BEAUMONT, Texas — Steve Holzkamper finally got the cigar Thursday night.

After seven top-5 finishes this season, including three with the USMTS Southern Series, Holzkamper finally made his first visit of the season to victory lane with a dominating performance on the opening night of the Texas Fall Nationals at the Motorama Speedway in Beaumont, Texas.

Holzkamper raced from eighth to third in his heat to squeak into the redraw for the main event. The veteran from Gentry, Ark., redrew the pole position and went on to pace all 30 laps to claim the $1,000 top prize. Additionally, Holzkamper also garnered a $750 award from Marsh Racing Wheels for being the Halfway Leader of the contest.

Randy Timms of Wheatland, Okla., claimed the runner-up spot, while Greg Skaggs of Bixby, Okla., finished third. USMTS Southern Series points leader Kelly Shryock of Fertile, Iowa, ran second for most of the race, but a sour motor dropped him back to fourth at the finish. Tommy Weder Jr. of Woodward, Okal., rounded out the top-5 finishers.

Shane Hebert of Scott, La.; Jamie Burford of Keatchie, La.; Howard Willis of Dayton, Texas; Willy Kraft of Lakefield, Minn.; and John O. Whittington of Vidor, Texas, completed the top-10.

Paul White of Temple, Texas, climbed from 21st on the starting grid to a 13th-place finish and earned the Olympic Fire Protection Hard Charger honors.

Shryock continues atop the standings after 15 USMTS Southern Series events with 1349 points, followed by Timms with 1271. Jason Hughes is third with 1175, followed by Skaggs (1174), Weder (1164), Holzkamper (1154), Scott Green (947), Rodney Sanders (897), Zack VanderBeek (889) and Burford (827).

The inaugural Texas Fall Nationals continue of Friday. A top prize of $2,000 is on the line for Friday's winner and $3,000 for Saturday's winner in the biggest race in the Lone Star State.

In addition to the USMTS Southern Series, Limited Modifieds will be competing for $700 to win on Friday and $1,000 to win on Saturday. Pure Stocks will also be in action for the Friday and Saturday night programs.

Gates open at 5 p.m. and racing starts at 7:30 on Friday, while gates open at 4 p.m. and the mud starts flying at 6:30 on Saturday.

Motorama Speedway is a high-banked 1/4-mile clay oval located 9.5 miles west of I-10 on US 90 (SSR) between Beaumont and China, Texas. Event information is available by calling 409-753-2370 or online at www.motoramaspeedway.com. For day-of-race information, call the track hotline at 409-752-7200. The track sits on approximately 23 acres surrounded by rice fields. Under the direction of new owner Butch Doyle, the grounds and buildings have undergone major renovations since the first of the year, and the wide racing surface provides for great, four-wide racing.

All USMTS rules will apply. American Racer is the Official Tire of the USMTS, and any driver seeking to receive USMTS Southern Series points and/or contingency awards must use the American Racer KK-704 racing tire. The Hoosier G60 tire will also be allowed for this race, but drivers will not be eligible for points or contingency awards.

To learn more about the 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
Inaugural Texas Fall Nationals - Night 1 of 3
Motorama Speedway, Beaumont, Texas
Thursday, Oct. 18, 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 (8 laps):
1. 22 - Tracy Denby -- Vidor, TX  (1)
2. L1 - Larry Clevenger -- Greenwood, LA  (4)
3. 5 - Steve Holzkamper -- Gentry, AR  (8)
4. A1 - Phil Dixon -- Crosby, TX  (5)
5. 1w - Howard Willis -- Dayton, TX  (9)
6. 54 - Dena Wilson -- Coweta, OK  (7)
7. 128 - Rocky Willis -- Beaumont, TX  (3)
8. 561 - David Horner -- Houston, TX  (6) DNF
9. 32 - Kevin Pratt -- Houston, TX  (2) DNS

HEAT #2 (8 laps):
1. 02 - Tommy Weder Jr. -- Woodward, OK  (3)
2. 4r - Derek Ramirez -- Woodward, OK  (1)
3. 89 - Steven Whiteaker Jr. -- Corpus Christi, TX  (8)
4. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS  (7)
5. 97j - Jeff Hogeh -- New Caney, TX  (6)
6. 118 - John Arther -- Sour Lake, TX  (9)
7. 83 - Willy Kraft -- Lakefield, MN  (4) DNF
8. 76 - Jesse Manning -- Brazoria, TX  (5) DNF
9. 7g - Mark Smith -- Lufkin, TX  (2) DNF

HEAT #3 (8 laps):
1. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Westville, OK  (4)
2. 27 - Greg Skaggs -- Bixby, OK  (1)
3. 21b - Brandon Kenny -- East Woodward, OK  (2)
4. 19b - Jamie Burford -- Keatchie, LA  (8)
5. 88b - Brian Boram -- Orange, TX  (5)
6. 5w - John O. Whittington -- Vidor, TX  (6)
7. B52 - Johnny Brown -- Orange, TX  (7)
8. 40f - Steven Fite -- Bostrop, TX  (3) DNF

HEAT #4 (8 laps):
1. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA  (2)
2. 5t - Randy Timms -- Wheatland, OK  (3)
3. 4 - Shane Hebert -- Scott, LA  (4)
4. 8 - Steve Miller -- Georgetown, TX  (6)
5. 211 - Chad Fitzgerald -- Baytown, TX  (9)
6. 955 - Robert Metz Jr. -- Lumberton, TX  (5)
7. 2 - Andy McClelland -- Beaumont, TX  (7)
8. 51 - Benny Perry -- Liberty, TX  (1)
9. 2w - Paul White -- Temple, TX  (8) DNF

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. 1w - Howard Willis -- Dayton, TX  (3)
2. 5w - John O. Whittington -- Vidor, TX  (6)
3. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS  (1)
4. 8 - Steve Miller -- Georgetown, TX  (2)
5. 2w - Paul White -- Temple, TX  (12)
6. 97j - Jeff Hogeh -- New Caney, TX  (4)
7. 32 - Kevin Pratt -- Houston, TX  (11)
8. B52 - Johnny Brown -- Orange, TX  (8)
9. 88b - Brian Boram -- Orange, TX  (5) DNF
10. 561 - David Horner -- Houston, TX  (9) DNF
11. 40f - Steven Fite -- Bostrop, TX  (10) DNF
12. 128 - Rocky Willis -- Beaumont, TX  (7) DNS

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. 83 - Willy Kraft -- Lakefield, MN  (7)
2. 21b - Brandon Kenny -- East Woodward, OK  (1)
3. 54 - Dena Wilson -- Coweta, OK  (5)
4. 118 - John Arther -- Sour Lake, TX  (4)
5. 7g - Mark Smith -- Lufkin, TX  (11)
6. 76 - Jesse Manning -- Brazoria, TX  (9)
7. 2 - Andy McClelland -- Beaumont, TX  (8)
8. 211 - Chad Fitzgerald -- Baytown, TX  (2)
9. 51 - Benny Perry -- Liberty, TX  (10)
10. 955 - Robert Metz Jr. -- Lumberton, TX  (6) DNF
11. A1 - Phil Dixon -- Crosby, TX  (3) DNF

HOLLEY “A” MAIN (30 laps):
1. 5 - Steve Holzkamper -- Gentry, AR (1)
2. 5t - Randy Timms -- Wheatland, OK (4)
3. 27 - Greg Skaggs -- Bixby, OK (10)
4. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (7)
5. 02 - Tommy Weder Jr. -- Woodward, OK (2)
6. 4 - Shane Hebert -- Scott, LA (12)
7. 19b - Jamie Burford -- Keatchie, LA (11)
8. 1w - Howard Willis -- Dayton, TX (13)
9. 83 - Willy Kraft -- Lakefield, MN (14)
10. 5W - John O. Whittington -- Vidor, TX (15)
11. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS (17)
12. 89 - Steven Whiteaker Jr. -- Corpus Christi, TX (8)
13. 2w - Paul White -- Temple, TX (21)
14. 21b - Brandon Kenny -- East Woodward, OK (16)
15. 4r - Derek Ramirez -- Woodward, OK (9)
16. 54 - Dena Wilson -- Coweta, OK (18)
17. 22 - Tracy Denby -- Vidor, TX (6)
18. 118 - John Arther -- Sour Lake, TX (20) DNF
19. 8 - Steve Miller -- Georgetown, TX (19) DNF
20. 561 - David Horner -- Houston, TX (24) DNF
21. L1 - Larry Clevenger -- Greenwood, LA (5) DNF
22. 7g - Mark Smith -- Lufkin, TX (22) DNF
23. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Westville, OK (3) DNF
24. A1 - Phil Dixon -- Crosby, TX (23) DNS

Lap Leaders: Holzkamper 1-30.
Total Laps Led: Holzkamper 30.
Pole Award: Hughes.
Provisional Starters: Dixon, Horner.
Olympic Fire Protection Hard Charger: White (started 21st, finished 13th).
Next USMTS Southern Series Event: Friday, Oct. 19, Motorama Speedway, Beaumont, Texas.
USMTS Southern Series Points: Shryock 1349, Timms 1271, Hughes 1175, Skaggs 1174, Weder 1164, Holzkamper 1154, Green 947, Rodney Sanders 897, Zack VanderBeek 889, Burford 827.
USMTS Southern Series Home Pride Passing Points: Shryock 72, Weder 67½, Timms 57, Skaggs 54, Hughes 51.

Contingency Awards:
Belleville Motorsports – not awarded.
GRT Race Cars – not awarded.
Hawk Performance – Willis.
Isky Racing Cams – not awarded.
Kevko Oil Pans & Components – Weder, White.
KSE Racing Products – Timms, Shryock.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Holzkamper ($750).
Nitroquest Web Solutions - Skaggs.
Quarter Master – Holzkamper, Kraft.
QuickTime Performance Parts – Burford.
Real Racing Wheels – Willis, Kraft.

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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).