Masters wins third Dart Iron Man Challenge event at Webster City

WEBSTER CITY, Iowa – Jake Masters of Graettinger rolled to his third victory in his last five starts Wednesday night as the Dart Iron Man Challenge invaded the Hamilton County Speedway for Round 10 of the tough-as-nails series for USRA Karl Chevrolet Stock Cars.

Masters got the early lead in Wednesday’s 20-lap main event and led the first 12 laps before Jason Wagoner of Iowa Falls executed a low-side pass to grab the top spot on lap 13.

Masters immediately went to the top side of the race track in turn 1, darted across the corner and passed Wagoner on the low side with a slingshot move down the back-stretch to take command on lap 14.

Wagoner, who started eighth, followed suit the next time around and dove underneath Masters to regain the lead, but Masters fought back and took control again with three laps remaining.

With the leaders now running the high side on the smooth-as-silk racing surface, the door was open for Mark Elliott of Webster City as he showed the nose of his machine using the low side of the track.

Masters was able to hold on to take the checkers first with Elliott nipping Wagoner at the finish line for second. Post-race technical inspection, however, found Elliott’s mount to have an unapproved transmission and he was disqualified, moving Wagoner back into the runner-up spot in the final rundown.

Chelsea’s Damon Murty picked up third-place money at the pay window, with Mike Van Genderen of Newton taking fourth and Adam Silvey of Iowa Falls finishing fifth. Sixth through tenth were Rick Gustin of Marshalltown, Ryan Leeman of Roland, Dave Hubbard of Moorland, Jim Mitchell of Webster City and Ridgeway’s Mike Bergan.

Van Genderen moved into the top spot in the points standings with 10 races in the books and five remaining. Nathan Wood is second, followed by Steve Jackson, Bergan, Greg Elliott, Leeman, Masters, Logan Staley, Mitchell and Mark Elliott.

Action continues on Thursday as the Dart Iron Man Challenge invades Britt, Iowa, for the 7th Annual Ruter Farms Iowa Summer Challenge at the Hancock County Speedway.

Gates will open at 5 p.m. with hot laps at 7 and racing at 7:30.

The Hancock County Speedway is a semi-banked 3/8-mile dirt oval located 1.3 miles south of US 18 on James St. (turns into Main Ave. and Diagonal and 1st), then 0.5 mile east on 220th Ave., then 2 blocks north on Jewell Ave. For more information, call the USMTS headquarters at 515-832-7944.

Production and camera crews will be on location at remaining 2010 events as they record the USMTS action for the upcoming Dirt Knights TV show. Dirt Knights will be an on-going dramatic series of one-hour programs that will air twice a week for 13 weeks. The much-anticipated TV show is set to debut in January of 2011 on the VERSUS cable network - the fastest growing cable sports network in the nation, which reaches more than 75 million households.

Fifteen dates at 13 premier speedways throughout Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri dot the calendar for the inaugural campaign for the Dart Iron Man Challenge, which will accompany the popular USMTS Modifieds at each event. Each driver’s 10 best points-earning performances will count toward the final year-end standings.

The points fund carries a $1,000 top prize with the 10th-place finisher earning $100. In addition, each race will award national points in the USRA Karl Chevrolet Stock Car division of the American Racer USRA Weekly Racing Series where the national champion will earn $700.

Drivers are invited and encouraged to compete in all 14 shows, but perfect attendance is not be necessary to be eligible for the year-end points funds.

A USRA license is not required to compete and/or earn points in the Dart Iron Man Challenge, but only USRA-licensed drivers will be eligible for points funds in either the Dart Iron Man Challenge or American Racer USRA Weekly Racing Series.

Each event will have a qualifying format similar to the USMTS, with heat race passing points determining the “B” Main and “A” Main line-ups.

USRA rules will apply at each event. Drivers are permitted to utilize the Rochester, Motorcraft or 1¾ Holley 4412 open carburetor but must be run with the Edelbrock Performer (Part #2701) or Weiand X-CELerator (Part ##7541) intake manifold. These intakes must be stock (no porting allowed). The 4412 carb must be stock and must be 1-11/16. For conforming to IMCA rules, the 350 carb is allowed with a 2,800-pound weight rule. Any driver running the 604 crate motor is allowed the 4-barrel carburetor.

2010 DART IRON MAN CHALLENGE SCHEDULE:

Wed May 26 … Southern Iowa Speedway, Oskaloosa, IA (winner: Nathan Wood)
Thu May 27 … Highway 3 Raceway, Allison, IA (winner: Mike Van Genderen)
Sat Jun 19 … Scotland County Speedway, Memphis, MO (winner: Steve Jackson)
Tue Jun 22 … Mineral City Speedway, Fort Dodge, IA (winner: Mark Elliott)
Sun Aug 1 … Nobles County Speedway, Worthington, MN (winner: Greg Elliott)
Tue Aug 3 … Algona Raceway, Algona, IA (winner: Jake Masters)
Wed Aug 4 … Cresco Speedway, Cresco, IA (winner: Brian Gjere)
Thu Aug 5 … Jackson Speedway, Jackson, MN (winner: Jake Masters)
Fri Aug 6 … Murray County Speedway, Slayton, MN (winner: Rich Gregoire)
Wed Aug 18 … Hamilton County Speedway, Webster City, IA (winner: Jake Masters)
Thu Aug 19 … Hancock County Speedway, Britt, IA ($600 to win)
Sat Aug 28 … 24 Raceway, Moberly, MO ($600 to win)
Tue Aug 31 … Marshalltown Speedway, Marshalltown, IA ($600 to win)
Wed Sep 1 … Southern Iowa Speedway, Oskaloosa, IA ($600 to win)
Thu Sep 2 … Highway 3 Raceway, Allison, IA ($600 to win)

To learn more about the USRA, visit www.usraracing.com or call 515-832-6000. You can also follow the USRA on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
American Racer USRA Weekly Racing Series
Dart Iron Man Challenge for USRA Karl Chevrolet Stock Cars – Round 10 of 15
Hamilton County Speedway, Webster City, Iowa
Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver and hometown. Passing points accumulated in the heat races determine the “A” Main starting order, with the top 8 re-drawing for starting positions 1-8.

HEAT RACE #1 (8 laps):
1. (4) 20 Jason Wagoner, Iowa Falls, Iowa.
2. (2) 57v Mike Van Genderen, Newton, Iowa.
3. (1) 11 Jake Masters, Graettinger, Iowa.
4. (7) 99d Damon Murty, Chelsea, Iowa.
5. (3) 97 Adam Silvey, Iowa Falls, Iowa.
6. (6) 26 Tony Wagoner, Iowa Falls, Iowa.
7. (5) 5 Mike Bergan, Ridgeway, Iowa.
8. (8) 1 Greg Elliott, Webster City, Iowa.

HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (2) 19a Rick Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
2. (5) 412 Mark Elliott, Webster City, Iowa.
3. (3) M5 Jim Mitchell, Webster City, Iowa.
4. (6) R31 Ryan Leeman, Roland, Iowa.
5. (4) 23hr Rod Richards, Madrid, Iowa.
6. (7) 2j Steve Jackson, Polk City, Iowa.
7. (1) 5 Dave Hubbard, Moorland, Iowa.

“A” MAIN (20 laps):
1. (3) 11 Jake Masters, Graettinger, Iowa.
2. (8) 20 Jason Wagoner, Iowa Falls, Iowa.
3. (4) 99d Damon Murty, Chelsea, Iowa.
4. (2) 57v Mike Van Genderen, Newton, Iowa.
5. (9) 97 Adam Silvey, Iowa Falls, Iowa.
6. (6) 19a Rick Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa.
7. (5) R31 Ryan Leeman, Roland, Iowa.
8. (14) 5 Dave Hubbard, Moorland, Iowa.
9. (1) M5 Jim Mitchell, Webster City, Iowa.
10. (13) 5 Mike Bergan, Ridgeway, Iowa.
11. (15) 1 Greg Elliott, Webster City, Iowa.
12. (11) 2j Steve Jackson, Polk City, Iowa.
13. (12) 26 Tony Wagoner, Iowa Falls, Iowa.
14. (10) 23hr Rod Richards, Madrid, Iowa.
DQ - (7) 412 Mark Elliott, Webster City, Iowa.

Lap Leaders: Masters 1-12, Wagoner 13, Masters 14, Wagoner 15-16, Masters 17-20.
Hard Charger: Wagoner (started 8th, finished 2nd).
Dart Awards: Masters, Leeman.
Next Race: Thursday, Aug. 19, Hancock County Speedway, Britt, Iowa.
Points Standings: Van Genderen 841, Nathan Wood 758, Jackson 758, Bergan 675, G. Elliott 643, Leeman 502, Masters 475, Logan Staley 411, Mitchell 396, M. Elliott 277.

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USRA TITLE SPONSOR: American Racer Racing Tires.

USRA OFFICIAL SPONSORS: AwesomeRacesuits.com, Dart Machinery, Intercomp, Karl Chevrolet, Karl Performance Parts, Kevko Oil Pans & Components, Nitroquest, RACEceiver, RHS – Racing Head Service.

USRA PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Allstar Performance, Boubin Tire & Automotive, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, Day Motor Sports, SpeedNet Direct.

USRA CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: COMP Cams, Eibach Springs, Forty9Designs.com, Hooker Harness, Marsh Racing Wheels, QuickTime Inc, Racing Optics, Real Racing Wheels.