Zack Curren Scores Sentimental First RoC Sportsman Modified Victory at Chemung

Zack Curren scored a sentimental victory at Chemung Speedrome in the Tribute to Ed McGuire 51 for his first career Race of Champions Sportsman Modified Series win.

A first-time winner is always a special occasion, but Saturday's win was especially meaningful for Curren. The New York native was paying tribute to a former track champion at Chemung, Connor Sellars. Sellars passed away in June at the age of 26.

Piloting a blue and white No. 00 for Sellars, Curren took the lead from Evan Rygielski on lap 24 and crossed the line ahead of Kevin Youngs for the victory.

"I just can't believe it," said Curren in victory lane. "Like I said, it's my first ROC win. To do it in this car for Connor, Joe and Chelsea and his family. He was riding with us, there's no doubt about that.

"It was perfect. So happy for Joe and Chelsea. This is a little uplifting for them, I hope. I hope they come back every week with us, because it's a good luck charm, too."

Curren was patient while setting up what proved to be the race-winning pass on Rygielski near the halfway mark of the 51-lap feature. As hungry as he was for his first series win, he also wanted to do it the right way.

"It looked like he was starting to loosen up a little bit, and we hadn't quite started to loosen up yet," said Curren. "We were just kind of reeling him in a little bit. I didn't want to get rough or anything with them. It was so early, there was no reason to.

"We were just kind of following them and looking for a spot to get through without having to make contact, because I don't want to do that with any of these guys. The whole series is a bunch of really good drivers. To beat them today is just amazing."

Kevin Youngs finished second, 0.59 seconds behind Curren at the line. While he was able to charge up the running order in the closing laps, he did not have enough to challenge Curren for the victory.

"I mean, we were saving it at the end there," said Youngs. "When we went in attack mode, the car got a little tight, tires were chirping, so I couldn't get off the corner when I needed to. We just hung on there at the end. We were getting real hot. Water temp was up to like 230. I was a little worried on that, but a real good car. We started in the mid-pack. We passed some cars on the inside, outside, so we had a really fast car tonight."

With a fourth top-five finish in as many races, Kevin Timmerman finished third to pull within one point of Andrew Lewis, Jr. in the RoC Sportsman Modified championship battle. Timmerman's evening started on a positive note with a kind redraw.

"I've got to thank TJ [Potrzebowski]," joked Timmerman. "He actually pulled 12 out of the bucket before I got there, so that's good."

Timmerman was content with a podium finish at a track typically dominated by those who compete regularly at Chemung in weekly competition.

"We had a good car," said Timmerman. "I'm just happy we're able to carry enough speed to stay with the guys that run here weekly. It's hard to show up to this place and run up front. It's just a weird place, but we got to where we were pretty good.

"I didn't put tires on it tonight. I probably should have, because I think we would have been better. We just lost the forward drive with about 20 laps to go."

Rygielski finished fourth, with Lee Sharpsteen rounding out the top five.

The RoC Sportsman Modified Series will be back on track at Friday, August 1 at Spencer Speedway. The series will be part of Spencer's Fan Appreciation Night.

-Photo credit: MoJo Photos/Race of Champions

Tribute to Ed McGuire 51 Unofficial Results