2025

Matt Hirschman went to victory lane at Evans Mills Raceway Park on July 5, winning the Rocket 76er for the Race of Champions Modified Series.

The win continues a historic trend for one of the best Modified competitors of this generation, and the winningest driver in the annals of the RoC Modified Series. Hirschman now has 61 career victories with the series and has won at least one RoC Modified Series event in each of the past 21 seasons. In Saturday's win, Hirschman took the lead from Mike Leaty on lap 41, and crossed the finish line ahead of Austin Beers and Andy Jankowiak for the victory. While Hirschman won by more than two seconds, he knew the pressure was on from the drop of the green flag against a stout field of racers."The top three, we had a real tight race right from the start, pretty much," said Hirschman. "There was a couple of times early, I thought I missed my opportunity. Maybe I should have went before I did. I was able to get inside of Andy [Jankowiak] and was racing him, and all of a sudden, I think going into one, Mike [Leaty] checked up a little more than I expected."I think it was at the point that he was going to slow up a little bit. We got to banging a little bit there until I just drove right under him. I think he faded just a little bit. I'm not sure where he ended up at the finish. It seemed like right at that point, it was like we flipped a switch there and he faded some."Hirschman also won with the RoC Modifieds in 2024 at Evans Mills, which is growing into one of his favorite tracks."I hope this is an annual tradition. I hope, as long as I'm racing, I made one visit to Evans Mills Raceway Park every year. If you were to build a racetrack today, and I've raced all over the northeast, from Maine to Florida, if you were to build a racetrack today, this is the type of racetrack that has a future in the sport, considering what the costs are. You don't need a ton of engine, you don't need a ton of brakes. There's no walls in the corner, if you do tangle. This place is made for the future."Along with adding to his impressive resume with the Race of Champions, Saturday's win also gives Hirschman victories across four different Modified tours in 2025, plus a victory during the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway.This series has always been great for my career," said Hirschman. "I've always said that. For me, this completes the season as far as getting a win in all four major Modified series, the SMART Modified Tour, Whelen Modified Tour, Tri-Track and now here tonight."Even though it's only our third start, you would have thought maybe it would have come sooner being that they were at Mahoning Valley and Chumung Speedrome, places I've won a bunch at in the past. It's a great series, it's tough competition. There was some quality right up front tonight. The way the redraw was, with only eight cars, it was pretty much go right from the start because you're with the best from the drop of the green." Beers finished second, unofficially carrying a 54-point advantage in the RoC Modified standings after Saturday's race. He spent most of the 76-lap feature chasing Hirschman, a sight the young racer admits he is all too familiar with.
"We fired way too free," said Beers. "Matt got by me on lap one or whatever because I tried to go to the top and the top lane checked up and he rolled by. I'm like, well, that's great. I was starting in a hole there."If I had a dime for every time I've finished second to Matt, though, I'd probably be able to run a Truck race by now. It was an awesome facility. Thanks to all the fans for coming out. Hopefully, we can get more dates here. The track's awesome, I just hope we can maybe have a better setup next time we come through, but all in all, a good day for us."Jankowiak rounded out the podium, never quite able to find the perfect balance on his No. 73 to contend for the victory."Just missed it a little bit," said Jankowiak. "Just trying to get some drive into the car, probably made it a little bit too tight tonight, but you know, it kind of hit the stagger where I thought."It was good at the end. We were coming back up there on Austin. I was probably a little too committed to my line, didn't want to give it up for free there. Probably should have tried the bottom a little bit sooner, but you know, it's only the second time out for this car, and we've been prety busy with the KLAS Motorsports ARCA stuff. We're inching a little bit closer, so we're going to be running this thing a lot this summer."Leaty finished fourth, with Austin Kochenash rounding out the top five.

Rocket 76er Unofficial Results
Fin No Driver Laps Diff
1 60 Matt Hirschman 76 ---
2 71b Austin Beers 76 2.321
3 73 Andy Jankowiak 76 2.909
4 25 Mike Leaty 76 3.300
5 66 Austin Kochenash 76 4.281
6 48 Jacob Christman 76 6.505
7 95 Bryan Sherwood 76 8.883
8 17 Roger Coss 76 11.436
9 51 Jayden Harman 76 12.315
10 3p Joe Papin 75 1 Lap
11 33 Eddie Hawkins 75 1 Lap
12 8x Chris Finocchario 75 1 Lap
13 71 Kyle Strohl 75 1 Lap
14 3 Daren Scherer 75 1 Lap
15 11 Ricky Knapp 69 7 Laps
16 88 Lou Strohl 4 72 Laps


Kyle Bonsignore dominates at White Mountain for first Modified Tour win since 2023 on June 29
By Adam Fenwick
NASCAR.com

Entering Sunday’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at White Mountain Motorsports Park, it had been nearly two years since Kyle Bonsignore last visited Victory Lane. It wasn’t a stat he was particularly proud of, so he set out to do something about it. Bonsignore dominated the Thunder in the Mountains 200 at White Mountain on Sunday, taking the lead for the final time with fewer than 20 laps left and holding off a challenge from Stephen Kopcik to register the third Modified Tour victory of his career.The race was the first Modified Tour event held at White Mountain Motorsports Park since 2020 and only the third at the track in the history of the series.“Before Riverhead, Andy up in the booth told me it was 22 months since my last win,” Bonsignore said. “I guess we just stuck it in there because it’s still June. Hopefully it’s only 22 days or something before the next one.”Starting third, Bonsignore was quick to assert himself as a contender Sunday at White Mountain. He took the lead from polesitter Jake Johnson on Lap 31 and held the lead until the second caution flag of the night waved for a multi-car crash in Turn 2 on Lap 175.Like most of the field, Bonsignore opted to to hit pit road for a fresh left-rear tire during the caution period. The lone holdout was Trevor Catalano, who stayed on track and inherited the race lead.Lining up on the front row to Catalano’s outside, Bonsignore wasted little time regaining the lead. He slipped to Catalano’s inside on Lap 189 to grab the top spot, but he suddenly found a fast closing Kopcik in his mirror as the final laps clicked away.Kopcik got to Bonsignore’s bumper and hounded him for the final five laps, but he couldn’t find a way past. Bonsignore crossed under the checkered flag to capture the victory by 0.172 seconds ahead of Kopcik, who matched his career-best finish of second.
“After that last caution we took a left rear (tire). It was a lot of, you know, how far back, what’s their lap time, what’s their line. My spotter did an awesome job letting me know,” said Bonsignore, who became the sixth different winner through the first six NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events this season. “It was close. We might not have made the right call on the tire. I don’t know, but it worked out good. I can’t complain.” The runner-up finish for Kopcik was his second of the season and came after a difficult race two weekends ago at Riverhead Raceway. He finds himself fourth in the series standings, 11 points behind championship leader Justin Bonsignore with 10 races left in the 2025 campaign. “Towards the end of that run I think we were both just doing the best we could with what we had as far as laps on our tires,” said Kopcik. “I couldn’t be happier. We had some ups and downs today. The guys worked hard and stuck with it. To come out second that close to a win, you can’t complain about that.” Polesitter Johnson finished third after leading the first 30 laps. Matt Hirschman continued a recent string of strong finishes in fourth, with Austin Beers overcoming a late incident to finish fifth. Craig Lutz, Luke Baldwin, Catalano, Jon McKennedy and Justin Bonsignore completed the top 10.

1 22 Kyle Bonsignore MTT/ChaLew Performance/Munns Auto 200 --
2 21 Stephen Kopcik Newtown Pools/Wanick Construction 200 0.172
3 07 Jake Johnson T/Lins Propane/Axis Wealth/Island Internati 200 0.819
4 60 Matt Hirschman Elite Towing/Bar Harbor Bank & Trust 200 0.996
5 64 Austin Beers Andrew James Interiors/Hughes Motor 200 1.593
6 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 200 1.798
7 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotoivw 200 4.319
8 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power & Construction 200 4.985
9 79 Jonathan McKennedy Christopers Towing 200 5.128
10 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc 200 5.588
11 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE Power/Northeast Drilling/J&R Pre-Cast 200 5.757
12 25 Brian Robie Bar Harbor Bank & Trust 200 5.84
13 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine and Future Homes 200 6.283
14 18 Ken Heagy Hunter Mechanical 195 5 Laps
15 59 Tyler Barry* Pro Systems/BNP Machine/West Wind Tree Farm 188 12 Laps
16 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc. 183 17 Laps
17 17 Anthony Nocella Xtreme Autobody/Sontag Motorsports/Bells Septic 175 25 Laps
18 29 Mike Marshall* MLM Diagnostics/Jusczak Electric 92 108 Laps
19 82 Woody Pitkat USNE Power/Gunsmoke Stable Racing 76 124 Laps

Matt Hirschman wins the Monaco Modified Midweek Madness 125 at Seekonk Speedway on June 25!


1 3 60 Hirschman, Matt Northampton, PA 2
2 9 79 McKennedy, Jonathan Chelmsford, MA 7
3 2 39 Bessette, George Jr. Danbury, CT -1
4 20 51CT Cipriano, Joey Plymouth, CT 16
5 14 5CT Pasteryak, Chris Moosup, CT 9
6 17 21 Perry, Jacob Kannapolis, NC 11
7 4 50 Williams, Ronnie Lebanon, CT -3
8 15 44 Dowling, Chase Bethlehem, CT 7
9 10 75 Arute, David Stafford Springs, CT 1
10 12 99 Hines, Tyler North Haven, CT 2
11 18 06 Chapman, Tyler Ellington, CT 7
12 6 88 Pitkat, Woody Bellingham, MA -6
13 7 11CT Berndt, Eric Cromwell, CT -6
14 16 24 Flynn, Mikey Hampden, MA 2
15 1 89 Swanson, Matt Harvard, MA -14
16 25 1 Kopcik, Stephen Newtown, CT 9
17 22 76 Meservey, Brett Brewster, MA 5
18 27 55 Doucette, Ryan Framingham, MA 9
19 23 81 Wenzel, Nathan Granby, MA 4
20 26 08 Halkowicz, Nicholas Shelton, CT 6
21 5 46 Lutz, Craig Miller Place, NY -16
22 24 17 Folan, Kevin North Atteboro, MA 2
23 29 16F Fournier, Colbey Berkley, MA 6
24 21 40 Mitchell, Mike Cumberland, RI -3
25 13 31 Korner, Noah Canton, CT -12
26 8 179 Beers, Austin Northampton, PA -18
27 11 55CT Hodgdon, Teddy Danbury, CT -16
28 19 44X Jakubajtys, Jesse Brockton, MA -9
DNS DNS 78 Sutcliffe, Walter East Haven, CT -1
DNS DNS 34 Viveiros, Ned Seekonk, MA 0​


Kimball Celebrates Victory in the First Annual Northeast Open Modified Summer Showdown on June 21

From Matt:  Started 3rd, took the lead on lap 13 and kept it until lap 92. unfortunately missed the target on tire stagger and with a little help dropped back to 6th at the finish.

Under beautiful skies and large crowd, Matt Kimball (Bennington, NH) celebrated a hard-fought victory in the first annual Northeast Open Modified Summer Showdown. A full field of Tour Type Modifieds were on hand to battle it out for the $5000.00 pay day. After a redraw, Brett Meservey was declared the pole sitter to start the 100-lap special event. Matt Hirschman, starting third, wasted no time taking the lead on lap twelve restart as the battle brewed behind him between Sammy Rameau, Brian Robie and Matt Kimball. On lap ninety-two Rameau made the pass on Hirschman to take the top spot as Kimball followed. Hirschman started to be shuffled back as Robie, Meservy and Austin Beers made the pass to settle in the top five. Kimball on the back bumper of Rameau made several attempts to take the lead but was denied until the final lap and the final turn when Rameau got sideways allowing Kimball to pass for the checkered flag. Robie and Meservey followed for the second and third spot. Rameau finished fourth as Beers rounded out the top five.

1. 43 Matthew Kimball
2. 25NH Brian Robie
3. 76 Brett Meservey
4. 06 Samuel Rameau
5. 179 Austin Beers
6. 60 Matt Hirschman
7. 21 Jacob Perry
8. 5CT Chris Pasteryak
9. 81 Nathan Wenzel
10. 28 Joey Jarvis
11. 24 Todd Patnode
12. 23 Bradley Zahensky
13. 46 Jeremy Zullo
14. 51 Adam LaPoint
15. 66 Austin Kochenash
16. 18 Andrew Martell
17. 78 Walter Sutcliffe
18. 58 Kurt Vigeant
DNS 47 Donnie Lashua
​

Justin Bonsignore scores record-breaking 12th Riverhead victory on Whelen Modified Tour on June 14
By Adam Fenwick

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — Growing up a race fan on Long Island, Justin Bonsignore was drawn to fellow Long Islander Mike Ewanitsko. Ewanitsko was a dominant force at Riverhead Raceway, now the only race track on Long Island, winning 11 times with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at the quarter-mile bullring. For years, no one could claim to be on the same level as Ewanitsko in Modified Tour competition at Riverhead. Now Bonsignore can say he’s surpassed him.
The driver from Holtsville, New York scored his 46th Modified Tour win Sunday in the Miller Lite Salutes Steve Park 200. The win doubled as his 12th series victory at his home track, breaking a tie with Ewanitsko at the top of the all-time win list at the Long Island oval. “I’ve been wanting to break this record for a long time,” Bonsignore said from Victory Lane. “Mike was a childhood hero of mine.” To secure his 12th victory at Riverhead, Bonsignore had to outlast a variety of challengers on Father’s Day afternoon. He qualified on the Hoosier Tire Pole, but the post-qualifying redraw saw Bonsignore draw the third starting position while Patrick Emerling secured the pole. It didn’t take Bonsignore long to get to the lead; he overtook Emerling within the first 25 laps. However, he quickly found himself being challenged by Ron Silk, who entered Sunday’s race as winner of three of the last four Modified Tour events at Riverhead. Silk quickly took the lead from Bonsignore and drove to more than a three second advantage, but the race was far from over. A serious of caution flags, the first coming with 90 laps left, led to a round of pit stops that saw Bonsignore beat Silk off pit road to regain the race lead. “Pit crew did a great job,” Bonsignore said. “We had two really great pit stops.” The final stage of the race featured multiple caution flags, forcing Bonsignore to go on the defensive as he tried to hold the lead through repeated restarts. As the laps clicked off, Silk faded to fourth, and Bonsignore found himself trying to hold off Seekonk Speedway winner Matt Hirschman.A multi-car crash within the final five laps gave Hirschman one final opportunity to dethrone Bonsignore, but the driver of the No. 51 Ken Massa Motorsports Modified held his ground and delivered his first Modified Tour victory of the 2025 campaign.“It was nice to beat Ron. We ran each other really hard but really clean,” Bonsignore said. “He’s been so good here the last couple years. We snuck a few in, but it was nice to outrun him today. “I got myself in trouble at Seekonk and caused a big wreck and tore up a lot of cars. It was mainly because I wanted to show Matt Hirschman the respect he deserves, and, you know what, I didn’t have a good run there. He definitely ran me really clean on the last lap there, so things run in a full circle, and I appreciate that.” Hirschman acknowledged he could have forced Bonsignore’s hand during the final restart but chose instead to race clean and settled for second. “If you want to steal a win that’s different than actually earning a win,” Hirschman said. “We earned a good second-place finish today. Obviously they had a great car. They were up front most of the race and early they were out of sight.” With his first win of the 2025 season now behind him, Bonsignore can shift his focus to pursing his fifth Modified Tour championship. But first he wanted to spend a bit of time soaking in his 12th Riverhead win with his family by his side on Father’s Day. “To have my family here, it’s the first race that all of them have been to this year,” Bonsignore said. “For it to be on Father’s Day at home and everything we did, it’s just really cool.” Emerling finished third after leading the opening laps Sunday afternoon. Silk was fourth, followed by Craig Lutz in fifth. The remainder of the top 10 included Kyle Bonsignore, Tommy Catalano, Austin Beers, Tyler Rypkema and Luke Baldwin.


1 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc 207 --
2 60 Matt Hirschman Elite Towing 207 0.258
3 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc. 207 0.57
4 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine and Future Homes 207 0.802
5 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 207 1.122
6 22 Kyle Bonsignore MTT/ChaLew Performance/Munns Auto 207 1.256
7 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara/USNE 207 1.437
8 64 Austin Beers Andrew James Interiors/Hughes Motor 207 1.568
9 3 Tyler Rypkema J&R Pre-Cast 207 1.59
10 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotive 207 2.107
11 63 Dylan Slepian Eastport Feeds 207 2.234
12 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power & Construction 207 2.478
13 88 Roger Turbush Rheem 207 2.76
14 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 207 3.083
15 21 Stephen Kopcik Newtown Pools/Wanick Construction 207 3.477
16 96 Matthew Brode Peter Clark Motorsports 206 1 Lap
17 18 Ken Heagy Hunter Mechanical 205 2 Laps
18 49 Chris Young Sendlewski Architects 203 4 Laps
19 59 Tyler Barry* Pro Systems/BNP Machine 200 7 Laps
20 8 John-Michael Shenette USNE Power/Eighty-Two Services 186 21 Laps
21 26 Gary McDonald Lakeland Ave Landscape Supply 67 140 Laps

Jake Johnson dominates at White Mountain Motorsports on Sunday June 8

With the sun thankfully shining down on the Sunday special program at White Mountain Motorsports Park, it was time to kick off the King of the Mountain track championship chase for the 1764 Sports Bar & Grill Late Models as well as the second annual visit from the Monaco Modifieds!

Brett Meservey got the launch on the initial green to lead the Monaco Modified Tri-Track White Mountain 100 to green, rounding out Sunday’s program. Meservey would hold his own in the #76 machine until lap 44 as he suddenly came to a stop in turn two to end his day early, gifting the lead to defending race winner Jake Johnson! The Rehoboth, Massachusetts teamster was well underway to nabbing another $10,000 win at White Mountain Motorsports Park before the lap 66 caution for Luke Baldwin’s spin in turn one with Austin Beers and ‘Big Money’ Matt Hirschman staring down his rearview mirror. A pair of late race cautions re-racked the opposition again and again, now with Jon McKennedy and Ron Silk staring down the barrel at Johnson. Living by his nickname, Jake Johnson took off like a jet on the bottom again and again to prevail as the two-time White Mountain 100 champion in the Monaco Modifieds! Silk and McKennedy held on for second and third with Hirschman and Stephen Kopcik rounding out the top five. 

Kancamagus 150

White Mountain Motorsports Park – N. Woodstock, NH
Saturday, June 8, 2025
Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series – White Mountain 100

1.         15        Jake Johnson              Rehoboth, MA
2.         16        Ron Silk                Norwalk, CT
3.         79        Jon McKennedy          Chelmsford, MA
4.         60        Matt Hirschman         Northamption, PA
5.         1          Stephen Kopcik         Newtown, CT
6.         5CT      Chris Pasteryak         Lisbon, CT
7.         50W    Ronnie Williams         Ellington, CT
8.         55CT    Teddy Hodgdon          Danbury, CT
9.         39        George Bessette, Jr.    Danbury, CT
10.       40        Luke Baldwin              Mooresville, NC
11.       55x      Jacob Perry                 Kannapolis, NC
12.       179      Austin Beers               Northampton, PA
13.       04CT    Dylan Izzo                   Monroe, CT
14.       25        Matt Swanson             Harvard, MA
15.       31        Noah Korner               Avon, CT
16.       88        Woody Pitkat              Bellingham, MA
17.       43        Matt Kimball               Bennington, NH
18.       19        Jeffrey Battle              Barnstable, MA
19.       76        Brett Meservey           Brewster, MA
20.       92        Anthony Nocella         Woburn, MA ​

Matt Hirschman once again reigns supreme at the Cement Palace of Seekonk Speedway on June 1

Including spectators, competitors and officials, thousands packed into the third-mile bullring that is Seekonk Speedway on Sunday to witness the fourth race of the 2025 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season. Not a single person doubted the prospect of Matt Hirschman delivering yet another dominant performance at the Massachusetts short track, this time in the J&R Precast 150. Sure enough, after sweeping the afternoon’s pair of practice sessions and qualifying on the Hoosier Tire Pole, the 42-year-old scored his third consecutive Modified Tour victory at Seekonk. Hirschman, who now has 10 victories on the Tour, won the series’ visits in 2023 and 2024, as well. He had not won a Tour race since last year’s Seekonk event; this despite the fact that he entered Sunday with the most laps led on Tour this season. He now has at least one series victory in five consecutive seasons. “This car was torn up after North Wilkesboro,” Hirschman said of his increasingly iconic No. 60 Pee Dee Motorsports Modified. “We worked countless hours on this. … Just want to thank all the people who help us here.“This has always been a tough race track, but it’s a race track I really like. I enjoy coming here and look forward to coming here. It’s not an easy place to duplicate things or do it three times. You have to race the track as much as you do the competitors here. I’ve lost some tough ones over the years here, too. So to put a whole day together today … just can’t ask for a better day. And we really needed it after what our last day was at North Wilkesboro.” Thanks in part to a redraw that moved the pole winner to the third starting position, the big move for “Big Money” on Sunday occurred during the second restart of the race. Hirschman restarted outside of redraw pole-sitter Justin Bonsignore and held his ground in the upper groove for several laps. With 121 of 150 circuits still to run, Hirschman powered by Bonsignore for the lead. Hirschman experienced little resistance from that point. He managed his tires knowing he likely would not pit from the lead, a strategy that paid off when a caution with 54 to go sent more than a dozen contenders to the pits for a tire change. 
Hirschman and Bonsignore stayed out, but the latter was no match for the former as Hirschman drove away from the field. Not even a late caution for debris could spoil Hirschman’s day at Seekonk. The race’s final restart arrived with just two laps to go, and Hirschman utilized a smooth entry into Turns 1-2 to reclaim the lead for good. On the final lap, Bonsignore, still fighting to get back to Hirschman, got loose coming off Turn 2. He spun and collected multiple cars on the backstretch, resulting in the event’s only pile-up. The yellow flag marked the end of the race.“Obviously we didn’t want to see a caution at all,” Hirschman said. “We survived it. It’s going to take laps to get back hooked up. Of course you want to protect the bottom from first, but that also hurts your center corner speed. (Bonsignore) was able to cross over and get a run. … I gave him the space he earned. … I think he got loose; I don’t know what happened from there.” After the last-lap chaos, Stephen Kopcik was credited with a second-place finish. Austin Beers, who came agonizingly close to winning last year’s Seekonk race before Hirschman stole the show, finished third. Jake Johnson finished fourth in his second race of the season for JMA Motorsports, which considered Seekonk a home event. Trevor Catalano ran fifth. Kyle Bonsignore, rookie Tyler Barry, Chase Dowling, Kyle Ebersole and Eric Goodale finished sixth through 10th, respectively. Justin Bonsignore, the defending Modified Tour champion, was relegated to an 11th-place finish as a result of his last-lap crash. He led his first laps of the young season early in Sunday’s race. The good news for Bonsignore: His home track of Riverhead Raceway is next on the Modified Tour schedule. The teams get a couple weeks off before returning to action on Long Island for the Miller Lite Salutes Steve Park 200 on Saturday, June 14.


1 60 Matt Hirschman Pee Dee Motorsports 151 --
2 21 Stephen Kopcik Wanick Construction/ 151 0.663
3 64 Austin Beers GLumiere Electrical 151 1.688
4 07 Jake Johnson Lin’s Propane/P 151 3.487
5 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power 151 4.087
6 22 Kyle Bonsignore Chalew Performance/ 151 3.972
7 59 Tyler Barry* Pro Systems/BNP Machine 151 6.712
8 44 Chase Dowling Harshaw Paving/ 151 7.384
9 5 Kyle Ebersole Ebersole Excavating, Inc. 151 6.385
10 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 151 9.41
11 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications, Inc. 151 12.125
12 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotive 151 18.487
13 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 151 16.025
14 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc 150 1 Lap
15 79 Jon McKennedy Stewarts Automotive 150 1 Lap
16 20 Max Zachem USNE/Lu-Mac’s 150 1 Lap
17 36 Dave Sapienza Sapienza Racing/Eastport Feed 150 1 Lap
18 25 Brian Robie Bar Harbor Bank and Trust 150 1 Lap
19 15 Joey Cipriano J&R Pre-Cast Inc 150 1 Lap
20 18 Ken Heagy Hunter Mechanical 149 2 Laps
21 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE/Northeast Drilling 144 7 Laps
22 8 John-Michael Shenette USNE Power/ 113 38 Laps
23 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara/USNE Power 4 147 Laps



Craig Lutz survives a wild race at North Wilkesboro Speedway for his first Modified Tour victory since 2022 on May 18

As chaos enveloped Sunday’s FaithFest Evangelistic Ministries 150 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, all Craig Lutz had to do was be patient. Each on-track accident eliminated one potential contender after another, all while Lutz inched closer to the front of the field. By the time the race reached its closing laps, the only obstacle standing in the way of a victory for Lutz was the iconic 7NY piloted by Luke Baldwin.Lutz and Baldwin battled intensely during the final laps for an opportunity to take the famed elevator ride up to North Wilkesboro’s Victory Lane. Lutz prevailed over the young Baldwin, earning a long-overdue NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory he considers one of the most prestigious of his career.“I don’t know what to feel,” Lutz said. “This series is so tough, and you don’t know when the next one is. There’s so many good cars, [so] you need a lot of good luck to go your way. It damn sure did today.”Prior to North Wilkesboro, Lutz’s most recent Modified Tour triumph came Aug. 17, 2022, when he parked Danny Watts Jr.’s No. 82 in Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park’s Victory Lane. To break a winless drought approaching three years in duration, Lutz on Sunday had to come from the 17th starting position in the No. 46 owned by Russell Goodale, a car that guided him to his first three Modified Tour checkered flags from 2019-20.With how competitive the field was at North Wilkesboro, Lutz knew it would take a combination of strategy and good fortune to obtain solid track position. The onslaught of yellow flags played into Lutz’s gameplan, as he had successfully worked his way inside the top 10 at the halfway point.Luck then favored Lutz during the second half. He narrowly avoided the spinning car of Trevor Catalano in Turn 1 before catching another big break during the massive restart crash with 58 laps remaining that collected Justin Bonsignore, Matt Hirschman and Corey LaJoie, among others.
The only damage Lutz sustained in the incident came when he hit Tyler Rypekma’s rear bumper in the ensuing stack-up. With his car still relatively intact, Lutz went on the offensive by easily dispatching Stephen Kopcik and Austin Beers to take his first lead of the afternoon at Lap 103.Lutz’s only moments of reprieve came during the caution flags as he figured out how to hold off Baldwin on the restarts. The final sprint to the finish saw the two exchange contact on several occasions, but Lutz gained the upper hand over Baldwin with seven laps remaining by slightly nudging the No. 7NY in Turn 3, allowing him to pull away.“That was wild,” Lutz said. “You never feel like you get a big enough jump on a restart. Luke did a hell of a job getting to me on the inside. He’s got a very bright future as we’ve seen the last couple of races. We were a little bit better and didn’t want to give that one up.”Lutz’s charge was the deepest starting position for a Modified Tour winner since Patrick Emerling won at Stafford Speedway in 2021 after starting 23rd. Just like at Stafford that evening, Lutz needed to capitalize on the copious yellow flags to give himself an ideal opportunity to pursue a victory.The increased notoriety Sunday’s FaithFest Evangelistic Ministries 150 received because of the NASCAR All-Star Race was not lost on Lutz. Having so many prominent individuals at North Wilkesboro only fueled his motivation to put together a stalwart performance and finally enjoy being a Modified Tour winner again.Lutz had to endure a chaotic afternoon, but his patience was rewarded with a checkered flag at one of the southeast’s most cherished tracks.“This race is probably the biggest one for us this season with NASCAR here [for the All-Star Race],” Lutz said. “To win this one is so amazing. It still doesn’t feel like it just happened, but it really did.“I was supposed to work tomorrow, but I don’t think I am.”Bonsignore rebounded from the restart crash to salvage a strong points day with a third-place finish. Jacob Lutz and Beers rounded out the top five.The rest of the top 10 comprised of Kopcik, Tommy Catalano, Joey Braun, Jeremy Gerstner and Luke Fleming.Seekonk Speedway is the next venue on the schedule for the Modified Tour on May 31. The J&R Precast 150 commences at 8 p.m. ET, with FloRacing set to provide coverage of all the on-track action.

1 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 150 --
2 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotive 150 0.387
3 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc 150 1.128
4 14 Jacob Lutz* Advantage Trucks/Washtronic’s/Anastasi Trucking 150 1.233
5 64 Austin Beers G&G Electric 150 1.492
6 21 Stephen Kopcik Newtown Pools/Wanick Construction 150 1.6
7 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara/USNE 150 1.821
8 79 Joey Braun* EME Industrial/Stutts Marina/Highmark 150 2.258
9 55 Jeremy Gerstner Garage Doors of the Triad/Jerry Hunt Supercenter/Cherokee Underground 150 3.908
10 40 Luke Fleming Smith Trucking/Taylor Auto Parts/Perkins & Associates/Hodges Realty/Simmons Powersports 150 5.654
11 18 Ken Heagy Hunter Mechanical 150 7.643
12 05 Teddy Hodgdon* Montanari Fuel/Business Time Motorsports 149 1 Lap
13 4 Ryan Newman IGA/First Sanitation/The Ragg Co./Fairvalue/Findley Properties/Mathis Equipment 148 2 Laps
14 77 Corey LaJoie Curb Records/Mohawk Northeast 147 3 Laps
15 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power & Construction 142 8 Laps
16 8 John-Michael Shenette USNE Power/Eighty-Two Services 129 21 Laps
17 29 Mike Marshall* MLM Diagnostics/Jusczak Electric 117 33 Laps
18 59 Tyler Barry* Pro Systems/BNP Machine 107 43 Laps
19 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE Power/Northeast Drilling 105 45 Laps
20 02 Joey Coulter SRI Performance/Bilstein Shocks/PFC Brakes/Molecule/Simpson 94 56 Laps
21 37 Jake Crum Platinum Utility Group/Mount Airy Toyota 94 56 Laps
22 60 Matt Hirschman Pee Dee Motorsports 92 58 Laps
23 15 Joey Cipriano III Dependable Energy/The Bass Planting Company 92 58 Laps
24 22 Kyle Bonsignore MTT/ChaLew Performance/Munns Auto 83 67 Laps
25 5 Kyle Ebersole Ebersole Excavating Inc 80 70 Laps
26 12 Brian Sones* DW Machine & Fabricating Co./Bergen Industries 74 76 Laps
27 23 Carson Loftin L&R Transmission/LeBleu Water/QMF Solutions 66 84 Laps
28 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc. 31 119 Laps
29 38 Bobby Labonte Cook-Out 18 132 Laps
30 36 Dave Sapienza Sapienza Enterprises/Eastport Feed 17 133 Laps
31 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 2 148 Laps


Why so many yellows in the Modified’s N. Wilkesboro race?
by Scotte Sprinkle May 18, 2025

Scotte Sprinkle
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at North Wilkesboro saw many cautions, and drivers shared their disappointment and theories as to why. The race was held on Sunday afternoon, just before the NASCAR Cup Series hosted their All-Star Race, leading to a big crowd on hand, and the drivers knew the importance of the race. Two of the cautions were due to engine failures. Conner Jones also had an engine failure in practice, preventing him from racing. The longest green flag during the race was only 17 laps, and the average race speed was only 55.056 miles per hour.Craig Lutz won the race after starting 16th. He noted the speed of the track as well as the multiple parts failures that contributed to all the cautions.“Last year we had one caution in 150 laps [and] this year we had probably five before lap 20,” Lutz said after the race.“Ultimately I don’t know what exact thing caused it, but there were a lot of parts failures. This palace you’re going so fast. If your stuff is not proper, you’re going to find that out here. I think that was a majority of the wrecks. And restarts. I think between those two things, that’s what really jammed the race up.”
Luke Baldwin finished runner-up after sustaining damage in a crash during a restart on lap xx. Baldwin said the toe was knocked out an inch after the crash on top of the cosmetic damage. Baldwin isn’t exactly sure what led to all the chaos, but is upset that the race ended up that way.“I think [it’s] a little bit bigger stage than we’re all used to, I guess,” Baldwin said when asked what he thinks caused the melee.“I don’t think there’s much of an excuse for all of that. Not saying that I’m perfect, but that was definitely a little embarrassing today. [I] wish we got some more green flag racing. I hate that it was in front of such a big crowd. I’m not sure what really contributed to a wreck every five laps. It really hurt us at the end. We could have been pretty good if we got some green flag laps.”Tommy Baldwin Jr., veteran crew chief and car owner for Luke, noted the engine failures and racing etiquette when asked about what he thinks caused it.“We had engine issues and a couple dumb moves by some people,” Baldwin Jr. said“I hate it for our division because we really race good most of the time and to be center stage [on a] Cup weekend in front of a lot of fans is a let down to be honest. Everybody’s just got to do a better job. We had some damage on that frontstretch wreck that probably cost us a win.”Justin Bonsignore won both the Whelen and SMART Modified races at the track last October. He seemed to be on track to have a chance to repeat, but he got damaged in the frontstretch crash that Bladwin noted, and had to drive up through the field.“Not a good job by most of the drivers today,” Bonsignore said.“Obviously there was a handful of guys that had no damage. I got into the [No.] 77 there and caused a big one. Just not a good look for our series on a national stage like this. I wish we could have done better as a series but all-in-all a good comeback for us.”Matt Hirschman was caught up in the frontstretch crash and it ended his day. Hirschman won the first race at the speedway for the series in 2023, but did not get a chance to try to win it again.“I can’t explain that one,” Hirschman said.“Our race started out good and our car started out good. I think the track changed and the car went in a direction I didn’t want it to go. I ended up getting turned around, and I think we could have recovered. We were in eighth for that restart, with tires on, and it all broke loose at the front. [I] got piled in from the side and then behind and that was it.]Ryan Newman was in the race, racing in the historic Mystic Missile for Tim Connely. Newman was looking forward to the race and the opportunity to drive such a historic car. He feels like the amount of speedy dry put down after wrecks was a key in contributing to even more.“They say ‘cautions breed cautions,’” Newman said.“I will say, the speedy dry was kind of ridiculous. That contributed to what I thought was getting ready to happen with [Patrick] Emerling. I got loose into one there, and I think he got loose beneath everybody else. It’s our [fault] the tracks got stuff on it, but we don’t need to make it worse than it already was. I think we would have been better off running in the oil than we were on the speedy dry the way they had it.”It is safe to say several things contributed to the chaos we saw. With the nerves of all the drivers and it being so early in the season, as well as the mechanical failures and cleanup process throughout the race, it was hard to avoid. Regardless of why, all the drivers were upset that it devolved to such chaos, and hope they avoid a repeat of this.

Jack Ely Outduels Matt Hirschman for May Flowers 75 Win at Chemung on May 10

Jack Ely earned some redemption on Saturday night, winning the May Flowers 75 for the Race of Champions Modified Series at Chemung Speedrome.

In the series opener at Mahoning Valley Speedway, Ely's race ended with 15 laps to go against the outside wall in turn two. The efforts to repair his car from that incident paid off on Saturday, as Ely passed Matt Hirschman on lap 55 and led the rest of the way for the victory. "We haven't had a car this good here before, so it was nice redemption to come back after the mishap in the first race of the year to be able to park it in victory lane," said Ely in victory lane. "It was a lot of long nights in the shop to get it back together. "It was a really long day today. If people knew what all we went through today. We had the rack out, we changed brake calipers. We did more work on this car today than I'd like to do all week, but it turned out for the best." Ely took the lead just after halfway, but lost the top spot to Hirschman on a restart on lap 43. However, Ely patiently waited and chased Hirschman back down, passing him with 20 laps to go. "I knew the inside was going to be a little tricky off of four on the restarts," said Ely. "When he got by me, I knew I just had to get back in a rhythm and hopefully wait for his car to start to fall off a little bit. "Probably about four laps before I passed him, I saw him wiggle a little bit. I figured if I was gonna go, I had to go. We didn't fall off at all, so it was great." Austin Beers passed Hirschman with seven laps remaining in the 75-lap race to finish second. That gives Beers a win and a runner-up effort in the first two RoC events after winning the Bunny Hop 75 at Mahoning Valley. "We were in the shop until about midnight, working on that thing," said Beers. "He did a hell of a job. Obviously, when you pass Matt for a win, that's something special. You know, we worked really hard on both of these cars since Mahoning. To come out here with a second, I didn't know how this was going to be tonight. You know, third time here with this car. "I would have liked to see a yellow. Maybe we could have scrapped made my mom take some heart pills after having to watch us. It was definitely a fun race." Hirschman settled for a third-place finish. "Big Money" is an eight-time RoC winner at Chemung, but has only been able to race once at the track since the start of the 2023 season. "It was a good, hard race," said Hirschman. "I was able to get ahead of him on that restart. I just didn't have enough to hold him off. He ran a real good race, he had a real good car. He could really roll the center and then get a good, straight launch up off where I had to use a little more racetrack. Better car won tonight. "I don't want to sound like an excuse, but I really haven't raced here much in recent years. Last year, we got wrecked out on lap three and the year before, I broke my arm and missed the August race. I wasn't here in August last year either because of a conflict. I'm a little behind on these guys, I used to really do well at this place. We won a lot of races here at one time, but not so much recently. We've got some work to do." Jayden Harman finished fourth, with Bryce Bailey rounding out the top five. 
The Race of Champions Modified Series' next stop is Spencer Speedway on Friday, May 23. The Memorial Day weekend event is a special one on the RoC calendar, the Tribute to Tommy Druar and Tony Jankowiak 110.

Fin No Driver Laps Diff
1 81 Jack Ely 75 ---
2 71 Austin Beers 75 3.555
3 60 Matt Hirschman 75 4.819
4 51 Jayden Harman 75 5.091
5 12 Bryce Bailey 75 6.246
6 10 Daryl Lewis, 75 6.961
7 48 Jacob Christman 75 8.197
8 2 Jimmy Seger 75 10.074
9 72 T.J. Potrzebows 75 14.281
10 53 Brian Defebo 75 14.281
11 88S Lou Strohl 74 1 Lap
12 3 Daren Scherer 74 1 Lap
13 8 Chris Finocchario74 1 Lap
14 32 Tyler Rypkema 59 16 Laps
15 88v Sean Verwys 38 37 Laps


Stafford Motor Speedway hosted the 53rd Annual NAPA Spring Sizzler®, “The Greatest Race in the History of Spring,” on Sunday, April 27th with Open Modified cars. 

Stephen Kopcik overcame an early race penalty to work his way back to the front of the field and took control of the race in the second half to score his first career NAPA Spring Sizzler® victory. The race took the green flag with Jake Johnson and Joey Cipriano leading the field and it was Johnson setting the early pace.  Johnson would only lead the first lap as Michael Christopher, Jr. took the lead on lap-2.  Sam Rameau was third in the early going behind Christopher and Johnson with Cipriano fourth and Matt Hirschman fifth.  Jon McKennedy was sixth followed by Ron Silk, Marcello Rufrano, Anthony Nocella, and Matt Swanson.Rufrano went by McKennedy on lap-9 to move into seventh place while Christopher and Johnson continued to lead the field.  Dana DiMatteo got into the turn 1 wall to bring the caution out with 11 laps complete.Christopher and Johnson were wheel to wheel for the lead back under green with Rameau in third.  Hirschman was fourth and Silk was fifth in line.  Johnson went by Christopher on lap-11 to move back into the lead.  Behind Johnson, Christopher, and Rameau, Silk got around Hirschman to move into fourth place before the caution came out with 15 laps complete for a spin in the middle of turns 1+2 by Cipriano.  Under the caution period, Silk pulled to the high side of the track and let the field pass by before he brought his car to pit road.Johnson took the lead back under green with Rameau taking second.  Matt Swanson was now up to third with Hirschman fourth and McKennedy fifth.  Stephen Kopcik was sixth in line followed by Christopher, Austin Beers, Jake Lutz, and Eric Goodale.  Rameau spun in turn 4 to bring the caution flag out with 21 laps complete.  Kopcik was shown the black flag for making contact with Rameau.Johnson was back out front on the restart with Swanson up to second behind him.  Hirschman was now third in line with McKennedy fourth and Austin Beers fifth.  Christopher was followed by Lutz, Woody Pitkat, Goodale, and Keith Rocco.  The caution came back out with 29 laps complete for Ronnie Williams, who spun into the wall in turn 2.Johnson again took the lead on the restart with Hirschman taking second.  Swanson slotted into third with Beers fourth and McKennedy in fifth.  Lutz got loose on the backstretch and spun around to bring the caution flag back out with 31 laps complete.Johnson again took the lead as the race resumed on lap-32 with Hirschman, Swanson, McKennedy, Beers, and Pitkat lined up behind him.  Cipriano, who had an earlier spin, was now back up to seventh place with Goodale, Nocella, and Rameau making up the top-10.At the halfway point of the race, it was Johnson, Hirschman, Swanson, McKennedy, Pitkat, Beers, Cipriano, Goodale, Rameau, and Tyler Rypkema.  Johnson and Hirschman were beginning to put some distance between themselves and the trio of Swanson, McKennedy, and Pitkat.10 laps later on lap-50 Johnson was still in command with Hirschman giving chase.  There was now a train of cars behind the lead duo with Pitkat in third place leading Cipriano, Rameau, Rypkema, and Chase Dowling.  Johnson’s lead over Hirschman was erased with 59 laps complete for a spin on the backstretch by Max Zachem.Under the caution period, the leaders all came to pit road for 2 tires and adjustments.  Rameau, Rypkema, and Kopcik all stayed out with Johnson winning the race off of pit road to restart in fourth place.  Hirschman had an issue on his pit stop and fell from second back to 18th. Rameau led on the restart and just as Kopcik took the lead from Rameau on lap-61, the caution came out for a multicar incident in turn 3 involving McKennedy and Beers along with several other cars, which put Rameau back in front for the next restart.The restart saw Johnson get loose and back into the turn 1 wall to bring the caution flag right back out before a lap could be completed.  Pitkat was sent to the rear of the field for making contact with Johnson while Johnson was parked for hitting Pitkat’s car under caution.Kopcik resumed his place out front on the restart with Rameau holding off a hard charge from Dowling to maintain second.  Timmy Solomito was up to fourth behind Dowling with Goodale up to fifth.  Dowling got around Rameau to move into second while Hirschman was on the charge back up through the field, taking seventh.With 30 laps to go the order was Kopcik, Dowling, Rameau, Goodale, Solomito, Nocella, Hirschman, Rufrano, Swanson, and Brian Robie.  Goodale was coming to life as he took fourth on lap-71 and then third on lap-72.  The caution came back out with 75 laps complete for a spin in turn 4 by Swanson.Kopcik took the lead on the restart with Goodale taking second.  Nocella took third on lap-82 with Dowling settling into fourth, just in front of Solomito, Pitkat, and Hirschman.  Nocella was all over the back bumper of Goodale looking for a way to take over second place while Kopcik was slowly lap by lap increasing the gap between himself and Goodale and Nocella.  Robie spun coming out of turn 2 to bring the caution out with 92 laps complete and set up an 8 lap sprint to the finish.The restart saw both Goodale and Dowling go around in turn 3 to bring the caution right back out before a lap could be completed. Kopcik and Nocella went a lap side by side before Kopcik cleared into the lead on lap-93.  Nocella worked his way to the inside of Kopcik on lap-94 and he took the lead on lap-95.  Pitkat was third behind the two leaders with Solomito fourth and Matt Galko up to fifth.  Kopcik got to the inside of Nocella in turn 3 and took over the lead on lap-96.  The caution flew with 99 laps complete as Solomito spun into the turn 1 wall to set up a green white checkered finish to determine the winner.Kopcik took the lead with Pitkat and Nocella going side by side behind him for second.  Pitkat got by Nocella on the final lap but couldn’t get close enough to Kopcik as Kopcik took the checkered flag to win the 53rd Annual NAPA Spring Sizzler®.  Pitkat finished second with Nocella, Galko, and Cipriano rounding out the top-5.

Finish Name Car Number Start
1 Stephen Kopcik 1 12
2 Woody Pitkat 8 15
3 Anthony Nocella 92 9
4 Matt Galko 3 14
5 Joey Cipriano 51ct 2
6 Brian Robie 25nh 29
7 Tyler Rypkema 32 26
8 Dana DiMatteo 20 10
9 Timmy Solomito 66 20
10 David Arute 75 25
11 Marcello Rufrano48 4
12 Matt Hirschman 60 7
13 Sam Rameau 06ma 5
14 William Lambros 77ny 31
15 Eric Goodale 58 18
16 Chase Dowling 44ma 13
17 Max Zachem 13 17
18 Keith Rocco 10a 16
19 Matt Swanson 25 11
20 Ronnie Williams 50 21
21 Jacob Perry 4 24
22 Jake Johnson 15 1
23 Jon McKennedy 79 6
24 Austin Beers 179 19
25 Michael Chris 00 3
26 Jake Lutz 14 22
27 Mikey Flynn 24 28
28 Ronnie Silk 16 8
29 Chris Pasteryak 5ct 27
30 Trevor Catalano 55x 23
31 Joey Mucciaccia 47 30
DNQ Danny Knoll, Jr.17 -
DNQ Jeffrey Battle 19w -
DNQ Tyler Barry 8ny -
DNQ Noah Korner 31 -
DNQ Brett Meservey 76 -
DNQ Buddy Charette 28 -
DNQ Nick Anglace 10 -
DNQ Cory DiMatteo 11 -

Austin Beers pulled a rabbit of his own out of the hat in the Bunny Hop 75 at Mahoning Valley Speedway on Saturday, April 19

From Matt:  Set fast time in qualifying, won the 1st of 4 heat races and Violet redrew the 5th starting position. Took the lead on lap 29 and held it until lap 54 when contact with the #81 spun us around. My handling was trending tighter and the #81 had the faster car. I view it as a racing incident that didn't work out for either of us. After some quick adjustments by the crew we recovered quickly to finish 6th. Positives for the day were that a field of 27 Race of Champions Modifieds showed up and nice crowd was on hand. Our next event will be the Stafford Motor Speedway Spring Sizzler Sunday April 27th.

Beers started last in the 27-car field of Race of Champions Modified Series competitors, but raced his way through the field to win the season-opening event. Beers took the lead from Lou Strohl with three laps to go in the event, completing his charge through the pack for the victory.The Pennsylvania driver was a scratch during both time trials and heat races to set the evening's lineup, as he and his team diagnosed a mechanical issue on his car. That made for a long day at the track as well as an uphill battle in the feature, but it paid off with a trip to victory lane. "I've got to thank those guys so much," said Beers. "All of our guys, all the Blewett guys. We were kind of stumped on what the problem was. It ended up being the fuel pump, we think. What a hell of a race. "I'm out of breath. That was pretty intense. I've got to thank Louie. He ran me really clean. That was really fun. Definitely fun coming through the pack there. I just had to bide my time. My dad did an amazing job being a spotter. He's not great at it, but he's getting there. He's doing really good now, but it feels really good to get a win here." Beers' pass for the lead came on lap 73, as he muscled to the inside of Strohl entering turn one. With Strohl protecting the inside line around the tight quarter-mile at Mahoning Valley, Beers knew it would take one more surprise to take the win. "I just didn't really have enough drive," explained Beers. "I was tight, which built free towards the end of the run. I couldn't get the run around the top and he was doing a good job of protecting the bottom out of two. I knew my opportunity would be out of four when he wouldn't expect it. He got a little high, and this thing just gripped up enough to where I could motor on next to him and break his momentum." Strohl had to pass quite a few cars in his own right to get to the front, slipping back in the field in the opening laps after starting 10th. However, patience paid off as he took the lead on a lap 55 restart, following an incident with Matt Hirschman and Jack Ely as they battled for the top spot. "I was like 14th or 15th there after that first caution," said Strohl. "You know what, I kept my strategy. I knew the car was really good. I just kept to my strategy and passed them where I could. Didn't use the tires up. The clutch was slipping so hard. I couldn't throttle up off of two or off of four. He could, and that's how he got me. You can only do so much. If that clutch hadn't been slipping, the roles would have been reverse, but that's okay. That's racing, and we were fast."Blake Barney rounded out the podium, running in the top three for most of the evening. It was a bittersweet outcome, as Barney was pleased to have front-running pace but disappointed to see a chance at a win slip away. "I mean, it's always good to come out here and have a good top-three finish, but I'm just a little disappointed," said Barney. "I felt like there was a lot of opportunities for me to win and it kind of falls on me a little bit. "I got that restart in the lead and I felt like he jumped it. I'm not mad at him, you know? He's just trying to win the race, but seems like it was a little egregious and had a full car on me at the line, but it's whatever. It's my fault, I should have maybe went earlier, too. "From there, I was just trying to see what they were doing up front. They had a pretty good battle and it made for an exciting finish. I didn't really want to mess that up and kind of just jump when they were weak, but that really didn't happen for me. Kind of disappointed, but at the same time, any time you can come here with a stout field like this and finish top three, you can't really be too mad about it." Ron Silk finished fourth, with Daren Scherer finishing fifth. Hirschman rebounded from his incident to finish sixth, followed by Brian Defebo, Paulie Hartwig, III, Jaden Brown and Don Wagner.

Bunny Hop 75 Unofficial Results
Fin No Driver Laps Diff
1 71 Austin Beers 75 ---
2 88 Lou Strohl 75 0.568
3 14 Blake Barney 75 0.605
4 16 Ron Silk 75 0.868
5 3 Daren Scherer 75 1.265
6 60 Matt Hirschman 75 1.549
7 53 Brian Defebo 75 1.555
8 11 Paulie Hartwig 75 2.157
9 03 Jaden Brown 75 2.467
10 22 Don Wagner 75 2.798
11 19B James Blewett 75 3.035
12 8P Earl Paules 75 3.655
13 51 Jayden Harman 75 4.207
14 8F Chris Finocchario 75 4.653
15 66 Austin Kochenash 75 5.157
16 95 Jacob Kersetter 75 5.538
17 87 Thomas Flanagan 75 5.880
18 7x Mark Miller 75 6.225
19 29 Cody Kohler 62 13 Laps
20 81 Jack Ely 60 15 Laps
21 17 Roger Coss 36 39 Laps
22 19W Tyler Wagner 36 39 Laps
23 76 Rod Snyder, Jr. 35 40 Laps
24 44 Kyle Strohl 31 44 Laps
25 72 John Bennett 31 44 Laps
26 41 Nick Baer 27 48 Laps
27 0 Randall Richard 3 72 Laps




Ron Silk survives pit road mishap for eighth career Thompson Modified Tour victory on April 16

A dominant performance from Ron Silk in Wednesday’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Icebreaker 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park was nearly derailed during the final pit sequence of the evening. While attempting to exit pit road, Silk made contact with his long-time Modified Tour rival Justin Bonsignore and spun. The contact resulted in damage to the front of Bonsignore’s Modified while Silk continued without losing any track position. Silk was unfazed by the pit road incident as he quickly worked his way around Patrick Emerling during the closing laps to reclaim the lead. With Emerling playing defense against the rest of the pack, Silk cruised to his 27th career Modified Tour win and his eighth overall at Thompson. “I was pretty confident if I got a good restart and got to the lead, I would be able to hold them off,” Silk said. “My car drove great. The first 40 laps or so we were a little bit free, but we fixed that on the pit stop. The car was just spot-on after that.” Thompson has always been a significant track in Silk’s career on the Modified Tour, as his first three triumphs in the series came at the facility. Joining Haydt Yannone Racing in 2022 proved to be a catalyst in Silk recapturing the efficiency he enjoyed at Thompson. Aside from his first campaign with Haydt Yannone, Silk has now won at least one race at Thompson each year piloting the silver No. 16. Finding his way to Victory Lane on Saturday evening required Silk and crew chief Phil Moran to be sharp with pit strategy. An early caution provided Silk and Moran the opportunity they needed to shift momentum in their favor, as Silk utilized fresh tires and adjustments to charge toward the front of the field. Silk was untouched at the front of the pack until a spin by Craig Lutz with 27 laps remaining brought most of the field back into the pits. Once Silk shook off the contact from Bonsignore, he had to quickly dispatch both Emerling and Jake Johnson to regain the lead. He comfortably did just that.
Emerling, who was piloting a Geoff Bodine tribute scheme, endured an eventful evening of his own. After losing control of his Modified on Lap 64, problems in the pit lane for Emerling resulted in his falling a lap behind the leaders, which he quickly regained on an ensuing yellow flag. Going off-sequence from the leaders enabled Emerling to salvage a runner-up finish. Emerling was pleasantly surprised by the outcome, one that could prove to be beneficial in his quest for a Modified Tour title. “That was an absolutely insane run by the team,” Emerling said. “We got stuck a lap down, but luckily there was quick caution there. We got our lap back and we passed a ton of cars. Our car was feeling good on those old tires, but that was an insane run.”Following Silk and Emerling home in the third was Trevor Catalano, with Austin Beers and Bonsignore completing the top five. The rest of the top 10 consisted of Chase Dowling, Stephen Kopcik, polesitter Jon McKennedy, Tommy Catalano and Matt Swanson.

1 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountian Machine/ Future Homes 150 --
2 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc 150 0.665
3 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power & Construction 150 0.788
4 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply/ AP Marquadt & Sons 150 0.873
5 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communication Inc 150 0.913
6 44 Chase Dowling S&S Paving/ Harshaw Paving 150 1.045
7 21 Stephen Kopcik Newtown Pools/Wanick Contruction 150 1.09
8 79 Jon McKennedy Christophers Towing 150 1.236
9 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara/USNE 150 1.264
10 25 Matt Swanson Ceravolo’s Auto/ 150 1.411
11 60 Matt Hirschman Elite Towing 150 1.877
12 22 Kyle Bonsignore MTT/ChaLew Performance/Munns Auto 150 1.904
13 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 150 1.968
14 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotive 150 2.068
15 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE/Northeast Drilling 150 2.198
16 59 Tyler Barry* Pro Systems/BNP Machine 150 2.803
17 81 Mark Stewart* Cromers Market/ Keith Grimes Excavating 150 3.257
18 24 Andrew Krause Supreme Manufacturing 150 3.436
19 82 Woody Pitkat Gunsmoke Stables Racing/Danny’s Cesspool Service 150 3.872
20 88 Roger Turbush Rheem 150 4.51
21 11 Eric Berndt Alliant Insurance Services 149 1 Lap
22 20 Max Zachem USNE/Lu-Mac’s 149 1 Lap
23 18 Ken Heagy Avon Prime Meats 149 1 Lap
24 12 Brian Sones* Dennis Wenner 147 3 Laps
25 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 144 6 Laps
26 07 Jake Johnson Lin’s Propane/ 141 9 Laps
27 55 Teddy Hodgdon IV* Montanari Fuel/Business Time Motorsports 141 9 Laps
28 29 Mike Marshall* MLM Diagnostics/Business Time Motorsports 139 11 Laps
29 63 Dylan Slepian Eastport Feeds 68 82 Laps


 ​SMART Modified Tour April 12         Matt Hirschman charges to 4th place finish at Hickory Smart Tour Race

Making a last lap bump and run on Luke Baldwin, Paulie Hartwig III becomes the youngest SMART Modified Tour winner in history at 14 years old at Hickory Motor Speedway on April 12!  Jake Crum led the field to green after the redraw and what ensued quickly after was a rotating door of leaders as drivers went into tire conservation mode. When it all cycled through, Baldwin found himself up front with what looked to be the winning car. But a run in with lap traffic along with Baldwin's tires going away helped Hartwig III quickly catch up in the waning laps. With the win on the line, Hartwig III sailed into turn three and executed a classic short track move to take the win.  Matt settled in during the race patiently waiting for a yellow to get the fresh tire and make a effort to get to the front. The yellow never came...the race went green after the stage break. Matt was able to make a charge up to 4th at the finish.​

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SMART Modified Tour          Matt Hirschman claims King of the Modifieds on March 22

• by  Short Track Scene

Matt Hirschman came back to South Boston Speedway to collect his missing trophy, a crown fit for a king.
The King of the Modifieds is a race he felt got away from him last year but came back and won from the pole on Saturday night in SMART Modified Tour competition on a night where Jack Baldwin and Jake Crum reignited their simmering feud.
Hirschman spent the entire race inside the top-three and led from Lap 77 onwards.
“It’s good to be king,” Hirschman said. “I’m glad that we were able to get this win, I can only hope that it becomes an annual event down the road. It’s a huge day, one of the biggest wins for PeeDee Motorsports and even myself included, and when you’ve been doing it for as long I have and have been fortunate enough to have as much success as I have and win the races I have, to say this is a high ranking win when you’ve already won 200 or so races, that tells you something about it”
Hirschman, who is notorious for his notebook and meticulous approach to racing, says he just made the right calls throughout the day.“I think the crew chief in me made the right pit strategy call and the right adjustments on the pitstop, and as a driver take the lead,” Hirschman said. ‘“Under that last red flag I said ‘there’s only one person left here that needs to step up and that’s the driver’ and I’m not sure if maybe his car did fade or that red flag hurt his car and it very well possibly could have, I got the most out of myself today and it seems like recently I’ve been told what I’m doing wrong instead of what I’ve done right and today, I did everything right and in the end got the job done.”
The most notable incident occurred on Lap 84 when one week removed from an incident between them at Anderson, Jack Baldwin broke traction under Jake Crum and they both ended up in the wall. They needed to be separated.
Baldwin would drive down to the inside of Crum only for his modified to loosen up and travel up the track, taking them both out of the race. Tempers would flare shortly afterward as Crum would get out and confront Baldwin, with track responders breaking it up. On track would not be the only place where things would get heated as Tommy Baldwin would get into words with the crew on the Tomaino 99 entry. 
The younger Baldwin did not offer a quote at the time but his father, Tommy Baldwin did.
“It just sucks man, you know unfortunately the 99 took Jack out last week and obviously Jack got loose getting in there and he took him out,” Tommy said. “I don’t know if it was a left rear flat, I noticed there was a left rear flat down, wasn’t sure if that was it, but I was just trying to explain it to him that it was unintentional.”
In real time, Crum felt there was a degree of intentionality behind the incident.
“Apparently I don’t know what happened, I think it’s very clear for all the fans who watched two weeks ago, and then saw what just transpired right there but, it’s fine, we’ll go to work, we’ll make it better, we’ll come back and we’ll be stronger.”
As for the results, multiple-time Stafford SK Modified winner Stephen Kopcik would finish second after a hard charge through the field on the final restart.
“I knew we were good throughout practice, didn’t qualify that great, I knew we had a good balance,” said Kopcik. “I think if we changed up our pit strategy a little bit and had better track position at the end we would’ve had a shot but Matt was stout.”
“I couldn’t be happier to come out here and run with guys that run this tour all the time so I’d say it was a successful trip”
Last year’s King of The Modifieds, Luke Baldwin would end up finishing third tonight after leading the race from the pole after the redraw.
“We lead some laps at the beginning, pretty good racecar a little on the free side, short pitted the tire, really good strategy and we were in a really good position there on the short run to take the lead there a couple of times from Matt,” the younger Baldwin son said.
“As the sun went down, just lost a little right front grip and it never came back, just chattering all the way around the racetrack, but second place car for a little bit there, then third place car when the sun went down. Thats all you can ask for, really good points day for us, lost to some of the best. Nothing to hang our heads about, took the points lead so we’ll move on to Orange County and hopefully take one down there”
SMART Tour King Of The Modifieds
South Boston Speedway
March 22 2025
1. Matt Hirschman
2. Stephen Kopcik
3. Luke Baldwin
4. Brandon Ward
5. Carson Loftin
6. Paulie Hartwig III
7. Joey Braun
8. Ryan Newman
9. Eddie McCarthy
10. Jayden Harman
11. Landon Huffman
12. Chris Pasteryak
13. Burt Myers
14. Daniel Yates
15. Jake Crum
16. Jack Baldwin
17. Sam Rameau
18. Carsten DiGiantomasso
19. Joey Coulter
20. Jimmy Wallace
21. Jeremy Gerstner
22. Ron Silk
23. Gary Young
24. Bryce Bailey
25. Carter McMurray
26. Slate Myers
27. Johnny Kievman
28. Tom Buzze
29. Jonathan Cash
30. Anthony Bello
31. Jason Tutterow
32. Tony Hanbury



New Smyrna - Feb 14 Matt Hirschman continued his winning streak in the Richie Evans Memorial, while Patrick Emerling finished second to wrap up a dominant week and claim the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing's Tour-type Modified championship.

Zach Evans

Matt Hirschman continued his winning streak in the Richie Evans Memorial on Friday night at New Smyrna Speedway, while Patrick Emerling finished second to wrap up a dominant week and claim the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing's Tour-type Modified championship. Hirschman took the lead from Ronnie Williams on lap 56 of the 100-lap event and never looked back. While Emerling passed Williams and briefly closed the gap on Hirschman, Hirschman stretched out his advantage to more than 1.5 seconds by the checkered flag.For Hirschman, this particular World Series has been a struggle. Hirschman won multiple World Series feature races each of the last four years, but that streak ended in 2025.However, when the week reached its traditional conclusion with the Richie Evans Memorial, Hirschman was singing a different tune. "It's like that Toby Keith song," quipped Hirschman. "I wasn't as good this week as I once was, but I was as good once as I ever was. Finally put it together. I don't know if taking last night off was the right thing, but we just had to reset. Just didn't start off the week good. Last year, we did the same thing, but Wednesday we turned it around. This year, Wednesday, we didn't turn it around with a win." Still, Hirschman keeps some important streaks alive. He goes home with at least one win during the World Series, a trend dating back to 2017. Hirschman also hasn't lost the Richie Evans Memorial since Ryan Preece won the event in 2018. "I'm glad we're leaving here with a win," said Hirschman. "It's always special to win the Richie Evans Memorial. It's still the biggest part of the World Series for the Tour Modifieds, and we've done it many times in a row, so we continue that streak.
"We've never come here with Pee Dee Motorsports and not left herewith a win. That would have made for a long trip home, but this makes it a little bit shorter." Hirschman's win stopped a different streak - Emerling's run of dominance during this year's World Series. Emerling entered Friday night with three wins in a row in the Tour-type Modified division, and four Modified wins in total going back to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season opener last Saturday. Emerling settled for a second-place finish in the caution-free Richie Evans 100, but there were still plenty of reasons to celebrate a week that ended with an average finish of 1.6 in World Series competition and the week-long championship. "We've had long green flag runs here before in this Richie Evans 100," said Emerling. "I don't think we've ever went cautionless, so that's interesting. "Congrats to Matt. He had a little bit of a tough week, and he got it turned around a little bit. I've just got to give it up to the entire Fleet Works No. 1 team. Everyone did an excellent job all week. A great week. This race, the tire stagger just came in a little bit off from what it shoudl have been. Otherwise, we would have been probably knocking at the door there. "We were really close to winning a championship down here several times. To be able to get it is awesome. We had an awesome week. We won the big one last Saturday. Pretty much everything else was a bonus. It was an awesome week for us." Tyler Rypkema finished third, followed by Jake Lutz and Monday night Tour-type Modified winner Austin Beers.


Richie Evans Memorial 100 Unofficial Results
Fin No Driver Laps Diff
1 60 Matt Hirschman 100 ---
2 1E Patrick Emerling 100 1.543
3 32 Tyler Rypkema 100 6.411
4 14L Jake Lutz 100 6.650
5 179 Austin Beers 100 11.531
6 92 Anthony Nocella 100 15.243
7 64A Tommy Catalano 100 15.459
8 8M Cam McDermott 100 18.892
9 25 Brian Robie 99 1 Lap
10 50 Ronnie Williams 99 1 Lap
11 56 Trevor Catalano 99 1 Lap
12 24 Andrew Krause 99 1 Lap
13 5 Jeff Goodale 99 1 Lap
14 17 Danny Knoll 99 1 Lap
15 66 Timothy Solomito 99 1 Lap
16 19 Jeffrey Battle 99 1 Lap
17 11 Norman Newman 99 1 Lap
18 58 Eric Goodale 98 2 Laps
19 09 Christopher Hatton 97 3 Laps
20 46 Craig Lutz 78 22 Laps
21 7P Rich Parker 31 69 Laps
22 7NY Jack Baldwin 5 95 Laps


February 13 - New Smyrna - Patrick Emerling scored his third consecutive World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Tour-type Modified win on Thursday evening, his fourth victory of the week at New Smyrna Speedway.

Zach Evans

It's three in a row for Patrick Emerling, who took his third consecutive World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Tour-type Modified victory on Thursday night at New Smyrna Speedway. Starting on the pole after qualifying was rained out, Emerling took the lead on a lap 34 restart as Jake Lutz fell off the pace from the lead. From there, Emerling led the rest of the way and claimed his fourth victory in Modified competition during this year's World Series. “I’ve just got to give it up," said Emerling in victory lane. "This is an awesome team. We’ve been working together a little bit longer and we’re just getting a little bit stronger. We were a little bit tight to start that race. The 14 [of Lutz] was rolling really, really good. There was a little bit more grip than I thought there was going to be out there. “Just a little snug to start. I was a little worried, I got my brake bias stuck about 10 rounds in the rear. That got me a little bit in the last half of the race. One of those racing things. The car was coming alive towards the end. We had the track position today and we were able to stay up front.” Lutz's misfortune proved to be Emerling's greatest benefit. Not only did it allow Emerling to take the top spot, but it stacked up the field behind Lutz and gave Emerling a chance to break free from the pack. Anthony Nocella finished second, happy to bounce back after fighting his car throughout the World Series. Nocella believed he had a car that could compete with Emerling for the win, but suffered some wheel damage during the stack-up behind Lutz on the restart. “We were coming, you know. We’ve been struggling all week, blew a motor, a few other problems. It was a good day to finally have a good run. The car, I thought, could win the race, pretty sure. Just that last restart, when the 14 didn’t get going there, we got the toe knocked in some. A little bit too tight there at the end, but still good enough. We were slowly gaining, but nowhere near enough to get to him.” Similarly, Trevor Catalano's third-place finish was a rebound effort for that driver. A former race winner in the 602 Modified division during the World Series, the podium finish was Catalano's first in the Tour-type Modified division across two years of competition.“This was a really good run," said Catalano. "We struggled all week with this thing. We were 15th or something the first night, 13th the second night, ninth last night. Tonight, we decided, you know what, we’re going to take the morning off, not practice, put the thing on scales, go through it deep. We changed almost everything on the car, and it was way better.”Eric Goodale crossed the line fourth, followed by Timmy Solomito.

Tour-type Modified 50 Unofficial Results
Fin No Driver Laps Diff
1 1E Patrick Emerling 50 ---
2 92 Anthony Nocella 50 0.527
3 56 Trevor Catalano 50 2.237
4 58 Eric Goodale 50 4.150
5 66 Timothy Solomito 50 4.374
6 179 Austin Beers 50 4.848
7 5 Jeff Goodale 50 6.825
8 50 Ronnie Williams 50 7.078
9 64A Amy Catalano 50 7.275
10 19 Jeffrey Battle 50 7.593
11 2 J.R. Bertuccio 49 1 Lap
12 09 Christopher Hatton 49 1 Lap
13 11 Norman Newman 39 11 Laps
14 14L Jake Lutz 33 17 Laps
15 71 James Pritchard 32 18 Laps
16 17 Danny Knoll 32 18 Laps
17 7B Luke Baldwin
18 7P Rich Parker
19 46 Craig Lutz
20 60 Matt Hirschman
21 84 Tyler Catalano


February 12 - Mew Smyrna - Patrick Emerling's hot streak in Modified competition at this year's World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing continued on Wednesday night at New Smyrna Speedway, as Emerling won the John Blewett III Memorial.

Zach Evans 

Patrick Emerling's hot streak in Modified competition at this year's World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing continued on Wednesday night at New Smyrna Speedway, as Emerling won the John Blewett III Memorial. With an impressive two-for-one maneuver on lap 69 of the 76-lap event, Emerling surpassed both Tommy Catalano and Matt Hirschman. From there, the Orchard Park, New York driver pulled away while Catalano fell out of the race just four laps later and Hirschman fell to third behind Stephen Kopcik.Emerling opened the World Series by winning the kickoff for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour on Saturday night. After a third-place finish on Monday night, Emerling has now won back-to-back race with the Tour-type Modified division to take the points lead for the division's World Series of Asphalt title.That string of success, along with winning one of the marquee memorial events during the World Series, made for a special victory lane for Emerling."It's pretty big," said Emerling. "We were just playing around with the car, trying to get a little note. We went with a completely different setup for tonight. It worked out pretty good. Absolutely incredible."I thought we missed a little bit at the beginning of the race. The 1 car here just stayed strong on the long run and we outlasted a lot of them guys."Catalano jumped out to the lead at the start of the race after starting alongside Hirschman on the front row. However, Hirschman pressured Catalano in the closing laps as they both searched for grip on the long run.While the two front-runners wrestled for control, Emerling closed the gap and capitalized, muscling to the inside of both Hirschman and Catalano for the top spot."You know how hard it is to pass that 60 car [of Hirschman] here," said Emerling. "That car is always so fast. It was a really, really good one. It was hard-fought. I thought we made a pretty good move, passing first and second on the bottom. I've got to give it up to the whole team. Did an excellent job again on the Fleetworks No. 1 car. Glad to get another win." "We were just trying to bide our time and put ourselves in a good position for the end all race long. I saw the opportunity, I saw the 60 wiggling. He was a little bit off tonight, so I saw him wiggling. I was like, man, I'm going to capitalize on that. They were both kind of fading. We were just staying a little bit stronger right at the end." Kopcik claimed the runner-up spot, giving him three straight podium finishes without a win to show for it this week. Like Emerling, Kopcik bided his time in the early stages and then charged late  "The whole race was pretty exciting," said Kopcik. "The guys at the front were going hard the whole time. I figured I was better off just waiting out for a caution. We were definitely a little too free tonight, but you can't be too upset about it. Just had to take care of it longer." Meanwhile, Hirschman settled for a third-place finish, surprisingly the best showing of the week for the five-time World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing champion. It has been a frustrating week for Hirschman, and that was compounded by him not feeling 100 percent on Wednesday. "I've actually been under the weather today," said Hirschman. "I haven't eaten anything since breakfast. I've not been feeling that good. On top of being not a good week for the car, today wasn't very good for me. Just came up short, lost my drive at the same time as the 64 [of Catalano]. Emerling was there to bounce, basically a two-for-one. It didn't happen, but it's not from a lack of effort. "It's not a bad week. We had some uncharacteristic mechanical things, and that certainly doesn't help because we really didn't get the race notes in to build off of. I don't want to sound like I'm making excuses. It's just been a bad week, and the team's still working hard. There are still two races ahead of us, we'll see if we can leave with a win yet." Tyler Rypkema finished fourth, with Jake Lutz rounding out the top five. Two races remain for the Tour-type Modifieds at the World Series of Asphalt. They will contest a 50-lap feature on Thursday evening before the signature World Series finale, the Richie Evans Memorial 100, on Friday night.

John Blewett, III Memorial Unofficial Results
Fin No Driver Laps Diff
1 1E Patrick Emerling 76 ---
2 1K Stephen Kopcik 76 0.935
3 60 Matt Hirschman 76 2.070
4 32 Tyler Rypkema 76 3.462
5 14L Jake Lutz 76 3.704
6 50 Ronnie Williams 76 6.847
7 179 Austin Beers 76 7.373
8 58 Eric Goodale 76 8.417
9 56 Trevor Catalano 76 8.834
10 66 Timothy Solomito 76 9.959
11 36 David Sapienza 76 10.289
12 92 Anthony Nocella 76 10.678
13 8M Cam McDermott 76 10.929
14 46 Craig Lutz 76 13.672
15 5 Jeff Goodale 75 1 Lap
16 84 Tyler Catalano 75 1 Lap
17 11 Norman Newman 75 1 Lap
18 2 J.R. Bertuccio 75 1 Lap
19 24 Andrew Krause 75 1 Lap
20 25 Brian Robie 75 1 Lap
21 71 James Pritchard 74 2 Laps
22 17 Danny Knoll 74 2 Laps
23 64T Tommy Catalano 73 3 Laps
24 0 Glenn Styres 73 3 Laps
25 7NY Jack Baldwin 65 11 Laps
26 19 Jeffrey Battle 56 20 Laps
27 7P Rich Parker 51 25 Laps
28 09 Christopher Hatton 26 50 Laps
DNS 8F Chris Finocchario


February 11 - New Smyrna - Patrick Emerling's stellar World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway continued on Tuesday night, as the Orchard Park, New York driver returned to victory lane.

Zach Evans 


Emerling won Tuesday's 50-lap Tour-type Modified feature, leading from flag to flag after starting second in a dominant showing. The victory comes on the heels of a third-place finish on Monday night, as well as a victory in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season opener on Saturday night. “This is awesome. I’ve got to give it up to the entire Fleetworks No.1 team," said Emerling. "We came out, won the Tour race, got a really solid third last night. We knew we had a little bit to gain, so that’s what we did. We were really, really good." While Emerling led all 50 laps, the No. 14 of Jake Lutz gave him plenty to think about in the closing laps, drawing within a second of the lead. “That 14 car, I used to drive that car, it’s really, really stout as well. We had our track position from the beginning. We were just able to go out there and maintain.” Unofficially, Emerling comes out of Tuesday night with a two-point lead in the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing's Tour-type Modified division over Stephen Kopcik. With three races to go, there is plenty of time for the outlook to change, but undoubtedly Emerling's performance thus far is reason for confidence. “By the looks of it right now, it’s definitely there," said Emerling. "You know, it’s a long week, we’ll see what happens.” Lutz's runner-up finish was a marked improvement after a disappointing start to the World Series, finishing 11th on Monday night. “We’re happy with that," said Lutz. "The first two days were terrible for us. I made a bunch of mistakes and we just didn’t roll out of the trailer well. We got it turned around and qualified better today. We’ll take it and keep moving. Kopcik finished third, following a runner-up placement on Monday to keep him in the title picture with Emerling. He stated a desire to improve on his qualifying efforts to find more success during feature racing.“I’m happy with that, but still two spots short. We’ve got to qualify better, that’s all it is. It’s hard to start back around 10th or 12th. When we don’t get yellows, it makes it tough.” Luke Baldwin finished fourth, with Tyler Rypkema rounding out the top five.

Tour-type Modified 50 Unofficial Results
Fin No Driver Laps Diff
1 1E Patrick Emerling 50 ---
2 14L Jake Lutz 50 0.616
3 1K Stephen Kopcik 50 3.883
4 7B Luke Baldwin 50 5.615
5 32 Tyler Rypkema 50 6.277
6 40 Ryan Preece 50 6.497
7 58 Eric Goodale 50 8.690
8 50 Ronnie Williams 50 9.872
9 46 Craig Lutz 50 9.872
10 66 Timothy Solomito 50 10.652
11 56 Trevor Catalano 50 13.522
12 36 David Sapienza 50 13.821
13 7NY Jack Baldwin 50 14.037
14 2R J.R. Bertuccio 50 18.375
15 5 Jeff Goodale 50 18.398
16 19 Jeffery Battle 49 1 Lap
17 84 Tyler Catalano 49 1 Lap
18 64 Amy Catalano 49 1 Lap
19 8F Chris Finocchario 49 1 Lap
20 11 Norman Newman 49 1 Lap
21 71 James Pritchard 49 1 Lap
22 17 Danny Knoll 49 1 Lap
23 7P Rich Parker 33 17 Laps
24 24 Andrew Krause 32 18 Laps
25 09 Christopher Hatton 26 24 Laps
26 179 Austin Beers 6 44 Laps
27 60 Matt Hirschman 4 46 Laps
28 82 Anthony Nocella 4 46 Laps


February 10 - New Smyrna - Austin Beers scored the first victory in the battle for the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing's Tour-type Modified championship, taking the checkered flag in Monday's 59-lap feature.

While the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour raced on Saturday night at New Smyrna Speedway, the battle for the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing's Tour-type Modified championship began on Monday night. Austin Beers scored the first victory in that fight, taking the checkered flag in Monday's 59-lap feature. Beers took the lead from Ryan Preece on the 11th lap and distanced himself from the field on a long green-flag run to end the event. Beers finished more than two and a half seconds ahead of Stephen Kopcik for an impressive victory.“This team did an awesome job all day, just getting this car the way it needed to be for the long runs," said Beers. "How we perform with these long runs on Monday that usually happen, and we were prepared for that. We just ran our own pace, tried to keep Timmy [Solomito] at a safe spot. When Kopcik got there, I had enough room with all the lapped cars to maintain my gap and hold on.” Monday's victory was Beers' first at New Smyrna Speedway, but he boasts plenty of strong runs at the Florida half-mile. On Saturday, Beers led 46 laps and scored a top-five finish with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Beers lamented not taking the win on Saturday night, but was fortunate there were no late cautions to take away his advantage on Monday. “I feel like I gave the race away personally on Saturday. I was waiting for a yellow just like Saturday to give me a chance to give it up again, I guess.”Kopcik settled into second place in the final running order, pleased with a strong showing on a night that usually comes with twists and turns to start the battle for a World Series championship. “I feel really good about it," said Kopcik. "The first night’s always a little bit of a crapshoot. It usually sets the tone for the week. If we can build off of what we just did here, we should have a good week.” Saturday's winner, Patrick Emerling, finished third to continue a strong start to his World Series. While the car was a little too loose for his liking, Emerling was content with a third-place effort.“We’re not really used to these tires, but we had a really good car," said Emerling. "We started out just a little bit free and tried to manage it, just trying to keep the car pointed in the right direction. “We have that tough restart on the bottom there. It was all bottled up, it was just a bad restart on the bottom. We lost a little bit of track position there. We passed some cars and got a lot of it back. A caution towards the end would have been nice, but the car had a ton of speed. I think we have a little ways to go to get it quite a bit faster.”Timmy Solomito finished fourth, with Craig Lutz rounding out the top five. Preece finished sixth after leading the first 10 laps, followed by Cam McDermott, Eric Goodale, Anthony Nocella and Amy Catalano. The Tour-type Modifieds will be in action each of the next four nights in their battle for a World Series title. Tuesday's race will be a 50-lap feature following the ASA STARS National Tour Clyde Hart Memorial 200.

Tour-type Modified 59 Unofficial Results
Fin No Driver Laps Diff
1 179 Austin Beers 59 ---
2 1K Stephen Kopcik 59 2.619
3 1E Patrick Emerling 59 2.734
4 66 Timmy Solomito 59 4.215
5 46 Craig Lutz 59 7.541
6 40 Ryan Preece 59 8.488
7 8M Cam McDermott 59 8.729
8 58 Eric Goodale 59 9.256
9 92 Anthony Nocella 59 9.607
10 64 Amy Catalano 59 10.218
11 14L Jake Lutz 59 12.119
12 36 David Sapienza 59 13.306
13 60 Matt Hirschman 59 13.472
14 24 Andrew Krause 59 14.413
15 56 Trevor Catalano 59 16.780
16 14B J.R. Bertuccio 59 17.010
17 19 Jeffrey Battle 58 1 Lap
18 8F Chris Finocchario 58 1 Lap
19 25 Brian Robie 58 1 Lap
20 7NY Jack Baldwin 58 1 Lap
21 5 Jeff Goodale 58 1 Lap
22 17 Danny Knoll 58 1 Lap
23 71 James Pritchard 57 2 Laps
24 0 Glenn Styres 56 3 Laps
25 09 Christopher Hatton 56 3 Laps
26 84 Tyler Catalano 37 22 Laps
27 7P Rich Parker 18 41 Laps
28 50 Ronnie Williams 15 44 Laps
29 11 Norman Newman 6 53 Laps


February 8 - New Smyrna NASCAR Tour - Patrick Emerling is starting 2025 on a high note after winning the New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200 at New Smyrna Speedway.

Patrick Emerling finished 2024 as one of the hottest drivers on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Emerling is starting 2025 on a similarly high note after winning the New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200 at New Smyrna Speedway. Emerling took the lead from Craig Lutz shortly after a lap 182 restart, maintaining the top spot through a green-white-checkered overtime restart for his eighth career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory.“I just have to thank everyone involved for this opportunity," said Emerling in victory lane. "This wouldn’t happen if it weren’t for Rich Gautreau, my family, and this whole awesome crew right here.“We have the best crew in the garage, best team, best everything. Thank you for everyone involved. This is incredible. This is what we expected to do."Emerling went to the rear of the field at the start of the race after post-qualifying adjustments due to an engine issue. However, he remained confident he could drive the No. 1 entry back through the field with a different strategy and plenty of speed."We made it a little harder on ourselves. We had a little motor issue. We started dead last today, but we knew. I’ve won races like that before in this series. It just puts you on a different schedule and a different pit cycle, really, to get you there.”For Emerling, the 2025 season starts much like the 2024 season ended. While 2024 champion Justin Bonsignore won the final three races of the year, Emerling won three of the four races before that streak, giving him four NWMT victories in the last eight events.“I was just tearing up for a second," said Emerling. "Just absolutely incredible, I was so happy. To do it in the first race of the season. I think we were the best team for the majority of the year last year. We’re just trying to pick up where we left off.“We were just so dialed. The fastest car on the race track, these are the fastest cars I’ve driven in my life. We can just go out there, do our thing. Everyone just has to execute, and we’ll finish like this."Lutz settled for a second-place finish after battling with Emerling late for the lead. Lutz was hungry for a victory to open the new season, coming away with a strong finish. “This race is so tough," said Lutz. "With 200 laps, the different tire strategies, a fuel stop, it’s a whole team effort. The first two cautions, we got behind on track position, so I didn’t know what was going to pan out here.“All my guys dug deep all day. We made good adjustments. My crew chief, Doug Ogiejko, did a great job. All my guys did a great job on their stops. We wanted this one bad for our fellow team member of ours that we lost at Martinsville. This was our first race without him. We were trying like hell, but Pat had a great car. The best car won, but we gave it a fight.” Meanwhile, Bonsignore's title defense started with a roller-coaster evening and a third-place finish. Officials assessed Bonsignore a one-lap penalty for stopping to bring out a caution when he suffered a flat tire in the first half of the race.The four-time series champion recovered, eventually getting his lap back, suffering a separate incident with the outside wall exiting turn two, and still persevering to a podium finish.“Just a wild night," said Bonsignore. "A tire went down like a half-a-lap into a restart. There’s really nothing you can do, you’ve just got to take that penalty. You’d be four to five laps down if you came down pit road. “It was just a hard-fought night after that. We didn’t get the lucky dog as early as we would have liked. Off of two, I ran out of talent and knocked the fence down. That probably hurt us the most of anything. Probably knocked the rear out of alignment pretty bad. “We still fought back. We were struggling there at the end. Just loose on every set of tires after the flat. That green-white-checkered probably saved us.”Luke Baldwin and Austin Beers finished fourth and fifth after sharing the front row to start the race. Stephen Kopcik, Eric Goodale, Ryan Newman, Ron Silk and Andrew Krause rounded out the top 10.


New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200 Unofficial Results
FIN NO. DRIVER LAPS DIFF
1 1 Patrick Emerling 206 ---
2 46 Craig Lutz 206 0.380
3 51 Justin Bonsignore 206 0.659
4 7 Luke Baldwin* 206 0.740
5 64 Austin Beers 206 0.918
6 21 Stephen Kopcik 206 1.017
7 58 Eric Goodale 206 1.284
8 8 Ryan Newman 206 1.577
9 16 Ron Silk 206 1.718
10 24 Andrew Krause 206 1.789
11 3 Tyler Rypkema 206 2.004
12 25 Brian Robie 206 2.072
13 56 Trevor Catalano 206 2.248
14 54 Tommy Catalano 206 2.654
15 60 Matt Hirschman 206 2.818
16 20 Max Zachem 206 2.965
17 81 Mark Stewart 205 1 Lap
18 84 Tyler Catalano 205 1 Lap
19 18 Ken Heagy 205 1 Lap
20 36 Dave Sapienza 204 2 Laps
21 29 Mike Marshall 203 3 Laps
22 59 Tyler Barry 202 4 Laps
23 11 Norman Newman 198 8 Laps
24 26 Gary McDonald 181 25 Laps
25 9 Chris Hatton 160 46 Laps
26 55 Jeremy Gerstner 124 82 Laps
27 22 Kyle Bonsignore 86 120 Laps
28 40 Frank Fleming 70 136 Laps
29 44 Chase Dowling 70 136 Laps
30 12 Brian Sones 57 149 Laps
31 14 Jacob Lutz 29 177 Laps


40th Anniversary Modified Tour season begins Saturday at New Smyrna Speedway

NASCAR.com

The 40th anniversary season for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour begins Saturday night at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway with the running of the New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200 (7:30 p.m. ET on FloRacing).
Saturday’s race at New Smyrna marks the fourth consecutive year the Modified Tour season has launched at the Florida half-mile as part of the track’s World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing. Matt Hirschman claimed the first Tour event at New Smyrna in 2022, and Ron Silk won the last two events in 2023-24.
More than 30 competitors are entered to compete at New Smyrna this weekend, led by four-time and defending Modified Tour champion Justin Bonsignore. He’ll look to deny Hirschman, Silk and the rest of the field as he pursues his fifth title.
Tickets to the New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200 are available trackside. Below is everything you need to know about the opening race of the 2025 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season.
Making history is something with which Justin Bonsignore has become familiar. He captured his fourth NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship one season ago, making him just the fourth driver in series history with four or more titles.
Bonsignore also won his 45th Modified Tour race last fall at Martinsville Speedway, which moved him past Reggie Ruggiero for second on the all-time win list. If he can win Saturday’s New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200, he’ll add his name to yet another exclusive list.
In the history of the Modified Tour, a driver has won three consecutive races 17 times. Of those 17 times, it’s been accomplished by 11 drivers. Of those 11 drivers, only two – Richie Evans and Mike Stefanik – have won four or more. Bonsignore enters Saturday’s opening race of the 40th anniversary season riding a three-race winning streak dating back to the end of 2023. A win Saturday would put him alongside Evans and Stefanik as just the third driver to win at least four consecutive races.
A stacked field of competitors will look to deny Bonsignore another historic moment Saturday night. Among them are Ron Silk and Matt Hirschman, the only two drivers to win Modified Tour events at New Smryna. Silk has won the last two Modified Tour events at the track; Hirschman claimed the inaugural event at the venue in 2022.
Craig Lutz, who is back in the Goodie Motorsports No. 46 this year, should be considered a contender after winning the pole and leading 80 laps last year. Patrick Emerling returns for Year 2 in the No. 1 for team owner Rich Gautreau after winning three races together last year.
Jeremy Gerstner will be making his return to the Modified Tour on Saturday at New Smyrna. Gerstner was seriously injured in a crash during practice last year at New Smyrna, and his injuries forced him to sit out nearly the entire 2024 racing season.
Trevor Catalano and Austin Beers, both of whom scored Modified Tour victories last year, are among the 31 entries for Saturday’s opener. Other notables include Eric Goodale, Luke Baldwin, Tommy Catalano, Chase Dowling, Kyle Bonsignore and Tyler Rypkema, among others.
The complete entry list for Saturday’s New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200 is available here.

RaceNew Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200
DateSaturday, Feb. 8, 2025
TrackNew Smyrna Speedway
LayoutHalf-mile asphalt oval
LocationNew Smyrna Beach, Florida
Start time7:30 p.m. ET
Laps 200
Posted Awards $149,447
TicketsTrackside
How To WatchFloRacing
SCHEDULE: Saturday, Feb. 8… Practice from 2 p.m. to 2:40 p.m. ET … Final practice from 3:05 to 3:35 p.m. … Qualifying at 5:30 p.m. ET … New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200 at 7:30 p.m. ET (FloRacing).

QUALIFYING: Two consecutive qualifying laps. Faster lap determines qualifying position. Adjustments or repairs may not be made on the vehicle after the vehicle has taken the green flag at the start/finish line. NASCAR reserves the right to have more than one vehicle engage in qualifying runs at the same time. Starting field for the New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200 is limited to 32 starters including Provisional Positions.
​
TIRE ALLOTMENT: The maximum tire allotment available for this event is ten (10) tires per team. All tires used for qualifying and the race must be purchased at the track and scanned by Hoosier, unless otherwise approved in advance by the Series Director. Four (4) tires must be used for qualifying and to begin the race. All qualifying tires must remain in impound until released by NASCAR Officials. The remaining tire allotment may be used for practice and/or change tires during the event. The tire change rule is two (2) tires, per stop.
​Ron Silk survives pit road mishap for eighth career Thompson Modified Tour victory on April 16

A dominant performance from Ron Silk in Wednesday’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Icebreaker 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park was nearly derailed during the final pit sequence of the evening. While attempting to exit pit road, Silk made contact with his long-time Modified Tour rival Justin Bonsignore and spun. The contact resulted in damage to the front of Bonsignore’s Modified while Silk continued without losing any track position. Silk was unfazed by the pit road incident as he quickly worked his way around Patrick Emerling during the closing laps to reclaim the lead. With Emerling playing defense against the rest of the pack, Silk cruised to his 27th career Modified Tour win and his eighth overall at Thompson. “I was pretty confident if I got a good restart and got to the lead, I would be able to hold them off,” Silk said. “My car drove great. The first 40 laps or so we were a little bit free, but we fixed that on the pit stop. The car was just spot-on after that.” Thompson has always been a significant track in Silk’s career on the Modified Tour, as his first three triumphs in the series came at the facility. Joining Haydt Yannone Racing in 2022 proved to be a catalyst in Silk recapturing the efficiency he enjoyed at Thompson. Aside from his first campaign with Haydt Yannone, Silk has now won at least one race at Thompson each year piloting the silver No. 16. Finding his way to Victory Lane on Saturday evening required Silk and crew chief Phil Moran to be sharp with pit strategy. An early caution provided Silk and Moran the opportunity they needed to shift momentum in their favor, as Silk utilized fresh tires and adjustments to charge toward the front of the field. Silk was untouched at the front of the pack until a spin by Craig Lutz with 27 laps remaining brought most of the field back into the pits. Once Silk shook off the contact from Bonsignore, he had to quickly dispatch both Emerling and Jake Johnson to regain the lead. He comfortably did just that.
Emerling, who was piloting a Geoff Bodine tribute scheme, endured an eventful evening of his own. After losing control of his Modified on Lap 64, problems in the pit lane for Emerling resulted in his falling a lap behind the leaders, which he quickly regained on an ensuing yellow flag. Going off-sequence from the leaders enabled Emerling to salvage a runner-up finish. Emerling was pleasantly surprised by the outcome, one that could prove to be beneficial in his quest for a Modified Tour title. “That was an absolutely insane run by the team,” Emerling said. “We got stuck a lap down, but luckily there was quick caution there. We got our lap back and we passed a ton of cars. Our car was feeling good on those old tires, but that was an insane run.”Following Silk and Emerling home in the third was Trevor Catalano, with Austin Beers and Bonsignore completing the top five. The rest of the top 10 consisted of Chase Dowling, Stephen Kopcik, polesitter Jon McKennedy, Tommy Catalano and Matt Swanson.

1 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountian Machine/ Future Homes 150 --
2 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc 150 0.665
3 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power & Construction 150 0.788
4 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply/ AP Marquadt & Sons 150 0.873
5 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communication Inc 150 0.913
6 44 Chase Dowling S&S Paving/ Harshaw Paving 150 1.045
7 21 Stephen Kopcik Newtown Pools/Wanick Contruction 150 1.09
8 79 Jon McKennedy Christophers Towing 150 1.236
9 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara/USNE 150 1.264
10 25 Matt Swanson Ceravolo’s Auto/ 150 1.411
11 60 Matt Hirschman Elite Towing 150 1.877
12 22 Kyle Bonsignore MTT/ChaLew Performance/Munns Auto 150 1.904
13 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 150 1.968
14 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotive 150 2.068
15 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE/Northeast Drilling 150 2.198
16 59 Tyler Barry* Pro Systems/BNP Machine 150 2.803
17 81 Mark Stewart* Cromers Market/ Keith Grimes Excavating 150 3.257
18 24 Andrew Krause Supreme Manufacturing 150 3.436
19 82 Woody Pitkat Gunsmoke Stables Racing/Danny’s Cesspool Service 150 3.872
20 88 Roger Turbush Rheem 150 4.51
21 11 Eric Berndt Alliant Insurance Services 149 1 Lap
22 20 Max Zachem USNE/Lu-Mac’s 149 1 Lap
23 18 Ken Heagy Avon Prime Meats 149 1 Lap
24 12 Brian Sones* Dennis Wenner 147 3 Laps
25 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 144 6 Laps
26 07 Jake Johnson Lin’s Propane/ 141 9 Laps
27 55 Teddy Hodgdon IV* Montanari Fuel/Business Time Motorsports 141 9 Laps
28 29 Mike Marshall* MLM Diagnostics/Business Time Motorsports 139 11 Laps
29 63 Dylan Slepian Eastport Feeds 68 82 LapsRon Silk survives pit road mishap for eighth career Thompson Modified Tour victory on April 16

A dominant performance from Ron Silk in Wednesday’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Icebreaker 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park was nearly derailed during the final pit sequence of the evening. While attempting to exit pit road, Silk made contact with his long-time Modified Tour rival Justin Bonsignore and spun. The contact resulted in damage to the front of Bonsignore’s Modified while Silk continued without losing any track position. Silk was unfazed by the pit road incident as he quickly worked his way around Patrick Emerling during the closing laps to reclaim the lead. With Emerling playing defense against the rest of the pack, Silk cruised to his 27th career Modified Tour win and his eighth overall at Thompson. “I was pretty confident if I got a good restart and got to the lead, I would be able to hold them off,” Silk said. “My car drove great. The first 40 laps or so we were a little bit free, but we fixed that on the pit stop. The car was just spot-on after that.” Thompson has always been a significant track in Silk’s career on the Modified Tour, as his first three triumphs in the series came at the facility. Joining Haydt Yannone Racing in 2022 proved to be a catalyst in Silk recapturing the efficiency he enjoyed at Thompson. Aside from his first campaign with Haydt Yannone, Silk has now won at least one race at Thompson each year piloting the silver No. 16. Finding his way to Victory Lane on Saturday evening required Silk and crew chief Phil Moran to be sharp with pit strategy. An early caution provided Silk and Moran the opportunity they needed to shift momentum in their favor, as Silk utilized fresh tires and adjustments to charge toward the front of the field. Silk was untouched at the front of the pack until a spin by Craig Lutz with 27 laps remaining brought most of the field back into the pits. Once Silk shook off the contact from Bonsignore, he had to quickly dispatch both Emerling and Jake Johnson to regain the lead. He comfortably did just that.
Emerling, who was piloting a Geoff Bodine tribute scheme, endured an eventful evening of his own. After losing control of his Modified on Lap 64, problems in the pit lane for Emerling resulted in his falling a lap behind the leaders, which he quickly regained on an ensuing yellow flag. Going off-sequence from the leaders enabled Emerling to salvage a runner-up finish. Emerling was pleasantly surprised by the outcome, one that could prove to be beneficial in his quest for a Modified Tour title. “That was an absolutely insane run by the team,” Emerling said. “We got stuck a lap down, but luckily there was quick caution there. We got our lap back and we passed a ton of cars. Our car was feeling good on those old tires, but that was an insane run.”Following Silk and Emerling home in the third was Trevor Catalano, with Austin Beers and Bonsignore completing the top five. The rest of the top 10 consisted of Chase Dowling, Stephen Kopcik, polesitter Jon McKennedy, Tommy Catalano and Matt Swanson.

1 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountian Machine/ Future Homes 150 --
2 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc 150 0.665
3 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power & Construction 150 0.788
4 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply/ AP Marquadt & Sons 150 0.873
5 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communication Inc 150 0.913
6 44 Chase Dowling S&S Paving/ Harshaw Paving 150 1.045
7 21 Stephen Kopcik Newtown Pools/Wanick Contruction 150 1.09
8 79 Jon McKennedy Christophers Towing 150 1.236
9 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara/USNE 150 1.264
10 25 Matt Swanson Ceravolo’s Auto/ 150 1.411
11 60 Matt Hirschman Elite Towing 150 1.877
12 22 Kyle Bonsignore MTT/ChaLew Performance/Munns Auto 150 1.904
13 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 150 1.968
14 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotive 150 2.068
15 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE/Northeast Drilling 150 2.198
16 59 Tyler Barry* Pro Systems/BNP Machine 150 2.803
17 81 Mark Stewart* Cromers Market/ Keith Grimes Excavating 150 3.257
18 24 Andrew Krause Supreme Manufacturing 150 3.436
19 82 Woody Pitkat Gunsmoke Stables Racing/Danny’s Cesspool Service 150 3.872
20 88 Roger Turbush Rheem 150 4.51
21 11 Eric Berndt Alliant Insurance Services 149 1 Lap
22 20 Max Zachem USNE/Lu-Mac’s 149 1 Lap
23 18 Ken Heagy Avon Prime Meats 149 1 Lap
24 12 Brian Sones* Dennis Wenner 147 3 Laps
25 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 144 6 Laps
26 07 Jake Johnson Lin’s Propane/ 141 9 Laps
27 55 Teddy Hodgdon IV* Montanari Fuel/Business Time Motorsports 141 9 Laps
28 29 Mike Marshall* MLM Diagnostics/Business Time Motorsports 139 11 Laps
29 63 Dylan Slepian Eastport Feeds 68 82 LapsRon Silk survives pit road mishap for eighth career Thompson Modified Tour victory on April 16

A dominant performance from Ron Silk in Wednesday’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Icebreaker 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park was nearly derailed during the final pit sequence of the evening. While attempting to exit pit road, Silk made contact with his long-time Modified Tour rival Justin Bonsignore and spun. The contact resulted in damage to the front of Bonsignore’s Modified while Silk continued without losing any track position. Silk was unfazed by the pit road incident as he quickly worked his way around Patrick Emerling during the closing laps to reclaim the lead. With Emerling playing defense against the rest of the pack, Silk cruised to his 27th career Modified Tour win and his eighth overall at Thompson. “I was pretty confident if I got a good restart and got to the lead, I would be able to hold them off,” Silk said. “My car drove great. The first 40 laps or so we were a little bit free, but we fixed that on the pit stop. The car was just spot-on after that.” Thompson has always been a significant track in Silk’s career on the Modified Tour, as his first three triumphs in the series came at the facility. Joining Haydt Yannone Racing in 2022 proved to be a catalyst in Silk recapturing the efficiency he enjoyed at Thompson. Aside from his first campaign with Haydt Yannone, Silk has now won at least one race at Thompson each year piloting the silver No. 16. Finding his way to Victory Lane on Saturday evening required Silk and crew chief Phil Moran to be sharp with pit strategy. An early caution provided Silk and Moran the opportunity they needed to shift momentum in their favor, as Silk utilized fresh tires and adjustments to charge toward the front of the field. Silk was untouched at the front of the pack until a spin by Craig Lutz with 27 laps remaining brought most of the field back into the pits. Once Silk shook off the contact from Bonsignore, he had to quickly dispatch both Emerling and Jake Johnson to regain the lead. He comfortably did just that.
Emerling, who was piloting a Geoff Bodine tribute scheme, endured an eventful evening of his own. After losing control of his Modified on Lap 64, problems in the pit lane for Emerling resulted in his falling a lap behind the leaders, which he quickly regained on an ensuing yellow flag. Going off-sequence from the leaders enabled Emerling to salvage a runner-up finish. Emerling was pleasantly surprised by the outcome, one that could prove to be beneficial in his quest for a Modified Tour title. “That was an absolutely insane run by the team,” Emerling said. “We got stuck a lap down, but luckily there was quick caution there. We got our lap back and we passed a ton of cars. Our car was feeling good on those old tires, but that was an insane run.”Following Silk and Emerling home in the third was Trevor Catalano, with Austin Beers and Bonsignore completing the top five. The rest of the top 10 consisted of Chase Dowling, Stephen Kopcik, polesitter Jon McKennedy, Tommy Catalano and Matt Swanson.

1 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountian Machine/ Future Homes 150 --
2 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc 150 0.665
3 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power & Construction 150 0.788
4 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply/ AP Marquadt & Sons 150 0.873
5 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communication Inc 150 0.913
6 44 Chase Dowling S&S Paving/ Harshaw Paving 150 1.045
7 21 Stephen Kopcik Newtown Pools/Wanick Contruction 150 1.09
8 79 Jon McKennedy Christophers Towing 150 1.236
9 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara/USNE 150 1.264
10 25 Matt Swanson Ceravolo’s Auto/ 150 1.411
11 60 Matt Hirschman Elite Towing 150 1.877
12 22 Kyle Bonsignore MTT/ChaLew Performance/Munns Auto 150 1.904
13 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 150 1.968
14 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotive 150 2.068
15 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE/Northeast Drilling 150 2.198
16 59 Tyler Barry* Pro Systems/BNP Machine 150 2.803
17 81 Mark Stewart* Cromers Market/ Keith Grimes Excavating 150 3.257
18 24 Andrew Krause Supreme Manufacturing 150 3.436
19 82 Woody Pitkat Gunsmoke Stables Racing/Danny’s Cesspool Service 150 3.872
20 88 Roger Turbush Rheem 150 4.51
21 11 Eric Berndt Alliant Insurance Services 149 1 Lap
22 20 Max Zachem USNE/Lu-Mac’s 149 1 Lap
23 18 Ken Heagy Avon Prime Meats 149 1 Lap
24 12 Brian Sones* Dennis Wenner 147 3 Laps
25 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 144 6 Laps
26 07 Jake Johnson Lin’s Propane/ 141 9 Laps
27 55 Teddy Hodgdon IV* Montanari Fuel/Business Time Motorsports 141 9 Laps
28 29 Mike Marshall* MLM Diagnostics/Business Time Motorsports 139 11 Laps
29 63 Dylan Slepian Eastport Feeds 68 82 Laps

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