Winters dominates, Sullivan wins modified championship

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The 2019 North State Modified Series champ Scott Winters after his win at the Lakeport Speedway on Saturday, August 22, 2020, in Lakeport, California. Photo by Russell Bishop.


LAKEPORT, Calif. – Scott Winters of Tracy, the 2019 North State Modified Series champion, braved the smoke-filled skies to venture to Lakeport Speedway Saturday night and set fast time over the nine-car modified field.

Winters then went on to lay claim to the 30 lap Snap-On Tools feature event, beating Mike Sullivan of Kelseyville to the checkered flag by 2.5 seconds.

But it was Sullivan who came out on top in the points standings, winning the NCRA Modified championship by 59 points over Richard Knight of Lakeport and Ian Elliott also from Lakeport.

In Taco Bell Bomber action it was Mike Collins of Lucerne again with a near clean sweep.

Collins broke his own track record of 14.020 set just last week, was the first bomber to break into the 13-second bracket, and now owns the bomber track record again with a blistering 13.734-second lap. He then went on to win both the heat race and the main event.

Jeremy Doss says “I’m #1” after his win in the Legends Cars at the Lakeport Speedway on Saturday, August 22, 2020, in Lakeport, California. Photo by Russell Bishop.

Jeremy Doss of Upper Lake jumped into the Dan Camacho Legends Car and won both the heat race and the feature Event. And Dane Nissen of Williams had a clean sweep in the Late Model class. It was the first appearance for the late models at Lakeport this season.

Front-row starters Richard Knight and Robert Schmidt ran side-by-side the first six laps of the modified feature with Schmidt finally pulling ahead on lap seven. Sullivan passed Dustin DeRosier for third, and when he pulled back in line, Winters stayed high, trapping Sullivan in the low groove. Winters continued his outside run and powered by Schmidt to take control of the race.

Both Sullivan and DeRosier passed Schmidt while Ian Elliot was gaining ground. Elliott drove around DeRosier for third on lap 16 as Winters was pulling away. The lone yellow fell on lap 24 when Kevin Coburn’s car slowed and stalled on the infield.

Winters continued to dominate, and at the checkered flag it was Winters, Sullivan, Elliott, DeRosier, Donovan Cox, Schmidt, Knight and Coburn. Sullivan won the heat race and DeRosier captured the trophy dash.

Dane Nissen and daughter pose after his win in the Late Model race at the Lakeport Speedway on Saturday, August 22, 2020, in Lakeport, California. Photo by Russell Bishop.

It only took Collins six laps to chase down bomber leader Jim Kollenborn, and when Kollenborn drifted high, Collins dove under him to take the lead. Trophy dash winner Eddie Klein, driving the Donovan Cox bomber, followed Collins to the front.

The race went non-stop with Collins beating Cox by over five car lengths. Kollenborn finished third followed by Klinton Waite, Trevor Abella, Amber Portlock and Thomas Esberg. Both Kasey Horat and Trevor Kollenborn suffered engine problems and were unable to start the race.

Donovan Cox continues to be the bomber points leader over Collins and Portlock.

When Dane Nissen’s car blew an engine in hot laps, the Legends Car field was reduced to nine cars. But the action was still intense with the addition of Doss to the group. Aidan Daniels set fast time of 13.805 seconds with Doss clocking in at 13.869. Points leader Kylie Daniels was next at 13.947.

Eleven-year-old Trey Daniels led the first lap in the 30 lap Legends Car feature but gave way to Tom Summers on lap two. Doss came from eighth starting to take over the lead in only three laps with both Aidan and Kylie Daniels tight on his bumper.

Ethen Imperatrice’s car lost power and limped to the pits on lap five, bringing out the first yellow flag. Doss pulled ahead on the restart, but Aidan Daniels spent the next 20 rounds looking for Doss to make a mistake. With only three laps to go, Trey Daniels spun to slow the action again.

Mike Collins claims his fourth win in the Taco Bell Bomber class at the Lakeport Speedway on Saturday, August 22, 2020, in Lakeport, California. Photo by Russell Bishop.

Doss drove the last three circuits with precision to claim the win. Aidan Daniels finished a close second followed by Kylie Daniels, David Lee, Tom Summers, Nick Reading, Trey Daniels, Marc Burch and Imperatrice.

Kylie Daniels won the trophy dash to maintain her points lead. Summers won the first heat race.

Four late models were on hand for their first showing in 2020, but both Mike Bourbon’s car and Noel McCormack’s car were unable to start the main event. So it was just Dane Nissen and Cody Winchel competing. Nissen won it all and Winchel finished second.

The late models, Legends Cars, Pro-4 Modifieds and Taco Bell Bombers will join the North State Modified Series at Lakeport Speedway on September 12 for the final race of the shortened 2020 season.

NCRA races at Lakeport Speedway are presented by Anderson Logging, Sullivan Const Masonry, Napa Lake Parts, Taco Bell, D&P Pools, Hillside Powersports, Clearlake Redi-Mix, Snap-On Tools, S&K Paving & Striping, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Lucerne Roofing, S & K Automotive, Under the Sun Garden Supply, Perkins Septic Tanks, Lake County Tribal Health, Don Anderson Attorney At Law, Coleman’s Custom Vinyl, Lake County Welders, Kelseyville Lions, Mike Sullivan Consulting, Lake Co. Waste Solutions, Gifford Backhoe Service and Majestic Landscaping.


The Legends cars line up to race at the Lakeport Speedway on Saturday, August 22, 2020, in Lakeport, California. Photo by Russell Bishop.