Towns dominates in IMCA Modified triumph at Cottage Grove

Modified, Northern SportMod, Results, Sport Compact

Fast from green to checkered, Curtis Towns topped Saturday’s feature for Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds at Cottage Grove Speedway. (Photo by Jason Davenport Photography)

By Ben Deatherage

COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (May 18, 2024) – Cottage Grove Speedway was abuzz with excitement on Saturday, May 18 for Armed Forces Night, a special event presented by Shriner’s. 

When the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds took to the track for their finale, Curtis Towns made the most of his front row starting position. Known for his quick starts, Towns shot off like a cannon and stayed in control despite an early caution.

An early caution slowed things down but couldn’t dampen the intense competition. Defending Oregon State champion Carter Patterson pushed hard to overtake Towns couldn’t quite find a way to the front and the leader continued to pull away. 

This intensified the second-place race as Jake Mayden battled hard with Patterson. Mayden eventually obtained the runner-up spot and then began to chase down Towns despite a big gap separating the two. 

Towns managed to put some lapped traffic between himself and Mayden to secure a dominating victory, his first of the season. Mayden was followed by Patterson in third.

Jimmy Owen led the opening circuit of the Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod main but  Jacob Shandy seized first on the following trip past the flag stand. 

A pair of cautions kept the field close before Jordan Henry and Trevor Point began to pressure Shandy. Eventually, Shandy began to take off from the rest of the field to build a comfortable lead.

A yellow flag on lap 11 put Points behind Shandy’s fuel cell on the restart. The reigning Oregon State champion tried to chase Shandy, only to battle with David Schmidt for second. Points spun on lap 13 while defending the runner-up position.

With Schmidt now riding in second, he was in a perfect position to challenge Shandy, which he did during the restart. Making a power move on the inside, Schmidt threaded the needle to take the lead on lap 14.

Schmidt took off from the rest of the pack and scored his second victory of the season at CGS. Shandy was second, followed by Hunter Bloom in third.

Jim Simmons cracked the whip early in the Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact main event. He took control on the opening start and maintained first place until Charles Trissell got around him on lap three.

A stoppage around halfway mark eliminated Trissell’s healthy advantage. On the restart, Burnie Bryant ran down, pressured and eventually overtook Trissell for first on lap 16. Once in control, Bryant ran away and cruised to an impressive victory. 

Roger Bell ended his night an impressive second with Michael Kennerly in third.

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