BEATRICE, Neb. — Jason Hughes made the best of a timely caution flag, holding off arch rival Kelly Shryock over the final six laps to score his third O’Reilly Auto Parts United States Modified Touring Series main event victory of the season Wednesday at the Beatrice Speedway in Beatrice, Neb. While Hughes pocketed $2,000 for his efforts, he also gained momentum going into The Hunt for the O’Reilly USMTS National Championship.

Hughes led 34 of 40 laps in the Holley “A” Main, but the chassis builder from Colcord, Okla., had his hands full throughout the race. The polesitter grabbed the lead at the drop of the green flag, but felt pressure early on from Jason Friesen of Sutton, Neb. On lap five, Friesen pulled alongside Hughes as they crossed beneath the flagstand, but Friesen's machine spun entering the first turn and ended his hopes at his first O’Reilly USMTS victory since the 2006 season opener.

Hughes maintained the lead on the restart but Shryock, who started ninth, picked up where Friesen left off. In heavy lapped traffic, the eight-time defending O’Reilly USMTS National Champion squirted past Hughes on lap 16, but Hughes was able to recapture the top spot five laps later.

From there, the pair checked out from the field to settle it between themselves. Finally nosing ahead of Hughes with six laps to go, Shryock's pass was negated y a caution flag. After the double-file restart, Hughes held his ground for the remaining circuits and led Shryock to the finish line.

Jason Krohn of Slayton, Minn., earned the Olympic Fire Protection Hard Charger honors by racing to a third-place finish from his 13th starting spot. Beatrice residents Jordan Grabouski and Johnny “The Jet” Saathoff gave the local favorites the remaining pair of top-5 finishes. Tommy Weder Jr. was sixth, Bob Zoubek seventh, Mike Spaulding eighth, Clint Homan ninth and Josh Carpenter wound up 10th after starting 17th on the grid.

Shryock made it a clean sweep of all four National Event regions by winning the Western Region crown with a healthy margin (937 to 798) over Zack VanderBeek. The rest of the Western Region top-10 were Al Hejna (796), Krohn (758), Hughes (725), Jon Tesch (719), Scott Green (631), Friesen (625), Weder (585) and Jay Poidinger (506). Shryock also garnered the Home Pride Passing Points title for the Western Region, giving him three of those four as well. With their top-10 finishes in the points, Krohn and Friesen added their names to the elite list of drivers who will be competing in The Hunt for the O’Reilly USMTS National Championship.

The Hunt for the O’Reilly USMTS National Championship begins tomorrow (Thursday, Aug. 9) at the Thunderhill Speedway in Mayetta, Kan. — the first of 16 events in 32 days, culminating with the crowning of the 2007 O’Reilly USMTS National Champion at the 9th Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree at the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., Sept. 6-8.

Thu Aug 9 … Thunderhill Speedway, Mayetta, KS ($2,000 to win)
Fri Aug 10 … Bolivar Speedway USA, Bolivar, MO ($2,000 to win)
Sat Aug 11 … Lebanon I-44 Speedway, Lebanon, MO ($2,000 to win)
Sun Aug 12 … Monett Speedway, Monett, MO ($2,000 to win)
Tue Aug 14 … Farley Speedway, Farley, IA ($2,000 to win)
Wed Aug 15 … Echo Valley Speedway, West Union, IA ($2,000 to win)
Thu Aug 16 … Steele County Fairgrounds, Owatonna, MN ($2,000 to win)
Fri Aug 17 … Cresco Speedway, Cresco, IA ($2,000 to win)
Thu Aug 30 … Highway 3 Raceway, Allison, IA ($2,000 to win)
Fri Aug 31 … Chateau Raceway, Lansing, MN ($2,000 to win)
Sat Sep 1 … Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN ($2,000 to win)
Sun Sep 2 … Kasson Speedway, Kasson, MN ($2,000 to win)
Mon Sep 3 … Steele County Fairgrounds, Owatonna, MN ($2,000 to win)
Thu Sep 6 … Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN ($2,000 to win)
Fri Sep 7 … Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN ($4,000 to win)
Sat Sep 8 … Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, MN ($6,000 to win)

Qualifying at all events will be done via Home Pride Passing Points in the Heat Races and Real Racing Wheels “B” Mains. No license is required to race with the USMTS. However, license benefits include provisionals, points funds and contingencies, plus bonus payouts in the Holley “A” Main and for tow.

There are 27 drivers from 11 States in The Hunt for the O’Reilly USMTS National Championship:

1. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA … 60 pts.
2. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA … 51 pts.
3. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Colcord, OK … 45 pts.
4. 7 - Al Hejna -- Ventura, IA … 43 pts.
5. 02 - Tommy Weder Jr. -- Woodward, OK … 35 pts.
6. 27 - Greg Skaggs -- Bixby, OK … 26 pts.
7. 49x - Jay Poidinger -- Somerset, WI … 23 pts.
8. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS … 22 pts.
8. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD … 22 pts.
10. 5t - Randy Timms -- Wheatland, OK … 14 pts.
10. 5 - Steve Holzkamper -- Gentry, AR … 14 pts.
12. 12b - Johnny Bone Jr. -- Pea Ridge, AR … 12 pts.
13. 32 - Donovan Lodge -- Moline, IL … 10 pts.
14. 20 - Rodney Sanders -- Happy, TX … 8 pts.
14. 1f - Jason Friesen -- Sutton, NE … 8 pts.
16. 19 - Jamie Burford -- Keatchie, LA … 7 pts.
16. 7k - Jason Krohn -- Slayton, MN … 7 pts.
18. 65 - Tommy Myer -- Blooming Prairie, MN … 6 pts.
18. 21m - Dean Mahlstedt -- Clear Lake, IA … 6 pts.
18. 31j - Jeremy Rasmussen -- Bentonville, AR … 6 pts.
21. 11 - Brandon Morton -- Coweta, OK … 5 pts.
21. 4x - Bobby Malchus -- Red Oak, TX … 5 pts.
21. 54 - Dena Wilson -- Coweta, OK … 5 pts.
21. 58 - Scott Vesely -- Mosinee, WI … 5 pts.
25. 31 - Corey Dripps -- Reinbeck, IA … 3 pts.
25. 19r - Ryan Gustin -- Marshalltown, IA … 3 pts.
27. 19g - Richie Gustin Jr. -- Gilman, IA … 2 pts.

‘The Hunt’ will be comprised of the final 16 races of the season, with qualifying through prior regional events. The O’Reilly USMTS National Championship points system will be used at all regional events, with the top-10 in the final standings of each Region earning 10 points for first place, 9 points for second place and so forth, descending to 1 point for the 10th-place finisher in the region. In addition, each driver who attended all events in a region will earn 5 bonus points. The total points earned for all regions will serve as the base points that each driver will start ‘The Hunt’ with.

USMTS Southern Series drivers are also eligible to qualify for ‘The Hunt’. Drivers may use their best points combination from the four National Event regions or a combination of three regions and the USMTS Southern Series as their base points to begin ‘The Hunt’ with. The O’Reilly USMTS National Championship points system will be used at the remaining events for the drivers in ‘The Hunt’ to determine the 2007 O’Reilly USMTS National Champion.

Created for the fans, the ‘The Hunt’ serves as a “playoff” for the O’Reilly USMTS National Championship. While handicapping gives a slight advantage to the drivers that compete on the entire National Events circuit, each of the top-10 drivers in any of the four regions or the USMTS Southern Series has a legitimate shot at capturing the O’Reilly USMTS National Championship.

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

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
O’Reilly Auto Parts United States Modified Touring Series
National Event - Western Region
Beatrice Speedway, Beatrice, Neb.
Wednesday, Aug. 8, 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. 18s - Brent Bohmont -- Martell, NE (1)
2. 96J - Johnny Saathoff -- Beatrice, NE (3)
3. 7D - Dusty Leonard -- Marysville, KS (4)
4. 71 - Jeff James -- Stanton, IA (2)
5. 95 - Dylan Smith -- Osceola, NE (6)
6. 72 - Mike Lineberry -- Fontanelle, NE (7)
7. 18k - Spencer Sutton -- Odell, NE (8)
8. 7b - Chris Burk -- Friend, NE (5)

HEAT #2 (10 laps):
1. 1f - Jason Friesen -- Sutton, NE (6)
2. 31j - Jeremy Rasmussen -- Bentonville, AR (1)
3. 3a - Chris Alcorn -- Lincoln, NE (2)
4. 7k - Jason Krohn -- Slayton, MN (7)
5. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (8)
6. 18 - Justin Boney -- Leavenworth, KS (4)
7. z34 - Brent Schlake -- Blue Springs, NE (5)
8. 3t - Tom Spanel -- Lincoln, NE (3)

HEAT #3 (10 laps):
1. 17s - Mike Spaulding -- Bemidji, MN (5)
2. 30 - Jordan Grabouski -- Beatrice, NE (4)
3. 02 - Tommy Weder Jr. -- Woodward, OK (8)
4. 49x - Jay Poidinger -- Somerset, WI (2)
5. 2x - Lyle Shepard -- Manhattan, KS (1)
6. 29e - Eric Rempel -- Palmyra, NE (7)
7. 4j - Jordy Nelson -- Marysville, KS (3) DNF
8. 7 - Al Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (6) DNF

HEAT #4 (10 laps):
1. 5s - Bob Zoubek -- Dorchester, NE (2)
2. 94 - Dan Nelson -- Beatrice, NE (3)
3. 76 - Lance Borgman -- Beatrice, NE (4)
4. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (6)
5. 8 - Daniel McKnight -- Beatrice, NE (1)
6. 07 - Mike Goldfuss -- Dwight, NE (7)
7. 4t - David Trauernicht -- Beatrice, NE (5)

HEAT #5 (10 laps):
1. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Colcord, OK (2)
2. 27 - Clint Homan -- Bellevue, NE (5)
3. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (7)
4. 3x - Josh Carpenter -- Diller, NE (3)
5. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS (6)
6. 29 - Greg Metz -- Washington, KS (4)
7. 71m - Eric McMillan -- Home, KS (1)

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. 7k - Jason Krohn -- Slayton, MN (2)
2. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (3)
3. 3x - Josh Carpenter -- Diller, NE (5)
4. 18 - Justin Boney -- Leavenworth, KS (9)
5. 7D - Dusty Leonard -- Marysville, KS (1)
6. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS (6)
7. 18k - Spencer Sutton -- Odell, NE (10)
8. 71m - Eric McMillan -- Home, KS (12)
9. 71 - Jeff James -- Stanton, IA (4)
10. 29e - Eric Rempel -- Palmyra, NE (8)
11. 8 - Daniel McKnight -- Beatrice, NE (7)
12. 3t - Tom Spanel -- Lincoln, NE (13)
13. 4j - Jordy Nelson -- Marysville, KS (11) DNS

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (3)
2. 3a - Chris Alcorn -- Lincoln, NE (2)
3. 76 - Lance Borgman -- Beatrice, NE (1)
4. 4t - David Trauernicht -- Beatrice, NE (11)
5. 95 - Dylan Smith -- Osceola, NE (5)
6. z34 - Brent Schlake -- Blue Springs, NE (10)
7. 72 - Mike Lineberry -- Fontanelle, NE (7)
8. 2x - Lyle Shepard -- Manhattan, KS (6)
9. 7b - Chris Burk -- Friend, NE (12) -1 Lap
10. 07 - Mike Goldfuss -- Dwight, NE (8) -1 Lap
11. 29 - Greg Metz -- Washington, KS (9) DNF
12. 7 - Al Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (13) DNF
13. 49x - Jay Poidinger -- Somerset, WI (4) DNF

HOLLEY “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Colcord, OK (1)
2. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (9)
3. 7k - Jason Krohn -- Slayton, MN (13)
4. 30 - Jordan Grabouski -- Beatrice, NE (7)
5. 96J - Johnny Saathoff -- Beatrice, NE (10)
6. 02 - Tommy Weder Jr. -- Woodward, OK (8)
7. 5s - Bob Zoubek -- Dorchester, NE (2)
8. 17s - Mike Spaulding -- Bemidji, MN (6)
9. 27 - Clint Homan -- Bellevue, NE (4)
10. 3x - Josh Carpenter -- Diller, NE (17)
11. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (15)
12. 3a - Chris Alcorn -- Lincoln, NE (16)
13. 94 - Dan Nelson -- Beatrice, NE (11)
14. 18s - Brent Bohmont -- Martell, NE (3)
15. 31j - Jeremy Rasmussen -- Bentonville, AR (12)
16. 18 - Justin Boney -- Leavenworth, KS (19) DNF
17. 4t - David Trauernicht -- Beatrice, NE (20) DNF
18. 1f - Jason Friesen -- Sutton, NE (5) DNF
19. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS (23) DNF
20. 95 - Dylan Smith -- Osceola, NE (22) DNF
21. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (14) DNF
22. 76 - Lance Borgman -- Beatrice, NE (18) DNF
23. 7D - Dusty Leonard -- Marysville, KS (21) DNF
24. 49x - Jay Poidinger -- Somerset, WI (24) DNS

AMSOIL Lap Leaders: Hughes 1-15, Shryock 16-21, Hughes 22-40.
Total Laps Led: Hughes 34, Shryock 6.
AFCO Pole Award: Friesen.
Provisional Starters: Green (regional), Poidinger (national).
Olympic Fire Protection Hard Charger: Krohn (started 13th, finished 3rd).
Next Race: Thursday, Aug. 9, Thunderhill Speedway, Mayetta, Kan..
National Championship Points: Shryock 60, VanderBeek 51, Hughes 45, Hejna 43, Weder 35, Greg Skaggs 26, Poidinger 23, Green 22, Tesch 22, Randy Timms 14, Steve Holzkamper 14.
Final Western Region Points: Shryock 937, VanderBeek 798, Hejna 796, Krohn 758, Hughes 725, Tesch 719, Green 631, Friesen 625, Weder 585, Poidinger 506.
National Home Pride Passing Points: Shryock 159, Hughes 121½, VanderBeek 118½, Hejna 115½, Weder 82½.
Final Western Region Home Pride Passing Points: Shryock 54, Hejna 43½, Green 42, Friesen 37½, VanderBeek 30.
Rookies Rockin’ Sports Bar Rookie of the Year Points: Green 681, Ryan Gustin 299, Donovan Lodge 257, Cale Sponsler 235, Richie Gustin Jr. 225.
Builders Championship Points: Skyrocket 381, Hughes 309, Harris 219, GRT 170, Bullet 137.

Contingency Awards:
Belleville Motorsports – Saathoff, Rasmussen, Smith.
Boyer’s Engine Development – Hughes.
GRT Race Cars – not awarded.
Hawk Performance – Spaulding.
Isky Racing Cams – Bohmont.
Kevko Oil Pans & Components – Saathoff.
KSE Racing Products – Shryock.
Marsh Racing Wheels – not awarded.
Nitroquest Web Solutions - Krohn.
Quarter Master – Hughes, Homan.
QuickTime Performance Parts – not awarded.
Real Racing Wheels – Krohn, Tesch.

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USMTS TITLE SPONSOR: O’Reilly Auto Parts.

USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Race Tires, AMSOIL, Arizona Sport Shirts, BRODIX, Fast Company Performance, Holley Performance Products, Home Pride Companies, Intercomp, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, Marsh Racing Wheels, Nitroquest Web Solutions, Olympic Fire Protection, Real Racing Wheels, Rookies Rockin’ Sports Bar, Yeager Machine.

USMTS 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 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).