Even with the Modified Racing Series in town, the 88.5FM Modifieds were back in action on Saturday at Wiscasset Speedway as part of the weekly Group #2 program. While Adam Chadbourne was looking for his third victory in a row in the division, his competitors were looking to knock him off the throne.
The Modified racing action kicked off with two 10 lap heat races. Wayne Whitten hopped into the early lead in the first heat as Mike Brown and Tyler Robbins followed in succession. Ryan Ripley was also on the move early, challenging Tyler Robbins for the runner-up spot on lap 3. The two drivers battled it out for a few laps until Ryan Ripley pulled ahead with the advantage on lap 6.
Division rookie, Brandon Williams, was also coming through the field in the closing laps of the race, overtaking Tyler Robbins for third on the final lap of the heat.
Wayne Whitten held off Ryan Ripley to the finish line, securing the heat victory as Brandon Williams rounded out the top 3.
Rookie, Ryan Hayes, powered to the early lead over Faith Cleaves in the second and final qualifying heat. Meanwhile, trouble was brewing for Doug Phillips, who tapped the backstretch wall on the initial lap of the heat. This resulted in Phillips’ dropping to the tail-end of the pack.
Jeff Burgess and Matty Sanborn ignited a heated battle for third on lap 4. They remained door to door until Burgess got bent out of shape on lap 9, making contact with the backstretch wall. This gave Matty Sanborn full reign of third place.
Ryan Hayes maintained his advantage throughout the remainder of the heat, picking up the victory. Faith Cleaves and Matty Sanborn rounded out the top 3.
14 drivers took to the track for the 30-lap feature race. Wayne Whitten took off with the early lead while Brandon Williams and Ryan Ripley battled it out for the runner-up spot behind him. The two drivers went toe to toe for a handful of laps before Ryan Ripley pulled ahead with the advantage on lap 8. Ripley then set his eyes on Wayne Whitten, peeking to his inside door on lap 10.
Ryan Hayes and Keith Lovejoy tangled on the backstretch on lap 12, resulting in a caution. It was then determined by race control that the front row had jumped the restart, resulting in an immediate caution. Per Wiscasset rules, the top 2 rows were swapped for the next restart due to the false start.
This put Brandon Williams on the front row, who began pulling away as a 3-way battle for the runner-up spot ensued behind him. Ryan Ripley held strong, pulling away with the position on lap 15.
Adam Chadbourne was on the move in the second half of the race, breaking the top 5 on lap 18 before overtaking Tyler Robbins for fourth on lap 20.
Unfortunately, heartbreak was on the horizon for race leader Brandon Williams, who suddenly came to a slow on lap 27 before retiring to the pits. It was later revealed that the left front ball joint had broken on the #87 machine, ultimately taking Williams out of contention for his first win in the division.
Ryan Ripley took off from there, sailing away with his fourth win of the season in the division. Jeff Burgess, Adam Chadbourne, Tyler Robbins and Matty Sanborn rounded out the top five.
Ryan Ripley celebrated with friends and family in Victory Lane after snapping his recent dry streak, but also praised his competitor Brandon Williams for his efforts leading up to his unfortunate mechanical failure.
Will Ryan Ripley return to Modified Victory Lane in two weeks, or will someone else take back the crown? The anticipation is ramping up and you’ll have to stay tuned to find out!
You can catch the Modifieds again on Saturday, July 23rd. Until then, please join us for more Group #1 racing action next Saturday, July 16th. Grandstands open at 4:00 pm and green flag flies at 5:00 pm. As always, grandstand admission is just $5 for adults and free for kids 6 and under.
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