The 40 greatest NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour drivers: Part 4
The Modified division, NASCAR's oldest class, ran its first race on Feb. 15, 1948, predating the NASCAR Cup Series by a full season.
From 1948 through 1984, some of NASCAR's greatest drivers raced and won in Modifieds. They include legends like Bobby Allison, Richie Evans, Red Farmer, Red Byron, Bugsy Stevens, Jerry Cook and Fonty Flock. But as the sport continued to evolve, so did the division.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was formed in 1985. Having since transitioned from a national championship format to a season-long championship format, the Tour now hosts more than a dozen events at tracks up and down the East Coast.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the modern Whelen Modified Tour, NASCAR Regional has named the 40 greatest NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour drivers, selected based on their accomplishments on the Tour beginning in 1985. Accomplishments from the NASCAR Modified National Championship era (1948-84) were not used to determine this list.
The 40 drivers will be revealed in no particular order throughout the summer in groups of 10. Below is the final set of 10 drivers on the list of the 40 greatest NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour drivers.
PART 4
- 320 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts
- Five-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion
- 35 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour wins (tied fifth all-time)
- 134 top five and 200 top 10 finishes
A quiet and unassuming man, Tony Hirschman could walk past anybody, and he or she would never know just how fierce a competitor he was on the race track.
Hirschman began his career in the 1970s at Mahoning Valley Speedway, where he quickly learned how to race and win. The driver from Northampton, Pennsylvania was a threat to win at every local track he visited.
Hirschman’s career took off when he became a regular with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. During his first full season with the series in 1989, he won six times and finished third in the championship standings.
He backed up that season a four-win campaign in 1990, resulting in a fifth-place championship result. After going part-time for the following three years, he returned with a vengeance in 1995, when he partnered with Boehler Racing Enterprises to win his first championship.
Hirschman added a second title with the Boehler team in 1996, and he wasn’t done. He scored his third championship driving for Gary Cretty in 1999 and scored back-to-back titles driving for Bob and Tom Kehley in 2004 and 2005.
In all, Hirschman secured 35 wins in 320 Modified Tour starts and five championships. Not bad for a quiet and unassuming man.
Photo Credits: Howie & Mary Hodge Collection
- 146 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts
- 10 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour wins
- 57 top five and 92 top 10 finishes
- Best championship finish of second
The saying “like father, like son” couldn’t be a more appropriate description for the men of the Hirschman family.
Much like his father Tony, Matt Hirschman carries himself with a calm and cool demeanor … until he hits the race track.
Given the nickname “Big Money” for his tendency to win high-paying races up and down the East Coast, the younger Hirschman has made his presence known on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour through the years.
He made his first series start in 2005 at the age of 22 and bagged his first win in 2008, a season that saw him win twice and finish second in the Modified Tour standings.
A part-time competitor with the series for most of his career, Hirschman has won 10 times in 146 starts. He continues to be a threat to win every time he shows up at the track.
Photo Credits: NASCAR Archives
- 171 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts
- Three NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour wins
- 48 top five and 83 top 10 finishes
- Best championship finish of fourth
Hailing from Liverpool, New York, Doug Heveron had a need for speed. Literally.
A star competitor at Oswego Speedway, Heveron was a champion in the supermodified class. He won multiple Oswego track titles and touring championships with the ISMA supermodified series.
His success wasn’t limited to supermodified racing. He was a regular competitor with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour when the modern series debuted in 1985, and he finished seventh in the series standings.
He took over driving duties of the Ole Blue No. 3 for Boehler Racing Enterprises in 1989, and one season later, he bagged his first Modified Tour victory at Jennerstown Speedway.
Heveron added wins at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Richmond Raceway in the seasons that followed and earned a career-best fourth place championship result in 1991.
Photo Credits: Howie & Mary Hodge Collection, Getty Images
- 174 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts
- 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion
- 26 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour wins
- 82 top five and 111 top 10 finishes
Long before he became a star in the NASCAR Cup Series, Ryan Preece made his name on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
Preece made his debut as a 16-year-old and wasted little time establishing himself as a threat to win races in a Modified. Driving the Ole Blue No. 3 for Boehler Racing Enterprises, Preece earned his first series victory at Martinsville Speedway in 2008.
He quickly made a move to the No. 16 Flamingo Motorsports entry owned by Eric Sanderson, and the switch proved fruitful. He won eight times in four seasons and captured the 2013 Modified Tour championship as a 22-year-old.
Preece’s Modified Tour career continued to thrive after he moved to Eddie Partridge’s No. 6. He won 14 times driving for Partridge, with wins coming at tracks like Stafford, Thompson, Oswego and New Hampshire.
Preece continues to dabble in Modified racing today. His most recent win came at Martinsville Speedway in 2023 driving his own No. 40 Modified.
Photo Credits: NASCAR Archives
- 106 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts
- 2022 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion
- Two NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour wins
- 27 top five and 57 top 10 finishes
From Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Jon McKennedy likes to race a little bit of everything.
A successful supermodified racer, McKennedy made his NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour debut in 2006 at the age of 19.
Primarily a part-time racer during his time with the series, McKennedy secured his first Modified Tour victory in 2018 while driving for Tommy Baldwin Jr. at Myrtle Beach Speedway.
He ran his first full season with the series in 2020 and finished second in the championship standings, but his best season came in 2022. Driving for team owner Tim Lepine, McKennedy emerged as a title contender thanks to his incredible consistency.
Thanks to a win at Claremont Motorsports Park, seven top fives and 13 top 10s, McKennedy claimed his first Modified Tour championship by six points ahead of Ron Silk.
Photo Credits: NASCAR Archives
- 167 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts
- 2010 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion
- 19 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour wins
- 58 top five and 91 top 10 finishes
Few have enjoyed the type of varied racing career that Bobby Santos III has put together over the last 20 years.
The driver from Franklin, Massachusetts has raced and won in everything ranging from sprint cars to modifieds. His career with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour began in 2004 at the age of 18, when he made eight starts in Joe Brady’s No. 00.
He notched his first win in 2007 driving the Ole Blue No. 3 for Boehler Racing Enterprises, but a move to Bob Garbarino’s Mystic Missile No. 4 in 2010 proved to be the launch point for his career.
He won four races during that 2010 season and bested Mike Stefanik to capture the Modified Tour championship. In 2012, he moved to the Tinio Racing No. 44 team and added 11 victories between 2012 and 2018.
Santos’ two most recent wins in 2019 and 2020 came at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in entries fielded by popular Modified Tour personality Dave Sapienza.
Photo Credits: NASCAR Archives
- 194 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts
- Two NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour wins
- 42 top five and 101 top 10 finishes
- Best championship finish of fourth
In the history of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, one can count on a single hand the number of drivers not from the Northeast to score wins.
One of those is Rocky Mount, Virginia’s Donald “Satch” Worley.
A champion at North Carolina’s Bowman Gray Stadium during his storied career, Worley was 37 when the modern Modified Tour was created in 1985.
That didn’t slow him down. He ran part-time for the first four years before he became a series regular in 1989. He bagged his first Modified Tour win at Pocono Raceway in 1991 during the Sunoco Race of Champions, a marquee victory for any driver.
Worley added a second win a season later at the track he considered home, Martinsville Speedway. Both victories came aboard Bob Garbarino’s Mystic Missile No. 4.
Worley made his final Modified Tour start in 1999. Driving for Narducci Motorsports at the age of 51, he scored a runner-up finish at Martinsville.
Photo Credits: Howie & Mary Hodge Collection, Pete Lawlor
- 90 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts
- Two-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion
- 15 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour wins
- 46 top five and 59 top 10 finishes
Following in the footsteps of his father, Ed “Fast Eddie” Spencer, Jimmy Spencer picked up racing like he was born to do it.
The younger Spencer started racing late models before his switch to modifieds, a move that led to great success. In 1984, Spencer finished second to Richie Evans in the battle for the NASCAR Modified national championship.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was founded in 1985, and the driver known as “Mr. Excitement” joined the series for its inaugural year. He won four times that season, which turned out to be a sign of things to come.
The 1986 season belonged to Spencer. He scored four more wins and finished in the top five in 17 of 25 races on his way to the championship. He backed that up with six wins and another title in 1987 before making the move to the NASCAR Cup Series in 1988.
Despite only competing in 90 Modified Tour events, Spencer won an impressive 15 times to go along with two championships.
Photo Credits: Howie & Mary Hodge Collection
- 628 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts (most all-time)
- 1990 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion
- Three NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour wins
- 91 top five and 249 top 10 finishes
No driver has been more dedicated to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour during its first 40 years than Jamie “The Jet” Tomaino.
A native of Howell, New Jersey, Tomaino joined the Modified Tour for its inaugural season in 1985. He bagged his first win a season later at Stafford Motor Speedway, the first of three victories on his resume.
Tomaino’s biggest season came in 1990. Driving for team owner Danny Ust, Tomaino put together a consistent season that saw him score a win at Monadnock Speedway to go along with 10 top fives and 18 top 10s in 23 races. That output earned him his only Modified Tour championship.
He added his third victory a few seasons later at Lee USA Speedway, but Tomaino remained dedicated to the Modified Tour for more than 30 years.
Tomaino made his last Modified Tour start in 2023 at the age of 66. In all, he made 628 starts, a Tour record that still stands today.
Photo Credits: NASCAR Archives, Howie & Mary Hodge Collection
- 418 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts
- 44 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour wins (third all-time)
- 169 top five and 227 top 10 finishes
- Best championship finish of second
Whether or not he wants the honor, Rocky Hill, Connecticut’s Reggie Ruggiero is the best driver to never win a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship.
Ruggiero became a regular Modified Tour competitor early in the series’ history. He made his first start in 1985 and ran his first full season in 1986. He secured his first victory in 1987 at Martinsville Speedway, one of eight wins that helped him finish second in the series standings.
A great mechanical mind in addition to being a brilliant racer, Ruggiero was always looking for ways to improve the cars he drove. From the late 1980s through the early 2000s, Ruggiero was a constant presence in Victory Lane. He finished runner-up in the championship standings seven times between 1987 and 2000.
His victories came everywhere and anywhere, including New Hampshire, Riverside Park, Thompson, Stafford, Richmond and Waterford.
Ruggiero’s final win came in 2006 at Thompson. His 44 victories ranks him third on the all-time win list.
Photo Credits: NASCAR Archives