33, Mitchell 31½.

Contingency Awards:
Belleville Motorsports – not awarded.
Boyer’s Engine Development – Landers.
GRT Race Cars – not awarded.
Hawk Performance – not awarded.
Isky Racing Cams – Jones.
Kevko Oil Pans & Components – Smith.
KSE Racing Products –  Brooks, Weder.
Marsh Racing Wheels – not awarded.
Nitroquest Web Solutions - Arpin.
Quarter Master – Landers, Hughes.
QuickTime Performance Parts – Brown.
Real Racing Wheels – Wilkey, Burford.

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USMTS SOUTHERN SERIES OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Race Tires, Arizona Sport Shirts, Fast Company Performance, Holley Performance Products, Home Pride Companies, Intercomp, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, Marsh Racing Wheels, Nitroquest Web Solutions, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Olympic Fire Protection, Real Racing Wheels.

USMTS SOUTHERN SERIES PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Boom Drilling, Borco LP, Day Motor Sports, Gressell Oil Field Services, Hughes Racing Chassis, KraftKar Race Cars, McVicker Oil Fields, Rinehart Trucking.

USMTS SOUTHERN SERIES CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Belleville Motorsports, Bilstein Shocks, Boyer’s Engine Development, Dynatech Racing Exhaust, GRT Race Cars, Hawk Performance, Hyperco, Isky Racing Cams, KSE Racing Products, Quarter Master, QuickTime Performance Race Parts, Racer’s Choice (RCI).