WILLIS, Texas – Jason Hughes is the hottest Modified driver in America right now. After a wire-to-wire win Saturday night at the Houston Raceway Park, Hughes made it back-to-back victories Sunday night at the Gator Motorplex in Willis, Texas.

Last year's Dustin Duncan Memorial “Just Say Yes” Rookie of the Year John O Whittington used his front row starting spot to gain the early advantage in the 40-lap Sunoco “A” Main, but a pair of mid-race cautions kept the field close.

Hughes, who started fourth, used the outside groove to get by Whittington and lead lap 26, then paced the remaining 14 laps en route to his fifth USMTS Southern Series triumph in the West Region.

The Mother's Day win was worth $3,500 to the 34-year-old chassis builder from Westville, Okla., including a $500 bonus for topping the four-day points total in the 3rd Annual Rinehart Texas Shootout.

Whittington matched his career best with the USMTS Southern Series with his runner-up finish, and also wound up third in the Rinehart Texas Shootout points. Steven Whiteaker Jr. claimed the third spot, followed by Alan Sharpensteen and Morgan Bagley.

Eight-time USMTS National Champion Kelly Shryock led the next five finishers, with William Gould grabbing seventh, KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Howard Willis eighth, Eddie Martin ninth and Bryan Rowland rounding out the top-10 at the flagstand.

Rowland, who won Thursday's contest at the Golden Triangle Raceway Park, took home second-place money in the Rinehart Texas Shootout.

The USMTS Southern Series West Region points shows Hughes way out front with 718 points and a virtual lock on the regional points title. Officials are still working to reschedule rained-out events at the Cowtown Speedway and Heart O' Texas Speedway, which would bring the total number of West Region races to nine. Nonetheless, Hughes is mathematically out of reach if he simply shows up at both shows.

Shryock jumped up to second in the standings ahead of Rodney Sanders, who was running in the top-5 Sunday night but suffered a flat tire with four laps to go. Whiteaker is fourth, followed by Rowland, Jon Tesch, Shane Hebert, Bagley, Bumper Jones and Martin.

The USMTS Southern Series drivers get a month off before returning to action for Southern Speedweek, June 9-10:

Tue Jun 9 … Tri-State Speedway, Pocola, OK ($2,000 to win)
Wed Jun 10 … I-30 Speedway, Little Rock, AR ($2,000 to win)
Thu Jun 11 … Ark-La-Tex Speedway, Vivian, LA ($2,000 to win)
Fri Jun 12 … Fast Trax Speedway, Chatham, LA ($2,000 to win)
Sat Jun 13 … Drew County Speedway, Monticello, AR ($2,000 to win)
Sun Jun 14 … Boothill Speedway, Greenwood, LA ($2,000 to win)

The six-race swing will wrap up the East Region points battle and set up the drivers eligible for the USMTS Southern Series Championship Hunt, which will be comprised of 11 events at four racetracks in the Lone Star State. The kickoff for the title chase will begin with a tripleheader at the Battleground Speedway in Highland, Texas, Oct. 1-3, and will wrap up with the 3rd Annual Texas Winter Nationals, Dec. 3-5, at the Houston Raceway Park.

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 (West Region)
3rd Annual Rinehart Texas Shootout - Event #4 of 4
Gator Motorplex, Willis, Texas
Sunday, May 10, 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. 5w - John O Whittington -- Vidor, TX (3)
2. 10j - Jeremy Ishmael -- Tyler, TX (1)
3. 60 - William Gould -- Calera, OK (5)
4. 9 - Shane Hebert -- Lafayette, LA (4)
5. 51 - Tracy Denby Jr. -- Vidor, TX (6)
6. 57 - Jason Armstrong -- Marshall, TX (7)
7. 7g - Mark Smith -- Lufkin, TX (8)
8. 5g - Keith Green -- Waco, TX (2) DQ - finished 2nd, did not go to scales
9. 18 - Cody Smith -- Kaufman, TX (9) DNS

HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. 18t - Tim Clonch -- Quinlan, TX (6)
2. 20r - Bryan Rowland -- Woodward, OK (7)
3. 88xxx - Clyde Dunn Jr. -- Sunnyville, TX (2)
4. 71 - Tracy Denby Sr. -- Vidor, TX (5)
5. 97j - Jeff Hoegh -- New Caney, TX (8)
6. 68 - Danny Barringer -- Lufkin, TX (1)
7. 07 - Keith Wright -- Conroe, TX (4) DNF
8. 32 - Doug Byrns -- Willis, TX (3) DNF

HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. 75 - Alan Sharpensteen -- Amarillo, TX (2)
2. 89 - Steven Whiteaker Jr. -- Corpus Christi, TX (4)
3. 4m - Bobby Malchus -- Red Oak, TX (3)
4. E - Howard Willis -- Dayton, TX (7)
5. 71k - Kevin Sustaire -- Emery, TX (5)
6. 88b - Brian Boram -- Orange, TX (1)
7. 111 - Bumper Jones -- Mesilla Park, NM (6)
8. 10 - Kyle Schmidt -- Farmington, AR (8)

HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Westville, OK (2)
2. 12c - Corey Babbitt -- Channelview, TX (4)
3. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (6)
4. 51w - Jeff Wood -- Willis, TX (3)
5. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (5)
6. 5a - Wes Armstrong -- Marshall, TX (7)
7. 121 - Kevin Sturgess -- Tomball, TX (1)
8. 44 - Marcus Berndt -- Katy, TX (8)

HEAT RACE #5 (8 laps):
1. 5r - Morgan Bagley -- Longview, TX (1)
2. 20 - Rodney Sanders -- Happy, TX (2)
3. 51 - Eddie Martin -- Stilwell, OK (4)
4. 2w - Paul White -- Temple, TX (3)
5. 4r - Dereck Ramirez -- Woodward, OK (5)
6. 8 - Steve Miller -- Georgetown, TX (6)
7. 52 - Chad Davis -- Tulsa, OK (8)
8. 129 - Bryan Vollmer -- Tomball, TX (7) DNF

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 5 advance):
1. 51 - Eddie Martin -- Stilwell, OK (1)
2. 9 - Shane Hebert -- Lafayette, LA (4)
3. 88xxx - Clyde Dunn Jr. -- Sunnyville, TX (2)
4. 2w - Paul White -- Temple, TX (5)
5. 4r - Dereck Ramirez -- Woodward, OK (7)
6. 71 - Tracy Denby Sr. -- Vidor, TX (3)
7. 5a - Wes Armstrong -- Marshall, TX (8)
8. 07 - Keith Wright -- Conroe, TX (11)
9. 71k - Kevin Sustaire -- Emery, TX (6)
10. 18 - Cody Smith -- Kaufman, TX (15)
11. 121 - Kevin Sturgess -- Tomball, TX (12)
12. 7g - Mark Smith -- Lufkin, TX (10)
13. 88b - Brian Boram -- Orange, TX (9)
14. 44 - Marcus Berndt -- Katy, TX (14) DNF
15. 32 - Doug Byrns -- Willis, TX (13) DNF

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 5 advance):
1. 4m - Bobby Malchus -- Red Oak, TX (2)
2. E - Howard Willis -- Dayton, TX (1)
3. 51w - Jeff Wood -- Willis, TX (4)
4. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (6)
5. 97j - Jeff Hoegh -- New Caney, TX (3)
6. 51 - Tracy Denby Jr. -- Vidor, TX (5)
7. 57 - Jason Armstrong -- Marshall, TX (7)
8. 52 - Chad Davis -- Tulsa, OK (10)
9. 10 - Kyle Schmidt -- Farmington, AR (13)
10. 111 - Bumper Jones -- Mesilla Park, NM (11)
11. 5g - Keith Green -- Waco, TX (12)
12. 129 - Bryan Vollmer -- Tomball, TX (14)
13. 68 - Danny Barringer -- Lufkin, TX (8)
14. 8 - Steve Miller -- Georgetown, TX (9) DNF

SUNOCO “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Westville, OK (4)
2. 5w - John O Whittington -- Vidor, TX (1)
3. 89 - Steven Whiteaker Jr. -- Corpus Christi, TX (3)
4. 75 - Alan Sharpensteen -- Amarillo, TX (6)
5. 5r - Morgan Bagley -- Longview, TX (8)
6. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (9)
7. 60 - William Gould -- Calera, OK (12)
8. E - Howard Willis -- Dayton, TX (16)
9. 51 - Eddie Martin -- Stilwell, OK (13)
10. 20r - Bryan Rowland -- Woodward, OK (2)
11. 2w - Paul White -- Temple, TX (19)
12. 111 - Bumper Jones -- Mesilla Park, NM (23)
13. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (20)
14. 4r - Dereck Ramirez -- Woodward, OK (21)
15. 71k - Kevin Sustaire -- Emery, TX (24)
16. 51w - Jeff Wood -- Willis, TX (18)
17. 4m - Bobby Malchus -- Red Oak, TX (14)
18. 12c - Corey Babbitt -- Channelview, TX (7)
19. 18t - Tim Clonch -- Quinlan, TX (5)
20. 97j - Jeff Hoegh -- New Caney, TX (22)
21. 07 - Keith Wright -- Conroe, TX (27)
22. 9 - Shane Hebert -- Lafayette, LA (15)
23. 20 - Rodney Sanders -- Happy, TX (11)
24. 88xxx - Clyde Dunn Jr. -- Sunnyville, TX (17)
25. 10j - Jeremy Ishmael -- Tyler, TX (10) DNF
26. 121 - Kevin Sturgess -- Tomball, TX (25) DNF
27. 129 - Bryan Vollmer -- Tomball, TX (26) DNF

Lap Leaders: Whittington 1-25, Hughes 26-40.
Total Laps Led: Whittington 25, Hughes 15.
AFCO Pole Winner: Clonch.
Provisional Starters: Jones, Sustaire, Sturgess (track), Vollmer (track), Wright (track).
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Willis (started 16th, finished 8th).
Next Race: Tuesday, June 9, Tri-State Speedway, Pocola, Okla. (East Region).
West Region Points: Hughes 718, Shryock 585, Sanders 568, Whiteaker 560, Rowland 549, Tesch 509, Hebert 492, Bagley 480, Jones 465, Martin 465.
Rinehart Texas Shootout Points (final): Hughes 406, Rowland 350, Whittington 349.
Dustin Duncan Memorial “Just Say Yes” Rookie of the Year Points: W. Armstrong 194, Sustaire 180, J. Armstrong 179, Schmidt 158, Davis 149.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 92, ASI 90, Young’s 57, Sput’s 54, Rowland 47.
Chassis Builders Championship Points: Hughes 103, Skyrocket 101, Ramirez 80, TRE 74, GRT 70.

Contingency Awards:
AFCO Racing Products – Clonch.
American Racer – Hebert.
Isky Racing Cams – Whittington.
KSE Racing Products – Willis.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Vollmer.
Nitroquest – Whiteaker.
Quarter Master – Hughes, Willis.
QuickTime Performance Parts – Gould.
Real Racing Wheels – Denby Sr., Denby Jr.

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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, Intercomp, Karl Chevrolet, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, Nitroquest, PBM Performance Products, Sunoco Race Fuels.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: ASi Racewear, Bear Tire, Big Dog Chassis & Fabrication, 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, 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.