FOUNTAIN CITY, Wis. -- The name Kelly Shryock is synonymous with winning; the well-known statistic of nine-time USMTS National Championships backed by over 370 feature wins lets every racer and race fan know that when he shows up at the track with his #3 that he’s a threat for the win. Anyone who follows Modified racing also knows of his Skyrocket Chassis, which have also become synonymous with winning; being used by Modified drivers throughout america to help other drivers reach victory lane as well.

On Friday, Aug. 24, Shryock arrived at the Mississippi Thunder Speedway not only to race, but also to give the racing world the very first official on-track unveiling of the brand new 2013 Skyrocket Chassis. To say that things couldn’t have gone any better would be an understatement.

Starting from the outside of the sixth row in the evening's Rivercity Manufacturing USRA Modified feature, Shryock wasted no time heading towards the front of the 21-car field. While many expected pole-sitter Brad Waits to manage the front spot, such was not to be the case as the black #24 of Waits lasted just two laps before heading to the hauler as an early race DNF. It was outside pole sitter Chris Gilbertson leading the opening two laps before being replaced out front by the #90 of Steve Wetzstein. Wetzstein, however, also dropped out early, enjoying just two laps out front before himself heading to his hauler and calling it a night.

This turned the lead over to 2009 Mississippi Thunder Speedway track champion John Doelle, who set the pace out front for the following six circuits. But behind this trio of race leaders, Shryock was passing cars and heading towards the front. On lap 11, Shryock took the lead and never looked back. The remainder of the race was Shryock stretching the lead and the rest of the pack battling for those positions from second on back.

“Couldn’t have asked for much more of a perfect unveiling of our 2013 car,” Shryock said, “We’ve spent a lot of time making sure that we’re continuing to build the best chassis we can, and a feature win on the first night out for our 2013 shows that the Skyrocket is still the way to get to victory lane.”

Behind Shryock, points leader Lucas Schott battled his way into second on lap 19 and began picking away at the lead that Shryock had established but simply ran out of laps and had to settle for second. Second heat race winner Dan Bohr moved into third on lap 22 and stayed there until the checkered flag waived, with Jay Ihrke and Doelle completing the top 5.

WALSKI PUTS USRA B-MOD DRIVERS ON NOTICE WITH CONVINCING FEATURE WIN

Before Friday night’s races even hit the track, Winona’s Shaun Walski was feeling confident – not only for the evening’s races, but also for the upcoming $10,000-to-win Baehman Law B-Mod Nationals scheduled at Mississippi Thunder Speedway for Sept. 6-8.

“We’ve made some adjustments over the past few weeks that have really helped,” explained Walski. “I think we’ve got a strong car for tonight and hopefully also for the big special coming up in September.”

Walski’s black and orange #95 was indeed strong Friday night, powering him to a clean sweep of the evening’s TheEngineStore.com USRA B-Mod program, winning both the third heat-race and the evening’s 18-lap feature.

It only took two laps for Walski to find his way to the top spot; after starting inside of the second row, he relieved pole sitter Matt Jones of the lead on lap 2 and never once looked back – or was even directly challenged, really. Walski looked smooth strong and fast as he opened up a convincing lead and enjoyed it all the way to the waiving checkered flag.

Brian Mahlstedt showed his power after winning the evening’s first heat-race as he worked his way through traffic from his starting spot in the fourth row up to a strong second-place finish ahead of multi-feature winner and fourth heat-race winner Jacob Bleess, current points leader Erik Kanz and Austin Kaplan, who finished second through fifth, respectively.

Mississippi Thunder Speedway’s 2012 season continues Friday night, Aug. 31, with Season Championship presented by NAPA Auto Parts of Winona. Action on the fast 1/3-mile speedway will wrap up the 2012 points battles for all regular weekly divisions.

For more details, visit the official Mississippi Thunder Speedway website at www.mississippithunder.com.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
American Racer USRA Weekly Racing Series
Mississippi Thunder Speedway, Fountain City, Wis.
Friday, Aug. 24, 2012

USRA MODIFIEDS

Heat #1: 1. Eric Pember, 2. Jay Ihrke, 3. Chris Gilbertson, 4. Jake Timm, 5. Josh Angst, 6. Leroy Scharkey, 7. Hank Rollinger Jr.

Heat #2: 1. Dan Bohr, 2. Kelly Shryock, 3. Daniel Hilsabeck, 4. John Doelle, 5. Lucas Schott, 6. Steve Lavasseur, 7. Cory Williams.

Heat #3: 1. Robby Bunkelman, 2. Brad Waits, 3. Thomas Brink, 4. Steve Wetzstein, 5. Les Duellman, 6. Lance Hofer, 7. Steve Bangart.

Feature: 1. Kelly Shryock, 2. Lucas Schott, 3. Dan Bohr, 4. Jay Ihrke, 5. John Doelle, 6. Eric Pember, 7. Chris Gilbertson, 8. Lance Hofer, 9. Josh Angst, 10. Steve Lavasseur, 11. Thomas Brink, 12. Hank Rollinger Jr., 13. Jake Timm, 14. Robby Bunkelman, 15. Cory Williams, 16. Les Duellman, 17. Steve Bangart, 18. Steve Wetzstein, 19. Brad Waits, 20. Leroy Scharkey, 21. Daniel Hilsabeck.

USRA B-MODS

Heat #1: 1. Brian Mahlstedt, 2. Troy Langowski, 3. Alex Williamson, 4. Leigh Volkman, 5. Dan Wheeler, 6. Matt Appel, 7. Ed Appel.

Heat #2: 1. Austin Kaplan, 2. Erik Kanz, 3. Parker Hale, 4. Brandon Reutzel, 5. Bob Fort, 6. Darran Jonsgaard, 7. Justin Kupka.

Heat #3: 1. Shaun Walski, 2. Matt Jones, 3. Bill Gibson, 4. Brady Keefe, 5. Brandon Hare, 6. Tucker Breitung, 7. Robert Carpenter.

Heat #4: 1. Jacob Bleess, 2. Tyler Creeley, 3. Jon Vanminsel, 4. Danny Hanson, 5. Jordan Steier, 6. Jack Baehman, 7. Nick Frion.

Feature: 1. Shaun Walski, 2. Brian Mahlstedt, 3. Jacob Bleess, 4. Erik Kanz, 5. Austin Kaplan, 6. Brady Keefe, 7. Matt Jones, 8. Troy Langowski, 9. Leigh Volkman, 10. Dan Wheeler, 11. Darran Jonsgaard, 12. Parker Hale, 13. Jon Vanminsel, 14. Brandon Hare, 15. Bob Fort, 16. Bill Gibson, 17. Jack Baehman, 18. Jordan Steier, 19. Robert Carpenter, 20. Nick Frion, 21. Danny Hanson, 22. Tucker Breitung, 23. Tyler Creeley, 24. Alex Williamson, 25. Justin Kupka, 26. Matt Appel, 27. Ed Appel, 28. Brandon Reutzel.