NEW RICHMOND, WIS. -- Johnny Scott took one giant leap toward his goal of becoming the next USMTS National Champion Wednesday night as he landed in victory lane after the 40-lap main event at the Cedar Lake Speedway.

The 23-year-old from Las Cruces, N.M., started seventh on the 26-car grid and wrestled the lead away from his teammate, Dereck Ramirez, with 11 laps remaining.

Outside front-row starter Trent Follmer, who won his first and only USMTS feature here in 2002, beat polesitter Ryan Gustin to the flagstand to lead the first lap and stretched his lead out until the first caution.

Working the high line around the high-banked 3/8-mile speedplant, Ramirez powered by Follmer to lead the twelfth lap. Follmer changed his line and followed in the new leader’s tracks while Scott now had an open track in front of him on the low side of the racing surface.

Scott caught Ramirez at the halfway point but Ramirez moved down to test the bottom groove. Two laps later, he returned to the long path around with Scott alone on the bottom.

The two ran side by side for eight laps before Scott finally was scored the leader at the end of the 29th circuit. Ramirez switched to the low line a few laps later, but it was too little too late as Scott maintained a four-car-length advantage to the checkered flag.

Including the Big Dog Buy-In bonus money, Scott walked away with a $5,200 paycheck for his efforts. It was his ninth win of the season and his first during the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup.

Overall, it was the 21st win of his career, tying him for eighth on the all-time wins list with Zack VanderBeek. Both are former USMTS Rookie of the Year Award winners.

Follmer made late-race charge and nearly slipped past Ramirez, but he settled for third place in the end. Jason Hughes wound up fourth and Rodney Sanders passed ten cars en route to his fourth top-5 finish in ‘The Hunt.’

Real Racing Wheels “B” Main winner Jason Krohn took sixth, Craig Thatcher was seventh, Joey Jensen earned an eighth-place finish, Darrell Nelson came from 22nd to 9th and Brandon Jensen rounded out the top-10 at the finish line.

On Thursday, the mighty USMTS Modifieds return to the Rice Lake Speedway in Rice Lake, Wis., for a 40-lap main event presented by Bill’s Distributing. Also racing will be WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds and Pure Stocks. Race time is 7:00.

On race day, fans can pick up coupons good for $2 off adult admission at Casey’s General Stores locations in North Branch and Wyoming, Minn.

The Rice Lake Speedway is a high-banked 1/3-mile clay oval located 1.0 mile north of Rice Lake, between SR 48 and Barron County SS. The track phone number is 715-236-2002 and more information can be obtained by calling 715-205-2861 or by checking the speedway website at www.ricelakespeedway.net.

Friday will find the fearless USMTS lead-footed speed freaks at the Mississippi Thunder Speedway in Fountain City, Wis., Saturday’s action takes place at the Ogilvie Raceway in Ogilvie, Minn., and the five-day work week for the rugged USMTS road warriors wraps up on Sunday at the Granite City Speedway in Sauk Rapids, Minn.

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 or check out our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/usmtstv.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Modified Touring Series
The Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup – Round 5 of 17
Cedar Lake Speedway, New Richmond, Wis.
Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2013

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, chassis/engine builder, laps completed and money won. The top 12 drivers in passing points accumulated in the heat races are locked into the “A” Main, with the top 8 re-drawing for starting positions 1-8.

BEYEA CUSTOM HEADERS HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (1) 31t Trent Follmer, Princeton, Minn.
2. (5) V2 Joey Jensen, Forest Lake, Minn.
3. (4) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn.
4. (3) 91 Craig Thatcher, Knapp, Wis.
5. (6) 12m Jason Miller, Osceola, Wis.
6. (7) 21b Brandon Jensen, Hammond, Wis.
7. (8) 186 Jeremy Payne, Springfield, Mo.
8. (2) 7 Ron Jones, Princeton, Minn.
9. (9) 110 Chad Mahder (R), Eau Claire, Wis.

JRi SHOCKS HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (5) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla.
2. (2) 555 Ryan Ruter, Kanawha, Iowa.
3. (3) 00 Masen Big Eagle (R), Manor, Sask., Canada.
4. (7) 54 Jeremy Houle (R), Ham Lake, Minn.
5. (6) 72 Doug Hillson, Blooming Prairie, Minn.
6. (9) 89 Eric Pember, Pittsville, Wis.
7. (1) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Adel, Iowa.
8. (8) 33x Adam Hensel, Baldwin, Wis.
9. (4) 44 Darrell Nelson, Hermantown, Minn.

EIBACH SPRINGS HEAT RACE #3 (8 laps):
1. (3) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla.
2. (4) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
3. (6) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
4. (1) 11x Rich Lofthus, Bloomer, Wis.
5. (2) 12 Jason Gross (R), Osceola, Wis.
6. (5) 01 Joey Galloway (R), Manor, Sask., Canada.
7. (7) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn.
8. (8) 5* Casey Penn, Shreveport, La.

PBM PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS HEAT RACE #4 (8 laps):
1. (1) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa.
2. (4) 2s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
3. (3) 14w Clayton Wagamon, Blaine, Minn.
4. (5) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
5. (2) 4 Bill Byholm, Glidden, Wis.
6. (7) 24jr Jeff Lien Jr. (R), Mora, Minn.
7. (6) W Cory Williams, Spring Valley, Wis.
8. (8) 49x Jay Poidinger, Somerset, Wis.

DAY MOTOR SPORTS HEAT RACE #5 (8 laps):
1. (3) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M.
2. (4) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas.
3. (8) 89 Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas.
4. (1) 49 Bob Timm, Winona, Minn.
5. (2) 99h Trevor Hunt (R), Kearney, Mo.
6. (5) 21 Chris Brown, Spring, Texas.
7. (7) 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa.
8. (6) 10 Mike Steensma, Luverne, Minn.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (15 laps, top 6 advance):
1. (1) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn.
2. (5) 12m Jason Miller, Osceola, Wis.
3. (3) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa.
4. (10) 186 Jeremy Payne, Springfield, Mo.
5. (8) 21b Brandon Jensen, Hammond, Wis.
6. (4) 11x Rich Lofthus, Bloomer, Wis.
7. (6) 89 Eric Pember, Pittsville, Wis., Hughes/Mullins, $100.
8. (7) 4 Bill Byholm, Glidden, Wis., MBCustom/Koch, $100.
9. (11) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, $100.
10. (13) 33x Adam Hensel, Baldwin, Wis., Rocket/Malcuit, $100.
11. (2) 00 Masen Big Eagle (R), Manor, Sask., Canada, GRT/Tim’s, $100.
12. (12) 31 Corey Dripps, Waterloo, Iowa, Rage/RoushYates, $100.
13. (14) 49x Jay Poidinger, Somerset, Wis., SSR/Breeschoeten, $80.
14. (9) 01 Joey Galloway (R), Manor, Sask., Canada.
15. (15) 110 Chad Mahder (R), Eau Claire, Wis., GRT/Anderson, $100.

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (15 laps, top 6 advance):
1. (3) 91 Craig Thatcher, Knapp, Wis.
2. (4) 49 Bob Timm, Winona, Minn.
3. (7) 99h Trevor Hunt (R), Kearney, Mo.
4. (2) 14w Clayton Wagamon, Blaine, Minn.
5. (15) 44 Darrell Nelson, Hermantown, Minn.
6. (5) 72 Doug Hillson, Blooming Prairie, Minn.
7. (9) 21 Chris Brown, Spring, Texas.
8. (6) 12 Jason Gross (R), Osceola, Wis., BeakBuilt/Adams, $100.
9. (11) W Cory Williams, Spring Valley, Wis., Tripod/RPM, $80.
10. (10) 22d Daniel Hilsabeck, Adel, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, $100.
11. (12) 7 Ron Jones, Princeton, Minn., MBCustom/Sput’s, $100.
12. (8) 24jr Jeff Lien Jr. (R), Mora, Minn., Matrix/Sput’s, $100.
13. (13) 5* Casey Penn, Shreveport, La., Hughes/Mullins, $100.
14. (14) 10 Mike Steensma, Luverne, Minn., MBCustom/Sput’s, $100.
15. (1) 54 Jeremy Houle (R), Ham Lake, Minn., MBCustom/Speedwerx, $100.

CASEY’S GENERAL STORES “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (7) 1st Johnny Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., GRT/ProPower, 40, $5200.
2. (4) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/ProPower, 40, $2000.
3. (2) 31t Trent Follmer, Princeton, Minn., Shaw/Tim’s, 40, $1500.
4. (5) 12 Jason Hughes, Watts, Okla., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $1100.
5. (10) 20 Rodney Sanders, Happy, Texas, MBCustom/Geddes, 40, $900.
6. (13) 7k Jason Krohn, Slayton, Minn., MBCustom/Sput’s, 40, $800.
7. (14) 91 Craig Thatcher, Knapp, Wis., GRT/TriStar, 40, $700.
8. (3) V2 Joey Jensen, Forest Lake, Minn., GRT/Tim’s, 40, $650.
9. (22) 44 Darrell Nelson, Hermantown, Minn., Shaw/Wagamon, 40, $500.
10. (21) 21b Brandon Jensen, Hammond, Wis., SSR/, 40, $450.
11. (6) 89 Steve Whiteaker Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas, Hughes/Mullins, 40, $500.
12. (9) 2s Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, N.M., GRT/ProPower, 40, $450.
13. (17) 33z Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon, Iowa, Hughes/Sput’s, 40, $525.
14. (11) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn., Hughes/Sput’s, 40, $400.
15. (19) 186 Jeremy Payne, Springfield, Mo., GRT/RoushYates, 40, $375.
16. (18) 99h Trevor Hunt (R), Kearney, Mo., GRT/Geddes, 40, $500.
17. (25) 21 Chris Brown, Spring, Texas, Hughes/Mullins, 40, $400.
18. (20) 14w Clayton Wagamon, Blaine, Minn., Wheeler/Wagamon, 40, $300.
19. (23) 11x Rich Lofthus, Bloomer, Wis., Hughes/Tim’s, 40, $275.
20. (15) 12m Jason Miller, Osceola, Wis., Matrix/PowerPlus, 40, $275.
21. (24) 72 Doug Hillson, Blooming Prairie, Minn., Skyrocket/Sput’s, 40, $300.
22. (26) 01 Joey Galloway (R), Manor, Sask., Canada, GRT/Tim’s, 40, $500.
23. (1) 19r Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, Hughes/Mullins, 30, $300.
24. (16) 49 Bob Timm, Winona, Minn., GRT/BuckBuilt, 26, $300.
25. (8) 3 Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, Skyrocket/ProPower, 18, $500.
26. (12) 555 Ryan Ruter, Kanawha, Iowa, Sidebiter/Sput’s, 16, $300.

(R) = Rookie of the Year contender.

Lap Leaders: Follmer 1-11, Ramirez 12-28, J. Scott 29-40.
Total Laps Led: Ramirez 17, J. Scott 12, Follmer 11.
Margin of Victory: 0.959 second.
Mesilla Valley Transportation Hard Charger: Nelson (started 22nd, finished 9th).
Next Race: Thursday, Aug. 15, Rice Lake Speedway, Rice Lake, Wis.
Points Standings: J. Scott 545, S. Scott 494, Hughes 493, Sanders 487, VanderBeek 444, Payne 436, Brown 427, Shryock 425, Ramirez 391, Hunt 384.
Rookie of the Year Points: Hunt 1630, Galloway 1535, Big Eagle 1235, Jeff Conner 855, Adam Penn 598.
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Points: ProPower 329, RoushYates 294, Mullins 293, Geddes 279, Sput’s 267.
Tiger Rear Ends Manufacturers Championship Points: Hughes 359, GRT 336, MBCustom 305, Skyrocket 244, LG2 214.

Contingency Awards:
AERO Race Wheels – Ruter.
American Racer – Gross.
Beyea Custom Headers – Follmer.
BSB Manufacturing – Sanders, Thatcher.
Buck Monson Photos – J. Scott.
Crane Cams – J. Scott.
Dominator Race Products – Miller.
Edelbrock – Follmer.
Eibach Springs – Ramirez.
FK Rod Ends – Payne.
Forty9Designs.com – Schott, Lofthus.
Fuel Safe – Krohn.
GRT Race Cars – J. Scott.
Hooker Harness – VanderBeek.
JRi Shocks – Hughes.
KEVKO Oil Pans & Components – Nelson.
Keyser Manufacturing – B. Jensen.
Marsh Racing Wheels – Shryock.
Mesilla Valley Transportation – not awarded.
MSD Ignition – J. Scott, Ramirez.
PBM Performance Products – Shryock, J. Scott.
Power Lift Racing Products – Brown.
Real Racing Wheels – all non-qualifiers.
VP Racing Fuels – J. Scott.

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USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, AMP Energy, Casey’s General Stores, Cheetos, COMP Cams, Day Motor Sports, Intercomp, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, New Vision Graphics, Nitroquest, RACEceiver, RacinDirt.com, Snickers.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: 4s Motorsports, Allgayer Inc., Arbor Masters, ASi Racewear, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Erson Cams, Farm Boy BBQ Sauce, FVP, Integra Racing Shocks & Springs, Intensitee Custom Racewear, Lecolift, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Olympic Fire Protection, Ramirez Motorsports, Ruter Farms, Something Inked, United Cellular Services.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AERO Race Wheels, AFCO Racing Products, Bell Racing Helmets, Beyea Custom Headers, BSB Manufacturing, Champ Pans, CPD Racing Tools, Crane Cams, Dominator Race Products, Edelbrock, Eibach Springs, Fast Shafts, Five1seven Designs, FK Rod Ends, Forty9 Designs, Fuel Safe, Genesis Racing Shocks, GRT Race Cars, Hooker Harness, JRi Shocks, Keyser Manufacturing, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, MSD Ignition, PBM Performance Products, Power Lift Racing Products, Quarter Master, Real Racing Wheels, Sybesma Graphics, Tiger Rear Ends, VP Racing Fuels.