2023
Saturday, March 4 - Florence Motor Speedway - WIN
Big Money does it again!
Matt Hirschman Racing takes home the first SMARTY Trophy of the season in the Low Country 99 at Florence Motor Speedway!
2022 Series Champion Caleb Heady finished second while Burt Myers rounded out the podium. Brandon Ward and Jonathan Brown completed the top 5!
Friday, February 17 - New Smyrna Speedway - Rained out -
Set Fast Time - Named Winner and Champions
Friday’s portion of the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway has been canceled due to inclement weather.
Following the conclusion of the Hart to Heart Pro Late Model 100, rain brought an end to the evening’s racing. All of the remaining features on Friday’s card have been canceled and will not be made up Saturday. For the Tour-type Modifieds, their World Series was scheduled to end on Friday with the Richie Evans Memorial. All drivers will be paid in full and receive full points for Friday’s race, based on their results in Friday’s qualifying session. As such, Matt Hirschman is the 2023 World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Tour-type Modified champion after an undefeated season in the class.
Matt Hirschman's World Series Undefeated World Series Leads to Fourth Title Matt Hirschman trails only Ted Christopher and Richie Evans for World Series Modified championships.
Matt Hirschman’s World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing winning streak will continue until 2024.
Officially, Matt Hirschman received first-place points and prize money for the Richie Evans Memorial on Friday night at New Smyrna Speedway, by virtue of setting fast time in qualifying for the race before rain canceled it. “Well, I guess we have a shot to continue the streak, actually,” said Hirschman.No matter how it happened, Matt Hirschman won every race during the World Series, a feat that had never been accomplished before in the Tour-type Modifieds.Hirschman surpassed Tom Baldwin on the all-time win list for Modified drivers in the event and tied Baldwin with his fourth World Series title. Only Ted Christopher (nine) and Richie Evans (six) have more championships.“Any time you can put your name with guys like that, you’re doing something right,” said Hirschman. “Reggie, Richie, after that, when I started coming here, it was T.C., he was the man coming here. Now, we’re in that position and we’ve earned that, I believe. It’s come with a lot of hard work.“The majority of that success in the World Series has come since 2017 when Hirschman joined forces with Pee Dee Motorsports. Hirschman has won at least one World Series race every year during that span, and hasn't lost since a second-place finish to Ron Silk during the second Modified race of the 2022 World Series.Hirschman is making it look easy right now, but it hasn't always been this way.“There were some lean years, some winless years. Doing this consistently seven straight years with this Pee Dee team is the reason for this success. This is one of the hardest things in racing I’ve done, competing night after night, the grind that it is. Doing it seven years consecutively, you learn. We’ve applied that very well.” Looking to complete a sweep of the Tour-type Modified division at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway, Matt Hirschman set fast time in qualifying for the Richie Evans Memorial.Hirschman clocked in at 17.545 seconds around the half-mile, placing ahead of Tyler Rypkema and Ronnie Williams. Hirschman has won the first four races of the World Series for the Tour-type Modifieds, and hopes to become the first driver in World Series history to sweep the Tour-type Modified division.
TOUR-TYPE MODIFIEDS
Matt Hirschman – 17.545
Tyler Rypkema – 17.676
Ronnie Williams – 17.681
Tommy Catalano – 17.742
Patrick Emerling – 17.742
Anthony Nocella – 17.748
Caleb Heady – 17.758
Eric Goodale – 17.762
Dillon Steuer – 17.777
Teddy Hodgdon – 17.780
Anthony Bello – 17.782
Craig Lutz – 17.793
Michael Rutkoski – 17.797
Cam McDermott – 17.822
J.R. Bertuccio – 17.831
Justin Brown – 17.861
Amy Catalano – 17.875
Spencer Davis – 17.877
Brett Meservey – 17.883
Tyler Catalano – 17.907
Brian Robie – 17.921
Dave Sapienza – 17.946
Eddie McCarthy – 17.972
Jimmy Blewett – 18.034
Andrew Krause – 18.038
Chris Hatton – 18.422
Norman Newman – 18.893
Rich Parker – 19.314
Joey Coulter – 20.940
Thursday, February 16 - New Smyrna Speedway - Win
Hirschman, Emerling Clash on World Series Thursday Night
Matt Hirschman continued his undefeated run at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing.
Matt Hirschman added another win to his collection at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Thursday night at New Smyrna Speedwya, but it did not come without a tense moment. For the fourth night in a row, Hirschman held off Patrick Emerling for the win. However, the two drivers made contact on a late restart, extending tensions that have simmered over the course of the week and surfaced on Wednesday. During Wednesday’s race, the two drivers made contact on a restart, which appeared to knock Hirschman out of the lead. However, an unrelated spin brought the caution back out, giving Hirschman a chance to retain the lead and the win. A similar circumstance played out Thursday night, with the first restart waved off by race officials and the duo once again making contact on the second attempt, putting Emerling in the wall on the frontstrech. “I obviously couldn’t trust him after last night to take the top like you normally would,” said Hirschman on the FloRacing broadcast. “I took the bottom and he was into my side the whole way down the straightaway, so I couldn’t even turn my car to the left until I got to the corner.“I don’t want to race that way, but we as a team don’t even know what he’s talking about last night, that he owed me that and more. He wasn’t even turning his wheel left in the middle of the corner. I ended up in Pat’s Clam Stand last night, so it wasn’t happening tonight.”As for Emerling, he believed he was squeezed into the wall by Hirschman on the decisive restart.
“We were just racing hard. He turned right on me at the end of the straightaway. We’re both doing what we can to win races here. We’ve been having an awesome race car, and every night we make adjustments and make the car a little bit better.” One night ago, Emerling mentioned he still owed Hirschman for past transgressions. The New York driver elaborated on Thursday after Hirschman’s post-race comments. “I would say Spencer Speedway. He knows that. I don’t know if his memory is that short. I don’t know if he has memory problems. There’s a few little things there. You have a car two-tenths faster than me and drive into you on the straightaway. “His restart tactics probably wrecking three or four cars on one of those last restarts. Stuff like that, the competitors get annoyed. His car is fast enough this week that he doesn’t have to do that. Stuff like that irritates people.” Hirschman’s fourth win in as many World Series races makes him the first to win four straight races to start a World Series since Richie Evans in 1981. Dating back to last year’s World Series, Hirschman has now won seven consecutive Tour-type Modified World Series races, breaking a record held by Evans and Reggie Ruggiero (1989-90). Despite Hirschman’s historic start to the World Series, the championship is still very much up for grabs during the Richie Evans Memorial 100 on Friday. With four second-place finishes, Emerling sits just eight points behind Hirschman with a chance to claim the championship.
TOUR-TYPE MODIFIEDS UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
FEBRUARY 16, 2023
Matt Hirschman
Patrick Emerling
Teddy Hodgdon
Jimmy Blewett
Eric Goodale
Anthony Nocella
Joey Coulter
Tyler Rypkema
Spencer Davis
Dillon Steuer
Justin Brown
Eddie McCarthy
Andrew Krause
Brett Meservey
J.R. Bertuccio
Brian Robie
Amy Catalano
Tom Martino, Jr.
Michael Rutkoski
Norman Newman
Craig Lutz
Chris Hatton
Ronnie Williams
Anthony Bello
Burt Myers
Caleb Heady
Tommy Catalano
Nicholas Halkowicz
Rich Parker
Feisty Fight: Matt Hirschman Wins Again At New Smyrna on Feb 16, But Drama Simmers With Patrick Emerling
February 17, 2023 by Shawn Courchesne 2 Comments
Groundhog Day continued at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway Thursday in the Tour Type Modified division. Like Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the top-two was the same again, Matt Hirschman winning and Patrick Emerling finishing second. But it was a night where some slight drama from Wednesday between Hirschman and Emerling turned into a feisty fight on track for the final restart and some spicy words after it was all done. Hirschman’s perfect run in the Tour Type Modified division this week continued with the Northampton, Pa. driver leading every lap on the way to victory in the 50-lap feature for the division. Hirschman also won the 50-lap features for the division on Monday and Tuesday and the John Blewett III Memorial 76 on Wednesday. Hirschman became the first driver since Richie Evans in 1981 to win four consecutive Tour Type Modified events at one World Series. It was Hirschman’s seventh consecutive World Series victory dating back to 2022 when he won the final three events of the week. It was the 17th Tour Type Modified New Smryna World Series victory overall for Hirschman. Emerling, of Orchard Park, N.Y. was second and Teddy Hodgdon IV of Danbury was third. Hirschman started from the pole and had no challengers for the first 39 laps, but when caution flew on lap 40 for the spinning car of JR Bertuccio it set up Hirschman and Emerling on the front row for a restart.
In Wednesday’s feature, Hirschman chose the outside for a lap 56 restart against Emerling. On the restart there was contact between the two and Emerling pushed Hirschman up in the corner. Hirschman dropped to fourth while Emerling pulled away out front. Before the lap was completed the caution flew for a slowing car, resetting the field back to the previous running order. On the ensuing restart Emerling powered into turn one again, but Hirschman completed the cross-over off of turn two and drove to victory. Hirschman wouldn’t comment about the contact after the race on Wednesday. Emerling made reference Wednesday to owing Hirschman for other incidents. When the pair lined up for the lap 40 restart on Thursday Hirschman took the inside lane. On the first attempt at the restart Emerling got out in front of Hirschman into turn one, but the start was called back and Emerling was warned for jumping it. On the next attempt, heading into turn one contact between the two put Emerling hard into the outside wall before they got into the corner. Both drivers were able to drive away from the contact, but Emerling never challenged Hirschman the rest of the way. “I obviously couldn’t trust him after [Wednesday] night to take the top like you normally would,” Hirschman said. “I took the bottom and he was into my side the whole way down the straightaway so I couldn’t even turn my car to the left until I got to the corner. I don’t want to race that way.” Said Emerling: “We were just racing hard and he turned right on me at the end of the straightaway. We’re both doing what we can to win races here.” In his postrace comments Hirschman eluded to Emerling saying on Wednesday that he owed Hirschman. “We as a team don’t even know what he was talking about last night that he owed me that more,” Hirschman said. “I watched the video, he was never even turning his wheels to the left until he middle of the corner. I ended up in Pat’s Clam Stand last night. So it wasn’t happening tonight.” Emerling chuckled at Hirschman’s claim of not knowing what he was talking about. It would be Spencer Speedway,” Emerling said, of an incident last year between the two at the New York short track. “He knows that. I don’t know if his memory is that short. I don’t know if he has memory problems. There’s a few little things there. And also like little things, like he’ll have a car that’s two-tenths faster than mine and just drive into me in the middle of a straight-away. Stuff like that. Running into you on restarts.” Emerling also pointed to a lap 21 restart in Thursday’s event where Hirschman brought the field to the green at a very slow pace and multiple cars spun behind the leaders before getting out of turn four and to the green flag. “His restart tactics, wrecking probably three or four cars there on one of the last restarts,” Emerling said. “Just stuff like that. A lot of the competitors just get a little bit annoyed. His car is fast enough where he doesn’t have to do that. Stuff like that just irritates people.” Hirschman started on the pole and quickly cleared second place starter Ronnie Williams after the drop of the green flag to start the event. The first caution of the event flew on lap 21 when Caleb Heady stopped on the track with motor issues. The caution saw Hirschman leading Williams with Tyler Rypkema in second and Emerling in third. On the ensuing restart Rypkema, got hit from behind and spun in turn four coming to green, collecting fifth place running Anthony Bello and also Tommy Catalano and Eddie McCarthy. The second attempt at a lap 21 restart went bad quickly once again when seventh place running Burt Myers ended up hard into the turn two wall. The third attempt at a lap 21 restart finally held, with Hirschman quickly checking out on the field. Behind him Emerling moved past Williams for second place. Caution flew on lap 40 when Bertuccio spun while battling for fifth place with Anthony Nocella. Under caution Williams went to pit road leaking fluid. Hodgdon recovered from a blown motor earlier in the week for his first podium finish. “We’ve had a lot of struggles to say the least this week,” Hodgson said. “A blown engine on Monday, sidelined us then and Tuesday. Just to be out on track with these guys is a miracle for this team. We were in a great spot to be in a podium finish here, which is something I haven’t done for a long time. I put it all on the line.”
Wednesday, February 15 - New Smyrna Speedway - Win
Hirschman Continues Historic Start to New Smyrna World Series
Hirschman won the John Blewett III Memorial on Wednesday night for his third win in as many races during the 2023 World Series.
Hirschman won the John Blewett III Memorial, giving him three consecutive wins to start the week in the Tour-type Modified division at New Smyrna Speedway. With the win, Hirschman became the first driver since Reggie Ruggiero in 1986 to win the first three Tour-type Modified races in a World Series. Ruggiero won seven of nine Modified races that year to win the World Series title. Dating back to last year’s World Series, Hirschman has won six consecutive Tour-type Modified races in the event. That ties the record for most consecutive World Series Modified wins, held by Richie Evans when he won six straight in 1981. In spite of all of these accomplishments and accolades, Hirschman is still taking it one night at a time. “We’ve got two more ahead of us,” said Hirschman. “You see it or read it, about sweeping the week. I’m thinking about tomorrow night. If we win tomorrow night, then it’s a possibility. But we have to take it one night at a time, focus and be mistake-free. If we take care of business, then we can do that.”
He’s also not resting on his laurels regarding this year’s World Series title. While he is undefeated, Patrick Emerling has finished second on all three nights. As a result, Hirschman holds just a six-point advantage, which could disappear in the blink of an eye. “The weather’s been great. We’re looking at two more nights ahead of us. It’s getting warmer ahead of us, so that could change things. We’ll take it one night at a time and see where we are tomorrow night.” Meanwhile, Emerling finds himself in the unenviable position of trying to stop Hirschman’s dominance. He appeared to have taken the lead on a restart with 20 laps to go, but a caution led to a reset of the field and gave Hirschman another shot. “We were a little bit better than what we were the last couple of nights here,” said Emerling. “We’ll just work on improving. The 60 is just extremely dialed in. We need to get that extra little bit into the race car. “I was proud of a couple of really good ones where we kept it side-by-side going into one. I moved him up and tried to do what I could do to try to win. He did that to me last year and wrecked me last year, too. I think I owe him a little bit more than that.” Ronnie Williams finished third, followed by Anthony Nocella and Burt Myers.
The Tour-type Modifieds will race for 50 laps on Thursday night before the Richie Evans Memorial 100 to close out their portion of the World Series on Friday.
JOHN BLEWETT III MEMORIAL UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
FEBRUARY 15, 2023
Matt Hirschman
Patrick Emerling
Ronnie Williams
Anthony Nocella
Burt Myers
Anthony Sesely
Cam McDermott
Eric Goodale
Anthony Bello
Teddy Hodgdon
Caleb Heady
David Sapienza
Andrew Krause
Brian Robie
Tyler Rypkema
Tommy Catalano
Justin Brown
Eddie McCarthy
J.R. Bertuccio
Joey Coulter
Norman Newman
Tom Martino, Jr.
Brett Meservey
Jeremy Gerstner
Chris Hatton
Jimmy Blewett
Michael Rutkoski
Rich Parker
Spencer Davis
Craig Lutz
Paul Hartwig, Jr.
Paul Hartwig, Sr.
Tim Moore
Adam LaCicero
Tuesday, February 14 - New Smyrna Speedway - Win
Hirschman Doubles Up to Start His World Series. Hirschman is in unfamiliar territory with a hot start to his World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing
Matt Hirschman continued his World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing dominance on Tuesday night, winning the Tour-type Modified feature.
Hirschman took the lead five laps into the 50-lap race and pulled away, finishing ahead of Patrick Emerling and Eric Goodale for the win. Hirschman’s win came by more than two seconds over Patrick Emerling, but Hirschman was anything but confident “You’re never really confident until it over,” said Hirschman on the FloRacing broadcast. “We were on today. The same car was in second, too. It was a distant second, but they were right there and they’ll be right there all week.”Hirschman traditionally is stronger in the longer races in the World Series, such as the John Blewett III Memorial and the Richie Evans Memorial later in the week, and not the shorter races to start the week.Instead, this year Hirschman has opened with back-to-back wins, putting him in unfamiliar territory despite his success in the event. “We usually end the week strong and don’t usually start the week strong. I don’t want to celebrate too early, because it could go the other way.”“There are two bigger ones here to go, including one tomorrow night. We’ll go and try to get a third.”With the win, Hirschman now has 15 victories in the Tour-type Modified division in the World Series during his career. The win gives him sole possession of fifth on the all-time World Series win list, breaking a tie with Tom Baldwin. Anthony Bello finished fourth, with Ronnie Williams rounding out the top five.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS - TOUR-TYPE MODIFIEDS
FEBRUARY 14, 2023
Matt Hirschman
Patrick Emerling
Eric Goodale
Anthony Bello
Ronnie Williams
Tyler Rypkema
Jimmy Blewett
Brian Robie
Anthony Nocella
Caleb Heady
Burt Myers
Anthony Sesely
Joey Coulter
Tom Martino, Jr.
Dave Sapienza
Craig Lutz
Spencer Davis
Andrew Krause
Eddie McCarthy
J.R. Bertuccio
Tommy Catalano
Brett Meservey
Justin Brown
Jeremy Gerstner
Kyle Ellwood
Amy Catalano
Norman Newman
Chris Hatton
Rich Parker
Tim Moore
Monday, February 13 - New Smyrna Speedway - Win
Hirschman Tallies 14th World Series Modified Win
Hirschman's first Monday win ties Tom Baldwin for fifth on the all-time Tour-type Modified win list during the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing.
Matt Hirschman has no shortage of accomplishments during his career at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway. On Monday night, he managed to find a new one to add to the list. Hirschman took the lead on lap 23 and pulled away after Ron Silk’s engine expired, opening the Tour-type Modified portion of the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing with a win. “We had the two best cars, obviously, and we were back and forth," Hirschman told Racing America. "He led early, and then I got ahead of him and he broke. It was definitely between the two of us, I think. After that, we were able to stay out front, get good restarts and get the first win of the week.”The victory marks the ninth different season Hirschman has secured a win during the World Series. It was his 14th World Series win, tying him for fifth all-time in the Tour-type Modified division with Tom Baldwin.Despite that impressive track record, Hirschman had never won the first race of the week for the Tour-type Modifieds. One year ago, he won the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event on the second night of competition, but finished 12th in the Monday Tour-type race.“I’ve never won on Monday. The big race on Saturday, with the Whelen Tour, we won it last year but unfortunately, we didn’t have a good run or put together a good race and still finished third.“Usually the big race is at the end of the week with the [Richie] Evans race. Now, we open with a big race. Even though it’s only a two-month offseason, for me, myself and my team you’ve got to knock the rust off some. I think that was Saturday for us, and we were back in form tonight.”The win also marks the seventh consecutive season Hirschman has scored at least one win during the World Series, dating back to when he and Pee Dee Motorsports first started coming to New Smyrna in 2017.
“Every year I’ve come here with the Pee Dee Motorsports, we’ve at least won a race. I think that makes seven consecutive years of winning at least a race. To get a win, and several years we’ve gotten multiple years, so we’ve got plenty of chances to see what we can do the rest of the week.”Patrick Emerling finished second after starting on the pole in his No. 14. Surprisingly, Emerling maintained the runner-up finish despite a mechanical issue late in the running.
“Near the end of the race, we dropped a cylinder,” said Emerling. “We’re trying to diagnose that right now, but we had a strong enough car that we were able to stay out for second. We’ll take this one, work on getting the car a little bit better, figure out our problem and get back tomorrow faster.“Our first night out, it was a pretty solid night. We’ll fix our problems and work on getting our car faster for later in the week.”Former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series race winner Joey Coulter completed the podium, with Tyler Rypkema and Eric Goodale rounding out the top five.
TOUR-TYPE MODIFIEDS UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
FEBRUARY 13, 2023
Matt Hirschman
Patrick Emerling
Joey Coulter
Tyler Rypkema
Eric Goodale
Jimmy Blewett
Craig Lutz
Anthony Bello
Brian Robie
Spencer Davis
Jeremy Gerstner
Burt Myers
Ronnie Williams
Kyle Ellwood
Cam McDermott
Eddie McCarthy
Tom Martino, Jr.
Tyler Catalano
Nicholas Halkowicz
Chris Hatton
Rich Parker
Brett Meservey
Caleb Heady
David Sapienza
Anthony Nocella
Ron Silk
Norman Newman
J.R. Bertuccio
Andrew Krause
Paul Hartwig, Jr.
Casey Roderick
Dillon Steuer
Justin Brown
Anthony Sesely
Amy Catalano
Saturday, February 11 - New Smyrna Speedway - 3rd Place
Silk Scores Memorable Win in NWMT Season Opener
After a fierce battle with Justin Bonsignore, it was Ron Silk holding The 1948 Cup in victory lane at New Smyrna.
NASCAR's 75th Anniversary began with a race for the ages in its oldest division.
In a furious battle which included Justin Bonsignore and Matt Hirschman, Ron Silk stood victorious in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season opener at New Smyrna Speedway.Silk and Bonsignore exchanged the lead over the final 10 laps, but ultimately Silk held on the win. “I love this racetrack and we’ve been coming here for a long time," Silk told Racing America. "It feels good to win a Tour race here. We’re going to run a couple more this week with the Open stuff, so we’ll try to win another one.” “It was a lot of fun. It was intense. It was aggressive, but I don’t think it was over the line. We were both able to keep going. It was a lot of fun. I knew I could race around Justin like that and trust him. I think he feels the same way about me. That was everything we had, I couldn’t go any harder.”Silk took the lead on lap 169, sliding past Bonsignore just before Bonsignore and Coby made contact in turn one, triggering a multi-car incident. Bonsignore and Coby both carried on and salvaged top-five finishes, but that proved to be the opening Silk needed to capitalize.The victory marks Silk’s 18th career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory. The 2011 series champion last won on the Tour in 2021 at Oswego Speedway.
It also marks his first win with Haydt Yannone Racing after joining the team during the 2022 season. “This is my first Tour win with this team, too. Last year, we ran with them and had some really good runs, seconds and thirds, but couldn’t get over the hump."Between the fierce battle, the milestone achievement for Silk and his team, and celebrating the birth and birthplace of NASCAR by receiving the one-of-a-kind 1948 Cup in victory lane, it was a night to remember.“With the 75th anniversary, being 1948 when they ran the first one on the beach, it’s awesome to have our name associated with that anniversary."Bonsignore finished second, with Hirschman rounding out the podium. Anthony Sesely and Doug Coby rounded out the top five.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
NASCAR WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR AT NEW SMYRNA SPEEDWAY
Ron Silk
Justin Bonsignore
Matt Hirschman
Anthony Sesely
Doug Coby
Jake Johnson
Dave Sapienza
Austin Beers
Anthony Nocella
Tommy Catalano
Tyler Rypkema
Kyle Ebersole
Spencer Davis
Joey Coulter
Justin Brown
J.B. Fortin
Jeremy Gerstner
Craig Lutz
Kyle Bonsignore
James Pritchard
Ken Heagy
Gary McDonald
Ronnie Williams
Jon McKennedy
Andrew Krause
Brian Robie
Eric Goodale
Jimmy Blewett
Eddie McCarthy
J.R. Bertuccio
Anthony Bello
Matthew Kimball
Melissa Fifield
Patrick Emerling
Chris Hatton
Fire Fight: Ron Silk Wins Whelen Mod Tour Opener At New Smyrna Speedway
February 11, 2023 by Shawn Courchesne
The 2022 season left an offseason inferno burning in the mind of former NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Ron Silk.
In the driver’s seat for the first year Haydt-Yannone Racing team in 2022, Silk had a season most drivers would beg for. He had eight top-five’s and 12 top-10’s over 16 races for a second place finish in the driver standings in 2022.
But missing was a check mark in the win column for the team. It was a game of close, but not close enough for Silk all season, who had two second place runs and fourth third place finishes, but no victories. Saturday at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway the offseason burn got quenched for Silk, but not before a fiery battle in the closing laps with Justin Bonsignore.
Silk, of Norwalk, came out on top of a bruising final six laps to win the New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200 Saturday at New Smyrna Speedway. “I knew it was a good chance to get one so I didn’t want to let it slip away,” Silk said. “I had a really good car all of last year and couldn’t find victory lane. So it’s really good for me and all my guys to get that out of the way in the first race this year.” Bonsignore, of Holtsville, N.Y., was second and Matt Hirschman of Northampton, Pa. third.
It was Silk’s 18th career Whelen Modified Tour victory and first since winning for former team owner Kevin Stuart at Oswego (N.Y.) Speedway Sept. 2021. With 10 laps remaining Bonsignore stalked all over Silk’s bumper out front. Bonsignore grabbed the lead away from Silk on lap 196, but it was the tenacious Silk powering back to the front again and for good on lap 197.
“That was fun racing like that,” Silk said. “I think we were both driving a little bit over our heads, we were going for everything we had. It was aggressive but respectful. … I love New Smyrna Speedway.” Said Bonsignore: “We’ve raced against each other for a long time. His spotter is my old spotter so we both know each other’s moves and tricks. I was able to get under him a couple times and get in there and leaned on him a little bit. It just opened the door up there for him to be aggressive. He definitely sailed it in. I went with the cross over move and it didn’t work either time for us to get back to the lead. All in all it was a good run.”Anthony Sesely of Matawah, N.J. was third and Doug Coby of Milford fourth.
Jake Johnson, Dave Sapienza, Austin Beers, Anthony Nocella and Tommy Catalano rounded out the top-five respectively.
The field was set by the 2023 owner’s points after rain stopped qualifying after 30 of 35 cars had taken time. It put Coby on the pole and he held onto to that top spot the drop of the green flag. The first caution of the evening flew on lap 18 for the spinning cars of Ken Heagy and Brian Robie. Coby held off Jon McKennedy on the ensuing lap 23 restart. With Coby still out front, caution was back on lap 28 when Tyler Rypkema spun in turn three. Under caution most of the leaders headed to pit road to top off on fuel. Coby led the race off pit road with McKennedy in second and Silk in third. The shuffle up of cars going to pit road under caution put Eric Goodale out front with Beers in second and Sapienza in third. Coby restarted in 15th.
On the lap 34 restart it was Beers getting by Goodale for the lead. With Beers still out front, a long green flag stretch came to an end with caution flying for the spinning car of J.R. Bertuccio on lap 83. With most of the field heading to pit road, some twice, it shuffled Coby back to the lead with Catalano in second, McKennedy in third and Silk in fourth. On the lap 92 restart it was Coby holding the top spot with Silk moving to second. After another long green flag run, the fourth caution of the event flew on lap 158 for the spinning cars of Craig Lutz and Johnson in turn two. The caution flew with Coby out front, Catalano in second, Beers in third and Silk in fourth. The bulk of the field went to pit road under caution. It was Catalano winning the race off of pit road in front of Coby. Hirschman, who went to pit road in 12th, came off in third. A slow pit stop dropped Beers from third to 13th. After a fairly calm first three quarters of the event, things got wild following the lap 165 restart. On the restart it was Catalano struggling to stay in line. It allowed Hirschman to jump to second and then get by Coby for the lead.
On the following lap it was Silk getting by Hirschman to take over the top spot, with Bonsignore moving to second. On lap 168 Bonsignore got by Silk for the lead, but Silk fought back to retake the top spot on lap 169. In turn two on lap 169 it was contact between Bonsignore and Coby sending both cars toward the wall and ultimately collecting a number of other cars including Lutz, Goodale and Jimmy Blewett in a pileup to bring the caution back out. Coby and Bonsignore were both able to drive away from the mess and keep their spots near the front. It left Silk in the lead with Hirschman in second and Coby third.
On the restart it was Sesely moving to third behind Silk and Hirschman. As Coby faded Bonsignore quickly clawed back and moved past Hirschman for second on lap 182. Bonsignore made his way to Silk’s bumper by lap 190 to set up the wild closing laps between the two.
Big Money does it again!
Matt Hirschman Racing takes home the first SMARTY Trophy of the season in the Low Country 99 at Florence Motor Speedway!
2022 Series Champion Caleb Heady finished second while Burt Myers rounded out the podium. Brandon Ward and Jonathan Brown completed the top 5!
Friday, February 17 - New Smyrna Speedway - Rained out -
Set Fast Time - Named Winner and Champions
Friday’s portion of the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway has been canceled due to inclement weather.
Following the conclusion of the Hart to Heart Pro Late Model 100, rain brought an end to the evening’s racing. All of the remaining features on Friday’s card have been canceled and will not be made up Saturday. For the Tour-type Modifieds, their World Series was scheduled to end on Friday with the Richie Evans Memorial. All drivers will be paid in full and receive full points for Friday’s race, based on their results in Friday’s qualifying session. As such, Matt Hirschman is the 2023 World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Tour-type Modified champion after an undefeated season in the class.
Matt Hirschman's World Series Undefeated World Series Leads to Fourth Title Matt Hirschman trails only Ted Christopher and Richie Evans for World Series Modified championships.
Matt Hirschman’s World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing winning streak will continue until 2024.
Officially, Matt Hirschman received first-place points and prize money for the Richie Evans Memorial on Friday night at New Smyrna Speedway, by virtue of setting fast time in qualifying for the race before rain canceled it. “Well, I guess we have a shot to continue the streak, actually,” said Hirschman.No matter how it happened, Matt Hirschman won every race during the World Series, a feat that had never been accomplished before in the Tour-type Modifieds.Hirschman surpassed Tom Baldwin on the all-time win list for Modified drivers in the event and tied Baldwin with his fourth World Series title. Only Ted Christopher (nine) and Richie Evans (six) have more championships.“Any time you can put your name with guys like that, you’re doing something right,” said Hirschman. “Reggie, Richie, after that, when I started coming here, it was T.C., he was the man coming here. Now, we’re in that position and we’ve earned that, I believe. It’s come with a lot of hard work.“The majority of that success in the World Series has come since 2017 when Hirschman joined forces with Pee Dee Motorsports. Hirschman has won at least one World Series race every year during that span, and hasn't lost since a second-place finish to Ron Silk during the second Modified race of the 2022 World Series.Hirschman is making it look easy right now, but it hasn't always been this way.“There were some lean years, some winless years. Doing this consistently seven straight years with this Pee Dee team is the reason for this success. This is one of the hardest things in racing I’ve done, competing night after night, the grind that it is. Doing it seven years consecutively, you learn. We’ve applied that very well.” Looking to complete a sweep of the Tour-type Modified division at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway, Matt Hirschman set fast time in qualifying for the Richie Evans Memorial.Hirschman clocked in at 17.545 seconds around the half-mile, placing ahead of Tyler Rypkema and Ronnie Williams. Hirschman has won the first four races of the World Series for the Tour-type Modifieds, and hopes to become the first driver in World Series history to sweep the Tour-type Modified division.
TOUR-TYPE MODIFIEDS
Matt Hirschman – 17.545
Tyler Rypkema – 17.676
Ronnie Williams – 17.681
Tommy Catalano – 17.742
Patrick Emerling – 17.742
Anthony Nocella – 17.748
Caleb Heady – 17.758
Eric Goodale – 17.762
Dillon Steuer – 17.777
Teddy Hodgdon – 17.780
Anthony Bello – 17.782
Craig Lutz – 17.793
Michael Rutkoski – 17.797
Cam McDermott – 17.822
J.R. Bertuccio – 17.831
Justin Brown – 17.861
Amy Catalano – 17.875
Spencer Davis – 17.877
Brett Meservey – 17.883
Tyler Catalano – 17.907
Brian Robie – 17.921
Dave Sapienza – 17.946
Eddie McCarthy – 17.972
Jimmy Blewett – 18.034
Andrew Krause – 18.038
Chris Hatton – 18.422
Norman Newman – 18.893
Rich Parker – 19.314
Joey Coulter – 20.940
Thursday, February 16 - New Smyrna Speedway - Win
Hirschman, Emerling Clash on World Series Thursday Night
Matt Hirschman continued his undefeated run at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing.
Matt Hirschman added another win to his collection at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Thursday night at New Smyrna Speedwya, but it did not come without a tense moment. For the fourth night in a row, Hirschman held off Patrick Emerling for the win. However, the two drivers made contact on a late restart, extending tensions that have simmered over the course of the week and surfaced on Wednesday. During Wednesday’s race, the two drivers made contact on a restart, which appeared to knock Hirschman out of the lead. However, an unrelated spin brought the caution back out, giving Hirschman a chance to retain the lead and the win. A similar circumstance played out Thursday night, with the first restart waved off by race officials and the duo once again making contact on the second attempt, putting Emerling in the wall on the frontstrech. “I obviously couldn’t trust him after last night to take the top like you normally would,” said Hirschman on the FloRacing broadcast. “I took the bottom and he was into my side the whole way down the straightaway, so I couldn’t even turn my car to the left until I got to the corner.“I don’t want to race that way, but we as a team don’t even know what he’s talking about last night, that he owed me that and more. He wasn’t even turning his wheel left in the middle of the corner. I ended up in Pat’s Clam Stand last night, so it wasn’t happening tonight.”As for Emerling, he believed he was squeezed into the wall by Hirschman on the decisive restart.
“We were just racing hard. He turned right on me at the end of the straightaway. We’re both doing what we can to win races here. We’ve been having an awesome race car, and every night we make adjustments and make the car a little bit better.” One night ago, Emerling mentioned he still owed Hirschman for past transgressions. The New York driver elaborated on Thursday after Hirschman’s post-race comments. “I would say Spencer Speedway. He knows that. I don’t know if his memory is that short. I don’t know if he has memory problems. There’s a few little things there. You have a car two-tenths faster than me and drive into you on the straightaway. “His restart tactics probably wrecking three or four cars on one of those last restarts. Stuff like that, the competitors get annoyed. His car is fast enough this week that he doesn’t have to do that. Stuff like that irritates people.” Hirschman’s fourth win in as many World Series races makes him the first to win four straight races to start a World Series since Richie Evans in 1981. Dating back to last year’s World Series, Hirschman has now won seven consecutive Tour-type Modified World Series races, breaking a record held by Evans and Reggie Ruggiero (1989-90). Despite Hirschman’s historic start to the World Series, the championship is still very much up for grabs during the Richie Evans Memorial 100 on Friday. With four second-place finishes, Emerling sits just eight points behind Hirschman with a chance to claim the championship.
TOUR-TYPE MODIFIEDS UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
FEBRUARY 16, 2023
Matt Hirschman
Patrick Emerling
Teddy Hodgdon
Jimmy Blewett
Eric Goodale
Anthony Nocella
Joey Coulter
Tyler Rypkema
Spencer Davis
Dillon Steuer
Justin Brown
Eddie McCarthy
Andrew Krause
Brett Meservey
J.R. Bertuccio
Brian Robie
Amy Catalano
Tom Martino, Jr.
Michael Rutkoski
Norman Newman
Craig Lutz
Chris Hatton
Ronnie Williams
Anthony Bello
Burt Myers
Caleb Heady
Tommy Catalano
Nicholas Halkowicz
Rich Parker
Feisty Fight: Matt Hirschman Wins Again At New Smyrna on Feb 16, But Drama Simmers With Patrick Emerling
February 17, 2023 by Shawn Courchesne 2 Comments
Groundhog Day continued at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway Thursday in the Tour Type Modified division. Like Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the top-two was the same again, Matt Hirschman winning and Patrick Emerling finishing second. But it was a night where some slight drama from Wednesday between Hirschman and Emerling turned into a feisty fight on track for the final restart and some spicy words after it was all done. Hirschman’s perfect run in the Tour Type Modified division this week continued with the Northampton, Pa. driver leading every lap on the way to victory in the 50-lap feature for the division. Hirschman also won the 50-lap features for the division on Monday and Tuesday and the John Blewett III Memorial 76 on Wednesday. Hirschman became the first driver since Richie Evans in 1981 to win four consecutive Tour Type Modified events at one World Series. It was Hirschman’s seventh consecutive World Series victory dating back to 2022 when he won the final three events of the week. It was the 17th Tour Type Modified New Smryna World Series victory overall for Hirschman. Emerling, of Orchard Park, N.Y. was second and Teddy Hodgdon IV of Danbury was third. Hirschman started from the pole and had no challengers for the first 39 laps, but when caution flew on lap 40 for the spinning car of JR Bertuccio it set up Hirschman and Emerling on the front row for a restart.
In Wednesday’s feature, Hirschman chose the outside for a lap 56 restart against Emerling. On the restart there was contact between the two and Emerling pushed Hirschman up in the corner. Hirschman dropped to fourth while Emerling pulled away out front. Before the lap was completed the caution flew for a slowing car, resetting the field back to the previous running order. On the ensuing restart Emerling powered into turn one again, but Hirschman completed the cross-over off of turn two and drove to victory. Hirschman wouldn’t comment about the contact after the race on Wednesday. Emerling made reference Wednesday to owing Hirschman for other incidents. When the pair lined up for the lap 40 restart on Thursday Hirschman took the inside lane. On the first attempt at the restart Emerling got out in front of Hirschman into turn one, but the start was called back and Emerling was warned for jumping it. On the next attempt, heading into turn one contact between the two put Emerling hard into the outside wall before they got into the corner. Both drivers were able to drive away from the contact, but Emerling never challenged Hirschman the rest of the way. “I obviously couldn’t trust him after [Wednesday] night to take the top like you normally would,” Hirschman said. “I took the bottom and he was into my side the whole way down the straightaway so I couldn’t even turn my car to the left until I got to the corner. I don’t want to race that way.” Said Emerling: “We were just racing hard and he turned right on me at the end of the straightaway. We’re both doing what we can to win races here.” In his postrace comments Hirschman eluded to Emerling saying on Wednesday that he owed Hirschman. “We as a team don’t even know what he was talking about last night that he owed me that more,” Hirschman said. “I watched the video, he was never even turning his wheels to the left until he middle of the corner. I ended up in Pat’s Clam Stand last night. So it wasn’t happening tonight.” Emerling chuckled at Hirschman’s claim of not knowing what he was talking about. It would be Spencer Speedway,” Emerling said, of an incident last year between the two at the New York short track. “He knows that. I don’t know if his memory is that short. I don’t know if he has memory problems. There’s a few little things there. And also like little things, like he’ll have a car that’s two-tenths faster than mine and just drive into me in the middle of a straight-away. Stuff like that. Running into you on restarts.” Emerling also pointed to a lap 21 restart in Thursday’s event where Hirschman brought the field to the green at a very slow pace and multiple cars spun behind the leaders before getting out of turn four and to the green flag. “His restart tactics, wrecking probably three or four cars there on one of the last restarts,” Emerling said. “Just stuff like that. A lot of the competitors just get a little bit annoyed. His car is fast enough where he doesn’t have to do that. Stuff like that just irritates people.” Hirschman started on the pole and quickly cleared second place starter Ronnie Williams after the drop of the green flag to start the event. The first caution of the event flew on lap 21 when Caleb Heady stopped on the track with motor issues. The caution saw Hirschman leading Williams with Tyler Rypkema in second and Emerling in third. On the ensuing restart Rypkema, got hit from behind and spun in turn four coming to green, collecting fifth place running Anthony Bello and also Tommy Catalano and Eddie McCarthy. The second attempt at a lap 21 restart went bad quickly once again when seventh place running Burt Myers ended up hard into the turn two wall. The third attempt at a lap 21 restart finally held, with Hirschman quickly checking out on the field. Behind him Emerling moved past Williams for second place. Caution flew on lap 40 when Bertuccio spun while battling for fifth place with Anthony Nocella. Under caution Williams went to pit road leaking fluid. Hodgdon recovered from a blown motor earlier in the week for his first podium finish. “We’ve had a lot of struggles to say the least this week,” Hodgson said. “A blown engine on Monday, sidelined us then and Tuesday. Just to be out on track with these guys is a miracle for this team. We were in a great spot to be in a podium finish here, which is something I haven’t done for a long time. I put it all on the line.”
Wednesday, February 15 - New Smyrna Speedway - Win
Hirschman Continues Historic Start to New Smyrna World Series
Hirschman won the John Blewett III Memorial on Wednesday night for his third win in as many races during the 2023 World Series.
Hirschman won the John Blewett III Memorial, giving him three consecutive wins to start the week in the Tour-type Modified division at New Smyrna Speedway. With the win, Hirschman became the first driver since Reggie Ruggiero in 1986 to win the first three Tour-type Modified races in a World Series. Ruggiero won seven of nine Modified races that year to win the World Series title. Dating back to last year’s World Series, Hirschman has won six consecutive Tour-type Modified races in the event. That ties the record for most consecutive World Series Modified wins, held by Richie Evans when he won six straight in 1981. In spite of all of these accomplishments and accolades, Hirschman is still taking it one night at a time. “We’ve got two more ahead of us,” said Hirschman. “You see it or read it, about sweeping the week. I’m thinking about tomorrow night. If we win tomorrow night, then it’s a possibility. But we have to take it one night at a time, focus and be mistake-free. If we take care of business, then we can do that.”
He’s also not resting on his laurels regarding this year’s World Series title. While he is undefeated, Patrick Emerling has finished second on all three nights. As a result, Hirschman holds just a six-point advantage, which could disappear in the blink of an eye. “The weather’s been great. We’re looking at two more nights ahead of us. It’s getting warmer ahead of us, so that could change things. We’ll take it one night at a time and see where we are tomorrow night.” Meanwhile, Emerling finds himself in the unenviable position of trying to stop Hirschman’s dominance. He appeared to have taken the lead on a restart with 20 laps to go, but a caution led to a reset of the field and gave Hirschman another shot. “We were a little bit better than what we were the last couple of nights here,” said Emerling. “We’ll just work on improving. The 60 is just extremely dialed in. We need to get that extra little bit into the race car. “I was proud of a couple of really good ones where we kept it side-by-side going into one. I moved him up and tried to do what I could do to try to win. He did that to me last year and wrecked me last year, too. I think I owe him a little bit more than that.” Ronnie Williams finished third, followed by Anthony Nocella and Burt Myers.
The Tour-type Modifieds will race for 50 laps on Thursday night before the Richie Evans Memorial 100 to close out their portion of the World Series on Friday.
JOHN BLEWETT III MEMORIAL UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
FEBRUARY 15, 2023
Matt Hirschman
Patrick Emerling
Ronnie Williams
Anthony Nocella
Burt Myers
Anthony Sesely
Cam McDermott
Eric Goodale
Anthony Bello
Teddy Hodgdon
Caleb Heady
David Sapienza
Andrew Krause
Brian Robie
Tyler Rypkema
Tommy Catalano
Justin Brown
Eddie McCarthy
J.R. Bertuccio
Joey Coulter
Norman Newman
Tom Martino, Jr.
Brett Meservey
Jeremy Gerstner
Chris Hatton
Jimmy Blewett
Michael Rutkoski
Rich Parker
Spencer Davis
Craig Lutz
Paul Hartwig, Jr.
Paul Hartwig, Sr.
Tim Moore
Adam LaCicero
Tuesday, February 14 - New Smyrna Speedway - Win
Hirschman Doubles Up to Start His World Series. Hirschman is in unfamiliar territory with a hot start to his World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing
Matt Hirschman continued his World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing dominance on Tuesday night, winning the Tour-type Modified feature.
Hirschman took the lead five laps into the 50-lap race and pulled away, finishing ahead of Patrick Emerling and Eric Goodale for the win. Hirschman’s win came by more than two seconds over Patrick Emerling, but Hirschman was anything but confident “You’re never really confident until it over,” said Hirschman on the FloRacing broadcast. “We were on today. The same car was in second, too. It was a distant second, but they were right there and they’ll be right there all week.”Hirschman traditionally is stronger in the longer races in the World Series, such as the John Blewett III Memorial and the Richie Evans Memorial later in the week, and not the shorter races to start the week.Instead, this year Hirschman has opened with back-to-back wins, putting him in unfamiliar territory despite his success in the event. “We usually end the week strong and don’t usually start the week strong. I don’t want to celebrate too early, because it could go the other way.”“There are two bigger ones here to go, including one tomorrow night. We’ll go and try to get a third.”With the win, Hirschman now has 15 victories in the Tour-type Modified division in the World Series during his career. The win gives him sole possession of fifth on the all-time World Series win list, breaking a tie with Tom Baldwin. Anthony Bello finished fourth, with Ronnie Williams rounding out the top five.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS - TOUR-TYPE MODIFIEDS
FEBRUARY 14, 2023
Matt Hirschman
Patrick Emerling
Eric Goodale
Anthony Bello
Ronnie Williams
Tyler Rypkema
Jimmy Blewett
Brian Robie
Anthony Nocella
Caleb Heady
Burt Myers
Anthony Sesely
Joey Coulter
Tom Martino, Jr.
Dave Sapienza
Craig Lutz
Spencer Davis
Andrew Krause
Eddie McCarthy
J.R. Bertuccio
Tommy Catalano
Brett Meservey
Justin Brown
Jeremy Gerstner
Kyle Ellwood
Amy Catalano
Norman Newman
Chris Hatton
Rich Parker
Tim Moore
Monday, February 13 - New Smyrna Speedway - Win
Hirschman Tallies 14th World Series Modified Win
Hirschman's first Monday win ties Tom Baldwin for fifth on the all-time Tour-type Modified win list during the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing.
Matt Hirschman has no shortage of accomplishments during his career at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway. On Monday night, he managed to find a new one to add to the list. Hirschman took the lead on lap 23 and pulled away after Ron Silk’s engine expired, opening the Tour-type Modified portion of the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing with a win. “We had the two best cars, obviously, and we were back and forth," Hirschman told Racing America. "He led early, and then I got ahead of him and he broke. It was definitely between the two of us, I think. After that, we were able to stay out front, get good restarts and get the first win of the week.”The victory marks the ninth different season Hirschman has secured a win during the World Series. It was his 14th World Series win, tying him for fifth all-time in the Tour-type Modified division with Tom Baldwin.Despite that impressive track record, Hirschman had never won the first race of the week for the Tour-type Modifieds. One year ago, he won the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event on the second night of competition, but finished 12th in the Monday Tour-type race.“I’ve never won on Monday. The big race on Saturday, with the Whelen Tour, we won it last year but unfortunately, we didn’t have a good run or put together a good race and still finished third.“Usually the big race is at the end of the week with the [Richie] Evans race. Now, we open with a big race. Even though it’s only a two-month offseason, for me, myself and my team you’ve got to knock the rust off some. I think that was Saturday for us, and we were back in form tonight.”The win also marks the seventh consecutive season Hirschman has scored at least one win during the World Series, dating back to when he and Pee Dee Motorsports first started coming to New Smyrna in 2017.
“Every year I’ve come here with the Pee Dee Motorsports, we’ve at least won a race. I think that makes seven consecutive years of winning at least a race. To get a win, and several years we’ve gotten multiple years, so we’ve got plenty of chances to see what we can do the rest of the week.”Patrick Emerling finished second after starting on the pole in his No. 14. Surprisingly, Emerling maintained the runner-up finish despite a mechanical issue late in the running.
“Near the end of the race, we dropped a cylinder,” said Emerling. “We’re trying to diagnose that right now, but we had a strong enough car that we were able to stay out for second. We’ll take this one, work on getting the car a little bit better, figure out our problem and get back tomorrow faster.“Our first night out, it was a pretty solid night. We’ll fix our problems and work on getting our car faster for later in the week.”Former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series race winner Joey Coulter completed the podium, with Tyler Rypkema and Eric Goodale rounding out the top five.
TOUR-TYPE MODIFIEDS UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
FEBRUARY 13, 2023
Matt Hirschman
Patrick Emerling
Joey Coulter
Tyler Rypkema
Eric Goodale
Jimmy Blewett
Craig Lutz
Anthony Bello
Brian Robie
Spencer Davis
Jeremy Gerstner
Burt Myers
Ronnie Williams
Kyle Ellwood
Cam McDermott
Eddie McCarthy
Tom Martino, Jr.
Tyler Catalano
Nicholas Halkowicz
Chris Hatton
Rich Parker
Brett Meservey
Caleb Heady
David Sapienza
Anthony Nocella
Ron Silk
Norman Newman
J.R. Bertuccio
Andrew Krause
Paul Hartwig, Jr.
Casey Roderick
Dillon Steuer
Justin Brown
Anthony Sesely
Amy Catalano
Saturday, February 11 - New Smyrna Speedway - 3rd Place
Silk Scores Memorable Win in NWMT Season Opener
After a fierce battle with Justin Bonsignore, it was Ron Silk holding The 1948 Cup in victory lane at New Smyrna.
NASCAR's 75th Anniversary began with a race for the ages in its oldest division.
In a furious battle which included Justin Bonsignore and Matt Hirschman, Ron Silk stood victorious in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season opener at New Smyrna Speedway.Silk and Bonsignore exchanged the lead over the final 10 laps, but ultimately Silk held on the win. “I love this racetrack and we’ve been coming here for a long time," Silk told Racing America. "It feels good to win a Tour race here. We’re going to run a couple more this week with the Open stuff, so we’ll try to win another one.” “It was a lot of fun. It was intense. It was aggressive, but I don’t think it was over the line. We were both able to keep going. It was a lot of fun. I knew I could race around Justin like that and trust him. I think he feels the same way about me. That was everything we had, I couldn’t go any harder.”Silk took the lead on lap 169, sliding past Bonsignore just before Bonsignore and Coby made contact in turn one, triggering a multi-car incident. Bonsignore and Coby both carried on and salvaged top-five finishes, but that proved to be the opening Silk needed to capitalize.The victory marks Silk’s 18th career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory. The 2011 series champion last won on the Tour in 2021 at Oswego Speedway.
It also marks his first win with Haydt Yannone Racing after joining the team during the 2022 season. “This is my first Tour win with this team, too. Last year, we ran with them and had some really good runs, seconds and thirds, but couldn’t get over the hump."Between the fierce battle, the milestone achievement for Silk and his team, and celebrating the birth and birthplace of NASCAR by receiving the one-of-a-kind 1948 Cup in victory lane, it was a night to remember.“With the 75th anniversary, being 1948 when they ran the first one on the beach, it’s awesome to have our name associated with that anniversary."Bonsignore finished second, with Hirschman rounding out the podium. Anthony Sesely and Doug Coby rounded out the top five.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
NASCAR WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR AT NEW SMYRNA SPEEDWAY
Ron Silk
Justin Bonsignore
Matt Hirschman
Anthony Sesely
Doug Coby
Jake Johnson
Dave Sapienza
Austin Beers
Anthony Nocella
Tommy Catalano
Tyler Rypkema
Kyle Ebersole
Spencer Davis
Joey Coulter
Justin Brown
J.B. Fortin
Jeremy Gerstner
Craig Lutz
Kyle Bonsignore
James Pritchard
Ken Heagy
Gary McDonald
Ronnie Williams
Jon McKennedy
Andrew Krause
Brian Robie
Eric Goodale
Jimmy Blewett
Eddie McCarthy
J.R. Bertuccio
Anthony Bello
Matthew Kimball
Melissa Fifield
Patrick Emerling
Chris Hatton
Fire Fight: Ron Silk Wins Whelen Mod Tour Opener At New Smyrna Speedway
February 11, 2023 by Shawn Courchesne
The 2022 season left an offseason inferno burning in the mind of former NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Ron Silk.
In the driver’s seat for the first year Haydt-Yannone Racing team in 2022, Silk had a season most drivers would beg for. He had eight top-five’s and 12 top-10’s over 16 races for a second place finish in the driver standings in 2022.
But missing was a check mark in the win column for the team. It was a game of close, but not close enough for Silk all season, who had two second place runs and fourth third place finishes, but no victories. Saturday at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway the offseason burn got quenched for Silk, but not before a fiery battle in the closing laps with Justin Bonsignore.
Silk, of Norwalk, came out on top of a bruising final six laps to win the New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200 Saturday at New Smyrna Speedway. “I knew it was a good chance to get one so I didn’t want to let it slip away,” Silk said. “I had a really good car all of last year and couldn’t find victory lane. So it’s really good for me and all my guys to get that out of the way in the first race this year.” Bonsignore, of Holtsville, N.Y., was second and Matt Hirschman of Northampton, Pa. third.
It was Silk’s 18th career Whelen Modified Tour victory and first since winning for former team owner Kevin Stuart at Oswego (N.Y.) Speedway Sept. 2021. With 10 laps remaining Bonsignore stalked all over Silk’s bumper out front. Bonsignore grabbed the lead away from Silk on lap 196, but it was the tenacious Silk powering back to the front again and for good on lap 197.
“That was fun racing like that,” Silk said. “I think we were both driving a little bit over our heads, we were going for everything we had. It was aggressive but respectful. … I love New Smyrna Speedway.” Said Bonsignore: “We’ve raced against each other for a long time. His spotter is my old spotter so we both know each other’s moves and tricks. I was able to get under him a couple times and get in there and leaned on him a little bit. It just opened the door up there for him to be aggressive. He definitely sailed it in. I went with the cross over move and it didn’t work either time for us to get back to the lead. All in all it was a good run.”Anthony Sesely of Matawah, N.J. was third and Doug Coby of Milford fourth.
Jake Johnson, Dave Sapienza, Austin Beers, Anthony Nocella and Tommy Catalano rounded out the top-five respectively.
The field was set by the 2023 owner’s points after rain stopped qualifying after 30 of 35 cars had taken time. It put Coby on the pole and he held onto to that top spot the drop of the green flag. The first caution of the evening flew on lap 18 for the spinning cars of Ken Heagy and Brian Robie. Coby held off Jon McKennedy on the ensuing lap 23 restart. With Coby still out front, caution was back on lap 28 when Tyler Rypkema spun in turn three. Under caution most of the leaders headed to pit road to top off on fuel. Coby led the race off pit road with McKennedy in second and Silk in third. The shuffle up of cars going to pit road under caution put Eric Goodale out front with Beers in second and Sapienza in third. Coby restarted in 15th.
On the lap 34 restart it was Beers getting by Goodale for the lead. With Beers still out front, a long green flag stretch came to an end with caution flying for the spinning car of J.R. Bertuccio on lap 83. With most of the field heading to pit road, some twice, it shuffled Coby back to the lead with Catalano in second, McKennedy in third and Silk in fourth. On the lap 92 restart it was Coby holding the top spot with Silk moving to second. After another long green flag run, the fourth caution of the event flew on lap 158 for the spinning cars of Craig Lutz and Johnson in turn two. The caution flew with Coby out front, Catalano in second, Beers in third and Silk in fourth. The bulk of the field went to pit road under caution. It was Catalano winning the race off of pit road in front of Coby. Hirschman, who went to pit road in 12th, came off in third. A slow pit stop dropped Beers from third to 13th. After a fairly calm first three quarters of the event, things got wild following the lap 165 restart. On the restart it was Catalano struggling to stay in line. It allowed Hirschman to jump to second and then get by Coby for the lead.
On the following lap it was Silk getting by Hirschman to take over the top spot, with Bonsignore moving to second. On lap 168 Bonsignore got by Silk for the lead, but Silk fought back to retake the top spot on lap 169. In turn two on lap 169 it was contact between Bonsignore and Coby sending both cars toward the wall and ultimately collecting a number of other cars including Lutz, Goodale and Jimmy Blewett in a pileup to bring the caution back out. Coby and Bonsignore were both able to drive away from the mess and keep their spots near the front. It left Silk in the lead with Hirschman in second and Coby third.
On the restart it was Sesely moving to third behind Silk and Hirschman. As Coby faded Bonsignore quickly clawed back and moved past Hirschman for second on lap 182. Bonsignore made his way to Silk’s bumper by lap 190 to set up the wild closing laps between the two.
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