Ryan’s First Modified Trip to North Carolina: Learning, Speed, and Progress
Heading down to North Carolina for my first-ever race trip in the modified was an experience I won’t forget.
The trip itself was a blast. We had the truck packed full, brought the dogs along with us, and made a few fuel stops on the way down. By the time we rolled in on Tuesday, we were ready to unload and get to work.
Tuesday was open practice, and it was my very first time racing this car. The main goal was simply getting comfortable with everything — the feel of the car, how it handled, and learning what it wanted on the track. Overall, practice went pretty well, and I started getting more confident with each lap.
Race 1: Moving Forward
The first official race night of the week brought a stacked field with four races total scheduled.
I qualified last, which meant starting 23rd in the feature, but we were able to make solid progress and drive our way up to 17th by the finish. For the first race of the trip, moving forward like that felt good and gave us something to build on.
Race 2: Fighting Through Adversity
The second race didn’t start the way we wanted.
During qualifying, the ball joint broke, which immediately put us behind and forced us to start last in the B-Main. At one point, it looked like we might not even make it through.
But after getting the car fixed, we dug deep and drove from 13th up to 4th in the B-Main, which was one of the biggest recovery drives of the week.
Race 3: More Progress
By the third day, things started feeling better.
We still didn’t quite qualify for the A-Main, but we were able to finish the B-Main strong, continuing to learn more about the car and improve every night.
Each race gave us more seat time, more confidence, and a better understanding of what the modified needed.
Final Night: Chasing the Big Money
The last day was the big money show, so we knew the competition was going to be even tougher with some really fast drivers in the field.
We were close to making the A-Main and had one of our best shots of the week.
In the B-Main, I was battling for the transfer spot all race long, fighting hard every lap, but in the end we came up just short of making the transfer.
Even though we didn’t make the final transfer, it was still a huge learning trip and a great first week in the modified.
Looking Ahead
For my first-ever trip racing this car, I’m proud of the progress we made throughout the week.
We learned a lot, fought through mechanical issues, and kept improving every night. That’s exactly what these trips are about.
North Carolina gave us valuable seat time, experience against tough competition, and plenty to build on for the next race.
