NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings: Breaking down the top 10 in points after Claremont

The fight for the 2022 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship has now become a two-man race.

With his victory in the Clash at Claremont 150 on Friday evening, Jon McKennedy is now four points behind 2011 series champion Ron Silk, who has led the standings for most of the year despite having yet to win a race.

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Although he managed to finish right behind McKennedy at Claremont Motorsports Park, Silk is still attempting to recover from the damage he sustained from his poor showing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway two weeks before, where he finished 21^st after getting involved in an early wreck.

While Silk and McKennedy have emerged as the frontrunners with six races remaining on the schedule, plenty of drivers remain within striking distance to take the points lead for themselves should either driver endure a bad race.

Below is a breakdown of how the top 10 drivers in the standings fared during the Clash at Claremont 150, along with a complete look at the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings.

1. Ron Silk: 377 points

With Silk being one of three drivers who ran the most recent NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at Claremont, he used that experience to deliver his sixth top-five finish on the year. Despite this, Silk’s efficiency was not enough to prevent another hit in the points that stemmed from McKennedy’s victory.

2. Jon McKennedy: 373 points

Like Silk, McKennedy also ran the last NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at Claremont back in 2007. Once he took the lead from Jake Johnson on the 14^th lap, nobody managed to keep pace with McKennedy as he cruised to his first win since 2018, firmly establishing himself as a title contender in the process.

3. Eric Goodale: 356 points

Fresh off a heartbreaking loss in the most recent NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at New Hampshire, Goodale was a non-factor throughout the Clash at Claremont 150. After starting in sixth, Goodale faded to 12^th at the end of the evening, allowing Silk and McKennedy to put distance on him in the standings.

4. Justin Bonsignore: 349 points

Leading the first 11 laps from the outside pole proved to be the highlight of Bonsignore’s night at Claremont. Bonsignore struggled to keep pace with the leaders during the middle portion of the Clash at Claremont 150 but did rebound for a sixth-place finish.

5. Tommy Catalano: 343 points

Catalano’s best season in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour continued Friday evening with his fifth top-10 finish of the year at Claremont. Although he ended up losing a position to Bonsignore in the standings, Catalano remains in an ideal place to easily exceed his previous best points finish of 11^th, which occurred in 2018 and 2019.

6. Austin Beers: 340 points

The current leader in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour rookie point standings, Beers did not have his best run in the Clash at Claremont 150, as he ended up coming home in 11^th. Beers maintained his sixth-place position in the standings but now trails Silk by 37 points.

7. Kyle Bonsignore: 337 points

The other Bonsignore quietly nabbed his second consecutive top-five finish at Claremont on Friday evening. With momentum on his side, Bonsignore will look to break into the top-five in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour point standings during the next six races.

8. Craig Lutz: 305 points

Friday at Claremont was not the best outing for veteran Craig Lutz. After finishing 10th at New Hampshire, Lutz was involved in an incident with Dave Sapienza that brought out the caution flag on Lap 81. He was able to recover from the incident to ultimately finish 13th.

9. Dave Sapienza: 270 points

Sapienza was involved in a crash on Lap 81 with Craig Lutz that derailed the day for both drivers. A second incident also involving Sam Rameau on Lap 97 didn’t do Sapienza any favors and he eventually settled for a 15th-place finish. He has yet to earn a top-10 finish this season.

10. J.B. Fortin: 264 points

Fortin could not match the pace being put down my McKennedy and ended up 16^th as the second car one lap down. In his nine starts this year, Fortin’s best finish was a third-place result at Pennsylvania’s Jennerstown Speedway.

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings