Horner holds off Holzkamper for first USMTS Southern Series triumph
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Making his 10th start with the USMTS Southern Series, Houston's David Horner garnered his first top-10 finish in a big way as he topped the 40-lap main event Friday on night #2 of the inaugural South Texas Fall Nationals at the South Texas Speedway in Corpus Christi.
Polesitter Steve Holzkamper of Gentry, Ark., led the 24-car starting field to the green but it was fellow front row starter Horner who won the drag race to the first turn to take the lead. Six caution flags plagued the first seven laps of the race, but Horner was able to fend off the challenges of Holzkamper on each restart.
For the next 19 laps, the race stayed green with Horner and Holzkamper distancing themselves from the field while USMTS Southern Series points leader Kelly Shryock of Fertile, Iowa, picked his way through the pack to take over the third spot from his 23rd starting position.
A caution flag on lap 26, closed the gap and gave Shryock the break he needed to make a run at the leaders. Holzkamper took a peek to the inside of Horner while Shryock returned to the high line he used in his march through the field. The trio kept the crowd on the edge of their seats over the final 10 laps as Holzkamper searched for a way around Horner while Shryock kept the pressure on Holzkamper.
As the white flag waved, Horner carried a two-car-length advantage to the first turn, but Holzkamper closed quickly and looked to the high side in the final turn. As Shryock looked on from the third spot, Horner and Holzkamper exited the final turn side by side with Horner edging Holzkamper by a bumper at the finish line to score his career-first USMTS victory.
The win was worth $2,000.
Shryock, who had to use a provisional to get into the main event, passed 20 cars and held off 18th-starting Zack VanderBeek of New Sharon, Iowa, for third while Steve Miller of Georgetown, Texas, hung on for a fifth-place finish.
Greg Skaggs of Bixby, Okla., rebounded from a flat tire on lap 7 to finish sixth, with 21st-starting Scott Green of Derby, Kan., seventh; David Grigg of Springdale, Ark., eighth; 20th-starting Rodney Sanders of Happy, Texas, in ninth; and Randy Timms of Wheatland, Okla., placing 10th.
With his third-place finish, Shryock padded his points lead with just four races to go as he leads Timms (1711 to 1592) going into the Saturday's race at South Texas Speedway. Jason Hughes, who won Thursday's feature race but dropped out of Friday's contest and finished 24th, remains third in the standings with 1544 points, with Tommy Weder Jr. in fourth with 1532 markers. Fifth through 10th in the standings are Skaggs (1497), Holzkamper (1490), Green (1256), Sanders (1053), VanderBeek (1041) and Dena Wilson (1018).
The USMTS Southern Series will be back in action on Saturday for the final night of the South Texas Speedway tripleheader. A top prize of $3,000 awaits the winner. Gates open at 4 p.m. and the first green flag waves at 6:30.
Limited Mods will also be running with $1,000 to win up for grabs.
South Texas Speedway is located 2.0 miles southwest of SR 358 on Old Brownsville Rd. (CR 665) in Corpus Christi, Texas. Voted one of the best 50 racetracks in America by Behind The Wheel Magazine, South Texas Speedway features ultra-clean facilities, aluminum seating for over 3,000 fans and bright stadium lighting which provides great views of the action on the exciting semi-banked 1/4-mile clay oval.
For more information, call the South Texas Speedway offices at (361) 548-0669 or (361) 808-RACE on race day. The track's website is located at www.southtexasspeedway.com.
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 must be mounted on all four wheels with no grooving allowed.
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 South Texas Fall Nationals - Night 2 of 3
South Texas Speedway, Corpus Christi, Texas
Friday, Nov. 16, 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. 8 - Steve Miller -- Georgetown, TX (2)
2. 57 - Dale Flanagan -- Corpus Christi, TX (4)
3. 5t - Randy Timms -- Wheatland, OK (6)
4. 39 - John Armstrong -- Bellaire, TX (3)
5. 20 - Rodney Sanders -- Happy, TX (8)
6. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Westville, OK (9)
7. 15 - Chuck Perry -- Corpus Christi, TX (1)
8. 13 - Ken Hobbs -- Corpus Christi, TX (5)
9. 17b - Bruce Barber -- Corpus Christi, TX (7)
HEAT #2 (10 laps):
1. 82 - Steve Majek -- Corpus Christi, TX (4)
2. 54 - Dena Wilson -- Coweta, OK (3)
3. 55m - Alan Mondus -- Lakeville, MN (6)
4. 89 - Steven Whiteaker Jr. -- Corpus Christi, TX (7)
5. 98 - Trevor Huston -- McAllen, TX (1)
6. 20x - Brian Rye -- Corpus Christi, TX (5)
7. 37 - Bill Pittaway -- Corpus Christi, TX (2)
8. 55 - Christopher Brown -- Corpus Christi, TX (8) DNF
HEAT #3 (10 laps):
1. 561 - David Horner -- Houston, TX (1)
2. 144 - David Grigg -- Springdale, AR (4)
3. 2w - Paul White -- Temple, TX (6)
4. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (5)
5. 87 - Lawrence Mikulencak -- Corpus Christi, TX
6. 51 - Jack Sullivan -- Greenbrier, AR (7)
7. 8mr - Mike Riley -- Corpus Christi, TX (3)
8. 35 - Eddy Ross -- Corpus Christi, TX (2)
HEAT #4 (10 laps):
1. 5 - Steve Holzkamper -- Gentry, AR (1)
2. 27 - Greg Skaggs -- Bixby, OK (3)
3. 21 - Chris Brown -- Cleveland, TX (2)
4. 8g - Jordan Grabouski -- Beatrice, NE (5)
5. 02 - Tommy Weder Jr. -- Woodward, OK (8)
6. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (7)
7. 40f - Steven Fite -- Bastrop, TX (6)
8. 721 - Doug Cameron -- San Antonio, TX (4) DNF
HEAT #5 (10 laps):
1. 156 - Steve Pugh -- Willis, TX (1)
2. 44 - Joey Heinaman -- Corpus Christi, TX (2)
3. 38 - David Schury -- Corpus Christi, TX (3)
4. 76 - Nicholas Littlejohn -- Everman, TX (5)
5. L1 - Larry Clevenger -- Greenwood, LA (6)
6. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS (7)
7. 31 - Elias Anderson -- Austin, TX (8)
8. 14 - Newton Barta -- Lytle, TX (4)
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 5 advance):
1. 76 - Nicholas Littlejohn -- Everman, TX (4)
2. 21 - Chris Brown -- Cleveland, TX (2)
3. 87 - Lawrence Mikulencak -- Corpus Christi, TX (5)
4. 39 - John Armstrong -- Bellaire, TX (6)
5. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS (9)
6. 44 - Joey Heinaman -- Corpus Christi, TX (1)
7. 51 - Jack Sullivan -- Greenbrier, AR (8)
8. 17b - Bruce Barber -- Corpus Christi, TX (15)
9. 55 - Christopher Brown -- Corpus Christi, TX (13)
10. 37 - Bill Pittaway -- Corpus Christi, TX (11)
11. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Westville, OK (7) DNF
12. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (3) DNF
13. 31 - Elias Anderson -- Austin, TX (10) DNF
14. 40f - Steven Fite -- Bastrop, TX (12) DNF
15. 721 - Doug Cameron -- San Antonio, TX (14) DNS
REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 5 advance):
1. 89 - Steven Whiteaker Jr. -- Corpus Christi, TX (1)
2. 02 - Tommy Weder Jr. -- Woodward, OK (5)
3. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (8)
4. 20 - Rodney Sanders -- Happy, TX (4)
5. 35 - Eddy Ross -- Corpus Christi, TX (13)
6. 38 - David Schury -- Corpus Christi, TX (2)
7. 8mr - Mike Riley -- Corpus Christi, TX (11)
8. 15 - Chuck Perry -- Corpus Christi, TX (10) -1 Lap
9. 13 - Ken Hobbs -- Corpus Christi, TX (12) -1 Lap
10. L1 - Larry Clevenger -- Greenwood, LA (6) DNF
11. 14 - Newton Barta -- Lytle, TX (14) DNF
12. 8g - Jordan Grabouski -- Beatrice, NE (3) DNF
13. 98 - Trevor Huston -- McAllen, TX (7) DNF
14. 20x - Brian Rye -- Corpus Christi, TX (9) DNF
HOLLEY “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. 561 - David Horner -- Houston, TX (2)
2. 5 - Steve Holzkamper -- Gentry, AR (1)
3. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (23)
4. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (18)
5. 8 - Steve Miller -- Georgetown, TX (3)
6. 27 - Greg Skaggs -- Bixby, OK (9)
7. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS (21)
8. 144 - David Grigg -- Springdale, AR (4)
9. 20 - Rodney Sanders -- Happy, TX (20)
10. 5t - Randy Timms -- Wheatland, OK (10)
11. 21 - Chris Brown -- Cleveland, TX (15)
12. 156 - Steve Pugh -- Willis, TX (5)
13. 54 - Dena Wilson -- Coweta, OK (6)
14. 82 - Steve Majek -- Corpus Christi, TX (7)
15. 89 - Steven Whiteaker Jr. -- Corpus Christi, TX (14) DNF
16. 35 - Eddy Ross -- Corpus Christi, TX (22) DNF
17. 02 - Tommy Weder Jr. -- Woodward, OK (16) DNF
18. 87 - Lawrence Mikulencak -- Corpus Christi, TX (17) DNF
19. 39 - John Armstrong -- Bellaire, TX (19) DNF
20. 55m - Alan Mondus -- Lakeville, MN (11) DNF
21. 57 - Dale Flanagan -- Corpus Christi, TX (8) DNF
22. 2w - Paul White -- Temple, TX (12) DNF
23. 76 - Nicholas Littlejohn -- Everman, TX (13) DNF
24. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Westville, OK (24) DNF
Lap Leaders: Horner 1-40.
Total Laps Led: Horner 40.
Pole Award: Majek.
Provisional Starters: Shryock, Hughes.
Olympic Fire Protection Hard Charger: Shryock (started 23rd, finished 3rd).
Next USMTS Southern Series Event: Saturday, Nov. 16, South Texas Speedway, Corpus Christi, Texas.
USMTS Southern Series Points: Shryock 1711, Timms 1592, Hughes 1544, Weder 1532, Skaggs 1497, Holzkamper 1490, Green 1256, Sanders 1053, VanderBeek 1041, Wilson 1018.
USMTS Southern Series Home Pride Passing Points: Weder 79½, Shryock 78, Skaggs 69, Hughes 67½, Timms 61½.
Contingency Awards:
GRT Race Cars – not awarded.
Hawk Performance – not awarded.
Isky Racing Cams – Miller.
Kevko Oil Pans & Components – Miller, Wilson.
KSE Racing Products – Holzkamper, VanderBeek.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Halfway leader if using Marsh Racing Wheels.
Nitroquest Web Solutions - Shryock.
Quarter Master – Horner, Sanders.
QuickTime Performance Parts – Green.
Real Racing Wheels – Littlejohn, Whiteaker.
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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).