BRITT, Iowa – Mike Van Genderen of Newton solidified his position at the top of the points with his second Dart Iron Man Challenge victory Thursday night at the Hancock County Speedway.

“The Flying Dutchman” seized the lead from polesitter Kevin Opheim at the drop of the green flag and led every lap en route to victory.

Opheim held on for second with Ryan Leeman taking third, Dan Christopher finishing fourth and local favorite Kevin Paca rounding out the top-5 finishers.

With the win, Van Genderen retained his place atop the points standings over Nathan Wood and Steve Jackson. Mike Bergan sits fourth and Greg Elliott is fifth.

Just four races remain to determine the 2010 Dart Iron Man Challenge champion. The next event on Saturday, August 28, will find the series at the 24 Raceway in Moberly, Mo. The season wraps up with a three-race swing in the Hawkeye State on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, August 31 to September 2 at the Marshalltown Speedway in Marshalltown, Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa and Highway 3 Raceway in Allison.

Fifteen dates at thirteen premier speedways throughout Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri dot the calendar for the inaugural campaign for the Dart Iron Man Challenge, which accompanies the popular USMTS Modifieds at each event. 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.

Each driver’s ten best points-earning performances will count toward the final year-end standings with a $1,000 top prize for he series champ and the tenth-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.

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.

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.

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.

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 11 of 15
Hancock County Speedway, Britt, Iowa
Thursday, August 19, 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. (1) 57v Mike Van Genderen, Newton
2. (2) K20 Kevin Paca, Britt
3. (3) 44k Kevin Opheim, Mason City
4. (5) 15 Mitch Hovden, Decorah
5. (4) M5 Jim Mitchell, Webster City
6. (6) 42 Dan Christopher, Decorah

HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (2) 1 Greg Elliott, Webster City
2. (1) R31 Ryan Leeman, Roland
3. (4) 5 Mike Bergan, Ridgeway
4. (5) 10 Brian Webb, Decorah
5. (3) 72 Les Langfitt, Goldfield

“A” MAIN (20 laps):
1. (2) 57v Mike Van Genderen, Newton
2. (1) 44k Kevin Opheim, Mason City
3. (6) R31 Ryan Leeman, Roland
4. (11) 42 Dan Christopher, Decorah
5. (5) K20 Kevin Paca, Britt
6. (3) 1 Greg Elliott, Webster City
7. (9) M5 Jim Mitchell, Webster City
8. (8) 10 Brian Webb, Decorah
9. (7) 15 Mitch Hovden, Decorah
10. (4) 5 Mike Bergan, Ridgeway
11. (10) 72 Les Langfitt, Goldfield

Lap Leaders: Van Genderen 1-20.
Hard Charger: Christopher (started 11th, finished 4th).
Dart Awards: not awarded.
Next Race: Saturday, Aug. 28, 24 Raceway, Moberly, Mo.
Championship Points: Van Genderen 893, Nathan Wood 758, Steve Jackson 758, Bergan 747, G. Elliott 724, Leeman 596, Mitchell 476, Jake Masters 475, Logan Staley 411, Mark 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.