Austin Beers to race iconic Ole Blue at Evergreen for King of the Green Tom Wanick Jr., Memorial 200

By DINO OBERTO
The King of the Green Tom Wanick Jr., Memorial 200 at Evergreen Raceway on October 15 is already billed as the biggest event ever held at the Butler Township 1/3-mile paved oval with a record $8000 going to the winner in what is also the longest distance Modified race ever run.  With that kind of offering the entry list will see many local and regional talents coming in to be part of the historic event and now there will be a historic car making a run at the top prize too.  BRE Racing and the iconic Ole Blue #3 will be racing at Evergreen for the first time but have a very familiar driver behind the wheel with Austin Beers of Northampton getting the nod to pilot the car. “It’s probably one of the most famous Modified cars you could ask to drive and I’m very proud and it’s always been a dream of mine to get behind the wheel and now that I’m able to bring it to Evergreen for the Wanick Memorial which will be the first time that car will be there, it’s pretty special,” said Beers.  “My dad (Eric Beers) reached out to Mike (Boehler, car owner) about a month or so ago. We’ve struggled with our 19 car with the track being repaved and we’re a little down on power and we knew we really wouldn’t have a shot so he made a call and what cooler thing then to drive the 3 car at Evergreen.” The BRE #3 has a storied history. Lenny Boehler started the team in 1957 and it is still going strong today with his son, Mike Boehler heading up the operation. They have six NASCAR National Modified Championships, three in a row with Bugsy Stevens as his driver in 1967-68-69, Wayne Anderson in 1994 and Tony Hirschman in 1995 and 1996. Fourteen track championships including seven at the Thompson Speedway, three at the Stafford Motor Speedway, three at the Seekonk Speedway and one at the Norwood Arena. In four decades the Boehler cars have amassed over 300 wins that include some of the biggest Modified races and best drivers to boot. Evergreen will be the third time Beers will be driving the car, doing so earlier this year at Seekonk and Star Speedways with results of fifth and ninth respectively. And, interestingly he is the fourth different driver from Mud Lane in Northampton to race the Boehler mount which along with Tony Hirschman are his son Matt Hirschman and Beers’ father, Eric. “I’d like to think that it shows the testament of how good we are out here with Matt considered the best Modified driver in this era, his dad Tony who won five NASCAR Modified championships and of course the legacy of my dad, it just shows how good Mud Lane is,” offered Beers. Beers collected his very first Modified win at Evergreen in 2019, won the Evergreen Modified title that same year and knows the track exceptionally well. His father is also two-time Modified track champion.   This year Beers has been racing on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour for Michael Murphy where is fifth in points and also competes on the Race of Champions Tour with his family run #19 and the Dave and Laura DeLange #45.  In the past two seasons at Evergreen Matt Hirschman has been the undisputed star winning virtually every race but in nearly every one of those he was being chased to the line by Beers. So coming into the Wanick 200 it should come as no surprise that he feels quite confident of his chances with the Boehler entry.
“Every car I’ve driven this year I feel we’ve worked good with them all and had success and there’s not much of a difference but then you have that paint scheme on the outside and were that car has come from, it’s Ole Blue and you can’t really get better than that,” said Beers. “I honestly think when we got the go ahead to run the car I kind of thought to myself this will be the first time I go to that track truly where I feel I’m not playing against Matt, I’m there to win for myself. I’m not worried about the 60 I’m only focused on the 3 so I believe we really have a good shot at getting him.”  Confident yes, but naturally the 19-year old Beers does feel a bit of pressure knowing he is driving with so much history underneath him.  “When I run that car I feel a lot of pressure because no matter where that car goes it’s always very good. I feel as though I should win in that car and I don’t feel like there’s a reason I shouldn’t win with that car so yes I put a lot of pressure on myself to do good,” he explained.
“At Evergreen I already know the track and we can just dial the car in and be ready for qualifying. It’s definetley good to come in there with the experience we have there as opposed to the Tour where we may go to tracks for the first time and have to figure things out compared to other guys who have lots of laps,” he continued.  “Experience is one of the biggest parts of racing. If you’re not getting better after every race then why are you doing it because you have to learn and keep learning and if you stop that then you’re going to hit a dead-end and not get any better.” The Tom Wanick Jr., Memorial takes place on Saturday afternoon, October 15. The event is in honor of the late car owner who passed away unexpectedly in January of this year. Tom had a deep passion for Evergreen Raceway. This will be the second memorial with an earlier one held in May at Mahoning Valley Speedway and won by Matt Hirschman.  “Tommy Wanick has done a great job promoting this event and there will be a lot of talented drivers and a lot of good cars coming so it will be tough qualifying to get into the race and then you just have to pace yourself once it all gets underway and hopefully we’ll be there at the end,” said Beers.​


​MATT HIRSCHMAN WINS 34TH US OPEN - Austin gets 3rd and finishes just short of winning back to back RoC Titles

LANCASTER, NY (October 1, 2022) … “Big Money” Matt Hirschman from Northampton, PA won the 34th edition of the US Open at Lancaster Motorplex on Saturday afternoon. For Hirschman, it was his sixth career triumph in the race, and 12th Lancaster Modified victory. 

2021 Series champion Austin Beers and 2022 Lancaster Motorplex Sportsman track champion George Skora III brought the Race of Champions Modified Series to the green flag for the 34th running of the US Open with Beers in the lead, with Jack Ely, Matt Hirschman, Skora, and Daren Scherer racing in the top five early on. Andy Jankowiak battled with Jake Lutz to take over sixth place on lap eight, just as Hirschman passed Ely to move into second place. “Big Money” would look for the lead and would take it away from Beers on lap 14. Jankowiak would continue to work his way into the top five on lap 16, after passing Daren Scherer. George Skora III would move back into third place after passing Jack Ely on lap 23, with Jankowiak, and Zane Zeiner racing in the top six. Jankowiak would battle with Jack Ely for fourth place on lap 32, and the two would battle for several laps. At the race’s halfway mark, Matt Hirschman would continue to lead Austin Beers, Skora, Ely, Jankowiak, Zeiner, Patrick Emerling, Tony Hanbury, Mike Leaty, and Daren Scherer. Andy Jankowiak would move into fourth, with Zeiner taking over fifth place on lap 45, as Ely got freight trained on the outside of the speedway. With 25 laps remaining, Hirschman continued to show the way ahead of Beers and Skora. The lead trio would pull away from Jankowiak, Zeiner, Emerling, and Hanbury. Patrick Emerling tried to get around Zane Zeiner to enter the top five on lap 59. Emerling started 14th on the grid of the 21-car field. The leaders would hit lap traffic on lap 61, just as Emerling passed Jankowiak to take over fourth place. Emerling would continue his hard charge to the front, as he passed Skora going into turn three to take over third place on lap 66. Emerling would then catch Austin Beers for second place with six laps remaining. Andy Jankowiak and Tony Hanbury got together on lap 70 in turn two to bring out the race’s first caution. The late-race restart would see Hirschman take off in the lead as Emerling applied pressure to Beers for second place. Mark Tychoniewicz spun going down the back straightaway to bring out the caution with three laps remaining. Hirschman would continue to lead off the lap 72 restart, and Emerling would take over second on lap 73. Hirschman would hold off Emerling, Beers, Skora, and Zeiner to win his sixth US Open, and first since 2018.

RACE RESULTS – 10-1-22 – 34th US OPEN WEEKEND
RoC Modifieds: MATT HIRSCHMAN, Patrick Emerling, Austin Beers, George Skora III, Zane Zeiner, Jack Ely, Mike Leaty, Timmy Catalano, Daren Scherer, Chuck Hossfeld, Trevor Catalano, Shawn Nye, Tony Hanbury, Tyler Catalano, Jake Lutz, Andy Jankowiak, Danny Knoll Jr, Sean Verwys, Alan Bookmiller, Mark Tychoniewicz, Daryl Lewis Jr
Qualifying Heats: Mike Leaty, Matt Hirschman, Tony Hanbury
Fast Time: Matt Hirschman (17.072 seconds)





Austin Finishes 2nd in points at Evergreen Raceway in 2022

Unfortunately couldn’t get it done today at evergreen. We gave it our all and just came up a little short. Congrats to Roger Coss on the championship! He deserves it! Thanks to everyone that helps at the garage and at the track! Excited to tackle King Of The Green!


Island Party: Justin Bonsignore Wins Whelen Mod Tour Eddie Partridge 256 At Riverhead Raceway
September 17, 2022 by Shawn Courchesne 

Justin Bonsignore celebrates victory in the Whelen Modified Tour Eddie Partridge 256 Saturday at Riverhead Raceway (Photo: Fran Lawlor/RaceDayCT)
It was a night at Riverhead Raceway celebrating the exploits of Long Island native Eddie Partridge and his support as the owner of the historic bullring. 

And when it was over it was the most successful Islander of late in Modified racing celebrating victory. 

Justin Bonsignore, who got his start in Modified racing at Riverhead, won the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Eddie Partridge 256 Saturday at Riverhead Raceway. 

Partridge, a longtime Whelen Modified Tour team owner who purchased Riverhead Raceway in 2015, passed away unexpectedly on Sept. 10, 2021 just hours after celebrating a Whelen Modified Tour victory with driver Ryan Preece at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.  


The event also marked the first time that infield pitting was used for a Whelen Modified Tour event at Riverhead. 

“It’s a shame that we lost Eddie last year, but what [Riverhead general manager] John Ellwood, [and co-owners] Tom Gatz and Connie [Partridge] do for this place, and the way they honor him is unbelievable what they do each and every week,” Bonsignore said. “… There’s just so much that they do. I’m just so happy that they keep Long Island racing going for all of us and all the fans. How about the fans? What a crowd? Pit stops went off really well. I think John Ellwood is on to something here.” 

It was the 35th career Whelen Modified Tour victory for Bonsignore, the three-time series champion from Holtsville, N.Y. It was the ninth Whelen Modified Tour victory in 24 series starts at Riverhead since 2007. The win moved Bonsignore into sole possession of fifth place on the Whelen Modified Tour all-time win list, breaking a tie he was in with Doug Coby with 34 wins. It was his second consecutive victory and series leading fourth this season. 

Patrick Emerling of Orchard Park, N.Y. was second and Ron Silk of Norwalk third. 

Bonsignore used an outside run off of turn two to get by Emerling for the lead on lap 230 and then held off a stalking Emerling over the final 10 laps. 

“I knew I could roll the top on him,” Bonsignore said. “… He let me run the top cleanly. It’s always a pleasure racing [Emerling].” 

Said Emerling: “The cautions just didn’t fall in our favor there. It sucks. We are disappointed with a second and I guess that’s a good thing. I’ve got to give it up to [my team]. They did an awesome job. We had the best race car out there. We lacked a little drive off [the corner]. Just a little bit too many laps and the cautions didn’t fall our way. … I could have run [Bonsignore] a little bit rougher, but I guess we’re proud of running them clean there.” 

Silk, who won the 2011 Whelen Modified Tour championship, was left still looking for his first series win at Riverhead. 

“You want to win them all, but it would have been cool to win one for Eddie there,” Silk said. “All in all a great job by my guys. I can’t thank my entire team enough. Keep knocking on the door, we’ll get there sooner or later.” 

The event changed up the driver’s championship standings dramatically with two events remaining in the season. Bonsignore is looking for his third consecutive series title after winning championships in 2018, 2020 and 2021. Bonsignore came into the event third in the driver’s championship standings, 17 points behind leader Jon McKennedy. Silk came into Saturday’s event second in the standings, 10 points behind McKennedy. When the night was over McKennedy remained atop the driver’s standings with Silk and Bonsignore each three points behind. Eric Goodale is fourth in the driver standings, 22 points off the lead. 

The Tommy Baldwin Racing team, with drivers Doug Coby, Jimmy Blewett and Mike Christopher Jr., continues to lead the owner’s championship standings. Coby was fourth Saturday. 

The series visits Thompson Speedway on Oct. 9 for the Sunoco World Series 150 before closing out the year at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on Oct. 27. 

Bonsignore, who won the pole in qualifying, held the top spot at the start, with second place qualifier Emerling tucking in behind him. Doug Coby went from fourth to third past Eric Goodale at the start. 

The first caution flew on lap 16 for an incident involving Ken Heagy and Donny Lia. 

On the ensuring restart the top three remained in line with Ron Silk moving to fourth past Goodale. 

Caution flew on lap 73 for the spinning car of Gary McDonald with Bonsignore still out front chased by Emerling, Coby and Silk respectively. 

Bonsignore held the top spot on the lap 82 restart, leaving Emerling and Coby to battle side-by-side for second for three laps before Emerling took control back of the runner-up spot. 

Yellow was back out on lap 86 when Dylan Slepian and JB Fortin were involved in a wreck. The wreck brought out a red flag for cleanup. 

After the red flag the race went green with a lap 92 restart. On the restart it was Emerling using the outside lane to get by Bonsignore for the lead while Silk moved to third past Coby. Bonsignore fought back to the inside and regained the lead on lap 96. Caution was back out on lap 97 for the spinning car of Matt Brode. During the short green flag stint Coby fell to fifth. 

On the lap 104 restart Bonsignore was able to stave off Emerling and it was Silk gets the low run past Emerling to move into second place. But Emerling quickly fought back on lap 106 to move back to second. 

The fifth caution flew on lap 108 when Kyle Bonsignore spun. 

On the lap 114 restart Justin Bonsignore and Emerling fought side-by-side for a lap up front before Justin Bonsignore cleared for the top spot, leaving Emerling to battle Silk for second. 

Caution six flew on lap 136 for another Brode spin. The caution period saw second place running Emerling head to pit road. It moved Silk to second and Craig Lutz to third. 

On the lap 144 restart Justin Bonsignore was able to get away from Silk with Goodale getting by Lutz for third. 

By lap 176 Emerling was back up to fifth after pitting. On lap 177 Goodale went by Silk for second as Justin Bonsignore created some breathing room out front. 

Caution was out once again on lap 183 for a John Beatty Jr. spin with Justin Bonsignore leading Goodale and Silk in third. 

Under caution most of the leaders headed to pit road. Emerling, Kyle Bonsignore and Dave Sapienza stayed on track. The race restarted with those three up front with Justin Bonsignore edging Coby in the race off pit road to restart in fourth with Coby fifth. 

On the lap 197 restart it was Emerling and Kyle Bonsignore fighting side-by-side for a lap before Kyle Bonsignore moved to the lead on lap 198. 

On lap 207 Justin Bonsignore moved past Sapiezna for third place. In front of him Emerling got by Kyle Bonsignore to go to the lead. 

On lap 213 Justin Bonsignore got by Kyle Bonsignore to move to second place. Two laps later contact between Kyle Bonsignore and Silk sent Kyle Bonsignore spinning to bring out the eighth caution. The red flag was thrown under caution with Emerling leading, Justin Bonsignore in second, Slik in third, Goodale in fourth and Coby in fifth. 

On the lap 225 restart Emerling fought off a hard charge from Justin Bonsignore to stay out front. But Justin Bonsignore stayed on his bumper. On lap 230 Justin Bonsignore used the outside lane move off of turn two to regain the lead for good

1    51    Justin Bonsignore    Phoenix Communication Inc.    256    
2    07    Patrick Emerling    Captain Pip Marina & Hideaway    256    0.402
3    16    Ron Silk    Blue Mountain Machine and Future Homes    256    1.987
4    7    Doug Coby    Baldwin Automotive    256    4.083
5    58    Eric Goodale    GAF Roofing    256    4.643
6    64    Austin Beers*    Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical    256    5.473
7    82    Craig Lutz    Danny’s Cesspool Pool Service    256    6.059
8    66    Timmy Solomito    Natural Designs/Highmark    256    8.174
9    15    Kyle Soper    Eastport Foods    256    9.21
10    79    Jon McKennedy    Middlesex Interiors    256    9.539
11    36    Dave Sapienza    Sapienza Enterprises    256    10.183
12    54    Tommy Catalano    FX Caprara    256    10.644
13    88    Roger Turbush    Rheem    256    11.126
14    26    Ed Brunnhoelzl III    Lakeland Landscape/TRC Electrict    256    11.836
15    18    Ken Heagy    Buoy One Seafood Market & Restaurant    255    1 Lap
16    5    John Beatty, Jr.    Elite Sound Studios    255    1 Lap
17    81    Chris Turbush*    Mike Smith/Cromers Market    255    1 Lap
18    78    Walter Sutcliffe, Jr.    Last Minute Racing    250    6 Laps
19    96    Matthew Brode    Peter Clark Motorsports    249    7 Laps
20    27    Gary McDonald    Lakeland Landscape Supply    248    8 Laps
21    22    Kyle Bonsignore    Chalew Performance/MTT/Munn’s Auto    214    42 Laps
22    01    Melissa Fifield    Pine Knoll Auto Sales    192    64 Laps
23    34    J.B. Fortin    Red Camel Racing/Johns Fuel/John Tree Removal    85    171 Laps
24    70    Dylan Slepian*    Eastport Feeds    85    171 Laps
25    3    Donny Lia    Propane Plus/Huntington Honda    15    241 Laps

​
Bud Mod Classic 150 at Oswego Speedway on September is an odd race with interesting results

There’s few around the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour that would question the driving skills of three-time series champion Justin Bonsignore. 
But Saturday at Oswego (N.Y.) Speedway it might have been Bonsignore’s acting prowess more than his skill turning the wheel that helped him more in scoring his 34th career Whelen Modified Tour victory. 
Bonsignore faked a move to pit road under caution with 28 laps to go, inherited the lead and then held off the charges of Chuck Hossfeld over the closing laps to win the Whelen Modified Tour Bud Mod Classic 150 at Oswego (N.Y.) Speedway. 
“We’ve been struggling with where we feel we should be running this year,” said Bonsignore, of Holtsville, N.Y. “That’s not to be whiney or anything like that, we just hold ourselves to a high standard. It’s been an up and down summer. We had a few issues that put us behind and we just haven’t had the speed or the consistency week in and week out. Just from run to run we’re chasing the car. We got it good tonight. I wasn’t too happy with it after qualifying but I just stuck with it.” 

It was the third win of the season for Bonsignore, the reigning series champion who came into the event sitting fourth in the series standings. 
“We’ve kind of been like a bunch of brothers that have been on each other and giving each other a lot of crap lately,” Bonsignore said. “This is good medicine to solve that I think. … I guess we’re not out of it on the points. We’ll go on to Riverhead and see what happens.” 
Chuck Hossfeld of Ransomville, N.Y. was second and Craig Lutz of Miller Place, N.Y. third. 
Doug Coby looked to have a fourth victory of 2022 in hand before caution flew with 29 laps remaining after Andrew Krause spun out of sixth place. Coby headed to the pits along with third place McKennedy, fifth place Ron Silk and seventh place Matt Hirschman. The move to the pits handed Bonsignore the lead. 
“I don’t know if Doug just got tired of winning or I faked him out,” Bonsignore said. “I faked like I was coming to pit road, but we weren’t coming.”
Coby said he wasn’t faked by Bonsignore’s move. 
Coby got stuck in traffic on the ensuing restart and couldn’t claw his way back to the front. He ended up seventh.
Hossfeld got by Kyle Bonsignore for third with 10 laps to go and went by Lutz for second with five to go, but couldn’t find a way by Justin Bonsignore at the front. 
“All these guys did a great job,” Hossfeld said. “Joe [Bertuccio], our car owner, didn’t even come today. My buddy Mike said ‘Who gives the checkbook and car and all their tools and stuff and goes to a wedding and says have fun?’ What a great team and what a great owner.”
Hossfeld was making his second series start of the season. He was third at Richmond Raceway on April 1. 
It was the second podium finish in the last three races for Lutz, who won at Thompson Speedway on Aug. 18. 
“It was pretty eventful but luckily we had a pretty good car and we were able to stay in the top-five most of the night,” Lutz said. “Those late race restarts, Justin was making it as wide as possible to make everyone else’s job that much harder, and he did. But my guys gave me an awesome car again tonight. The last three races we’ve really been building some momentum.” 
Kyle Bonsignore ended up fourth and Hirschman fifth.
Jon McKennedy, who came into the event leading the driver’s championship standings, was sixth. Ron Silk, who came into the event three points behind McKennedy in second place in the driver standings, was 13th. After the race the standings had McKennedy remaining on top and extending his lead over second place Silk to 10 points. Justin Bonsignore moved past Eric Goodale into third place in the standings, 17 points behind McKennedy. Goodale, who was ninth, now sits 27 points off the lead in fourth after coming into the race 24 points behind. 
Kyle Bonsignore jumped from seventh to fifth in the standings. 
Tommy Baldwin Racing remained atop the owner’s championship standings, holding a 32-point lead over the Tim Lepine owned team with McKennedy. 
The first caution of the race flew on lap 28 for the smoking car of Tyler Rypkema. After a lap 33 restart the caution was flying again on lap 35 for a front stretch multi-car spin involving Bobby Santos III, JB Fortin and Ken Heagy. 
Pole sitter Hirschman held the top spot with Coby on his bumper after the lap 42 restart. Caution flew again on lap 70 for a Gary McDonald spin. The caution period sent all the leaders to the pits. 
On pit road it was Coby’s Tommy Baldwin Racing team getting him out on top with Justin Bonsignore coming out second. Behind him a slow pit stop from the Hirschman team dropped him back to ninth for the restart. 


Pos.    Car No.    Driver    Sponsor    Laps    Diff.
1    51    Justin Bonsignore    Phoenix Communication Inc.    150    --
2    2    Chuck Hossfeld    Gershow Recycling    150    0.129
3    82    Craig Lutz    Danny’s Cesspool Pool Service    150    0.483
4    22    Kyle Bonsignore    Chalew Performance/MTT/Munn’s Auto    150    0.591
5    60    Matt Hirschman    PeeDee Motorsports    150    0.791
6    79    Jon McKennedy    Middlesex Interiors    150    1.047
7    7    Doug Coby    John Blewett Inc.    150    1.487
8    44    Bobby Santos    Harshaw Paving/Olivas Market    150    2.009
9    58    Eric Goodale    GAF Roofing    150    2.294
10    24    Andrew Krause    Supreme Mfg. Co.    150    2.69
11    3    Donny Lia    Propane Plus/Huntington Honda    150    2.783
12    64    Austin Beers*    Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical    150    2.803
13    16    Ron Silk    Blue Mountain Machine and Future Homes    150    3.159
14    14    Mike Leaty*    AdvantageTrucks.com LLC    150    3.385
15    25    Brian Robie*    Maurice Enterprises    150    3.615
16    5    Kyle Ebersole    Ebersole Excavating Technique Chassis Ford    149    1 Lap
17    54    Tommy Catalano    FX Caprara    148    2 Laps
18    18    Ken Heagy    Buoy One Seafood Market & Restaurant    148    2 Laps
19    19    Anthony Sesely    Wanick Construction Inc.    147    3 Laps
20    78    Walter Sutcliffe, Jr.    Last Minute Racing    143    7 Laps
21    26    Gary McDonald    Lakeland Landscape/TRC Electrict    137    13 Laps
22    34    J.B. Fortin    Red Camel Racing/Johns Fuel/John Tree Removal    117    33 Laps
23    07    Patrick Emerling    Captain Pip Marina & Hideaway    106    44 Laps
24    32    Tyler Rypkema    Northeast Drilling/MUSCO    27    123 Laps
25    01    Melissa Fifield    Pine Knoll Auto Sales    19    131 Laps


“BIG MONEY” MATT HIRSCHMAN DRIVES TO SECOND STRAIGHT MAYNARD TROYER CLASSIC WIN AT SPENCER SEPTEMBER 2 - AUSTIN WAS TIGHT BUT STILL FINISHES 4th

Williamson, N.Y. (September 3, 2022) – “Big Money” Matt Hirschman of Northampton, Pa., lived up to his nickname this past Friday night at Spencer Speedway in Williamson, N.Y., in the Maynard Troyer Classic III. It was Hirschman’s second consecutive victory in what has become the marquee event at Spencer Speedway. Hirschman took the lead from Patrick Emerling of Orchard Park, N.Y., on a restart after Emerling encountered mechanical issues.
“We had a great car tonight,” stated Hirschman from victory lane. “This is a big race for us because of our family’s history with Maynard Troyer and representing his brand through the Troyer Manufacturing brand. This is a big win and one that you don’t  forget any time soon.”
Hirschman held off Mike Leaty of Williamson, N.Y., who is the only other driver to win the Maynard Troyer Classic. Zane Zeiner of Bath, Pa., finished third. Austin Beers of Northampton, Pa., finished fourth and Jack Ely of Wall Township, Pa., rounded out the top-five.


Finish    Start    #    Competitor    Hometown    +/-
1    4    60    Matt Hirschman    Matt Hirschman     Northampton, PA    3
2    5    25    Mike Leaty    Mike Leaty     Williamson, NY    3
3    6    22    Zane Zeiner    Zane Zeiner     Bath, PA    3
4    8    45    Austin Beers    Austin Beers     Northampton, PA    4
5    11    81    Jack Ely    Jack Ely     Northampton, PA    6
6    3    10    Daryl Lewis Jr.    Daryl Lewis Jr.     Ontario, NY    -3
7    7    56    Tommy Catalano    Tommy Catalano     Ontario, NY    -
8    13    17C    Roger Coss    Roger Coss     Lafayette, NJ    5
9    17    17K    Danny Knoll Jr    Danny Knoll Jr     Amherst, NY    8
10    18    66    Austin Kochenash    Austin Kochenash     Danielsville, PA    8
11    21    0    Randall Richard    Randall Richard         10
12    15    3    Daren Scherer    Daren Scherer     Binghamton, NY    3
13    22    88    Sean Verwys    Sean Verwys     East Stroudsburg, PA    9
14    9    8    Chris Finocchario    Chris Finocchario     Macedon, NY    -5
15    1    73X    Andy Jankowiak    Andy Jankowiak     Tonawanda, NY    -14
16    12    2    Tony Hanbury    Tony Hanbury     Owego, NY    -4
17    10    45PJ    Timmy Catalano    Timmy Catalano     Ontario, NY    -7
18    20    64PJ    Tyler Catalano    Tyler Catalano     Ontario, NY    2
19    2    14    Patrick Emerling    Patrick Emerling     Orchard Park, NY    -17
20    14    17T    Kevin Timmerman    Kevin Timmerman     Ontario, NY    -6
21    19    11    Ricky Knapp Jr.    Ricky Knapp Jr.     Buffalo, NY    -2
22    16    71    Jimmy Zacharias    Jimmy Zacharias     Candor, NY    -6
23    23    40    Tommy Rought    Tommy Rought     Rome, PA    -


All Fixed: Doug Coby Dominates In Whelen Mod Tour Return To Langley Speedway Aug 27- Austin wows the crowd

Austin's recap:  Saturday we had a great day all around for the KLM Motorsports #64! Unloaded off the trailer pretty good and made some adjustments to get the car a little better and ended up P3. Then we had our best qualifying effort of the year which was also P3! We had a good strategy for the race and rode in 3rd until around lap 80. After that we came in and put our right front tire on while everyone else put all 3 of there change tires on. We fell back a bit on the restart just hoping for a caution a little after lap 100 and got it at about lap 115. We bolted on our rear tires and the car was a rocket ship. We quickly got up to 5th before a final restart and ended up getting up to 3rd and ran out of laps! Can’t say enough about this team. We haven’t gave up and keep improving every week! Thank you to Mike Murphy, Maggie, and everyone on the team for what they do! 

This Friday I’ll be in the DeLange Racing #45 at Spencer speedway in the Maynard Troyer Classic for the Race of Champions Modified Tour! It’s going to be a great show and is only about 45 minutes from Oswego which I’ll be running on Saturday in the 64! 

August 27, 2022 by Shawn Courchesne 
On Aug. 18 at Thompson Speedway the Tommy Baldwin Racing entry in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Phoenix Communications 150 at Thompson Speedway ended up a tattered mess after driver Jimmy Blewett crashed following contact with Doug Coby. 
Blewett and Coby are two of the three drivers that have been part of the Tommy Baldwin Racing stable this year on the Whelen Modified Tour. Saturday at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Va. Coby got the chance to make things better for team owner Tommy Baldwin Jr. Coby put on a whooping on the field on the way to victory in the CHECKEREDFLAG.com 150 at Langley Speedway. Coby won the pole and led every lap in the event. “Racing is an interesting sport right?,” Coby said. “A week ago things didn’t go so well between me and his car. And here I am driving it to victory lane at Langley. This is just all about Tommy and his team and the hard work they put into making this car fast at every type of track with every driver that’s in it.” 
It was Coby’s third series victory of the season, all coming while driving for Baldwin. Coby also won at Riverhead Raceway on May 14 and Lee USA Speedway in Lee, N.H. on May 21. It was the fifth victory in 12 series events this year for Tommy Baldwin Racing. Blewett (Wall Stadium) and Mike Christopher Jr. (Jennerstown Speedway) also have victories for the team. 
It was the 34th career Whelen Modified Tour victory for Coby, of Milford, a six-time series champion who was making his eighth series start of the 2022 season.
It was the third Whelen Modified Tour event at Langley Speedway and first since 2018.
Ron Silk of Norwalk was second. 
“They were just a little bit better than we were,” Silk said. “I could stay with him there for a few laps after that last restart [on lap 128]. I know we were both running pretty hard at that point. He could just kind of inch and inch and inch away. I slipped up one time getting into [turn] one and lost a good bit of ground on one shot and that was about it for me.” 
Rookie Austin Beers of Northampton, Pa. had a career series best finish of third. 
“It feels great,” Beers said. “It’s been a dream of mine to run on this tour so to get a top-five, a top-three especially, how we’re coming on, this feels amazing.” 
Series points leader Jon McKennedy of Chelmsford, Mass. was fourth and reigning series champion Justin Bonsignore of Holtsville, N.Y. was fifth in the 19-car field.
Coming into the event McKennedy led second place Silk by five points in the driver’s championship standings with Eric Goodale in third in the standings, 16 points off the lead. Justin Bonsignore came into the race fourth in the standings, 25 points behind McKennedy. 
Silk cut McKennedy’s lead in the driver’s championship to three points with four events remaining. With a 12th place finish, Eric Goodale fell to 24 points off the lead in third place. Bonsignore, looking for his third consecutive series title and fourth overall, sits two points behind Goodale in fourth, 26 points behind McKennedy.

1    7    Doug Coby    John Blewett Inc.    150     –
2    16    Ron Silk    Blue Mountain Machine and Future Homes    150    0.786
3    64    Austin Beers*    Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical    150    1.845
4    79    Jon McKennedy    Middlesex Interiors    150    6.128
5    51    Justin Bonsignore    Phoenix Communication Inc.    150    9.228
6    54    Tommy Catalano    FX Caprara    150    9.459
7    5    Kyle Ebersole    Ebersole Excavating Technique Chassis Ford    150    9.808
8    3    Jake Johnson*    Propane Plus/Huntington Honda    150    10.543
9    82    Craig Lutz    Danny’s Cesspool Pool Service    150    12.366
10    18    Ken Heagy    Buoy One Seafood Market & Restaurant    150    12.599
11    34    J.B. Fortin    Red Camel Racing/Johns Fuel/John Tree Removal    149    1 Lap
12    58    Eric Goodale    GAF Roofing    149    1 Lap
13    22    Kyle Bonsignore    Chalew Performance/MTT/Munn’s Auto    149    1 Lap
14    99    Jamie Tomaino    Dunleavy’s    149    1 Lap
15    77    Gary Putnam    CURB Records    149    1 Lap
16    78    Walter Sutcliffe, Jr.    Last Minute Racing    148    2 Laps
17    26    Gary McDonald    Lakeland Landscape/TRC Electrict    145    5 Laps
18    1    Melissa Fifield    Pine Knoll Auto Sales    97    53 Laps
19    2    J.R.  Bertuccio, Jr.    Gershow Recycling    17    133 Laps
RACE STATISTICS
Time of Race: 0 hrs., 56 mins, 42 secs
Average Speed: 62.698 mph
Margin of Victory: 0.786 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 19-29 (Car #2 turn 4 no contact, no FP); 73-80 (Debris in turn 1, FP #99); 109-114 (Car #01 and #58 contact turn 2, FP #54); 123-126 (Car #22 spin turn 4 no contact, FP #3). 4 for 29 laps.
Lap Leaders: Doug Coby 1-150.
Total Laps Led: Doug Coby 150. 0 changes involving 1 drivers.


Austin Kochenash holds off Matt Hirschman and Austin Beers to score his first Race of Champions Modified Series win on August 20 at Chemung.

The Rod Spalding Classic "The Night Before the Glen" at the Chemung Speedrome had one caution flag in the 75 lap feature and produced a finish that had the fans on their feet.

Finish    Start    #    Competitor    Hometown    +/-
1    2    66    Austin Kochenash    Austin Kochenash     Danielsville, PA    1
2    4    60    Matt Hirschman    Matt Hirschman     Northampton, PA    2
3    6    45    Austin Beers    Austin Beers     Northampton, PA    3
4    11    14    Patrick Emerling    Patrick Emerling     Orchard Park, NY    7
5    8    81    Jack Ely    Jack Ely     Northampton, PA    3
6    1    10    Daryl Lewis Jr.    Daryl Lewis Jr.     Ontario, NY    -5
7    5    17C    Roger Coss    Roger Coss     Lafayette, NJ    -2
8    20    73X    Andy Jankowiak    Andy Jankowiak     Tonawanda, NY    12
9    7    45PJ    Timmy Catalano    Timmy Catalano     Ontario, NY    -2
10    12    3    Daren Scherer    Daren Scherer     Binghamton, NY    2
11    15    25    Mike Leaty    Mike Leaty     Williamson, NY    4
12    16    64PJ    Tyler Catalano    Tyler Catalano     Ontario, NY    4
13    9    72    T.J. Potrzebowski    T.J. Potrzebowski     Elmira, NY    -4
14    10    0    Zane Zeiner    Zane Zeiner     Bath, PA    -4
15    3    71    Bryce Bailey    Bryce Bailey     Waverly, NY    -12
16    19    56PJ    Trevor Catalano    Trevor Catalano     Ontario, NY    3
17    14    39    Geary Rinehimer    Geary Rinehimer     Moosic, PA    -3
18    17    40    Tommy Rought    Tommy Rought     Rome, PA    -1
19    18    27    Donny Hartzell    Donny Hartzell     Sweet Valley, PA    -1
20    13    17K    Danny Knoll Jr    Danny Knoll Jr     Amherst, NY    -7
21    21    21    Paul Townsend    Paul Townsend     Guelph, ON    -
22    22    88    Sean Verwys    Sean Verwys     East Stroudsburg, PA    -



​

Survivor Series: Craig Lutz Wins Wreck-Marred Phoenix Communications 150 At Thompson Austin not happy with 16th place finish but the 3 car shut off in front of home and Austin had no where to go

August 18, 2022 by Shawn Courchesne 

THOMPSON – The last time the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour competed at Thompson Speedway before Thursday it was Craig Lutz celebrating victory in the Sunoco World Series 150 on October 11, 2020. On that day Lutz celebrated his third career series victory. Thursday the Whelen Modified Tour returned to the track for the first time since that event and the scene remained the same in victory lane. Lutz celebrated his fourth career Whelen Modified Tour win in dominating style scoring victory in the Phoenix Communications 150 Thursday at Thompson. Lutz, of Miller Place, N.Y., proved dominator and survivor in a wreck marred event the left few cars unscathed. “It obviously takes a really good car and luck and things to go your way,” Lutz said. “We got to the lead early and the car felt really good so I wanted to control the pace. And then at like lap 60 the caution came out and I stayed out and everyone else took tires and we were a little scared because we knew we were the lone wolf out there. You’ve made your bed and now you’re going to lie in it. Luckily the caution fell where we were and we were able to come and get tires and pick our way through. I knew we had a really really good car. I knew if I could just get to the lead and set my pace I didn’t think anyone was going to have anything for me. I was able to do that.” Eric Goodale of Riverhead, N.Y. was second and Doug Coby of Milford third. “We unloaded, I wasn’t at the top of the speed charts in practice and I didn’t have any complaints about the car,” Goodale said. “I was like ‘I don’t know what to tell you, don’t touch it. We’re two-tenths off but I like the way it’s driving.’ Obviously leaving it along was a good decision because we were fast right at the drop of the green. We got up to the top-three and just rode there all race. A good night. Best finish at Thompson. Gives us some momentum. We beat some people that we were in front of us in points. That’s what we need to do from here on out and the points will take care of themselves. And we’re going to try to get a couple checkered flags before the year ends.” Lutz became the ninth different winner in 11 Whelen Modified tour events in 2022. He joins Coby (two wins), Justin Bonsignore (two wins), Jon McKennedy, Matt Hirschman, Mike Christopher Jr., Jimmy Blewett, Anthony Nocella and Kyle Soper. Ronnie Williams went to the lead past Blewett, and he pole-winner, on lap four. Three laps later it was Lutz who got by Williams to take over the top spot.The first caution of the race flew on lap 59 when then second place running Goodale made contact with the lapped car of Gary McDonald, sending McDonald into the grass just before turn one.  Race leader Lutz and seventh place running McKennedy opted to stay out under caution while the rest of the lead lap cars headed to pit road.Lutz held the top spot on the lap 67 restart, but the green flag run was brief. A Walt Sutcliffe spin on the backstretch brought the yellow out again on lap 69,  The race restarted on lap 74 with McKennedy grabbing the top spot from Lutz and Blewett moving to second. Caution flew once again on lap 76 for a multi-car wreck in turn four that involved Coby, Williams, Andrew Krause, Dave Sapienza, Ken Heagy, Patrick Emerling and Tyler Rypkema.Lutz went to pit road under caution along with Ryan Preece and Timmy Solomito. The race restart on lap 81 with McKennedy staying out front, but the caution spree continued with the yellow flying again on lap 82. On the lap 90 restart it was Blewett using the low lane to get by McKennedy for the lead off of turn four. In turn one on lap 91 Ron Silk and McKennedy made contact with McKennedy losing the back end. McKennedy started sliding and then came down the track in front of third place Silk. McKennedy’s car blocked the track, with Silk going over the top of McKennedy and multiple other cars piling in, including Bonsignore and Donny Lia. Blewett went to the pits under caution handing the lead to Tommy Catalano with Austin Beers in second and Lutz in third. Blewett restarted in 10th but his night came to an end not long after the next restart. Contact between Coby and Blewett battling for position in a three-wide situation coming off turn four on lap 99 put Blewett hard into the frontstretch wall. The right front tire on Blewett’s car came off and was hit by Rypkema and sent over the wall in turn one, landing on a section of the Thompson road course. The incident left Blewett incensed at Coby. Blewett was driving the Tommy Baldwin Racing entry. He has shared the seat in the ride on the Whelen Modified Tour this year with Coby and Mike Christopher Jr. Coby, who has made six series starts this year for team owner Tommy Baldwin Jr., was driving for his personally owned team at Thompson Thursday. “My teammate [Coby] put me three-wide basically,” Blewett said. “Put me right in the fence. I really don’t understand why he was racing like that with me of all people. We’ve got the rest of the season to race together. It’s just unfortunate for these guys, they gave me such a great car. I was trying to get out of the three-wide situation. I was trying to back out of it and he just cleared himself out [turn] four and destroyed not only my car but his car. … He knows. He knows he fucked up. Excuse my language. But what comes around goes around and I’ll definitely repay the favor.” 

Coby blamed Blewett for the wreck. 

“When you’re in the outside lane coming off turn two and you end up in the middle going into turn three, that’s not my fault,” Coby said. “I was on the bottom at the [restart], through [turns] one and two, down the backstretch and into [turn] three and off of [turn] four, I was on the bottom following Eric Goodale on tires coming up through. I think it was [Spencer Davis] ahead of [Blewett] who was on older tires. He’s going to have no patience with him and he put himself three-wide in the middle. … I was put three-wide middle by [Goodale] twice and I lifted. I think it’s the middle car’s job to lift. And I thought I came off really low on the bottom. I know there was contact with me, but at some point … If you want to say I made it three wide that means there was cars two-wide in front of me and there were not cars two-wide in front of me. … Jimmy came down the backstretch and really wanted to get by that guy. At that point I have to protect my equipment and my car. … I feel bad. I’m not looking to wreck [Baldwin’s] car that I’m supposed to be driving next week, but at the same point. I didn’t make it three-wide and the video will show that. … [Blewett] chose to go in the middle and hoped that I would lift and I don’t have to lift to protect my spot and my car. That’s how it rolls.”  The race restarted with Lutz leading, Catalano in second, Beers in third and Preece in fourth. On the lap 107 restart Lutz held the top spot with Preece rocketing to second.  Preece was able to challenge Lutz in the laps just after the restart but but Lutz was checking out from Preece by lap 115.  By lap 133 Silk and McKennedy had rallied back to fifth and sixth place respectively. Coming off of turn four McKennedy and Silk were side-by-side, heading that way down the frontstretch. Silk was in the outside lane going into turn one with the lapped car of McDonald down low. Into the corner McKennedy tried to squeeze between Silk and McDonald, sending Silk hard into the turn one wall. On the lap 139 restart Coby went from fourth to second behind Lutz, but the move was negated when Donny Lia and Beers wrecked in turn two. The race restarted on lap 144 with Goodale getting by Coby for second place.  Silk came into the event four points ahead of McKennedy at the top of the standings. McKennedy ended up fourth and Silk was 12th, meaning McKennedy left the track with the points lead. Official points were not available from NASCAR Thursday night

1    82    Craig Lutz    Danny’s Cesspool Pool Service    150     –
2    58    Eric Goodale    GAF Roofing    150    0.948
3    10    Doug Coby    Mayhew Tools    150    1.512
4    79    Jon McKennedy    Middlesex Interiors    150    2.059
5    51    Justin Bonsignore    Phoenix Communication Inc.    150    2.342
6    44    Ryan Preece    Harshaw Paving/Olivas Market    150    2.784
7    22    Kyle Bonsignore    Chalew Performance/MTT/Munn’s Auto    150    3.515
8    46    Timmy Solomito    Riverhead Building Supply    150    4.645
9    7    Patrick Emerling    Captain Pip Marina & Hideaway    150    4.796
10    29    Spencer Davis    Ionx Supreme Lubricants    150    5.399
11    18    Ken Heagy    Buoy One Seafood Market & Restaurant    150    5.994
12    16    Ron Silk    Blue Mountain Machine and Future Homes    150    8.015
13    78    Walter Sutcliffe, Jr.    Last Minute Racing    150    13.021
14    32    Tyler Rypkema    Northeast Drilling/MUSCO    149    1 Lap
15    54    Tommy Catalano    FX Caprara    149    1 Lap
16    64    Austin Beers*    Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical    149    1 Lap
17    26    Gary McDonald    Lakeland Landscape/TRC Electrict    144    6 Laps
18    1    Melissa Fifield    Pine Knoll Auto Sales    143    7 Laps
19    3    Donny Lia    Propane Plus/Huntington Honda    138    12 Laps
20    50    Ronnie Williams    Empower Financial Services/RB Enterprises    123    27 Laps
21    7    Jimmy Blewett    John Blewett, Inc.    99    51 Laps
22    24    Andrew Krause    Supreme Mfg. Co.    81    69 Laps
23    36    Dave Sapienza    Sapienza Enterprises    81    69 Laps
24    34    J.B. Fortin    Red Camel Racing/Johns Fuel/John Tree Removal    81    69 Laps
RACE STATISTICS

Time of Race: 1 hrs., 17 mins, 30 secs

Average Speed: 58.065 mph

Margin of Victory: 0.948 Seconds

Caution Flags: Laps 59-65 (Car #26 turn 4 through grass on frontstretch, no FP); 68-71 (Car #78 backstretch through grass no contact, FP #34); 76-79 (Car #24, #10, #32, #50, #36, #07 and #18 turn 4 contact, FP #78); 82-88 (Car #24, #34 and #26 turn 4 contact, FP #18); 91-96 (Car #7, #79, #16, #22, #51 and #3 contact turn 4, FP #78); 100-105 (Car #7 and #32 contact front stretch, FP #78); 133-137 (Car #16 between turn 1 & 2 contact with wall, FP #78); 139-142 (Car #3 and #64 turn 3 contact, FP #29). 8 for 43 laps.

Lap Leaders: Jimmy Blewett 1-2, Justin Bonsignore 3, Ronnie Williams 4-5, Craig Lutz 6-72, Jon McKennedy 73-89, Jimmy Blewett 90-93, Tommy Catalano 94-98, Craig Lutz 99-150.

Total Laps Led: Craig Lutz 119, Jon McKennedy 17, Jimmy Blewett 6, Tommy Catalano 5, Ronnie Williams 2, Justin Bonsignore 1.


_____________

Team Owner Tommy Baldwin Jr. Hoping To Cool Heat Between Doug Coby And Jimmy Blewett After Thompson
August 19, 2022 by Shawn Courchesne

It’s a scene from Days of Thunder that most who have watched the movie a time or two remember well.  The main characters Cole Trickle and Rowdy Burns are wrecking each other regularly and they get sent to visit with “Big John”, who is the Bill France Sr. type character of the movie. Big John tells them: “If you want to become a greasy spot on a country road, go ahead. I don’t give a shit and I don’t think anybody else does. But you’re not going to do it on my racetrack.” NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour team owner Tommy Baldwin Jr. said he was taking on the “Big John” role Friday in response to issues between Jimmy Blewett and Doug Coby Thursday during the Phoenix Communications 150 at Thompson Speedway. Blewett and Coby have both played integral roles this year for Tommy Baldwin Racing in putting the team in position to win the owner’s championship. Coby has started six races for the team this year with a pair of victories. Blewett has one win for the team and was making his third start of the season for Baldwin Thursday at Thompson. Coby was driving at Thompson for his personally owned team. With Coby and Blewett clawing back through the field at the back end of the top-10 on lap 99, was a three-wide situation off of turn four also involving Spencer Davis. Contact between Coby and Blewett put Blewett hard into the outside wall on the front stretch and sent his right front tire over the wall. Blewett blamed Coby and vowed revenge. Coby blamed Blewett and said he should have backed out. Baldwin told RaceDayCT Friday morning that he didn’t talk to Blewett or Coby about the incident after the race Thursday. “The plan for today is to give them both the old Days of Thunder speech,” Baldwin told RaceDayCT. “A lot of people don’t understand, a lot of people don’t know because it wasn’t on TV, the wreck actually started happening in [turns] one and two. With [Spencer Davis] being so slow up top, Jimmy had to get below him somehow or else he was going to get freight trained. We had the freshest tires at the time, we were in a good position to have a really good night. Obviously we had a fast car all night. The thought process of a race car driver is ‘You’ve got to get by him, it’s fresh tires, it’s go time.’ So he went down and tried to get below [Davis]. At the same time Doug was pretty much underneath [Blewett] already. So here they go three-wide off of [turn] two already. Now Jimmy is doing what Jimmy does and Doug needs to do what Doug needs to do there. And Jimmy obviously brought Doug lower going into [turn] three, which he should because it’s racing. And at that time, that’s when the helmets tighten up and the heads don’t think anymore and it becomes a competition.  “So that was it. And Doug tried as hard as he could underneath to get by, Jimmy tried to get to the position and the end result is I believe it started in [turns] one and two, and Doug ended it off of [turn] four getting loose underneath [Blewett]. That’s a hard a place to be with all the dirt and gravel. He got loose, hit us, overcorrected, got loose again and finished us off. But I’m chalking it up as a racing wreck. I can’t do anything about it. Right now I’ve got a wrecked race car. I’ll have it fixed by Langley on [Aug. 27]. The most important is we’ve got a championship to win. We’ve all got to do it together. They’re going to have to talk about it today. They’re going to have to be men and talk about it and understand that the No. 1 goal that I have, and if they can’t work it out I’ll have to make decisions heading into Langley. They’re good friends, I think they trust the process and we’ll get through it.” Coby said he was planning to be in the car for the event at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Va. on Aug. 27. Baldwin said Friday that he’s not sure what his driver lineup will be for the final five races. Blewett ended up with a 21st place finish Thursday. Baldwin’s team remained at the top of the owner’s championship standings. The Baldwin owned team holds a 24 point lead over the Tim Lepine owned No. 79 team with driver Jon McKennedy. The Tyler Haydt owned No. 16 with driver Ron Silk sits 29 points off the lead in the owner’s championship standings. “It is what it is,” Baldwin said. “We’ve still go the points lead. We’ve got five races left and we’re going to go do the best we possibly can and hopefully they can work it out today.”  To hear more from Baldwin from Friday morning and also hear from Coby, Blewett, Jon McKennedy, Ron Silk, Craig Lutz and Eric Goodale, listen to the latest Unmuffled podcast.


PATRICK EMERLING WINS OVER AUSTIN BEERS AT LANCASTER MOTORPLEX FOR THE RACE OF CHAMPIONS MODIFIED SERIES ON AUGUST 13

Emerling, who started 3rd on Saturday night at the Lancaster (N.Y.) Motorplex, quickly worked his way to the lead and fended off Austin Beers on a late race restart to earn the victory in the 60-lap sprint race. Emerling earned $4,000 in traditional purse money and another $1,200 from Colton RV and the Colton family, in a salute to Bill Colton, Jr. (the Ol’ Boy), who the race is named after, for a total of $5,200.  “This was a good victory for everyone with our Advantage Motorsports Team,” stated Emerling from victory lane. “The car was really dialed in tonight and we were able to work our way to the lead quickly and set our own pace. It’s always great to win here at Lancaster.” Austin Beers of Northampton, Pa., the defending series champion held on for second, while George Skora, III of Eden, N.Y., came home third. Tony Hanbury of Owego, N.Y., finished 4th, while Mike Leaty of Williamson, N.Y., who is the current series championship leader, rounded out the top-five.

Finish    Start    #    Competitor    Hometown    +/-
1    3    14    Patrick Emerling    Patrick Emerling     Orchard Park, NY    2
2    7    45    Austin Beers    Austin Beers     Northampton, PA    5
3    12    65    George Skora III    George Skora III     Eden, NY    9
4    10    2    Tony Hanbury    Tony Hanbury     Owego, NY    6
5    2    25    Mike Leaty    Mike Leaty     Williamson, NY    -3
6    8    45C    Timmy Catalano    Timmy Catalano     Ontario, NY    2
7    6    10    Daryl Lewis Jr.    Daryl Lewis Jr.     Ontario, NY    -1
8    9    3    Daren Scherer    Daren Scherer     Binghamton, NY    1
9    4    81    Jack Ely    Jack Ely     Northampton, PA    -5
10    18    0    Randall Richard    Randall Richard         8
11    11    56    Amy Catalano    Amy Catalano     Ontario, NY    -
12    15    17K    Danny Knoll Jr    Danny Knoll Jr     Amherst, NY    3
13    14    11    Ricky Knapp Jr.    Ricky Knapp Jr.     Buffalo, NY    1
14    17    5    Mark Tychoniewicz    Mark Tychoniewicz     Rochester, NY    3
15    1    22    Zane Zeiner    Zane Zeiner     Bath, PA    -14
16    5    88V    Sean Verwys    Sean Verwys     East Stroudsburg, PA    -11
17    13    88G    Tim Garlock    Tim Garlock     Kenmore, NY    -4
18    16    64    Tyler Catalano    Tyler Catalano     Ontario, NY    -2

Austin Beers scores a 2nd and a 4th at The fifth annual Tony Fisher Memorial Friday night August 12 at Evergreen Raceway

Roger Coss and Darren Scherer scored their first wins of the season. Brian DeFebo, who has had nothing but bad luck at Evergreen as of late, ran out front early in the first 25 lap event. Roger Coss battled his way to the front as seventeen lap green flag would shuffle all the top players to the front. Coss and Lou Strohl put on a dazzling display of racing running side by side with Coss the victor. Coss would pull an invert of twelve for the second 25 lap run. With an awesome display of talent, the tour type modified drivers gave the fans a show. Darren Scherer would grap the lead early, being heavily pressured again from behind by Lou Stroul, who had a fantastic night with two top 5 finishes. Scherer nearly ended his night when he was dead sideways off of turn four trying to hold everyone off including Earl Paules, Coss and Blake Barney. Scherer held on for his first ever tour modified win at Evergreen.

Modified Feature 1- ROGER COSS, Austin Beers, Lou Strohl, Blake Barney, Earl Paules, Austin Kochenash, Brian Sones, Don Wagner, Cody Kohler, Tommy Wanick III, Darren Scherer, Jacob Kersetter, Brian DeFebo, Terry Markovic.  

Modified Feature 2- DARREN SCHERER, Lou Strohl, Blake Barney, Austin Beers, Rover Coss, Earl Paules, Brian DeFebo, Brian Sones, Tommy Wanich III, Jacob Kersetter, Terry Markovic, Austin Kochenash, Don Wagner, Cody Kohler


33rd Annual Tribute to Tommy Druar & Tony Jankowiak ‘110 Holland Speedway July 30

1    9    22    Zane Zeiner    Zane Zeiner     Bath, PA    8
​2    12    17K    Danny Knoll Jr    Danny Knoll Jr     Amherst, NY    10
3    5    73X    Andy Jankowiak    Andy Jankowiak     Tonawanda, NY    2
4    15    45    Austin Beers    Austin Beers     Northampton, PA    11
5    1    81    Jack Ely    Jack Ely     Northampton, PA    -4
6    4    25    Mike Leaty    Mike Leaty     Williamson, NY    -2
7    18    17C    Roger Coss    Roger Coss     Lafayette, NJ    11
8    23    54PJ    Tyler Catalano    Tyler Catalano     Ontario, NY    15
9    6    66    Austin Kochenash    Austin Kochenash     Danielsville, PA    -3
10    14    56PJ    Trevor Catalano    Trevor Catalano     Ontario, NY    4
11    25    0    Randall Richard    Randall Richard         14
12    19    3    Daren Scherer    Daren Scherer     Binghamton, NY    7
13    11    11    Kirk Totten    Kirk Totten     Lockport, NY    -2
14    17    95    Bryan Sherwood    Bryan Sherwood     APALACHIN, NY    3
15    13    2    Tony Hanbury    Tony Hanbury     Owego, NY    -2
16    16    88    Sean Verwys    Sean Verwys     East Stroudsburg, PA    -
17    20    27    Danny Hartzell    Danny Hartzell     Sweet Valley, PA    3
18    10    14M    Dan Majchrzak    Dan Majchrzak     Perry, NY    -8
19    3    71    Jimmy Zacharias    Jimmy Zacharias     Candor, NY    -16
20    7    65    George Skora III    George Skora III     Eden, NY    -13
21    2    10    Daryl Lewis Jr.    Daryl Lewis Jr.     Ontario, NY    -19
22    8    14    Patrick Emerling    Patrick Emerling     Orchard Park, NY    -14
23    22    72    T.J. Potrzebowski    T.J. Potrzebowski     Elmira, NY    -1
24    24    83    Jeff Szafraniec    Jeff Szafraniec     Akron, NY    -
25    21    45PJ    Timmy Catalano    Timmy Catalano     Ontario, NY    -4
26    27    1NY    Chris Ridsdale    Chris Ridsdale     Rochester, NY    1
27    28    21    Paul Townsond    Paul Townsond     Guelph, ON    1
28    26    40    Tommy Rought    Tommy Rought     Rome, PA    -2

 


Clash at Claremont 150 at Claremont Motorsports Park- July 29
The Clash at Claremont 150 was a relatively peaceful outing for McKennedy. Once he passed rookie Jake Johnson for the lead in the opening laps, McKennedy set the pace and finished the night uncontested ahead of the rest of his competition.  Despite breaking his long dry spell, McKennedy was unable to bring home the $5,000 paycheck that came with winning the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup.That honor belonged to veteran Matt Hirschman, whose fourth-place finish in the Clash at Claremont 150 allowed him to edge out NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship leader Ron Silk by two points to claim the honor.
Hirschman, who has been a part-time Whelen Modified Tour competitor since 2016, was honored to bring home the inaugural Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup and said the initiative highlights the need for fans and competitors to support Modified racing in the Northeast.“I probably wouldn’t have gone to all three races had they not been tied together with a bonus,” Hirschman said. “I remember going to Beech Ridge last year and they thanked me for coming. Stuff like that is appreciated, and I talked to my car owner [Roy Hall] about [the Granite State Short Track Cup] and he said this is something we should support.”The Granite State Short Track Cup was far from a smooth experience for Hirschman, who saw a win in the series’ second race at Monadnock Speedway slip away late after contact with the lapped car of J.B. Fortin.Hirschman still thinks about that near miss at Monadnock, but considers himself fortunate the outcome did not significantly hinder his chances of winning the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup. He also expressed his gratitude to JDV Productions and the full-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour drivers for mostly racing him clean during the three-race series. “I don’t think I’ve ever won a three-race series that paid that much to the champion,” Hirschman said. “This is certainly appreciated. The guys that we were contending with are in for the big prize during the whole season. Hopefully they have a good race up until the end, but we’ll join them a couple of more times.” One of those drivers expected to contend for the championship is McKennedy, who trailed Silk by 10 points entering the Clash at Claremont 150 and is expected to trim that deficit slightly as the 2011 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion finished right behind him in second. Now that he has a win during the 2022 season, McKennedy feels confident heading into the final six races on the schedule and believes that he can overtake Silk in the standings and add a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship to his resume. “This gives us some momentum heading into the last handful of races,” McKennedy said. “We’re heading to Thompson next, which is a really great track for me. I feel really good, and we’ll be going to Thompson with a brand new car, so hopefully that’ll give us a little extra.” Johnson followed McKennedy and Silk in the running order with a third-place finish. Kyle Bonsignore finished behind Hirschman to complete the top-five. Rounding out the top-10 were Justin Bonsignore, Tommy Catalano, Brian Robie, Doug Coby and Matthew Kimball.


Jon McKennedy Scores Whelen Mod Tour Clash At Claremont Victory; Matt Hirschman Takes Granite State Bonus 
July 30, 2022 by Shawn Courchesne 


It was a second and a first Friday at Claremont Motorsports Park for NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour driver Jon McKennedy. The Chelmsford, Mass. driver dominated on the way to victory in the Whelen Modified Tour Clash at Claremont 150 Friday at Claremont (N.H.) Speedway.It was the second series victory for McKennedy, but his first driving for first year team owners Tim and Cheryl Lepine. McKennedy got his first career series victory on March 17, 2018 at Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Speedway in his first start for team owner Tommy Baldwin Jr. McKennedy drove for Baldwin through the 2021 season. The pair parted ways after last season and McKennedy began work building the a new team for the Lepine’s. 
“This was way overdue,” McKennedy said. “My last few years I had a real good deal with Tommy Baldwin and the 7NY group. It’s a been few years since we won. We had so many seconds with Tommy … I think we had eight or nine seconds. We were always in contention. Just couldn’t get that W the last years. But we’re back here. We won tonight. This is awesome. We’ve got a great group of guys. They worked really hard today. The last few months really switching cars back and forth. It’s a team effort. Big thanks to them. My car owners Tim and Cheryl Lepine, it’s the whole package.” McKennedy came into the night sitting second in the standings, 10 points behind Ron Silk. “This gives us some momentum going into the last few Tour races,” McKennedy said. “We’re in a point hunt here. We’re only a few points out of the lead so this was really big. We’re heading to Thompson [Speedway on Aug. 17] which is a really great track for me.”  Silk, of Norwalk, was second. Nineteen year old rookie Jake Johnson of Rehoboth, Mass., coming off a win last Saturday in the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series SBM 125 at Star Speedway in Epping, N.H., was third. It was a career best Whelen Modified Tour finish for Johnson, who was making his fifth series start. Johnson won the pole for the event, his second pole of the season.
McKennedy became only the second full-time series driver to win this year over the first 10 races of the season. Reigning series champion Justin Bonsignore (two wins) is the only other full-time driver to win in 2022. Other series winners this year include Doug Coby (two wins), Hirschman, Mike Christopher Jr., Kyle Soper, Jimmy Blewett and Anthony Nocella.  Matt Hirschman of Northampton, Pa. used a fourth place finish to clinch the inaugural Granite State Cup. The Granite State Cup was comprised of the JDV Productions series events held at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, N.H. (May 21), Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, N.H. (June 19) and Claremont. Hirschman edged Silk to capture the $5,000 bonus. Hirschman was third at Lee and second at second at Monadnock. Silk was fourth at Lee and third at Monadnock. “I’m glad they tied them all together, JDV Productions and Josh Vanada,” Hirschman said. “Probably would not have gone to all three races had it been tied together with a bonus that we were eligible for. I appreciate that.”  Friday’s event marked just the third Whelen Modified Tour event at Claremont and first since James Civali won at the track in 2007. Richie Evans won the only other series event at Claremont in 1985. Kyle Bonsignore of Bay Shore, N.Y. was fifth Friday. Justin Bonsignore, Tommy Catalano, Brian Robie, Doug Coby and Matthew Kimball rounded the top respectively at Claremont. 

1    79    Jon McKennedy    Middlesex Interiors    150    
2    16    Ron Silk    Blue Mountain Machine and Future Homes    150    1.885
3    3    Jake Johnson*    Propane Plus/Huntington Honda    150    3.725
4    60    Matt Hirschman    PeeDee Motorsports    150    4.081
5    22    Kyle Bonsignore    Chalew Performance/MTT/Munn’s Auto    150    4.538
6    51    Justin Bonsignore    Phoenix Communication Inc.    150    5.908
7    54    Tommy Catalano    FX Caprara    150    7.366
8    25    Brian Robie*    Maurice Enterprises    150    7.851
9    7    Doug Coby    Mayhew Tools    150    8.242
10    76    Matthew Kimball*    Kimball Trucking & Firewood/Gomarlos Supermarket    150    8.956
11    64    Austin Beers*    Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical    150    9.867
12    58    Eric Goodale    GAF Roofing    150    10.682
13    82    Craig Lutz    Danny’s Cesspool Pool Service    150    11.399
14    19    Anthony Sesely    Wanick Construction Inc.    150    11.631
15    36    Dave Sapienza    Sapienza Enterprises    149    1 Lap
16    34    J.B. Fortin    Red Camel Racing/Johns Fuel/John Tree Removal    149    1 Lap
17    18    Ken Heagy    Buoy One Seafood Market & Restaurant    148    2 Laps
18    26    Gary McDonald    Lakeland Landscape/TRC Electrict    148    2 Laps
19    92    Anthony Nocella    Nocella Paving/K&D Associates/Airgas    148    2 Laps
20    01    Melissa Fifield    Pine Knoll Auto Sales    112    38 Laps
21    78    Walter Sutcliffe, Jr.    Last Minute Racing    110    40 Laps
22    06    Sam Rameau    Dennison Lubricants/Powdis Stone & Gravel    95    55 Laps
23    12    Todd Patnode*    APEX Racing/Swanzey Oil    62    88 Laps
RACE STATISTICS

Time of Race: 0 hrs., 45 mins, 13 secs

Average Speed: 65.684 mph

Margin of Victory: 1.885 Seconds

Caution Flags: Laps 64-69 (Car #12 turn 1 lost power, no FP); 81-86 (Car #36 & #82 turn 4 contact, no FP); 97-101 (Car #06 & #36 turn 3 & 4 contact, FP #01); 111-116 (Car #92 turn 1 lost power, FP #36). 4 for 23 laps.

Lap Leaders: Justin Bonsignore 1-11, Jake Johnson * 12-13, Jon McKennedy 14-150.

Total Laps Led: Jon McKennedy 137, Justin Bonsignore 11, Jake Johnson * 2. 2 changes involving 3 drivers.




Fast Learner: Jake Johnson Wins Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series SBM 125 At Star on July 23

EPPING, N.H. – Last October in the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series season finale at Seekonk Speedway, Jake Johnson turned plenty of heads by scoring a third place finish in his series debut.  Saturday at Star Speedway the 19-year old from Rehoboth, Mass. made sure the world of Modified races knows his name. Johnson was a dominant force in cruising to victory in the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series SBM 125 Saturday at Star Speedway.  Johnson was making his fifth Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series start Saturday at Star. 
“It really is just a dream come true,” said Johnson, who has also made four starts this season with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. “It couldn’t have worked out any better.” Before Saturday’s event at Star Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series managing partner Wayne Darling had to leave the track due to a medical issue. For Johnson, the celebration of victory couldn’t begin until he had a chance to speak with Darling. After climbing from his car in victory lane Johnson was handed a phone with Darling on the line. “Wayne is the reason I’m running with this series,” Johnson said. “I just wanted to thank him for everything he’s done for us. I was glad that I was able to do that.” Woody Pitkat of Stafford was second and Max Zachem of Preston third. 
Johnson was able to easily hold off the field on seven restarts over the final 44 laps. He said he didn’t mind the rash of cautions late in the event. “It felt good when your spotter is talking to you and telling you you’ve got a gap,” Johnson said of being able to pull away from his pursuers on each restart. “The fans like to see a lot of restarts at the end. It keeps the interest up. I knew we had a good car. The fans love to see the action. It made it more fun for me, it made it more meaningful. You’ve got to put your elbows up and drive for it.”  Despite finishing second, Pitkat was one of those celebrating Johnson’s victory. Before starting in a Modified last year, Johnson had spent a number of years competing in Late Models. “It’s cool to see.” Pitkat said. “I feel like a lot people can’t jump from a Late Model to a Modified. It’s a lot. Thankfully I’ve been able to accomplish that. But to see a guy like that adapt so quickly, and win one of the biggest races out there is really cool. It’s nice to see somebody different. If you can’t win it’s nice to see somebody different win.”  ohnson started on the pole. Chase Dowling went by him for the top spot on lap four. On lap 52 two cars at the tail of the end the lead lap got together forcing Dowling to slow in turn four and allowing Johnson to get by him for the lead. The first caution flew on lap 74, sending everybody to the pits. Matt Galko won the race out of the pits with Pitkat in second and Johnson third for the ensuing restart.  Johnson went to second on the restart, but caution flew once again on lap 75. Following the next restart Galko drifted up the track in turn three, allowing Johnson to assume the lead once again. Johnson was never challenged again at the front. 


Heated: Long Day At Star Speedway Leaves Matt Hirschman Perturbed With Officiating At SBM 125
July 24, 2022 by Shawn Courchesne


EPPING, N.H. –  When it comes to the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series SBM 125 at Star Speedway, it’s fair to say Matt Hirschman is typically the odds-on favorite to win before teams even arrive for the event.  Hirschman has long shined at the tight Epping, N.H. bullring. In the last five SBM 125 events at Star before Saturday’s event Hirschman had three wins, a third place and a fourth place. 
It’s clear Hirschman knows his way around the Star quarter-mile. Unfortunately for Hirschman in Saturday’s SBM 125 it wasn’t getting around the track that hurt him, but getting around the tight confines of the Star pitting area that was his demise.
Frustrations building up through the steamy afternoon and into feature time Saturday for Hirschman reached a crescendo when he was penalized for speeding in the pits under caution during the feature.The penalty put him Hirschman, a six-time Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series champion, down one lap and removed him from eligibility for the lucky dog free pass for the remainder of the event. Hirschman ended up 21st in the 29-car field at Star. After the event Hirschman insisted he wasn’t speeding. Hirschman said he feels like series officials have been searching for reasons to penalize him through the first four events of the 2022 season. “I kind of feel since the beginning of the season there’s been things that have happened and I feel like they’ve been trying to get me on something,” Hirschman said. “It’s a judgment call, so anytime you have a judgment call you can get somebody.” Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series rules state that the times from tire scrub set the lineup for heat races. Because of a timing issue with the track on Saturday the heat lineups were set by practice times. Hirschman was fastest in practice which put him starting fourth in the third heat race. Hirschman said he thinks the rule is unfair and ultimately was what set his issues in motion on Saturday. Early in the the third heat Hirschman got driven high up the track by Sam Rameau. After getting out of the groove Hirschman fell back and finished last in the 9-car heat. 
“I’m not complaining about the series or anything. but the format they have now puts the fastest car in fourth place,” Hirschman said. “Which, you’re already out of the potential invert. To me that’s too severe of a handicap. But, A, there was an issue with the [timing], and that might be a track issue and not the series. That’s legit, whatever, it’s fine. Then when they realized that the scoring wasn’t going to work, then they went by practice speed, which I was first. So I got that fourth place penalty, and so didn’t the second and third place [in practice]. We all started fourth in our heats and ended up getting washed out and sent backwards. To me that wasn’t fair to the racer. You penalized those cars for going fast in practice? What are you supposed to do? Because of the scoring issue, if they wanted to go heads up, fine. Even if they had inverted three and put the fastest three cars in [starting position] three in each heat, then you’re already in the invert and you’ve still go to maintain or move forward. To me that would have been fair. But I don’t see what happened as fair.” 
It left Hirschman starting 28th in the feature. From the start it was clear Hirschman’s plan was to back off and save tire from the start. Hirschman rode around at or near the back of the field for most of the early going.By l ap 40 then race leader Chase Dowling was closing quickly on Hirschman at the rear of the field and at that point Hirschman started passing cars. Eventual race winner Jake Johnson went to the lead on lap 52 and quickly began working traffic at the tail end of the lead lap. In front of him Hirschman was frantically trying to pick up spots.  The first caution of the race flew on lap 74 with Hirschman running 19th. The majority of the field went to the pits. When the cars arrived back out on the track Hirschman was 10th in the running order, having picked up nine spots during the pit stop.  Under caution though Hirschman was deemed to have violated the speeding in the pits rule and was assessed a one-lap penalty. Monaco Modified rules state that along with the one-lap penalty for speeding, offenders are not eligible for the Lucky Dog free pass for the remainder of the event. Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series managing partner Ed Bennett said series official Greg Felton made the definitive judgment to call Hirschman for speeding. Bennett said the speeding rule is not judged simply by speed, but also by the effort to not put other drivers, crew members or officials in danger in the tight confines of the pit area. Hirschman was seen by multiple officials making what were deemed unsafe maneuvers to get around other cars and crews to get back to the track. He also hit the car of Dylan Izzo in the pit area.  “I don’t feel I was speeding,” Hirschman said. “I did weave my way through. Meaning, if a car pulled out or tried to pull out or stalled, I didn’t break my momentum. I just weaved my way through. I don’t feel I was speeding.”  Said Bennett: “Greg [Felton] made the call. I mean, he jumped wheels with Izzo’s car. I witnessed that. He blew by me and I was waving for him to slow down.”  After the penalty Hirschman rode near the rear of the field for the remainder of the event. There were seven cautions following the penalty.  “The penalty is so severe you basically can’t get [your lap] back,” Hirschman said. “Obviously in today’s racing lead lap cars go to the front so anytime a caution comes out you’re automatically going to go backwards. So you’re never going to get there. It’s such a severe penalty that if you want to get somebody on it, they got me.”  Ultimately, Hirschman seemed to regret pushing the limit and putting himself in a position to be called for speeding.  “If I would have stopped – whatever – and just let people go – even if five cars got out ahead of me – I just needed to go beat them on the track,” Hirschman said. “I guess I allowed myself to be subject for a judgment call. … Basically, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. I’ll make sure that it doesn’t happen again.” 


St.John’s, PA 7-22-22) Friday night at Evergreen Raceway, Matt Hirschman diced his way to his third victory of the year at the track over Roger Coss. It would be Hirschman’s 50th feature win at the track. 

Geary Rinehimer Jr. started on the pole for the 50 lap main but the caution flew with only one lap recorded after Steve Shultz suffered a right rear flat. On the ensuing restart, Cody Kohler would clear Rinehimer for the lead. It would be short lived as Roger Coss would overtake Kohler by lap 4. Several cautions slowed the event, but Coss proved he had a strong car early as he and Lou Stohl pulled away from the field. On a lap 27 restart, Earl Paules would find the wall coming off of turn two after touching wheels with Chuck Hossfeld. Coss would stay in command through three more cautions, but on lap 39, Hirschman used the inside line off on turn four to take the lead. There was no looking back and the fans once again saw the red number 60 in victory lane. Coss held on for second, followed by Hossfeld, Austin Kochenash and Austin Beers.
 

Tour Modifieds: MATT HIRSCHMAN, Roger Coss, Chuck Hossfeld, Austin Kochenash, Austin Beers, Lou Strohl, Bobby Jones, Darren Scherer, Nick Baer, Jerry Hildebrand, Artie Perdersen III, Carl Altemose, Jason Harman, Geary Rinehimer Jr, Cody Kohler, Steve Shultz, Earl Paules, Brian Defebo, Tom Rought
​

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Squeeze Play: Anthony Nocella Scores Victory After Wild Whelen Modified Tour Finish At NHMS 
July 16, 2022 by Shawn Courchesne

Austins Thoughts:  Had an up and down day at @NHMS in the KLM Motorsports #64! Qualified 9th on Friday and spent the first 20 laps in the lead pack just learning. After a restart at about lap 30  I ended up getting loose into turn one and spun. We checked on the car under yellow and it was still good other than some rub rail damage. After that we had a run all the way to lap 80 where we were riding in 11th. After an awesome pit stop with 15 to go we were all the way up to 6th. After restarting on the bottom with 5 to go.  We got stuck down there and came across the line in 11th place which puts us 5th in points! Thank you to Mike Murphy and everyone at KLM Motorsports for not giving up all day and thanks to @Tjmajors  for spotting for me last minute!


LOUDON, N.H. – For those who drive Tour Type Modifieds in New England, a victory in a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway is the stuff of dreams.
For Anthony Nocella, who grew up just an hour south of the track in Woburn, Mass., those dreams have long been envisioned in his mind. But it’s fair to say the 29-year old Nocella probably never could have pictured the way he was able to score his first win in Loudon and on the Whelen Modified Tour Saturday. Nocella, running fifth going into turn three on the final lap, crossed under the checkered flag first in a chaotic finish in the Whelen Manufactured in America 100 Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Nocella was able to find a lane under the wrecking cars of Patrick Emerling, Eric Goodale and Kyle Bonsignore coming to the checkered. “I knew if you’re close down the backstretch [on the last lap] you have a shot here,” Nocella said. “Everyone knows how chaotic the finishes usually get here. I knew we had a pretty good car.” It was the first series victory in 54 Whelen Modified Tour starts for Nocella since 2015. Before Saturday Nocella’s best finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in nine career starts on the 1.058-mile oval was a fourth place run in the Musket 200 on Sept. 12, 2020.“It’s pretty awesome to get a Tour win and here of all places,” Nocella said. “Obviously it’s one of the big ones, and especially because it’s close to home. It’s a big one. It’s a nice one to get.” Bonsignore, of Bay Shore, N.Y. was second, Emerling, of Orchard Park, N.Y. crossed the finish sideways in third with Eric Goodale of Riverhead, N.Y. pushing him across in fourth.The fourth caution of the race flew on lap 94 when Donny Lia, running in fourth, spun in turn two after contact from Bonsignore.  The race restarted on lap 98 with Goodale out front, Emerling in second, Jon McKennedy in third, Bonsignore in fourth and Nocella in fifth. Goodale initially got away from Emerling on the restart. Emerling got back to Goodale’s bumper on the backstretch on lap 99. Goodale and Emerling came to the white flag bumper to bumper. Emerling looked to the low lane into turn three and got under Goodale in the corner and darted ahead through the corner. Behind them Nocella moved past McKennedy into fourth place through turns three and four. Goodale got back to Emerling’s bumper in turn four. Goodale made the move to go low under Emerling coming onto the frontstretch. Contact turned Emerling’s car pointing toward the outside wall, sending Emerling sliding sideways in front of Goodale. Bonsignore on the outside tried to clear Goodale as Nocella was diving low to under the sideway sliding Nocella. Contact from Goodale pushing up the track behind the sliding Nocella pushed Bonsignore into the outside wall as Nocella found a clear lane away from the chaos on the low side of the track. Bonsignore was able to clear Goodale just before getting to the start/finish line, but by then Nocella had the momentum edge him at the line. Emerling came across the start finish line sideways with Goodale pushing him there. 
“We were right in the position we wanted to be,” Emerling said. “We just got together. I don’t know what happened, I’ve got to watch the video. We were there. We put ourselves in position to be there at the end. Unfortunately that happened. It just makes us hungrier for the next time. We’ve been really close to winning here many times. I feel like New Hampshire owes us one a little bit. We’ll just be hungrier and come back even stronger. … Just close quarters. All I know is we went spinning coming to the checkered.” Said Goodale: “I was going for the win. I knew he had a run on me going down the backstretch. I lifted early and let him slide up in front of me. I got to his back bumper. I didn’t want to cross him over that early so I got to him and he dove underneath me, he blocked obviously, and before I got to his bumper I wanted to move to not give him the shot, otherwise I had no chance. So I just moved up the track a little bit and we hooked bumpers. His right rear nerf bar just hooked my front bumper and he spun in front of me. I hate it for Patrick and myself. One of us was going to win that race. It sucks. … I would have like to have finish second. We still finished fourth. We had a really good car. We led some laps. It felt good to be out front. Just sucks. I feel like one got away from us today.” Like Nocella, Bonsignore, Emerling and Goodale were all looking for their first win at NHMS.  “From what I could see, and I’m going to be honest, I was looking in my mirror for [Nocella] for a lot of it,” Bonsignore said. “ looked ahead of me. I thought [Goodale] had it won because he had a really good run off of [turn] four. It looked like [Emerling] tried to cut across him or something and misjudged and turned him. I darted to the outside to just try to get to the line and [Goodale] got into my left side and just jammed me up into the fence and that just cost me enough momentum to lose the race. By the time I got to the line I looked over and [Nocella] was ahead of me and I knew I didn’t get it.  “Everybody is going for it. Off of [turn] four it’s just a drag race and if you’ve got a little bit of a run you’ve got to try to do what you can with it. I’m glad that we made it out pretty much unscathed. It was a good day for us, so I’ll take it.” Doug Coby went to the lead early and held that spot until the first caution flew on lap 21. Most of the leaders pitted under the first caution, but Goodale, Nocella and Lia chose to stay out and assumed the front spots in the field.  On the lap 26 restart it was Goodale and Nocella controlling the pace up front, but the race quickly went back to caution. On lap 28 Austin Beers, Dave Sapienza, Kyle Ebersole and Ron Silk – who came into the race as the series points leader – wrecked together in turn two. Following lap 38 restart it was Nocella powering by Goodale for the lead off of turn four. But on lap 40 Goodale found his way back under Nocella for the lead into turn one. On lap 44 Donny Lia got by Nocella to take over second behind Goodale. On lap 46 Lia made a diving move under Goodale into turn one to move out front for the first time. By lap 50 Lia in the front and second place Goodale had checked out by nearly half a straightaway on third place Tommy Catalano. By lap 60 the tandem of Lia and Goodale out front had checked out to a four second advantage over then third place Patrick Emerling. By lap 65 Lia and Goodale had extended the advantage over third place Emerling to 7.5 seconds. By lap 70 the difference was up to 8.5 seconds.  By lap 75 Lia had built up about a half second lead over Goodale in second with then third place Coby about 8.5 seconds off the lead.  On lap 80 Lia had built up a 1.8 second lead over Goodale with Coby in third, nine seconds off the lead. Caution flew for the third third time on lap 83 when Catalano slid to the grass in turn four. Under caution Lia took only fuel and came off pit road holding his lead. Goodale followed him off pit road in second. Emerling restarted third with Craig Lutz in fourth and Coby in fifth. 
On the lap 89 restart it was Lia holding the top spot but not for long. Goodale got under Lia for the lead going into turn one on lap 90 with Emerling following to second in turn three.  McKennedy ended fifth. Ryan Preece, Doug Coby, Donny Lia, Corey LaJoie and Craig Lutz rounded out the top-10 respectively.

1    92    Anthony Nocella    Nocella Paving/K&D Associates/Airgas    100    
2    22    Kyle Bonsignore    Chalew Performance/MTT/Munn’s Auto    100    0.071
3    07    Patrick Emerling    Captain Pip Marina & Hideaway    100    0.228
4    58    Eric Goodale    GAF Roofing    100    0.357
5    79    Jon McKennedy    Middlesex Interiors    100    0.392
6    40    Ryan Preece    Hunt Brothers Pizza/www.racechoice.com    100    0.513
7    7    Doug Coby    Mayhew Tools    100    0.730
8    3    Donny Lia    Propane Plus/Huntington Honda    100    0.884
9    17    Corey LaJoie    Needham Bank    100    1.095
10    82    Craig Lutz    Danny’s Cesspool Pool Service    100    1.345
11    64    Austin Beers    Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical    100    1.600
12    51    Justin Bonsignore    Phoenix Communication Inc.    100    1.890
13    44    Bobby Santos, Jr.    Harshaw Paving/Olivas Market    100    2.668
14    20    Ed McCarthy    McCarthy Marine Sales    100    5.411
15    18    Ken Heagy    Buoy One Seafood Market & Restaurant    99    1 lap
16    34    J.B. Fortin    Red Camel Racing/Johns Fuel    98    2 laps
17    78    Walter Sutcliffe, Jr.    Last Minute Racin    98    2 laps
18    26    Gary McDonald    Lakeland Landscape/TRC Electric    96    4 laps
19    32    Tyler Rypkema    Northeast Drilling/MUSCO    92    8 laps
20    54    Tommy Catalano    FX Caprara    81    19 laps
21    16    Ron Silk    Blue Mountain Machine and Future Homes    49    51 laps
22    70    Andy Seuss    Rockingham Boat    46    54 laps
23    01    Melissa Fifield    Pine Knoll Auto Sales    35    65 laps
24    36    Dave Sapienza    Sapienza Enterprises    27    73 laps
25    5    Kyle Ebersole    Ebersole Excavating Technique Chassis Ford    27    73 laps


Jimmy Blewett scores one for the hometown crowd at Wall Stadium Speedway on July 9- Austin runs great to 7th
 
ByAdam Fenwick NASCAR.com 
WALL TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Jimmy Blewett is one of the best to ever race at Wall Stadium Speedway. He reminded everyone of that by topping the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour field in the Jersey Shore 150 on Saturday night at the popular third-mile high-banked oval.
The victory, Blewett’s seventh with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and first since 2016, was his 81st victory overall at Wall Stadium Speedway. He ranks second on the all-time win list at the track. “Tommy and these guys just prepare such a good car. He makes all the drivers who drive this thing look so good,” said Blewett, who was piloting the No. 7NY for team owner Tommy Baldwin Jr. “Just riding, biding our time watching these guys burn it up so we had some stuff there at the end.” Blewett spent much of the race riding in the top five, content to let pole-sitter Ron Silk and defending track Modified champion Andrew Krause take turns at the front of the field. A caution for a spin by Eric Goodale with 17 circuits left in the 150-lap event presented Blewett the perfect opportunity to take control of the race. Restarting second with 13 laps left, Blewett rocketed under Krause to take the lead by the time the field got back to the start/finish line. Once in front, Blewett inched away from the battle for second, ultimately crossing the finish line nearly two seconds ahead of runner-up finisher Matt Hirschman. “I want to dedicate this win to my grandfather,” said Blewett, who also won a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at Wall Stadium Speedway in 2007. “He always is my biggest supporter and he never, ever doubts me. He just knows I need the right opportunity to get it done. Thanks, Grandpa.” The victory by Blewett gave team owner Baldwin his fourth victory of the season with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Doug Coby drove Baldwin’s No. 7NY to victory at New York’s Riverhead Raceway and New Hampshire’s Lee USA Speedway, and Mike Christopher Jr. earned a victory for Baldwin at Pennsylvania’s Jennerstown Speedway. Hirschman, a multi-time winner of the annual Turkey Derby event at Wall Stadium Speedway who added Saturday’s race to his schedule at the last minute, snuck past both Krause and Silk to finish second. “This wasn’t on our schedule, I just knew there was going to be a great crowd here tonight,” Hirschman said. “Glad to come race in front of them tonight. A good run. It’s no surprise there at the end, Jimmy’s first and I’m second. Congrats to them.” Patrick Emerling also managed to make his way past Krause and Silk in the final laps to complete the podium. It was his second top-five finish this season. “It was a little rough out there, but had a lot of fun tonight,” Emerling said. “We had a pretty good race car for only running here once before.” Krause settled for fourth after leading prior to the final restart. Silk faded to fifth after starting from the Mayhew Tools Pole and leading a majority of the race. Justin Bonsignore, Austin Beers, Jon McKennedy, Blake Barney and Kyle Bonsignore completed the top 10.

1    7    Jimmy Blewett    John Blewett, Inc.    150    
2    60    Matt Hirschmann    PeeDee Motorsports    150    1.91
3    07    Patrick Emerling    Captain Pip Marina & Hideaway    150    3.037
4    24    Andrew Krause    Supreme Mtg    150    3.603
5    16    Ron Silk    Blue Mountain Machine and Future Homes    150    4.422
6    51    Justin Bonsignore    Phoenix Communication Inc.    150    5.418
7   %2

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