SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Terry Phillips of Springfield, Mo., captured the 40-lap main event Saturday in front of hometown fans as the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour invaded the Springfield Raceway for the first time in the 11-year history of America's premier Modified series.

The 42-year-old second-generation dirt track racer wrestled the lead away from his teammate, Jeremy Payne, on lap 11 and never looked back en route to collecting the $2,000 winner's share of the prize money.

Jackie Dalton currently leads the points at the Springfield Raceway in the USRA Modified division, and drew the pole position for the Sunoco “A” Main among the top-8 qualifiers Saturday night. Dalton grabbed the lead at the drop of the green flag and paced the first three laps before giving up the top spot to Payne.

Payne's reign at the front was short-lived too as Phillips powered into the lead for good seven laps later.

Current Bear Tire Mo-Kan Region points leader Jason Hughes won the first Real Racing Wheels “B” Main, then passed nine cars in the main event to garner a third-place finish behind the Springfield duo.

Eight-time USMTS National Champion Kelly Shryock, who finished three spots behind Hughes in the same Real Racing Wheels “B” Main to take the final transfer spot, made the most of his opportunity by climbing from 19th to fourth in the Sunoco “A” Main and earning the PBM Performance Products Hard Charger Award.

Rodney Sanders rounded out the top-5 finishers, Johnny Bone Jr. was sixth, Dalton held on to finish seventh, Dereck Ramirez wound up eighth, Grant Junghans finished ninth and Tommy Myer crossed beneath the checkered flags in tenth.

Hughes remains the points leader in the Bear Tire Mo-Kan Region of the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour with 604 points, followed by Sanders (537), Bone (528), Shryock (520), Zack VanderBeek (497), Dustin Boney (491), Scott Green (477), Chad Wheeler (462), Bryan Rowland (460) and Ramirez (453).

TOMORROW ...

On Sunday, the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour rolls into the Monett Speedway in Monett, Mo., after a one-year hiatus thanks to Mother Nature. Both events scheduled for the 3/8-mile semi-banked clay oval were rained-out last year.

This will be the ninth USMTS event staged at “The Grand Ole Lady” since 2004. Hughes and Shryock are both two-time winners at Monett and Phillips was a winner there in 2005. Other former winners include Johnny Bone Jr., Mark Noble and George White.

Pit gates open at 4:00, grandstands open at 5:00, hot laps begin at 7:00 and the mud starts flying at 7:30. Local Bombers, Factory Stocks, Pro 4s and Rookies will also be featured.

The Monett Speedway is located 1.0 mile east of SR 37 on US 60, then north on Chapel Dr. For more information, call the track office at 417-732-2766 or dial 417-236-0600 for day-of-race details. The Monett Speedway can be found at www.monettspeedway.net online.

On race day, fans can pick up $2-off discount coupons at both Casey's General Stores locations in Monett, as well as Pierce City. Check out www.caseys.com for store locations.

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 Casey’s General Stores National Tour (Bear Tire Mo-Kan Region)
6th Annual Missouri Nationals - Event #2 of 3
Springfield Raceway, Springfield, Mo.
Saturday, May 16, 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 (10 laps):
1. 20 - Rodney Sanders -- Happy, TX (2)
2. 12b - Johnny Bone Jr. -- Pea Ridge, AR (6)
3. 4r - Dereck Ramirez -- Woodward, OK (4)
4. 88 - Chad Wheeler -- Muskogee, OK (7)
5. 21m - Steven Martin -- Ozark, MO (8)
6. 85 - Jody Tillman -- Branson, MO (3)
7. 5 - Daniel Anders -- Nevada, MO (5)
8. 26p - Bobby Pearish -- Oronogo, MO (1)

HEAT RACE #2 (10 laps):
1. 75 - Terry Phillips -- Springfield, MO (2)
2. 21 - Jackie Dalton -- Carthage, MO (1)
3. 00 - Jesse Stovall -- Galena, MO (4)
4. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (3)
5. 52 - Mitch Keeter -- Webb City, MO (5)
6. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (8)
7. 71 - Jim Body -- Diamond, MO (6)
8. 66t - Tyler Schmidt -- Easton, KS (7)

HEAT RACE #3 (10 laps):
1. 20r - Bryan Rowland -- Woodward, OK (2)
2. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS (1)
3. 42 - Dalton Greven -- Bolivar, MO (4)
4. 89 - Tate Cole -- Muskogee, OK (5)
5. 42t - Tim Shields -- Kansas City, MO (6)
6. X2 - Brian Bolin -- Fort Scott, KS (8)
7. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Westville, OK (7)
8. 17h - Brent Holman -- Rogers, AR (3)

HEAT RACE #4 (10 laps):
1. 99t - Jeremy Payne -- Springfield, MO (5)
2. 22 - Dustin Boney -- Tonganoxie, KS (1)
3. 65 - Tommy Myer -- Blooming Prairie, MN (3)
4. 2 - Grant Junghans -- Manhattan, KS (8)
5. 19 - Kelby Taylor -- Bolivar, MO (2)
6. 40 - Brian Green -- Pierce City, MO (6)
7. 14 - Shawn Nations -- Macks Creek, MO (4)
8. 54 - David Hendrix -- Laquey, MO (7)

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Westville, OK (8)
2. 88 - Chad Wheeler -- Muskogee, OK (1)
3. 89 - Tate Cole -- Muskogee, OK (2)
4. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (3)
5. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (5)
6. 52 - Mitch Keeter -- Webb City, MO (4)
7. 5 - Daniel Anders -- Nevada, MO (7)
8. 26p - Bobby Pearish -- Oronogo, MO (9)
9. 17h - Brent Holman -- Rogers, AR (10)
10. 85 - Jody Tillman -- Branson, MO (6)

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 4 advance):
1. 65 - Tommy Myer -- Blooming Prairie, MN (1)
2. 14 - Shawn Nations -- Macks Creek, MO (8)
3. 54 - David Hendrix -- Laquey, MO (10)
4. 21m - Steven Martin -- Ozark, MO (2)
5. 19 - Kelby Taylor -- Bolivar, MO (4)
6. 40 - Brian Green -- Pierce City, MO (6)
7. 66t - Tyler Schmidt -- Easton, KS (9)
8. 42t - Tim Shields -- Kansas City, MO (3)
9. X2 - Brian Bolin -- Fort Scott, KS (5)
10. 71 - Jim Body -- Diamond, MO (7)

SUNOCO “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. 75 - Terry Phillips -- Springfield, MO (3)
2. 99t - Jeremy Payne -- Springfield, MO (4)
3. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Westville, OK (13)
4. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (19)
5. 20 - Rodney Sanders -- Happy, TX (7)
6. 12b - Johnny Bone Jr. -- Pea Ridge, AR (5)
7. 21 - Jackie Dalton -- Carthage, MO (1)
8. 4r - Dereck Ramirez -- Woodward, OK (10)
9. 2 - Grant Junghans -- Manhattan, KS (9)
10. 65 - Tommy Myer -- Blooming Prairie, MN (14)
11. 54 - David Hendrix -- Laquey, MO (1)
12. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS (6)
13. 20r - Bryan Rowland -- Woodward, OK (2)
14. 00 - Jesse Stovall -- Galena, MO (11)
15. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (21)
16. 89 - Tate Cole -- Muskogee, OK (17)
17. 14 - Shawn Nations -- Macks Creek, MO (16)
18. 22 - Dustin Boney -- Tonganoxie, KS (8)
19. 26p - Bobby Pearish -- Oronogo, MO (24)
20. X2 - Brian Bolin -- Fort Scott, KS (22) DNF
21. 88 - Chad Wheeler -- Muskogee, OK (15) DNF
22. 52 - Mitch Keeter -- Webb City, MO (23) DNF
23. 42 - Dalton Greven -- Bolivar, MO (12) DNF
24. 21m - Steven Martin -- Ozark, MO (20) DNF

Lap Leaders: Dalton 1-3, Payne 4-10, Phillips 11-40.
Total Laps Led: Phillips 30, Payne 7, Dalton 3.
AFCO Pole Winner: Payne.
Provisional Starters: VanderBeek, Bolin, Keeter (track), Pearish (track).
Ruter Farms Long Tow: Myer (532.18 miles).
PBM Performance Products Hard Charger: Shryock (started 19th, finished 4th).
Next Race: Sunday, May 17, Monett Speedway, Monett, Mo. (Bear Tire Mo-Kan Region).
Bear Tire Mo-Kan Region Points: Hughes 604, Sanders 537, Bone 528, Shryock 520, VanderBeek 497, Boney 491, S. Green 477, Wheeler 462, Rowland 460, Ramirez 453.
DandyLand Farms Rookie of the Year Points: Cole 103, Shields 79, Bolin 75, Martin 67, Kip Hughes 62.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 58, Sput’s 53, ASI 50, Homegrown 30, AEM 28.
Chassis Builders Championship Points: Hughes 60, Skyrocket 57, Ramirez 51, GRT 46, TRE 44.

Contingency Awards:
AFCO Racing Products – Payne.
American Racer – Myer.
Isky Racing Cams – Sanders.
KSE Racing Products – Boney
PBM Performance Products – Shryock.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Martin.
Nitroquest – Hughes.
Out-Pace Racing Products – Hendrix.
Quarter Master – Phillips, Ramirez.
QuickTime Performance Parts – Dalton.
Real Racing Wheels – Keeter, B. Green.
Ruter Farms – Myer.

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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.