By NICK SCHWIEN

nschwien@dailynews.net

Sometimes, stuff happens.

Most of the time, it might not be ideal.

In Shannon Maughlin's case, it was quite the opposite.

The Dighton modified driver started the 2011 racing season with a new car and a fresh approach to the season. That helped him get off to a fast start with consistent finishes high up in feature races.

The end result? Maughlin ended the season as the IMCA modified champion in the state.

"It just kind of happened," Maughlin said. "After the first three races or so of racing, I was leading the state and region but didn't expect that. I decided to go for it then. It really just happened."

Maughlin kept his Allen Autosports modified clean most of the season and avoided motor issues that plagued many other drivers in the sport.

He estimated he competed in 50 races this season -- his fourth in the modified class -- and that extra seat time helped him win his first state title in the division.

"I'm getting more familiar with the car," said Maughlin, who is expected to compete at next week's fifth annual Fall Nationals at RPM Speedway in Hays. "You're not going to run better until you get more time in the car."

What was a true testament to Maughlin's consistency this year was his winning the title without winning a single feature this summer. He finished second seven times and tallied 36 top-10 finishes.

"I ran second about 10 times it seemed like," he said. " ... I was leading at the white flag some races, but never at the checkered flag."

Maughlin beat Nate Moore and John Fose for the state honors. All three drivers are regular competitors at RPM Speedway and WaKeeney Speedway.

"It's pretty cool," Maughlin said. "It means I'm pretty consistent at area tracks. Some cars are pretty good at one track and run there a lot, but we tried to hit a lot of tracks and ran well."

Maughlin credited his sponsors, family and everyone who helped him this season on his way to the championship, as well as the drivers he regularly competed against.

"I've raced for 15 years all over Kansas and Oklahoma," he said. "The group of mod racers on I-70 are probably the best group of racers I've raced with in my career. They're always there to help you out, and they don't tear anything up. They're the best around."

As the season neared the end, Maughlin started to look at the points a bit closer.

"There was a little pressure then,"  he said. "We ran the same engine all year long, and that's a long time for an engine to last."

But last it did, as did Maughlin's lead in the state standings.

"It couldn't have went any better," he said. "It just happened. To try to plan for something like that, we would have needed about three engines and a back-up car --  and I'm still not sure we would have been able to do it."