Payne seizes hometown ’Hunt’ win at Springfield
SPRINGFIELD, MO. – Jeremy Payne came out on top of Thursday’s USMTS Casey’s General Stores National main event at the
Springfield Raceway, and in the process earned a measure of redemption to go along with the $3,000 winner’s share of the purse.
Payne’s disqualification on Tuesday night at the LA Raceway in La Monte took away his career-second USMTS victory, and he was nearly as dominant Thursday night in front of his hometown fans. This time, however, Payne also got the thumbs up from USMTS tech officials and took the trophy home.
Zack VanderBeek came from the sixth starting spot and began pressuring Payne for the lead on lap 10. On lap 16, VanderBeek snuck by Payne to lead the lap but Payne powered back into the lead one lap later.
VanderBeek never got around Payne again and had to settle for the runner-up finish while polesitter Dean Mahlstedt held on for third. Payne’s teammate, Terry Phillips, came from 15th to finish fourth while Rodney Sanders finished fifth after a strong run from 20th which earned him the PBM Performance Products Hard Charger Award.
Sixth through tenth in the 40-lap Sunoco “A” Main were Tommy Myer, Jason Hughes, Ryan Gustin, Corey Dripps and Jason Krohn, respectively.
With his third straight top-5 finish in the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship, Sanders leap-frogged Kelly Shryock in the points standings to take over the top ranking. Sanders holds a three-point lead (332-329) over Shryock, while Dereck Ramirez lurks in third with 282. VanderBeek is fourth with 270 markers, followed by Gustin (261), Jon Tesch (251), Al Hejna (249), Myer (248), Grant Junghans (239) and Dripps (238).
Round 4 of the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Championship happens on Friday at the Humboldt Speedway in Humboldt, Kan., with another $3,000-to-win top prize up for grabs. Pits open at 5:00 and grandstand gates open at 6:00, with hot laps at 7:30 and racing at 8:00. B-Mods and Factory Stocks will also be on the racing card.
Race fans can pick up $2-off coupons on Friday at Casey’s General Stores locations in Chanute and Iola. Fans can meet USMTS driver Corey Dripps and see his new Modified sponsored by Cheetos at the Casey’s General Store located at 712 E. Madison Ave. in Iola from 12:00 to 2:00. 0Check out www.caseys.com for more information or to find the location nearest you.
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.
Contact Info:
Jeff Nun
Communications Director
United States Modified Touring Series, Inc. (USMTS)
608 Des Moines St.
Webster City, IA 50595
tel: 515-297-3835
email: media@usmts.co
