“Big Money” Matt Hirschman Turns Up The Heat With Rocket 76’er Victory At Evans Mills Raceway Park

Story By: RACE OF CHAMPIONS – EVANS MILLS, NY – “Big Money” Matt Hirschman of Northampton, PA, continued his dominant summer run, powering to victory in the Rocket 76’er presented by Bob Johnson Auto Group and NAPA Auto Parts this past Saturday at Evans Mills Raceway Park in a Race of Champions Modified Series showdown.

Hirschman, who rolled off 7th on the grid, methodically worked his way to the front, making the winning move on Mike Leaty of Williamson, NY, just after the halfway mark of the 76-lap feature. It marked Hirschman’s second consecutive Rocket 76’er victory at the North Country oval.

“This is such a great facility,” Hirschman said in victory lane. “We’ve been fortunate here. The car was really good all day. Mike (Leaty) was strong and I wasn’t sure if we went early enough. Andy (Jankowiak) and Austin (Beers) were right there too. I’m just thankful for everyone — our crew, our sponsors — winning these races always means a lot.”

Austin Beers, also of Northampton, PA, drove from 5th to finish 2nd, while Andy Jankowiak of Tonawanda, NY, rounded out the podium in 3rd. Leaty and Austin Kochenash of Danielsville, PA, completed the top five.

Hirschman and Beers claimed wins in their respective qualifying races, with Hirschman also setting the fastest time in green-white-checker qualifying.

Rocket 76er (76 Laps): 1. 60-Matt Hirschman[7]; 2. 71B-Austin Beers[5]; 3. 73-Andy Jankowiak[3]; 4. 25-Mike Leaty[1]; 5. 66-Austin Kochenash[2]; 6. 48-Jacob Christman[4]; 7. 95-Bryan Sherwood[8]; 8. 17-Roger Coss[6]; 9. 51-Jayden Harman[9]; 10. 3P-Joe Papin[10]; 11. 33-Eddie Hawkins[14]; 12. 8-Chris Finocchario[11]; 13. 71K-Kyle Strohl[15]; 14. 3S-Daren Scherer[12]; 15. 11-Ricky Knapp Jr[16]; 16. 88-Lou Strohl[13]

Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 60-Matt Hirschman[1]; 2. 71B-Austin Beers[2]; 3. 66-Austin Kochenash[4]; 4. 95-Bryan Sherwood[3]; 5. 51-Jayden Harman[5]; 6. 8-Chris Finocchario[6]; 7. 88-Lou Strohl[7]; 8. 71K-Kyle Strohl[8]

Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 73-Andy Jankowiak[1]; 2. 25-Mike Leaty[2]; 3. 48-Jacob Christman[3]; 4. 17-Roger Coss[4]; 5. 3P-Joe Papin[5]; 6. 3S-Daren Scherer[6]; 7. 33-Eddie Hawkins[7]; 8. 11-Ricky Knapp Jr[8]

GWC Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 60-Matt Hirschman, 00:14.137[13]; 2. 73-Andy Jankowiak, 00:14.351[5]; 3. 71B-Austin Beers, 00:14.379[9]; 4. 25-Mike Leaty, 00:14.423[2]; 5. 95-Bryan Sherwood, 00:14.479[3]; 6. 48-Jacob Christman, 00:14.490[10]; 7. 66-Austin Kochenash, 00:14.490[15]; 8. 17-Roger Coss, 00:14.600[7]; 9. 51-Jayden Harman, 00:14.612[1]; 10. 3P-Joe Papin, 00:14.677[4]; 11. 8-Chris Finocchario, 00:14.722[11]; 12. 3S-Daren Scherer, 00:14.800[8]; 13. 88-Lou Strohl, 00:14.833[16]; 14. 33-Eddie Hawkins, 00:14.843[12]; 15. (DNS) 71K-Kyle Strohl, 00:23.198; 16. (DNS) 11-Ricky Knapp Jr, 00:23.198

Final Practice: 1. 60-Matt Hirschman, 00:14.580[7]; 2. 71B-Austin Beers, 00:14.682[1]; 3. 17-Roger Coss, 00:14.748[3]; 4. 66-Austin Kochenash, 00:14.749[9]; 5. 51-Jayden Harman, 00:14.753[5]; 6. 3P-Joe Papin, 00:14.837[11]; 7. 88-Lou Strohl, 00:14.888[15]; 8. 95-Bryan Sherwood, 00:14.890[13]; 9. 48-Jacob Christman, 00:14.999[2]; 10. 3S-Daren Scherer, 00:15.030[12]; 11. 11-Ricky Knapp Jr, 00:15.163[16]; 12. 71K-Kyle Strohl, 00:15.480[14]; 13. (DNS) 8-Chris Finocchario; 14. (DNS) 33-Eddie Hawkins; 15. (DNS) 73-Andy Jankowiak; 16. (DNS) 25-Mike Leaty