Ryan Gustin?

[slydejob18]

Correct

You've got it right Dirt33. He finished second to Babb--they had a nice back and forth battle for about 2/3 of that feature.

Go 18!!

[dirt33]

so why is he going back to mods explain that

Please show where he said he was "going back to mods", and then I'll contemplate how that strikes me. He hasn't ever quit running a modified, and I am not aware of any plans to sell the late models and return to running only modifieds.

He is better in a modified than he is in a late model, currently. He has run a modified hundreds, if not thousands, of times. He's raced a late model 50 times or so, if I were to guess. He is one of the few guys that could conceivably make more money in a modified on a given weekend than he could in a late model (Terry Phillips is another that comes to mind). That has to do with how good he is in a modified, and how much tougher the late model competition is. He's racing for a living, after all. A weekend of 3rd, 2nd, 1st in a USMTS mod earned his team $6,700 this weekend. Say he raced a couple MLRA shows instead (if it were later in the year, of course). I'm not positive what MLRA races pay, but I'm not sure he could win $6,700 even if he swept a MLRA weekend.

To make more money in a late model, he would have to not only turn his top 5-10s into top 2-3s like he does in a mod, but he would also likely have to put on more miles getting to WoO and Lucas Oil races. From central Kansas, that would be a ton more expense than it would be to run the regional MLRA/MARS stuff, and if you're in his shoes looking at it from a "making a living" point of view, how could you NOT show up to a USMTS race a couple hours from the shop knowing that you have a real good chance to equal or better your winning as compared to the late models races that are available in the same area?

[dirt33]

Oh I agree, there are definitely a lot of other guys who could win some good money at the top levels of modified racing if they had cars at the ready. One of the things that I'm sure makes it appealing to Gustin to run some USMTS shows is that the competition isn't as strong as the late model races he runs (by that, I mean, the competition isn't as strong IF YOU ARE RYAN GUSTIN. I don't mean that the overall competition amongst all USMTS cars isn't tough.) The racing is good at USMTS shows, but Ryan is simply a slight notch above everyone not named Jason Hughes (last night's win was his 69th USMTS win). Whereas in the late model ranks, he isn't at that level at this time. As he gains more experience in a late model, he will get better, there is no doubt in my mind.

I'm sure it's not lost on Gustin that Rodney Sanders and Stormy Scott appear to be making a transition to late models as well. You add those two to this weekend's USMTS field in Texas, and it obviously makes it a whole lot tougher for Gustin to run top 3 all nights. Could that be a small factor in his thinking? A smart racer trying to make a living is going to run when/where he has the best chance to pad his pockets. Sanders won a ton of races last year. If by chance he decides to run his late model primarily this year, that frees up a bunch of money and races for someone else to win. Edit, certainly not saying that Gustin wouldn't run the USMTS races if Sanders and Scott were there. Just saying that to him, if you can look at those guys racing late models in Florida, and thus not being in Texas, it might make the cash register start dinging in your head a little bit more regarding the prospect of heading down to Texas. Interesting to me that, at this time, Gressel Racing does not have next weekend's USMTS triple header in Houston on the schedule. It seems surprising to me that they would drive well down into Texas and then go back home (many of the drivers that were at Shady Oaks have commented on Facebook, etc about being in Texas for 5 weeks, given that USMTS has triple headers in Texas (and 1 in Las Cruces, NM) each of the next 4 weekends). I'm not familiar with how frequently the Gressel website gets updated or how far out they post their schedule, but I certainly would not be surprised to see Gustin at Houston next weekend.

[dirt33]

jason hughes another one that tried late model and went back

Not surprising at all to see him return to USMTS racing. He wasn't racing his own stuff in the Lucas Oil LM events, and when Rowland bought Reece's equipment and kept Owens in the car, meaning Hughes was back on his own, it was a no brainer for Jason.

Hughes definitely seems like a guy who actually prefers racing modifieds to late models. He even said as much after Friday night's UMSTS show.

Edit, it also serves Hughes well to run modifieds as his chassis building business thrives when he is running (and winning) USMTS races.

[huskerdirt]

http://www.jrishocks.com/jri-shocks-...s-partnership/ makes you say hmmmmmm

Gustins car run intergras........ Move along. There was a decent conversation going until you showed and your alter ego showed up. Please show yourself to the door.

Dirt33..... Pretty much spot on analysis.

[Nasty55]

Saw an interview where he was asked about his late model plans and his comments were somewhere along the lines of "I couldn't make a living off of driving a late models. Those guys are so good and when your off just a litte bit you end up getting lapped." I think he is committed to the USMTS and running for points again this year. Just a guess after his comments.. I believe I saw it on USMTS facebook page

I saw the same interview..... At end he said, "To make a living, I'm probably gonna have to do this a little more."

I don't see him running usmts points. That schedule is brutal enough if you wanna run all the races. There are a lot of races close to the shop in Wichita. So some weekends instead of hauling the LM somewhere, they'll probably race the mod closer to home.

Thanks ksmitty and Huskerdirt I was just curious and I figured that someone knew better than me lol... Ryan definitely has a lot of talent and I am hoping that he continues to grow in his latemodel program... Ive watched him several times in the modified and hope to see him somewhere this yr in the latemodel.. How you been doing Huskerdirt? Long time no see my friend..

[Nasty55]

I wish he would have won the I80 silver dollar natls in 2013 he was gone and got in to a lap car and that was that if he would have won that race it would have been huge

Yeah Scott he had that race won and just made a rookie mistake but I'm sure he was kicking himself afterwards....

[Nasty55]

Go's to show everyone that he wasn't as good or ready as everyone thought, it certainly wasn't because of a lack of dollars, so it must have been a lack of talent.

It sures heck isn't from lack of talent retired racer!! Have you ever had the opportunity to watch Ryan race in person? I can probably answer that question for you and say NO because if you'd of seen him race you would know that the kid has the talent!!!

[huskerdirt]

Thanks ksmitty and Huskerdirt I was just curious and I figured that someone knew better than me lol... Ryan definitely has a lot of talent and I am hoping that he continues to grow in his latemodel program... Ive watched him several times in the modified and hope to see him somewhere this yr in the latemodel.. How you been doing Huskerdirt? Long time no see my friend..

I've been doing good. Just waiting on race season.

Gustin and Gressel have invested too much into the late model program to be just throwing it off to the side.

[huskerdirt]

Go's to show everyone that he wasn't as good or ready as everyone thought, it certainly wasn't because of a lack of dollars, so it must have been a lack of talent.

He has talent. A lot of it. I've told people the only difference the national tour guys and your regional hot shoe was laps. Regional guys typically run 30 laps, while most national shows are 50. If you watch some races closely, especially when MLRA and Lucas mix it up. You'll find the regional guys can stay with national guys for most of the first half the race. Then they fade as the laps whine down.

I've never said he was ready for big time. Even after I witnessed that incredible charge to the front at I-80. I walked away from that night knowing I would probably never see something like that again. He did that in an older Moyer VC, BTW. The regional fields around here are tough. Just about every week you gotta deal with the Simpsons, Phillips, Jackson, Vaught, Stovall, Payne and now Sanders occasionally. When those boys roll into the same pit area. Whether it's a 20 car field or 50, you definitely know you are gonna see a car race.

There are tracks Gustin is extremely good at in a late model. Wheatland, I-80, Wichita, and Junction. So when Lucas or MLRA, or NCRA has a race at those tracks...... I would be shocked if the late model didn't roll onto the liftgate.

[Birky15Bfan]

I would have liked to seen how the race at I80 would have played out if Ryan didn't get into Kyle Berck. There were still a bunch of laps left and it would have been interesting to see how his tires held up after the way he charged through the field.

[retired racer]

Not trying to argue, just stating the obvious his talent level isn't there yet,yes he is great in a mod but it remains to be proven in a late model.

[kazual]

Not saying its the same but reminds me of when Kelly Boen would pull out for hot laps, you knew things just got more interesting. He is a great addition to any racing event, mod or late model.

[Bubstr]

I would have liked to seen how the race at I80 would have played out if Ryan didn't get into Kyle Berck. There were still a bunch of laps left and it would have been interesting to see how his tires held up after the way he charged through the field.

I was thinking the same thing about the I 80 race. Is he using up too much car, too early. He has more than enough talent. He just lacks some judgement at times. He has that seat of the pants ability to know when to push the go pedal and get more speed when it's available and when it's not. This can be a bad thing also. If all your tools are hammers, all situations are nails. I see a lot of improvement in discretion of when to go and when not to, this last year. It's a little less exciting, but a lot less Kile Berck incidences. I'm not sure, but I heard Gressel Racing lost their crew chief this year.

[Scott Boesel]

he started dead last at I80 the year he was running in the lead sure was fun to watch and tony jackson jr had a great finish that night also