Ogle Gets Crowned King of the Modifieds

King of the Modifieds

YesterYear Tour Modified points leader Tom Ogle had some adversity to overcome during Tuesday night's King of the Modifieds 300-lap event at virtual South Boston Speedway under the lights. His initial issue was his starting position. Ogle started the race mid-pack on the grid due to over-adjusting his brake bias prior to qualifying. Brian Bianchi, the 2024 defending series Champion, started on pole. The race got off to a clean start, but on lap 22 the first caution flew as Chris Davis got into the back of Jeff LeMire. Bianchi elected to short pit during the caution, while most drivers elected to stay out. This put Bianchi near the rear of the field and when more cautions came, Bianchi was caught up in some mayhem. Ultimately the 300-lap race saw six cautions fly. "It was a tough race for sure, but also one of our longest races of the season. We will need to clean it up heading into Langley or drivers will start getting penalties," YesterYear League owner Allen Wannamaker said after the race.

Once the race settled back in after a second caution, it was Brian Neff and Todd Liston who elected not to pit and held the line up front. Neff end up leading almost a third of the total laps of the race, clicking off 97 laps in front. But an eventual long green flag run caused Neff to pit during a green flag run and relinquish the lead. A few spins later, followed by a caution, put Neff a lap down but near the front on the restart. By this point, Ogle had worked his way up to the front and was battling Neff to keep him a lap down. Neff, however, with fresher tires forced the issue and spun Ogle going into turn 1. The ensuing chaos involved 7 cars in total, but Ogle was able to stay on the lead lap as the damage to his car was minimal.

Attrition crept in over the course of the night and with just over 80 laps remaining in the race, only 9 cars were running of the 20 that started the event. Kenny Allen, who started in second place on the final restart chased Ogle for a good 30 laps, but Allen's tires seemed to fall off with about 45 laps remaining and he lost touch of Ogle. Neff, who worked his way back on the lead lap, began to close on third place which was held down by Bruce Pearson. Pearson had managed to keep a clean car all night and was looking good for a podium.

The last few laps of the race saw drama as Kenny Allen ran out of gas. His Tour Modified stock car began choking on the back stretch and he coasted in the pits to get fuel. Tom Ogle put it in cruise control and ended up in Victory Lane. With Allen giving up the second spot, Bruce Pearson was able to ride home in second place, while Brian Neff came home third after an eventful night.

After the event Neff commented, "It was a sweat shop out there. I'm soaked. Not many leagues run races like this, but it is fun." Neff also apologized for the altercation with Ogle as the two drivers have a history of coming together at South Boston.

For his part, Ogle extended his points lead to 17 over Brian Johnson, and 19 over third place driver Kenny Allen. The King of the Modifieds race wrapped up the third time the YesterYear Racing League Tour Modified circus will visit the track this year. All three were tough fought events with drama, which is what one expects at a bull ring like SoBo.

The Series takes next week off but will return on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, for the Chesapeake 250 at Langley Speedway, another bull ring and another night race.

Bianchi Leads Start to Finish in Camden Classic

Brian Bianchi's NASCAR Tour Modified car

Brian Bianchi took pole position at the second annual Camden Classic and led from start to finish to capture his third win of the season in the YesterYear Racing™ Tour Modified Series. The only thing that kept Bianchi from the "Grand Slam" was the fact that he did not set fastest lap of the race. That was done by Brian Neff on lap 8. Points leader Tom Ogle was hot on the heels of Bianchi all night, but just couldn't make a pass on a hot Stafford Motor Speedway where it seemed like one racing line was the norm all night. "There was one point when I thought I might be able to get around him, but it would have been risky and I am not going to win a race by taking someone out," Ogle said after the race. For his part, Bianchi said "I did a good job of managing my tires the whole night and was able to have enough at the end to hold off Tom." When asked if this win could be a catalyst for good things to come for the rest of the season Bianchi said, "Yes, I hope so. I have won a few races this season, but the races I haven't won were all a struggle. I hope to be more consistent during the remainder of the season." Finishing third on the podium was Chris Davis who returned to the Series driving his Tommy Baldwin #7 livery. "I was good on longer runs, but we never got the chance for a very long run so that didn't work in my favor," Davis said in his post-race interview. There were three cautions on the night mostly from self-spins. Luke Logan Allen held off a slew of cars including Scott Negus, Brian Johnson, Todd Liston and Allen Wannamaker to take fourth place in the race. The Series continues next Tuesday, September 2, 2025, under the lights at South Boston Speedway for the "King of the Modifieds" race. It will be the third and final visit to the legendary Virginia bull ring for the YesterYear Racing™ Tour Modifieds and it should be a good one. The Virtual Grip Network will be broadcasting the race which begins at 8:30pm ET.

Ogle Wins IROC Round 3 in Hotlanta

Tom Ogle's IROC Cadillac CTS-V

Tuesday night's Round 3 IROC race started with all eyes on Bootleg Racing League driver and point leader J.R. Shepherd and OBRL driver Josh Robinson, who trailed Shepherd by 3 points in the standings. However, their was a spoiler in the field. Not only did OBRL driver Tom Ogle have a birthday Tuesday night, but he drove one hell of a race and captured his first win in the Series. "I got hit early on and was pinched in the wall. My car had damage, but it seemed like the hit help the Cadillac get around the turns better," Ogle said after the race. The 14 car field remained in a tight pack for the first 25 laps of the event. "It raced like a superspeedway even though we were in a Cadillac and running old Atlanta Motor Speedway 2008," Robinson said post race.

Shepherd and OBRL's Sean Foltz pitted together just after the halfway point of the 100-lap race. Ogle, Robinson, and VLS iRacing League driver Christian Loschen pitted about 10 laps later and the chase was on. Ogle and Robinson had a much quicker pit stop than Loschen, who was dropped from their draft after the pit stops. Could Ogle and Robinson run down Shepherd and Foltz? That was the big question. And the answer came with about 16 laps to go in the race. It was a definitive yes!

The final 16 laps of the race saw Shepherd, Foltz, Ogle, and Robinson battle it out. "I think all of us up front took turns doing a slide job or two on each other, but the racing was a ton of fun," said Robinson. While Robinson and Shepherd battled up front for the lead in the waning laps, Ogle was able to hold down third from Foltz and save a bit of tire. In the end it was enough. Ogle took the lead with about 2 laps to go and stayed high to get a run off the turns for the last two laps of the race. "I drove it in a little hot going into turn three and four on the final lap, but I was able to hold it down off the wall and get the run I needed," Ogle said in his post-race interview.

The Virtual Grip Network broadcasted the event and the replay can by found on their YouTube site. Legendary sim racing broadcaster Bill "Soup" Zahn, who called the event with Zach "Shaggy" Chapman, said this event was one of the more exciting races he has called this year.

The final round of the 2025 YesterYear Racing League IROC Series will take place on October 28, 2025 at Thompson Speedway, a short track located in Connecticut. Allen Wannamaker, the founder and owner of the YesterYear Racing League, said "Thompson is where we will crown a Champion for the Series. The Champion will receive a bottle of Garage Oil Spirits American Badass Whiskey and earn the right to come back in 2026 and defend their title. Finishing the Series at Thompson should be a nail biter. Short track racing is a unique discipline in its own right, and seeing how the Cadillac CTS-V gets around that track will be interesting indeed."