VanderBeek off and running in Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup

The Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup powered by S&S Fishing & Rental kicked off Aug. 6-9 with the first four of fifteen rounds of racing to determine the 2015 USMTS National Champion. Zack VanderBeek and the Casey's General Stores 33z Racing team came into the opening event in a three-way tie for fifth in the points.

On Thursday, Aug. 6, at the 81 Speedway in Park City, Kan., things got off to a rocky start with an eighth-place finish in the heat race and then using a provisional to start 26th in the main event where VanderBeek finished 20th.

On Friday, Aug. 7, at the Humboldt Speedway in Humboldt, Kan., the 'Z-Man' turned things around right off the bat with a wire-to-wire heat race win. He started on the pole for the 40-lap feature and battled with the leaders throughout the race, eventually scoring a third-place finish.

Saturday, Aug. 8, the series made its first and only trip to the incredible state-of-the-art Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. After a strong run from ninth to fourth in his heat race but a lackluster result in the "B" Main, VanderBeek started 26th in the 40-lap "A" Main. He made the most of his provisional starting spot, rolling out 26th on the grid and coming home in ninth at the finish.

The four-race weekend wrapped up Sunday, Aug. 9, at the Monett Speedway in Monett, Mo. VanderBeek started fifth and finished third in his heat race which placed him tenth in the starting line-up for the 40-lap feature race. He worked his way around four other drivers and capped the swing with a sixth-place paycheck.

In the points battle, the 33z Racing team sits sixth in the standings. The road to the USMTS National Championship runs north this week with three shows. On Thursday, Aug. 13, the USMTS invades the Red Cedar Speedway in Menomonie, Wis., and Friday sees the Modified Masters at Bob Timm’s Mississippi Thunder Speedway in Fountain City, Wis. The tripleheader wraps up Saturday, aug. 15, at the Ogilvie Raceway in Ogilvie, Minn.

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 or subscribe to our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/usmtstv.