RPW Exclusive: Newly-Crowned NASCAR Mod Tour Champ Ron Silk Comes Up One Spot Short At Stafford’s Fall Final

Column By: STEPHEN DURHAM / RPW – STAFFORD SPRINGS, CT – Fresh off his NASCAR Modified Tour Championship Thursday night at Martinsville Speedway, Ronnie Silk made the trip back to New England.

Saturday night, even after his solid run at Stafford Motor Speedway, Silk was still taking in how special it was to win his second tour championship.

“They aren’t easy to win, it’s a lot of hard work, a lot effort, and a lot of luck that goes into a championship at the end of a 18 race season” Silk explains, “really proud of that accomplishment and hopefully we can go chase it again next year.”

Silk started off the day in Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series practice with the sixth fastest lap turned in the hour long practice. Quickest was Marcello Rufrano, followed by Ronnie Williams, Anthony Bello, Teddy Hodgdon, and the eventual Fall Final winner, Matt Hirschman.

Silk would be in heat number one, with strong competitors of Pasteryak, Goodale, and Pitkat to name a few, and where the top 5 would move on to the 80 lap feature. Silk would start and finish third,

For the 80 lap Fall Final for the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series, Silk would line up 11th on the inside row.

Silk would pick his way through the field quickly early on, getting up to 6th by lap 18. Multiple cautions from there on through the mid way portion of the race, would have silk sitting right around the top 5 when the majority of the field would come down pitroad to pit.

Multiple cars would stay out who had already pitted for fresh rubber, leading to Silk coming off pit road 6th, but would place him around 10th with the cars that stayed out.

Those with fresh tires like Hirschman, Goodale, and Pitkat would quickly move through the field, getting back within the top 5.

Silk would find himself inside the top 3 with 20 to go, chasing after Craig Lutz in 2nd, but getting around him quickly on lap 62.

The Norwalk, Connecticut driver would then set sail after Matt Hirschman, who had grown a sizable lead over the field, and Silk knew it would be tough to get to him by the time checkers flew.

“There’s not much I could have done, Matt was pretty good, and we were just a tick off all day,”
Silk says, “but it was a strong run, and congratulations to Matt and his team on that win.”

With multiple races this week, and lots of traveling, Ronnie Silk is taking in the championship run after the long weeks this fall.

“I feel it has been a long end of summer and fall with all the races, I’m looking forward to some down time coming up” Silk explained.