VanderBeek Tames Wild West

CLINTON, Okla. – Zack VanderBeek of New Sharon, Iowa, nabbed his first USMTS Castle Rock Recruiting Southern Series main event victory of the season Friday night at the Wild West Speedway in Clinton, Okla.

The 2004 USMTS Casey’s General Stores National Tour Rookie of the Year drew the pole position for the WIX Filters “A” Main, and then held off AFCO Pole Award winner Jon Tesch of Watertown, S.D., the entire distance to pocket the $2,000 top prize.

Defending series champ and current points leader Jason Hughes of Westville, Okla., won the first Real Racing Wheels “B” Main to qualify for the feature race, and then stormed through the field to take the third spot away from fellow Sooner State ace Randy Timms with seven laps to go. Timms fought back two laps later to regain the position and held off Hughes for third at the finish line.

Hughes, however, garnered the PBM Performance Products Hard Charger Award for his prolific passing endeavors in the nightcap.

Ryan Gustin rounded out the top five finishers while Dereck Ramirez, Bumper Jones, Morgan Bagley and Scott Green finished sixth through tenth, respectively.

The yellow flag waved at the start of the race when Rodney Sanders spun. It was the only caution of the 35-lapper, but Sanders bounced back for a tenth-place finish.

Hughes continues atop the USMTS Castle Rock Recruiting Southern Series standings with a stout 101-point margin (661 to 560) over Bagley. Kelly Shryock sits third with 541 markers, followed by Timms (516), Jones (508), Green (488), Sanders (485), Ramirez (479), John O Whittington (464) and Steve Holzkamper (444).

With the absence of Ben Stephens, Rory Jordan’s 550-mile haul from Victoria, Texas, helped put him back in front of the “Just Say Yes” Rookie of the Year title chasers. Troy Seidl is second, followed by Ben Stephens, Tracy Denby Jr. and Jerry Standifer in a tight battle.

Mullins Race Engines remains the COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year points leader while Hughes Racing Chassis leads the Chassis Builders Championship rankings.

Action moves to the Route 66 Motor Speedway in Amarillo, Texas, on Saturday for the second of three first-time encounters for the USMTS touring titans over the weekend. The 16-year-old facility is a popular racing destination for drivers and fans in the Texas panhandle, with regular weekly shows often playing in front of standing-room only crowds.