Ryan Middaugh won the USRA Modified feature on March 31 at the I-35 Speedway.

Tompkins Industry Night marked the start of the 2018 season for I-35 Speedway, two weeks later than scheduled, but it did not disappoint.

The Out-Pace USRA B-Mods would beat and bang all race long, a testament to the close racing. From the drop of the green flag, the drivers showed they might have had a little cabin fever as the term three wide became a common occurrence, especially for seventh place starter Andy Bryant. Bryant used the low lane of the racetrack and quickly worked his way to the front of the field. Once Bryant found the lead, he began to set his pace. Behind him Daniel Harris and Cole Campbell battled side-by-side for second for several laps.

Eventually both would have their issues and drop from contention. That opened up others to make their move into the top five. Ed Noll jumped on the opportunity and found the cushion, moving inside the top five all the way to second. After a late caution, Noll had one opportunity to challenge Bryant, but Bryant proved too strong. Bryant would take the checkered with Noll second. Early leader Kameron Grindstaff finished his strong run in third. Randy Ainsworth ran top five all race finishing fourth, while Jeremy Lile came from deep in the field to finish fifth.

Similar to the rest of the night, the Holley USRA Stock Cars would battle all night inside the top five. Gary Donaldson took the early lead and set the pace. The battles behind him let Donaldson sneak away. Drivers challenged second running Jeff Dixon lap after lap, but Dixon made himself difficult to pass. Eventually Sam Scott found his way around Dixon, but not in enough time to catch Donaldson.

Donaldson picked up the checkered flag, with Scott second. Dixon finished third, while Austin Bouzek and Craig Reynolds rounded out the top five.

In arguably the wildest race of the night, the USRA Modifieds produced a thriller. Ryan Schaffer jumped out to the early lead but not without many challenges from the field behind him. Early challenger Derrick Hicks tried to make a move, but Schaffer hung onto the lead. As Hicks began to fade, Austin Johnson found speed on the top side of the speedway and got to the outside of Schaffer. Johnson took the lead for a corner before bad luck struck and Johnson’s night ended with suspension failure.

Just as Schaffer looked to have the feature wrapped up, a caution flew, setting up a green-white-checkered. Ryan Middaugh, involved in two cautions early in the race, had worked his way back to second. On the restart, Middaugh got to the inside of Schaffer and took the lead. With the white flag out, Schaffer tried to get the lead back, but instead ended up in the wrong direction, bringing out another caution.

On the second green-white-checkered, Middaugh left no doubts and won the modified feature. Rick Beebe stayed strong and out of trouble and finished second. Houston Johnson did the same and finished third. Hicks and Shane Lawson rounded out the top five.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
United States Racing Association
Summit Racing USRA Weekly Racing Series
I-35 Speedway, Winston, Mo.
Saturday, March 31, 2018

OUT-PACE USRA B-MODS

Feature:
1. 28 Andy Bryant
2. 15 Ed Noll
3. 14 Kameron Grindstaff
4. 57 Randy Ainsworth
5. 05 Jeremy Lile
6. 15X Corey Myers
7. 52M Dustin Miller
8. 1 Kyle Henning
9. 91 Eddie Schwope Jr.
10. 38 Gary McGinnis
11. 4 Andrew Sheetz
12. 22C Cole Campbell
13. 57X Lee Kenney
14. 07 Daniel Harris
15. 4 Derek Clement
16. 94 Jared Hillyard
17. 2 Jason Billups
18. 50 Leroy Morrison
19. 14K Michael King
DNS - 10H Garrett Hill
DNS - 3D Robert Williams

HOLLEY USRA STOCK CARS

Feature:
1. 28D Gary Donaldson
2. 93 Sam Scott
3. 88 Jeff Dixon
4. 14B Austin Bouzek
5. 1R Craig Reynolds
6. 6 John Kinser
7. 56 Joseph Hofbauer
8. 17 Eddie Schwope III

USRA MODIFIEDS

Feature:
1. 21 Ryan Middaugh
2. 22B Rick Beebe
3. 97 Houston Johnson
4. 78 Derrick Hicks
5. 17$ Shane Lawson
6. 99J Billie Hoover
7. 2H John Hanson
8. R21 Ryan Schaffer
9. 69 Zach Sanders
10. 92 Tyler Grooms
11. 98 Austin Johnson
12. 13 Tony Hofbauer
13. 7 Shayne Bailey