Moore Survives SpeedFest North/South Modified Shootout

The North/South Modified Shootout at SpeedFest 2022 proved to be survival of the fittest.

The co-sanctioned event between the Modifieds of Mayhem and Midwest Modifieds Tour saw plenty of twists, turns, carnage and surprises. When the 50-lap event was over, Timmy Moore stood victorious.

"It was unbelievable. First time here, I'm at a loss for words," said Moore in victory lane. "There are so many people that made this possible. We took to the track really good. Thanks to all these fans for coming out on such a cold day."

Moore fell as far back as seventh place at one point in the event. However, the car developed in his favor over the course of the race, and several front-runners fell by the wayside.

"The car started out really tight. I thought I'd be a fifth, maybe third place car. It was just so tight. As the race went on, it came to me. Luck played in my favor with some of those guys front getting tangled up. We had a hot rod at the end."

The result was plenty cause for celebration for Moore and his team. They had debuted this car during the Modified portion of the 54th Annual Snowball Derby last December at Five Flags Speedway, and it was caught up in an incident.

Clearly, there weren't any gremlins lingering from that night.

"We completely rebuilt this car and took it to the Derby. We qualified 12th. They dropped the green and we were driving right to the front. Burba popped his engine right in front of us, and we went in the wall.

"Luckily, it wasn't that bad, right-front suspension and stuff. Travis went through the car with a fine-tooth comb and obviously he fixed it right."

Runner-up finisher Buddy Gray charged from the rear of the field to finish in the second position. He got a great view of many of the incidents during the race, but came through unscathed for the runner-up placement.

"It was getting wild there about halfway through the race," said Gray. "I don't know what was going on, but there were cars left, right and everywhere. Patience pays off, keep a clean nose and you can wind up towards the front."

At one point, third-place finisher Sam Bigham was a lap down, and he was running 10th with just 10 laps to go. However, some adjustments helped him find his way onto the podium.

"I'm glad I got the lucky dog," said Bigham. "We made a couple of adjustments on the car and it was a lot faster. I was going to try for a top-five at least, but I'm glad we got third."

North/South Modified Shootout

1. Timmy Moore
2. Buddy Gray
3. Sam Bigham
4. Cody Stickler
5. Thomas Mays
6. Chris Johnson
7. J.J. Schafer
8. Matt Dimit
9. Greg Fullarton
10. Brian Nester
11. Bubba Brooks
12. Tom Rutherford
13. Doug Meyer
14. Brad Bowman
15. Brad Springer
16. Jordan Pruitt
17. Travis Wilson
18. Walt Obrinske
19. Richie Smith
20. Kevin Peel
21. Jeff Ganus