Jeremiah Davis
Storm Lake Times
No matter where they are, or type of track conditions, you can always count on the United States Modified Touring Series to put on a good show.
And on Wednesday night at Buena Vista Raceway in Alta, the racers did just that. With the high heat Alta had during the day, the track dried out in a hurry, despite the best efforts of the track crew.
“(The USMTS drivers) like it that way,” promoter Jeff Herrig said. “(A dry track) doesn’t pull down their motors.”
As was the case two years ago, the USMTS had a special guest in attendance. NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace, who races with the USMTS all he can, brought his car back to BVR in hopes of running better than last time he was here.
Wallace did manage a heat race win early in the night, and started seventh in the A-Main event.
Brad Williams, among others who race at BVR weekly to show up and race against the USMTS guys, started on the pole after looking strong in the heat, but said of the starting spot, “I hate it. There’s only one way to go, and that’s backwards.”
At the start of the A-Main, it looked like Williams would prove himself wrong.
Ryan Gustin, a Marshalltown native to races with the USMTS regularly, rocketed off from the fourth starting spot and into the lead on the first lap, with Williams holding strong in second.
But the question of who was going to win the race seemed all but answered just a few laps in.
Gustin simply was dominant on the evening. At ten laps into the race, Gustin’s lead was a full straightaway, with Williams still in second.
But a caution erased the huge lead and put the field at his bumper. That didn’t matter, as when they took the green flag, he was long gone again.
“We had a hot rod tonight,” Gustin said. “Well, we have a fast car especially when it’s slick.”
Williams managed to hold on to second for the majority of the race, holding off Jon Tesch and Dereck Ramirez.
But after a second caution with ten to go, the handling on Williams’ car seemed to go, and he slipped back, with Tesch and Ramirez moving past to race between themselves for the second spot.
As for Kenny Wallace, while racing for sixth, he was spun out in turns 1 and 2 by Nick Deal, sending both to the back. Wallace never really recovered, and settled for an 18th place finish.
In the closing laps, Gustin stretched out his lead to nearly a half lap, and cruised easily to the win. Ramirez and Tesch raced side by side in the closing laps for second, with Ramirez barely edging out Tesch for the spot.
The USMTS guys weren’t the only ones to race Wednesday night, as the rest of the regular IMCA classes competed as well.
In the Stock Car feature Chris Ullrich had his hands full with two Smith brothers throughout the night.
At the start of the race, Ullrich and David Smith battled for the lead. But two laps in, David ended up spun out coming out of turn 2, and was forced to the back of the pack.
That left Ullrich to defend the top spot against Donavon Smith.
Ullrich and Smith raced hard throughout the 15-lap event for the top spot, racing side by side on multiple occasions. Behind them, Brian Blessington and Trent Murphy raced hard for third.
With two to go, Donavon took the lead for the first time. Ullrich stayed right with, and on the final lap, the two were side by side coming to the checkers. Smith inched barely ahead of Ullrich, taking the win.
“I was trying to size Ullrich up, because he’s too good on the bottom,” Smith said. “I think he was shocked we were there, but I’m glad it worked.”
Blessington and Murphy also came to the line side by side for third, with Murphy taking the spot.
The Sport Mod feature was coming off a rough week last week, in which six cautions ended the race before all the laps were completed.
Unfortunately for them and the fans, after the halfway point the trend continued.
Early on Tim Rupp surged to the lead ahead of Dan VanBruggen. Rupp held strong to the top spot, with VanBruggen and Tim Wilcox racing behind him.
But a caution at halfway seemed to bring things to a halt. Four consecutive cautions flew on each attempt to get back racing after the first caution.
After that, the racers would get a few laps, then another caution. With two to go, the seventh caution of the night flew, and track officials ended the race short for the second straight week, handing the win to Rupp once again.
The Anderson-Smith rivalry in the Hobby Stock class came to a head in their feature.
While racing for the lead early on, Devin Smith tried to pass both Merle Bass and Shannon Anderson on the high side.
Smith and Anderson made contact going down the straightaway, and then again in turns one and two, that time sending Smith over the edge of the track, and back several positions.
Anderson held strong in the lead after that, never really being challenged by Bass for the win.
In the closing laps, Smith did recover from the back to fourth, but never higher. Anderson held on for the win, with Bass second and Michael Murphy third.
The Sport Compact race seemed like it was over in a hurry on this night as well. Cory Flanigan started on pole, and never lost the lead. Flanigan stretched his lead to a full straightaway advantage over Caine Mahlberg and Kyle Hill.
Flanigan cruised to the win, with Mahlberg holding off Hill for second.
In the BVR Bomber class, Jess Bieret continued his domination of the class, once again picking up the win, with Colby Davis second.
