Ver Beek, Greiner, Lundry, McDaniel take Fan Appreciation Night checkers at SIS
by Tony Paris
Photos by Dave Hill and Ryan Northcote

OSKALOOSA, Iowa (July 25) -  For the second straight week, fans got a break at the ticket office with Fan Appreciation Night sponsored by Eric Palmer for State Representative, Friday After 5 and the Southern Iowa Fair Board. Every seat in the house was just $5 for some exciting racing action in the USRA Casey's General Stores Weekly Racing Series.

  The MUSCO Lighting USRA Modifieds were first on the racing card and Ron Ver Beek of Oskaloosa took the win from very tough competition. Ver Beek held off two New Sharon drivers — Zack VanderBeek and Brad Pinkerton — for the win. VanderBeek took second with Pinkerton in third and last week's winner, Scott Dickey of Packwood, taking the fourth spot.

The second feature of the night was the USRA Hobby Stocks with Jason McDaniel of Eldon crossing the line first with some good two- and three-wide action behind his No. 85 machine. Dustin Griffiths, Mike Shelton, Bill Gibson and Tyler Ford all battled for the second through fifth positions. Ford, who led the first three laps, took a fourth-place finish with Shelton in second and Gibson in third. Griffiths was disqualified after post-race inspection.

In the USRA B-Mods, Cory Brown of Ottumwa led the first three laps before a blown engine ended his run. Fourteen-year-old Brett Moffitt of Grimes tried to keep his streak alive but mechanical problems ended his night on the white flag lap while leading the feature. Raymond Lundry of Maynard made the long pull to Oskaloosa pay off with a win, bringing his total for the year to seven. Andrew Schroeder of Keswick took the second spot with Ronnie Pumphrey of Altoona in third and Tyler Groenendyk of Oskaloosa taking fourth in his first time in a B-Mod.

The final feature of the night was the USRA Stock Cars battling for the win with Matt Greiner of Washington taking the win by holding off Zack VanderBeek and Nathan Wood of Keswick. Wood led the first six laps before Bobby Greene of Eddyville took the lead on lap 8. Greiner then moved into the top spot and went on to take the checkers. All four of the drivers made it exciting with a three- and four-wide side-by-side battle that thrilled the crowd. A hard crash for Bert McDaniel Jr. and Colt Mather saw both drivers walk away unhurt, but the same could not be said for their cars.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

Next Wednesday, Aug. 1, the Mahaska County Half-Mile Monster will host the biggest barnburner of the season as the cars and stars of the O’Reilly Auto Parts United States Modified Touring Series invade Oskaloosa with a few extra friends along for the ride. NASCAR stars Clint Bowyer, Ken Schrader and Kenny Wallace will appear at the Southern Iowa Speedway, and all three drivers will be signing autographs for the fans before strapping into their own high-powered O’Reilly USMTS Modifieds to take on the best the division has to offer.

Also on tap will be the USRA Casey's General Stores Weekly Racing Series featuring USRA Stock Cars, USRA B-Mods and USRA Hobby Stocks, with all three classes racing for USRA national and track points. Pit and grandstand gates open at 4:00 p.m. The NASCAR Driver Autograph Session will be from 5:45 to 6:30. Hot laps begin at 7:15 with the first green flag slated to wave at 7:30.

The Southern Iowa Speedway is a half-mile semi-banked clay oval located 0.5 mile west of US 63 on SR 92, then four blocks north on N. I St. (at the Southern Iowa Fairgrounds). For day-of-race information, call the track hotline at (507) 634-4281 or visit www.rlpromotions.com/oskaloosa  online.

To learn more about the O’Reilly Auto Parts United States Modified Touring Series, call the headquarters office at (515) 832-7944 or visit www.usmts.com  online.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
USRA Casey's General Stores Weekly Racing Series
Fan Appreciation Night presented by Eric Palmer for State Representative, Friday After 5 and the Southern Iowa Fair Board
Southern Iowa Speedway, Oskaloosa, Iowa
Wednesday, July 25, 2007

MUSCO LIGHTING USRA MODIFIEDS

Heat #1: 1. Ron Ver Beek, Oskaloosa; 2. Steven Blattler, Oskaloosa; 3. Kyle Harwood, Oskaloosa; 4. John Fellman, Bluegrass; 5. David Ott, Ankeny; 6. Tom Lathrop, Ottumwa.

Heat #2: 1. Scott Dickey, Packwood; 2. Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon; 3. Allison Quick, Redding; 4. Brad Pinkerton, New Sharon; 5. Brandon Banks, Washington.

A-Feature: 1. Ver Beek; 2. VanderBeek; 3. Pinkerton; 4. Dickey; 5. Banks; 6. Quick; 7. Blattler; 8. Fellman; 9. Ott; 10. Harwood; 11. Lathrop.

USRA STOCK CARS

Heat #1: 1. Zack VanderBeek, New Sharon; 2. Nathan Wood, Keswick; 3. Colt Mather, Webster; 4. Bobby Greene, Eddyville; 5. A.J. Johnson, Oskaloosa; 6. Josh Newell, Oskaloosa; 7. Corey Stout, Oskaloosa; 8. Mark Steinke, Gibson.

Heat #2: 1. Bert McDaniel Jr., Eldon; 2. Matt Greiner, Washington; 3. Pat Rachels, Knoxville; 4. Bobby Greiner Jr., Ottumwa; 5. Les Blakely, Fairfield; 6. Aaron Wendel, Melbourne; 7. Brock Welch, Oskaloosa.

A-Feature: 1. M. Greiner; 2. VanderBeek; 3. Wood; 4. Greene; 5. B. Greiner; 6. Rachels; 7. Newell; 8. Johnson; 9. Wendel; 10. Steinke; 11. Welch; 12. Stout; 13. Blakely; 14. Mather; 15. McDaniel.

USRA B-MODS

Heat: 1. Raymond Lundry, Maynard; 2. Brett Moffitt, Grimes; 3. Cory Brown, Ottumwa; 4. Andrew Schroeder, Keswick; 5. Ronnie Pumphrey, Altoona; 6. Tyler Groenendyk, Oskaloosa; 7. Liz Harwood, Oskaloosa; 8. Paul Underwood, Ottumwa.

A-Feature: 1. Lundry; 2. Schroeder; 3. Pumphrey; 4. Groenendyk; 5. Harwood; 6. Underwood; 7. Moffitt; 8. Brown.

USRA HOBBY STOCKS

Heat #1: 1. Jason McDaniel, Eldon; 2. Jared Sanders, Montezuma; 3. Danny Thrasher, Agency; 4. Rick Landgrebe, Sigourney; 5. Tony Johnson, Oskaloosa; 6. Kevin Fee, Knoxville; 7. Dave Breuklander, Oskaloosa.

Heat #2: 1. Dustin Griffiths, Ottumwa; 2. Mike Shelton, Ottumwa; 3. Bill Gibson, Knoxville; 4. Tyler Ford, Lovillia; 5. Ricky Wilson, Ottumwa; 6. Justin Hook, Oskaloosa; 7. Wade Francis, Eddyville.

Heat #3: 1. Mike Leffler Jr., Ankeny; 2. Chase Mitrisin, Oskaloosa; 3. Don Nunnikhoven, Sully; 4. Jason VanZomeren, Oskaloosa; 5. Bob Stapleford, Seymour; 6. Scott Alderson, Gibson; 7. Wes Almond, Oskaloosa.

A-Feature: 1. McDaniel; 2. Shelton; 3. Gibson; 4. Ford; 5. Thrasher; 6. Nunnikhoven; 7. Sanders; 8. Landgrebe; 9. Johnson; 10. Leffler; 11. Breuklander; 12. Almond; 13. VanZomeren; 14. Alderson; 15. Mitrisin; 16. Fee; 17. Stapleford; 18. Wilson; 19. Hook; 20. Francis; 21. Griffiths.