The Modified National Tour opened Season 3 at Volusia Speedway Park with a 25-lap feature that immediately set the tone for the long championship ahead. With 21 races on the schedule, the opener was the first chance for drivers to establish momentum, and Tanner Riedel made the most of it by scoring the win in his seventh career ICL start.
Riedel’s victory was the second ICL win of his career, and it came in a race that had multiple drivers take turns controlling the front. Ty Fredrickson led early from the pole and paced eight laps, Darren Diggs took his turn at the front and led nine laps, and Riedel eventually put himself in position to lead the final stretch. With three different leaders and two lead changes, the Volusia opener was not decided by one early breakaway. Riedel had to work into the race, capitalize when the opportunity came, and then finish the job.
Diggs was one of the biggest stories of the night. In his seventh career start, he finished third for the best result of his career. He also led the most laps in the race with nine, showing that the podium was not just a product of survival — he had race-winning speed. Aidan Strawberry finished second and left Volusia only one point behind Riedel in the opening standings, while Mikey Wilson made his first career start and came away with a strong fourth-place finish.
The fastest lap of the race belonged to Jason Blackmer, who turned a 16.877. Even though Blackmer finished 13th, that lap showed he had speed in the car. Karter Knaack was the hard charger of the race, climbing from 16th to seventh and gaining nine positions. Doug Welch also made a solid move from 10th to sixth, picking up valuable early points in a long season where consistent top-10 finishes can matter just as much as race wins.
The toughest night from a position swing standpoint belonged to Ty Fredrickson. He started from the pole, earned the qualifying fast time bonus point, and led eight laps, but finished 14th. That one-point bonus still helped limit the damage, but it also shows how quickly the points can shift under this format. Each race pays 12 points to win, with each position behind paying one less point, plus one bonus point for qualifying fast time.
After one race, Riedel leads the Modified National Tour standings with 12 points, but Strawberry is right behind with 11. Diggs sits third with 10, Wilson starts his season fourth with 9, and Kenny Douglas rounds out the early top five with 8. With 20 races still remaining, nothing is close to decided, but the opener already created early storylines around Riedel’s win, Diggs’ breakout podium, Wilson’s debut, and the drivers who showed they can move forward in traffic.
What’s Next
The Modified National Tour continues with Race 2 at Knoxville Raceway.
Full Race Results
- Tanner Riedel
- Aidan Strawberry
- Darren Diggs
- Mikey Wilson
- Kenny Douglas
- Doug Welch
- Karter Knaack
- Kooper Goralski
- Daniel Saracoglu
- Colton Luedeke
- Ryan O’Lear2
- Joe Malone
- Jason Blackmer
- Ty Fredrickson
- Damen Leonard
- Donald Paugh
Top 10 in Standings
- Tanner Riedel — 12
- Aidan Strawberry — 11
- Darren Diggs — 10
- Mikey Wilson — 9
- Kenny Douglas — 8
- Doug Welch — 7
- Karter Knaack — 6
- Kooper Goralski — 5
- Daniel Saracoglu — 4
- Colton Luedeke — 3
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