RPW Exclusive: The Champ Trail; How Good Is Matt Hirschman, The NASCAR Mod Banquet & More…
Column Compiled By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERLY, RI – Area Auto Racing News said it all when they said, “He came, he saw, he conquered – just as he has over and over and over again. That’s Matt Hirschman, who won his eighth career Turkey Derby at Wall Stadium, a $15,000 score.
The win was his 19th of the 2023 season and elevated his incredible 50 percent season winning percentage to eight straight seasons.
Nobody does that. In the 2023 Turkey Derby, Hirschman raced with what seemed to be a sixth sense, avoiding accidents that took out cars all around him, making the key passes when the time was right. And to silence his detractors, Hirschman passed, with flying colors, an engine teardown in post-race inspection.”
Word comes from NASCAR of the special award winners for the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season. Justin Bonsignore will receive a $3,000 bonus for winning the Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole Award. For the third consecutive season, Holtsville, New York native Justin Bonsignore earned more No. 1 starting positions than any other driver. The driver of the No. 51 Modified for Ken Massa Motorsports secured seven Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole Awards in 2023, three more than he earned during the 2022 season when he claimed the same season-long award.
In addition to Bonsignore, others to secure poles during the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season included Austin Beers (six), Coby (two), Tyler Rypkema (one) and Matt Hirschman (one).
Whelen 75th Lap Leader Award: Justin Bonsignore. For winning the Whelen 75th Lap Leader Award, Justin Bonsignore will receive a $7,500 bonus from Whelen Engineering. To celebrate NASCAR’s 75th anniversary, Whelen Engineering officials decided to offer a special year-end bonus award for the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season. The honor, the Whelen 75th Lap Leader Award, was awarded to the driver who was the race leader at Lap 75 of the most races throughout the season. The winner was Justin Bonsignore, who found himself as the race leader at Lap 75 on four different occasions. Bonsignore actually tied Matt Hirschman, who also was the Lap 75 leader four times in 2023. However, Bonsignore was declared the winner of the Whelen 75th Lap Leader Award based on his higher finishing position in the final 2023 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings.
Phil Kurze Mid-Race Leader Award presented by Josten’s: Ron Silk. Ron Silk will receive $1,000 for winning the Phil Kurze-Mid Race Leader Award presented by Josten’s. Ron Silk took home plenty of honors during his 2023 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship season, including several special awards.The first of those is the Phil Kurze Mid-Race Leader presented by Josten’s, named in honor of former Whelen Engineering vice president of motorsports Phil Kurze and awarded to the driver who is the leader at the halfway mark in the most races throughout the year.The late Kurze, who was honored in 2021 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina with a plaque in the Whelen Hall of Champions, was a strong advocate for short-track racing. He helped elevate the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour prior to his passing in 2018.
Silk was the leader at the halfway mark four times throughout the course of the season, enough to give him his first of several special awards. He will receive $1,000 for winning the Phil Kurze-Mid Race Leader Award presented by Josten’s.
Hoosier Tire Lap Leader Award: Austin Beers (KLM Motorsports). Austin Beers will take home $6,000 for winning the Hoosier Tire Lap Leader Award. NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour tire supplier, Hoosier Tire, is the sponsor of a trio of special awards each year. They include the Hoosier Tire Lap Leader Award, which goes to the car owner of the driver who leads the most laps in a race the most times during the season. This year the award goes to Austin Beers, who led the most laps five times during the 2023 season.
In all, Beers led a whopping 633 laps during the 2023 season. Surprisingly, that wasn’t the most laps led throughout the year. That honor went to Ron Silk, who led a season-high 644 laps on his way to the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship. Justin Bonsignore, who ranked second in the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings, was third on the laps led list at 626. They were the only three drivers who led more than 600 laps during the season.
Whelen Engineering Winner of the Race Award: Ron Silk. For winning the Whelen Engineering Winner of the Race Award, Ron Silk will receive an extra $2,000. The second of Ron Silk’s special awards is the honor bestowed upon the driver who wins the most races during a given season, the Whelen Engineering Winner of the Race Award. This season, Ron Silk won five times, the same as his championship rival Justin Bonsignore. But Silk walked away with the award thanks to his higher finishing position in the series standings.
Silk’s first victory of the season came in the opener at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway in February. He followed that up with wins at Riverhead Raceway, New Jersey’s Wall Stadium Speedway, New York’s Oswego Speedway and Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. Silk and Bonsignore were two of seven drivers to earn trips to Victory Lane during the 2023 season. Other race winners in 2023 included Matt Hirschman, Austin Beers, Kyle Bonsignore, Doug Coby and Ryan Preece.
Hoosier Tire Hard Charger Award: Ron Silk. Ron Silk will take home an extra $6,000 for winning the Hoosier Tire Hard Charger Award. It would be accurate to say Ron Silk wasn’t the best qualifier during the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season. In fact, unlike his title rival Justin Bonsignore, Silk didn’t score a single Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole Award throughout the year. However, that set Silk up to claim his second straight Hoosier Tire Hard Charger Award.
The Hard Charger award is given to the driver who advances the most positions during a race.
Hoosier Tire Most Improved Award: Brian Robie. Brian Robie will receive a $6,000 bonus for winning the Hoosier Tire Most Improved Award. A new face on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in 2023, Brian Robie managed to secure a special honor based on his limited performance throughout the season. Despite making just five starts, Robie was able to earn the Hoosier Tire Most Improved Award for team owner Kayleigh Eastman. The Hoosier Tire Most Improved Award goes to the eligible new team/organization whose driver improves the most positions during the course of each race.
In the team’s first year, Robie secured a best finish of eighth, which came in his final race of the season at Monadnock Speedway. Robie will receive a $6,000 bonus for winning the Hoosier Tire Most Improved Award.
Jake Johnson was awarded as NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Rookie Of The Year. Driving the legendary Ole Blue No. 3 for Boehler Racing Enterprises, Johnson competed in 13 of 18 events during the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season while splitting time in the car with Bryan Narducci.Johnson, who made six NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts last season, collected one top-five and seven top-10 finishes across his 13 starts in 2023.
His best performance of the season came in his final start of 2023, which took place at Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park on Oct. 8. Johnson had arguably one of the fastest cars that day and battled championship rivals Ron Silk and Justin Bonsignore at the front of the field for most of the race. He led 22 laps that afternoon before ultimately finishing a career-best second to Silk.
NASCAR announced a major media rights deal during the sport’s annual Champion’s Week in Nashville – a deal beginning with the 2025 season that will include both existing NASCAR television networks, FOX Sports and NBC Sports and also include first-time broadcast rights for Amazon and TNT Sports, a division of Warner Bros. Current broadcast partners FOX and NBC will each carry 14 NASCAR Cup Series events. FOX Sports begins its portion of the schedule with the Feb. 4 Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum. NBC Sports will bookend the season, again carrying all the Playoff races. The two new broadcast outlets – Amazon and TNT will each carry five races. Amazon Prime and TNT will carry all of the season’s practice and qualifying sessions as well.
For those thinking about Daytona 500 tickets as a Christmas gift, we have some bad news. On Tuesday, Daytona International Speedway president Frank Kelleher, with the help of 2001 and 2003 Daytona 500 champion Michael Waltrip and reigning winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr., announced a sellout of the grandstands as well as camping for the 2024 Daytona 500, which will take place on Feb. 18.
It marked the earliest such announcement in the modern era of NASCAR (1972 and after) and the ninth consecutive sellout of the Great American Race, not counting the 2021 race, which had its attendance limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tyler Barry, grandson of legendary car owner and designer Art Barry, has announced that he will team up with Wes Gilbert and his team to drive the #8 Modified at the Stafford Open 80 races this summer. “I am super excited to drive for Wes again, he asked me to run his car in the SMART Modified race at south Boston last fall and we ran pretty good. I look forward to building on that at my home track this summer and getting the #8 car up front “, he said.
There’s possibilities to run some more races with Wes and his team, Maby a few at Thompson and a few SMART races down south.
The all new book, The Modified Years At Stafford, by the Grace of God and 600 hp, is gaining interest and has become a must have in race fans and competitors library. Race by Race, Year by Year, it’s all there. Read all about it! Books are now available on Amazon.com and Coastal 181 (877-907-8181 toll free) and are available thru Stafford’s web site in their store. Order yours now. Makes a great gift!
With the cooperation of the Arute family another book has been published with pictures and biographies of the 50 Greatest Drivers at Stafford.
The Stafford Motor Speedway had become the epicenter of NASCAR Modified racing in the northeast by the late 1980’s. From its dirt beginnings to its lightning-fast asphalt, Stafford had become the toughest and most gratifying track to score a victory. The Arute family which has owned and guided the destiny of the facility commissioned their thousands of loyal fans to name their favorite drivers. In alphabetical order so as not to offend anyone:
Tom Baldwin, Gene Bergin, Brett Bodine, Geoff Bodine, Ken Bouchard, Ron Bouchard, Mario “Fats” Caruso, Rene Charland, Ted Christopher, Leo Cleary, Tim Connolly, Jerry Cook, Corky Cookman, Pete Corey, Fred DeSarro, Richie Evans, Mike Ewanitsko, Ed Flemke, Sr., Jeff Fuller, Rick Fuller, Ernie Gahan, Bill Greco, Bo Gunning, Ray Hendrick, George “Moose” Hewitt, Tony Hirschman, George Janoski, Charlie Jarzombek, George Kent, Buddy Krebs, Randy LaJoie, Jan Leaty, Jerry Marquis, Mike McLaughlin, Ray Miller, Steve Park, Bob Polverari, Bob Potter, Brian Ross, John “Reggie” Ruggiero, Greg Sacks, Ollie Silva, “Wild” Bill Slater, Jimmy Spencer, Mike Stefanik, Carl “Bugsy” Stevens, George Summers, Jamie “The Jet” Tomaino, Maynard Troyer and Satch Worley.
Books are priced at $17.95 each and be purchased at the track at the Novelty Booth or at the Stafford Motor Speedway on line store. Books are also available at Amazon.com and at Coastal181 (877-907-8181).
