TEXARKANA, Ark. – It was a familiar face gracing victory lane in an unfamiliar place Friday night as Jason Hughes of Westville, Okla., captured the first-ever USMTS Southern Series main event at the Texarkana 67 Speedway in Texarkana, Ark.

The win, worth $2,000, was the third straight for the defending USMTS Southern Series titleist. A field of 51 high-powered Modified entered the inaugural event presented by Hooters of Texarkana.

Just like his previous pair of victories two weeks ago, Hughes drew the outside of the front row for the start of the Sunoco "A" Main, but it was polesitter Jon 'Catman' Mitchell of Texarkana, Texas, that got the jump at the drop of the green flag.

Hughes wrestled the lead away from Mitchell on lap 14, but Mitchell fought back to regain the spot on lap 15. One lap later, Hughes maneuvered through lapped traffic and raced by Mitchell on the high side of the track to take the lead away again.

From there, Hughes was flawless as he paced the remaining 24 circuits in the caution-free 40-lap affair.

Mitchell hung on to take home the runner-up paycheck while Rodney 'The Rocket' Sanders passed AFCO Pole Award winner Garrett Durrett late in the race for third, along with fourth-place finisher Kelly Shryock.

Despite a solid top-5 finish, it was Shryock's 21st straight USMTS Southern Series start since taking his last win on November 29 during the 2007 season finale at the Houston Raceway Park en route to claiming the USMTS Southern Series championship that year. Overall, it was also the 21st straight event under USMTS banner since his last victory, which came last season on August 31 at the Dodge County Speedway in Kasson, Minn. For the eight-time USMTS National Champion, the drought is his longest since the freshman season of the USMTS in 1999.

Steve Holzkamper finished sixth behind Durrett Friday night, followed by Jason Armstrong, who garnered the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award by coming from 18th to 7th on the 26-car starting grid.

Dereck Ramirez, Morgan Bagley and Chris Shown rounded out the top-10 finishers.

Young guns Timothy Culp and Tyler Townsend had a great race in the first Real Racing Wheels "B" Main as they raced side by side the entire 20-lap distance to finish first and second. The other Real Racing Wheels "B" Main went to Odie Green as he held off local favorite Dustin 'Tater' Hyde and Armstrong.

Bobby Malchus and Scott Green both came from 19th to 6th in their respective Real Racing Wheels "B" Mains, and both missed qualifying for the main event by one spot. Malchus actually won the Isky Racing Cams First Heat Race, but was disqualified after failing to drive to the scales after the race. Green, on the other hand, was caught up in a nasty wreck in his heat race and had to bring out a back-up car to last in his non-qualifiers race.

On the strength of his third top-10 and second top-5 finish of the season, 19-year-old Sanders tops the East Region points standings with a one-point cushion (258 to 257) over Holzkamper. Jack Sullivan dropped from the top spot to third with 246 points, followed by Steven Whiteaker Jr. (232), Hughes (231), Ramirez (221), Shryock (220), Patrick Linn (219), Michael Robertson (217) and Johnny Bone Jr. (204).

In the companion USRA Southern Limited Modified feature race, Culp etched his name in the record books as the first-ever winner for the new series that will support the USMTS Southern Series at most events in 2009.

UP NEXT:

After an exciting debut last season, the USMTS Southern Series heads to the Champion Park Speedway in Haughton, La., tomorrow (Saturday, April 25). Last year, David Mitchell captured his first and only USMTS victory by holding off Shane Hebert and Sanders in the closing laps of the main event.

Newly-added clay and more banking have produced three-wide racing during weekly shows already this season, and fans can expect more of the same when the big dogs start biting into the dirt.

Local drivers expected to contend for the $2,000 winner's share of the purse include Geoffrey Lary, Aaron Jordan, Brent Stewart, David Winslett, Jeff Weems Jr., Clif Williams, Bruce Williams, John Williams, Clay Walker, Jason Ingalls, Michael Knighten, Chad Perot, Brandon Russell, Dwayne Brown, Robert Miller, Derek Perkins, Jonathan Brunson, Chris Patton and Lee Patton.

Also on the menu Saturday night will be USRA Limited Mods racing for $500 to win, plus Southern Hot Stocks and Factory Stocks. Pit gates open at 4:00, grandstands open at 5:00, hot laps are set for 6:00 and the first green flag flies at 6:30.

The Champion Park Speedway is a 1/4-mile semi-banked clay oval located 0.2 mile north of I-20 at Exit 38, then 0.7 mile east. For more information, call 318-371-0077 or visit the track's website at www.championparkspeedway.net.

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.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
USMTS Southern Series (East Region)
Texarkana 67 Speedway, Texarkana, Ark.
Inaugural Event presented by Hooters of Texarkana
Friday, April 24, 2009

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 Sunoco “A” Main, with the top 8 re-drawing for starting positions 1-8.

ISKY RACING CAMS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. 20 - Rodney Sanders -- Happy, TX (3)
2. 5 - Steve Holzkamper -- Gentry, AR (5)
3. 21 - David Winslett -- Bossier City, LA (4)
4. 15 - Odie Green -- Fouke, AR (7)
5. 89 - Steven Whiteaker Jr. -- Corpus Christi, TX
6. L1 - Larry Clevenger -- Greenwood, LA (2)
7. 20r - Bryan Rowland -- Woodward, OK (9)
8. 12b - Johnny Bone Jr. -- Pea Ridge, AR (6)
9. 4m - Bobby Malchus -- Red Oak, TX (1) DQ

HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. 5 - Jon Mitchell -- Texarkana, TX (1)
2. 12t - Tyler Townsend -- Longview, TX (3)
3. 4r - Dereck Ramirez -- Woodward, OK (8)
4. 02x - B.J. Robinson -- Shreveport, LA (5)
5. 60 - William Gould -- Calera, OK (2)
6. 52 - Chad Davis -- Tulsa, OK (4)
7. 7s - Steven Schaberg -- Glenwood, AR (7)
8. 1t - T.J. Herndon -- Atwood, TN (6) DNF
9. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS (9) DNF

HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. 05 - Garrett Durrett -- Simsboro, LA (4)
2. C8 - Timothy Culp -- West Monroe, LA (1)
3. 94 - Chris Shown -- Hooks, TX (7)
4. R5 - Hunter Rasdon -- Jonesboro, AR (9)
5. 56 - Edward Hushelpeck -- Texarkana, TX (8)
6. 10 - Aaron Jordan -- Benton, LA (6)
7. 36 - Brian Mewborn -- Texarkana, TX (2) DNF
8. 9m - Tony Lindsey -- Haughton, LA (5) DNF
9. 40 - Greg Garrett -- Texarkana, TX (3) DNF

HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. 9 - Shane Hebert -- Lafayette, LA (2)
2. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Westville, OK (5)
3. 05 - Michael Robertson -- Minden, LA (3)
4. 66x - Mike Dillard -- Allen, TX (1)
5. 8j - Dustin Hyde -- Texarkana, TX (7)
6. 26 - Patrick Linn -- Little Rock, AR (6)
7. 5a - Wes Armstrong -- Marshall, TX (8)
8. 23b - Brandon Davis -- Castle Rock, CO (4) DNF

HEAT RACE #5 (8 laps):
1. 10 - Kyle Schmidt -- Farmington, AR (1)
2. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (6)
3. 19 - Jamie Burford -- Keatchie, LA (3)
4. 71k - Kevin Sustaire -- Emery, TX (5)
5. 6 - Donnie Powers -- Henderson, TX (8)
6. 194 - Caleb Shown -- Hooks, TX (7)
7. 12h - Jeff Huckaby -- Texarkana, TX (4)
8. 18 - Jeremy Tussey -- Texarkana, AR (2) DNF

HEAT RACE #6 (8 laps):
1. 00 - B.J. Moore -- Texarkana, AR (1)
2. 57 - Jason Armstrong -- Marshall, TX (3)
3. 5r - Morgan Bagley -- Longview, TX (8)
4. 18 - Jack Sullivan -- Greenbrier, AR (4)
5. 99 - Derick Grigsby -- Marshall, TX (7)
6. 5j - John Schwab -- Liberal, KS (2)
7. 16 - Chris Henigan -- Marshall, TX (6) DNF
8. 13 - David Mitchell -- Ashdown, AR (5) DNF

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (20 laps, top 5 advance):
1. C8 - Timothy Culp -- West Monroe, LA (2)
2. 12t - Tyler Townsend -- Longview, TX (1)
3. 05 - Michael Robertson -- Minden, LA (4)
4. 02x - B.J. Robinson -- Shreveport, LA (5)
5. 18 - Jack Sullivan -- Greenbrier, AR (8)
6. 4m - Bobby Malchus -- Red Oak, TX (19)
7. 21 - David Winslett -- Bossier City, LA (3)
8. 40 - Greg Garrett -- Texarkana, TX (20)
9. 18 - Jeremy Tussey -- Texarkana, AR (18)
10. 6 - Donnie Powers -- Henderson, TX (7)
11. 89 - Steven Whiteaker Jr. -- Corpus Christi, TX (6)
12. 99 - Derick Grigsby -- Marshall, TX (9) DNF
13. 12b - Johnny Bone Jr. -- Pea Ridge, AR (16) DNF
14. 12h - Jeff Huckaby -- Texarkana, TX (15) DNF
15. 7s - Steven Schaberg -- Glenwood, AR (14) DNF
16. 26 - Patrick Linn -- Little Rock, AR (12) DNF
17. 20r - Bryan Rowland -- Woodward, OK (13) DNF
18. 194 - Caleb Shown -- Hooks, TX (10) DNF
19. 52 - Chad Davis -- Tulsa, OK (11) DNF
20. 9m - Tony Lindsey -- Haughton, LA (17) DNS

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (20 laps, top 5 advance):
1. 15 - Odie Green -- Fouke, AR (3)
2. 8j - Dustin Hyde -- Texarkana, TX (8)
3. 57 - Jason Armstrong -- Marshall, TX (1)
4. 56 - Edward Hushelpeck -- Texarkana, TX (6)
5. 66x - Mike Dillard -- Allen, TX (7)
6. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS (19)
7. 10 - Aaron Jordan -- Benton, LA (11)
8. 36 - Brian Mewborn -- Texarkana, TX (14)
9. 16 - Chris Henigan -- Marshall, TX (15)
10. 60 - William Gould -- Calera, OK (9)
11. 5a - Wes Armstrong -- Marshall, TX (13)
12. 5j - John Schwab -- Liberal, KS (12) -1 Lap
13. 23b - Brandon Davis -- Castle Rock, CO (17) -1 Lap
14. L1 - Larry Clevenger -- Greenwood, LA (10) DNF
15. 19 - Jamie Burford -- Keatchie, LA (4) DNF
16. 1t - T.J. Herndon -- Atwood, TN (16) DNS
17. R5 - Hunter Rasdon -- Jonesboro, AR (2) DNS
18. 13 - David Mitchell -- Ashdown, AR (18) DNS
19. 71k - Kevin Sustaire -- Emery, TX (5) DNS

SUNOCO “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Westville, OK (2)
2. 5 - Jon Mitchell -- Texarkana, TX (1)
3. 20 - Rodney Sanders -- Happy, TX (4)
4. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (5)
5. 05 - Garrett Durrett -- Simsboro, LA (3)
6. 5 - Steve Holzkamper -- Gentry, AR (6)
7. 57 - Jason Armstrong -- Marshall, TX (18)
8. 4r - Dereck Ramirez -- Woodward, OK (10)
9. 5r - Morgan Bagley -- Longview, TX (11)
10. 94 - Chris Shown -- Hooks, TX (12)
11. 15 - Odie Green -- Fouke, AR (14)
12. 8j - Dustin Hyde -- Texarkana, TX (16)
13. 9 - Shane Hebert -- Lafayette, LA (8)
14. 02x - B.J. Robinson -- Shreveport, LA (19)
15. 89 - Steven Whiteaker Jr. -- Corpus Christi, TX (23)
16. 00 - B.J. Moore -- Texarkana, AR (9) -1 Lap
17. 10 - Kyle Schmidt -- Farmington, AR (7) -1 Lap
18. 36 - Brian Mewborn -- Texarkana, TX (26) -1 Lap
19. 18 - Jack Sullivan -- Greenbrier, AR (21) -1 Lap
20. C8 - Timothy Culp -- West Monroe, LA (13) -1 Lap
21. 56 - Edward Hushelpeck -- Texarkana, TX (20) -1 Lap
22. 66x - Mike Dillard -- Allen, TX (22) -4 Laps
23. 12t - Tyler Townsend -- Longview, TX (15) DNF
24. 40 - Greg Garrett -- Texarkana, TX (25) DNF
25. 26 - Patrick Linn -- Little Rock, AR (24) DNF
26. 05 - Michael Robertson -- Minden, LA (17) DNF

Lap Leaders: J. Mitchell 1-13, Hughes 14, J. Mitchell 15, Hughes 16-40.
Total Laps Led: Hughes 26, J. Mitchell 14.
Cautions: none.
AFCO Pole Winner: Durrett.
Provisional Starters: Whiteaker, Linn, Garrett (track), Mewborn (track).
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: J. Armstrong (started 18th, finished 7th).
Next Race: Saturday, April 25, Champion Park Speedway, Minden, La. (East Region).
East Region Points: Sanders 258, Holzkamper 257, Sullivan 246, Whiteaker 232, Hughes 231, Ramirez 221, Shryock 220, Linn 219, Robertson 217, Bone 204.
Dustin Duncan Memorial “Just Say Yes” Rookie of the Year Points: J. Armstrong 85, W. Armstrong 78, Sustaire 65, Dillard 64, Linn 59.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 37, A.S.I. 37, Sput’s 33, Shinook 24, PTS 20, BMS 20.
Chassis Builders Championship Points: Hughes 44, Skyrocket 41, GRT 39, TRE 36, Ramirez 36.

Contingency Awards:
AFCO Racing Products – Durrett.
American Racer – Schwab.
Isky Racing Cams – Sanders.
KSE Racing Products – J. Armstrong.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Robertson.
Nitroquest – Sanders.
Quarter Master – Hughes, Ramirez.
QuickTime Performance Parts – J. Armstrong.
Real Racing Wheels – Malchus, S. Green.

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USMTS TITLE SPONSOR: Casey’s General Stores.

USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Awesome Racewear, AwesomeRaceSuits.com, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, COMP Cams, Intensitee Custom Racewear, Karl Chevrolet, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, Nitroquest, PBM Performance Products, Sunoco Race Fuels.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: ASi Racewear, Bear Tire, DandyLand Farms, Day Motor Sports, Diamond Oil Company, Gressel Oil Field Service, Just Say Yes, Ramirez Race Cars, Lone Star Super Gas, Olympic Fire Protection, Ruter Farms, Yeager Machine.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Big Dog Chassis & Fabrication, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Dynatech Racing Exhaust, Hyperco, ISKY Racing Cams, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, Out-Pace Racing Products, Quarter Master, QuickTime Performance Race Parts, Real Racing Wheels, US Brake.