Quad States Dirt Racing - Willis emerges in USMTS Dirthead.com Southern Seri

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Quad States Dirt Racing :: General :: USMTS :: Willis emerges in USMTS Dirthead.com Southern Seri

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Willis emerges in USMTS Dirthead.com Southern Seri
« Thread Started on Nov 20, 2009, 11:00am »

Willis emerges in USMTS Dirthead.com Southern Series tilt at Battleground Speedway

HIGHLANDS, Texas (Nov. 19) – Few drivers, if any, have turned as many laps on the dirt ovals in and around the Houston area as Howard Willis.

On Thursday night at the Battleground Speedway in Highlands, Willis used his experience to grab the lead away from Bumper Jones in lapped traffic, then paced the final six laps to score his second career USMTS Dirthead.com Southern Series victory.

Willis' other win came on April 18, 2008, at the Golden Triangle Raceway Park in Beaumont, but Thursday's $1,000 triumph was the first under the USMTS banner for the Evolution Motorsports chassis.

While Jones drew the pole for the start of the 25-lap Sunoco “A” Main, it was Louisiana's Garrett Durrett grabbing the lead at the drop of the green flag. Scott Green snuck underneath Durrett to take over the top spot on lap 4 with Jones following into the second spot and Willis moving into fifth from his 10th starting spot.

One lap later, Green entered the corner too high and Jones pounced on the opportunity to lead his first lap with the USMTS Dirthead.com Southern Series. Jones led the next 16 circuits while Willis made his way into second place and narrowed the gap between himself and Jones.

With eight laps to go, lapped traffic came into play and Willis used the added element to his advantage. Pulling alongside Jones in the corner, Willis was able to duck underneath Jones while the pair made it three-wide with the lapped car to the outside. Willis won the drag race down the back-stretch, then nipped Jones at the stripe to lead the 20th lap.

From there, Willis was able to pull away for the win while Jones had to settle for the runner-up finish. Green held on for a third-place finish with Dereck Ramirez taking fourth. Morgan Bagley raced from 16th on the 26-car starting grid to fifth at the finish line to earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award.

Sixth through tenth went to Zack VanderBeek, Jason Hughes, Kelly Shryock, Durrett and David Horner.

With three races in the books and five to go, Shryock continues to lead the points in the Hunt for the USMTS Dirthead.com Southern Series Championship presented by Dirt Modified Magazine. By finishing one position ahead of him in Thursday's main event, Hughes gained two points on the leader and now trails by just nine markers (317 to 308). Jon Tesch is third with 279 points, followed by Bagley (275), Rodney Sanders (265), Jones (263), Green (260), Chris Henigan (233), Ramirez (231) and Shane Hebert (230).

In the Dustin Duncan Memorial “Just Say Yes” Rookie of the Year points battle, Wes Armstrong leads his brother, Jason, by 17 points (310 to 293), with Henigan (283), Durrett (282) and Chad Davis (253) filling out the remaining top-5.

Mullins Race Engines continues to lead the charge for a second straight COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Year Award while Hughes Racing Chassis is atop the Chassis Builders Championship standings with a title in sight.

TWO MORE DAYS OF THUNDER ...

The tripleheader weekend continues over the next two days with a $2,000 awaiting Friday's victor and $3,000 to win on Saturday.

Pit gates will officially open at 4:00 each night, with grandstands opening at 5:00, hot laps at 6:00 and racing to follow. Limited Modifieds will also compete, with Hobby Stocks joining the program on Friday night and Saturday night's show featuring Pure Stocks in action.

The Battleground Speedway is a 3/8-mile high-banked clay oval located east of Houston on I-10 to Highland Exit 787, then 4.0 miles north on FM 2100 (Crosby Lynchburg Rd.). For more information, call 832-421-RACE or check out www.battlegroundspeedway.netonline.

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