Gustin, Torres score Cotton Bowl opening night wins

[rebelracewriter]

USMTS Opener @ Cotton Bowl Speedway, 2/9-11/17

 

By JM Hallas

 

And so it begins....

 

Paige, TX.,(Feb 9th, 2017) While it's been a long off season for some of the northern guys, the south guys have already gotten some practice in. Both north and south joined together for the United States Modified Touring Series(USMTS) opener at Cotton Bowl Speedway. Drivers from as far north as North Dakota brushed off the snow pack to make the trip to the 3/8 mile, semi-banked, clay oval, just east of Austin.

 

This was the inaugural trip to the track for USMTS, starting its 19th season of touring Modified warriors. Multi-time USMTS champ, Jason Hughes(Okla.) looks to defend his title adding heavy-hitter, Ryan Gustin(Ia.) to his team during the off season. Former champ, Rodney Sanders(Tx.), looks to get back in the swing of things after taking the titles in 2013/2014, while recently splitting his time in a Late Model.

A cool two grand was up for grabs on Thursday for the USMTS winner. Friday and Saturday's paydays increase by a $1,000 each night. Also in action are the Limited Modifieds all three nights, with the CBS Stock Cars joining on Friday and Saturday nights only.

 

Reaper Rocks Cotton Bowl Opener

 

New team? No Problem for Ryan Gustin (Marshalltown, Ia.) as he rocked the high side on his way to the $2,000 payday at the end of the night. Gustin, who started outside the front row after the redraw, led all 40-laps on his way to the checkers. Gustin used momentum off the top of turn 2 to get the lead, that he'd never relinquish.

 

Cade Dillard chased Gustin throughout most of the race, occasionally showing the leader his nose. Rodney Sanders moved up to third, but went up in smoke past halfway before ever getting close enough to challenge the lead duo. Gustin, in the Henryetta Ford, McCartney Welding, Heartland Fuels, West Siloam Pawn, Pig-n-Out, Redtail Tackle, Eastside Cafe, Rainbow Graphics, Cates Recycling, Mullins powered, Hughes Chassis held off Dillard by a couple car lengths for the win.

 

As green waved on the 26-car field, rookie of the year contender, Travis Saurer was first into turn, but Hughes blasted by up top. At the line it was Gustin, Saurer, Philip Houston, Dillard and Sanders in the top five. With Dillard getting by Houston for third that left him three wide with Sanders and Zack VanDerBeek for fourth.

 

As the top five sorted out, Houston continued to fall back into the clutches of Billy Vogel in the battle for seventh. As they fought, Stormy Scott shot by both for the spot. Behind them Ricky Thornton jr. and Jason Hughes were side by side for tenth. The first of two yellows waved on lap 11 when Austin Huskey had problems and rolled to a stop high in turn 4.

 

On the restart Sanders took third from Saurer with Johnny Scott and VanDerBeek door to door for fifth. S. Scott dropped back to battle with Vogel for seventh as J. Scott and VanDerBeek continued to slug it out. At halfway it was Gustin trailed by Dillard and Sanders and a gap back to Saurer and VanDerBeek in the top five.

 

The leaders had just hit lapped traffic when Sanders car erupted in a cloud of smoke to bring out yellow on lap 26. Once back to green Dillard and Saurer gave Gustin a look going three wide off turn 2. Gustin held the point with Dillard falling in line and VanDerBeek getting by Saurer for third. This left to two Scott brothers side by side for fifth until S. Scott got the spot

 

S. Scott continued on taking fourth from Saurer a couple laps later. Thornton cracked the top six, after starting sixteenth, getting past J. Scott. With five to go Dillard turned up the pressure on Gustin diving to the bottom in turns 3-4. The final circuits saw Dillard follow Gustin in 1-2, then try to bottom in 3-4. At the checkers it was Gustin holding off Dillard for the victory.

 

"We always enjoy coming down here to Texas," replied Gustin. "Since I've been driving for Jason (Hughes) we're undefeated so far. My hat's off to this crew, all the credit goes to them. These are awesome racecars. Steve works his butt off and our new tire guy does awesome job, they deserve the credit."

 

"I was just trying to hit my marks and not hit the concrete(walls) more than anything. The car was really good and I didn't have to drive it that hard. I'd just drive it hard for a few laps and focus on not hitting the wall running up top."

 

"I absolutely saw Cade (Dillard) sticking his nose in there. I have to thank him for driving me clean. I told him out on the front stretch after the race that it was nice of him. I never saw that Rodney(Sanders) was running down there too. I wasn't going to leave the top though. If anyone. like Cade, had gotten up beside me and yanked me off the corner I might have tried down there. Coming off the top you're going to have more straightaway speed than the bottom. I felt like sitting duck out there all the time."

 

"Mine and Jason's cars are pretty much the same except for set up stuff for our driving styles. Neither of our cars is an R&D car. We'll go over the car tomorrow, make sure everything is still tight, look for a good draw in the heat and make it easier on us."

 

"A weekend sweep? I hope so. That's the plan. That's everyone plan, well not anymore."

 

JM Hallas Photo

 

USMTS Modifieds

 

19r Ryan Gustin, 97 Cade Dillard, 2s Stormy Scott, 33z Zack VanDerBeek, 20rt Ricky Thornton jr., 1s Travis Saurer, 4r Dereck Ramirez, 1st Johnny Scott, 12 Jason Hughes, 717 GW Egbert, 91w RC Whitwell, 717 GW Egbert, 21 Chris Brown, 4w Tyler Wolff, 85 Thomas Tillison jr., 89c Steve Whiteaker jr., 34 Mickey Lassiter, 71 Philip Houston, 6x Kyle Pleasant,4v Billy Vogel, 78 Trevor Egbert, 9 Kevin Rutherford, 91 Joe Duvall, 20 Rodney Sanders, 74 Jason Sartain, 715 JP Dowell, 26 Austin Huskey

 

USMTS Modified B-mains(Top 7 to A-main)

USMTS B-1; 2s Stormy Scott, 91w RC Whitwell, 89c Steve Whiteaker jr., 4r Dereck Ramirez, 9 Kevin Rutherford, 34 Mickey Lassiter, 23 Logan Robertson, 64 Jay Sale, 78 Corey Weir, 12 Cody Leonard, 33f Jardin Fuller, 48 Chris Swenson, j41 Monte Bolton---dns, 7x Rory Jordan---dns

USMTS B-2; 85 Thomas Tillison jr., 20rt Ricky Thornton jr., 21 Chris Brown, 91 Joe Duvall, 717 GW Egbert, 78 Trevor Egbert, a1 Phil Dixon, 29 Jamie Campbell, 137 Bill Pittaway, 18 Terry Tussey jr., 141 Rob Sanderson, 2 Chad Rockefeller, 1 Eddie Ingram

 

USMTS Heats(Top 12 in passing points to A-main)
Heat 1; 71 Philip Houston, 33z Zack VanDerBeek, 12 Jason Hughes, 2s Stormy Scott, 4r Dereck Ramirez, 78 Trevor Egbert, 6x Kyle Pleasant, a1 Phil Dixon, 7x Rory Jordan

Heat 2; 4w Tyler Wolff, 4v Billy Vogel, 26 Austin Huskey, 21 Chris Brown, 9 Kevin Rutherford, 48 Chris Swenson, 18 Terry Tussey jr., 33f Jardin Fuller, 2 Chad Rockefeller

Heat 3; 715 JP Dowell, 20 Rodney Sanders, 85 Thomas Tillison jr., 23 Logan Robertson, 20rt Ricky Thornton jr., 137 Bill Pittaway, 12 Cody Leonard, 717 GW Egbert

Heat 4; 97 Cade Dillard, 19r Ryan Gustin, 91 Joe Duvall, 74 Jason Sartain, 1 Eddie Ingram, 64 Jay Sale, 141 Rob Sanderson, j41 Monte Bolton

Heat 5; 1st Johnny Scott, 1s Travis Saurer, 89c Steve Whiteaker jr., 91w RC Whitwell, 34 Mickey Lassiter, 89t Danny Turner, 78 Corey Weir, 29 Jamie Campbell

 

Torres Tops Stout Limited Modified Field

 

In a race dotted with a lot of attrition among some of the top guys, Johnny Torres (San Antonio) picked up the win for the $400 payday. Torres, who started fifth, got by Sid Kiphen after an early restart then held off early challenges from JJ Jennings. As Jennings fell out, Gabe Tucker picked up the charge in the latter stages. Torres, in his Alamo Hot Rod Parts, 24/7 Towing, Longrun Seamless Gutters, All In Designs, Berta Built Bodies, Swenson Racing Shocks, KSG Motorsports, AMSOIL, Fletchers Custom Engines, Vato by 89 Motorsports Chassis had them all covered for the victory.

 

As the 24-car, 20-lap feature rolled to green, Don Painter grabbed the lead chased by Kiphen, Torres, Cody Leonard, Marcus Mikulencak and Jennings. Painter's lead was short as he spun in turn 2 and somehow was missed by the entire field. This gave Kiphen the top on the restart, but Torres got by on the low side to lead lap 2.

 

Going through a spurt of restarts Kiphen, Leonard and Jennings went three wide for second as Jennings worked his way forward. Jennings gave Torres a look after another restart with Kiphen, Leonard, Tucker and Will Carter four abreast for third. Tucker continued his march to the front getting to third. Kiphen's night ended before halfway when he pulled off from his top five spot.

 

At the mid-point it was Torres, Jennings, Tucker, Leonard and Hunter Flanagan in the top five. Tucker caught the lead duo on lap 12 with Shane Hoefling closing on Leonard and Flanagan. Lap 14 saw Jennings have transmission issues giving up the spot to Tucker, while Hoefling got by both Leonard and Flanagan. Painter rebounded from his early spin making his way back into the top ten.

 

The lead duo got a scare on lap 16 when Scott Talley spun in turn 4 as they were coming through turns 3-4. On green Hoefling and Tucker were side by side for second giving Torres a little breathing room while Painter got by Brandon Kenney for sixth. Torres held his advantage over Tucker the finals laps with Painter coming back from twenty fourth on lap 1 to fourth at the finish.

 

"I wasn't really prepared(for tonight)" said Torres. "I figured JJ(Jennings) would be back there. I really wasn't worried about one car though. There are a bunch of fast guys here tonight. Gabe Tucker, Shane Hoefling and about ten others were out there. I saw that JJ broke. He's one of my friends so I hated seeing that, but it was a relief."

 

"I really try not to worry about the line I'm running and someone finding something better. The top had a cushion, but I thought if I just hit my marks on the bottom that I'd be alright."

 

"The USMTS guys putting down different rubber than we normally run on wasn't a problem for me. It's kind of weird that I always seem to run good when I go out after they've laid down rubber."

 

"I don't know about me sweeping the weekend. I'm supposed to let Robert Scrivner drive the car tomorrow since he's been helping me out a lot. We'll see how that goes."

 

"I'm planning on running I-37 Speedway again this year most of the time. It's just too close to home not to go to. I've really missed racing there too."

 

Limited Modifieds

 

66 Johnny Torres, 95 Gabe Tucker, 63 Shane Hoefling, 10d Don Painter, 42k Ross McCartney, 58c Hunter Flanagan, 21b Brandon Kenney, ok Thomas Bennett, 56 Broc Bowen, 174 Mickey Helms, 777 James Hanusch, 28 Scott Talley, 84 Douglas Wiggins, 12 Cody Leonard, 8c Will Carter, 03 Marcus Mikulencak, 26g JJ Jennings, 58 Sid Kiphen, qw1k Mike Wagner, 17 Don Krahn, 01 Derek Scott jr., 55 Rusty Head, r3w Rick Wolfe

 

Limited Modified B-main(Top 6 to A-Main)
r3w Rick Wolfe, 42k Ross McCartney, 17 Don Krahn, 28 Scott Talley, 84 Douglas Wiggins, 55g Gerald Henderson, r1 James Kemp, 42w JR Watts, 43 Jeremy Petty---dntg, 7 Bruce Hinson---dntg, c3 Chris Birmingham---dns, a11n Mark Salango---dns

 

Limited Modified Heats(Top 6 to A-main)
Heat 1; 58c Hunter Flanagan, 03 Marcus Mikulencak, ok Thomas Bennett, qw1k Mike Wagner, 95 Gabe Tucker, 63 Shane Hoefling, 55g Gerald Henderson, 42w JR Watts, 7 Bruce Hinson, 84 Douglas Wiggins

Heat 2; 26g JJ Jennings, 66 Johnny Torres, 10d Don Painter, 21b Brandon Kenney, 55 Rusty Head, 174 Mickey Helms, 42k Ross McCartney, r3w Rick Wolfe, 28 Scott Talley, a11n Mark Salango

Heat 3; 58 Sid Kiphen, 12 Cody Leonard, 8c Will Carter, 01 Derek Scott jr., 56 Broc Bowen, 777 James Hanusch, 17 Don Krahn, 43 Jeremy Petty, r1 James Kemp, c3 Chris Birmingham

 

Racing continues Friday night with pits opening at 4:00pm, Grandstands @ 5:00pm. Hot laps start at 7:10pm while the racing begins at 7:30pm. For more info visit the tracks website www.cottonbowlspeedway.com or their facebook page www.facebook.com/CottonBowlSpeedway.

 

You can follow the USMTS on their website www.usmts.com or www.facebook.com/usmts on facebook.

[rebelracewriter]

JM Hallas photo