HUMBOLDT — As cool as the temperatures dipped Thursday evening, the action on the three-eighths mile dirt track at Humboldt Speedway was as hot as ever.
When the dust settled on the final race of the night — the A feature of Allen’s Automotive Qualifying Night — a familiar driver graced the top of the leader board.
Ryan Gustin of Marshalltown, Iowa, the 2011 United States Modified Touring Series champion, used a nifty pass with two laps remaining in the feature to capture the win.
The victory ensures Gustin will be a force to be reckoned with in Saturday’s main event of the inaugural King of America Modified Nationals.
“The lapped traffic helped,” Gustin said, noting that the driver he passed, Terry Phillips of Springfield, Mo., was attempting to pass a pair of lapped cars on the inside when Gustin darted a little higher on the track, zipping his way between the lapped cars and securing the lead.
Phillips challenged in the final two laps of the 30-lap feature, but could not retake the lead, crossing the finish line a car length behind the 21-year-old Gustin.
“It was quite a race,” Gustin said. “There’s some tough drivers out here.”
“We were driving it hard,” Phillips said. “We’re pretty happy with it. Congratulations to Ryan. It was a good race.”
SEVERAL local drivers went through the evening with varying degrees of success.
Iolan Jess Folk Jr. registered the fastest time trial mark of the night only to see his heat race cut short when another racer clipped the back of his car, knocking off a tire.
“We went from hero to zero,” Folk said.
But Folk regained the lost momentum in the B feature, where he started in 11th and last place, before roaring all the way back to take second and a spot in the A feature.
His brother, Justin Folk, meanwhile, showed his racing mettle in his heat race, passing the aforementioned Gustin on the last lap to secure second and a fourth-row starting position in the A feature.
But Justin Folk scraped the outside wall early in the feature, preventing him from mounting much of a challenge. He came home in 14th place, three spots behind Jess Jr.
Both Folk brothers said they would stick with their qualifying positions for Saturday’s races, which lead to the grand finale, the $15,000-to-win King of America race, billed as the biggest, most-prestigious modified dirt track race in Kansas history.
“Not racing until Saturday gives me time to fix what I broke,” Justin Folk said.
John Allen of Chanute — whose auto parts store sponsored Wednesday’s main feature — finished fifth in his heat race and ninth in the A feature.
“We weren’t great, but we weren’t terrible,” Allen said. “We have a couple of thing with our setup we’ll get fixed.”
Allen will see how the point standings shake out before deciding whether to exercise a “mulligan” and re-qualify tonight or Friday for a better starting spot on Saturday.
The top six in points are locked into Saturday’s main championship race. All other drivers will start one of several “alphabet soup” main events Saturday, unless the driver purchases the mulligan.
One such driver who has no choice but to go for the mulligan is Dan Daniels of Humboldt.
Normally a regular at the speedway, Daniels raced in Humboldt only once prior to Wednesday this season because he is building a new house in the area.
Daniels narrowly lost a spot in the A feature when he was passed in the last turn of the B feature and wound up in seventh place. Only the top six finishers in each of the B features advanced to the A feature.
“It was a tough race,” he said. “I almost had it.”
GUSTIN, PHILLIPS, the Folks, Allen and Daniels were unanimous in their praise of the other drivers and the quality of the races.
“It’s already intense and momentum will grow as the week goes along,” Allen said. “Ron and Rhenda (Whitworth) have put a lot of effort into this, and USMTS put a lot of work into it. This week is big, but when they return next year, it’s going to be even bigger. This is going to be huge.”
Jesse Folk Jr. agreed.
“We had 39 cars tonight and 60 more are coming,” he said. “I think I’ll bring my kids Thursday and Friday just to watch.”
King of America
Modified Nationals
Humboldt Speedway
Thursday-Saturday
Tickets sold race day
Grandstand
Single day tickets: $20
(Thurs., Fri.)
Saturday tickets: $25
Pit Passes
Four-day pass: $125
Single-day pass: $35
(Thurs., Fri.)
Saturday pass: $40
Race times
7 p.m. Thursday, Friday
6 p.m. Saturday
