DIRTcar Racing UMP Weekly Points Update: – June 4, 2010 – Rusty Schlenk of Jackson, Mich. (Late Models) and Devin Gilpin of Columbus, Ind. (Modifieds) added to their leads in DIRTcar Racing's UMP national points standings after nine weeks of weekly competition. Both young lions won twice over the holiday weekend, helping them pump up their points leads in races completed through May 31. Schlenk, 23, made the most dramatic gains, extending his edge by 124 points to a hefty 566 markers (1,650-1,084) over Ryan Unzicker of El Paso, Ill., while Gilpin, 19, increased his edge over Rusty Griffaw of Festus, Mo., by 14 points to a more modest 25-point margin (1,479-1,454).
Schlenk's three-race Memorial Day weekend of racing on the DIRTcar-sanctioned American Late Model Series was highlighted by his milestone first career win at the famed Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. He captured the track's annual 'Johnny Appleseed Classic' on Sunday night (May 30) for what he called "without doubt the biggest win of my career." The triumph at the Big E came after Schlenk finished fifth in the ALMS weekend opener on Friday night (May 28) at Mount Pleasant (Mich.) Speedway and recorded his 61st career win at Oakshade Raceway in Wauseon, Ohio, on Saturday night (May 29). He overtook Matt Miller on a restart and never looked back.
Schlenk has won eight features this season in his 23 overall starts. He currently leads all drivers in the UMP national points standings in the races-completed category. Unzicker, who last weekend finished fifth on May 28 at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway and sixth on May 29 at Highland (Ill.) Speedway, has 17 starts to his credit. Gilpin remained on top of the UMP Modified national points standings for the second consecutive week after scoring feature wins on May 28 at Moler Raceway Park in Williamsburg, Ohio, and May 30 at Windy Hollow Speedway in Owensboro, Ky., and finishing second on May 29 at Twin Cities Raceway Park in North Vernon, Ind. Griffaw nearly kept pace with Gilpin with his performance last weekend, which included a victory on May 28 at Fredericktown (Mo.) Raceway, a second-place finish on May 29 at I-55 Raceway and a third-place outing on May 30 at Shepp's Speedway in Alexander, Ill.
Late Models : 1. Rusty Schlenk 1650 23 2. Ryan Unzicker 1084 17 3. Mike Hammerle 1032 21 4. Jeff Walston 931 15
Modifieds : 1. Devin Gilpin 1479 22 2. Rusty Griffaw 1454 22 3. Randle Sweeney 1353 22 4. Stormy Scott 1256 19
