Maryville, TN- April 5, 2014- The Summit Racing Equipment American Modified Series returned to action on Saturday evening at Smoky Mountain Speedway in Maryville, TN for the track’s 2nd Annual Spring Nationals presented by East Tennessee Auto Outlet and Kyle Strickler of Mooresville, NC would take the victory worth $3,000 and pick up his first-ever win with the series. The win by Strickler would come behind the wheel of his Cedar Peaks Entertainment/JRI Shocks/BSB Manufacturing/TomCat Performance/SRI/Stock Car Steel sponsored #8 BeakBuilt Chassis.
Strickler’s victory was worth $3,000 to the Mooresville, NC and also marked the first ever series win on the tour for a driver from the state of North Carolina. The event was the 40th event in the history of the tour and Strickler’s victory made him the 24th different winner in series history.
Strickler would take the lead at the drop of the green flag, with Nick Hoffman, Brian Shaw, and Trent Young giving chase. A pair of early cautions would slow the action, with one of those being for second place Hoffman after he stopped on the track on lap 3. Hoffman would pit and return to action, while fourth place running Young would pull pitside and be done for the evening. The restart would see Shaw snatch the lead away from Strickler, but only for one circuit, as Strickler resumed his position at the point on lap 5. By lap 10, Strickler continued to hold the top spot, with Shaw, Matt Cooper, and Bryan Barber in pursuit. Cooper would get by Shaw for second and would close in on Strickler and by lap 20 would pressure Strickler for the top spot. One final caution slowed the action on lap 24 and the restart would see Strickler maintain the race lead and take the victory in the event. Cooper would have to settle for runner-up honors, while Barber would complete the podium finishers. Hoffman would recover and drive back to a fourth place effort, while Shaw completed the top five.
The remainder of the top ten finishers at Smoky Mountain Speedway’s 2nd Annual Spring Nationals were hard-charger award winner Tyler Nicely, Keith Smith, Taylor Cook, Lucas Lee, and Victor Lee. The 35 lap, $3,000 to win event would be slowed by six cautions.
In preliminary action, Bryan Barber would be the Quick Car Racing Product top qualifier among 25 entries at 13.853 seconds. Summit Racing Equipment heat one went to Nick Hoffman, while Brian Shaw scored the win in Wiles Driveshafts heat two. Hypercoils heat three went to Kyle Strickler, with Trent Young winning Frankland Racing Equipment heat four. The Stealth Racewear B-Main would be taken by Tyler Nicely, while series provisional starting positions went to Ricky Tinch and Tony Spoon.
The next event for the Summit Racing Equipment American Modified Series is set to take place on Friday April 11 at Moler Raceway Park in Williamsburg, OH. The event will be 30 laps in distance, paying $1,500 to win and $200 to start.
The Summit Racing Equipment American Modified Series presents UMP DirtCar Modified sanctioned dirt track entertainment at racing venues throughout Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Tennessee. For more information concerning the Summit Racing Equipment American Modified Series, contact series race director Shane Mugavin at (270) 576-6474 or by email at shane@mugavin.com or by visiting the series social media outlets at www.americanmodifiedseries.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/pages/American-Modified-Series, and on Twitter @AmericanModSeri.
Summit Racing Equipment American Modified Series Race Summary-2014 Event #2: Smoky Mountain Speedway-Maryville, Tennessee-April 5, 2014
Quick Car Racing Products Overall Top Qualifier- Bryan Barber 17.683
Summit Racing Equipment Heat #1 (top 4 transfer)- Nick Hoffman, Bryan Barber, Clayton Miller, Lucas Lee, Tyler Nicely, Jimmy Dalton
Wiles Driveshafts Heat #2 (top 4 transfer)- Brian Shaw, Jimmy Payne, Matt Cooper, Brandon Green, Amos Bunch, Tony Spoon Hypercoils
Heat #3 (top 4 transfer)- Kyle Strickler, Jeff Hamby, Jr., Victor Lee, Roy Bruce, Jr., Ricky Tinch, Rick Weekly (DNS- Cameron Marlar)
Frankland Racing Equipment Heat #4 (top 4 transfer)- Trent Young, Taylor Cook, Keith Smith, Nick Stroupe, Billy Palmer, Tyler James
Stealth Racewear B-Main (top 4 transfer)- Tyler Nicely, Rick Weekly, Jimmy Dalton, Amos Bunch, Tyler James, Ricky Tinch, Tony Spoon, Billy Palmer (DNS- Cameron Marlar)
2nd Annual Spring Nationals presented by East Tennessee Auto Outlet A-Main- Kyle Strickler, Matt Cooper, Bryan Barber, Nick Hoffman, Brian Shaw, Tyler Nicely, Keith Smith, Taylor Cook, Lucas Lee, Victor Lee, Roy Bruce, Jr., Ricky Tinch, Jimmy Dalton, Nick Stroupe, Amos Bunch, Jeff Hamby, Jr., Clayton Miller, Rick Weekly, Tony Spoon, Brandon Green, Trent Young, Jimmy Payne
Race Statistics
*Entries- 25
*Race Leaders- 2 (Strickler 1-3, Shaw 4, Strickler 5-35)
*Cautions- 6 (Lap 1, 3, 4, 10, 18, 24)
*Red Flags- None
*Series Provisional Starters- Ricky Tinch, Tony Spoon
*Track Provisional Starters- None
*Time of Race- N/A
*Quick Car Racing Products Fast Time Award ($100 cash)- Bryan Barber
*All Star Performance Hard Charger Award ($100 certificate)- Tyler Nicely (started 17th-finished 6th: advanced 11 positions) *Crane Cams Ignition Systems Live Wire Award ($250 certificate for the highest finisher using a Crane Cams Ignition system)- Bryan Barber *Maxima Racing Oil Tough Fifth Place Finisher ($50 certificate)- Brian Shaw *Wilwood Lucky Seven Award ($50 certificate)- Keith Smith *Summit Racing Equipment Heat One Winner ($50 certificate)- Nick Hoffman *Wiles Driveshafts Heat Two Winner ($75 certificate)- Brian Shaw *Hypercoil Springs Heat Three Winner (certificate for one spring)- Kyle Strickler *Frankland Racing Equipment Heat Four Winner ($75 certificate)- Trent Young *Stealth Racewear B-Main Almost Award ($100 certificate to first non-transfer from B-Main #1)- Tyler James
2014 Summit Racing Equipment American Modified Series Current Top Ten Point Standings
1. Lucas Lee (Paris, TN)- 435
2. Matt Cooper (McKenzie, TN)- 385
3. Clayton Miller (Elkton, KY)- 375
4. Roy Bruce, Jr. (Bloomington, IN)- 365
5. Tyler Nicely (Owensboro, KY)- 335
6. Ricky Tinch (Deer Lodge, TN)- 330
Trent Young (Hopkinsville, KY)- 330
8. Jimmy Payne (Glasgow, KY)- 265
9. Kyle Strickler (Mooresville, NC)- 260
10. Rick Weekly (Buffalo, IL)- 240
Summit Racing Equipment American Modified Series 2014 Racing Schedule March 15 (Saturday)- Clarksville Speedway (Clarksville, TN)- 30 laps/$1,500 to win/$200 to start- 10th Annual Tuckasee Toilet Bowl Classic: Lucas Lee-Paris, TN April 5 (Saturday)- Smoky Mountain Speedway (Maryville, TN)- 35 laps/$3,000 to win/$225 to start- 2nd Annual Spring Nationals: Kyle Strickler-Mooresville, NC April 11 (Friday)- Moler Raceway Park (Williamsburg, OH)- 30 laps/$1,500 to win/$200 to start April 25 (Friday)- Bloomington Speedway (Bloomington, IN)- 30 laps/$2,000 to win/$200 to start- 1st Annual J.B. Robinson Memorial April 26 (Saturday)- Brownstown Speedway (Brownstown, IN)- 30 laps/$1,500 to win/$200 to start May 23 (Friday)- Farmer City Raceway (Farmer City, IL)- 30 laps/$1,500 to win/$200 to start May 24 (Saturday)- Fairbury American Legion Speedway (Fairbury, IL)- 30 laps/$2,064 to win/$200 to start- 1st Annual Gary Cook, Jr. Memorial May 25 (Sunday)- Vermillion County Speedway (Danville, IL)- 35 laps/$3,000 to win/$225 to start- 1st Annual Kim Henderson Memorial June 20 (Friday)- Moler Raceway Park (Williamsburg, OH)- 30 laps/$1,500 to win/$200 to start June 21 (Saturday)- Florence Speedway (Union, KY)- 30 laps/$1,500 to win/$200 to start July 12 (Saturday)- Western Kentucky Speedway (Nebo, KY)- 40 laps/$5,000 to win/$250 to start July 26 (Saturday)- Cedar Ridge Speedway (Morgantown, KY)- 30 laps/$1,500 to win/$200 to start- 2nd Annual Hope for Harlie Benefit Race August 29 (Friday)- Farmer City Raceway (Farmer City, IL)- 35 laps/$3,000 to win/$225 to start August 30 (Saturday)- Fairbury American Legion Speedway (Fairbury, IL)- 40 laps/$5,000 to win/$250 to start- 2nd Annual Casey’s Modified Nationals August 31 (Sunday)- Spoon River Speedway (Canton, IL)- 40 laps/$5,000 to win/$250 to start- Modified Fall Nationals September 13 (Saturday)- Western Kentucky Speedway (Nebo, KY)- 40 laps/$5,000 to win/$250 to start September 27 (Saturday)- Cedar Ridge Speedway (Morgantown, KY)- 30 laps/$1,500 to win/$200 to start October 25 (Saturday)- Florence Speedway (Union, KY)- 40 laps/$5,000 to win/$250 to start- 5th Annual Summit Racing Equipment American Modified Series Championship
Summit Racing Equipment American Modified Series 2014 Official Sponsors *Summit Racing Equipment (www.summitracing.com)- “Title Sponsor for the American Modified Series and Sponsor of Heat Race #1”
*All Star Performance (www.allstarperformance.com)- “Official Hard Charger of the Race” Award Sponsor at all Summit Racing Equipment American Modified Series events *Crane Cams Ignition Systems- (www.cranecams.com) “Official Ignition System” of the Summit Racing Equipment American Modified Series *KBC Graphics- (www.kbcgraphix.com) “Official Graphics Company” of the Summit Racing Equipment American Modified Series (www.kbcgraphix.com) *Maxima Racing Oil- (www.maximausa.com) “Official Oil” of the Summit Racing Equipment American Modified Series and Tough Fifth Place Finish Sponsor *Quick Car Racing Products- (www.quickcar.net) “$100 Fast Qualifier Award” at all Summit Racing Equipment American Modified Series events *Something Inked- (www.somethinginked.com) “Official Merchandise Vendor” of the Summit Racing Equipment American Modified Series *VP Racing Fuels (www.vpracingfuels.com)- “Official Race Fuel” of the Summit Racing Equipment American Modified Series
Summit Racing Equipment American Modified Series 2014 Marketing Partners *AFCO Racing Shocks (www.afcoracing.com) *Bad Fast Race Chassis (www.734dirt.com) *Bandit Race Cars (www.banditracecars.net) *Bilstein (www.bilsteinus.com) *Bob Pierce Race Cars (www.bobpierceracecars.com) *Bob Poynter GM (www.bobpoynter.com) *Boknecht Trucking *Dale Meers Race Engines *DASCO Racing Supply *Dyers Top Rods (www.dyersrods.com) *Fox Shocks (www.ridefox.com) *Frankland Racing Equipment (www.franklandracing.com)- “Sponsor of Heat Race #4”
*Hypercoils (www.hypercoils.com)- “Sponsor of Heat Race #3”
*Impressive Race Cars (www.impressiveracecars.com) *Integra Shocks (www.integrashocksprings.com) *Jay Dickens Race Engines (www.jaydickens.com) *Lightning Chassis (www.lightningchassis.com) *Maximum Energy Development *Mullins Race Engines (www.mullinsraceengines.com) *PRO Shocks (www.proshocks.com) *RACEceiver (www.raceceiver.com) *Stealth Racewear (www.stealthracesuits.com)- “Sponsor of B-Mains”
*Tennessee RV Sales and Services (www.tennesseerv.com)- “Bicycle Sponsor for children’s bicycle giveaway at each event”
*UMP Dirt Car (www.umpracing.com)
*Wick Oil Company (www.wickoil.com)
*Wiles Driveshafts (www.wilesdriveshafts.com)- “Sponsor of Heat Race #2”
*Williams Precision Engines (www.wpespeedshop.com)
(Media Relations: Michael Despain-mgdespain@windstream.net, @MichaelDespain-Twitter, Michael Despain- Facebook)