OSKALOOSA, Iowa – Brad Pinkerton knows the Southern Iowa Speedway as well as—if not better than—any driver in the history of Oskaloosa, Iowa's Mahaska County Half-Mile Monster. Among his accomplishments are multiple track championships, including two (Stock Car and Modified) in one season twice (2003 and 2006); two victories in the $10,000-to-win USRA Great American Stock Car Shootout; and his first O’Reilly USMTS National Tour victory in August, 2005.

Make that two O’Reilly USMTS National Tour victories.

Pinkerton picked up the $2,000 top prize Wednesday night, winning the 30-lap main event of the 7th Annual Spring Classic at his home track over a stellar field of Modified superstars.

But the 35-year-old from New Sharon, Iowa, didn't just win the race, he dominated it.

After scoring the AFCO Pole Award, fellow New Sharon pilot Zack VanderBeek redrew the pole position for the Holley “A” Main while Pinkerton's draw put him on the outside of the front row. Using the low side of the racing surface, VanderBeek jumped out to the lead at the drop of Ryne Staley's green flag with Pinkerton running the extreme high side of the track.

VanderBeek, who captured the USRA Stock Car feature race just a few minutes earlier, built a four-car-length lead through the first three laps, but “Pinky” reeled in his long-time teammate and nemesis to take the lead on lap 7. A dozen laps later, his lead expanded to a full straight-away.

After a caution on lap 2 for Steve Kosiski's brush with the front stretch wall, the contest nearly went green to checkered. With three laps to go, however, a broken drive shaft left Alan Mondus stopped beneath the flagstand to bring out the yellow flag, wipe out Pinkerton's half-straight-away advantage and create a three-lap shootout to the finish. It was a tough break for the leader, and even tougher for Mondus who had climbed from 15th on the starting grid to challenge Kelly Shryock for fourth.

Pinkerton led the field to the restart with Al Hejna and VanderBeek on his tail. The pause in the action only served to delay the inevitable, however, as Pinkerton drove away from the competition to score his career-second O’Reilly USMTS National Tour victory and take the initial points lead in the Central States Region.

Hejna scored his best finish of the season with a runner-up finish while teenager Ryan Gustin finished third ahead of Shryock and VanderBeek. Jason Hughes debuted his new Casey's General Stores livery with a sixth-place finish, followed by Jay Noteboom, Steve Wetzstein, Ron Ver Beek and Mark Noble.

Central States Region points standings shows Pinkerton with a five-point advantage over Hejna (104 to 99), followed by Gustin (91), Shryock (90), Hughes (86), VanderBeek (85), Noteboom (83), Ramirez (81), Noble (79) and Ver Beek (70). The next Central States Region race will be Saturday, May 31, at the LaSalle (Ill.) Speedway.

UP NEXT:

On Thursday, the rugged road warriors of the O’Reilly USMTS National Tour head north to the Cresco Speedway in Cresco, Iowa, for the 4th Annual Cresco Bowl. The event will be the first of five straight to kick off action in the ultra-competitive Yeager Machine Upper Midwest Region.

Several drivers have designated the Yeager Machine Upper Midwest Region as their battlefield to earn a spot in the season-ending Casey's General Store Hunt for the USMTS National Championship, including Mark Noble, Tommy Myer, Tim Donlinger, Bob Timm, Brad Waits, Corey Dripps and many more. Needless to say, a pit area filled with the “cream of the crop” in Modified racing awaits.

Pit gates open at 4 p.m. and grandstands open at 5, with hot laps at 6:45 and racing at 7:15. Also on the racing card will be the USRA Casey's General Stores Weekly Racing Series featuring USRA Karl Chevrolet Stock Cars, USRA Karl Chevrolet B-Mods, Outlaw Hobbys and USRA Hobby Stocks as they race for track and national points.

Jason Hughes, who leads the O’Reilly USMTS Southern Series points with four wins in nine starts, will make an appearance at the Casey's General Store location in Cresco at 601 2nd Ave. SW (Hwy. 9, just a few blocks south of the racetrack) from 1-3 p.m. Race fans can pick up $2-off grandstand admission coupons on race day at Casey's General Store in Cresco and Decorah.

The Cresco Speedway is a 4/10-mile high-banked clay oval located 0.2 miles north of SR 9 on SW 7th (at the Howard County Fairgrounds). Race day information is available by calling the track at 563-547-3400 or online at www.rlpromotions.com/cresco.

To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, call the headquarters at (515) 832-7944 or visit www.usmts.com online for the latest news and information from the USMTS — America's Hottest Ticket on Dirt.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
O’Reilly USMTS National Tour
7th Annual Spring Classic
Southern Iowa Speedway, Oskaloosa, Iowa
Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Showing finishing position, car number, driver, hometown and starting position in parentheses. The top 12 drivers in passing points accumulated in the heat races are locked into the Holley “A” Main, with the top 8 re-drawing for starting positions 1-8.

ISKY RACING CAMS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. 22k - Steve Kosiski -- Papillion, NE (4)
2. 21b - Brandon Kenny -- Woodward, OK (2)
3. 19r - Ryan Gustin -- Marshalltown, IA (7)
4. 7c - Nate Caruth -- Ames, IA (6)
5. 17 - Steve Stewart -- Washington, IA (8)
6. 35 - Jeff Schluetter -- New Hampton, IA (3)
7. 40 - Scott Dickey -- Packwood, IA (10)
8. 18 - Jake Durbin -- Perry, IA (5)
9. 71 - David Holder -- Clarence, MO (9)
10. 20 - John Fellman -- Blue Grass, IA (1) DNF

NEW VISION GRAPHICS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. 4rv - Ron Ver Beek -- Oskaloosa, IA (1)
2. 17p - Brad Pinkerton -- New Sharon, IA (6)
3. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Westville, OK (5)
4. 90 - Steve Wetzstein -- West Concord, MN (3)
5. 14j - Jake Neal -- Omaha, NE (4)
6. 55 - Alan Mondus -- Lakeville, MN (8)
7. 18L - Michael Long -- Quincy, IL (10)
8. 22 - Brandon Banks -- Washington, IA (2)
9. 93 - Cale Sponsler -- Grimes, IA (9)
10. 20r - Bryan Rowland -- Woodward, OK (7)

HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (7)
2. 8 - Colt Mather -- Webster, IA (2)
3. 7n - Jay Noteboom -- Hinton, IA (5)
4. 74 - Mark Noble -- Blooming Prairie, MN (3)
5. 4r - Dereck Ramirez -- Woodward, OK (9)
6. 55x - Scott Stecher -- Muscatine, IA (1)
7. 47 - Josh Truman -- Indianola, IA (4)
8. 69 - Jon Snyder -- Ames, IA (6)
9. 105 - Kevin Peters -- Monmouth, IL (8) DNF

HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (3)
2. 7 - Al Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (4)
3. 56 - Chris Spieker -- Massena, IA (9)
4. 32 - Donovan Lodge -- Moline, IL (1)
5. 94 - Steven Blattler -- Oskaloosa, IA (6)
6. 15k - Kyle Harwood -- Oskaloosa, IA (2)
7. 5 - Tim Sands -- Conesville, IA (7)
8. 00 - David Ott -- Ankeny, IA (8)
9. 40x - Clayton Jensen -- Iowa City, IA (5) DNF

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. 7c - Nate Caruth -- Ames, IA (1)
2. 55 - Alan Mondus -- Lakeville, MN (5)
3. 74 - Mark Noble -- Blooming Prairie, MN (3)
4. 18L - Michael Long -- Quincy, IL (6)
5. 55x - Scott Stecher -- Muscatine, IA (7)
6. 47 - Josh Truman -- Indianola, IA (8)
7. 71 - David Holder -- Clarence, MO (11)
8. 69 - Jon Snyder -- Ames, IA (10)
9. 18 - Jake Durbin -- Perry, IA (9)
10. 20 - John Fellman -- Blue Grass, IA (13)
11. 94 - Steven Blattler -- Oskaloosa, IA (4) DNF
12. 17 - Steve Stewart -- Washington, IA (2) DNF
13. 105 - Kevin Peters -- Monmouth, IL (12) DNS

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. 90 - Steve Wetzstein -- West Concord, MN (2)
2. 4r - Dereck Ramirez -- Woodward, OK (1)
3. 20r - Bryan Rowland -- Woodward, OK (13)
4. 22 - Brandon Banks -- Washington, IA (9)
5. 32 - Donovan Lodge -- Moline, IL (3)
6. 14j - Jake Neal -- Omaha, NE (4)
7. 40 - Scott Dickey -- Packwood, IA (5)
8. 93 - Cale Sponsler -- Grimes, IA (11)
9. 00 - David Ott -- Ankeny, IA (10)
10. 5 - Tim Sands -- Conesville, IA (8)
11. 35 - Jeff Schluetter -- New Hampton, IA (6) DNF
12. 40x - Clayton Jensen -- Iowa City, IA (12) DNF
13. 15k - Kyle Harwood -- Oskaloosa, IA (7) DNF

HOLLEY “A” MAIN (30 laps):
1. 17p - Brad Pinkerton -- New Sharon, IA (2)
2. 7 - Al Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (6)
3. 19r - Ryan Gustin -- Marshalltown, IA (3)
4. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (7)
5. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (1)
6. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Westville, OK (11)
7. 7n - Jay Noteboom -- Hinton, IA (12)
8. 90 - Steve Wetzstein -- West Concord, MN (14)
9. 4r - Dereck Ramirez -- Woodward, OK (16)
10. 74 - Mark Noble -- Blooming Prairie, MN (17)
11. 4rv - Ron Ver Beek -- Oskaloosa, IA (5)
12. 56 - Chris Spieker -- Massena, IA (4)
13. 55x - Scott Stecher -- Muscatine, IA (21)
14. 21b - Brandon Kenny -- Woodward, OK (9)
15. 8 - Colt Mather -- Webster, IA (10)
16. 20r - Bryan Rowland -- Woodward, OK (18)
17. 93 - Cale Sponsler -- Grimes, IA (24)
18. 14j - Jake Neal -- Omaha, NE (23)
19. 7c - Nate Caruth -- Ames, IA (13)
20. 55 - Alan Mondus -- Lakeville, MN (15) DNF
21. 32 - Donovan Lodge -- Moline, IL (22) DNF
22. 18L - Michael Long -- Quincy, IL (19) DNF
23. 22 - Brandon Banks -- Washington, IA (20) DNF
24. 22k - Steve Kosiski -- Papillion, NE (8) DNF

Lap Leaders: VanderBeek 1-7, Pinkerton 8-30.
Total Laps Led: Pinkerton 23, VanderBeek 7.
AFCO Pole Award: VanderBeek.
Provisional Starters: Neal, Sponsler.
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award: Stecher (started 21st, finished 13th).
Ruter Farms Long Tow Award: Ramirez (630.98 miles).
Next Race: Friday, May 22, Cresco Speedway, Cresco, Iowa (Yeager Machine Upper Midwest Region).
Central States Region Points: Pinkerton 104, Hejna 99, Gustin 91, Shryock 90, Hughes 86, VanderBeek 85, Noteboom 83, Ramirez 81, Noble 79, Ver Beek 70.
Rookies Rockin’ Sports Bar Rookie of the Year Points: .
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: .
Chassis Builders Championship Points: .

Contingency Awards:
American Racer - VanderBeek.
Belleville Motorsports – not awarded.
BSB Manufacturing - Noble.
Hawk Performance - Pinkerton, Ramirez.
Isky Racing Cams – Kosiski.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Kosiski.
New Vision Graphics - Ver Beek.
Nitroquest Web Solutions - Gustin.
Quarter Master – Pinkerton, Wetzstein.
QuickTime Performance Parts – Noteboom.
Real Racing Wheels – Caruth, Wetzstein.
TrackTek Racing Fuel - not awarded.

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TITLE SPONSOR: O’Reilly Auto Parts.

PRESENTING SPONSOR: Casey’s General Stores.

OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Race Tires, Arizona Sport Shirts, Awesome Race Suits, Bear Tire Company, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Childhelp, Gressel Racing, Houston Specialty Products Co., KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, New Vision Graphics, Nitroquest Web Solutions, Q.E.M., Inc., TrackTek Racing Fuel, Western Flyer Xpress.

PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Boom Drilling, Day Motor Sports, Kraft/Ramirez Race Cars, Olympic Fire Protection, Rookies Rockin’ Sports Bar, Ruter Farms, Yeager Machine.

CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Belleville Motorsports, Bert Transmission, BSB Manufacturing, COMP Cams, Duralite Racing Wheels, Dynatech Racing Exhaust, GRT Race Cars, Hawk Performance, Holley Performance Products, Hyperco, ISKY Racing Cams, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, Quarter Master, QuickTime Performance Race Parts, Real Racing Wheels, US Brake.