Monday, September 19, 2016

North State Modified Series winds down 2016 racing season

North State Modifeds line up for the 60-lap feature event (Photo Courtesy Carrie Lauenroth)

By Nadine Strauss, (707) 274-1662

With only 2 events left in the North State Modified Series, presented by Protect the Harvest, the points battle is tightening up. Defending champion and current points leader Darrin Knight of Kelseyville has a healthy 87 point lead over second place Charlie Collins of Lakeport. However Collins is only 11 points ahead of Kelseyville's Darrin Sullivan. Mike Collins of Lakeport trails Sullivan by a mere 14 points. Codi Barba of Cobb sits in fifth, 68 points behind Mike Collins.

Sierra Furia of Lakeport moved up in the standings after her ninth place finish at Ukiah Speedway last month and currently sits in sixth place overall. Sacramento driver Jason Philpot is 15 points behind Furia. Oregon's Rich Cobb is eighth followed by Richie Potts of Petaluma. Another Kelseyville driver, Bryan Denton rounds out the top 10 contenders.

The final two points races for the North State Modified Series will be back-to-back – September 24th at All American Speedway in Roseville, CA, and October 1st at Shasta Speedway in Anderson. The Roseville race will be with the Pacific Challenge Series Late Models during the AAS annual Fall Classic. Also on the racing card are the Roseville street stocks. Friday practice begins at 3:00 pm.

The October 1 Shasta event will be the “Lloyd Burton Against the Wind Challenge” with $1500 to win and $300 to start. Burton, a long-time supporter of auto racing in the Redding-Chico area, was the head official at Shasta Speedway when the facility was promoted by Bob Carrel in the 1990s. He was also the founder of the Northern California Auto Racing Alumni (NCARA.) Burton's brother-in-law, Mort Houston, along with other family members, friends, NCARA, Strauss Promotions and NSMS have added $5000 to the purse to make it a special event. It will also be the championship event for the North State Modified Series.

The North State Modified Series is presented by: Protect the Harvest, Swartz Diesel, Lucas Oil, Sinister Diesel, Penney Racing Supply, American Racer Tires, Naake Suspension, Sunoco Fuels, Five Star Bodies, Wrap Star Pro, Wenteq, Scribner Plastics, DJ Safety, and the Buckhorn Bar & Grill.