ANDERSON — Kris Price of Sacramento continued his North State Modified Series domination by setting a fast time of 16.365 seconds over the 23-car field, and bagging his fourth main victory of the season Saturday night at Shasta Speedway in Anderson.
Price took home the 4-foot-tall hand-carved eagle trophy and the $1,500 first-place check for winning the third annual Lloyd Burton Against the Wind Modified Challenge.
Cameron Austin of Santa Rosa ran all but five laps in Price’s shadow to finish second. Jason Philpot of Sacramento came in third with Rio Linda’s Eric Price II fourth and Lucas Oil Dash for Cash winner Keith Bloom of Redding in fifth place.
The lineup for the 60-lap feature saw Terry Deal and Eric Price in the front row, Philpot and Kris Price in row two, Darrin Sullivan and Austin in row three, and Darrin Knight next to Guy Young in the fourth row.
Eric Price forged ahead at the start with Kris Price darting around Deal for second. Kris Price stole the lead from brother Eric on lap five, and Austin took over second place the following round. Philpot swapped places with Eric Price on lap seven. Deal lost power and faded in the high groove, retiring to the pits on lap 10
The first yellow flag flew on lap 11 when Darrin Knight and Darrin Sullivan were battling for fifth. The cars touched, resulting in Knight spinning into the infield. This moved local favorites Guy Young and Randy Houston into sixth and seventh. That battle ended with Houston driving under Young on lap 17 to assume the sixth slot.
The race was stopped a second time at the halfway marker when Ian Elliott and Sullivan made contact, with Sullivan spinning in turn four. The double-file restart saw Houston slip by Eric Price for fourth. The next 15 laps went smoothly until Houston lost control and spun on lap 46. Seven rounds later a confrontation between Adrianna Strugnell and Washington visitor Daniel Jobe brought out the final yellow flag.
Kris Price stayed out in front and led the field across the Sunoco checkered flag to take the win. Austin finished second followed by Philpot, Eric Price and Keith Bloom. Rounding out the top 10 were PJ Pedroncelli, Dustin DeRosier, Young, Elliott and Eric Johnson. Twenty of the 23 starters finished the race.
Bloom was the $100 winner in the Lucas Oil Dash for Cash with PJ Pedroncelli collecting $50 for second. Both Bloom and Pedroncelli also received the Scribner Plastics jugs. The Naake shocks certificate went to Philpot. The Frank’s Radio gifts were given to Mike Neilson, Rich Cobb and Stuart Campbell. Bloom earned the $100 Burton Family Hard Charger Award for passing the most cars.
The Shasta race was the richest event in the five-year history of the NSMS. Lloyd Burton’s brother-in-law, Mort Houston, donated $2,500 to the purse, which the NSMS promoters matched. Add that to the $2,500 Lucas Oil Towing bonus, the Mary Burton $100 Hard Charger Award, the Ward Land Management and Development $500 bonus, the Lucas Oil Dash for Cash money, and a donation from the Northern California Auto Racing Alumni, and more than $13,000 was paid out to 23 North State drivers.
The final NSMS race of the season is Oct. 12-13 at All American Speedway in Roseville. This event is part of the October Classic, which also features the NASCAR K & N Series and the Pacific Challenge Series Late Models.
The NSMS is presented by Protect the Harvest, Lucas Oil, Ward Land Management & Development, Hoosier Tire West, Sunoco Race Fuels, Naake Suspension, Five Star Bodies, Racer Bling, Scribner Plastics and Frank’s Radios.
