Night number one for the DIRTcar UMP Modified racers was held on Monday night, February 3rd at the Volusia Speedway Park near Barberville Florida. The Modified racers had competed for three nights previously in the preceding week as a part of the 360 Sprint series held at the track but Monday night would be the first night for gathering points toward the prized Gator trophy to be handed out at the end of the week. And while somewhere near seventy racers completed last week, after the one night break in the racing taken on Sunday, the Modified teams came rolling in out of the weeds from all parts of the country and North to Canada with a pit busting one hundred and two drivers signing in to race on Monday night. Monday and Tuesday night shows would be stand alone races for the Modified drivers before they were joined by the World of Outlaw Sprint Car series to round out the week at Volusia County.
Florida weather greeted the teams and fans on hand for the night with temperatures in the eighties and humidity not felt since last Fall in the Midwest. In fact, the show would barely be completed before the fog would roll in to the point that racing would not have been possible. we've seen the fog roll in here before and stop shows but the timing turned out to be just right on Monday.
A unique format exists for the early races of this series. The drivers qualify and then are split into six feature races with the races themselves divided by speed with the fastest group running feature race number six and the slowest in feature number one. All six feature races are twenty laps in distance and all pay exactly the same prize money. But for those serious about winning Gators at the end of the week, it is all about points earned during each nights show that are tallied up at the end of the week and set the lineups for the most important events.
Not known until I arrived at the track, I was in for a special treat on Monday. Since WoO officials didn't want the Modifieds qualifying on nights when they were point racing later in the week, both on Monday and Tuesday the drivers in the Modified class would run double time trials with one lap used to se the fields on Monday and the second on Wednesday. On Tuesday they would do the same once again to set the running order for Tuesday and Thursday night.
Thus, over four hundred laps of time trials would proceed the first race of the night. It was such a treat for someone that just loves time trials to begin with! It also meant that the first race of the night wouldn't start until after 8 pm so my thoughts of this being a very quick program were dashed before they ever began.
Thankfully though, there were no heat races to follow and once the qualifying was complete, the first of six feature races hit the track. The quickest qualifier for the night was Illinois' Will Krup who turned a lap of 17.558 seconds. Perhaps most amazingly, Krup was the one hundredth driver to qualify which meant that nearly two hundred laps of qualifying had already been done when he hit the track, yet he still got the quickest lap of all. Humid weather conditions could partly explain this unique situation, yet Iowa's own Mike VanGenderen, who is in charge of track prep at VSP for this series, could also take a bow.
Most feature races had around seventeen or eighteen cars in each with the first four drivers in each inverted in the starting field and the rest lined straight up behind them by time.
The very first feature race would provide one of the most surprising and perhaps, up lifting moments of the entire night when veteran Arkansas racer Gene Nicholas led all twenty laps to record what was not only his first ever win at VSP but his first ever Modified victory!
Nicholas, who I have seen race at many USMTS shows over the years along with racing in various other sanctioning bodies, started on the pole and shot into the early lead, with racing stopped after just a lap for a spinning driver. Nicholas held the early lead over Clayton Bryant and Dustin Sorensen with those two battling hard for second. As Nicholas set a blistering pace, Bryant and Sorensen traded second back and forth with Sorensen grabbing the spot on lap night but Bryant repassed him at the halfway point.
Meanwhile, Nicholas was long gone and even a yellow with just five laps to go didn't help the field as on the final sprint, Nicholas again pulled away. Daniel Sanchez made a big rush from row three to pass Sorensen late but he had nothing for the leader as Nicholas drove away from the field and earned his first win ever on a big stage indeed.
Feature number two was a rocky one with two multi car crashes before the first lap was completed eliminating nearly half the field with the wreckers busy clearing the track. Once racing finally broke out, it was Illinois driver Dave Wietholder that took the lead and showing the same pattern as the previous race, he pulled away to lead from start to finish.
Once the race got going, there was only a single yellow with five laps complete with the rest of the race going green to checkers. While Wietholder had a comfortable lead, the battle for second was a good one between James Manka and Ray Kable. Chris Beaulieu joined those two and actually moved into second by the halfway point, only to fall out later with mechanical issues.
And while Wietholder drove on uncontested, the race behind him remained good with Brian Ruhlman picking up the pace late and driving into second spot while Austin Self came all the way from twelfth to complete the top three.
Feature race number three would be one of the cleanest of the night with just a single yellow flag, that before a lap could be completed. Ryan Thomas grabbed the lead when racing restarted and he maintained control of the top spot for the first fifteen laps. Nick Neville started to cut into that advantage by the halfway point of the track and he continued to whittle into Thomas's lead.
Closely quickly, with just five laps to go Nick was able to make the winning pass and then pulled away to take the win with Cole Falloway also moving up quickly at the end to take third.
Another wire to wire win was recorded in feature race number four as Bobby Bagley took off from the pole and was never challenged in taking the win. This race was a tough one with four yellows in the first four laps with spins and wall bangers slowing the action.
The last fifteen laps did go nonstop and for Bagley, it proved to be easy pickings as he built a large lead that was never challenged. Evan Koehler and Jordan Stotts ran second and third for the entire race too, battling hard with each other as Bagley continued to drive away from both.
A familiar face to Modified fans all through the country, Mississippi's Chase Holland was dominant in feature race number five. He started on the pole and led all twenty laps to take the win. Evan Taylor pushed him early before Todd Neiheiser moved into second at the halfway point of the race.
Neiheiser pushed Holland quite hard the second half of the race but Holland made no mistakes and Neiheiser had to settle for a close second with Taylor third.
There were a batch of strong competitors in feature race number six but when Kyle Strickler starts in the front row, it's usually trouble for the competition. And such was again the case on Monday as Kyle would lead all twenty laps for the win. Jason Beaulieu took second early but the lone yellow flew on the third lap with Krup then moving into second.
The leaders set a torrid pace and as the track seemed to widen out, drivers were running more varied lines. Krup continued to hold second with David Stremme moving into third. Krup closed up on Strickler but Kyle was running a high line in turns three and four that seemed to work very well for him and despite Krup trying to nose under him, Strickler was able to maintain his lead and drive on for the win. The final race saw just a single yellow and all competitors except one were able to finish the event.
Another hundred car plus field is expected on Tuesday night when the program will include the same format in a stand alone event for the Modifieds.
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