UKIAH >> Jason Philpot of Sacramento jumped ahead of pole setter Cody Thompson of Fremont at the drop of the green flag and led wire to wire to capture his third victory of the season during North State Modified Series (NSMS) action on Saturday night at Ukiah Speedway.
Philpot’s win during the North Coast 60 follows his earlier NSMS victories at Madera Speedway in June and at the All American Speedway in Roseville in April.
Michael Mitchell of Loomis earned the Penney Racing Supply/Sunoco Fast Time Award by setting a fast time of 12.980 seconds, only .046 seconds off the NSMS track record of 12.934 held by Tripp Gaylord of Golden, Colorado. Mitchell drew No. 4 in the Sinister Diesel inversion pill draw, placing Thompson and Philpot in the first row for the main event, points leader Darrin Knight of Kelseyville and Mitchell in row two, and Petaluma’s Richie Potts and Kelseyville’s Darin Snider in row three.
The first of three yellow flags flew on lap four when Darrin Sullivan spun in turn four while running seventh. All cars avoided contact and the race continued. Philpot chose the outside lane for the double-file restart, forging ahead again, but once more the action was slowed when Potts spun in turn two. With nowhere to go, both Richard Knight and Codi Barba collided with Potts, resulting in all three pitting for repairs. Potts and Barba were able to continue, but Knight’s car suffered too much damage, ending his run.
Philpot chose the high side of Thompson once again and drove away at the drop of the green flag. Darrin Knight and Mitchell battled for third behind Thompson with Snider, Charlie Collins and Mike Collins next in line. David Lyndall and Sierra Furia joined the front-runners as Sullivan worked his way back into the top 10.
Mitchell dove under Thompson for second place on lap seven as Charlie Collins tried his luck in the outside groove. Collins and Knight swapped places back and forth for several laps until Thompson drifted high, allowing Knight to sneak under him and into third on lap 14.
At the Swartz Diesel halfway point, Philpot was way out in front of Mitchell, Knight, Thompson, Charlie Collins, Mike Collins, Lyndall and Furia. Charlie Collins drove by Thompson on the 47th circuit and six rounds later Snider drove off the track on turn four, ending the long green-flag run.
All lapped cars were funneled to the back of the pack for the single-file restart and the final laps went without incident as Philpot collected $1,000 for first place. Mitchell finished second with Knight third, Charlie Collins fourth and Thompson fifth. Rounding out the top 10 were Mike Collins, Lyndall, Furia, Bryan Denton and Oregon driver Rich Cobb.
In the Lucas Oil Dash for Cash Charlie Collins collected $100 for the win with Sullivan getting $50 for second. Collins also earned the Wenteq Hard Charger Award. The Naake Suspension Award went to Potts while Furia earned the DJ Safety certificate. Lyndall and Barba took home the Scribner Plastics awards.
The next North State Modified Series event is scheduled for July 23 at Redwood Acres Raceway in Eureka.
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.
