WEST UNION, Iowa — It was a great night and a horrible night for Skyrocket Nation Wednesday as the O’Reilly Auto Parts United States Modified Touring Series made its first-ever visit to the Echo Valley Speedway in West Union, Iowa. While Jason Krohn wheeled his Skyrocket Chassis into victory lane, his car builder, Kelly Shryock suffered mechanical problems in the main event and took a huge hit in his bid for an unprecedented ninth straight O’Reilly USMTS National Championship.

The night had a soggy start, with rain soaking the facility earlier in the day and making for a muddy pit area and slippery racing surface in the heat races. By feature time, however, the 4/10-mile oval was lightning fast with multiple grooves which resulted in an exciting nightcap for the fans.

NASCAR Nextel Cup Series veteran Ken Schrader of Concord, N.C., garnered the pole position for the 30-lap Holley “A” Main, but Jon Tesch of Watertown, S.D., used the high line to power around Schrader and lead the first lap. Krohn dove to the inside of Schrader to make it three-wide in turn 1, then powered into the lead as they raced down the long back stretch.

Within 12 laps, Krohn's had expanded his advantage to more than 10 car-lengths, but the yellow flag waved for a spin by Greg Skaggs, which slowed the pace and erased Krohn's advantage over the field. While under caution, Shryock, who had changed motors just before the main event, suffered mechanical problems and exited the race with a 24th-place finish.

After the restart, Willy Kraft of Lakefield, Minn., showed that Krohn was not going to run away and hide this time. The pair ran nose-to-tail for the next 12 laps with Kraft making his presence known to the leader as they hit thick lapped traffic. Another caution, however — this time for rookie Ryan Gustin's stationary Harris Modified — took the lapped cars out of the equation for the rest of the contest.

Krohn was flawless over the final six orbits as he captured his fifth O’Reilly USMTS National Event victory of the season, with Kraft and Tesch right behind at the finish line. Delhi, Iowa's Mark Schulte grabbed fourth as he nipped Schrader at the stripe. Points leader Jason Hughes, Zack VanderBeek, Darrin Walch, Layne Meyer and Chad Lerch rounded out the top-10.

The win was worth $2,000 for Krohn as he moved up two positions to second in The Hunt for the O’Reilly USMTS National Championship, 20 markers behind Hughes with 10 races remaining in ‘The Hunt’. Tesch also advanced one spot to third with 565 points while Shryock dropped to fourth in the standings with 542. The rest of the top-10 are Tommy Weder Jr. (493), Dean Mahlstedt (480), VanderBeek (478), Skaggs (474), Steve Holzkamper (444) and Tommy Myer (442).

The action continues on Thursday as the stars and cars of the O’Reilly USMTS invade the Steele County Speedway in Owatonna, Minn., for race no. 7 in The Hunt for the O’Reilly USMTS National Championship. On Friday, the teams venture back to the Cresco (Iowa) Speedway on Friday. The race at Cresco will mark the 18th event in 21 days for the rugged road warriors, but they'll get nearly two well-deserved weeks off before returning to action for the last half of the ‘The Hunt’ beginning Aug. 30.

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
The Hunt for the O’Reilly USMTS National Championship (Race 6 of 16)
Echo Valley Speedway, West Union, Iowa
Wednesday, Aug. 15, 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. 9 - Ken Schrader -- Concord, NC (3)
2. 7k - Jason Krohn -- Slayton, MN (6)
3. 02 - Tommy Weder Jr. -- Woodward, OK (1)
4. 19r - Ryan Gustin -- Marshalltown, IA (2)
5. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS (4)
6. 27 - Greg Skaggs -- Bixby, OK (7)
7. 19 - Jamie Burford -- Keatchie, LA (5)
8. 58 - Scott Vesely -- Mosinee, WI (8) DNS

HEAT #2 (10 laps):
1. 7 - Al Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (2)
2. 27m - Mark Schulte -- Delhi, IA (6)
3. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (4)
4. 7m - Michael Darnall -- West Union, IA (1)
5. 17s - Mike Spaulding -- Bemidji, MN (7)
6. 31 - Jack Bateman -- Canaan, NH (8)
7. 49x - Jay Poidinger -- Somerset, WI (5) DNF
8. 65 - Tommy Myer -- Blooming Prairie, MN (3) DNF

HEAT #3 (10 laps):
1. 5 - Steve Holzkamper -- Gentry, AR (2)
2. 32 - Donovan Lodge -- Moline, IL (1)
3. 83 - Willy Kraft -- Lakefield, MN (8)
4. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Colcord, OK (7)
5. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (6)
6. 3d - Tim Donlinger -- Rochester, MN (4)
7. 55h - Troy Hansmeier -- Waukon, IA (3)
8. 55 - Alan Mondus -- Lakeville, MN (5)

HEAT #4 (10 laps):
1. 21m - Dean Mahlstedt -- Clear Lake, IA (1)
2. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (4)
3. 4 - Chad Lerch -- Arlington, IA (7)
4. 5w - Darrin Walch -- Postville, IA (2)
5. 21L - Layne Meyer -- West Union, IA (5)
6. 12j - Justin O'Brien -- Volga, IA (3) DNF
7. 74 - Mark Noble -- Blooming Prairie, MN (6) DNF

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. 02 - Tommy Weder Jr. -- Woodward, OK (1)
2. 3d - Tim Donlinger -- Rochester, MN (6)
3. 7m - Michael Darnall -- West Union, IA (2)
4. 55h - Troy Hansmeier -- Waukon, IA (8)
5. 17s - Mike Spaulding -- Bemidji, MN (3)
6. 55 - Alan Mondus -- Lakeville, MN (10)
7. 19 - Jamie Burford -- Keatchie, LA (7)
8. 31 - Jack Bateman -- Canaan, NH (5)
9. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS (4)
10. 58 - Scott Vesely -- Mosinee, WI (9) DNF

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. 5w - Darrin Walch -- Postville, IA (2)
2. 21L - Layne Meyer -- West Union, IA (4)
3. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (3)
4. 19r - Ryan Gustin -- Marshalltown, IA (1)
5. 12j - Justin O'Brien -- Volga, IA (6)
6. 27 - Greg Skaggs -- Bixby, OK (5)
7. 74 - Mark Noble -- Blooming Prairie, MN (8)
8. 65 - Tommy Myer -- Blooming Prairie, MN (9)
9. 49x - Jay Poidinger -- Somerset, WI (7) DNF

HOLLEY “A” MAIN (30 laps):
1. 7k - Jason Krohn -- Slayton, MN (3)
2. 83 - Willy Kraft -- Lakefield, MN (7)
3. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (2)
4. 27m - Mark Schulte -- Delhi, IA (4)
5. 9 - Ken Schrader -- Concord, NC (1)
6. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Colcord, OK (12)
7. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (11)
8. 5w - Darrin Walch -- Postville, IA (14)
9. 21L - Layne Meyer -- West Union, IA (16)
10. 4 - Chad Lerch -- Arlington, IA (9)
11. 5 - Steve Holzkamper -- Gentry, AR (6)
12. 32 - Donovan Lodge -- Moline, IL (10)
13. 65 - Tommy Myer -- Blooming Prairie, MN (24)
14. 02 - Tommy Weder Jr. -- Woodward, OK (13)
15. 55h - Troy Hansmeier -- Waukon, IA (19)
16. 7m - Michael Darnall -- West Union, IA (17)
17. 27 - Greg Skaggs -- Bixby, OK (23)
18. 12j - Justin O'Brien -- Volga, IA (22)
19. 19r - Ryan Gustin -- Marshalltown, IA (20) DNF
20. 7 - Al Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (5) DNF
21. 3d - Tim Donlinger -- Rochester, MN (15) DNF
22. 21m - Dean Mahlstedt -- Clear Lake, IA (8) DNF
23. 17s - Mike Spaulding -- Bemidji, MN (21) DNF
24. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (18) DNF

AMSOIL Lap Leaders: Tesch 1, Krohn 2-30.
Total Laps Led: Krohn 29, Tesch 1.
AFCO Pole Award: Schrader.
Provisional Starters: Skaggs, Myer.
Olympic Fire Protection Hard Charger: Myer (started 24th, finished 13th).
Next Race: Thursday, Aug. 16, Steele County Speedway, Owatonna, Minn.
O’Reilly USMTS National Championship Points: Hughes 603, Krohn 583, Tesch 565, Shryock 542, Weder 493, Mahlstedt 480, VanderBeek 478, Skaggs 474, Holzkamper 444, Myer 442.
Home Pride Passing Points: Shryock 174, Hughes 135, VanderBeek 123, Hejna 120, Weder 88½.
Rookies Rockin’ Sports Bar Rookie of the Year Points: Green 791, Lodge 359, Gustin 322, Jeremy Rasmussen 254, Cale Sponsler 235.
Builders Championship Points: Skyrocket 434, Hughes 358, Harris 236, GRT 216, Bullet 175.

Contingency Awards:
Belleville Motorsports – not awarded.
Boyer’s Engine Development – Krohn.
GRT Race Cars – not awarded.
Hawk Performance – Walch.
Isky Racing Cams – Schrader.
Kevko Oil Pans & Components – Schrader, Myer.
KSE Racing Products – Kraft, Schulte.
Marsh Racing Wheels – not awarded.
Nitroquest Web Solutions - Tesch.
Quarter Master – Krohn, Meyer.
QuickTime Performance Parts – VanderBeek.
Real Racing Wheels – Weder, Walch.

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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, 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).