McGee secures the victory on national television as the series supports the World of Outlaws Late Models’ Rick Briggs Memorial.

By Daniel Nelligan

BUSTI, N.Y. — The Woah Nellie Modified Series made its highly anticipated second-ever appearance at Stateline Speedway, serving as the premier support division for the World of Outlaws Super Late Model Series’ Rick Briggs Memorial. Making their series debut on the national DirtVision streaming broadcast, the Modifieds put on a spectacular show for fans across the country. Ultimately, Mike McGee lived up to his “Money” moniker, fending off heavyweights Rich Michael Jr., Greg Johnson, and Joel Watson to capture his first career Woah Nellie Modified victory.

Qualifying and Preliminary Action A stout field of 32 cars signed into the pit area, itching for a starting spot in the Woah Nellie Modified Invasion feature. The night kicked off with time trials, where Rich Michael Jr. set quick time in Group A. However, it was Wyatt Scott—the final driver to take the track for qualifying—who clocked the fastest lap in Group B to secure the overall Witt’s Co Quick Time and the Fast Time Award presented by Five Eight Sport Shirts.

Preliminary heat race action set the stage for the main event:

• Dash: Mike McGee drove to victory, securing the feature’s pole position over Greg Johnson and the rest of the top qualifiers.
• Heat 2: Points leader Mason Lobb took the win over Tom Kosinski and Josh Wilcox.
• Heat 3: Continuing his recent momentum, Josh Canfield—running his RUSH Pro Mod under UMP Modified rules—captured the heat win over Zach Johnson and Dave Lanphere.
• Heat 4: Canadian invader Greg Belyea made his tow to Stateline count, picking up the victory over Joel Watson and Andrew Hammond.
• Heat 5: “Big” Mike Eschrich scored the win over the fast No. 40 of Jimmy Diabo and Tyler Rendell.

Donovan’s Towing B-Main With only the top six drivers transferring to the A-Main, the Donovan’s Towing B-Main provided intense action. CJ Ramsey picked up the win over Tim Peterson and Arianna Samuelson. Joining them in the feature were Ryan Sanders, Donnie May Jr., and “Super” Gary Sullivan, who earned his transfer spot by executing a hard charge through the middle lane to navigate past a host of competitors.

Woah Nellie Modified Feature The 25-lap main event proved to be a thrilling battle from the drop of the green flag. McGee quickly established a gap at the front of the field, while Greg Johnson dug in from his second-place starting spot to mount a challenge. The complexion of the race changed when Rich Michael Jr. powered past Johnson into second place. Michael’s No. 17X was on rails, erasing McGee’s massive seven-second lead by gaining nearly a full second per lap.

A caution flag with seven laps remaining completely erased McGee’s advantage, setting up a late-race shootout. However, on the ensuing restart, Michael spun and brought out another yellow. Deemed the caution car by race control, Michael was sent to the tail of the field and ultimately elected to call it a night.

With Michael out of the picture, Joel Watson assumed the role of the primary challenger. Watson executed a brilliant drive, passing 11 cars to reach McGee’s rear bumper, but ultimately had to settle for a hard-fought runner-up finish. Further back, Stockton, New York, rookie Tyler “Juice Box Hero” Rendell delivered the best finish of his young career. Rendell carved through the pack to gain 14 positions—passing half the field—to earn the Jones Hauling Hard Charger Award.

Championship Points Update The top three in the Woah Nellie Modified points standings remain unchanged, but the championship battle tightened significantly as Mason Lobb, Wyatt Scott, and Andrew Hammond all struggled in the feature event. With his victory, McGee vaults into the fourth position in the standings, while Rendell’s incredible hard charge moves him into the top five.

Upcoming Schedule Next up, the Woah Nellie Modified Series heads to Freedom Motorsports Park, where they will run in support of the All Star Circuit of Champions Sprints.

Afflixtion Race Cars by Slowride Woah Nellie Modified Invasion (25 Laps): 1. 11M-Michael McGee[1]; 2. 92-Joel Watson[13]; 3. 05-Greg Johnson[2]; 4. 157-Tyler Rendell[18]; 5. 25-Greg Belyea[9]; 6. 68-Andrew Hammond[17]; 7. X-Wyatt Scott[5]; 8. 71D-Dan Davies[6]; 9. 19-Tom Kosinski[11]; 10. 4JR-Cale Crocker[3]; 11. 14R-Chad Ramsey[19]; 12. 39-Dave Lanphere[16]; 13. 28-Mason Lobb[7]; 14. 33-Josh Canfield[8]; 15. 47S-Gary Sullivan[22]; 16. 07P-Tim Peterson[20]; 17. 9G-Arianna Samuelson[21]; 18. 5M-Donnie May[24]; 19. 1W-Josh Wilcox[15]; 20. 17X-Rich Michael Jr[4]; 21. 40-Jimmy Diabo[14]; 22. 9E-Michael Eschrich[10]; 23. 105-Zach Johnson[12]; 24. 59X-Ryan Sanders[23]

Donovan Towing B-Main (10 Laps): 1. 14R-Chad Ramsey[4]; 2. 07P-Tim Peterson[3]; 3. 9G-Arianna Samuelson[2]; 4. 47S-Gary Sullivan[11]; 5. 59X-Ryan Sanders[8]; 6. 5M-Donnie May[9]; 7. 7+7-Jeff Solinger[12]; 8. 17E-Nathan Earle[1]; 9. 69-Bryon Johnson[13]; 10. 14M-Sean Murphy[5]; 11. 52-Zac Etzel[7]; 12. 09-Dan Price[6]; 13. (DNS) 5B-Andrew Beatman

Okeys Automotive Heat 1 (Dash) (8 Laps): 1. 11M-Michael McGee[2]; 2. 05-Greg Johnson[1]; 3. 4JR-Cale Crocker[4]; 4. 17X-Rich Michael Jr[5]; 5. X-Wyatt Scott[6]; 6. 71D-Dan Davies[3]

Slider Designs Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 28-Mason Lobb[2]; 2. 19-Tom Kosinski[1]; 3. 1W-Josh Wilcox[4]; 4. 17E-Nathan Earle[6]; 5. (DNF) 14M-Sean Murphy[7]; 6. (DNF) 5M-Donnie May[5]; 7. (DNF) M16-Matthew Kosinski[3]

Pit Road Show Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 33-Josh Canfield[2]; 2. 105-Zach Johnson[1]; 3. 39-Dave Lanphere[5]; 4. 9G-Arianna Samuelson[4]; 5. 09-Dan Price[6]; 6. 5B-Andrew Beatman[3]

Panama Auto Center Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 25-Greg Belyea[1]; 2. 92-Joel Watson[5]; 3. 68-Andrew Hammond[2]; 4. 07P-Tim Peterson[4]; 5. 52-Zac Etzel[3]; 6. 47S-Gary Sullivan[6]; 7. 69-Bryon Johnson[7]

FHM Performance Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 9E-Michael Eschrich[2]; 2. 40-Jimmy Diabo[1]; 3. 157-Tyler Rendell[5]; 4. 14R-Chad Ramsey[3]; 5. 59X-Ryan Sanders[4]; 6. 7+7-Jeff Solinger[6]

Wits Convience and VP Qualifying Qualifying 1 (2 Laps): 1. 17X-Rich Michael Jr, 18.532[9]; 2. 71D-Dan Davies, 18.589[4]; 3. 05-Greg Johnson, 18.605[6]; 4. 19-Tom Kosinski, 18.777[11]; 5. 105-Zach Johnson, 18.944[7]; 6. 28-Mason Lobb, 19.027[1]; 7. 33-Josh Canfield, 19.117[10]; 8. M16-Matthew Kosinski, 19.352[8]; 9. 5B-Andrew Beatman, 19.660[15]; 10. 1W-Josh Wilcox, 19.691[14]; 11. 9G-Arianna Samuelson, 19.762[2]; 12. 5M-Donnie May, 19.779[5]; 13. 39-Dave Lanphere, 19.856[3]; 14. 17E-Nathan Earle, 19.956[16]; 15. 09-Dan Price, 22.236[13]; 16. 14M-Sean Murphy, 22.557[12]