UKIAH >> After setting the fast time over the 22-car field, Kyle Tellstrom of Ukiah started 10th, made the winning move on Eric Johnson of Kelseyville on lap 26, and never relinquished the lead while capturing season points race No. 8 on the North State Modified Series, which took place Saturday night at Ukiah Speedway.
Tellstrom’s victory wasn’t the only big news of the evening as Charlie Collins of Upper Lake finished second in the main event to take over the points lead from Kelseyville’s Darrin Knight, the two-time defending series champion.
Tellstrom turned in an 13.090-second lap to earn the Sunoco/Penney Racing Supply Fast Time Award. Knight clocked in second (13.153), Collins was third (13.177), Jason Philpot came in fourth (13.225) and Cameron Austin was fifth (13.246.)
Johnson and Richie Potts ran one-two during the first three rounds of the main event with Darrin Sullivan and Andy Vanderveer next in line. Austin swapped places with Vanderveer on lap four and Collins drove under Vanderveer for fifth on lap eight. Vanderveer regained his position as Tellstrom traded places with Collins, dropping Collins back to seventh.
Lap 11 saw Potts push high, allowing Sullivan to assume the second slot. Austin dove under Potts for third the following round. While Potts was stuck in the outside groove he lost several positions. Both Tellstrom and Collins ducked under Austin on lap 18 and set their sights on the leaders.
The race was slowed on lap 21 when Kris Price made contact with Vanderveer, resulting in Vanderveer spinning in turn one. Potts drove off the track to avoid the stalled car. Two rounds later Ian Elliott spun to bring out another caution. Dave Campbell and Codi Barba came together on the restart, collecting Simi Tour. Campbell was towed to the pits
This third yellow set the stage for a single-file restart with Johnson in the lead. Tellstrom drove around Sullivan, then moved to the high side and rubbed fenders with Johnson for two laps before pulling away. The field had just hit the halfway mark when when Adrianna Strugnell’s car hit the infield dirt, shot back on the track and tagged Ross English. English lost control and slammed hard into the front-stretch concrete.
When racing resumed Collins swapped places with Sullivan as Tellstrom was pulling away from the pack. Knight then joined the frontrunners, took fourth away from Sullivan on lap 36, and challenged Collins for third on lap 40. As the three battled for position, Sullivan and Knight came together, resulting in Knight driving off the asphalt in turn one.
The final 20 laps saw Collins drive by Johnson as he set his sights on Tellstrom. Jason Philpot drove around Austin for fourth on 45 as Sierra Furia was holding off the challenges of Price. Collins caught Tellstrom on the white-flag lap and at the checkered flag it was Tellstrom, Collins, Johnson, Philpot and Austin. Rounding out the top 10 were Furia, Price, Dustin DeRosier, Knight and Barba.
Vanderveer collected $100 for his win in the Lucas Oil Dash for Cash with Cody Braund getting $50 for second. The Keyser Hard Charger Award went to Barba, Collins received the Naake Suspension Award, and the DJ Safety Certificate went to Sal Lopez. Furia got the Racer Bling Award while the Scribner Plastic jugs award went to Vanderveer and Braund.
Knight held a seven-point advantage over Collins coming into Saturday’s action. Now Collins leads Knight by seven points with three points races remaining, the next one on Sept. 9 at Redwood Acres Raceway in Eureka.
The North State Modified Series is presented by Protect the Harvest, Lucas Oil, Sinister Diesel, Ward Ranches, Penney Racing Supply, American Racer Tires, Naake Suspension, Sunoco Race Fuels, Five Star Bodies, Racer Bling, Keyser Racing Products, Scribner Plastics, DJ Safety, and the Buckhorn Bar & Grill.
NSMS modified rules, procedures, and schedules are available at www.northstatemodifieds.com.
