Luke Logan Allen Dominates Sonoma 30-Lapper Wire-to-Wire
Round 7 of Season 16 for the RLR Skitter Creek Modified Series arrived at Sonoma Raceway for a demanding 30-lap feature on the NASCAR Short Circuit layout. Deploying 600-horsepower Tour Modifieds onto a counterclockwise road course presented severe technical hurdles, bypassing the carousel section to create a higher-speed layout featuring blind crests, unseen apexes, and treacherous curbs. Negotiating elevation shifts like right-hand Turn 2 up over the hill proved exceptionally hazardous, as the massive engine air cleaner severely obstructed right-side vision. Drivers faced a similar sightline dilemma at the final corner, Turn 11, where a high roll-bar cockpit vantage point completely obscured the inside wall, forcing racers to blindly gauge proximity to the barrier where hugging the unseen concrete yielded maximum grip but carried catastrophic risk. Compounding these visual constraints were unique transmission and setup dynamics. With teams transitioning from custom, low-fuel qualifying setups that artificially tightened corner entry to heavy-fuel race loads, competitors had to completely recalculate braking points and throttle application. Furthermore, the two-speed transmission constrained drivers primarily to second gear, which spanned nearly the entire straightaway without striking the rev limiter; dropping into first gear generated excessive RPMs that instantly spun the rear tires on corner exit. Without traditional downshifts to assist chassis rotation, drivers were forced to delicately modulate pedal pressure to prevent rear tire overheating and maintain traction across corner entry and exit.
When the 19-car field filed out onto the circuit for its single pace lap, pole-sitter Luke Logan Allen led the lineup alongside returning contender Hayden Austin on the front row. Points leader James Lowe lined up directly behind in third position on the inside of row two, flanked by Ethan Troutman in fourth, with Kenny Allen starting fifth and road-course veteran Chris Stofer in sixth. Navigating the pacing sequence and the final hairpin with discipline, the field maintained single-file order to avoid early contact in Sonoma’s unforgiving rhythm sections. As the green flag waved, Luke Logan Allen immediately asserted control from the low side into Turn 1, securing the point position clear of Austin and Lowe as the entire grid safely negotiated the opening laps.
Once out front, Luke Logan Allen surged into complete command, establishing an unassailable wire-to-wire lead that quickly expanded past 12 seconds over the field. Behind the leader, James Lowe demonstrated strong early pace, aggressively stalking Hayden Austin before completing a clean overtake to seize second position. Lowe’s momentum was short-lived, however; while climbing Turn 2 up the hill, he misjudged the obstructed apex and clipped the grass with his right-side tires, upsetting the chassis over the curb and going loose into an off-track excursion. The error not only cost Lowe position to Chris Stofer, but the trip through the grass picked up debris and spiked his rear tire temperatures, severely degrading rear traction on subsequent corner entries. Shortly thereafter, Kenny Allen suffered a deep off-track excursion through the runoff, managing to avoid the concrete barriers but dropping five to six positions and falling nearly 19 seconds off the race lead as he scrambled back onto the circuit.
As tire degradation mounted past the halfway mark, handling dynamics shifted dramatically, sparking intense battles through the field. A major focal point emerged around sixth position, where three-time champion Eric Stout struggled with severe rear-tire degradation and held up a tight, four-car train. Ethan Troutman, recovering from a sluggish start, methodically stalked Stout’s car, eventually getting a strong exit out of the final hairpin to win a drag race down the front stretch and complete the pass for sixth into Turn 1. Bradley Stefane seized upon Stout’s lost momentum to follow through into seventh, dropping Stout to eighth. Meanwhile, Kenny Allen mounted a methodical recovery from his earlier mistake, working his way through traffic to climb back into ninth position right behind Stout. Across the field, drivers were forced to back up their corner entries and soften throttle application to keep their overheated rear tires from sliding out.
In the closing stages, the battle for the remaining top-five positions reached a dramatic climax. Mark Poe mounted a fierce charge, executing a decisive late-race dive inside James Lowe into the Turn 11 hairpin to capture fourth place. Poe then set his sights on Chris Stofer for the final podium spot, diving underneath Stofer to temporarily steal third position. However, Poe drifted slightly wide exiting the technical S-curves, putting his left-side tires into the dirt; the brief loss of momentum gave Stofer the traction needed to execute a swift crossover pass and reclaim third for good. Out front, Luke Logan Allen effortlessly navigated the final lap to cap off a dominant wire-to-wire victory, crossing the line over 12 seconds clear of runner-up Hayden Austin. Chris Stofer held off Poe on the drag to the line to secure third place, while James Lowe stabilized his handling to bring his car home in fifth, leaving Mark Poe in fourth after a spectacular drive.
