Hughes Leads Every Lap In Earning Lansing Laurels

[CPG Marketing]

LANSING, Minn. (May 22) – The Chateau Raceway powered by Miner's Outdoor & Rec was coming off two straight weekends of rain-outs coming into Friday night's big Memorial Day Weekend Blowout featuring the big guns of the USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour. Cloudy skies and light sprinkles off and on during the day had everybody hoping that the weather would cooperate and allow the fans and drivers to enjoy an exciting night of racing action.

As the clock rolled around to race time, all eyes turned from the sky to the track as Mother Nature kept the rain to the south, allowing the show to go on.

Thirty-four cars and drivers from eight states checked in for the show with Wednesday night's winner at the Marshalltown (Iowa) Speedway, Jon Tesch, drawing the pole position for the 40-lap Sunoco “A” Main with the eighth and final draw among the inverted qualifiers.

Jason Hughes drew the second spot but came from the outside of the front row to lead Tesch, Dereck Ramirez, Kelly Shryock and Scott Green around the 1/3-mile semi-banked clay oval for the first lap.

Back in the field, defending USMTS National Champion Tim Donlinger was trying to move forward from his eighth row starting spot, picking up four spots in two laps and moving into tenth on the fourth lap.

With Hughes holding back challenges from Tesch and Ramirez, Donlinger was up to eighth by lap 11 as the second caution of the race came out when Al Hejna went off in turn 1. Another quick caution followed one lap later, but afterward the action started to pick up.

Donlinger jumped up to sixth on the restart while Tesch and Ramirez hooked up in some exciting side-by-side action for second, swapping the spot several times before Tesch took control.

Another caution came out on lap 16 when Mike Sorensen and Mark Noble got together in turn 4, then again three laps later for a car sitting sideways in turn 1.

That was the last time the field would see the dreaded yellow flag as the remaining 21 laps ran caution-free.

Hughes maintained a slim lead throughout, but held it all the way to the finish with Tesch holding off Steve Wetzstein for second and Donlinger snagging the fourth spot and earning the Hard Charger Award. The three swapped positions several times during the second half of the race with Wetzstein moving up to second a couple of times only to have Tesch come back on him.

Donlinger was able to get alongside Wetzstein on three occasions but never was able to finish off the pass.

Ramirez took fifth, followed by Zack VanderBeek, Shryock, Green, Ryan Gustin and Corey Dripps rounding out the top-10 in the second of five Yeager Machine Upper Midwest Region main events in a row this Memorial Day Weekend.

Hughes also led wire to wire in the First Heat Race to make it a perfect night in grabbing his series-leading fourth win of 2009. The Westville, Okla., chassis builder also has four victories this season in the USMTS Southern Series.

In the Yeager Machine Upper Midwest Region points, VanderBeek and Donlinger are tied at the top of the rankings with 194 points each, with Wetzstein just three markers back in third. Fourth is Ramirez with 165 points, followed by Shryock (159), Hughes (154), Dripps (144), Green (140) and Dan Bohr (138).


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OFFICIAL RESULTS
USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour (Yeager Machine Upper Midwest Region)
Memorial Weekend Blowout
Chateau Raceway, Lansing, Minn.
Friday, May 22, 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.

HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Westville, OK (1)
2. 74 - Mark Noble -- Blooming Prairie, MN (4)
3. 90 - Steve Wetzstein -- West Concord, MN (7)
4. 65 - Tommy Myer -- Blooming Prairie, MN (9)
5. 21w - Dano Ostrander -- Princeton, MN (5)
6. 01 - Brandon Aggen -- Rushmore, MN (2)
7. 3d - Tim Donlinger -- Rochester, MN (8) DNF
8. 66 - Dan Bohr -- Decorah, IA (6) DNF
9. 12h - Mike Hansen -- Alton, IA (3) DNF

HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (1)
2. 20 - Rodney Sanders -- Happy, TX (3)
3. 12d - Scott Drake -- Webb City, MO (2)
4. 21 - Layne Meyer -- West Union, IA (4)
5. 42 - Tom Paulson -- Kasson, MN (6)
6. 2 - Grant Junghans -- Manhattan, KS (7)
7. 96 - Greg Jensen -- Albert Lea, MN (5)
8. 49x - Jay Poidinger -- Somerset, WI (8)

AWESOME RACEWEAR HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. 45 - Todd Scharkey -- Kasson, MN (2)
2. 21x - Joe Wernecke -- Dodge Center, MN (1)
3. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (7)
4. 7 - Al Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (8)
5. 55 - Alan Mondus -- Lakeville, MN (4)
6. 72 - Doug Hillson -- Blooming Prairie, MN (3)
7. 98 - Josh Reisch -- Luverne, MN (5)
8. 19r - Ryan Gustin -- Marshalltown, IA (6)

INTERCOMP HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS (1)
2. 4r - Dereck Ramirez -- Woodward, OK (5)
3. 19 - Mike Sorensen -- Rochester, MN (6)
4. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (7)
5. 31 - Corey Dripps -- Waterloo, IA (8)
6. 99s - Bobby Swanson -- Kasson, MN (2)
7. 4a - Joel Alberts -- Mantorville, MN (4)
8. 79 - Jeremy Misgen -- Ellendale, MN (3)

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (12 laps, top 4 advance):
1. 7 - Al Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (1)
2. 3d - Tim Donlinger -- Rochester, MN (7)
3. 19r - Ryan Gustin -- Marshalltown, IA (10)
4. 21 - Layne Meyer -- West Union, IA (3)
5. 72 - Doug Hillson -- Blooming Prairie, MN (6)
6. 66 - Dan Bohr -- Decorah, IA (9)
7. 12d - Scott Drake -- Webb City, MO (2) DNF
8. 12h - Mike Hansen -- Alton, IA (11) DNF
9. 21w - Dano Ostrander -- Princeton, MN (4) DNF
10. 2 - Grant Junghans -- Manhattan, KS (5) DNF
11. 98 - Josh Reisch -- Luverne, MN (8)DNF

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (12 laps, top 4 advance):
1. 31 - Corey Dripps -- Waterloo, IA (2)
2. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (1)
3. 42 - Tom Paulson -- Kasson, MN (3)
4. 55 - Alan Mondus -- Lakeville, MN (4)
5. 01 - Brandon Aggen -- Rushmore, MN (5)
6. 4a - Joel Alberts -- Mantorville, MN (8)
7. 96 - Greg Jensen -- Albert Lea, MN (7)
8. 49x - Jay Poidinger -- Somerset, WI (9)
9. 79 - Jeremy Misgen -- Ellendale, MN (10)
10. 99s - Bobby Swanson -- Kasson, MN (6) DNF

SUNOCO “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Westville, OK (2)
2. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (1)
3. 90 - Steve Wetzstein -- West Concord, MN (5)
4. 3d - Tim Donlinger -- Rochester, MN (15)
5. 4r - Dereck Ramirez -- Woodward, OK (3)
6. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (16)
7. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (4)
8. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS (6)
9. 19r - Ryan Gustin -- Marshalltown, IA (17)
10. 31 - Corey Dripps -- Waterloo, IA (14)
11. 20 - Rodney Sanders -- Happy, TX (9)
12. 74 - Mark Noble -- Blooming Prairie, MN (7)
13. 21 - Layne Meyer -- West Union, IA (19)
14. 65 - Tommy Myer -- Blooming Prairie, MN (12)
15. 19 - Mike Sorensen -- Rochester, MN (10)
16. 12h - Mike Hansen -- Alton, IA (22)
17. 55 - Alan Mondus -- Lakeville, MN (20)
18. 96 - Greg Jensen -- Albert Lea, MN (24)
19. 72 - Doug Hillson -- Blooming Prairie, MN (23) DNF
20. 66 - Dan Bohr -- Decorah, IA (21) DNF
21. 45 - Todd Scharkey -- Kasson, MN (8) DNF
22. 42 - Tom Paulson -- Kasson, MN (18) DNF
23. 21x - Joe Wernecke -- Dodge Center, MN (11) DNF
24. 7 - Al Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (13) DNF

Lap Leader: Hughes 1-40.
Total Laps Led: Hughes 40.
AFCO Pole Winner: Scharkey.
Provisional Starters: Bohr, Hansen, Hillson (track), Jensen (track).
Ruter Farms Long Tow: Green (569.06 miles).
Hard Charger: Donlinger (started 15th, finished 4th).
Next Race: Saturday, May 23, Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, Minn. (Yeager Machine Upper Midwest Region).
Yeager Machine Upper Midwest Region Points: VanderBeek 194, Donlinger 194, Wetzstein 191, Tesch 176, Ramirez 165, Shryock 159, Hughes 154, Dripps 144, Green 140, Bohr 138.
DandyLand Farms Rookie of the Year Points: Tate Cole 124, Tim Shields 109, Junghans 107, Hansen 83, Brian Bolin 75, Colt Mather 75.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: Sput’s 101, Mullins 94, a.s.i. 80, Homegrown 39, AEM 37.
Chassis Builders Championship Points: Hughes 105, Skyrocket 98, Ramirez 94, GRT 56, TRE 55.