By Colton Wood

The American Modified Series is making its long-awaited trek to West Virginia this week for the fourth running of the Dirt Modified Mega 100 at Tyler County Speedway.

The three-day event, which was postponed due to weather earlier this month, kicks off on Thursday and concludes on Saturday under the lights with a 50-lap feature for a speedway-record $15,000 payday. 

Taylor Cook shocked the field last year by winning the Mega 100, arguably the biggest win of his career, against a field with high-profile modified racing names, such as Shawn Jett, Kyle Strickler, and David Stremme.

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Friday, June 29 - Saturday, June 30

“We had a pretty good season going prior to that race, so there was never a doubt in my mind that we could win it,” Cook said late last month after winning the Dickson Classic at Tyler County Speedway. “There’s no such thing as an easy win. No matter how much you don’t want to admit it, there’s a little bit of luck involved in racing and we just had things go our way. All weekend we had a fast car, so it all kind of fell together for us.”

This year, Cook and the rest of the Tyler County regulars will face the added challenge of taking on the invaders of the American Modified Series for the first time at the Mega 100. That includes series points leader Trent Young—who is coming off a win at Fayette County (IL) Speedway on May 27—Josh Harris, Tyler Nicely, Mike McKinney, Tait Davenport, and others.

To prepare for Saturday night’s race around Tyler County Speedway’s 1/4-mile dirt oval in the hills of scenic West Virginia, Cook ran the Dickson Classic on May 28 and went on to win his fourth straight race at "America's Baddest Bullring" despite having to overcome adversity.

“We decided we’d get some practice in, so we ran the Dickson Classic, and we actually ran without a spoiler and we were still able to win the race,” Cook said. “That was a huge confidence boost going into (the Mega 100).”

Cook is hoping everything learned late last month will transfer over to the Mega 100 and said the track had plenty of moisture on it Sunday night for the Dickson Classic, which is divergent from the norm for the Mega.

“Typically for the Mega, it gets dried out, but I think that will plan into our car’s strong suit,” he said. “I think everything we learned [last month] will definitely prepare us for the Mega.”

After a day of practice on Thursday, each team will qualify, heat race, and run one of the two features on Friday. Each driver will participate in a 10-lap heat race, and the top two drivers from each heat will redraw for feature spots.

There will be 24 cars who will start in each twin feature. Friday’s B-Main race will last eight laps, while the A-Main will last 25 laps, with the winner receiving a $1,500 payout.

On Saturday, fans will be treated to four qualifier races, and the top three drivers will advance to the A-Main. The drivers who were unable to qualify for the A-Main will have the opportunity to sneak into the race during the Last Chance Showdown, and the top three in the Showdown will get a spot in the A-Main. 

The top-placing driver in Saturday’s Mega 100 will receive a hefty $15,000 check, while second place pays out $7,000 and the third-place driver will get $4,000.

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