2021
NEW SMYRNA SPEEDWAY - RACE # 5
by Shawn Courchesne
Big Score: Matt Hirschman Wins Richie Evans Memorial, World Series Title At New Smyrna
Matt Hirschman came to New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway this week looking to defend his 2020 World Series of Asphalt Stock Racing Tour Type Modified division championship.
And Hirschman played the defense of that title to near perfection. Hirschman, of Northampton, Pa., closed out his second consecutive Tour Type Modified division championship in a way he’s become quite familiar with.
Hirschman held off Ryan Preece on a green-white-checkered finish to win the Richie Evans Memorial 100 Friday at New Smyrna Speedway.
The victory Friday easily clinched the championship for the five-event mini-series at New Smyrna. It was the second consecutive victory on the week for Hirschman, who won the 35-lap Tour Type Modified event on Thursday.
“Last night, it was nice to win, but it was hard for me to celebrate it because to me there was a bigger prize ahead,” Hirschman said. “Tonight we got it. We also won the championship. It’s a team accomplishment. It’s just great to be here.”
Jon McKennedy of Chelmsford, Mass. was second and Anthony Nocella of Woburn, Mass. third. Preece fell to fourth after getting passed by McKennedy and Nocella on the final lap.
It was Hirschman’s third consecutive victory in the Richie Evans Memorial 100 and his fifth victory in eight starts in the event. The five victories matched the late Ted Christopher for career wins in the historic event.
“I started my career over 20 years ago at Evergreen Speedway in Pennsylvania,” Hirschman said. “I never knew if I’d win one race. To come down here to Florida and win the biggest race here, named after Richie Evans, is just quite a career. I’m thankful for everyone that’s helped get me here. Not just here to Florida, but just throughout my career, especially tonight. I’ve got to thank my guys. They worked hard all week. Pee Dee Motorsports, we’ve had a lot of success here over the last few years. They’re all memorable these Evans 100 wins.”
Hirschman was on the podium for all five events at the World Series. He was third in the 50-lap opener on Monday, second in the 35-lap event on Tuesday and third in the John Blewett III Memorial 76 on Wednesday. He got his first win of the week in Thursday’s 35-lap feature.
Hirschman was the only multi-time winner on the week. Craig Lutz (Monday), Patrick Emerling (Tuesday) and Preece (Wednesday) were the other winners on the week.
Lutz started on the pole and led the first 76 laps before heading to pit road with mechanical issues. The Lutz retirement handed Hirschman the lead with Preece behind him in second.
The fourth caution of the race flew on lap 99 when Stephen Kopcik ended up hard into the backstretch wall after his right front tire caught a piece of debris off the car of Chuck Hossleld and came apart.
On the ensuing restart Preece was able to get the lead from Hirschman. Hirschman battled back with a shot from behind in turn three, but the caution flew once again before the lap was completed, setting Hirschman back to the lead for a second attempt at the green-white-checkered finish.
On the final restart Hirschman got the jump on Preece and left him fighting for second place. On the final lap McKennedy was able to get outside of Preece for second place with Nocella following to third.
“We were just able to get ahead of him there and get the win,” Hirschman said of Preece. “Obviously he’s a great talent. I hope he wins the Daytona 500 on Sunday.”
After issues the first two nights McKennedy closed out the week with a fourth place on Wednesday and consecutive second place finishes on Thursday and Friday.
“The car was good, it was a good solid run,” McKennedy said. “My guys all worked their butts off all week. We started off the week a little bit behind there. A couple of torn up cars the first two nights. But the guys did an awesome job the last few nights. A fourth and two seconds. Big thanks to them.”
Pos # Driver Start
1 60 Matt Hirschman 8
2 7NY Jon McKennedy 4
3 92 Anthony Nocella 17
4 6 Ryan Preece 10
5 58 Eric Goodale 13
6 20 Eddie McCarthy 16
7 50 Ronnie Williams 7
8 2 Chuck Hossfeld 15
9 2X JR Bertuccio 11
10 36 David Sapienza 24
11 0 Zane Zeiner 18
12 55 Jeremy Gerstner 22
13 14 Bobby Measmer, Jr. 25
14 25 Brian Robie 23
15 45 Timmy Catalano 20
16 59 Matthew Galko 19
17 179 Stephen Kopcik 2
18 8 Chris Finocchario 26
19 9 Tom Martino, Jr. 28
20 17K Danny Knoll, Jr. 27
21 32 Tyler Rypkema 5
22 46 Craig Lutz 1
23 17TC Tommy Catalano 12
24 07 Patrick Emerling 9
25 79 Chris Jensen 29
26 51 Jimmy Blewett 14
27 64 Tyler Catalano 35
28 16 Ron Silk 6
29 56 Amy Catalano 21
30 70 Andy Seuss 3
31 1 Bobby Jones 30
32 73 Paul Hartwig, Jr. 33
33 73J Jonathan Laureigh 34
34 21 Jim Gavek 32
NEW SMYRNA SPEEDWAY - RACE # 4
Matt Hirschman was a model of consistency during the first three nights of the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing. But the driver known as “Big Money” didn’t earn his nickname by finishing second and third.
On Thursday night, Hirschman used an exciting last-lap pass on Jon McKennedy to break through and score his first victory of the week at New Smyrna Speedway.
“I have to thank my whole team, Pee Dee Motorsports. It’s a big effort to come here and do this, so I have to thank them,” Hirschman said on the NBC Trackpass broadcast. “My whole crew, they’ve been working hard. We’ve been here later than we have in recent years with the delays and rain and stuff like that, so I’m glad to get a win for them. Hope for tomorrow night, too, but at least we got one because one is going to be tough to get this week.”
Former Tri-Track Open Modified Series champion Ronnie Williams set fast time in qualifying at the half-mile oval and started on the outside of the front row after an invert of two. Williams jumped out to the early lead, showing the way for the opening 15 laps.
Jon McKennedy, who has battled bad luck throughout the week, charged to the front and moved under Williams for the lead on lap 16. McKennedy led until the final lap, when Hirschman powered to his inside in turn three and made slight contact battling for the win. As McKennedy drifted high, Hirschman powered off of turn four to the checkered flag and his ninth career World Series victory.
“We’ve been close all week to winning and started getting closer and closer,” Hirschman said. “I would’ve been content with a second, but he just backed up to me too much. The 50 (Williams) was backing up to me at the beginning and I probably should have been more aggressive because as soon as the 16 (Ron Silk) got a chance there, he sent it in. Last night, I saw Preece send it in. It’s been tough, but tonight they came to me at the right time and we didn’t get any late restarts because we’ve been terrible on those.”
McKennedy recorded his best finish of the week with a runner-up performance. Ron Silk finished third, while Patrick Emerling and Ronnie Williams completed the top five.
With the win, Hirschman will extend his points lead entering Friday’s Richie Evans Memorial, the finale for Tour-type Modifieds at New Smyrna. Ryan Preece, who sat 10 points behind Hirschman after Wednesday’s racing, missed Thursday night’s race while competing in the Duels at nearby Daytona International Speedway.
-Story by: Brandon Paul, Speed51 Director of Content – Twitter:
-Photo credit: Speed51 / Will Bellamy
Tour-type Modifieds Unofficial Results
New Smyrna Speedway (FL) – February 11, 2021
Pos # Driver Start
1 60 Matt Hirschman 4
2 7NY Jon McKennedy 3
3 16 Ron Silk 1
4 07 Patrick Emerling 5
5 50 Ronnie Williams 2
6 46 Craig Lutz 7
7 58 Eric Goodale 6
8 2X JR Bertuccio 13
9 92 Anthony Nocella 12
10 32 Tyler Rypkema 14
11 2 Chuck Hossfeld 11
12 179 Stephen Kopcik 15
13 20 Eddie McCarthy 16
14 51 Jimmy Blewett 8
15 59 Matthew Galko 17
16 36 David Sapienza 9
17 56 Amy Catalano 18
18 9 Tom Martino, Jr. 24
19 25 Brian Robie 20
20 17K Danny Knoll, Jr. 27
21 8 Chris Finocchario 26
22 28 Buddy Charette 22
23 64 Tyler Catalano 29
24 1 Chris Ridsdale 25
25 79 Chris Jensen 28
26 21 Jim Gavek 31
27 48 Marcello Rufrano 10
28 17TC Tommy Catalano 19
29 14 Bobby Measmer, Jr. 21
30 45 Timmy Catalano 23
31 0 Zane Zeiner 32
32 1S Bobby Jones 30
33 55 Jeremy Gerstner 35
34 73J Jonathan Laureigh 34
35 73 Paul Hartwig, Jr. 33
NEW SMYRNA SPEEDWAY - RACE # 3
Shortly after 8 p.m. on Wednesday night, NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Preece locked himself into Sunday’s 63rd Annual Daytona 500. Three hours later, after making the quick drive from Daytona International Speedway to New Smyrna Speedway, Preece stood in victory lane celebrating his second career win in the John Blewett III Memorial for Tour-type Modifieds.
After missing qualifying at New Smyrna while driving his No. 37 JTG Daugherty Racing car at Daytona, Preece started the race at the tail of the field. Patiently navigating his way to the front while avoiding the mishaps of others, the Connecticut native found himself in victory lane after 76 laps.
“A bad race car. A really bad a– race car,” Preece said on the NBC Trackpass broadcast. ” I’ve got to thank my team for working here today, getting this thing prepared, and letting me just come and drive. We actually broke something [in the rear suspension] when Matt got turned. I was just hoping it would hold on, and it did.”
Tuesday night’s winner Patrick Emerling led the field to the green flag and led the opening 31 laps before Eric Goodale powered out front on lap 32. Making good on his Tuesday night promise to be in contention the rest of the week, Goodale showed the way until Preece made the race-winning pass with slight contact on lap 69.
An array of late-race cautions forced Preece to work even harder for the victory, but he fended off a fierce challenge from Matt Hirschman in the closing laps.
Scoring a win in one of the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing’s most prestigious races made the triumph even more meaningful for Preece.
“I remember the day John died. He was a racer, man. A lot of Modified guys are racers, but John Blewett was a racer,” he said. “I’ve had a ton of respect for Jimmy Blewett and John Blewett, so to be able to win this race, it’s been a while since I’ve won here. It’s been over a year, so it’s pretty cool.”
Hirschman overcame adversity of his own Wednesday night. After being involved in an accident with 15 laps to go, the driver known as “Big Money” charged back to the front before ultimately finishing second to Preece.
“I congratulated [Preece] and also thanked him for not cleaning me out after I got cleaned out,” Hirschman said. “He was the first car I saw when I spun around, coming right at me. Obviously he’s a talent, so he was able to avoid that. I’ll go to bed and thank my lucky stars tonight that we have a race car because that was very bad.”
Tuesday’s winner Patrick Emerling completed the podium, while Jon McKennedy and Ron Silk round out the top five.
Fans can follow Speed51’s on-location coverage presented by BMR Drivers Academy throughout the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing. Live updates are available on Race Day Now by clicking here. Fans can also enjoy all of Speed51.TV’s on-demand video content from the World Series with a free seven-day trial by clicking here.
-Story by: Brandon Paul, Speed51 Director of Content
-Photo credit: Speed51 / Will Bellamy
John Blewett III Memorial Unofficial Results
New Smyrna Speedway (FL) – February 10, 2021
Pos # Driver Start
1 6 Ryan Preece 37
2 60 Matt Hirschman 11
3 07 Patrick Emerling 1
4 7NY Jon McKennedy 5
5 16 Ron Silk 8
6 59 Matthew Galko 34
7 2H Chuck Hossfeld 13
8 20 Eddie McCarthy 19
9 14 Bobby Measmer, Jr. 18
10 36 David Sapienza 15
11 56 Amy Catalano 20
12 58 Eric Goodale 4
13 2 JR Bertuccio 14
14 46 Craig Lutz 12
15 28 Buddy Charette 21
16 8 Chris Finocchario 28
17 32 Tyler Rypkema 3
18 179 Stephen Kopcik 7
19 79 Chris Jensen 31
20 4 Burt Myers 17
21 92 Anthony Nocella 2
22 50 Ronnie Williams 6
23 55 Jeremy Gerstner 16
24 17TC Tommy Catalano 10
25 51 Jimmy Blewett 36
26 17K Danny Knoll, Jr. 26
27 48 Marcello Rufrano 9
28 9 Tom Martino, Jr. 23
29 99 Tyler Truex 24
30 1 Bobby Jones 30
31 1NY Chris Ridsdale 27
32 73J Jonathan Laureigh 33
33 73 Paul Hartwig, Jr. 32
34 0 Randall Richard 25
35 21 Jim Gavek 29
36 25 Brian Robie 22
37 73M Ron Mullen 35
NEW SMYRNA SPEEDWAY - RACE # 2
by Shawn Courchesne
It’s been a rough week for Patrick Emerling at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway.
He blew a motor in his primary car. He got taken out while running in the top-five late in the first feature of the week. He even had issues in the pits with the lift gate on his trailer going bad.
Tuesday night the Orchard Park, N.Y. driver got lifted up finally in New Smyrna, and in the process got to exact a bit of revenge.
Emerling held off Eric Goodale on a pair of late restarts to win the caution-marred 35-lap Tour Type Modified division feature Tuesday at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway.
“So far there’s just been a lot of things go wrong,” Emerling said. “It’s good to have one thing go right for once.”
Goodale, of Riverhead, N.Y., was second and Matt Hirschman of Northampton, Pa. third.
Ryan Preece of Berlin and Craig Lutz of Miller Place, N.Y. rounded out the top-five respectively.
It was the second of five consecutive nights of Tour Type Modified features at the World Series. Lutz won the 50-lap opening feature on Monday.
Emerling got by Goodale for the lead on a lap 23 restart then never trailed again. It was fitting payback. Goodale spun Emerling out of fourth place with two laps remaining in Monday’s feature.
“Last night was pretty unfortunate to us,” Emerling said. “We were decent. We were good enough to stay in the top-five and lead some laps last night. But we got taken out, so this definitely makes up for it.”
Emerling was able to easily pace away from Goodale over the two late restarts Tuesday.
“I was just trying too hard,” Goodale said of the final restart. “I spun the tires a little bit there. I still had a chance at him in [turns] one and two but [Emerling] was just a little bit better late in the race. He just had a little bit better drive on exits. This one slipped away. Me and Patrick got into yesterday so I’m glad for him to come back and get the win. It just sucks.”
The “Big One” for the 36-car field came on lap 23 with some battling going on at the back end of the top-10 going bad.
In turn three Doug Coby – running eighth – got hit from behind by Jimmy Blewett and forced into seventh place running Ryan Preece. Coby ended up spinning and jerked hard around into the outside wall. Marcello Rufrano on the outside got pushed into the wreck and piled into Coby.
“Just a bunch of animals trying to win everything we can in a short feature and some guys just kind of started to go away with the handling there about halfway through the race,” Coby said. “[Blewett] was real loose. Couldn’t go on the outside that’s for sure. [Preece] looked real tight on the bottom so he was trying to arc his entry point a bit and stay on the bottom. I think he thought he could maybe [Ron Silk] and [Ronnie Williams] and he did a real wide arc into [turns] three and four to try to make a move. And I gave him the room in front of me, but then I got hit from the back [by Blewett] and got shoved into him, got crossed up, tried to save it, got hit again because nobody lifts for anybody. That’s asphalt Modified racing here when there’s no rules and no consequences other than wrecked race cars and people getting hurt. … It’s rough down here.”
Said Rufrano: “I guess the guys don’t know that the pedal in the middle is the brakes. You’ve got a guy checked up sideways pointed toward the fence coming out of [turn] and the best decision for you is to push him through it? You’ve got hundreds of thousands of dollars in race cars out there and it’s uncalled for really. … It’s aggravating. It’s not cheap to come out here and run these.”
1 07 Patrick Emerling 4
2 58 Eric Goodale 3
3 60 Matt Hirschman 2
4 6 Ryan Preece 10
5 46 Craig Lutz 5
6 16 Ron Silk 8
7 50 Ronnie Williams 7
8 51 Jimmy Blewett 6
9 179 Stephen Kopcik 23
10 55 Jeremy Gerstner 22
11 92 Anthony Nocella 15
12 2X JR Bertuccio 19
13 70 Andy Seuss 17
14 56 Amy Catalano 27
15 32 Tyler Rypkema 25
16 59 Matthew Galko 24
17 36 David Sapienza 12
18 28 Buddy Charette 30
19 17K Danny Knoll, Jr. 26
20 1 Bobby Jones 33
21 21 Jim Gavek 34
22 4 Burt Myers 20
23 1R Chris Ridsdale 31
24 8 Chris Finocchario 28
25 20 Eddie McCarthy 18
26 2H Chuck Hossfeld 11
27 0 Zane Zeiner 13
28 158 Michael Curtis 35
29 10 Doug Coby 14
30 48 Marcello Rufrano 9
31 25 Brian Robie 21
32 7NY Jon McKennedy 1
33 17 Tommy Catalano 16
34 9 Tom Martino, Jr. 29
35 99 Tyler Truex 32
36 73J Jonathan Laureigh 36
NEW SMYRNA SPEEDWAY - RACE # 1
by Shawn Courchesne
Craig Lutz didn’t want to wait until Tuesday night to visit New Smyrna Speedway victory lane. After winning the Tuesday night race during the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing one year ago, Lutz did one better on Monday night by winning the Tour-type Modified opener. The Miller Place, New York native bested a strong field of 40 drivers to claim the 50-lap victory, which didn’t end until early Tuesday morning.
To get the job done, Lutz was forced to hold off some of the best in the business on a handful of late-race restarts, including a green-white-checkered finish with Matt Hirschman, Ron Silk and Doug Coby breathing down his neck.
“I was just hoping it was going to be the last [restart],” Lutz said on the NBC Trackpass broadcast. “This was the longest 50 laps I’ve ever raced, but it all worked out. We struggled a little bit in practice, but this is an awesome group.”
Lutz of Miller Place, New York started from the pole after an eight-car invert following qualifying. He jumped out to the early lead over Patrick Emerling and led the first 14 laps before a red flag for a multi-car accident on the backstretch. The incident, which started with contact between Ryan Preece and Jon McKennedy, claimed a handful of competitors including Anthony Nocella, Eric Goodale, Tyler Rypkema and Tommy Catalano.
Race of Champions Modified Series champion Patrick Emerling jumped out to the lead for one lap on the ensuing restart before Lutz battled back on the outside to reclaim the lead on Lap 16. Lutz controlled the majority of the race from that point forward until defending champion Matt Hirschman lined up to his inside for a restart with four laps to go.
Hirschman briefly took over the lead on the restart before receiving directive from race control to give back the spot for jumping the restart. From there, Lutz reclaimed the spot and survived a trio of restarts with Hirschman to his inside.
“I was told that I beat him to the line. It’s one of those things that I need to watch a video to form an opinion,” Hirschman said of the restart that he initially took the lead on. “I can have an opinion, but I may watch a video and think it’s different. We’ll take a look and analyze the whole race and see what we can do to be better.
“The part about that official call doesn’t concern me at all; it’s more the straight line speed that they out-pull you,” he continued. “It almost forces you to try to jump a little because he’s still coming with a head of steam. It’s a difference in engine packages. It’s pretty tough; they definitely out pull you. It’s like drag cars and they’re going to win the drag race every day.”
Ron Silk remained inside the top-five throughout the race before finishing third behind Lutz and Hirschman. Six-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Doug Coby charged from his 21st qualifying position to finish fourth, while 10-time Bowman Gray Stadium champion Burt Myers made a late charge into the top five.
Fans can follow Speed51’s on-location coverage presented by BMR Drivers Academy throughout the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing. Live updates are available on Race Day Now by clicking here. Fans can also enjoy all of Speed51.TV’s on-demand video content from the World Series with a free seven-day trial by clicking here.
-Story by: Brandon Paul, Speed51 Director of Content – Twitter: @Brandon_Paul51
-Photo credit: Speed51 / Will Bellamy
Tour-type Modified 50 Unofficial Results
Pos # Driver Start
1 46 Craig Lutz 1
2 60 Matt Hirschman 8
3 16 Ron Silk 4
4 10 Doug Coby 21
5 4 Burt Myers 20
6 92 Anthony Nocella 14
7 6 Ryan Preece 7
8 25 Brian Robie 18
9 8 Chris Finocchario 25
10 36 David Sapienza 19
11 2X JR Bertuccio 23
12 17K Danny Knoll, Jr. 30
13 28 Buddy Charette 17
14 07 Patrick Emerling 2
15 58 Eric Goodale 15
16 59 Matthew Galko 33
17 48 Marcello Rufrano 3
18 2 Chuck Hossfeld 5
19 1 Chris Ridsdale 26
20 55 Jeremy Gerstner 24
21 51 Jimmy Blewett 11
22 50 Ronnie Williams 12
23 21 Jim Gavek 35
24 1S Bobby Jones 27
25 9 Tom Martino, Jr. 28
26 0 Zane Zeiner 10
27 45 Timmy Catalano 29
28 56 Amy Catalano 32
29 54C Tyler Catalano 31
30 7NY Jon McKennedy 6
31 32 Tyler Rypkema 9
32 20 Eddie McCarthy 13
33 179 Stephen Kopcik 16
34 17TC Tommy Catalano 22
35 99 Tyler Truex 34
by Shawn Courchesne
Big Score: Matt Hirschman Wins Richie Evans Memorial, World Series Title At New Smyrna
Matt Hirschman came to New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway this week looking to defend his 2020 World Series of Asphalt Stock Racing Tour Type Modified division championship.
And Hirschman played the defense of that title to near perfection. Hirschman, of Northampton, Pa., closed out his second consecutive Tour Type Modified division championship in a way he’s become quite familiar with.
Hirschman held off Ryan Preece on a green-white-checkered finish to win the Richie Evans Memorial 100 Friday at New Smyrna Speedway.
The victory Friday easily clinched the championship for the five-event mini-series at New Smyrna. It was the second consecutive victory on the week for Hirschman, who won the 35-lap Tour Type Modified event on Thursday.
“Last night, it was nice to win, but it was hard for me to celebrate it because to me there was a bigger prize ahead,” Hirschman said. “Tonight we got it. We also won the championship. It’s a team accomplishment. It’s just great to be here.”
Jon McKennedy of Chelmsford, Mass. was second and Anthony Nocella of Woburn, Mass. third. Preece fell to fourth after getting passed by McKennedy and Nocella on the final lap.
It was Hirschman’s third consecutive victory in the Richie Evans Memorial 100 and his fifth victory in eight starts in the event. The five victories matched the late Ted Christopher for career wins in the historic event.
“I started my career over 20 years ago at Evergreen Speedway in Pennsylvania,” Hirschman said. “I never knew if I’d win one race. To come down here to Florida and win the biggest race here, named after Richie Evans, is just quite a career. I’m thankful for everyone that’s helped get me here. Not just here to Florida, but just throughout my career, especially tonight. I’ve got to thank my guys. They worked hard all week. Pee Dee Motorsports, we’ve had a lot of success here over the last few years. They’re all memorable these Evans 100 wins.”
Hirschman was on the podium for all five events at the World Series. He was third in the 50-lap opener on Monday, second in the 35-lap event on Tuesday and third in the John Blewett III Memorial 76 on Wednesday. He got his first win of the week in Thursday’s 35-lap feature.
Hirschman was the only multi-time winner on the week. Craig Lutz (Monday), Patrick Emerling (Tuesday) and Preece (Wednesday) were the other winners on the week.
Lutz started on the pole and led the first 76 laps before heading to pit road with mechanical issues. The Lutz retirement handed Hirschman the lead with Preece behind him in second.
The fourth caution of the race flew on lap 99 when Stephen Kopcik ended up hard into the backstretch wall after his right front tire caught a piece of debris off the car of Chuck Hossleld and came apart.
On the ensuing restart Preece was able to get the lead from Hirschman. Hirschman battled back with a shot from behind in turn three, but the caution flew once again before the lap was completed, setting Hirschman back to the lead for a second attempt at the green-white-checkered finish.
On the final restart Hirschman got the jump on Preece and left him fighting for second place. On the final lap McKennedy was able to get outside of Preece for second place with Nocella following to third.
“We were just able to get ahead of him there and get the win,” Hirschman said of Preece. “Obviously he’s a great talent. I hope he wins the Daytona 500 on Sunday.”
After issues the first two nights McKennedy closed out the week with a fourth place on Wednesday and consecutive second place finishes on Thursday and Friday.
“The car was good, it was a good solid run,” McKennedy said. “My guys all worked their butts off all week. We started off the week a little bit behind there. A couple of torn up cars the first two nights. But the guys did an awesome job the last few nights. A fourth and two seconds. Big thanks to them.”
Pos # Driver Start
1 60 Matt Hirschman 8
2 7NY Jon McKennedy 4
3 92 Anthony Nocella 17
4 6 Ryan Preece 10
5 58 Eric Goodale 13
6 20 Eddie McCarthy 16
7 50 Ronnie Williams 7
8 2 Chuck Hossfeld 15
9 2X JR Bertuccio 11
10 36 David Sapienza 24
11 0 Zane Zeiner 18
12 55 Jeremy Gerstner 22
13 14 Bobby Measmer, Jr. 25
14 25 Brian Robie 23
15 45 Timmy Catalano 20
16 59 Matthew Galko 19
17 179 Stephen Kopcik 2
18 8 Chris Finocchario 26
19 9 Tom Martino, Jr. 28
20 17K Danny Knoll, Jr. 27
21 32 Tyler Rypkema 5
22 46 Craig Lutz 1
23 17TC Tommy Catalano 12
24 07 Patrick Emerling 9
25 79 Chris Jensen 29
26 51 Jimmy Blewett 14
27 64 Tyler Catalano 35
28 16 Ron Silk 6
29 56 Amy Catalano 21
30 70 Andy Seuss 3
31 1 Bobby Jones 30
32 73 Paul Hartwig, Jr. 33
33 73J Jonathan Laureigh 34
34 21 Jim Gavek 32
NEW SMYRNA SPEEDWAY - RACE # 4
Matt Hirschman was a model of consistency during the first three nights of the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing. But the driver known as “Big Money” didn’t earn his nickname by finishing second and third.
On Thursday night, Hirschman used an exciting last-lap pass on Jon McKennedy to break through and score his first victory of the week at New Smyrna Speedway.
“I have to thank my whole team, Pee Dee Motorsports. It’s a big effort to come here and do this, so I have to thank them,” Hirschman said on the NBC Trackpass broadcast. “My whole crew, they’ve been working hard. We’ve been here later than we have in recent years with the delays and rain and stuff like that, so I’m glad to get a win for them. Hope for tomorrow night, too, but at least we got one because one is going to be tough to get this week.”
Former Tri-Track Open Modified Series champion Ronnie Williams set fast time in qualifying at the half-mile oval and started on the outside of the front row after an invert of two. Williams jumped out to the early lead, showing the way for the opening 15 laps.
Jon McKennedy, who has battled bad luck throughout the week, charged to the front and moved under Williams for the lead on lap 16. McKennedy led until the final lap, when Hirschman powered to his inside in turn three and made slight contact battling for the win. As McKennedy drifted high, Hirschman powered off of turn four to the checkered flag and his ninth career World Series victory.
“We’ve been close all week to winning and started getting closer and closer,” Hirschman said. “I would’ve been content with a second, but he just backed up to me too much. The 50 (Williams) was backing up to me at the beginning and I probably should have been more aggressive because as soon as the 16 (Ron Silk) got a chance there, he sent it in. Last night, I saw Preece send it in. It’s been tough, but tonight they came to me at the right time and we didn’t get any late restarts because we’ve been terrible on those.”
McKennedy recorded his best finish of the week with a runner-up performance. Ron Silk finished third, while Patrick Emerling and Ronnie Williams completed the top five.
With the win, Hirschman will extend his points lead entering Friday’s Richie Evans Memorial, the finale for Tour-type Modifieds at New Smyrna. Ryan Preece, who sat 10 points behind Hirschman after Wednesday’s racing, missed Thursday night’s race while competing in the Duels at nearby Daytona International Speedway.
-Story by: Brandon Paul, Speed51 Director of Content – Twitter:
-Photo credit: Speed51 / Will Bellamy
Tour-type Modifieds Unofficial Results
New Smyrna Speedway (FL) – February 11, 2021
Pos # Driver Start
1 60 Matt Hirschman 4
2 7NY Jon McKennedy 3
3 16 Ron Silk 1
4 07 Patrick Emerling 5
5 50 Ronnie Williams 2
6 46 Craig Lutz 7
7 58 Eric Goodale 6
8 2X JR Bertuccio 13
9 92 Anthony Nocella 12
10 32 Tyler Rypkema 14
11 2 Chuck Hossfeld 11
12 179 Stephen Kopcik 15
13 20 Eddie McCarthy 16
14 51 Jimmy Blewett 8
15 59 Matthew Galko 17
16 36 David Sapienza 9
17 56 Amy Catalano 18
18 9 Tom Martino, Jr. 24
19 25 Brian Robie 20
20 17K Danny Knoll, Jr. 27
21 8 Chris Finocchario 26
22 28 Buddy Charette 22
23 64 Tyler Catalano 29
24 1 Chris Ridsdale 25
25 79 Chris Jensen 28
26 21 Jim Gavek 31
27 48 Marcello Rufrano 10
28 17TC Tommy Catalano 19
29 14 Bobby Measmer, Jr. 21
30 45 Timmy Catalano 23
31 0 Zane Zeiner 32
32 1S Bobby Jones 30
33 55 Jeremy Gerstner 35
34 73J Jonathan Laureigh 34
35 73 Paul Hartwig, Jr. 33
NEW SMYRNA SPEEDWAY - RACE # 3
Shortly after 8 p.m. on Wednesday night, NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Preece locked himself into Sunday’s 63rd Annual Daytona 500. Three hours later, after making the quick drive from Daytona International Speedway to New Smyrna Speedway, Preece stood in victory lane celebrating his second career win in the John Blewett III Memorial for Tour-type Modifieds.
After missing qualifying at New Smyrna while driving his No. 37 JTG Daugherty Racing car at Daytona, Preece started the race at the tail of the field. Patiently navigating his way to the front while avoiding the mishaps of others, the Connecticut native found himself in victory lane after 76 laps.
“A bad race car. A really bad a– race car,” Preece said on the NBC Trackpass broadcast. ” I’ve got to thank my team for working here today, getting this thing prepared, and letting me just come and drive. We actually broke something [in the rear suspension] when Matt got turned. I was just hoping it would hold on, and it did.”
Tuesday night’s winner Patrick Emerling led the field to the green flag and led the opening 31 laps before Eric Goodale powered out front on lap 32. Making good on his Tuesday night promise to be in contention the rest of the week, Goodale showed the way until Preece made the race-winning pass with slight contact on lap 69.
An array of late-race cautions forced Preece to work even harder for the victory, but he fended off a fierce challenge from Matt Hirschman in the closing laps.
Scoring a win in one of the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing’s most prestigious races made the triumph even more meaningful for Preece.
“I remember the day John died. He was a racer, man. A lot of Modified guys are racers, but John Blewett was a racer,” he said. “I’ve had a ton of respect for Jimmy Blewett and John Blewett, so to be able to win this race, it’s been a while since I’ve won here. It’s been over a year, so it’s pretty cool.”
Hirschman overcame adversity of his own Wednesday night. After being involved in an accident with 15 laps to go, the driver known as “Big Money” charged back to the front before ultimately finishing second to Preece.
“I congratulated [Preece] and also thanked him for not cleaning me out after I got cleaned out,” Hirschman said. “He was the first car I saw when I spun around, coming right at me. Obviously he’s a talent, so he was able to avoid that. I’ll go to bed and thank my lucky stars tonight that we have a race car because that was very bad.”
Tuesday’s winner Patrick Emerling completed the podium, while Jon McKennedy and Ron Silk round out the top five.
Fans can follow Speed51’s on-location coverage presented by BMR Drivers Academy throughout the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing. Live updates are available on Race Day Now by clicking here. Fans can also enjoy all of Speed51.TV’s on-demand video content from the World Series with a free seven-day trial by clicking here.
-Story by: Brandon Paul, Speed51 Director of Content
-Photo credit: Speed51 / Will Bellamy
John Blewett III Memorial Unofficial Results
New Smyrna Speedway (FL) – February 10, 2021
Pos # Driver Start
1 6 Ryan Preece 37
2 60 Matt Hirschman 11
3 07 Patrick Emerling 1
4 7NY Jon McKennedy 5
5 16 Ron Silk 8
6 59 Matthew Galko 34
7 2H Chuck Hossfeld 13
8 20 Eddie McCarthy 19
9 14 Bobby Measmer, Jr. 18
10 36 David Sapienza 15
11 56 Amy Catalano 20
12 58 Eric Goodale 4
13 2 JR Bertuccio 14
14 46 Craig Lutz 12
15 28 Buddy Charette 21
16 8 Chris Finocchario 28
17 32 Tyler Rypkema 3
18 179 Stephen Kopcik 7
19 79 Chris Jensen 31
20 4 Burt Myers 17
21 92 Anthony Nocella 2
22 50 Ronnie Williams 6
23 55 Jeremy Gerstner 16
24 17TC Tommy Catalano 10
25 51 Jimmy Blewett 36
26 17K Danny Knoll, Jr. 26
27 48 Marcello Rufrano 9
28 9 Tom Martino, Jr. 23
29 99 Tyler Truex 24
30 1 Bobby Jones 30
31 1NY Chris Ridsdale 27
32 73J Jonathan Laureigh 33
33 73 Paul Hartwig, Jr. 32
34 0 Randall Richard 25
35 21 Jim Gavek 29
36 25 Brian Robie 22
37 73M Ron Mullen 35
NEW SMYRNA SPEEDWAY - RACE # 2
by Shawn Courchesne
It’s been a rough week for Patrick Emerling at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway.
He blew a motor in his primary car. He got taken out while running in the top-five late in the first feature of the week. He even had issues in the pits with the lift gate on his trailer going bad.
Tuesday night the Orchard Park, N.Y. driver got lifted up finally in New Smyrna, and in the process got to exact a bit of revenge.
Emerling held off Eric Goodale on a pair of late restarts to win the caution-marred 35-lap Tour Type Modified division feature Tuesday at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway.
“So far there’s just been a lot of things go wrong,” Emerling said. “It’s good to have one thing go right for once.”
Goodale, of Riverhead, N.Y., was second and Matt Hirschman of Northampton, Pa. third.
Ryan Preece of Berlin and Craig Lutz of Miller Place, N.Y. rounded out the top-five respectively.
It was the second of five consecutive nights of Tour Type Modified features at the World Series. Lutz won the 50-lap opening feature on Monday.
Emerling got by Goodale for the lead on a lap 23 restart then never trailed again. It was fitting payback. Goodale spun Emerling out of fourth place with two laps remaining in Monday’s feature.
“Last night was pretty unfortunate to us,” Emerling said. “We were decent. We were good enough to stay in the top-five and lead some laps last night. But we got taken out, so this definitely makes up for it.”
Emerling was able to easily pace away from Goodale over the two late restarts Tuesday.
“I was just trying too hard,” Goodale said of the final restart. “I spun the tires a little bit there. I still had a chance at him in [turns] one and two but [Emerling] was just a little bit better late in the race. He just had a little bit better drive on exits. This one slipped away. Me and Patrick got into yesterday so I’m glad for him to come back and get the win. It just sucks.”
The “Big One” for the 36-car field came on lap 23 with some battling going on at the back end of the top-10 going bad.
In turn three Doug Coby – running eighth – got hit from behind by Jimmy Blewett and forced into seventh place running Ryan Preece. Coby ended up spinning and jerked hard around into the outside wall. Marcello Rufrano on the outside got pushed into the wreck and piled into Coby.
“Just a bunch of animals trying to win everything we can in a short feature and some guys just kind of started to go away with the handling there about halfway through the race,” Coby said. “[Blewett] was real loose. Couldn’t go on the outside that’s for sure. [Preece] looked real tight on the bottom so he was trying to arc his entry point a bit and stay on the bottom. I think he thought he could maybe [Ron Silk] and [Ronnie Williams] and he did a real wide arc into [turns] three and four to try to make a move. And I gave him the room in front of me, but then I got hit from the back [by Blewett] and got shoved into him, got crossed up, tried to save it, got hit again because nobody lifts for anybody. That’s asphalt Modified racing here when there’s no rules and no consequences other than wrecked race cars and people getting hurt. … It’s rough down here.”
Said Rufrano: “I guess the guys don’t know that the pedal in the middle is the brakes. You’ve got a guy checked up sideways pointed toward the fence coming out of [turn] and the best decision for you is to push him through it? You’ve got hundreds of thousands of dollars in race cars out there and it’s uncalled for really. … It’s aggravating. It’s not cheap to come out here and run these.”
1 07 Patrick Emerling 4
2 58 Eric Goodale 3
3 60 Matt Hirschman 2
4 6 Ryan Preece 10
5 46 Craig Lutz 5
6 16 Ron Silk 8
7 50 Ronnie Williams 7
8 51 Jimmy Blewett 6
9 179 Stephen Kopcik 23
10 55 Jeremy Gerstner 22
11 92 Anthony Nocella 15
12 2X JR Bertuccio 19
13 70 Andy Seuss 17
14 56 Amy Catalano 27
15 32 Tyler Rypkema 25
16 59 Matthew Galko 24
17 36 David Sapienza 12
18 28 Buddy Charette 30
19 17K Danny Knoll, Jr. 26
20 1 Bobby Jones 33
21 21 Jim Gavek 34
22 4 Burt Myers 20
23 1R Chris Ridsdale 31
24 8 Chris Finocchario 28
25 20 Eddie McCarthy 18
26 2H Chuck Hossfeld 11
27 0 Zane Zeiner 13
28 158 Michael Curtis 35
29 10 Doug Coby 14
30 48 Marcello Rufrano 9
31 25 Brian Robie 21
32 7NY Jon McKennedy 1
33 17 Tommy Catalano 16
34 9 Tom Martino, Jr. 29
35 99 Tyler Truex 32
36 73J Jonathan Laureigh 36
NEW SMYRNA SPEEDWAY - RACE # 1
by Shawn Courchesne
Craig Lutz didn’t want to wait until Tuesday night to visit New Smyrna Speedway victory lane. After winning the Tuesday night race during the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing one year ago, Lutz did one better on Monday night by winning the Tour-type Modified opener. The Miller Place, New York native bested a strong field of 40 drivers to claim the 50-lap victory, which didn’t end until early Tuesday morning.
To get the job done, Lutz was forced to hold off some of the best in the business on a handful of late-race restarts, including a green-white-checkered finish with Matt Hirschman, Ron Silk and Doug Coby breathing down his neck.
“I was just hoping it was going to be the last [restart],” Lutz said on the NBC Trackpass broadcast. “This was the longest 50 laps I’ve ever raced, but it all worked out. We struggled a little bit in practice, but this is an awesome group.”
Lutz of Miller Place, New York started from the pole after an eight-car invert following qualifying. He jumped out to the early lead over Patrick Emerling and led the first 14 laps before a red flag for a multi-car accident on the backstretch. The incident, which started with contact between Ryan Preece and Jon McKennedy, claimed a handful of competitors including Anthony Nocella, Eric Goodale, Tyler Rypkema and Tommy Catalano.
Race of Champions Modified Series champion Patrick Emerling jumped out to the lead for one lap on the ensuing restart before Lutz battled back on the outside to reclaim the lead on Lap 16. Lutz controlled the majority of the race from that point forward until defending champion Matt Hirschman lined up to his inside for a restart with four laps to go.
Hirschman briefly took over the lead on the restart before receiving directive from race control to give back the spot for jumping the restart. From there, Lutz reclaimed the spot and survived a trio of restarts with Hirschman to his inside.
“I was told that I beat him to the line. It’s one of those things that I need to watch a video to form an opinion,” Hirschman said of the restart that he initially took the lead on. “I can have an opinion, but I may watch a video and think it’s different. We’ll take a look and analyze the whole race and see what we can do to be better.
“The part about that official call doesn’t concern me at all; it’s more the straight line speed that they out-pull you,” he continued. “It almost forces you to try to jump a little because he’s still coming with a head of steam. It’s a difference in engine packages. It’s pretty tough; they definitely out pull you. It’s like drag cars and they’re going to win the drag race every day.”
Ron Silk remained inside the top-five throughout the race before finishing third behind Lutz and Hirschman. Six-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Doug Coby charged from his 21st qualifying position to finish fourth, while 10-time Bowman Gray Stadium champion Burt Myers made a late charge into the top five.
Fans can follow Speed51’s on-location coverage presented by BMR Drivers Academy throughout the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing. Live updates are available on Race Day Now by clicking here. Fans can also enjoy all of Speed51.TV’s on-demand video content from the World Series with a free seven-day trial by clicking here.
-Story by: Brandon Paul, Speed51 Director of Content – Twitter: @Brandon_Paul51
-Photo credit: Speed51 / Will Bellamy
Tour-type Modified 50 Unofficial Results
Pos # Driver Start
1 46 Craig Lutz 1
2 60 Matt Hirschman 8
3 16 Ron Silk 4
4 10 Doug Coby 21
5 4 Burt Myers 20
6 92 Anthony Nocella 14
7 6 Ryan Preece 7
8 25 Brian Robie 18
9 8 Chris Finocchario 25
10 36 David Sapienza 19
11 2X JR Bertuccio 23
12 17K Danny Knoll, Jr. 30
13 28 Buddy Charette 17
14 07 Patrick Emerling 2
15 58 Eric Goodale 15
16 59 Matthew Galko 33
17 48 Marcello Rufrano 3
18 2 Chuck Hossfeld 5
19 1 Chris Ridsdale 26
20 55 Jeremy Gerstner 24
21 51 Jimmy Blewett 11
22 50 Ronnie Williams 12
23 21 Jim Gavek 35
24 1S Bobby Jones 27
25 9 Tom Martino, Jr. 28
26 0 Zane Zeiner 10
27 45 Timmy Catalano 29
28 56 Amy Catalano 32
29 54C Tyler Catalano 31
30 7NY Jon McKennedy 6
31 32 Tyler Rypkema 9
32 20 Eddie McCarthy 13
33 179 Stephen Kopcik 16
34 17TC Tommy Catalano 22
35 99 Tyler Truex 34