HUMBOLDT, Kan. (March 31) — Opening night of King of America VI presented by Chix Gear saw 106 competitors from seventeen states and two Canadian provinces suited up for battle at the Humboldt Speedway Thursday, and it was a familiar name atop the rankings when the final checkered flag waved.
After 18 qualifying heats and 180 laps of racing, defending King of America winner Jason Hughes stands alone at the top of the points standings heading into Friday’s second round of action.
The 41-year-old from Watts, Okla., blistered the field in his first qualifying heat race, and then followed that up by charging to a runner-up finish from tenth on the starting grid in the sixth heat during the second round of qualifying.
Hughes, a two-time and defending USMTS national champion, is the winningest driver in USMTS history at the Humboldt, Kan., speedplant with 13 career victories in 42 main events staged at ‘The Hummer.’
His last one came here less than two weeks ago during the most recent event for the USMTS Casey’s Cup powered by S&S Fishing & Rental where he extended his unbeaten streak here to three straight.
Four markers behind Hughes after Thursday’s contest is Jeremy Payne, whose lone USMTS victory in Humboldt came in August 2012.
Two drivers still searching for their first win–Hunter Marriott and Kyle Strickler-sit third and fourth, respectively, while Zack VanderBeek rides in fifth in search of his third win of 2016 and first ever at Humboldt.
Tanner Mullens is sixth, Don Eischens holds down the seventh spot and Stormy Scott is currently eighth. A four-way tie exists for the ninth position between Darron Fuqua, Rodney Sanders, Jake Gallardo and Johnny Scott.
All 18 heat race winners Thursday night earned $100 with Hughes netting an extra $200 as the overall hard charger of the night.
Thursday’s action was the opening round of the Widow Wax Four-Crown Series presented by MAVTV, which will be part of the nationally televised broadcast later this spring on the popular motorsports network.
Each competitor raced in two heat races from four different starting positions on Thursday, and they’ll do the same thing again here Friday night. Combined passing points for the best three of four heats will determine the lineups forSaturday’s main events with the top 12 in overall points from Thursday and Friday locked into the first six rows ofSaturday’s finale.
Saturday will see the winner of the sixth King of America championship going home with $12,000 while every other starter in Saturday’s main event will pocket at least $1,100.
In addition to the fire-breathing machines of the USMTS, King of America VI presented by Chix Gear also features the Iron Man Challenge for Out-Pace USRA B-Mods. They will run a complete show of heat races and main events each day.
Saturday’s program will feature last-chance races and an “alphabet soup” of main events that will culminate with a stellar starting field for the 100-lap championship race that will start three-wide. Even if a driver has some tough luck during qualifying, he or she still has the chance to climb the ladder of qualifying events on Saturday to earn a spot in the finale.
Go to www.racindirt.com/livevideo to order your pay-per-view today, and don’t miss a lap of this year’s King of America VI presented by Chix Gear.
The Humboldt Speedway is a located 0.1 mile west of US 169 at the Humboldt Exit, then 0.5 mile south, then 0.9 mile east on Georgia Rd. For more information, call 620-431-2470 or visit www.HumboldtSpeedway.com. For camping, ATV and/or golf cart permits call 620-473-3694.
To learn more about the United States Modified Touring Series, visit www.usmts.com online or call 515-832-7944. You can also like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/usmts, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/usmts and Instagram at www.instagram.com/usmts or subscribe to our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/usmtstv.
