2019
Karl Hehr accident postpones Lancaster Race of Champions Race on August 17
By Larry Ott
A frightening accident involving Karl Hehr Saturday evening caused the postponement of the remainder of the Race of Champions Asphalt Modified Series Tommy Druar/Tony Jankowiak Memorial 110 at New York International Raceway Park. Hehr started Saturday's annual event from the outside pole. He was racing in the top 10 when his car suddenly veered head on into the front stretch wall at the exit of Turn Four on lap six of the scheduled 110-lap distance. The high speed impact sent the protective foam blocks that line the wall flying, and a large section of the wheel fence was also torn down and heavily damaged. Hehr's car then overturned and came to rest upside down. The red flag was displayed. The NYIRP safety team headed by Mike Myers was immediately on the scene. A few minutes later after the car was turned back over, Hehr exited the car under his own power and received a large ovation from the relieved grandstand spectators as he walked to the ambulance. After an evaluation, Hehr was transported to Erie County Medical Center for observation. No spectators were injured in the incident. Hehr spoke briefly with The News on Sunday from ECMC where he was still recovering. "I'm still in the hospital with a possible lower back issue today," Hehr said. "I will be further examined on Monday and hopefully can be released Monday. I'm still very sore. I sincerely want to thank the fans and everyone else in the racing community for all the concern they have shown to me and my family since the accident. I'm also very grateful to the safety crew who handled my situation very well. They're the best." Hehr is a successful veteran driver who is extremely popular with both the fans and the participants in the pits. He is the 1993 and 1995 track Sportsman champion and a past winner of the Modified portion of the U.S. Open. Due to the extensive damage to the wheel fence, the amount of time it would take to fix it and with it already being after 11 p.m., ROC and NYIRP stock car coordinator Joe Skotnicki decided to postpone the rest of the race distance until Sept. 13, the first day of NYIRP's annual U.S. Open Weekend. When the race resumes, the running order at the time of the red flag will find Eric Beers, Chuck Hossfeld, Patrick Emerling, Daren Scherer and Daryl Lewis Jr. comprising the top five for the restart. Skotnicki explained his rationale behind his decision to postpone. "The fans and the racers' safety is paramount," Skotnicki said. "The fans of course come first. Although I'm sure some fans aren't happy, it's a decision we had to make. Structurally, could we have repaired it? Maybe. But then you're putting people at a later and later hour. The decision with an open night and I surveyed a couple of folks and came to the conclusion that the postponement is the right thing to do." Skotnicki also praised the NYIRP safety crew and race officials who worked quickly and efficiently in a difficult scenario. "Those guys are the best," Skotnicki said. "Mike Myers and that whole operation that Mike's created is great. I've seen racing at so many places and there's crews that will rival them but none better. Hats off to those guys because they make sure they've got everything buttoned up every night. "Friday night (Sept. 13) of the U.S. Open we will still have practice," Skotnicki said. "We're going to host practice for all the teams. The teams that weren't here tonight will obviously have to pay to get into the pits, but the fans will be admitted free and we'll restart this race from lap six at 8 p.m. that evening and finish it up. Then maybe we'll have a little party and celebrate the rest of it. "The hard part of this decision is that some people will be cynical and critical about it, but this could have happened at 8 o'clock at night or 9 o'clock at night or 10:30. It didn't matter. The decision would have been the same because we're thinking big picture and not just trying to get the race done. We want everybody to get home with the best experience possible and that certainly wasn't the best experience tonight." The postponement also means that the ROC Modifieds will race the remaining 104 laps on that Friday and in short order have to return two days later on September 15 to run the previously scheduled U.S. Open 125 weekend headlining finale event.
WHAT A NIGHT AT CHEMUNG SPEEDWAY ON AUGUST 3 - MATT RECOVERS FROM GETTING PUT IN WALL ON LAP 3 TO FINISH 2ND
Patrick Emerling of Orchard Park, N.Y., earned his 16th career Race of Champions Asphalt Modified Series victory this past Saturday in the Rod Spalding Classic at Chemung (N.Y.) Speedrome. Emerling’s win ties him with his crew chief, Jan Leaty of Williamson, N.Y., for fourth on the all-time win list.
Emerling started 10th and methodically worked his way through the field, ultimately wrestling the lead away from TJ Potrzebowski of Elmira, N.Y., on lap 45 and heading to victory lane. “We’ve been challenged here, looking for speed,” stated Emerling from victory lane. “But we found it tonight. The car was good throughout the race and I just used some patience to get into a position to win. It can get wild here. I’m proud of my team, we’ve had a long weekend and this is a good way to end it.” Owen Bednasz of Lakeview, N.Y., led the field to the green and led the first circuit before Potrzebowski claimed the top spot. Tyler Rypkema of Owego, N.Y., took his turn out front after passing Potrzebowski, while the action was fast and furious behind him. Potrzebowski then slipped back into the lead just before halfway and led until Emerling went in to the top spot for good. Matt Hirschman of Northampton, Pa., finished second, while Austin Kochenash of Danielsville, Pa., finished third. Brian Defebo of Scranton, Pa., came home fourth while Scott Wylie of Blasdell, N.Y., finished fifth. Hirschman posted the fastest time during group qreen-white-checker qualifying with a time of 14.903 (90.586 mph). Rypkema, Chuck Hossfeld of Ransomville, N.Y., Mike Leaty of Williamson, N.Y., and Jack Ely of Wall Township, N.J., won the qualifying races.
1 10 07 Patrick Emerling
2 5 60 Matt Hirschman
3 6 66 Austin Kochensash
4 18 53 Brian Defebo
5 19 88 Scot Wyle
6 17 12 Andy Jankowiak
7 2 72 TJ Potrzebowski
8 3 22 Chuck Hossfeld
9 12 25 Mike Leaty
10 13 10l Daryl Lewis, Jr.
11 4 32 Tyler Rypkema
12 11 45 Eric Beers
13 15 95 Bryan Sherwood
14 14 3 Daren Scherer
15 22 2 Kevin Miller
16 21 9 Brandon Oltra
17 20 19 Austin Beers
18 1 48 Owen Bednasz 74
19 16 40r Jake Rought
20 8 4 Zack Knowlden 73 Accident
21 24 6 Scott Hossfeld 67
22 9 54e Jack Ely 50 Mechanical
23 7 5 Kyle Ebersole 36 Mechanical
24 23 94 Zack Curren 26 Mechanical
SILK WINS TTOMS THRILLER AT STAR WHILE MATT BRING IT HOME 4th
Ron Silk of Norwalk, CT, used pit strategy and veteran moves to win the SBM 125 at Star Speedway for the Tri-Track Open Modified Series (TTOMS) on Saturday night. The victory was hard-fought over runner-up Ronnie Williams of Ellington, CT, and was determined coming to the checkers. It was the second Modified win in the state of New Hampshire in seven days for Silk. The win was also redemption of sorts for Silk who has endured terrible luck in recent TTOMS competition. Matt Swanson of Acton, MA, turned in another strong performance to complete the podium. Early leader Matt Hirschman of Northampton, PA, finished fourth over Andy Jankowiak of Tonawanda, NY. Richard Savary of Canton, MA, Cam McDermott of Canterbury, CT, Brad Babb of Windham, ME, Woody Pitkat of Bellingham, MA, and Brian Robie of Sunapee, NH, completed the top-ten. After qualifying through the consolation event and starting deep in the pack, Silk methodically worked his way through the field and by lap 35 he was solidly in the top ten. He took advantage of a lap 47 caution to come to pit road for service. During a lap 71 caution, Silk was one of only three cars to remain on the track; giving him the point when the track went back to green. The strategy worked to perfection for Silk who went on to hold off challenges from Hirschman and finally Williams to score the popular victory. By virtue of the redraw following heat race qualifying, Hirschman led the 27- car field to green for the start of the SBM 125. Hirschman jumped out to the lead with Pitkat following in line in second with Hersey and Swanson in tow. Over the opening laps a brewing battle for third between Hersey and Swanson was stalled by the first caution of the event on lap 6; involving Josh Cantera of Sanford, ME, and Jon Kievman of Deerfield Beach, FL. Hirschman was able to retain the lead on the restart ahead of Pitkat and Hersey. From the outside groove Swanson gave up a position to Savary. On lap 11, Savary took third from Hersey. Deeper in the pack, rows of side-by-side racing saw Babb and Jacob Dore of Sanford, ME, McDermott and Anthony Sesely of Matawan, NJ, and Anthony Nocella of Berlin, MA and Andy J vying for position. Fluid on the race track necessitated a caution on lap 19. Under yellow, Dore, Andy Shaw of Center Conway, NH and Nocella pitted. Back under racing conditions, it continued to be Hirschman over Pitkat and Savary. A bobble from the outside groove on the restart saw Hersey losing several spots. The third caution flew on lap 20 for a spin my Carl Medeiros, Jr. of Westport, MA. It was much of the same for Hirschman with Pitkat, Savary, and Swanson. Dana DiMatteo of Farmington, CT, joined the top five once back under green. Kirk Alexander of W. Swanzey, NH, joined the fray using the outside groove to get by Babb. Williams was also on the move and into the top ten. The action outside of the top ten continued to be spirited with McDermott, Jankowiak, Sesely and Silk. The front duo was beginning to breakaway from the field once again. Savary took chase followed by DiMatteo and Swanson. Alexander and Williams had joined the battle for the top-five before the #92 of Nocella slowed on the speedway to bring out the fourth caution on lap 35. Behind the lead trio, the lap 35 restart saw some movement with the lead pack as Swanson and Williams gained positions. During the stretch of green flag racing, Silk got around Barrett, Hersey and Galko. He immediately went to work on Babb; taking the position on lap 43. He continued his charge to the front with a bold pass on Alexander for seventh. At the head of the field, Pitkat looked to be getting racy for the lead when the fifth caution flew for a spin by Vigeant on lap 47. Andy Shaw was penalized for his involvement. Silk pitted under the caution. On the lap 47 restart, Hirschman continued to show the way over Pitkat and Savary. Williams capitalized on the restart to move into fourth. He dove low on Savary on lap 52 and was able to make the pass stick. Once again, the lead duo was getting some breathing room over now third-running Williams. Savary was still in striking distance while Swanson ran alone in fifth. The top-ten at halfway were Hirschman, Pitkat, Williams, Savary, Swanson, DiMatteo, Alexander, Galko, Sesely, and Babb. Silk was mired deep in traffic. Hirschman was enjoying his largest lead of the night when the sixth caution flew on lap 71 for a multi-car incident in turn one. Under the caution, the entire field headed to the paddock area for service, except for Silk and Jankowiak, each who had short-pitted, and lucky dog recipient Donny Hartzel of Hunlock Creek, NJ. For the safety of the competitors, the lap 71 yellow served as a competition caution and a cold pit situation. Teams coming off pit road maintained their positions behind the cars that stayed out. The ensuing restart found Silk and Jankowiak on the front row ahead of Hirschman and Pitkat. Hirschman darted to the inside; taking over second from Jankowiak. Williams was able to take a spot from Pitkat as well. The top-six ran nose to tail with Silk showing the way over Hirschman. Williams took over third from Jankowiak on lap 79. The lead pack continued to run in close quarters as the laps began to wind down. At lap 90, Silk was able to gain some breathing room over Hirschman. Williams was getting some pressure from Jankowiak while Pitkat had his hands full with Swanson. Sparks were flying for position just outside the top ten with Alexander, Galko and Cam McDermott as cars stacked up behind DiMatteo. Alexander got the short end of the action losing several positions. Swanson got underneath Pitkat on lap 98. Despite lapped traffic, Silk was able to maintain his lead. Ten laps later, the lapped traffic nearly played a factor when Calvin Carrol of Andover, NJ, spun in close proximity to the leader, who was bearing down on a pack of cars, to bring out the seventh caution. The lap 108 restart allowed Hirschman to get alongside Silk. The move opened the door for Williams on the bottom groove. He was able to make the pass and mover into second. Williams was right on the back bumper of Silk. Matt Swanson was similarly working on Hirschman. A large pile-up of cars deep in the field in turn four brought out the eighth and final caution on lap 114; setting up an 11-lap shootout to determine the winner with some very racy cars up front. On this restart, Silk had to contend with Williams to his outside. Silk got a great restart and darted out to the lead. Williams got in line in second. On lap 117, Williams poked in nose underneath Silk but could not make the pass. Swanson got by Hirschman to take third. Some ‘bump and run’ between the lead duo allowed Swanson to join the battle for the win. In the end, it would be a two-horse race to the checkers. Over the final laps, Williams tried high and low; to no avail. On the final lap coming to the checkers, Williams dove to the inside of Silk. With the crowd on their feet, the two made contact. But Silk was able to keep it going in the right direction to score the victory.
Tri-Track Open Modified Series, SBM 125, Star Speedway, July 27, 2019 Finish: 1. Ron Silk, Norwalk, CT; 2. Ronnie Williams, Ellington, CT; 3. Matt Swanson, Acton, MA; 4. Matt Hirschman, Northampton, PA; 5. Andy Jankowiak, Tonawanda, NY; 6. Richard Savary, Canton, MA; 7. Cam McDermott, Canterbury, CT; 8. Brad Babb, Windham, ME; 9. Woody Pitkat, Bellingham, MA; 10. Brian Robie, Sunapee, NH; 11. Anthony Sesely, Matawan, NJ; 12. Russ Hersey, Swanzey, NH; 13. Calvin Carroll, Andover, NJ; 14. Matt Galko, Meriden, CT; 15. Mike Holdridge, Madison, CT; 16. Jacob Dore, Sanford, ME; 17. Andy Shaw, Center Conway, NH; 18. Tommy Barrett, Millis, MA; 19. Les Hinckley, Windsor Locks, CT; 20. Dana DiMatteo, Farmington, CT; 21. Kirk Alexander, W. Swanzey, NH; 22. Donny Hartzell, Hunlock Creek, NJ; 23. Kurt Vigeant, Oxford, MA; 24. Anthony Nocella, Berlin, MA; 25. Carl Medeiros, Jr., Westport, MA; 26. Jon Kievman, Deerfield Beach, FL; 27. Josh Cantara, Sanford, MA. DNQ: Geoff Rollins, Groton, MA; Andrew Charron, E. Greenwich, RI; Colbey Fournier, Berkley, MA; Kreig Heroth, Fort Plain, NY; George Sherman, Framingham, MA.
Austin Beers and Brian DeFebo share Modified spotlight at Evergreen Raceway on July 19 - Matt get 2nd and 3rd
Evergreen Raceway staged twin-25 lap Modified features Friday night and although there was a great field of cars on hand with any number of potential winners, the outcome saw two formidable names gracing Victory Lane as Austin Beers and Brian DeFebo picked up respective wins. For Beers, it marked his second straight track win but career first in a full Modified. Two weeks ago he had just won for the first time in B-mod. DeFebo, who is the track’s all-time career wins leader, won for the 58th time in a Modified at Evergreen and 86th time at the 1/3-mile paved oval. In the first feature Bobby Jones jumped ahead of Randal Richards for the opening lap lead and by lap three Beers was controlling second. Soon after began a torrid battle between Jones and Beers as they exchanged the lead several times over the next 10 laps. On lap 14 the battle paused due to a three car collision in turn three. It would be on that that restart that Beers executed his race winning move. As the pair took the green to resume the action, Beers used the outside lane to beat Jones into turn one. Unlike before when they were swapping the top spot, Beers was able to hammer down and pull away from Jones and the rest of the pack for the popular verdict. Matt Hirschman drove from 16th to third while John Markovic and Lou Strohl completed the top five. “This is awesome and I honestly didn’t think we’d have a chance with my second time in a Tour Mod here but the pieces fell in place and we got it done. The car was on rails and perfect everywhere,” said 16-year old Beers. “Racing with Bobby (Jones) was great. We touched once but it was nothing huge, we raced with respect.” For the second feature Todd Baer outgunned John Markovic for the early lead. Eighth starting DeFebo was picking his way forward and by lap 13 was second and approaching Baer quickly until a caution thwarted his effort. On the restart there would be no denying his strong running No. 53 as he blasted past Baer for the lead. Once in front it was no contest as he extended comfortably ahead en route to his 103rd overall feature victory. “We didn’t touch a thing from the first race. I was just waiting in the first feature but then got hit and that just set us back there,” said DeFebo. “Once I got in the lead I was in cruise control. We came here with a plan and at least we got half that plan.” Hirschman came home second after starting 12th. Unfortunately time wasn’t on his side in the night cap to mount a challenge to DeFebo. He ended his night passing the most cars in the combined twin-bill. Roger Coss, Don Wagner and Baer rounded out the top five.
Bobby Jones withstands the intense challenge from Kyle Strohl for 75-lap Mahoning Speedway July 13 Modified win
Three previous times this season Bobby Jones and Kyle Strohl had one-two finishes, all very close too with Jones winning twice and Strohl the other. However, none could match Saturday night’s 75-lap feature as they not only fashioned another 1-2 run which went in favor of Jones, but it was a thrilling white-knuckle duel that went done to the wire. After Strohl had taken the lead from Earl Paules on lap 26, it wasn’t long after that Jones stepped into second spot and thus began a torrid battle of side-by-side racing. Each taken turns at the lead in the process and for Jones, he had an exhausting time when out front as Strohl attacked him relentlessly from both inside and outside lanes. There was even a point when it became a three car battle for the lead when John Markovic made it a triple-wide attempt for the spot. He would later concede to the front pair and over the final dozen laps it was extremely hard fought with Jones doing everything possible to hold off Strohl. “I’m really tired and I felt I didn’t have a car that could win tonight, maybe second or third place at best. But I never wanted to give up and I really wanted to win this race,” offered Jones who was slightly overcome from heat exhaustion. “I gave everything I had and this kid – he’s is something.” Jones won $2500 in picking up his class leading third win of the season and remain firm in the points lead with the start of the second half underway. On a few restarts Jones proved slightly better and that allowed him the advantage in embracing his lead at those times. “I was good on some of the starts. I could heat that right front (tire) up and get the car a little tighter and stay out on front of him (Strohl). But I only had about three laps to stay there and cover him and I had to decide what line I wanted to run in order to defend because he was much faster,” explained Jones. “Luckily for me I stayed the higher lane and it didn’t get us loose and it helped me keep enough momentum that he couldn’t fully make the pass and that’s what I needed to get this win.” Strohl indeed gave it his all having to settle for close second. His car was working perfectly and it showed with his ability to change lanes at will and push Jones to the limit. “Tonight we really hit it on the set-up. I just needed one little slip up from him (Jones) and this was mine,” bottomed lined Strohl. But he held his line prefect and congrats to Bobby. I like aggressive racing but I wasn’t going to wreck him for the win. He gives a lot of respect and despite to hard racing we both have clean race cars.” Markovic placed a solid third. Eric Kocher had a respectable outing taking fourth with Paules rounding out the top five.
Modified Feature Finish (75-laps): 1. Bobby Jones, 2. Kyle Strohl, 3. John Markovic, 4. Eric Kocher, 5. Earl Paules, 6. Lou Strohl, 7. Gene Bowers, 8. Kevin Rex Jr., 9. Ron Haring Jr., 10. Josh Scherer, 11. Brian DeFebo, 12. Todd Bear, 13. Heath Metzger, 14. Don Wagner, 15. Nick Baer, 16. Austin Kochenash, 17. Matt Hirschman, 18. Anthony Sesely, 19. Corey Edelman, 20. Jacob Kerstetter, 21. Terry Markovic DNQ: Beau Drobot, BJ Wambold
Hirschman has a back and forth night at Seekonk June 26 battling back to 4th
Ronnie Williams’ hot streak in Modified racing continued Wednesday night at Seekonk Speedway (MA). Just three days removed from his photo-finish victory over Anthony Nocella in the New England Short Track Showdown’s Valenti Modified Series event, Williams took the checkered flag in the Tri-Track Open Modified Series event at Seekonk.Williams took the lead from Matt Swanson on a restart with 10 laps to go in the 100-lap event, taking the $10,000 Open Wheel Wednesday paycheck along with it.For Williams, part of the key was pit strategy in the event. Front runners were split between pitting at lap 43 after a caution for a Carl Medeiros spin and pitting on lap 55 after a turn-four incident with Kirk Alexander and Dana DiMatteo.Williams was among the takers at lap 43, which allowed him to move ahead of contenders such as Ron Silk, Matt Hirschman, Keith Rocco and more who pitted 12 laps later.“We got a little loose around the halfway mark, and we were one of the first guys to pit,” Williams explained in victory lane. “Just slowly worked our way up there, a lot of guys pitted around lap 60. It was a great race from there.:It was a quick turnaround for Williams and his team after the New Hampshire triumph, but that made the second trip to victory lane on the week that much sweeter.“It just shows how good these guys are,” said Williams. “They went back to the shop and worked until 2:30 in the morning. They told me that every 10 minutes today. Hats off to them. This is their win, I’m just fortunate enough to drive the car.”Tommy Barrett also passed Swanson in the closing laps to take the second position, closing in on Williams over the final green-flag run but ultimately running out of time.“We started off pretty rough today,” said Barrett. “The car wasn’t very good out of the trailer. They made wholesale changes on the car, and we drove up from 18th to second. I was as fast as Williams, but we weren’t loose enough to go by him. Maybe another couple of laps.”While pit strategy played a role in Williams’ victory, mechanical gremlins prevented Swanson from playing any strategy game. Due to a suspension issue, Swanson and his team elected to stay out for the duration of the race and protect their track position.That decision led to Swanson leading the majority of the race before fading to a third-place run in the closing laps.“We had a rear suspension problem about 20 laps into the race,” said Swanson. “The torque arm was actually falling out of the car. It was just a matter of hanging on. We took over the lead there and hung on to it for a while. We never came in to put a tire on. Once we took the lead, we had what we had and just had to hang on to it.” Race fans who missed Wednesday’s Tri-Track Open Modified Series feature at Seekonk Speedway can relive the action by watching Speed51’s Summer Thunder TV broadcast of the race by clicking here.
-Story by: Zach Evans, Speed51.com
Hirschman shows cards late for first win of the year at Evergreen on June 14
After two foiled attempts the American Property Solutions Modifieds finally had an opportunity to hit the 1/3 asphalt oval in Drums Pennsylvania. Chris Ridsdale and Austin Beers would draw the top two starting spots for the 75-lap main event. Beers a modified rookie jumped out to the early lead and led the first nine circuits before the first yellow slowed the field. Beers and Ridsdale would find themselves side by side for the ensuing restart. On lap 14 with an outside power move, Brian Defebo would find some racing room and dart into P2. During the next 27 laps of green flag racing we would see several battles throughout the field for track position. At the halfway point, Defebo would be our race leader over Beers, John Markovic, Earl Paules and Austin Kochenash. Buddy Miller & Paul Frantz would bring out the caution on lap 41 regrouping the field. Pits open and a fury of pit stops ensue: Paules, Hirschman, Mandato and Pritchard would head pit side for new right rear rubber. As we go back green, Kochenash quickly worked his way into second stalking down Defebo in the Defebo Graphics #53. Lap 55 and we find Kochenash leading the field. Lap 60 brings out a brief caution as Hirschman would just crack the top 5 with less than ten laps remaining. The next two laps would steal the show, as Kochenash, Pritchard, Paules and Hirschman would duke it banging wheels for the lead. Hirschman would prevail and find the top spot on lap 68. On lap 73 we would see the yellow flying again setting up a double file green, white, checkered with Hirschman cruising to victory over Kochenash and Mandato.
Modifieds (75 Laps). 1. Hirschman. 2. Kochenash. 3. Mandato. 4. Don Wagner. 5. Roger Coss. 6. Earl Paules. 7. James Pritchard. 8. Brian Sones. 9. Todd Baer. 10. Brian Defebo. 11. John Markovic. 12. Austin Beers. 13. Buddy Miller. 14. Chris Ridsdale. 15. Wayne Szerencsits. 16. Bobby Jones. 17. Randel Richard. 18. Paul Frantz.
Disappointing 12th place finish June 1 at Seekonk Speedway
By Denise DuPont and Shawn Courchesne
SEEKONK, Mass. – As the old cliché goes, practice makes perfect. At Seekonk (Mass.) Speedway it’s a mantra Doug Coby clings to tightly. Seekonk has been a place where Coby has had much success, and the Milford drive credits much of that success to getting it done in practice at the track. Coby is a driver who is never ready to settle with the car off the trailer. For practice, he is ready to take his Mike Smeriglio Racing Modified out on the track and provide feedback to crew chief Phil Moran on how the car can be tweaked a notch to his preference. Once the car is ready to his liking, Coby continues to build his strategy and start running the race in his mind.
“At this track it is the car,” Coby said. “Whether I am driving a [Phil Moran prepared] car or [a John McKenna prepared car] or Tim Bertrand’s Midget, those guys know what they are doing and make it so that I can tell them what we need. “We do make a lot of changes during practice. We don’t just unload here with any car that we have been that fast with. We always make changes to make it better. I have learned that when you win a couple of races at a track, you feel like you lose a couple of races at a track and you see who has a better car then you know what you are missing. Other guys focus on getting it, getting it at practice and not settling for a good car. I just want a great car.” Seekonk is such a small, fast track and things happen quickly. So it is key to start or make you way to the front as soon as possible. “To start on the front here is a big deal,” Coby said. “When I am here I want to start on the front. Third or fourth is OK too. So if you are anywhere up front and you have made the right adjustments like we did then you can just ride around and then for every caution just count off laps and save tires until the next caution.” As the initial green flag flew Saturday in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Seekonk 150 Coby knew that typical Seekonk dominator Matt Hirschman was off, despite the fact that the Northampton, Pa. driver jumped past him for the lead early. Coby took the lead back from Hirschman on lap 14 and never trailed again. “Tonight I was just really concerned about how Hirschman is here, not to take anything away from Justin [Bonsignore]” Coby said. “Everybody knows that Matt is the guy on tracks like this. He has a great setup and he is a great driver. When he got out front on me, I want to pressure him a little bit to use his stuff up. Because if you don’t he will just cake walk you. His car was just not right in the beginning so I thought I would get out front. I was sure he did not want to fight me for it. Two years ago we got together because he felt he was a little better and we made contact. Tonight his car was off and it was like he just let go and it worked out in my favor.
“The way the race unfolded it was kind of easy to be on cruise control after I got clear by two and then saved the tires for next caution. If there were a lot of cautions it would have mixed it up quite bit. There would have been more opportunities for people to move me around and make me us my car up. It seemed like the way the cautions fell, everybody would get single file and then I would lap the same three or four lapped cars during each 50-lap run. So actually it worked out for me. So the way the race rolled, I thought I would just lay back and save tires until the next caution.
“When somebody has a good car up front [at Seekonk], whether it is me, [Hirschman] or [Chris] Pasteryak or anybody who has won races here, if there are not a lot of cautions and one car gets up front – and then somebody like [Bonsignore] who had to race from eighth to get to second – I have it in my mind that I have not raced yet, so I just push him to push him further. So that was what my plan was. I just think that he had a better car than that tonight. From what I heard he was kind of tight tonight. So he was more focused on his car and trying to turn it then my car so I was just trying to drive away.” Running three 50-lap races in his mind, Coby broke the race into manageable chunks that he could conquer and build on. Structuring the race into smaller blocks allowed Coby to win three races in one as he faced the challenges and switched plans for each one. “I was counting three 50 lap races in my head.” Coby said of his strategy. “When the first fifty were over, it was time to race and get to the next fifty. And then I go the last fifty the hardest.” Bonsignore, of Holtsville, NY, came to Seekonk looking to defend his 2018 Whelen Modifid Tour win at Seekonk. But the car setup was a little off and Bonsignore had to handle a tight car and Coby’s challenges at the same time. “Coby had a good car and he deserved the win.” Bonsignore said. “Our setup has been really close to him. Obviously at Thompson we had it really close and got the win there. And then I think at Stafford we had one of the better cars and he ended up getting the win.” Coby left Seekonk holding a 27-point lead over second place Ron Silk in the standings. Bonsignore, the reigning series champion, sits third, 43 points behind Coby.
“He has a little bit of a head start on us know right now,” Bonsignore said. “We have had a slow start. I figured we would get some momentum going here. Then we have a lot of good tracks coming up. We have Thompson and Loudon and of course Riverhead. … So we will take the momentum we built here and go to Thompson [Wednesday] and see what we got.” Craig Lutz of Miller Place, New York came to Seekonk with a car fresh of the jig. He qualified fifth and was in contention with the leaders several times. He made his way up to second and held off the advances of Silk to finish third. “This was a good rebound from Wall,” said Lutz, who had a rough night at the Jersey Shore 150 at Wall Stadium on May 18. “Feat unto itself. We got it fixed up and came back here on the podium – it was an awesome day. “… There is definitely nothing like it. It is a track where you can almost hold the wheel in one spot and go around the track. You have to go slow to go fast here. And we were able to do that for a while.”
Matt Hirschman Returns To Winning Ways In Tri-Track Open Mod Series Opener At Claremont on May 26
The Tri-Track Open Modified Series kicked off their 2019 campaign with a 100-lap feature at Claremont Motorsports Park (NH) on Sunday. The race was halted by several cautions before a familiar face, “Big Money” Matt Hirschman, eventually found his way to victory lane. “It was a good day. We were strong all day, we had a solid performing car from practice,” Hirschman said after the race. “My guys killed it in the pits, got me out first of the guys that pitted.“After that it was smooth sailing. I couldn’t really run any faster than I did, but I was never pressured that I had to force the car or even really have a chance at making a mistake because I never had to force it with somebody breathing on me.”Hirschman started the feature 12th after the qualifying redraw but steadily moved through the field to break into the top five around the midpoint of the race. Many cars came to the pits for tires under one of the cautions, and Hirschman’s crew beat everyone else to get their driver off pit road ahead of the field.When the race restarted, Hirschman again began working his way through the cars that stayed out. He took the lead on a late restart and pulled away from the field to score his first victory of the 2019 TTOMS campaign.Hirschman’s run was aided by a large crash on the frontstretch on lap 62 that eliminated a handful of front-running cars. Ron Silk had led the majority of the race up to that point, but was mired back in the pack after a slow pit stop.Silk was pushed high as he tried to work around the outside of Sam Rameau exiting turn four and pounded the wall, destroying both the right-front corner and his hopes of victory.
“We rounded off a lug nut [during the pit stop] and that’s how we came out of the pits so far back,” Silk said. “Just back racing with people you shouldn’t be and you get in trouble. I would have like to have seen the way it played out. I’m sure it would have been a great race between me and Matt and whoever else was up there, but it didn’t work out.” Connecticut native Les Hinckley followed Hirschman up through the pack but was unable to get around him, bringing the car home with a strong second-place result. Ronnie Williams, fresh off his SK Modified feature win at Stafford Motor Speedway on Friday night, finished third. Andy Jankowiak and Russ Hersey rounded out the top five.Speed51 will have full video highlights available in the coming days on the Speed51 Network.The next TTOMS race is the $10,000-to-win Open Wheel Wednesday on June 26 at Seekonk Speedway.
-Story by: Ian Pettigrew, Speed51.com Northeast Correspondent
-Photo credit: Speed51.com
Matt Hirschman Returns To Winning Ways In Tri-Track Open Mod Series Opener At Claremont on May 26
In what may be considered uncharacteristic fashion, Matt Hirschman of Northampton, PA took the lead just past halfway of the Ron Bouchard’s Auto Sales 100 for the Tri-Track Open Modified Series (TTOMS) season opener at Claremont Motorsports Park. Under picture-perfect conditions Hirschman bested a full-field that included runner-up Les Hinckley of Windsor Locks, CT, and emerging hot-shoe Ronnie Williams of Ellington, CT. Heat races and consolation events set the 26-car field for the first leg of the Ron Bouchard’s Auto Stores Challenge Cup. In total 34 cars attempted to qualify for the night’s event. After the redraw, Andy Jankowiak of Tonawanda, NY, and Ron Silk of Norwalk, CT, led the field to green. A bauble on the start for Jankowiak opened the door for defending race champion Mike Willis of Grantham, NH to make it three-wide with Silk and into the lead. Todd Patnode of Swanzey, NH, handily made his way into third. The top three cars began to distance themselves slightly from fourth running Jankowiak. Matt Swanson of Acton, MA, in Ole Blue, was getting pressure in fifth from Anthon Sesely of Matawah, NJ. The battle for the lead was heating up at lap 10 between Willis and Silk. Russ Hersey of Swanzey, NH, began to pressure Sesely for fifth. The first caution of the event flew on lap 13 for a two-car incident that involved Geoff Rollins of Groton, MA, and Carl Medeiros of Westport, MA. On the restart, Willis was once again able to jump out to the lead over Silk. Contact between the lead duo had Willis sideways; both were able to continue. Jankowiak spun amid the tussle to bring out the second caution again on lap 13.
Willis was back in command on the restart with Silk glued to his back bumper. Hersey was up to fourth and Sesely had his hands full with Hirschman and Sammy Rameau of Westminster, MA. Over the next few laps Silk was getting racy for the lead with Willis. Silk was the new leader at lap 20. With the top ten cars running nose to tail the best battle on the speedway was for eighth between Williams in the Roscoe Racing #25 and Hinckley, who was piloting the SPAFCO #21 for Art & Kenny Barry. At lap 30, a brewing battle for third place between Patnode and Hersey was slowed when Medeiros slowed on the front stretch to bring out the third caution. Under yellow, Sesely gave up fifth position to head to pit road for service. For the ensuing restart on lap 30, Silk and Willis made up the front row with Patnode, Hersey and Hirschman completing the top-five. Rameau, Williams, Hinckley, Matt Galko of Meriden, CT, and hometown favorite Bucky Demers of Cornish, NH, made up the top-ten. Hirschman made his way past Hersey to take over fourth position on the restart behind Silk, Willis and Patnode. Hersey continued to backslide slightly; losing a position to Rameau as well. Contenders Woody Pitkat, of Stafford Springs, in the Stan Mertz #6, Kirk Alexander of W. Swanzey, NH, in the Perry Family entry and Tommy Barrett of Millis, MA, aboard the #43, were mired deep in the field. Under green Silk was able to gain some distance over Willis while Hinckley was providing pressure to Hersey for sixth. As Silk continued to extend his lead, the top five was Willis, Patnode, Hirschman and Rameau. At halfway, the top-five remained the same with Hinckley, Demers, Hersey, Williams and Joey Jarvis of Ascutney, VT, occupying the top-ten. The complexion of the race would change dramatically with the unfurling of the event’s fourth caution flew on lap 56 for a spin by Hersey.Under yellow, all cars headed to pit road for service except Willis, Sesely and Jankowiak; the latter two had pitted previously. Hirschman won the battle off pit road to rejoin the field in fourth followed by Rameau, Silk, Hinckley, Williams, Richard Savary of Canton, MA, and Brian Robie of Sunapee, NH. Willis jump out to the lead with Sesely falling in line in second, Jankowiak lost third position to Matt Hirschman on lap 57. Silk was hooked up in the outside groove in search for the lead once again. Silk was gaining ground on the outside when the battle erupted with Silk, Rameau and Hinckley. The result found Silk hard into the outside wall on the front stretch to bring out the fifth caution on lap 61. Other cars collected included potential winners Robie, Patnode, Alexander and Jarvis. Robie, Patnode and Jarvis were able to continue. Rameau was penalized to the rear of the field. Under the caution, the leader Willis ducked onto pit road for service. After leading many laps of the event, he would ultimately not challenge for the win. On the lap 61 restart Hirschman was able to rocket by Sesely for the lead. He immediately ran out to a multiple car length advantage. Hinckley battled Jankowiak on the outside for third. Williams was making a charge back to the front; moving into the top-five on lap 66. Brad Babb of Windham, ME, was having a great run; just outside of the top-five. Hinckley moved into second position on lap 69 while a great battle was emerging for third between Sesely, Jankowiak and Williams. Swanson and Hersey were on the move as well.
Hirschman had a half-straightaway advantage over Hinckley with 25 laps to go. Jankowiak and Williams got by Sesely relegating him fifth. Williams immediately went to work on Jankowiak. Babb exited the speedway under green on lap 81 while running sixth. Hersey had recovered nicely; knocking on the door of the top-five with less than 20 to go and looking for more. Willis lurked outside the top 10 with only 15 laps remaining. Hinckley could not cut into Hirschman’s lead as the laps wound down. Hersey took fifth from Sesely on lap 89; leaving Sesely to defend against Swanson. With Hirschman handily out front, the best battle on the track continued to be for third between Jankowiak and Williams. Williams took the spot way with five laps remaining. Hirschman had stretched his lead over the final few laps and cruised to the victory over Hinckley, Williams, Jankowiak and Hersey. Swanson, Sesely, Barrett, Calvin Carroll of Andover, NJ, and Robie completed the top-ten.
During qualifying, heat race victories went to Hirschman, Sesely, Carroll and Swanson. Consolation race winners were Dana Smith, Sunapee, NH and Colbey Fournier of Berkley, MA.
1. Matt Hirschman, Northampton, PA; $7000 + $780 lap money +$200 heat win from Maurice Enterprises+ four tire credit from the Ricky Miller family
2. Les Hinckley, Windsor Locks, CT; $3700
3. Ronnie Williams, Ellington, CT; $2700
4. Andy Jankowiak, Tonawanda, NY; $2200
5. Russ Hersey, Swanzey, NH; $1700
6. Matt Swanson, Acton, MA; $1600 +$200 heat win from Maurice Enterprises
7. Anthony Sesely, Matawah, NJ; $1500 + 200 heat win from Maurice Enterprises
8. Tommy Barrett, Millis, MA; $1450
9. Calvin Carroll, Andover, NJ; $1400 +$200 heat win from Maurice Enterprises
10. Brian Robie, Sunapee, NH; $1375 + $150 Hoosier Tire East credit from Meadowbrook Farm
11. Joey Jarvis, Ascutney, VT; $1350
12. Sammy Rameau, Westminster, MA; $1325 + four tire credit from the Ricky Miller family
13. Dana Smith, Sunapee, NH; $1300 +$200 consi win from Maurice Enterprises
14. Woody Pitkat, Stafford Springs, CT; $1280
15. Bucky Demers, Cornish, NH; $1260
16. Mike Willis, Grantham, NH; $1240 +$500 lap money
17. Richard Savary, Canton, MA; $1220
18. Todd Patnode, Swanzey, NH; $1200
19. Colbey Fournier, Berkley, MA; $1200 +$200 consi win from Maurice Enterprises
20. Geoff Rollins, Groton, MA; $1200
21. Brad Babb, Windham, ME; $1200 + 150 Sunoco fuel credit from Meadowbrook Farm
22. Carl Medeiros, Westport, MA; $1200
23. Ron Silk, Norwalk, CT; $1200 + $820 lap money
24. Kirk Alexander, W. Swanzey, NH; $1200
25. Mike Holdridge, Madison, CT; $1200
26. Matt Galko, Meriden, CT. $1200
DNQ:Scott Adams, Lake Ariel, PA;
CJ Bolton, Weare, NH; $700
Josh Cantara, Sanford, ME; $500
Andrew Charron, E. Greenwich, RI; $700
Cameron Sontag, Sterling, MA; $700
Chris Ridsdale, Rochester, NY; $500
Kurt Vigeant, Oxford, MA. Scratch: $700
Todd Owen, Somers, CT.$500
In addition to this, all drivers who let in free thanks to Don Miller and the family of Ricky Miller.. Also, all pre registered car owners were allowed in free. We thank Claremont Motorsports Park for that and their hospitality.
Chemung Speedrome’s season opener was everything a track would hope for – a nice turnout of race teams and fans, competitive racing, and beautiful weather to boot on May 18
The 75-lap RoC Modified season opener drew a field of 26 cars. Qualifying wins went to Mike Leaty, Tyler Rypkema, Zane Zeiner and Chuck Hossfeld. The top 3 in each heat drew for the top 12 starting spots during intermission and the field was set for the feature. Tyler Rypkema drew the pole and led the way, chased early on by Mike Leaty and Chuck Hossfeld. The race itself was slowed by 14 cautions, most of which were for spins in turns three and four. Andy Jankowiak, who broke into the top five about 20 laps into the race, gradually worked his way to the front of the pack and took the lead from Rypkema on lap 46. While just two drivers led, running among the top five proved to be risky behavior Saturday afternoon. Mike Leaty, Matt Hirschman and Zane Zeiner all learned that the hard way, and restarted at the back after being involved in cautions Andy Jankowiak took the lead from Rypkema on lap 46 and never looked back. He held on and picked up the win over Zack Curren, Bryan Sherwood, Zeiner and Hirschman. “I didn’t have the fastest car, but I avoided the trouble,” Jankowiak said following the win. “I didn’t pass anyone ‘til I got to third,” he said regarding the many wrecks he avoided. Staying out of trouble was key for Curren and Sherwood as well. Both mentioned how that contributed to their podium finishes.
Results:
RoC Modifieds (75 Laps): ANDY JANKOWIAK, Zack Curren, Bryan Sherwood, Zane Zeiner, Matt Hirschman, TJ Potrzebowski, Tyler Rypkema, Chris Finocchairo, Daren Scherer, George Skora III, Scott Wylie, Daryl Lewis, Jr., Mike Leaty, Donny Hartzell, Jake Rought, Austin Beers, Owen Bednasz, Eric Beers, Chuck Hossfeld, Kevin Miller, Kyle Ebersole, Brian DeFebo, Austin Kochenash, Chris Ridsdale, Karl Hehr, Ken Canestrari (DNS)
Heats: Leaty, Rypkema, Zeiner, Hossfeld
Matt Hirschman returns to Mahoning April 6 the same way he left, as a winner...100-lap victory was worth $3grand
(LEHIGHTON 4-6-19) Matt Hirschman opened up Mahoning Valley Speedway’s 2019 Opening Night the same as he left for the season finale Octoberfast 2018 by parking his No. 60 in Victory Lane. The talented driver who travels and wins throughout the Eastern Seaboard, came to the track that sits closest to his Northampton home, making the 30-minute trek a profitable $3000 one after he secured victory in the 100-lap contest. Hirschman would come from 8th on the 19-car grid, taking the lead from Earl Paules while engaged in heavy lapped traffic. He then had number of close restart battles with eventual runner-up Austin Kochenash but by the later stages it was clear the race was his to lose. Hirschman crossed the finish line several car lengths ahead of Kochenash for his 17th win at Mahoning, 13 of them coming in 100+ lap events. Kyle Strohl showed good strength late in settling for third while Todd Baer ran consistently steady in securing fourth. Anthony Sesely in his return to Mahoning after a number of years away rounded out the top 5. “It was a great night. The last several Opening Nights here I watched from the grandstands and this was a lot more fun for sure although a lot harder work,” said Hirschman, who was fresh off a win a week early at Richmond International Raceway and third consecutive. “I enjoy the traveling thing but it is nice to race close to home. We had a lot of supporters who came out tonight from many different states and we’re having a great start to the season but there’s a long way to go. I look forward to be back here later this year for a few more shows.” Determined by luck of the draw and leading the field to the green was two-time and defending track champion Brian DeFebo with Kochenash flanked to his outside. DeFefo would jump out front early on while Kochenash, Paules and Hirschman began a tight battle right behind. By lap 10 Paules was getting a good run on the top side and began reeling in DeFebo. Three laps later the leader had a glitch coming off turn four which allowed Paules to seize the lead. One lap later Hirschman was second and for the next 22 laps it was close action with that pair. With no cautions during that stretch lapped traffic became a factor and for the strong running Paules it would ultimately be his downfall after what appeared to be a very promising night. As lap 36 was recorded the leaders came upon a group of cars running two abreast. Paules was holding a line to the outside but just before clearing there was contact made after the car of Nick Baer shot across his path due to a bump that he received. Paules wound up spinning while miraculously Hirschman stayed low enough to just barely avoid the situation. “My eyes where definitely looking out the right side and it was just one of those things were we caught some lapped cars that were racing ahead of us and they were telling them on the scanner to try and get signal file but it didn’t happen and unfortunately for Earl (Paules) he kind of washed up some and got clipped. I just missed him and I’m glad we did otherwise we would have been wrecked too,” explained Hirschman. When the field was reset Kochenash was now second and through a series of restarts he made some valiant attempts to sneak underneath Hirschman for the lead, successfully doing so on one of those tries only to be thwarted on the ensuing lap. “I knew on the restarts I felt pressure from behind and we got a little crossed up a couple times but once we got going the car was great but you can never let your guard down here at Mahoning,” said Hirschman. It would be perceptible over the final 25 tours that Hirschman had a lock as he was hitting his stride with each passing lap. For Kochenash he showed that 2019 has the makings of a rewarding season as he ran the entire race from no lower than third. “We just ran the tires off near the end and the clutch began slipping early on so that hurt quite a bit and it just didn’t play out today. Second (place) is not bad and well get some money and go on to the next one,” said Kochenash.
Modified Feature Finish (100-laps): 1.Matt Hirschman, 2. Austin Kochenash, 3. Kyle Strohl, 4. Todd Bear, 5. Anthony Sesely, 6. Gene Bowers, 7. Brian DeFebo, 8. Josh Scherer, 9. Don Wagner, 10. John Markovic, 11. Bobby Jones, 12. Joey Jarowicz, 13. Earl Paules, 14. Heath Metzger, 15. Nick Bear, 16. Austin Beers, 17. Scott Adams, 18. Jacob Kerstetter, 19. Ron Haring Jr.
‘Big Money’ Enjoys Richmond Victory & Experience - MARCH 30
Matt Hirschman added another honor to his mantle in Modified racing, taking the win in the inaugural Commonwealth Classic at Richmond Raceway (VA). Hirschman dominated the 75-lap feature, winning from the pole and enjoying every second of the experience. “What an awesome place,” Hirschman said in victory lane. “We planned on coming here back in the fall. When that got postponed, we were undecided. We knew the car count wasn’t going to be good and the competition was going to be down some from what it would have been last year.” After being on the fence about whether or not to participate in this year’s Commonwealth Classic, Hirschman was glad he made the choice to haul down to Richmond for the event. “We were going to come last year, so we decided we’d come this year, and what an experience,” Hirschman stated. “From the first lap (in practice) to the feature laps, I improved a thousand times. It took quite a bit to get used to. I hope it’s not the only experience I’ll have here, but if it is, I’m glad I came and got to experience it. It’s an awesome place.” Runner-up finisher Andy Seuss echoed Hirschman’s sentiments, pleased with how the inaugural event played out and hopeful for even bigger things in the race’s future. “I’ve got to thank PASS for putting this on and the Tri-Track Modified tech officials for coming down,” Seuss stated. “Great place to race, great racing, great group of guys to race. Wish we had more cars, but I think word will get out what a great event it was and we’ll have more guys here next year.” While the top two finishers were seasoned veterans of the Modified ranks who have taken on some big challenges in their time, third-place finisher Bobby Measmer, Jr. was tackling a track of Richmond’s scale for the first time. It was an enjoyable but educational undertaking. “It was definitely fun,” Measmer said. “I can’t thank my guys enough for giving me a good car. This is my first time racing in a drafting situation. Some of these guys have raced at Loudon, I learned a few things. It was big-time keeping your momentum up. I got into Andy one time trying to hold off Zacharias and it killed my momentum.” While not having the pedigree of Hirschman or Seuss, as a competitor Measmer hoped to pick up a big win against Hirschman down the road.“I’m getting tired of finishing behind him,” Measmer said. “Eventually I’m going to get him. I respect Matt and all of them, Andy as well. You always want to outrun the best. They’ve been doing it a lot longer than I have, so finishing behind Matt and Andy, that ain’t too bad.” Race fans who missed Saturday's action at Richmond Raceway can visit Race Day Now for updates and information by clicking here. Fans can also stay tuned to the Speed51 Network for highlights, recaps and more from all six divisions of the inaugural Commonwealth Classic.
-Story by: Zach Evans, Speed51.com Southeast Editor – Twitter: @ztevans
Matt Hirschman took a step up to the top of the podium Sunday at Caraway Speedway - MARCH 17
Following a third-place finish Saturday in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season opener at Myrtle Beach Speedway, Matt Hirschman took a step up to the top of the podium Sunday at Caraway Speedway. "Big Money" Matt held off multiple charges from the Myers brothers (Burt and Jason) and even a tap to his rear bumper from John Smith in the last corner to capture the opening round of the 2019 Southern Modified Racing Series season at the Sophia, North Carolina oval. After missing the first round of practice while making changes to his Modified from Myrtle Beach the night before, Hirschman was still a little off in round two of practice, timing in 10th fastest of the 15 Modifieds in attendance. But in typical Matt Hirschman fashion, he wasn't off the pace for long. The driver of car No. 60 stepped it up in qualifying to post the third fastest time and was poised for another strong run. Jimmy Blewett was the early leader of the race, pacing the field for most of the first half of the race until he dropped out with an apparent transmission issue on his No. 76. That handed the lead over to Burt Myers who had a very fast No. 1 car all race long. As one would expect, pit stops and tires played a huge role in the race with drivers on varying tire strategies throughout the 125-lap race. John Smith inherited the lead from Myers by staying out on a Lap 68 caution and was at the point until Lap 93 when Hirschman came to call, stealing the lead away from Smith on the outside. A caution with 27 laps to go sent Smith and Tim Brown to the pit area to see if they could steal a win away in the late stages, restarting sixth and eighth respectively when the race resumed on Lap 98. On the ensuing restart, the Myers brothers were hounding Hirschman at every turn. While the lead battle was heating up, Smith was making his way back up the running order, passing Bobby Measmer Jr. and Burt Myers to get to third place as the caution flew again with five laps to go for a car stopped up high in turn two. That set up a five-lap dash for the $5,000 cash with Hirschman hoping to hold off a slew of hun gry southern drivers who wanted to defend their home turf. Smith leap-frogged Jason Myers on the start and was glued to the rear bumper of Hirschman for the final five laps. Smith drove in hard to the final turn and gave Hirschman a little tap on the rear bumper, pulling low on the exit of four to drag race Hirschman to the line before coming up just .131 seconds short of the victory. "It's tough to run the same car on back-to-back days because they need so much maintenance and things you should do that we were just a little bit behind," Hirschman explained in victory lane. "We still had a good day and I know we didn't have the fastest car here but we just put ourselves in the right position, had a good stop and made some adjustments. The 25 (Smith) had a great car to go as long as he did and when we finally got ahead of him, we didn't need that last caution. He wasn't going to catch us. He was faster but he wasn't going to catch us. The last caution gave him a great opportunity I'm just glad I could hold him off."
Despite coming up one sport short and losing the battle to a northern invader, Smith had nothing but nice things to say after the race."He's a class act," Smith said after the race, referring to Hirschman. "When I've raced with him over the years he always raced me clean. We had a good hard race."
-Story by Shawn Meekhof, Speed51.com Southeast Correspondent
MATT FINISHES 11th at MRYTLE BEACH - MARCH 16
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – It seemed the racing gods were determined to make sure five-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Doug Coby started the 2019 season in a hole at Myrtle Beach Speedway. After winning the pole in qualifying Coby was forced by NASCAR to drop to the rear of the field for the start of the Performance Plus 150 Saturday after the team found a nail in a tire while bringing the car to the track for driver introductions and was forced to make a change. Then on lap 26 Coby was involved in an early melee, dropping him once again to the rear of the field.But the rallying attitude never waned for the Milford driver. Coby used a late pit stop for tires to rocket from 14thplace to the lead over 13 laps and drove away through traffic over the closing laps to win the Whelen Modified Tour Performance Plus 150 at Myrtle Beach Speedway. Jon McKennedy of Chelmsford, Mass. was second and Jimmy Blewett of Howell, N.J. third. Following the race Coby expressed his displeasure with NASCAR’s decision to drop him to the rear of the 32-car field for the start. “What happened at the start of the race, after the pit party out here, NASCAR decided to drive us in all the junk behind the track and as the first car through there we picked up a nail or something in the left front tire. [My Crew chief Phil Moran] saw it right as we were ready to go. The officials saw it and it was leaking air real bad and it was going to go flat. And the rule is that I guess you’ve got to go to the back for that. I don’t think that’s a good rule for any series to have. I’m really supportive of good rules and I’m really critical of bad rules and that’s not a good rule. I’m sure [none of the fans] had any idea what was going on and that’s not good for racing. “… I know you guys don’t like those cookie cutter drivers that have no opinions because they can’t say their minds. But if you follow the Modified Tour enough you’ll find that most of us drivers here aren’t afraid to say what we feel and I think that’s good for racing.” It was the 25th career series victory for Coby, who won his first series title in 2012 and then won four consecutive from 2014-2017.
“I’m really happy to get this win for Mayhew Tools and I thank all the fans from Myrtle Beach for coming out,” Coby said. “That’s really important. Coby restarted in 14th after pitting on lap 109. He took the lead for good on lap 122. After Coby went to the lead Blewett hounded him at the front briefly before falling back to third late.
“I don’t ever make excuses but the battery died in this car and I only had a quarter throttle,” Blewett said. “The thing was breaking up down the whole straightaway. Once I got into second it just started missing. I didn’t know if I was running out of fuel or what the problem was. We definitely had something for him, I just didn’t have the power with the battery being dead. Hats off to Doug and his guys.” Said Coby: “There’s 32 cars here and if there’s one I don’t want behind me with 10 [laps] to go it’s Jimmy Blewett. I was trying to keep my distance from him. … I just wanted to stay as far ahead as I could.” McKennedy was left to celebrate first runner-up in an event he won in 2018. “We came through the field twice and were just a little bit too tight at the end,” McKennedy said. “Doug was really good at the end. We are happy with a second. We ran well and they knew we were here. It was a great way to start the season. “… We still had the best car out there. Our strategy hurt us a little bit there. It was a gamble we took and the competition was close here. But we qualified second and finished second.”
New Smyrna Speedway Feb 15 - Night 5
by Shawn Courchesne
Matt Hirschman went to the 2019 World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing as the reigning Tour Type Modified champion of the division. Friday at New Smyrna Hirschman closed out the 2019 World Series by showing competitors that, despite not winning another title, he is the reigning king of Modifieds at speedy Florida oval. Hirschman, of Northampton, Pa., dominated on the way to his third consecutive World Series victory of the week in the Richie Evans Memorial 100 Friday at New Smyrna Speedway. “This is the biggest of the week, but man to win three in a row is incredible,” Hirschman said. “Before we left the last thing my dad said to my son and I was to win some races, so we just got three in a row. … We didn’t end up winning the points … but we kind of dominated the end of speedweeks here and I’ve never done that before.” The event closed out five consecutive nights of Tour Type Modified events at New Smyrna. Hirschman won the final three events of the week. He also had a second place on opening night Monday. His only hiccup of the week came when he was caught up in an early wreck on Tuesday and finished 18th. “It’s just such a grind,” Hirschman said. “For this week plus, all eyes of the short track world are on New Smyrna and speedweeks down here. This is just so cool to come down here with a group of guys and just work your rear ends off. We wrecked Tuesday bad, almost thought we were done. Just worked hard, put it back together and I found my groove.” It was Hirschman’s seventh career Tour Type Modified victory at New Smyrna and his third victory in the Richie Evans Memorial. He became the first driver to win the John Blewett III Memorial 76 (Wednesday) and the Evans Memorial in the same week. “To win the Blewett Memorial and now the Evans Memorial, the two biggest races of the week, these guys just worked hard,” Hirschman said. “… With all the hard work from my dad at home to all these guys here, it’s just a great accomplishment. This is one where I’m talking a lot because I’m really pumped. Three in a row, this is a nice streak.” Jimmy Blewett of Howell, N.J. was second and Anthony Nocella of Woburn, Mass. third in Friday’s 100-lap feature. “Matt and his guys they do their homework,” Blewett said. “They don’t call him ‘Big Money Matt’ for nothing. My guys came here with a great car, I couldn’t ask for anything more.” Chuck Hossfeld of Ransomville, N.Y. used a seventh place finish Friday to clinch the division championship for 2019. Hossfeld also had finishes of fifth, fourth, second and third respectively over the course of the week at New Smyrna. He also won the Tour Type Modified event on Feb. 9 at Bronson Speedway in Archer, Fla. kicking off Modified Speedweek in Florida. It was the second Tour Type Modified division championship at New Smyrna for Hossfeld, who also won it in 2012. “This morning I was thinking about the championship meaning more than the race,” Hossfeld said. “Our car was not good enough to win the race. We had to hold off Doug Coby with like 15 [laps] to go and luckily we did that. … We had a great week, a fun week and my car is as pretty as when it came. It’s not all beat up like some of the other guys cars. I joked around and said I had the prettiest car and the prettiest girl and the best guys and we finished strong so I’m really proud of what we did.” Pole sitter Doug Coby led the first 40 laps, but on lap 41 Hirschman went by him for the lead. From there it was the Hirschman show at the front of the field as he went unchallenged the rest of the way.Coby opened the week Monday by winning the Tour Type Modified division feature at New Smyrna, the first of his career at the track. Ryan Preece got the division’s victory on night two on Tuesday.
1 60 Matt Hirschman
2 2B Jimmy Blewett
3 92 Anthony Nocella
4 54 Tommy Catalano
5 07 Patrick Emerling
6 36 Dave Sapienza
7 22 Chuck Hossfeld
8 25C Calvin Carroll
9 2 Doug Coby
10 71 Jimmy Zacharias
11 12X Andy Jankowiak
12 32 Tyler Rypkema
13 11 Dillon Steuer
14 55 Jeremy Gerstner
15 17 Bobby Measmer, Jr.
16 16 Timmy Solomito
17 25N Nikki Carroll
18 64 Amy Catalano
19 21 Al Emmarino
20 2X Tom Tone
New Smyrna Speedway Feb 14- Night 4
by Shawn Courchesne
Through Thursday this year’s Florida Tour Type Modified action has been about an abundance of winners. Chuck Hossfeld won last Saturday at Bronson Speedway. Then it was Doug Coby, Ryan Preece and Matt Hirschan scoring wins the first three nights of Tour Type Modified action at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway. Thursday Hirschman, of Northampton, Pa., snapped that streak of variety by becoming the first repeat winner in Tour Type Modified action in Florida. Hirschman used an aggressive three-wide move on a lap 28 restart to grab the restart and led the rest of the way in winning the 35-lap Tour Type Modified feature Thursday at New Smyrna. “That was pretty exciting actually,” said Hirschman, who started ninth in the 20-car field. “I really didn’t think tonight was going to be out night after our pole qualifying effort. We’ve definitely got to do better there. We missed the opportunity for the invert completely. But I made a few more changes, stuff I wanted to try and at first I didn’t think it was really probably any good, but it really came in well.” Timmy Solomito of Islip, N.Y. was second and Chuck Hossfeld of Ransomville, N.Y. third. Solomito went to the lead past Doug Coby on a lap eight restart. Tommy Catalano moved to second on a lap 18 restart and then dogged Solomito on another restart when Solomito restarted on the outside lane. On a lap 28 restart Solomito decided to take the inside, but was Hirschman restarting in third who took advantage of Solomito and Catalano fighting for the lead. Hirschman went low under both Solomito and Catalano to take over the lead on the lap 28 restart and never trailed again. “It was just the right opportunity,” Hirschman said. “I don’t know if we had the fastest car, but I made one good move. That was what we needed.” Said Solomito: “We just overworked the right front tonight. We’ve been loose the last couple nights so we tightened the car up finally and just overworked the right front. I let [Catalano] have the bottom on that one restart and he used me up for three laps and I couldn’t let him have the bottom again.” Hossfeld used the third place to take over the points leading heading into the final night for the Tour Type Modified division on Friday with the running of the Richie Evans 100 Memorial. “It’s been fun here,” Hossfeld said. “We race, then we eat, then we drink and then I try to get an adult hug in and repeat. Do it again tomorrow. Every day the same thing.”
1 60 Matt Hirschman
2 16 Timmy Solomito
3 22 Chuck Hossfeld
4 17 Bobby Measmer, Jr.
5 54 Tommy Catalano
6 12X Andy Jankowiak
7 07 Patrick Emerling
8 25C Calvin Carroll
9 11 Dillon Steuer
10 64 Amy Catalano
11 55 Jeremy Gerstner
12 32 Tyler Rypkema
13 25N Nikki Carroll
14 92 Anthony Nocella
15 2 Doug Coby
16 2B Jimmy Blewett
17 1NY Chris Ridsdale
18 07X Mike Bologna
19 21 Al Emmarino
20 2X Mike Bologna
New Smyrna Speedway Feb 13-Night 3
by Shawn Courchesne
Matt Hirschman can be kept quiet only for so long at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway. Wednesday the Northampton, Pa. driver showed that even nearly destroying a car isn’t enough to keep him out of the mix at New Smyrna. Hirschman, the 2018 Tour Type Modified champion at the New Smyrna World Series, used a late charge to the lead to get his first victory of the week at New Smyrna Wednesday Hirschman drove away from the field in the late stages to win the John Blewett III Memorial 76 at New Smyrna Speedway. Chuck Hossfeld of Ransomville, N.Y. was second and Dave Sapienza of Riverhead, N.Y. third. It was the second consecutive year that Hirschman has won the John Blewett III Memorial. “I love this race,” Hirschman said. “I really like the longer race here. Guys have different strategies, pitting and different things. It worked out.” Hirschman rallied back from a bad wreck on Tuesday after a third place finish on opening night for the Tour Type division on Monday. “After last night we really had to work hard,” Hirschman said. “Initially I thought we were done for the week. Usually you don’t bring out a welder and a grinder and all that stuff at a race track. But we came here to race. Luckily it wasn’t too bad that we were able to fix it. These guys worked hard. I know we’re all tired. We’re going to go on adrenaline here to celebrate this for a little bit. But we’re definitely worn out. We worked hard the last few days. Hopefully we can finish this week strong.” Hirschman started on the pole, but it was Preece moving past him for the lead at the start, with Doug Coby quickly moving to second from the fourth starting spot. Coby then went by Preece to take over the top spot on lap two. Coby looked dominant early before the first caution flew on lap 25. On the restart it was Preece easily moving by Coby for the lead with Hirschman going to second and the field behind them quickly following to drop Coby to eighth. When the caution flew again on lap 37 it was Coby – the winner Monday on opening night of the World Series and the third place finisher Tuesday – heading to the pits for adjustments. Coby was back in the pits again when caution flew on lap 46. After stalking Ryan Preece for most of the middle portion of the event, Hirschman got by Preece for the lead on a lap 61 restart and never trailed again. Sapienza came from the 14thstarting spot to finish third. “I don’t really time trial well, but I can race a car,” Sapienza said. “So we pretty much time trialed with a race setup and they told me it would be good.” Coby, who won on opening night Monday and was third Tuesday, ended up rallying for a fourth place Wednesday. Jimmy Zacharias was fifth. Preece, who won the 35-lap event on Tuesday at New Smyrna, ended up ninth.
New Smyrna Speedway Feb 12- NIGHT 2
by Shawn Courchesne
Sunday Ryan Preece will begin his chase for the 2019 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series Rookie of the Year Award when he makes his first Daytona 500 start at Daytona International Speedway. Tuesday, a few miles away from Daytona, it was the former NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion showing off the talent that has helped to land him a full-time ride at the highest level of NASCAR. Preece used a meteoric drive through from the drop of the green flag to rocket to the lead and go on to win the 35-lap Tour Type Modified feature Tuesday at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway. It was the perfect bounce back for Preece, who had mechanical issues in the first Tour Type Modified event of the week at New Smyrna on Monday. “What’s really special about this is it’s all my friends,” Preece said. “We’re all buddies from home. And they come down, it’s a yearly thing. To be able to come here, and we won with a brand new car, a Chassis Dynamics race car. What’s even more special about it is this guy that owns Chassis Dynamics, Mike Paquette, gave me an opportunity in 2010 – along with Bob Hitchcock – and that’s really what got my career going. To be able to debut this brand new car and be as strong as it is, I’m really pumped.” Preece, of Berlin, will run his first full-time season with the Monster Energy Cup Series for JTG Daugherty Racing. The 2013 Whelen Modified Tour champion had two NASCAR XFINITY Series victories running part-time for NASCAR powerhouse Joe Gibbs Racing in 2017 and 2018. Jimmy Blewett of Howell, N.J. was second. Doug Coby of Milford, who won on night one of Tour Type Modified action on Monday, was third. Preece qualified on the pole Tuesday with Coby qualifying second. The top-eight qualifiers were inverted, putting Preece in eighth for the start. He wasted no time swiftly darting toward the front, moving to fifth within the first three laps. On lap six he went by Chuck Hossfeld for fourth. And then on lap nine Preece used a three-wide move low under both Timmy Solomito and Anthony Nocella to move to second. On lap 13 Preece was able to go by Tommy Catalano for the top spot and he never trailed again.
A wreck on lap 22 left the car of Andy Jankowiak on top of Patrick Emerling’s, leading to a long delay. On the eventual restart it was Preece holding the lead with Blewett moving from fourth to second and Coby from fifth to third. But despite having Blewett and Coby stalking, Preece was able to check out on the field over the final seven laps. “I used to be labeled as a guy who burnt up my stuff real quick and I have really have done OK with my setups to make it better in the long run,” Preece said. “Especially on a 35 lapper. It was pretty much on cruise control. I am just happy to be out here at New Smyrna Speedway. To be on the outside is a really big thing with the Modfieds and we clicked them off real quick there. I knew that my setup was going to come in around lap seven or eight and really start rolling. I am just happy to get one win. So far it is Doug one and me one so we will see if we can beat him tomorrow night.” Blewett was left to hold off the charges of Coby late. “I need to find a little more balance,” Blewett said. “Since we unloaded last Thursday we’ve just been working on that, fine tune, fine tune, fine tune, taking baby steps. We didn’t want to really overdo it. Tonight we overdid a little too much. Ran out of forward drive just about halfway through the race. We’ve got a little bit of work to do to catch [Preece].” Said Coby: “We just missed a little bit tonight. We made some adjustments based on how I thought the car was last night. We figured in a 35-lapper we were probably going to have to pass a few cars, which we did. So we made a few changes and it didn’t quite work. So we’ve got to go back to the drawing board. … Just a good learning night for us.” The Tour Type Modified division is scheduled to run five consecutive nights at the World Series. Coby, in his second career start at the track, won the division’s opening event on Monday. Wednesday will see the Tour Type Modifieds run the John Blewett III Memorial 76. The division will another 35-lap feature Thursday before its championship deciding event – the Richie Evans Memorial 100 – on Friday.
New Symrna - Feb 11 - Night 1 50 Lapper
by Shawn Courchesne
Editors Note: Second place finisher Patrick Emerling was disqualified following post-race inspection for left side weight Third place finisher Matt Hirschman was moved to second and Jimmy Blewett was moved from fourth to third.
NEW SMYRNA, FLA. – When Doug Coby and his Mike Smeriglio Racing team began analyzing their preparation plans for the 2019 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season, it was realized that their options for preseason testing were fairly limited. It led to the team’s decision to head to New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway for the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing for a weeklong test session in Florida. On opening night for the Tour Type Modifieds at New Smyrna Monday it was Coby, of Milford, showing that he had done his homework and was ready to ace the test. In his second career start at New Smyrna Speedway, Coby went to the lead at the start and never trailed again on the way to victory in the 50-lap Tour Type Modified feature. “It’s awesome,” Coby said. “This is like a brand new track for me. I don’t have any experience here. These guys have been running here, for some of these guys, 10-12 years. … They’ve got 80-90 races on me. It helps to have a great prepared car by [crew chief] Phil Moran and all the guys on the Mayhew Tools [sponsored] team. We’ve got a very small crew here this week.” Patrick Emerling of Orchard Park, N.Y. was second and Matt Hirschman of third. Coby, the five-time Whelen Modified Tour champion, qualified second to Emerling in the 24-car field which started straight up from qualifying. Following a lap 22 caution the race went green to its conclusion, with Coby easily checking out from Emerling. “Great to start off with a win,” Coby said. “We worked really hard on Thursday to come up with some changes and we left them in the car to see how they would race and they raced pretty darn good. We’re going to try some more stuff. That’s why we’re here. We’re here to test.” Said Emerling: “He was just a little bit better than me. … We finished second to a five-time NASCAR Mod champion. That’s not a horrible day for us.” The Tour Type Modifieds will run five consecutive nights at New Smyrna, culminating with the Richie Evans Memorial 100 on Friday. Coby’s only other start at New Smryna Speedway came in 2014 when his team was in Florida for the Battle at the Beach for the Whelen Modified Tour at Daytona International Speedway. “I don’t care what race track it is, Doug Coby, he can get it done,” Moran said. “We came down here to try some stuff and so far so good.” Coby had a streak of four consecutive Whelen Modified Tour championships snapped by Justin Bonsignore in 2018. Coby ended up third in the Whelen Modified Tour standings last year. “We want to win races, but we’re here to test for the [Whelen Modified Tour] season,” Coby said. “I’ve got to come after Justin Bonsignore.” Coby understands that the weeklong grind will bring unforeseen challenges. “Some of these guys ran some fast laps,” Coby said. “But we do not care about fast laps, we care about fast race cars. … We now have to worry about the [John Blewett III Memorial 76] and [the Richie Evans Memorial 100] races. And qualifying good every night to stay up front. Matt Hirschman is going to be tough to hold off. He was really strong and had a really good run tonight. I think that Emerling was holding him up a bit. If he had gotten by him he would have had a good shot at it. It is a long week here and we are trying to keep these cars in one piece.”Hirschman is looking to defend his World Series Tour Type Modified championship from 2018. “The car was good,” Hirschman said of his third place run Monday. “Better than the driver I think because I was not making passes that I should have. I just have to get a little bit better. I had a couple of times that I was able to get a wheel but the one time I had a good run I ended up slipping up. Really this is a good start for the first night. Hopefully the weather cooperates so we can get all the nights in and hopefully we can get a little ahead here.”
1 2 Doug Coby
2 60 Matt Hirschman
3 2B Jimmy Blewett
4 92 Anthony Nocella
5 22 Chuck Hossfeld
6 16 Timmy Solomito
7 83 Mike Willis, Jr.
8 55 Jeremy Gerstner
9 46 Jeff Goodale
10 25C Calvin Carroll
11 64 Amy Catalano
12 11 Dillon Steuer
13 6 Ryan Preece
14 4 Jeffrey Gallup
15 25N Nikki Carroll
16 71 Jimmy Zacharias
17 12X Andy Jankowiak
18 54 Tommy Catalano
19 32 Tyler Rypkema
20 24 Dean Rypkema
21 21 Al Amarino
22 1NY Chris Risdale
23 2X Tom Tonn
DQ 07 Patrick Emerling
BRONSON SPEEDWAY - February 9
By Shawn Courchesne & Denise DuPont
ARCHER, Fla. – The 2019 schedule for Tour Type Modified racing kicked off Saturday with a butt kicking at Bronson Speedway in Archer, Fla. Chuck Hossfeld of Ransomville, N.Y. led every circuit on the way to victory in the fourth Kickoff To Speedweek powered by Sunoco 50-lap Tour Type Modified feature. Hossfeld started on the pole in the 10-car field for the feature and held off the charges of Matt Hirschman late in the event. “To beat [Hirschman] anywhere nowadays is an accomplishment because it does not happen very often,” Hossfeld told RaceDayCT. “I am very proud of my team it is a great way to start off speedweeks. I have the prettiest car, the prettiest girl and the best group of guys. Now we will go have some beer and food and go to New Smyrna tomorrow.” Hirschman, of Northampton, Pa., was second and Jimmy Blewett of Howell, N.J. third. “I appreciated everything that is done here [at Bronson Speedway], Hossfeld said. “Everyone here is very welcoming and they do a great job. I would come back anytime. To win here feels really great. I know what it takes to run a race team. I can only imagine what it takes to run a race track. I am glad that I can support it and the track’s fan base. It was a great night. “I like all race tracks. I am glad to be down here with all my buddies racing. I am blessed to be able to do it.” Blewett stalked Hossfeld in second for the first 35 laps of the event before Hirschman used a restart to take over the runner-up position with 15 laps remaining. A bid by Hirschman’s to overtake Hossfeld with two laps remaining was hindered by a lapped car slowing his momentum. “The natural way to go around a lapped car is on the outside,” Hossfeld said. “He may have had a run but I had the preferred lane and the lapped car just made it too many cars in one spot. So if it worked out for me and not him — I am glad.” Said Hirschman of getting slowed by the lapped car: “I do not know if it would have made a difference or not. I had a little bit of a run but I do not know if it was enough of a run or not. Maybe it was bad timing. I am not really to upset about that. “We were challenging, contending but we just did not get by. If I was better it was not by much. Maybe a small amount. I just could not get it done.” Patrick Emerling of Orchard Park, N.Y. was fourth and Andy Jankowiak of North Tonawanda, N.Y. was fifth. The Tour Type Modifieds now roll on to New Smyrna Speedway in New Smyrna, Fla. for the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing. The World Series officially kicked off Friday in New Smyrna. The Tour Type Modifieds will run five consecutive nights at New Smyrna, with the first event taking place Monday. “We practiced the other day and we had a fast car so my hopes are high and I think that we are going to do real well,” Hossfeld said of New Smyrna. “There is going to be a lot of competition and this is a great way to start it out.” Hirschman left Bronson ready to begin defense of his 2018 New Smyrna World Series Tour Type Modified championship.
“Initially you are disappointed when you do not win or you had a car capable of winning,” Hirschman said. “But it is very short lived here because we have potentially five races ahead of us next week. So I am not going to dwell on it. And really for every car in this pit area, the main thing is that you do not have damage and you can roll them in the trailer. There is a lot of work to do and a lot of racing to do. I think everyone managed to achieve that.”