McKinney Makes 1,000-Mile Trip Pay Off With MLA Nationals Victory

Feature, Mod Lite, News

Ryan McKinney (left) celebrates his $2,000 Mod Lites of Arkansas Nationals victory with crew member Cody Drummond on Sept. 26, at Riverside International Speedway. McKinney made the roughly 1,000-mile trip from Magnolia, Del., to capture the feature victory and the event’s custom guitar trophy. (Photo by Highside Photography)

By Bryce Vowan

WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (Sept. 26, 2026) — A roughly 1,000-mile trip from Magnolia, Del., paid off in a big way for Ryan McKinney Saturday night as he captured the $2,000 Mod Lites of Arkansas IMCA Nationals at Riverside International Speedway.

McKinney started third and found himself in the right place at the right time late in the feature, taking advantage of trouble for the leaders before driving the No. 25M to victory.

The trip to Arkansas was far from a certainty for McKinney, who suffered a spine injury in a racing accident two months earlier.

“I came to Riverside on a whim,” McKinney said. “We were iffy on going due to a spine injury from a wreck two months ago, but decided to give it a shot and I’m glad we did!”

McKinney said the Riverside surface provided plenty of options throughout the feature.

“The track was awesome and racey,” he said. “The line changed a lot throughout the race, and could run anywhere!”

McKinney admitted his car wasn’t quite good enough to challenge the front two during the long green-flag portions of the race, but the complexion of the feature changed when the leaders encountered trouble in lapped traffic.

“My race was going okay before the red flag, didn’t go far enough on setup so we didn’t have anything for first and second under green conditions,” McKinney said. “While I hated to see them get taken out by lap traffic, I was also glad to see it at the same time.”

Once the opportunity presented itself, McKinney capitalized and went on to collect the $2,000 payday and one of the event’s signature prizes — a custom guitar.

“Winning the guitar was badass!” McKinney said. “It was one of the main reasons we decided to go. I’ve never won a trophy like that and knew I needed to have it!”

The victory was McKinney’s fifth Stealth Racing IMCA Mod Lite win of the 2026 season and his first in Arkansas this year.

Kearney, Mo.’s Justin Raffurty charged from seventh to finish second, while Searcy’s Gage Raines advanced from ninth to third. Altoona, Iowa’s Ben George came from 10th to fourth, and Mabelvale motorist Blake Wilson completed the top five after starting fifth.

Ricky Bates of Clarksville, was the hard charger, advancing seven positions from 21st to 14th.

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