USMTS set to make three-day stop at Deer Creek Speedway
May 24—SPRING VALLEY — Local drivers held serve on their home track the last time the United States Modified Touring Series stopped at Deer Creek Speedway.
That was last September, when Chatfield's Lucas Schott and Osage, Iowa's Jim Chisholm won two of the three A Mains at the Featherlite Fall Jamboree.
Chisholm, a five-time track champion at Deer Creek, won the big one at the Jamboree — the Saturday night feature, which included a $12,000 winner's check.
Chisholm is expected to be back at the track he has dominated in recent years this weekend, and so will the USMTS. Chisholm is seeking his first feature win of the year, having placed as high as third in a USMTS feature this season (April 27 at Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City, Iowa) and as high as second (April 30 at Ark-La-Tex Speedway in Vivian, La.) in any Modifieds feature race.
The USMTS — arguably the top Modifieds touring series in the country — will be at Deer Creek for the annual Southern Minnesota Spring Challenge, which is a three-day event this season. Full shows are scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
It's also just the second race of the season at the high-banked 3/8 -mile track, which has been hit hard by poor weather so far this spring. The season opener was held at Deer Creek last Saturday, May 20, with Hayfield's Brandon Davis taking the USRA Modifieds A Main.
The USMTS will spend three nights at Deer Creek, then complete its four-races-in-four-days Memorial Day weekend swing on Sunday at Fayette County Speedway in West Union, Iowa. In total, nearly $30,000 will be awarded to the winners of the four feature races.
At Deer Creek, the winner of Thursday's A Main will receive $3,000, followed by a $5,000-to-win feature on Friday and a $10,000-to-win race on Saturday.
The Southern Minnesota Spring Challenge will mark the 123rd, 124th and 125th times the USMTS has visited Deer Creek, which has held more USMTS races than any other facility. Oklahoma driver Jason Hughes holds 14 USMTS wins at the track, the most of any driver. Former USMTS national champions Rodney Sanders (11) and Kelly Shryock (10) also have double-digit wins at Deer Creek.
Other drivers with five or more feature wins at the track are Ryan Gustin (7), Tim Donlinger (5), Terry Phillips (5), Brandon Davis (5) and Jake O'Neil (5).
O'Neil (1,104) and Sanders (1,087) currently hold the top two spots in the USMTS national points standings, while Hughes (1,050) sits fourth.
Gates open at 5 p.m., with racing beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday nights. Saturday, gates open at 4 p.m. and racing begins at 6 p.m.
Tickets are $25 for adults Thursday and Friday, and $30 Saturday. Adult pit passes are $40 Thursday and Friday, and $45 on Saturday.
USRA B-Modifieds will also race all three nights.
