WATERTOWN, S.D. -- There's no place like home, and nobody knows that better than Jon Tesch.

Tesch had not led a lap in an O’Reilly Auto Parts United States Modified Touring Series race since a wire to wire victory on March 11 at Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, Neb. On Thursday night, he led only three laps -- the last three -- as he sent the standing-room-only Casino Speedway crowd into a frenzy with a late-race pass and narrow victory in the 2nd Annual Team Electronics Summer Slam in his hometown of Watertown, S.D.

Tesch, who turned 30 years old two weeks ago, was a three-time Modified Track Champion (1998, 2000-01) at the 3/8-mile clay oval prior to hitting the road full-time with the rugged O’Reilly USMTS road warriors.

After a disappointing ninth-place finish in last year's homecoming, Tesch found himself behind the eight-ball again this year after mechanical troubles forced him out of the first heat race. He bounced back, however, racing to first-place in the first Real Racing Wheels "B" Main after starting seventh. It was a preview of things to come as Tesch lined up 13th on the grid for the 24-car, 40-lap Holley "A" Main.

Polesitter Al Hejna of Clear Lake, Iowa, set a blistering pace early in the contest and led the first 25 laps before giving up the lead in heavy lapped traffic to New Sharon, Iowa's Zack VanderBeek on lap 26. Unphased by the slip, Hejna reclaimed the top spot on the next lap and set sail at the front of the pack for the next 10 laps before Tesch moved in to challenge for the lead.

The pair crossed the flagstand side by side on lap 38, with Tesch holding a slight advantage over Hejna at the line. Neither driver budged as the two aces raced door to door with no contact for the remaining two laps. At the checkered flag, Tesch nosed ahead of Hejna by a half-car-length to score his second win of the season and take (keep at) home the $2,000 top prize.

Still looking for his first trophy of the 2006 campaign, Hejna settled for second place despite leading 36 of 40 laps in the main event.

Five-time and defending Casino Speedway track champ Kent Arment of Aberdeen, S.D., finished third as he held off VanderBeek in another close on-track battle that kept the fans on their feet. Tommy Myer of Blooming Prairie, Minn. -- winner of last year's inaugural event at Casino Speedway -- finished fifth after starting 16th.

Tesch's win Thursday night also signaled the end of Kelly Shryock's incredible five-race win streak. The seven-time defending O’Reilly USMTS national champ from Fertile, Iowa, struggled in his heat race and finished third in the first Real Racing Wheels "B" Main before a pair of misfortunes in the main event saddled the current Series points leader with a 14th-place finish -- just his fourth time outside of the top-10 in 27 races this season.

Up next, the stars and cars of the O’Reilly USMTS head to the brand-new, state-of-the-art Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo., for the 1st Annual “Diamond of Dirt Tracks” Modified Nationals on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, July 1-3. Monday's main event winner will pocket $5,000.

For more information, or to learn more about the O’Reilly Auto Parts United States Modified Touring Series, call (515) 832-7944 or visit www.USMTS.com online.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS

O’Reilly Auto Parts United States Modified Touring Series

2nd Annual Team Electronics Summer Slam

Casino Speedway, Watertown, S.D.

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Showing finishing position, car number, driver, hometown and starting position in parentheses. The top 12 drivers in Home Pride Passing Points accumulated in the heat races are locked into the Holley “A” Main, with the top 8 re-drawing for starting positions 1-8.

ISKY RACING CAMS HEAT #1 (10 laps):

1. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (2)

2. 74 - Mark Noble -- Blooming Prairie, MN (3)

3. 18 - Tony Leiker -- Gillette, WY (4)

4. 26 - Brad McEwan -- Storm Lake, IA (7)

5. 33 - Todd Stark -- Watertown, SD (6)

6. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (8)

7. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (1) DNF

8. 10c - Justin Cooper -- Prescott, IA (5) DNS

HEAT #2 (10 laps):

1. 54 - Danny Hall -- Watertown, SD (1)

2. 11c - Chris Prussman -- Brookings, SD (5)

3. 7 - Al Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (7)

4. 17 - Darren Bistodeau -- Florence, SD (4)

5. 42 - Chaun Peterson -- Aberdeen, SD (8)

6. 7f - Josh Fleming -- Florence, SD (2)

7. 7x - Roland Small -- Watertown, SD (3)

8. 49x - Jay Poidinger -- Somerset, WI (6) DNF

HEAT #3 (10 laps):

1. 13 - Ron Anderson -- Watertown, SD (2)

2. 1z - Kelly Harmelink -- Brookings, SD (1)

3. 18s - Brent Bohmont -- Martell, NE (6)

4. 72 - Mike Lineberry -- Fontanelle, NE (4)

5. 3x - Arne Anderson -- Watertown, SD (3)

6. 10 - Jay Triplett -- Brookings, SD (5)

7. 555 - Ryan Ruter -- Forest City, IA (7) DNF

HEAT #4 (10 laps):

1. 9 - Kent Arment -- Aberdeen, SD (7)

2. 57 - Chad Williamson -- Watertown, SD (3)

3. 37 - Aaron Wiersma -- Pierre, SD (6)

4. 75j - Wayne Jaquet -- Southshore, SD (5)

5. 19 - Jeff McKenney -- Gillette, WY (1) DNF

6. 81 - Eugene Schleusner -- Watertown, SD (2) DNF

7. 65 - Tommy Myer -- Blooming Prairie, MN (4) DNF

REAL RACING WHEELS "B" MAIN #1 (12 laps, top 5 advance):

1. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (7)

2. 26 - Brad McEwan -- Storm Lake, IA (1)

3. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (5)

4. 10c - Justin Cooper -- Prescott, IA (9)

5. 10 - Jay Triplett -- Brookings, SD (6)

6. 72 - Mike Lineberry -- Fontanelle, NE (3)

7. 3x - Arne Anderson -- Watertown, SD (4)

8. 42 - Chaun Peterson -- Aberdeen, SD (2) DNF

9. 555 - Ryan Ruter -- Forest City, IA (8) DNF

REAL RACING WHEELS "B" MAIN #2 (12 laps, top 5 advance):

1. 75j - Wayne Jaquet -- Southshore, SD (1)

2. 65 - Tommy Myer -- Blooming Prairie, MN (8)

3. 17 - Darren Bistodeau -- Florence, SD (2)

4. 33 - Todd Stark -- Watertown, SD (3)

5. 81 - Eugene Schleusner -- Watertown, SD (6)

6. 49x - Jay Poidinger -- Somerset, WI (9)

7. 19 - Jeff McKenney -- Gillette, WY (4) DNF

8. 7f - Josh Fleming -- Florence, SD (5) DNF

9. 7x - Roland Small -- Watertown, SD (7) DNF

HOLLEY "A" MAIN (40 laps):

1. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (13)

2. 7 - Al Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (1)

3. 9 - Kent Arment -- Aberdeen, SD (6)

4. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (5)

5. 65 - Tommy Myer -- Blooming Prairie, MN (16)

6. 57 - Chad Williamson -- Watertown, SD (7)

7. 18 - Tony Leiker -- Gillette, WY (12)

8. 33 - Todd Stark -- Watertown, SD (20)

9. 75j - Wayne Jaquet -- Southshore, SD (14)

10. 18s - Brent Bohmont -- Martell, NE (9)

11. 26 - Brad McEwan -- Storm Lake, IA (15)

12. 13 - Ron Anderson -- Watertown, SD (3)

13. 11c - Chris Prussman -- Brookings, SD (8)

14. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (17)

15. 17 - Darren Bistodeau -- Florence, SD (18)

16. 49x - Jay Poidinger -- Somerset, WI (24)

17. 81 - Eugene Schleusner -- Watertown, SD (22)

18. 54 - Danny Hall -- Watertown, SD (4)

19. 10 - Jay Triplett -- Brookings, SD (21)

20. 74 - Mark Noble -- Blooming Prairie, MN (2) DNF

21. 555 - Ryan Ruter -- Forest City, IA (23) DNF

22. 37 - Aaron Wiersma -- Pierre, SD (10) DNF

23. 1z - Kelly Harmelink -- Brookings, SD (11) DNF

24. 10c - Justin Cooper -- Prescott, IA (19) DNF

AMSOIL Lap Leaders: Hejna 1-25, VanderBeek 26, Hejna 27-37, Tesch 38-40.

Total Laps Led: Hejna 36, Tesch 3, VanderBeek 1.

Provisional Starters: Ruter (regional), Poidinger (national).

Olympic Fire Protection Hard Charger: Stark (started 20th, finished 8th).

Next Race: Saturday, July 1, Lucas Oil Speedway, Wheatland, Mo.

O’Reilly National Driver Points (top 10): Shryock 2571, Noble 2297, Myer 2251, Ruter 2107, Tesch 2075, VanderBeek 1996, McEwan 1840, Hejna 1704, Dean Mahlstedt 1698, Mike Wedelstadt 1531.

Western Region Points (top 10): Shryock 1033, Tesch 1000, Noble 979, Myer 869, Ruter 849, Hejna 819, McEwan 797, VanderBeek 731, Poidinger 585, Dean Mahlstedt 564.

Home Pride Passing Points - National (top 5): Ruter 108.0, Shryock 108.0, Noble 87.0, Myer 82.5, McEwan 79.5, Hejna 79.5.

Home Pride Passing Points - Western (top 5): Ruter 60.0, Shryock 46.5, Tesch 42.0, McEwan 42.0, Hejna 40.5.

Rookies Rockin’ Sports Bar Rookie of the Year Points (top 5): Jason Friesen 388, Poidinger 386, Matt Gilbertson 295, Bohmont 244, Mike Steensma 225.

UNIJIG Builders Championship Points (top 5): Skyrocket 255, Kraft 204, Hughes 187, GRT 166, Bullet 119.

Contingency Awards:

Bassett Racing Wheel – not awarded.

Belleville Motorsports – Myer, Bohmont, Noble.

Boyer’s Engine Development – Tesch.

Dynatech Racing Exhaust – Tesch, Hejna.

Edelbrock – Tesch, Hejna.

Fast Shafts – Myer.

GRT Race Cars – Williamson.

Isky Racing Cams – VanderBeek.

KEVKO Oil Pans & Components – VanderBeek.

KSE Racing Products – not awarded.

Larson Racing Specialists – Prussman.

Marsh Racing Wheels – not awarded.

QuickTime Performance Parts – not awarded.

RaceQuest – Tesch, Lineberry.

Real Racing Wheels – Tesch.

T.A.R. Race Car Bodies – Bohmont.

UNIJIG – Prussman.