The beat goes on for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2015 as Matt Kenseth delivered the organization’s fourth straight victory Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, joining teammate Denny Hamlin in the next round of the post-season Chase that starts October 10th in Charlotte. Kenseth was running second in the closing laps when race leader Kevin Harvick ran out of fuel, opening the door for Kenseth to claim his series-best fifth win of the year. J-G-R has now won ten of the last thirteen races and will have at least two of its four drivers in the Contender Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Hamlin followed Kenseth to the checkered flag on Sunday to grab second place with Joey Logano, Greg Biffle and pole sitter Carl Edwards, another J-G-R driver, completing the top five. Harvick started second and dominated the day, leading a race-high 216 of the three hundred laps. But his gamble on fuel mileage did not pay off and now, the defending Sprint Cup champion finds himself among the bottom four in the Chase standings and facing elimination heading into next weekend’s race at Dover International Speedway.

A win in the Triple-A 400 would move Harvick into the next round. Otherwise, he’ll need to erase a twenty-three-point deficit to climb into the top twelve and advance … Joe Gibbs Racing drivers hold the top three spots in the Challenger Round.

Kenseth carries a six-point edge over Hamlin with Edwards third, ten points off the pace. Sunday’s race included thirteen lead changes among six drivers … There were eight cautions for thirty-seven laps.

Cory Crapser dominated the USRA B-Mod main event during the second night of the Featherlite Fall Jamboree at the Deer Creek Speedway Friday to record his third Holley Iron Man Series win of the 2015 campaign.

From the outside of the front row, Crapser jumped out front at the drop of the green flag and was unchallenged the rest of the way in the 20-lapper.

The win was worth $1,000 with additional earnings going to each of the top five finishers courtesy of Carroll’s Corn.

Track champion Cole Queensland bounced back from last night’s miscue to take the runner-up honors while Kyle Anderson, Dan Hovden and points leader Dakota Foster rounded out the top five at the checkered flag.

Sixth through tenth, respectively, were Alex Williamson, Chad Clancy, Trevor Fecht, Andrew Bleess and Mike Mehling.

Action continues at the majestic 3/8-mile high-banked clay oval on Saturday. USRA B-Mod drivers will battle for $1,000 to win as they share the spotlight with the USRA Modifieds with USRA national points are on the line.

Fan may purchase tickets at the gate on Saturday night. For fans unable to be there in person, the entire event will be broadcast live. Visit www.racindirt.com for ordering information.

The Deer Creek Speedway is a high-banked 3/8-mile clay oval which sits on 60 acres with one of America’s most popular state-of-the-art racing complexes and an adjoining campground. For track or campground info, call 507-346-2342 or email info@deercreekspeedway.com.

Next Stop, New Hampshire Motor Speedway for Sunday’s SYLVANIA 300, the second race of the 2015 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. For The Sixteen Challengers on the Chase Grid, there are 3,194.98 “Miles-2-Miami” remaining. The ten-race title series will conclude November 22nd at Homestead-Miami Speedway, at which time only four will remain in championship contention. The next two races will complete the Challenger Round of the post-season, after which the bottom four drivers will be eliminated. Any one of The Sixteen Challengers that wins a race in New Hampshire or next weekend at Dover will automatically advance to the Contender Round that opens October 10th in Charlotte.

Denny Hamlin has already written his name into the next round with his victory last weekend at Chicagoland Speedway … Jeff Gordon will make his 789th consecutive start on Sunday, breaking Ricky Rudd’s record of 788 that was set from 1981 through 2005. Gordon has not missed a race since debuting in NASCAR’s top division in 1992 … Kurt Busch, the Number-7 seed in this year’s Chase who is currently tied with Joey Logano for fifth place in the standings, may be without crew chief Tony Gibson for a portion of the weekend. Gibson had an emergency appendectomy on Tuesday. He’s expected to travel to New England as early as today or as late as Saturday afternoon. Busch is a three-time winner at New Hampshire.

Just when he needed it most, Jason Hughes was able to blend together experience and hard work with a dash of good fortune Thursday night, and cooked up a nearly flawless effort in winning the opening night of the 17th Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree and also claiming his second USMTS national championship.

While the event at the Deer Creek Speedway kicked off the three-day mega-event for dirt modifieds, it also served as the 15th and final points race in the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup powered by S&S Fishing & Rental.

Hughes entered the night with a delicate four-point lead over two-time defending USMTS national champion Rodney Sanders. Whichever driver finished in front of the other Thursday was almost certain to secure the title.

Both drivers drew daunting tasks for their 15-lap, 15-car heat race with Hughes starting in the 12th position while Sanders took the green flag from 15th. Hughes won while Sanders finished sixth.

That put Hughes in the redraw for the 40-lap feature race while Sanders was relegated to one of five “B” Mains. Hughes redrew the outside of the front row for the start of the race while Sanders won his last-chance contest to earn the 20th starting spot.

As he was in his heat race, there was little doubt throughout the “A” Main that Hughes brought a rocket to ‘The Creek.’ With 40 green flag laps following the race’s only caution for a two-car tangle at the start of the race, Hughes was uncontested as he led every lap to secure the win and the USMTS crown.

“It’s a great night,” Hughes said as he celebrated with family and crew members in victory lane. “We knew coming up here that we were prepared, but luck plays a lot of it in this deal. We had good luck tonight.”

Hughes began the Hunt tied for 15th in the standings and 82 points behind the leader. Winning three main events along the way, he slowly chipped away at the deficit and notched his fourth win of The Hunt in dominating fashion Thursday night.

“It took a lot of luck to get there, but we had good racecar and a lot of hard work,” he added.

It claiming the $5,000 winner’s paycheck Thursday, the USMTS national championship carries with it a $20,000 prize. It’s his second USMTS title after winning the same race in 2010 with the same crew chief, Steve Karver, in 2010.

He now owns two titles along with Sanders and Ryan Gustin. Kelly Shryock, who won the first eight championships in the United States Modified Touring Series, has nine overall. Hughes was runner-up to Shryock in many of those seasons.

“It took a long time to get that first one,” Hughes said. “The second one’s getting even harder. It means a lot.

“This car right here has been great to us. It’s won the Fall Jamboree on the last night, now it’s won this one. It won the World race here… it’s been a really good racecar for us.”

The win was the 129th of Hughes’ USMTS career and 12th at the Deer Creek Speedway.

2007 USMTS national champion Jason Krohn, who won here 19 days ago during the Baudoin Oil USMTS Labor Day Duel, clawed his way from seventh to finish second. He was able to get within a couple car lengths of Hughes on a few occasions but was never able to mount a serious threat for the lead.

Polesitter Brandon Davis bested Shryock for the third spot after a salty battle that lasted for most of the last half of the race.

Another former USMTS national champ, Tim Donlinger, returned to the cockpit behind the wheel of a second LG2 Chassis out of the Ramirez Motorsports stable and recorded a fifth-place finish. It was the first USMTS start in nearly two years for the 2008 titlist.

Casey Arneson, Joe Duvall, Zack VanderBeek, Tommy Weder Jr. and Sanders rounded out the top 10.

Despite coming up short of a $100,000 payday and settling for the runner-up spot in the final standings, it was an impressive run for Sanders from 20th to 10th in the feature race, but there were no cautions to help the 25-year-old from Happy, Texas, make a run at this 20th win of the season.

In the final points standings, Hughes edged Sanders by 35 points (1335 to 1300) while Stormy Scott nipped Jesse Sobbing for third by just five markers (1194 to 1189). VanderBeek finished fifth with 1118 points, followed by Dereck Ramirez (1101), Duvall (963), Brent Larson (959), Arneson (942) and Cade Dillard (921).

The 17th Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree continues on Friday and Saturday with two more complete shows and event more money up for grabs. The Holley Iron Man Series featuring USRA B-Mods will share the spotlight both nights.

Tickets are available both nights at the front gate. For fans unable to attend, the entire event will be broadcast live via pay-per-view. Visit www.racindirt.com for ordering information.

The Deer Creek Speedway is a high-banked 3/8-mile clay oval which sits on 60 acres with one of America’s most popular state-of-the-art racing complexes and an adjoining campground. For track or campground info, call 507-346-2342 or email info@deercreekspeedway.com.

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.