A field of 48 DIRTcar UMP Modifieds gathered in the East Bay Raceway Park pit area on a Tuesday night to mick off the 45th annual Winternationals. The number eclipsed the 2020 turnout and featured drivers from 13 states.
Pennsylvania racer Drake Troutman set the pace in qualifying with a lap of 17.130 seconds and drew a “1” for the inversion, meaning the six heat races would start straightup as the fast qualifier in each group would be on the pole. Fast qualifiers in the remaining groups were Lucas Lee (17.144 – Group 1), Mike Potosky (17.251 – Group 3), Kevin Adams (17.415 – Group 4), Brian Skaggs (17.492) and Dave Hess Jr. (17.194 – Group 6).
The top three finisher of each of the six heat races would qualify directly for the 30-lap A main. Heats were won by Lee, Tyler Nicely, Potosky, Jeff Mathews, Seth Daniels and Shane Burrows. A pair of 12-lap B main events filled the remaining spots with those races won by Chris Wilson and Tyler Clem.
The 24-car field came down for the green, but broke ranks before the flag was waved, causing the start to be called off. A better attempt on the second try kept the flag out and the race was on. Potosky grabbed the early lead, yielding to a hard charging Nicely on the second lap. The first caution arrived on lap 4 with a Dale Kelley. On the restart, Lee took over second, but the good fortune was short lived with Lee slowing for the race’s next caution on lap 7. Lee was able to make a pit stop and return before the green flag, but found himself mired outside the top 20 on the restart.
A long green flag gave Troutman an opportunity to keep the pressure on Nicely, making the pass for the lead on lap 16. A few laps later, the leader had to begin dealing with lapped traffic and passed through with ease. The traffic got thicker as the white flag came out and Troutman moved to the top in turn, which opened the low line for Nicely. As the duo raced off turn four, Troutman was able to hold back the challenge and claim the win.
A field of 18 Street Stocks were on hand for the first of five nights of racing for the class. Jimmy Wagner and Brian Barse opened the action with wins in the eight-lap heats. Wagner held the early lead in the feature, which ran the first nine laps without a caution. The yellows started coming in bunches. Rich Livernois snuck past Wagner for the lead on lap 12, but another caution negated the pass. Livernois went back to work at the next green and wasted little time in getting back out front. From there, Livernois kept a steady line and faced little challenge, racing to a Winternationals win, a lifelong goal.
Racing action continues for night number two as the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds and Street Stocks take the track. Race time is 7:00 p.m.
DIRTcar UMP Modifieds
A Main: Drake Troutman (7T), Tyler Nicely (25), Mike Potosky (M20), Shane Burrows (70B), Jason Hughes (12H), Dave Hess Jr. (44), Bryan Bernhardt (B69), Seth Daniels (S21), Spencer Hughes (11), Devin Dixon (313), Dale Kelley (22), Tyler Clem (14C), Nick Allen (21A), LJ Grimm (25G), Jimmy Lennex Jr. (8), Chris Wilson (86KOC), Lucas Lee (12L), Kevin Adams (40), Travis Varnadore (205), Brandon Kinzer (18), Matt Altiers (2A), Jeff Mathews (33), Brayden Berry (75B), Devin Wright (37).
Street Stocks
Feature: Richard Livernois (71), Steven Deinhard (73), Tim Gay (90), Jimmy Wagner (17W), Zack Amundsen (20), Paul Davis (10D), Race McMahon (45), Justin Rodgers (95), Jason Harrison (69), Jerry Bruce (35), Brian Barse (5), Nick Hebrank (7), Buck Woodhouse (55), Dustin Reeh (16), Tyler Davis (55T), Billy Barstow (756), Joshua Sigler (19). DQ – Matt Bozeman (58)
