After leading the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings for much of the season, Ron Silk has gone from the chased to the chaser.
Jon McKennedy, who picked up his first victory of the season on July 29 at Claremont Motorsports Park, has moved ahead of Silk and into the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship lead following last Thursday’s race at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.
RELATED: Complete results from Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
Silk and McKennedy were involved and not one, but two incidents during Thursday’s race. The second incident saw McKennedy make contact with the rear bumper of Silk’s Modified, sending him spinning in Turn 1. Silk was unable to recover from that incident and finished 12th. McKennedy would go on to finish fourth, which was enough to give him a five-point advantage on Silk in the battle for the championship.
Below is a breakdown of how the top 10 drivers in the standings fared during the Phoenix Communications 150, along with a complete look at the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings.
- Jon McKennedy: 414 points
Jon McKennedy made the best of an otherwise chaotic race to leave Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park as the new NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship leader. He led 17 laps at the midway point of the race, but was swept up in a multi-car crash on Lap 91 that started with contact between himself and Ron Silk, but was able to continue. He then made contact with Silk again later on Lap 133, but was able to avoid damage while Silk spun to bring out the caution. McKennedy ultimately finished fourth, his sixth top-five finish of the season.
- Ron Silk: 409 points
Thursday’s race at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park is likely won Ron Silk would prefer to forget. He started second, but that was the highlight of the day. He was involved in the two aforementioned incidents with McKennedy and ultimately finished 12th, which cost him the lead in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings as a result.
- Eric Goodale: 398 points
The Phoenix Communications 150 was a good race for Eric Goodale, who avoided several incidents on his way to a runner-up finish. It was his third top-five finish of the season and allowed him to close to within 16 points of McKennedy in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings.
- Justin Bonsignore: 389 points
Justin Bonsignore was one of six drivers swept up in a crash in Turn 4 on Lap 91 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, but his car sustained minimal damage and he was able to continue. He ultimately crossed the finish line in fifth to earn his fourth top-five finish this season. He now sits 25 points behind McKennedy in the battle for the Tour championship.
- Kyle Bonsignore: 374 points
Kyle Bonsignore was also one of the six drivers involved in the crash in Turn 4 on Lap 91, but like his cousin Justin he was able to continue. He brought his car home seventh after starting 14th, which allowed him to jump from seventh to fifth in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings.
- Tommy Catalano: 373 points
Strategy allowed Tommy Catalano to lead five laps during Thursday’s Phoenix Communications 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, but he didn’t have the speed to keep up with the race leaders. He eventually fell one lap down and was unable to recover, resulting in a 15th-place finish. He dropped from fifth to sixth in the Tour standings.
- Austin Beers: 368 points
What looked like a good race for Austin Beers turned bad late in the Phoenix Communications 150 when he was involved in the last accident of the night on Lap 139. He and veteran Donny Lia were involved in a crash that ended the night for Lia. Beers was able to finish the race one lap down, but he was scored 16th after starting seventh. He fell one position in the Tour standings as a result, going from sixth to seventh.
- Craig Lutz: 353 points
A difficult season finally turned around Thursday for Craig Lutz, who dominated the Phoenix Communications 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park to earn his first victory of the season and his first win since a victory at Thompson in 2020. He took the lead for the first time on Lap 6 and took the lead for the final time on Lap 99. He led a race-high 119 laps on his way to victory.
- Dave Sapienza: 291 points
It was another rough day for veteran Modified racer Dave Sapienza, who was involved in a crash on Lap 81 with J.B. Fortin and Gary McDonald. The damage was too much for Sapienza to continue and he was credited with a 23rd-place finish.
- J.B. Fortin: 284 points
The only driver whose day was worse than that of Sapienza was J.B. Fortin, who admitted even before the race started that his Modified was down on power. Things only got worse for Fortin when he was swept up in the aforementioned crash with Sapienza and McDonald, ending his race and resulting in a 24th-place finish.
2022 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings
| Pos. | Driver | Races | Wins | Top fives | Top 10s | Poles | Laps | Laps led | Average start | Average finish | Points | Diff. |
| 1 | Jon McKennedy | 11 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 1832 | 170 | 10.1 | 7 | 414 | — |
| 2 | Ron Silk | 11 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 1792 | 232 | 6.5 | 7.2 | 409 | -5 |
| 3 | Eric Goodale | 11 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 1841 | 30 | 8.5 | 7.9 | 398 | -16 |
| 4 | Justin Bonsignore | 11 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 1605 | 139 | 4.8 | 9.7 | 389 | -25 |
| 5 | Kyle Bonsignore | 11 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 1833 | 6 | 8.3 | 10.1 | 374 | -40 |
| 6 | Tommy Catalano | 11 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1822 | 75 | 13.4 | 10.5 | 373 | -41 |
| 7 | Austin Beers | 11 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1840 | 0 | 11.6 | 10.5 | 368 | -46 |
| 8 | Craig Lutz | 11 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1749 | 119 | 10.5 | 12.4 | 353 | -61 |
| 9 | Dave Sapienza | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1679 | 0 | 15 | 17.5 | 291 | -123 |
| 10 | J.B. Fortin | 10 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1327 | 0 | 14.4 | 15.6 | 284 | -130 |
| 11 | Doug Coby | 7 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 1194 | 294 | 6.9 | 5.1 | 282 | -132 |
| 12 | Patrick Emerling | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1187 | 0 | 13.6 | 10.8 | 266 | -148 |
| 13 | Gary McDonald | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1566 | 0 | 23.2 | 20 | 240 | -174 |
| 14 | Walter Sutcliffe, Jr. | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1276 | 4 | 23.6 | 18.6 | 230 | -184 |
| 15 | Melissa Fifield | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 725 | 0 | 23.9 | 24.2 | 218 | -196 |
| 16 | Matt Hirschman | 5 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 881 | 282 | 4.8 | 2.4 | 216 | -198 |
| 17 | Tyler Rypkema | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 940 | 108 | 10.2 | 9.5 | 210 | -204 |
| 18 | Ken Heagy | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1050 | 0 | 19.7 | 17.9 | 183 | -231 |
| 19 | Timmy Solomito | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 791 | 131 | 8 | 11.6 | 165 | -249 |
| 20 | Jake Johnson | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 723 | 5 | 12.8 | 13 | 157 | -257 |
| 21 | Andrew Krause | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 670 | 70 | 15.4 | 15.4 | 145 | -269 |
| 22 | Jimmy Blewett | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 599 | 19 | 7 | 10.5 | 139 | -275 |
| 23 | James Pritchard, Jr | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 683 | 0 | 22 | 17.3 | 130 | -284 |
| 24 | Donny Lia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 553 | 44 | 13.5 | 14.3 | 121 | -293 |
| 25 | Mike Christopher, Jr. | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 550 | 28 | 11.3 | 5.7 | 120 | -294 |
| 26 | Ronnie Williams | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 735 | 2 | 7.3 | 14.5 | 119 | -295 |
| 27 | Ryan Preece | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 450 | 26 | 8.3 | 7.3 | 111 | -303 |
| 28 | Matt Kimball | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 531 | 0 | 17 | 17.5 | 106 | -308 |
| 29 | Eddie McCarthy | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 532 | 0 | 16.5 | 17.8 | 105 | -309 |
| 30 | Kyle Ebersole | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 472 | 0 | 18.5 | 18 | 104 | -310 |
| 31 | Dylan Slepian | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 610 | 0 | 13.7 | 10 | 102 | -312 |
| 32 | Spencer Davis | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 487 | 0 | 16.5 | 18.5 | 102 | -312 |
| 33 | Sam Rameau | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 475 | 0 | 7.7 | 12.7 | 94 | -320 |
| 34 | Anthony Nocella | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 248 | 4 | 15.3 | 16 | 88 | -326 |
| 35 | Kyle Soper | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 413 | 39 | 16.5 | 4 | 84 | -330 |
| 36 | Chris Young | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 551 | 0 | 17 | 18.7 | 76 | -338 |
| 37 | John Beatty, Jr. | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 200 | 0 | 11 | 7 | 73 | -341 |
| 38 | Max McLaughlin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 299 | 10 | 7 | 9.5 | 70 | -344 |
| 39 | Jacob Perry | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 378 | 0 | 15.5 | 12.5 | 63 | -351 |
| 40 | Bobby Santos III | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 16 | 13 | 58 | -356 |
| 41 | Brian Robie | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 299 | 0 | 12 | 15.5 | 57 | -357 |
| 42 | Anthony Sesley | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 247 | 0 | 14.5 | 17.5 | 53 | -361 |
| 43 | Chris Turbush | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 268 | 0 | 17.5 | 19.5 | 49 | -365 |
| 44 | Matt Brode | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 322 | 0 | 10 | 20 | 48 | -366 |
| 45 | J.R. Bertuccio | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 198 | 0 | 7 | 18 | 47 | -367 |
| 46 | Tom Rogers, Jr. | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 0 | 21 | 25 | 43 | -371 |
| 47 | Chuck Hossfeld | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 150 | 5 | 14 | 3 | 42 | -372 |
| 48 | Jeremy Gerstner | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 296 | 0 | 26.5 | 23 | 42 | -372 |
| 49 | Roger Turbush | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 283 | 0 | 22.5 | 23.5 | 41 | -373 |
| 50 | Todd Patnode | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 0 | 22 | 24.5 | 39 | -375 |
| 51 | John Baker | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 213 | 0 | 20 | 6 | 38 | -376 |
| 52 | Blake Barney | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 150 | 0 | 8 | 9 | 35 | -379 |
| 53 | Corey LaJoie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 8 | 9 | 35 | -379 |
| 54 | Joey Coulter | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 232 | 0 | 19 | 27 | 34 | -380 |
| 55 | Ryan Newman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 149 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 32 | -382 |
| 56 | John Fortin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 211 | 0 | 11 | 15 | 29 | -385 |
| 58 | Eddie Brunnhoelzl III | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 198 | 0 | 19 | 16 | 28 | -386 |
| 59 | Jack Ely | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 147 | 0 | 14 | 16 | 28 | -386 |
| 60 | Andy Seuss | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 24 | 22 | 22 | -392 |
| 61 | Paul Charette | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 194 | 0 | 23 | 23 | 21 | -393 |
| 62 | Bryan Dauzat | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 0 | 25 | 24 | 20 | -394 |
| 63 | Danny Bohn | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 76 | 0 | 12 | 24 | 20 | -394 |