Ryan Gustin was the first to see the white flag but Stormy Scott was the first so see the checkers in a heart-stopping hump day rumble at the Heart O’ Texas Speedway.

After claiming the Sybesma Graphics Pole Award, Trevor Egbert was the fastest out of the gate and led the first five laps of Wednesday night’s USMTS feature at the 3/8-mile dirt oval near Waco.

Gustin, who won Saturday’s shootout at the Route 66 Motor Speedway in Amarillo, took charge on lap 6 and held off challenges from both Scott and Chris Brown for the rest of the race through the 39th of 40 circuits.

Meanwhile, Zack VanderBeek, who won two of three main events here last year, climbed from 19th on the grid to pass Brown for third on lap 32 and reeled in the lead duo over the final eight laps. At times, the trio ran virtually side by side in the corners with Gustin continuing to hold the edge at the flagstand.

With the white flag waving behind them, Scott slipped underneath Gustin as the pair worked their way out of the first set of turns and down the back-stretch.

Scott entered the third turn in the middle of the track while Gustin went high, and then shot downhill to squeeze underneath Scott as they drag-raced to the finish line.

With less than two-tenths of a second to spare, Scott beat Gustin to the line by a bumper while Vanderbeek followed in their shadow to register a third-place paycheck.

Chase Allen snuck by Brown with three laps to go and held him off to finish fourth. Summit Racing Equipment Southern Region points leader Cade Dillard finished sixth, Dereck Ramirez was seventh, R.C. Whitwell wound up eighth, ninth went to Jason Hughes and Egbert held on to complete the top ten.

By leading the 40th and final lap, Scott secured his 40th career United States Modified Touring Series victory and his third $3,000 victory in the past six races.

Scott’s last-lap heroics earned him the Wehrs Machine & Racing Products “Trick Move” of the Race Award while VanderBeek hauled in the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award.

The second show of a four-night, four-track swing through Texas takes place Thursday night at the Superbowl Speedway in Greenville. Pit and grandstands open at 5 p.m. with hot laps at 7:15 and racing to follow.

The last trip to the semi-banked quarter-mile dirt oval last May saw Cade Dillard take the feature win. Two shows were staged here in 2014 with the wins going to Johnny Scott and Stormy Scott.

In addition to the USMTS Modifieds, Limited Mods will be racing for $1,000 to win and $75 to start. Factory Stocks will battle it out for $1,000 to win and $60 to start.

The Superbowl Speedway is located 5.0 miles south of Greenville on SR 34, then west on FM 1903. For more information, call (903) 883-2504 or check out www.superbowlspeedway.com online.

Friday takes the rugged USMTS road warriors to the Kennedale Speedway Park. The pit gate opens at 4 p.m., grandstands open at 5 and hot laps begin at 7:15 with racing to follow. Like the previous night, Limited Mods will be racing for $1,000 to win and $75 to start. Factory Stocks will also pay $1,000 to win with $60 to start.

The curtain closes for the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Region on Saturday at the Lonestar Speedway in Kilgore. The pit gate opens at 3 p.m., grandstands open at 5 and hot laps begin at 6:45 with racing to follow. Limited Mods will be racing for $700 to win and Factory Stocks will race for a $500 top prize. FWD Four-Cylinders will also compete.

To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, visit www.usmts.com online or call 515-832-7944. You can also like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/usmts, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/usmts and Instagram at www.instagram.com/usmts or subscribe to our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/usmtstv. Keep up to speed with everything USMTS by joining our email list at www.usmts.com/subscribe.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
USMTS Casey’s Cup powered by S&S Fishing & Rental – Summit Racing Southern Region presented by Production Jars
8th Annual USMTS Texas Spring Nationals
Heart O’ Texas Speedway, Elm Mott, Texas
Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine builder, laps completed and money won.

SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (8) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
2. (1) 11j Justin Radcliff, China Springs, Texas.
3. (6) 130 Chase Allen, Midlothian, Texas.
4. (7) 96 R.C. Whitwell (r), Tucson, Ariz.
5. (2) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
6. (3) 410 Brad Doherty, Ennis, Texas.
7. (4) 3c Charlie Smith, Forney, Texas.
8. (5) 13 Jerry Frydrych, Austin, Texas.

FAST SHAFTS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (2) 2s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
2. (4) 21 Austin Bonner, Elk City, Okla.
3. (1) 8 Skip O'Neal, Midlothian, Texas.
4. (3) 4w Tyler Wolff (r), Fayetteville, Ark.
5. (6) 9 Kevin Rutherford (r), Flower Mound, Texas.
6. (8) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
7. (7) 1B Brandon Hood, McGregor, Texas.
8. (5) 53 Robert Scrivner, Woodway, Texas.

EDELBROCK HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (1) 21 Chris Brown, Spring, Texas.
2. (2) 78 Trevor Egbert, Salado, Texas.
3. (3) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
4. (5) 715 J.P. Dowell, Killeen, Texas.
5. (4) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La.
6. (7) 7x Rory Jordan, Victoria, Texas.
7. (6) 24 Sean Jones, Mansfield, Texas.

DIRT DEFENDER HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (1) 4m Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas.
2. (2) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
3. (4) 88xxx Clyde Dunn Jr., Rockwall, Texas.
4. (6) 18z Zane DeVilbiss (r), Farmington, N.M.
5. (5) 23 Adam Kates (r), Tonganoxie, Kan.
6. (7) 1s Travis Saurer (r), Elizabeth, Minn.
7. (3) 13G David Goode, Copperas Cove, Texas.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (1) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
2. (4) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La.
3. (6) 1s Travis Saurer (r), Elizabeth, Minn.
4. (5) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
5. (3) 9 Kevin Rutherford (r), Flower Mound, Texas.
6. (8) 24 Sean Jones, Mansfield, Texas.
7. (7) 3c Charlie Smith, Forney, Texas, Hughes/Bullit, $75.
8. (2) 715 J.P. Dowell, Killeen, Texas.
9. (9) 13 Jerry Frydrych, Austin, Texas, CAM/, $75.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. (2) 4w Tyler Wolff (r), Fayetteville, Ark.
2. (1) 18z Zane DeVilbiss (r), Farmington, N.M.
3. (3) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla.
4. (4) 23 Adam Kates (r), Tonganoxie, Kan.
5. (6) 410 Brad Doherty, Ennis, Texas.
6. (5) 7x Rory Jordan, Victoria, Texas, MBCustom/Mullins, $90.
7. (8) 13G David Goode, Copperas Cove, Texas, GRT/GMPP, $75.
8. (9) 53 Robert Scrivner, Woodway, Texas, CAM/GMPP, $75.
9. (7) 1B Brandon Hood, McGregor, Texas, Hoffman/Herring, $75.

SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (5) 2s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., GRT/Mullins, 40, $3000.
2. (6) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, 40, $1700.
3. (19) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, VanderBuilt/Sput’s, 40, $1200.
4. (8) 130 Chase Allen, Midlothian, Texas, CAM/Mullins, 40, $900.
5. (2) 21 Chris Brown, Spring, Texas, MBCustom/Durham, 40, $900.
6. (15) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La., MBCustom/ASI, 40, $800.
7. (9) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., LG2/Cornett, 40, $700.
8. (11) 96 R.C. Whitwell (r), Tucson, Ariz., MBCustom/Hatfield, 40, $650.
9. (13) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $600.
10. (1) 78 Trevor Egbert, Salado, Texas, GRT/Mullins, 40, $550.
11. (14) 4w Tyler Wolff (r), Fayetteville, Ark., MBCustom/Hatfield, 40, $500.
12. (18) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., MBCustom/Hatfield, 40, $450.
13. (4) 11j Justin Radcliff, China Springs, Texas, BMS/Fletcher, 40, $350.
14. (16) 18z Zane DeVilbiss (r), Farmington, N.M., DeVilbiss/DeVilbiss, 40, $400.
15. (17) 1s Travis Saurer (r), Elizabeth, Minn., MBCustom/Dakota, 40, $400.
16. (22) 410 Brad Doherty, Ennis, Texas, GRT/Hatfield, 40, $275.
17. (3) 21 Austin Bonner, Elk City, Okla., GRT/Knowles, 40, $325.
18. (7) 4m Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas, Rocket/Wells, 35, $300.
19. (21) 9 Kevin Rutherford (r), Flower Mound, Texas, MBCustom/Mullins, 34, $300.
20. (12) 8 Skip O'Neal, Midlothian, Texas, Rocket/Wells, 24, $250.
21. (20) 23 Adam Kates (r), Tonganoxie, Kan., LG2/Speedway, 21, $300.
22. (24) 24 Sean Jones, Mansfield, Texas, LG2/M&M, 19, $300.
23. (10) 88xxx Clyde Dunn Jr., Rockwall, Texas, MBCustom/Mullins, 18, $300.
24. (23) 715 J.P. Dowell, Killeen, Texas, GRT/Geddes, 8, $300.

(r) = Grant Junghans Rookie of the Year contender.

Lap Leaders: Egbert 1-5, Gustin 6-39, Scott 40.
Total Laps Led: Gustin 34, Egbert 5, Scott 1.
Margin of Victory: 0.121 second.
Time of Race: 18 minutes, 38.382 seconds ( cautions).
Provisional Starters: Dowell, Jones.
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: VanderBeek (started 19th, finished 3rd).
Entries: 30.
Next Race: Thursday, May 11, Superbowl Speedway, Greenville, Texas.
Summit Racing Equipment Southern Region Points: Dillard 1635, Gustin 1603, Hughes 1581, Brown 1571, Scott 1509, VanderBeek 1477, Ramirez 1420, Whitwell 1346, Saurer 1343, Duvall 1302.
Grant Junghans Rookie of the Year Points: Whitwell 1554, Wolff 1421, Saurer 1337, Kates 1046, Billy Vogel 929.
Engine Builder of the Year Points: Mullins 211, Durham 174, ASI 161, Sput’s 146, Hatfield 131.
Manufacturers Championship Points: Hughes 209, MBCustoms 200, GRT 191, VanderBuilt 149, LG2 144.

Contingency Awards:
Allstar Performance – Whitwell.
American Racer – Brown.
Beyea Custom Headers – Jordan.
BigDeal Car Care – Scott.
BSB Manufacturing – Kates.
Chix Gear Racewear – Smith.
Day Motor Sports – Dunn, Dowell.
Deatherage Opticians – Allen.
Dickson Racing Shocks – Saurer.
Dirt Defender – all entrants.
E3 Spark Plugs – VanderBeek.
Edelbrock – Brown.
Fast Shafts – Scott.
Forty9Designs.com – DeVilbiss, Rutherford.
Fuel Safe Racing Cells – Dillard.
GRT Race Cars – Goode.
Hooker Custom Harness – Radcliff.
Integra Shocks & Springs – Malchus.
Jerovetz Motorsports Racing Parts – Bonner.
Keyser Manufacturing – Egbert.
KSE Racing Products – VanderBeek.
Out-Pace Racing Products – Doherty.
QA1 – Bonner.
Real Racing Wheels – all non-qualifiers.
Simpson Performance Products – Gustin.
Sweet Manufacturing – Jones.
Sybesma Graphics – Egbert.
Tire Demon – Wolff.
VP Racing Fuels – Scott.
Wehrs Machine & Racing Products – Scott.
Wilwood Engineering – Ramirez.

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USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Argo Manufacturing, Casey’s General Stores, Chix Gear Racewear, CP-Carrillo, Deatherage Opticians, Fast Shafts, Intercomp, KSE Racing Products, Leaf Racewear & Safety Equipment, Malvern Bank, MSD, Pace Performance, RacerWebsite.com, RacinDirt.com, RacingJunk.com, S&S Fishing & Rental, Summit Racing Equipment, The Joie of Seating, VP Racing Fuels.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Arizona Sport Shirts, ASi Racewear, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Duvall Electric, ElbowsUp.com, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Oreo, Production Jars, Rancho Milagro Racing, RHRSwag.com, YouDirt.com.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: 905 Ink, AFCO Racing Products, Allstar Performance, Beyea Custom Headers, BigDeal Car Care, BSB Manufacturing, Day Motor Sports, Dickson Racing Shocks, E3 Spark Plugs, Edelbrock, FK Rod Ends, Forty9 Designs, Fuel Safe, Genesis Racing Shocks, GRT Race Cars, Holley Performance Products, Hooker Custom Harness, Integra Shocks & Springs, Jerovetz Motorsports Racing Parts, Keyser Manufacturing, Out-Pace Racing Products, QA1 Precision Products, Real Racing Wheels, Simpson Performance Products, Sweet Manufacturing, Sybesma Graphics, Tire Demon, Wehrs Machine & Race Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes.