Barker defends home turf at Dubuque, dominates O’Reilly USMTS 40-lapper
by: Jeff Nun

DUBUQUE, Iowa (June7) - Ron Barker, a 47-year-old Modified ace from Dubuque, Iowa, fended off the best in the business at his home track Thursday night as he captured the 40-lap main event for the O’Reilly Auto Parts United States Modified Touring Series at the Dubuque Speedway. Barker, who captured the 2004 NASCAR Weekly Series ShorTrack Division national championship, started third but claimed the top spot on the first lap and never looked back en route to a $2,000 payday.

Eight-time defending O’Reilly USMTS national champion Kelly Shryock of Fertile, Iowa, started seventh and clawed his way to a runner-up finish but fell short of offering a challenge to Barker. Thad Wilson of Moline, Ill., finished third, Dan Bohr of Decorah, Iowa, was fourth and Delhi, Iowa's Mark Schulte rounded out the top-5 finishers.

Although he failed to come away with his eighth win of the season, Shryock solidified himself atop both the National and Central Region standings with his 16th top-5 finish in 17 starts. While the night did not include a visit to victory lane, Shryock did take a trip down memory lane as he also competed in the USRA Late Model division tonight – his first time behind the wheel of dirt late model in more than a decade. Jeremiah Hurst captured the $2,000 top prize for winning the 30-lap main event while Shryock finished sixth.

The next stop for the O’Reilly USMTS will be Friday for a Yeager Machine Northeast Region tilt and a first-time-ever visit to the Tri-Oval Speedway in fountain City, Wis. Pit gates will open at 4:30 p.m. and grandstand gates will swing open at 5:00. Hot laps start at 7:00 and the first green flag is scheduled to wave at 7:30. The Tri-Oval Speedway is a 3/8-mile semi-banked dirt tri-oval located 3 miles north of Fountain City on SR 35. Day-of-race info is available by calling the track hotline at (608) 687-3282 or visit www.triovalspeedway.com 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
O’Reilly Auto Parts United States Modified Touring Series
National Event - Central Region
Dubuque Speedway, Dubuque, Iowa
Thursday, June 7, 2007

Showing finishing position, car number, driver, hometown and starting position in parentheses. The top 12 drivers in Home Pride Passing Points accumulated in the Heats 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. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (1)
2. 3x - Jeff Larson -- Freeport, IL (7)
3. 27m - Mark Schulte -- Delhi, IA (6)
4. 18 - Brian Culbertson -- Dubuque, IA (3)
5. 3j - Jason Schueller -- Dubuque, IA (8)
6. 00 - Joshua Vinnedge -- Forreston, IL (5)
7. 02 - Tommy Weder Jr. -- Woodward, OK (2) DNF
8. 2 - Joey Schaefer -- Waterloo, IA (4) DNF

HEAT #2 (10 laps):
1. 37b - Ron Barker -- Dubuque, IA (1)
2. 75 - Thad Wilson -- Moline, IL (4)
3. 25 - Marty Thompson -- Mineral, IL (6)
4. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (5)
5. 31 - Corey Dripps -- Waterloo, IA (3)
6. 61 - Bruce Hanford -- Davenport, IA (8)
7. 9 - Leon Wilson -- Hopkins, IA (7)
8. 30 - Mark Massey -- Worthington, IA (2)

HEAT #3 (10 laps):
1. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Colcord, OK (1)
2. 19g - Richie Gustin Jr. -- Gilman, IA (3)
3. 33 - Steve Wetter -- Platteville, WI (5)
4. 7 - Al Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (7)
5. 17s - Mike Spaulding -- Bemidji, MN (6)
6. 17j - Jason Seegmiller -- Dubuque, IA (8)
7. 86 - David McClain -- Potosi, WI (4)
8. 49x - Jay Poidinger -- Somerset, WI (2)

HEAT #4 (10 laps):
1. 66 - Dan Bohr -- Decorah, IA (2)
2. 12T - Timmy Current -- Bernard, IA (3)
3. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (6)
4. 5 - Steve Holzkamper -- Gentry, AR (1)
5. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS (4)
6. 32 - Donovan Lodge -- Moline, IL (5)
7. 13rj - Ron Cundiff -- Clinton, IA (7)

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #1 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. 7 - Al Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (1)
2. 3j - Jason Schueller -- Dubuque, IA (2)
3. 5 - Steve Holzkamper -- Gentry, AR (3)
4. 2 - Joey Schaefer -- Waterloo, IA (9)
5. 00 - Joshua Vinnedge -- Forreston, IL (6)
6. 86 - David McClain -- Potosi, WI (8)
7. 31 - Corey Dripps -- Waterloo, IA (4)
8. 61 - Bruce Hanford -- Davenport, IA (5)
9. 49x - Jay Poidinger -- Somerset, WI (10)
10. 02 - Tommy Weder Jr. -- Woodward, OK (7) DNF

REAL RACING WHEELS “B” MAIN #2 (12 laps, top 5 advance):
1. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (1)
2. 32 - Donovan Lodge -- Moline, IL (6)
3. 18 - Brian Culbertson -- Dubuque, IA (2)
4. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS (4)
5. 30 - Mark Massey -- Worthington, IA (9)
6. 17j - Jason Seegmiller -- Dubuque, IA (5)
7. 17s - Mike Spaulding -- Bemidji, MN (3)
8. 9 - Leon Wilson -- Hopkins, IA (7)
9. 13rj - Ron Cundiff -- Clinton, IA (8) DNS

HOLLEY “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. 37b - Ron Barker -- Dubuque, IA (3)
2. 3 - Kelly Shryock -- Fertile, IA (7)
3. 75 - Thad Wilson -- Moline, IL (4)
4. 66 - Dan Bohr -- Decorah, IA (2)
5. 27m - Mark Schulte -- Delhi, IA (9)
6. 12T - Timmy Current -- Bernard, IA (8)
7. 33z - Zack VanderBeek -- New Sharon, IA (11)
8. 12 - Jason Hughes -- Colcord, OK (1)
9. 5 - Steve Holzkamper -- Gentry, AR (17)
10. 7 - Al Hejna -- Clear Lake, IA (13)
11. 32 - Donovan Lodge -- Moline, IL (16)
12. 3j - Jason Schueller -- Dubuque, IA (15)
13. 25 - Marty Thompson -- Mineral, IL (10)
14. 14 - Jon Tesch -- Watertown, SD (14)
15. 33 - Steve Wetter -- Platteville, WI (12)
16. 2 - Joey Schaefer -- Waterloo, IA (19)
17. 31 - Corey Dripps -- Waterloo, IA (23)
18. 30 - Mark Massey -- Worthington, IA (22)
19. 19g - Richie Gustin Jr. -- Gilman, IA (6) DNF
20. 00 - Joshua Vinnedge -- Forreston, IL (21) DNF
21. 3x - Jeff Larson -- Freeport, IL (5) DNF
22. 18 - Brian Culbertson -- Dubuque, IA (18) DNF
23. 25 - Scott Green -- Derby, KS (20) DNS
24. 02 - Tommy Weder Jr. -- Woodward, OK (24) DNS

AMSOIL Lap Leaders: Barker 1-40.
Total Laps Led: Barker 40.
AFCO Pole Award: Larson.
Provisional Starters: Weder (regional), Dripps (national).
Olympic Fire Protection Hard Charger: Holzkamper (started 17th, finished 9th).
Next Race: Friday, June 8, Tri-Oval Speedway, Fountain City, Wis.
O’Reilly National Points: Shryock 1706, VanderBeek 1314, Hejna 1123, Holzkamper 1082, Hughes 1081, Weder 915, Poidinger 835, Tesch 780, Cale Sponsler 722, Greg Skaggs 710.
Central Region Points: Shryock 623, VanderBeek 491, Hejna 453, Hughes 427, Lodge 421, Richie Gustin Jr. 380, Brad Pinkerton 371, Weder 355, Holzkamper 348, Ryan Gustin 310.
Home Pride Passing Points (National): Shryock 99.0, Hughes 55.5, VanderBeek 55.5, Hejna 45.0, Green 42.0.
Home Pride Passing Points (Central): Shryock 24.0, VanderBeek 22.5, Weder 18.0, Richie Gustin Jr. 16.5, Jeff Schluetter 13.5, Hejna 13.5.
Rookies Rockin’ Sports Bar Rookie of the Year Points: Cale Sponsler 210, Jay Noteboom 187, Green 186, Ryan Gustin 167, Richie Gustin Jr. 165.
Builders Championship Points: Skyrocket 168, Hughes 124, TRE 80, GRT 60, Harris 60.

Contingency Awards:
Belleville Motorsports – not awarded.
Boyer’s Engine Development – not awarded.
GRT Race Cars – not awarded.
Hawk Performance – Hughes.
Isky Racing Cams – Shryock.
Kevko Oil Pans & Components – Schulte.
KSE Racing Products – Shryock, Bohr.
Marsh Racing Wheels – not awarded.
Nitroquest Web Solutions - not awarded.
Quarter Master – Holzkamper.
QuickTime Performance Parts – VanderBeek.
Real Racing Wheels – Hejna, Tesch.

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USMTS TITLE SPONSOR: O’Reilly Auto Parts.

USMTS OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Race Tires, AMSOIL, Arizona Sport Shirts, Fast Company Performance, Holley Performance Products, Home Pride Companies, Intercomp, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, Marsh Racing Wheels, Nitroquest Web Solutions, Olympic Fire Protection, Real Racing Wheels, Rookies Rockin’ Sports Bar, Yeager Machine.

USMTS PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Boom Drilling, Borco LP, Day Motor Sports, Gressell Oil Field Services, Hughes Racing Chassis, KraftKar Race Cars, McVicker Oil Fields, Rinehart Trucking.

USMTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Belleville Motorsports, Bilstein Shocks, Boyer’s Engine Development, Dynatech Racing Exhaust, GRT Race Cars, Hawk Performance, Hyperco, Isky Racing Cams, KSE Racing Products, Quarter Master, QuickTime Performance Race Parts, Racer’s Choice (RCI).