Maupin Earns First Mods of Mayhem Win, Price Surges to Championship

The Modifieds of Mayhem Tour crowned a first-time winner and a new champion on Saturday night during the Alabama State Championships at Montgomery Motor Speedway.

Jared Maupin scored the victory in the 50-lap feature to conclude the points-paying season for the Gulf Coast-based series, while Ryan Price used a second-place finish to move from third to first on the final night of the season and claim the title.

Maupin had been knocking on the proverbial door to victory lane, with two runner-up finishes and four top-fives in eight prior starts with the series. He kicked the door down on Saturday, leading all 50 laps for the victory.

"We've been close a few times this year," said Maupin in victory lane. "I want to say we got two seconds, and this is finally our first win.

"This thing got a clip a couple of weeks ago. We thrashed to get this thing here. It's an absolute rocket. I can't thank these guys enough, man."

Meanwhile, Price's runner-up finish earned him his first Modifieds of Mayhem Tour title. Entering Saturday at Montgomery, Kevin Peel led the title chase by a slim margin, just eight points ahead of Ander Jackson and 10 points clear of Price.

Price's second-place effort, combined with an eighth-place finish for Jackson and a 10th-place result for Peel, turned the tide and the title in Price's favor.

"I'm expecting Rick Hendrick to call me," Price joked. "I plan to turn him down, because this thing's too good. I want to run my car. This is good enough right here."

While Price did not win a Modifieds of Mayhem Tour event during the season, his consistent finishes, including three podium finishes in seven races.

"We came up one short," said Price about Saturday's race. "He was just a little bit better than us. Honestly, lapped traffic was helping me out there for a minute, held him up. I was like, okay, this is my chance. Then, lapped traffic held me up just as much. That's the way it goes.

"I wanted to win, but we got the championship, so I'm happy with this."

Matthew Laprade rounded out the podium in his Show Me the Money Series debut. The young Florida driver has tried his hand in a variety of racing classes this season, but quickly became a fan of the high-powered Modified.

"This thing's got so much more power, way more power than the trucks," said Laprade. "They're so much fun to drive. They're definitely my favorite thing that I've ever driven. The power-to-weight ratio is not where you want it to be, but they're a ton of fun to drive."

Hunter Evans finished fourth, with Parker Pugh rounding out the top five.

While the points season ended on Saturday, the Modifieds of Mayhem will make its annual trip to Five Flags Speedway during the week of the Snowball Derby. The Snowball Derby 75 for the Modifieds is scheduled for December 5.

-Photo credit: Montgomery Motor Speedway

Modifieds of Mayhem 50 Unofficial Results