Austin scores wire-to-wire victory - Lake County Record-Bee

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EUREKA — In his first outing in a modified this season, Cameron Austin of Santa Rosa went wire to wire to win the North State Modified Series 60-lap feature race Saturday evening at Redwood Acres Raceway in Eureka. Austin claimed the $2,000 winner’s share in the McMurray and Son’s Roofing-sponsored event as well as a $200 bonus from Dave McMurray.

Main event

Austin inherited his position in the front row when Charlie Collins of Upper Lake scratched from the race because of engine problems. Austin took the lead away from pole setter Randy Houston of Medford, Oregon, at the drop of the green flag, and led all 60 laps in the third NSMS race of the 2020 season.

NSMS points leader Kyle Tellstrom from Ukiah set the fast time of 16.201 seconds over the 19-car field, breaking the track record on the three-eighths-mile oval. Five other drivers also clocked in under the previous record of 16.408 set by Austin on May 11, 2019, including Ian Elliott (16.294), NSMS defending champion Scott Winters (16.324), Darrin Sullivan (16.351), Austin (16.353) and three-time NSMS champ Darrin Knight (16.387).

The Lucas Oil Dash for Cash saw Jeremy Nowlin take the win and $100, but Nowlin’s luck did not continue in the main event as his car slapped the turn four wall on lap two, ending his run.

Four rounds later while running fourth behind Austin, Houston and Knight, Winters’ car popped out of gear, slowed on the back stretch and came to a stop high in turn four, bringing out the only yellow flag in the race.

Darrin Knight (20) tries to catch race leader Cameron Austin during the final laps of Saturday’s race in Eureka. (Photo courtesy of Sherie RAR Photographry)

When racing resumed, Austin forged ahead again with Knight driving under Houston for second place. Elliott and Sullivan waged a three-lap, side-by-side battle for fourth place with Darrin Sullivan finally making the outside pass. Sullivan next set his sights on Houston, and on lap 14 nose-to-tail contact between the two saw Houston drift high, allowing Sullivan to take over third place.

Tellstrom was running fifth behind Elliott and though he made several inside runs in an attempt to pass, Elliott kept him in his rear view mirror. The lapping process began on lap 19 with Austin gracefully picking off the slower cars. Steve Taylor retired his car to the pits on lap 28 and the car of Sal Lopez was black-flagged for excessive smoke on lap 32.

With only five laps to go, Austin’s tires began to wear out out and Knight closed the gap. Knight tried to sneak beneath Austin on the white flag lap but time ran out and Austin finished strong to claim his first modified win in 2020. Knight placed second and was followed by Darrin Sullivan, Houston, Elliott and Tellstrom.

Winters bounced back for a seventh-place finish just ahead of Dustin DeRosier, Simi Tour, Cody Braund and Mike Sullivan. Rounding out the field were Keith Bloom, Donovan Cox, Chris Salmina, Robert Schmidt, Lopez, Taylor and Nowlin.

Dash for cash

A second $100 dash for cash was sponsored by the new promoters at Redwood Acres Raceway and it went to winner Bloom.

The main event purse was increased for all the drivers courtesy of the Great American Seed Company. McMurray and Sons Roofing also gave every driver in attendance a $200 bonus. The $2,500 Lucas Oil Tow Money was shared by the top 15 in the point standings.

Mike Sullivan won the Naake Suspension Hard Charger award for passing the most cars. The Scriber jugs went to Nowlin and Houston.

Schedule

The next stop for the North State Modifieds is the fifth annual Lloyd Burton Against the Wind Modified Challenge on Oct. 2-3 at Shasta Speedway in Anderson. It is the richest event in the history of the series with $2,000 going to the winner and $400 to start the race thanks to event sponsors Mort Houston, Simi Tour, GASCO, Protect the Harvest and Lucas Oil.

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Austin scores wire-to-wire victory - Lake County Record-Bee

Main event

Dash for cash

Schedule

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