(2/3/2019)
For 3rd generation Marysville racer Ryan McDaniel, success is rarely hard to find. The 21 year Modified driver has established himself as one of the state’s top competitors, so another season in which he won more than a quarter of his starts should come as no surprise.
The 3 time and defending IMCA All Star Modified Tour Champ came within 6 points of a 4th tour title in 2018. Unfortunately for McDaniel, despite ending the tour with 3 Top 5’s in 4 races, a rough race at Tulare early in the season would wind up being the difference in the title hunt.
McDaniel was again the man to beat at Placerville in his limited appearances this past season. In his 5 Late Model starts for car owner Matt Farnham, McDaniel picked up 3 wins, including the Tribute to Al Hinds, one 2nd place finish and a single DNF. Had McDaniel ran the full season, he was on pace to run away with the track title.
One thing that can’t be understated about this past season was McDaniel’s success in the state of Nevada. With the exception of the Duel, McDaniel took home 3 wins and 2 2nd place finishes in his 5 starts, including a weekend sweep at Lovelock Speedway’s Frontier Days in late July. Though not in Nevada, McDaniel also ran extremely well up North at Siskiyou Motor Speedway, claiming one win and 3 Top 5’s in his 3 starts.
On top of those, McDaniel claimed Top 5’s in some of the state’s biggest races, including the Pat and Jim Pettit Shootout, Petaluma’s Top Dog Nationals, and California’s lone Wild West Modified Shootout date at Yreka’s Siskiyou Motor Speedway.
McDaniel also had somewhat successful runs at two of the biggest IMCA Modified races in the nation, the Duel in the Desert in Las Vegas, and the IMCA SuperNationals in Boone Iowa. At the SuperNationals in early September, McDaniel finished 2nd in both of the first two nights of heat races, but couldn’t put together strong enough finishes in either main to clinch a spot in Saturday’s show, forcing him to run in Saturday’s last chance show. McDaniel was able to win his Last Chance heat, but while running in the final transfer spot in the LCQ, McDaniel was wrecked to end his weekend. At the Duel, McDaniel had similar luck, having to run an LCQ on the final night to have a chance at the big show. McDaniel managed to drive from 6th to 2nd in that LCQ, but ultimately fell one spot short of the final transfer spot, ending his weekend and season.
When asked about his thoughts on 2018, McDaniel said: “2018 was a pretty successful season. Every race we went to we had good runs at. We made the best of the bad draws and took advantage of the good starting spots. I can’t thank all my crew enough for the hard work that they put into my racing. It’s definitely not possible without our amazing sponsors that we have. Without them, we literally cant race like we do. It’s truly a blessing to work with such great people. I do my best to represent them on and off the racetrack. 2019 is shaping up to be another spectacular season.”
Season Stats:
Starts: 26 (21 in Mod, 5 in Late Model)
Wins: 7 (4 in Mod, 3 in Late Model)
Top 5’s: 16
Top 10’s: 16
Best Finish: 1st ( times)
Worst Finish: 16th
Placerville (Late Model):
April 21st: 1st
May 19th: 2nd
July 4th: 13th
July 14th: 1st
August 18th: 1st
Lovelock:
July 27th: 1st
July 28th: 1st
Fernley:
April 8th: 2nd
May 12th: 2nd
July 21st: 1st
Yreka:
April 14th: 1st
May 27th: 2nd
June 22nd (Wild West Modified Shootout): 4th
Cocopah:
Missed Main each of 3 nights at Arizona Mod Tour by 1 or 2 spots
Ocean:
September 29th (Pat & Jim Pettit Shootout): 5th
Petaluma:
June 2nd: 2nd
Las Vegas (Duel in the Desert): Made qualifying feature on Thursday night. Started 28th and finished 16th. Started 6th in Saturday’s LCQ, drove up to 2nd and missed the transfer by 1
Boone: Ran 2nd in both Thursday and Friday’s heat races, finishing near Top 15 in both. Won Last Chance heat on Saturday, was running in final transfer spot in LCQ before getting wrecked with 4 to go.
Tulare:
May 5th: 12th
Calistoga:
September 14th: 3rd
September 15th: 2nd
Ryan would like to thank all of his sponsors and supporters, including:
Domco Plumbing
Jay’s Mobile Welding
McDaniel Motorsports
Farnham Farms
ICON Racing Pistons
Golden Empire Towing
Joe Carr Racing
Dirt Stars Racing Products
KMJ Performance
Victory Race Cars
NAAKE Suspension Specialists
JVAN Sports
Matteoli Brothers
Brennan and Jewett Associates
Walt Foster Pollination
Sweco
Matt Farnham Motorsports
N and S Tractor
Rocket Chassis
Speed Shift TV
Interested in having writeups like these done for your race team throughout the season? Contact Daren Ricks of DRC Motorsports Media here on Facebook, at darenricks999@gmail.com or at (916) 229-7474 to discuss a plan that fits your team’s needs.
Daren Ricks
DRC Motorsports Media
DRC Motorsports Media 