ROAR NATS: Rivkin's short course surprise, Cavalieri's two TQ's and Phend started title defense with top time in 2WD in first round

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By Aaron Waldron
LiveRC.com

With the air conditioning pumping inside SRS Raceway to keep the racers comfortable, racers have been chasing the moisture level of the track surface and trying to anticipate conditions in order to tune their cars. Some drivers figured it out better than others, leading to some surprising names inside - and outside - the top spots in all four Modified classes.

Modified Short Course Truck

After a strong start to the heat, Spencer Rivkin took advantage of early mistakes from Tanner Denney and then Jared Tebo to take the lead before the halfway mark. As Rivkin pulled away for the only 19-lap run in the class, Team Associated teammate Ryan Cavalieri charged back from dead last on lap one to challenge for the second spot. A late-race mistake relegated Cavalieri to third, four seconds behind Ryan Maifield.

1. Spencer Rivkin 19/6:22.226
2. Ryan Maifield 18/6:04.589
3. Ryan Cavalieri 18/6:08.486
4. Christopher Wheeler 18/6:09.500
5. Jared Tebo 18/6:10.453
6. Dustin Evans 18/6:13.913
7. Austin Horne 18/6:16.110
8. Tanner Denney 18/6:17.332
9. Tommy Hinz 18/6:18.029
10. Nathan Bernal 18/6:18.793
11. Paul Sinclair 18/6:19.173
12. Matt Chambers 18/6:19.613
13. Chad Due 18/6:20.109
14. Michael Twilling 18/6:21.028
15. Brad Shearer 18/6:22.110
16. Mike Truhe 17/6:06.493
17. Mike Beaver 17/6:08.985
18. David Jenson 17/6:11.199
19. Bryce Nyikes 16/6:00.291
20. Kody Numedahl 9/3:04.865

Modified Racing Truck

Last year’s Top Qualifier, Ryan Cavalieri, marched off to an easy 3.5-second win in round number one as he led every lap of the round. Defending champion Dakotah Phend had a much tougher road to finish second, crossing the line on lap one in last position - it took nearly half the race to claim the runner up spot. Like Phend, Jared Tebo had a rough beginning. Just past the halfway point, Tommy Hinz, Steven Hartson, and Spencer Rivkin all crashed within two laps of each other to allow the former champ into third.

1. Ryan Cavalieri 19/6:06.292
2. Dakotah Phend 19/6:09.794
3. Jared Tebo 19/6:14.414
4. Spencer Rivkin 19/6:17.330
5. Cody King 19/6:18.009
6. Carson Wernimont 19/6:19.285
7. Steven Hartson 19/6:22.817
8. Daimon Borkowicz 18/6:01.186
9. Tommy Hinz 18/6:01.456
10. Tanner Denney 18/6:01.536
11. Matt Chambers 18/6:01.941
12. Rob Gillespie 18/6:02.932
13. Ashe Deering 18/6:05.147
14. Brian Kinwald 18/6:05.237
15. Aydin Horne 18/6:07.066
16. Drew Moller 18/6:08.301
17. Nathan Bernal 18/6:10.543
18. Jake Mayo 18/6:16.399
19. Shawn Blackwell 18/6:19.913
20. Alex Kosciuszek 18/6:22.094

4WD Modified

A disastrous second lap for Ryan Cavalieri knocked him down to ninth in the standings, but by the four-minute mark he had moved up to the lead. Until Cavalieri moved out front, Dakotah Phend and Ty Tessmann swapped the top spot until mistakes by both allowed Ryan Maifield into second. Phend made up nearly a half-second on TLR teammate Maifield on the final lap to take the runner-up spot.

1. Ryan Cavalieri 20/6:07.964
2. Dakotah Phend 20/6:09.548
3. Ryan Maifield 20/6:09.845
4. Ty Tessmann 20/6:11.922
5. Drew Moller 20/6:15.957
6. Spencer Rivkin 20/6:17.872
7. Rob Gillespie 19/6:00.256
8. Steven Hartson 19/6:00.938
9. Tanner Stees 19/6:01.290
10. Rudy Rico 19/6:07.002
11. Cody King 19/6:07.515
12. Jared Tebo 19/6:07.972
13. Tanner Denney 19/6:12.676
14. Carson Wernimont 19/6:13.192
15. Brett Kingsbury 19/6:15.173
16. Michael Twilling 19/6:16.221
17. Chad Due 19/6:16.865
18. Alejandro Vegas 19/6:17.936
19. Alex Kosciuszek 19/6:18.042

2WD Modified

After a top-three start to the heat, Dakotah Phend moved into the lead on lap three and pulled off the fastest lap of the class on his way to a 1.5-second round win over Ryan Cavalieri. Cavalieri continued his clean run even after Phend moved past on the clock, maintaining the second spot by over 5.5 seconds. Third place went to Cactus Classic winner Ty Tessmann by just two-thousandths of a second, with Arizona local Ashe Deering’s B-heat-winning time good enough to hang on for fifth overall. 

1. Dakotah Phend 19/6:02.807 
2. Ryan Cavalieri 19/6:04.307 
3. Ty Tessmann 19/6:09.968 
4. Jared Tebo 19/6:09.970 
5. Ashe Deering 19/6:11.110 
6. Ryan Maifield 19/6:11.268 
7. Rob Gillespie 19/6:12.119 
8. Tommy Hinz 19/6:12.574 
9. Steven Hartson 19/6:13.031 
10. Spencer Rivkin 19/6:13.463 
11. Matt Chambers 19/6:13.738 
12. Carson Wernimont 19/6:14.537 
13. Kody Numedahl 19/6:19.318 
14. Tanner Stees 19/6:20.434 
15. Jake Mayo 18/6:00.467 
16. Aydin Horne 18/6:01.035 
17. Tanner Denney 18/6:01.966 
18. Brian Kinwald 18/6:03.487 
19. Kevin Motter 18/6:04.160 
20. Daimon Borkowicz 18/6:04.806