MADERA, Calif. - Half the length of a super modified race car is all that stood between Troy Regier and his coveted 50th win on Saturday night.
Regier, driver of the No. 98 S&S Motorsports super modified, finished second again to Jim Birges at the Harvest Classic at Madera Speedway. Regier finished second to Birges at Meridian Speedway in Idaho in July. He gave every effort for 14 laps in the 40-lap feature to disrupt Birges' rhythm but it just didn't happen.
"Jim drove a great race," Regier said after the race. "Not to take anything away from Jim, but had this race been 50 laps like it was originally scheduled for, I would have had it. I was rock solid and he was slowing a bit."
Regier started the night by posting fast time, again, at 12.49 for the field of 15 cars. A.J. Foyt IV, driving Davey Hamilton's No. 1, tied Regier for fast time. Carson City's Eric Silsby came in at sixth fast with a 12.92.
Regier took second in his heat race to Jim Tartaglia with Michael Lewis finishing third. A.J. Russell won the second heat with Jeff Russell finishing second and Darren Rusconi third. Silsby finished fifth in his heat race and seventh in the main event.
Regier added a few points to his lead over A.J. Russell for the championship, as well as owner points for Tom Silsby and Steve Shaw, owners of the car, who are just ahead of Kenny Hamilton.
"This track requires a lot of acceleration out of the corners," Shaw said. "The car we gave Troy was pretty good, but it didn't rotate soon enough in the corner for him to pull out of the corner with speed.
"In other words, the chassis just wasn't quite right. But it was a very good race overall. Very good."
Three races remain on the Supermodified Racing League schedule. They are Oct. 1 at Orange Show Speedway in Southern California, Oct. 2 at the Bullring in Las Vegas, and Oct. 16 at Altamont Motorsports Park, Altamont, Calif.
Regier feels the Bullring track is his best opportunity to get his 50th career win in a super modified racecar.
Contact Rhonda Costa-Landers at rcoasta-landers@nevadaappeal.com or call 881-1223.