MADERA — Defending North State Modified Series points champion Kyle Tellstrom of Ukiah charged from the 18th starting position to win the Mission Modified 60-lap feature Saturday night at Madera Speedway.
The North State Modified Series is presented by Protect the Harvest.
The victory for Tellstrom, who set a new Hoosier Tire track record earlier in the evening with a qualifying time of 14.789 seconds, paid a total of $2,000, including a $1,000 bonus from Terry Deal’s Economy Heating and Air.
“(It took a) little bit of patience. Man I’ve just had a lot luck here and a lot of success,” Tellstrom said. “This place has been so good to me, fits my driving. (I just) did what we had to do and stayed disciplined,” Tellstrom added. “Early there it was kind of rough. Once I got clear of a couple of cars, I got the right restart, got to the outside and it just opened up for me.”
Main event
A caution flew immediately at the start when a three-wide situation occurred among Keith Bloom of Redding, Rich Cobb of Oregon and Bakersfield’s Jim Coffey, resulting in Cobb spinning in turn four. Chris Lyon of Greely Hill also spun to avoid Cobb’s stalled car.
When action resumed, Coffey went around the outside of Simi Tour to lead lap one. Dustin DeRosier of Cloverdale worked to the inside and took the lead on lap four. Cobb and Utah’s Jeff Longman spun in turn one to bring out a caution on lap six.
DeRosier battled side by side with Ian Elliott of Lakeport for the lead but held the position. Former NSMS champion Scott Winters of Tracy passed Hesperia’s Eddie Secord for third. Tellstrom advanced to sixth by the 17th lap, then went two for one on the inside of Secord and 2020 Roseville and Ukiah champion Jason Philpot of Sacramento to grab fourth place.
The top four went two by two with Elliott sweeping around DeRosier for the lead on lap 24. Tellstrom went upstairs to follow him into second as well. A caution flew on lap 27 for a Mike Neilson spin in turn one. Elliott chose the inside for the restart and Tellstrom immediately took over the lead. The caution flag fell once more for Longman spinning on the front stretch of lap 29.
Winters advanced to the second position but couldn’t capitalize on a late restart to challenge for the victory. Tellstrom won by 1.791 seconds over Winters, with Elliott third, DeRosier fourth and Philpot fifth at the checkered flag.
Crate winner
Philpot won a $750 bonus as the top finishing GM 602 Crate Engine, holding off Keith Bloom, Jr. in a long battle. Secord won $500 as the second-highest finishing crate with Kern County Raceway champion Jim Coffey earning $250 as the third-place finisher among the crates.
Tellstrom also won the Naake Hard Charger Award. Neilson claimed the Lucas Oil Dash for Cash while the Scribner jugs went to Neilson and Bloom.
Schedule
The next race for the North State Modified Series is June 5 at the Redwood Acres Raceway in Eureka.
Sponsors
The North State Modified Series would not be possible without the support of Protect the Harvest, Lucas Oil, Sullivan Construction and Masonry, Hoosier Tire West, Sunoco Race Fuels, Naake Suspension, Five Star Bodies, Racer Bling, Mark & Sharon Baldwin, Scribner Plastics, Mort Houston, McMurray & Sons Roofing, Frank’s Radios, Economy Heating & Air, and Mission Foods.
Editor’s note: Story submitted by Steven Blakesley and Nadine Strauss, with photos by Jenna Meyer and Don Bloom.
