By Stephanie Deatherage
HANFORD, Calif. (Aug. 14) – Round five of the California Modified Speedweek presented by Hoppes took the tour to Keller Auto Speedway at Kings Fairgrounds, where Kyle Heckman prevailed over a field of 64 IMCA Modified entries and Brent Curran collected his first Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod victory.
The Modified feature ran non-stop and Heckman took control of race lead from the get-go, pulling away from the rest of the pack and never looking back.
Heckman handled lapped traffic perfectly, earning $1,000 and a spot on the 2021 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot while becoming the fifth different winner in as many Speedweek events.
A spirited battle for second went to Bobby Hogge IV while Troy Foulger was third over “B” qualifiers Paul Stone and Alex Stanford.
Garrett Jernagan brought a streak of four straight Northern SportMod wins into the night but was a quick casualty after getting caught up on a multi-car crash on the original start.
Curran took over the lead on the ensuing restart and, after the final caution on lap 16, was pressured by Nick Spainhoward.
Spainhoward mounted one last charge on the final circuit but ran out of laps. Curran took the $750 win ahead of Spainhoward and Doug Hagio.
Brent Curran was the Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod winner in the Friday California IMCA Speedweek show at Keller Auto Speedway at Kings Fairground. (Photo by Tom Macht, www.photofinishphotos.com)
Feature Results
Modifieds – 1. Kyle Heckman; 2. Bobby Hogge IV; 3. Troy Foulger; 4. Paul Stone; 5. Alex Stanford; 6. Brian Cass; 7. Jake Pake; 8. Collen Winebarger; 9. Cody Burke; 10. Jerry Flippo; 11. Robby Sawyer; 12. Brad Pounds; 13. Bryan Clark; 14. Danny Wagner; 15. Clint Rechenbach; 16. Steve Noland; 17. Troy Morris III; 18. Andy Obertello; 19. Buddy Kniss; 20. Kellen Chadwick.
Northern SportMods – 1. Brent Curran; 2. Nick Spainhoward; 3. Doug Hagio; 4. Todd Gomez; 5. Ethan Killingsworth; 6. Matt Mayo; 7. Jason Bannister; 8. Tanner Thomas; 9. Jarrod Mounce; 10. Brock Crawford; 11. Tyler Thomas; 12. Haley Gomez; 13. Ryan DeForest; 14. Justin Gonzalez; 15. Nathan Rolfe; 16. Aaron Farrell; 17. Dave Pearson; 18. Trevor Tiffee; 19. Dylan Potter; 20. Garrett Jernagan.