Regier wins race in Utah

WEST VALLEY CITY, UTAH -- The S&S Motorsports team, based in Carson City, made few changes to the No. 98 racecar between races held Thursday at Las Vegas and Saturday at Rocky Mountain Raceways near Salt Lake City. They were happy with the results of set up, handling and their driver's performance. It was close to perfection, so they didn't mess with it.

At RMR on Saturday, the Supermodified Racing Association performed in front of its biggest crowd with about 6,000 screaming race fans cheering on the fastest racecars ever to perform at the three-eights mile banked oval. And the drivers didn't disappoint their enthusiasm for exciting racing.

Troy Regier of Dinuba, Calif., driver of the No. 98, set the pace for the day's activities by setting fast time in qualifying with a 12.848, just 1/100th off his track record. The field of 15 cars tied the series' largest car count, and included DNA Racing's teammates Amy and Eric Silsby of Minden.

Regier lined up at the back -- eighth position -- of the first heat, which also included Amy Silsby in the third spot and Eric Silsby in the fifth. The 8-lap heat ran uneventful, with Sierra Jackson of Idaho taking the win with Regier finishing second and Jim Birges third. Amy Silsby finished seventh and Eric Silsby finished eighth running the last two laps on a flat tire due to a bad wheel.

AJ Russell of Clovis, Calif. won the second heat with Bryan Warf of Meridian, Idaho taking second and Kirk Wartman of Boise in third.

The field for the main event was inverted by 12 after drivers voted to invert according to "chance," with Regier pulling a number from a bag, the number being 12, rather than a full invert of the 15 cars. Regier started in the 12th position for the 50-lap main event.

After the start of the race, AJ Russell moved into the lead on lap 3. As cars were battling for position mid-pack, Justin Belfiore of Ipswitch, Mass. and Pat Whittet got together on the front stretch, with Whittet hitting the wall that caused major front-end damage to his car. Jackson spun to avoid hitting Whittet, with Jim Waters of Salt Lake City diving low to the infield. At the restart, AJ Russell was leading the field with Wartman in second and Eric Silsby in third; Regier was up to ninth.

Russell was setting a pretty quick pace among the supermodifieds, but faster cars were quickly approaching. Jim Birges of Fresno, Eric Silsby and Regier each were on their own mission to be the leader. After Birges passed Silsby for third and Wartman for the second spot, he pulled even with AJ Russell. Russell, who was on the high line, and Birges, on the low line, ran side by side for position for eight laps, neither driving giving an inch for advantage. Regier, in the meantime, was now in third directly behind Russell and Birges.

On lap 31, Regier drove the car hard down the backstretch out of turn 2, diving low under Birges to attempt and inside pass. Incredibly, Regier held his line and drove out of 4 with the second-place spot over Birges and put his eyes on Russell for the lead.

Regier used the low line again to gain advantage over AJ Russell, who was using the mid-high groove during the race. On lap 37, Regier drove underneath AJ in turn 3-4 and came out with the lead, which he would hold until the checkered flag with a 3-second lead over Russell in second, with Bryan Warf finishing third.

Rounding out the field were: Birges, Jeff Russell, Wartman, Larry Lapoint of Steamboat Springs, Colo., Kenny White, Belfiore, Jackson, Amy Silsby, Nick Haygood of Denver, Eric Silsby, Waters and Whittet.

"That was a little bit of work," Regier said of his win. "There were some fast cars in front of me. But I kept duking it out and driving hard. It was harder to pass Jim (Birges) than AJ, because Jim was running the same line I was. AJ left the low side open and I got him.

"I've got to thank my crew for giving me a perfect car tonight, it ran great. And the fans for coming out to see us."

Steve Shaw, co-owner of the No. 98, based in Carson City, said the only changes made to the racecar between Las Vegas and Rocky Mountain Raceways was top wing position and brake pads.

"The car was great at these two tracks," Shaw said. "We've always had a good starting point to work with on this car at Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. We're happy with the results and think we've got that great baseline to work with.

"Now if we can just do the same with Madera, we'll be even happier."

Amy Silsby made contact with Belfiore during the main event, causing her to hit the wall and pull of early. Silsby also had issues during the main after contact with Belfiore and pulled off early.

"It's really disappointing," Amy said. "The car was running good and I would have finished with a top-5."

The SMRA next races July 18 at Madera Speedway in Madera, Calif. For information, visit www.smrasupermods.com.