Red Light Racing Skitter Creek Modified Series – Season 16 Preview

by Eric Stout 8/26/2026
Coming off his championship effort in Season 15, Dalton Williamson is looking to retain the torch against the strongest and deepest field the Skitter Creek Modified Series has seen. Three-time champion Eric Stout, along with Season 15 Rookie of the Year, Hayden Austin, Season 12 Champion Jeff Aho and “Always There” Fred LeClair will give Williamson all the pressure he could ask for in the championship chase.

As has become the standard, the Red Light Racing admin team has cooked up an exciting, creative and challenging schedule. The double-header nights will return, with a wrinkle, and the series will once again visit a road course. The series also welcomes some new drivers although the names are not so new to many drivers in the field and the broadcast team with VGN. There’s lots on tap, so let’s dive in…

The Schedule

For the second season in a row, the schedule will feature both the SK Modified and the Tour Modified. The majority of the races will stay in the SK as that is at the heart and history of the series.

The season will open out west at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway. While only a ½ mile oval, the high banks allow it to race much faster than its diminutive length. Eric Stout won the series’ last stop at Kern on his way to a championship in Season 14.

From there the series will visit Myrtle Beach and New Smyrna in weeks 2 and 3. USA International makes its return to the schedule, as well, hosting the Tour Modifieds in week 4.

Week 5 will see the first 50/50 night at “The Steel Palace” Oswego Speedway. Two weeks later the series will travel to Sonoma Raceway to take on the lone road course of the season. This race has drawn a lot of attention from the drivers with opinions being split on its inclusion. While a road course is not new to the series, a track this technical is.

Many people have October 22nd circled on their calendars as the series heads to its own “Tricky Triangle”, Concord Speedway. Week 9 will feature a true double-header. There will be two 60 lap feature races – one in the SK Modified and one in the Tour Modified. The series has never attempted this before and it will be a unique challenge for the drivers. Balancing practice and preparation, for each, will be key in having a successful night.

For the first time since 2022, the series returns to the famed Milwaukee Mile. Series admins have been trying to land this on the schedule for several seasons and, finally, they were successful. Although it will draw comparisons to “The Magic Mile” in New Hampshire, Milwaukee is much more technical and will require more patience to be successful.

The home stretch features some classics: Langley, Southern National and South Boston. The penultimate race heads south to Virginia for 100 laps in the Tour Modified at Martinsville Speedway. This will be an excellent test of speed, patience and tire management before heading back north to the series’ home track of Stafford Motor Speedway. With the depth of talent on the roster, it should not be too far of a stretch to assume that the 100 lapper at Stafford will be for all the marbles.

The Drivers

Williamson will surely be the championship favorite. His speed and consistency make him a favorite to win each and every week. En route to his fifth title, Williamson was a top-five machine boasting 18 of them in 20 races. It should also be noted that he got stronger as the season went on which is surely a sign of the proverbial rust being shaken off from his 3 season absence. On his season outlook, the champ didn’t have much to say. He’ll let his racing do the talking.

Stout is coming off a season of promise, success but, ultimately, disappointment. Despite leading the series in poles, laps led and wins, he fell short of defending his title due to Williamson’s consistency, self-inflicted mistakes on the track and one very untimely mechanical failure at Stafford. Stout is keenly aware of what could have been in Season 15. “I knew early in the season, despite a couple wins, I’d left points on the table. You can’t do that against this field and a guy like Dalton.” Stout is sure to bring the speed, but the question is, can he keep the wheels on it for 18 weeks to wrestle the crown away from Williamson.

Jeff Aho bounced back into form boasting 13 top 10 finishes, 5 of those being top 5’s, although he was unable to find the winner’s circle. Look for Aho to work on improving his 9.4 starting position by placing more emphasis on his qualifying effort. We know Jeff has the speed to win but he must find the consistency while hot lapping to compete for the championship.

Hayden Austin was a story all of Season 15. Austin was steady in his first campaign with the SCMS which netted him 2 poles and 2 wins. More impressive was his 6 top 5’s. With a full season under his belt, his experience should pay dividends in Season 16. Austin notes the strong competition each week. Coming into the season, Austin said he’s “focused on being more consistent and making smarter decisions” when put in difficult spots.

Fan favorite Fred Leclair avoided a sophomore slump. After an 8th place finish in the championship standings during his first season, “Always There” backed up his strong rookie season with a 5th place overall finish highlighted by a win at Oswego in his home state of New York. Look for LeClair to continue to improve and be fighting, consistently, for top-5’s.

Not to be forgotten are teammates Bill “Eggs” Benedict and Ethan “The Mountain” Troutman. Eggs has found victory lane in each of his first two campaigns and will look to continue that trend. He’s shown very good speed on the larger, NASCAR-style tracks. Troutman was bit by the bad luck bug last season. After contending for the title in his rookie season, Troutman found himself without a win in Season 15 which is very surprising considering the consistent speed and racecraft he shows week in and week out.

The Allen family stable of drivers will also be returning to the series. “Papa” Ken took down his first series victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in thrilling fashion where he outdueled Stout and Aho. “Kid Lemon Lime”, Luke Logan Allen also found the winner’s circle in thrilling fashion using the chrome horn on champion Dalton Williamson to take home the win at North Wilkesboro. Luke appears to be hitting his stride as a young racer showing speed but also maturity. Admin Eric Stout has noted several times that it is only a matter of time before Luke is the championship front runner. Look for both Allens to contend for wins, this season, and the youngster to announce himself as a championship contender.

There are also a handful of drivers looking to re-establish their place in the pecking order. Josh “Granny Hips” Buckley is looking to build on his consistency and racecraft. The league veteran is eager to find victory lane, something that’s escaped him since his Season 14 win at Langley, but also keep his nose in the hunt for the title. His paddock mate, AJ Hamel, looks to bounce back after a sour season. Hamel showed great pace but had poor luck. Mechanical issues took him off the grid for the remaining handful of races. Hamel is a safe bet to contend for multiple wins. The final SRR driver, Patrick Stout, was another solid contender, taking home a win at Thompson on 50/50 night, but some bad luck and missed races kept him out of the championship top-10. Under the tutelage of his veteran teammates, the younger Stout has shown great speed. With another season under his belt, he can easily be a top-10 driver night in and night out and, with some luck, be a championship contender.

Teammates Brian Bianchi and Rex Hoyle will also return to the series full-time. Bianchi, who has competed for titles in Red Light and taken home a title in YesterYear Racing, has the racecraft to compete. His strength is his ability to manage pace and equipment and be there at the end. He’ll need to improve on his qualifying prowess to fully capitalize on his skillset but he’s shown he’s capable. Bianchi won pole at Stafford last season but he’ll need to improve on his 12.7 average starting position if he wants to be a contender once again.

Series favorites like Rob Higgins, Devin Visnaw, Brian Neff and Glenn Jamieson will return to competition as well as seasoned Red Light Veteran, Geoffrey Souza. Each driver has shown flashes of speed. Visnaw and Neff are still searching to break through for their first series win but each have been close and have the skill to do it. Souza is best known for showing off his talents on Monday nights as a part of the Red Light Racing Scrambler Series. With a championship to his credit, it’s clear he has the speed and skill to compete with the best. Look for Souza to come into his own on Thursday nights in his first full-time season with the SCMS.

The Newcomers

Season 15 welcomes a handful of newcomers. Some are more well known to the field of drivers than others. Chris Stofer has joined the league after following the series on VGN. Chris boasts an impressive 4,000 irating. Marlowe Strautmann will also join the roster and has shown good speed and clean racecraft in the recruiting races leading up to the start of the season. Strautmann also hails from a small island off the coast of New Zealand. With the addition of Argentina’s Ricardo Cano last season, he will add to Red Light’s international flair. Ruben Altice makes the jump from the BRL to join Red Light full time this season. Altice is well known for his exploits in a late model on Saturday nights. Fans should be eager to see his skills put to the test in a modified.

Last, but certainly not least, is the man known in YYR as the “Ice Man.” We’re talking about, of course, James Lowe. Lowe is well known throughout short track circles for being one of the fastest, cleanest and toughest to crack racers out there. James boasts championships in the BRL and is well on his way to one, this season, in YYR. Lowe has all the skills you’d expect in a champion. He qualifies well, he manages his race well and he keeps his nose clean. Lowe will be a fantastic addition to the league and will surely disrupt the two-man show atop the points standings.

Bring on Season 16

Simply put, this is the strongest field the Skitter Creek Modified Series has ever put together. A stacked championship chase, a schedule that finally delivers a true double-header and a long-awaited return to Milwaukee, and a rookie class ready to shake up the standings—there is a lot to be excited about. Whether Williamson makes it five, Stout finally breaks through, or a newcomer crashes the party, one thing is certain: Season 16 is going to deliver. As always, you can catch all of the SCMS action on the Virtual Grip Network. The legendary voices of Bill “Soup” Zach and J.R. “The Institution” Shepherd will be back in the booth calling the action and calling it like they see it.