WINSTON, Mo. -- The Iron Man Challenge invaded the I-35 Speedway in Winston, Mo., for the second time this season Thursday night with two new winners visiting victory lane at the 3/8-mile dirt oval.

Mike Higley of Tecumseh, Kan., became the first driver from the Sunflower State to etch his name in the record books as an Iron Man Challenge winner as he captured the $500 top prize in the USRA Karl Performance Parts B-Mod feature.

Behind the polesitter, several drivers clawed their way to the front in the main event. Carter VanDenBerg of Oskaloosa, Iowa, came from 11th to finish second, veteran Gene Claxton of Kansas City, Kan., raced from 14th to third and St. Joseph’s Truman Asher finished fourth after starting 17th.

Brett Shields of Mt. Ayr, Iowa, rounded out the top 5 finishers. Sixth through tenth went to Brandon Leeman, Royce Stanley, Bobbie Wood, Cayden Carter and Mark Botts.

Matt Lettow sat out his first event but remains the points leader over Brandon Hare, Carter, VanDenBerg, Parker Hale, Jared Timmerman, Leeman, Brian Schrage, Josh Bonnstetter and Ben Kates.

Sixteen new B-Mod drivers checked in for their first Iron Man Challenge event, bringing the total to 205 different B-Mod drivers to race in the series this year.

In the USRA Karl Chevrolet Stock Car main event, veteran Steve Jackson of Polk City, Iowa, powered to his first Iron Man Challenge checkers of the season to collect the $700 winner’s share of the purse.

Points leader Mike Van Genderen of Newton, Iowa, started second and finished in the same spot as he held off Justin Temeyer of Independence, Iowa. Jason Minnehan of Churdan, Iowa, was fourth and Jeff Joldersma of McClelland, Iowa, rounded out the top 5 in his first event since rolling his “jalopy” in Cresco, Iowa, three weeks earlier.

Defending Iron Man Challenge champion Nathan Wood was sixth, local favorite Gene Stigall took seventh, Aaron Parmer finished eighth, Thomas Roberts nabbed ninth and Ryan Leeman completed the top 10.

Van Genderen remains the leader over Temeyer and Wood in a tight points battle for this year’s crown. Jackson and Joldersma solidified their spots in fourth and fifth, respectively, while Todd Staley, Kevin Donlan, Tory Reicks, Chris Ulrich and Leeman complete the top 10 in the rankings.

Action moves to the Upper Iowa Speedway in Decorah, Iowa, on Saturday night which is expected to bring together some of the biggest and fastest fields of the season. The semi-banked quarter-mile clay oval features some of the top USRA Stock Car and B-Mod drivers each and every week, and this weekend’s clash should provide plenty of thrills for the expected sell-out crowd.

Grandstands open at 5 p.m., hot laps are slated to begin at 6:30 and racing begins at 7. Also on the racing card will be the USRA Hobby Stocks battling for national points in the American Racer USRA Weekly Racing Series.

The Upper Iowa Speedway is located 1.8 miles east of US 52 on SR 9, then 1.0 mile northwest on Montgomery St., then northeast on E. Main St. (at the Winneshiek County Fairgrounds). For day-of-race information, call the track hotline at 563-382-9984 or check out www.upperiowaspeedway.com online.

USRA Stock Cars will be racing for $700 to win and $125 to start while USRA B-Mods will compete for a $500 top prize and $80 to start. Tow money for non-qualifiers will be $75 and $50, respectively. Stock Cars will have a $25 entry fee while the B-Mod entry fee is $15.

After this weekend, the next-to-last race of the season takes place on Wednesday, Aug. 31, at the Fairmont Raceway in Fairmont, Minn., before wrapping up the 2011 campaign on Thursday, Sept. 1, at the Highway 3 Raceway in Allison, Iowa.

Nineteen dates at fourteen dirt ovals in four states comprise the 2011 schedule for the second season of the Iron Man Challenge. Points for both classes will be awarded based on a driver’s 10 best nights.

Licensed USRA drivers in both classes also earn national points in the American Racer USRA Weekly Racing Series, and some tracks may also award track points.

The Iron Man Challenge points fund for the Stock Cars carries a $2,000 top prize with the tenth-place finisher earning $200. In the B-Mod class, the points champion will earn $700 with tenth-place taking home $100.

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

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
American Racer USRA Weekly Racing Series
Iron Man Challenge
I-35 Speedway, Winston, Mo.
Thursday, August 25, 2011

Showing finishing position, starting position in parentheses, car number, driver, hometown, and money won.

USRA KARL PERFORMANCE PARTS B-MODS

Heat #1:
1. (2) 57s Royce Stanley, Kansas City, Mo.
2. (4) 10 Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa.
3. (3) 16 Bobby Penney, Excelsior Springs, Mo.
4. (5) 222 Dustin Crist, St. Joseph, Mo.
5. (1) 32p Jeremy Pittsenbarger, Cameron, Mo.
6. (8) 24 Aaron Sauter, St. Joseph, Mo.
7. (9) 7t Jared Timmerman, Norwalk, Iowa.
8. (6) 44D Duke Jacobs, Stewartsville, Mo.
9. (7) 23b Mark Botts, Meadville, Mo.

Heat #2:
1. (1) 101 Eddie Schwope III, St. Joseph, Mo.
2. (6) 64 Brandon Leeman, Roland, Iowa.
3. (2) 91 Joey Schwope, St. Joseph, Mo.
4. (4) 7 Carter VanDenBerg, Oskaloosa, Iowa.
5. (5) 57A Randy Ainsworth, Excelsior Springs, Mo.
6. (9) 76 Ronnie Miller, Trenton, Mo.
7. (7) 14w Bobbie Wood, Rayville, Mo.
8. (8) 73 Truman Asher, St. Joseph, Mo.
9. (3) 80 Tyee Parrott, Kansas City, Mo.

Heat #3:
1. (4) 8s Brett Shields, Mt. Ayr, Iowa.
2. (1) 11 Mike Higley, Tecumseh, Kan.
3. (3) 20t Mike Tanner, Kansas City, Mo.
4. (2) 42 Gene Claxton, Kansas City, Kan.
5. (5) 74 Anthony Asher, St. Joseph, Mo.
6. (8) 52M Dustin Miller, Pattonsburg, Mo.
7. (6) 44J Ronnie Jacobs, Stewartsville, Mo.
8. (7) 17x Clint Baker, Meadville, Mo.

“B” Main:
1. (7) 73 Truman Asher, St. Joseph, Mo.
2. (8) 17x Clint Baker, Meadville, Mo.
3. (9) 23b Mark Botts, Meadville, Mo.
4. (4) 14w Bobbie Wood, Rayville, Mo.
5. (6) 44D Duke Jacobs, Stewartsville, Mo.
6. (5) 44J Ronnie Jacobs, Stewartsville, Mo.
7. (10) 80 Tyee Parrott, Kansas City, Mo., $50.
8. (2) 52M Dustin Miller, Pattonsburg, Mo., $50.
9. (1) 24 Aaron Sauter, St. Joseph, Mo., $50.
10. (3) 7t Jared Timmerman, Norwalk, Iowa, $50.

“A” Main:
1. (1) 11 Mike Higley, Tecumseh, Kan., $500.
2. (11) 7 Carter VanDenBerg, Oskaloosa, Iowa, $400.
3. (12) 42 Gene Claxton, Kansas City, Kan., $300.
4. (17) 73 Truman Asher, St. Joseph, Mo., $200.
5. (3) 8s Brett Shields, Mt. Ayr, Iowa, $175.
6. (7) 64 Brandon Leeman, Roland, Iowa, $150.
7. (4) 57s Royce Stanley, Kansas City, Mo., $130.
8. (20) 14w Bobbie Wood, Rayville, Mo., $110.
9. (6) 10 Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa, $100.
10. (19) 23b Mark Botts, Meadville, Mo., $90.
11. (16) 74 Anthony Asher, St. Joseph, Mo., $85.
12. (14) 32p Jeremy Pittsenbarger, Cameron, Mo., $80.
13. (5) 91 Joey Schwope, St. Joseph, Mo., $75.
14. (10) 222 Dustin Crist, St. Joseph, Mo, $75.
15. (18) 17x Clint Baker, Meadville, Mo., $75.
16. (13) 76 Ronnie Miller, Trenton, Mo., $75.
17. (15) 57A Randy Ainsworth, Excelsior Springs, Mo., $75.
18. (21) 44D Duke Jacobs, Stewartsville, Mo., $75.
19. (22) 44J Ronnie Jacobs, Stewartsville, Mo., $75.
20. (2) 16 Bobby Penney, Excelsior Springs, Mo, $75.
21. (9) 20t Mike Tanner, Kansas City, Mo., $75.
22. (8) 101 Eddie Schwope III, St. Joseph, Mo., $75.

Points Standings: Matt Lettow 892, Brandon Hare 811, Carter 799, VanDenBerg 795, Parker Hale 734, Timmerman 705, Leeman 642, Brian Schrage 584, Josh Bonnstetter 572, Ben Kates 494.

USRA KARL CHEVROLET STOCK CARS

Heat #1:
1. (1) 56t Justin Temeyer, Independence, Iowa.
2. (2) 7 Jason Minnehan, Churdan, Iowa.
3. (3) 68 Aaron Parmer, Humeston, Iowa.
4. (4) 65x Thomas Roberts, Kidder, Mo.
5. (5) 11T Bennie Turner, Smithville, Mo.
6. (6) 14x John Boller, St. Joseph, Mo.

Heat #2:
1. (4) 66 Jeff Joldersma, McClelland, Iowa.
2. (3) 52 Nathan Wood, Sigourney, Iowa.
3. (1) R31 Ryan Leeman, Roland, Iowa.
4. (2) 86c Jake Cameron, Winston, Mo.
5. (5) 20 Gene Stigall, Winston, Mo.
6. (6) 00 Cory Mulich, Kansas City, Kan.

Heat #3:
1. (4) 57v Mike Van Genderen, Newton, Iowa.
2. (6) 2J Steve Jackson, Polk City, Iowa.
3. (5) 14 Todd Staley, Webster City, Iowa.
4. (1) 94c Tyler Corkins, St. Joseph, Mo.
5. (2) 13 Brian Houghton, Smithville, Mo.
6. (3) 88 Jeff Dixon, Jamesport, Mo.

“A” Main:
1. (5) 2J Steve Jackson, Polk City, Iowa, $700.
2. (2) 57v Mike Van Genderen, Newton, Iowa, $500.
3. (6) 56t Justin Temeyer, Independence, Iowa, $400.
4. (3) 7 Jason Minnehan, Churdan, Iowa, $300.
5. (8) 66 Jeff Joldersma, McClelland, Iowa, $250.
6. (7) 52 Nathan Wood, Sigourney, Iowa, $200.
7. (14) 20 Gene Stigall, Winston, Mo., $170.
8. (4) 68 Aaron Parmer, Humeston, Iowa, $150.
9. (10) 65x Thomas Roberts, Kidder, Mo., $130.
10. (9) R31 Ryan Leeman, Roland, Iowa, $125.
11. (18) 88 Jeff Dixon, Jamesport, Mo., $125.
12. (13) 11T Bennie Turner, Smithville, Mo., $125.
13. (1) 14 Todd Staley, Webster City, Iowa, $125.
14. (11) 86c Jake Cameron, Winston, Mo., $125.
15. (16) 14x John Boller, St. Joseph, Mo., $125.
16. (17) 00 Cory Mulich, Kansas City, Kan., $75.
17. (12) 94c Tyler Corkins, St. Joseph, Mo., $75.
18. (15) 13 Brian Houghton, Smithville, Mo., $75.

Points Standings: Van Genderen 930, Temeyer 884, Wood 865, Jackson 819, Joldersma 780, Staley 751, Kevin Donlan 739, Tory Reicks 724, Chris Ulrich 715, Leeman 622.

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USRA OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Awesome Race Suits, Intercomp, Karl Chevrolet, Karl Performance Parts, KEVKO Oil Pans & Components, Nitroquest, RACEceiver, RHS – Racing Head Service, Western Flyer Race Cars.

USRA PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: Boubin Tire & Automotive, BRODIX Cylinder Heads, DAY Motor Sports, DirtKnights.com, SpeedNet Direct.

USRA CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: COMP Cams, Dirthead.com, Eibach Springs, Forty9Designs.com, Genesis Shocks, Hooker Custom Harness, KSE Racing Products, Marsh Racing Wheels, New Vision Graphics, PBM Performance Products, Real Racing Wheels, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products.