MOBERLY, Mo. – Mike Van Genderen made the 400-mile round trip trek from Newton, Iowa, to Moberly, Mo., pay off with his third Dart Iron Man Challenge triumph of the season Saturday night at the 24 Raceway.

Van Genderen led all 20 laps of the main event for the USRA Karl Chevrolet Stock Cars, but had to survive three cautions and a constant threat from Derrick Agee of nearby Huntsville, Mo., who stayed glued to Van Genderen’s rear bumper for most of the race.

Polk City, Iowa’s Steve Jackson held off Shane Weller of Agency, Iowa, for third while Nathan Wood of Keswick, Iowa, rebounded from a pit stop to change a flat left rear tire during a caution on lap 8 to earn a fifth-place finish.

Show-Me State drivers Tim Eravi, Rick Girard, Tim Dawson, William Dahl and Jonathan Petersheim finished sixth through tenth, respectively.

With the win, the “Flying Dutchman” padded his lead in the points standings over Wood and Jackson with just three races remaining to determine the inaugural Dart Iron Man Challenge champion.

The 2010 campaign wraps up with a three-race swing through Iowa this Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 31 to Sept. 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.

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 (winner: Mike Van Genderen)
Sat Aug 28 … 24 Raceway, Moberly, MO (winner: Mike Van Genderen)
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 12 of 15
24 Raceway, Moberly, Mo.
Saturday, August 28, 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. (7) 57v Mike Van Genderen, Newton, Iowa.
2. (2) 14 Derrick Agee, Huntsville, Mo.
3. (5) 52 Nathan Wood, Sigourney, Iowa.
4. (1) 40 William Dahl, Rush Hill, Mo.
5. (6) 95 Lucas Galland, Moberly, Mo.
6. (3) 00t Tim Eravi, Moberly, Mo.
7. (4) 88 Jonathan Petersheim, Sturgeon, Mo.
8. (8) 23 Chad Walter, Clarence, Mo.

HEAT RACE #2 (8 laps):
1. (1) 20dub Shane Weller, Agency, Iowa.
2. (2) 5 Casey Walter, Jacksonville, Mo.
3. (6) 00 Rick Girard, Columbia, Mo.
4. (4) 48 Randy Rindon, Moberly, Mo.
5. (8) 2j Steve Jackson, Polk City, Iowa.
6. (3) 28 Tim Dawson, Callao, Mo.
7. (7) 49t Kevin Tomlinson, New London, Mo.
8. (5) 25 Cody Agee, Huntsville, Mo.

“A” MAIN (20 laps):
1. (1) 57v Mike Van Genderen, Newton, Iowa.
2. (4) 14 Derrick Agee, Huntsville, Mo.
3. (6) 2j Steve Jackson, Polk City, Iowa.
4. (8) 20dub Shane Weller, Agency, Iowa.
5. (7) 52 Nathan Wood, Sigourney, Iowa.
6. (11) 00t Tim Eravi, Moberly, Mo.
7. (2) 00 Rick Girard, Columbia, Mo.
8. (12) 28 Tim Dawson, Callao, Mo.
9. (5) 40 William Dahl, Rush Hill, Mo.
10. (13) 88 Jonathan Petersheim, Sturgeon, Mo.
11. (16) 25 Cody Agee, Huntsville, Mo.
12. (3) 5 Casey Walter, Jacksonville, Mo.
13. (15) 23 Chad Walter, Clarence, Mo.
14. (9) 48 Randy Rindon, Moberly, Mo.
15. (10) 95 Lucas Galland, Moberly, Mo.
16. (14) 49t Kevin Tomlinson, New London, Mo.

Lap Leaders: Van Genderen 1-20.
Hard Charger: Eravi (started 11th, finished 6th).
Dart Awards: Van Genderen, Dahl.
Next Race: Tuesday, Aug. 31, Marshalltown Speedway, Marshalltown, Iowa.
Championship Points: Van Genderen 920, Jackson 852, Wood 844, Mike Bergan 747, Greg Elliott 724, Ryan Leeman 596, Jim Mitchell 476, Jake Masters 475, Logan Staley 411, Weller 322.

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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.