EUREKA >> Defending North State Modified Series points champion Darrin Knight of Kelseyville ran down early leader Guy Young of Redding and made the winning pass on lap 24 to capture the Swartz Diesel Nor-Cal 60 feature event on Sunday at the Redwood Acres Raceway in Eureka.
The North State Modified Series (NSMS) is presented by Protect the Harvest.
Knight’s win moved him up to second place in the NSMS points standings, but 2015 Lakeport Speedway champ Mike Collins’ fourth-place finish was enough to move him into the points lead by a three-point margin.
Along with his main event win, Knight set the fast time of 16.184 seconds, edging out 2014 NSMS points champ Jay Linstroth’s 16.197-second lap. The pill draw put Knight in the eighth spot for the main event start with Oregon driver Herman Pulyer and Young on the front row. Young forged ahead at the start and as David Lyndall was struggling in the outside groove, Pulyer, Collins and Richie Potts gained ground. Knight settled into fifth place on the fifth round as Young pulled away from the rest of the field.
Lap seven saw Knight drive by Potts. Linstroth swapped placed with Potts the following round. Knight began his bid for the front by passing Collins on lap 11and driving under Pulyer for second place on lap 13. Linstroth inched beneath Collins for third place on lap 15.
Meanwhile Young was enjoying a healthy quarter-lap lead over the rest of the field. The next eight laps saw both Knight and Linstroth chase down Young. When Young’s car pushed high on lap 24, that was all Knight needed to make the pass and take control of the race. Linstroth raced under Young for second place on lap 28.
At the Sinister Diesel halfway mark the running order was Knight, Linstroth, Young, Pulyer, Collins, Bryan Denton, Lyndall, Darrin Sullivan, Potts, Codi Barba, Rich Cobb, Josh Stewart and John Baker. Denton dove under Collins for fifth place on 37 and drove around Pulyer for fourth on lap 40. Collins swapped places with Pulyer the following round.
The first of two yellow flags flew on lap 45 when Lyndall spun in turn four. At this point the “Lucky Dog” was Codi Barba.
Knight maintained the lead on the restart and drove away from his fellow competitors. Denton stole third away from Young on lap 53. With only five laps to go, the yellow flew again for a confrontation between Stewart and Cobb. This time the “Lucky Dog” went to Pulyer.
The final five laps went without incident as Knight took the checkered flag and $1,000 win in front of Linstroth, Denton, Young and Collins. Rounding out the top 10 were Sullivan, Barba, Pulyer, Cobb and Stewart.
Linstroth collected $100 in the Lucas Oil Dash for Cash and Richie Potts received $50 for second. Knight earned the Wenteq Hard Charger Award for passing the most cars. Darrin Sullivan took home the Naake Suspension award, and the DJ Safety Certificate went to Denton. The Scribner Plastics award went to Collins and Baker. Knight, Potts, Sullivan and Denton picked up the Renner Petroleum awards. Knight also earned the Penney Racing Supply/Sunoco Fast Time Award.
The next NSMS event is June 11 at Madera Speedway where drivers will be competing in the Lucas Racing Mid-State 60. The entire feature event will be broadcast on Lucas Oil Racing TV, and the highlights will be shown on MAVTV. NSMS is joining the Lucas Oil Modifieds, the Legends of the Kearney Bowl, the Winged Sprints, and the USAC HPD Midgets at Madera.
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, Renner Petroleum, and Buckhorn Bar & Grill.
