The long journey down to New Smyrna Speedway for the 2025 World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing was more symbolic for Paul Hartwig Jr. compared to previous trips.
Hartwig knew his fifth attempt at a 602 Modified title during the month of February would be his swan song behind the wheel. Instead of expending so much energy and money on his own racing ambitions, Hartwig. is diverting his focus toward his son Paulie III, a rising star in Modified competition around the country.
Although he did not tally a win at New Smyrna during the World Series, Hartwig Jr. found solace in a strong week that concluded with a runner-up showing on the final night.
Emotions were high when he climbed out of the car.
“I told my wife, my kid and crew chief on the way down [to Florida] that it was time,” Hartwig said. “They said it wasn’t time, but I said it was time. I said I have to focus on the kid more, and we can’t take that away from him. He [hasn’t] been old enough to run New Smyrna yet, so that was a perfect time for me to go play and not worry about him on track at the same time.
“I was hoping to get that last win and retire in Victory Lane, but [second] was close enough.”
After a runner-up finish in tonight’s #WSOA 602 Modified feature, an emotional Paul Hartwig Jr. announces his retirement from racing.
📺 @FloRacing | @newsmyrnaspdwy pic.twitter.com/PJgedgDlU9
– NASCAR Regional (@NASCARRegional) February 14, 2025
Hartwig’s time as a hard-nosed, vigilant competitor dates back two decades to when his grandfather Larry Bolen purchased him his first quarter-midget.
Even before he took part in his first official race, Hartwig was always surrounded by motorsports. His father Paul Sr. operated a tow truck at Wall Stadium, a one-third-mile oval situated in New Jersey that served as the proving ground for many notable figures such as Ray Evernham and 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr.
With the support of Bolen’s money, Hartwig Jr. was poised to write his own chapter in Wall Stadium’s proud history. After enjoying plenty of success in a quarter-midget, he took the next step in his development by moving into a Bandolero in 2005, which he raced inside Wall Stadium’s infield.
All of Hartwig’s racing plans hit a major obstacle in 2006 when Bolen passed away. The loss was devastating in multiple regards, and Hartwig realized the only way he could feasibly continue his career was by doing everything himself.
Hartwig recalls plenty of tough periods during his quest to continue racing by self-funding. He briefly lived out of a hotel in 2007, which was mentally straining, but it only served to motivate him to keep making progress.
It took many hard lessons for Hartwig to achieve sustainability as a competitor. Branching away from Wall Stadium was the catalyst for him to find balance, as it allowed him to experience different environments and build connections with other racing figures in the northeast.
“I was a hothead when I was younger,” he said. “I didn’t wreck a lot, but I didn’t make a lot of friends. The best thing to ever happen to me was traveling to New York, running Evergreen Raceway and Mahoning Valley [Speedway]. That really opened me up to a whole new world of racing, because all I knew when I was younger was Wall Stadium.”
Although he lacked the resources enjoyed by his fellow competitors, Hartwig never backed down from a challenge and tallied several accolades during his career. One of his proudest moments as a competitor was besting his childhood hero Matt Hirschman for the victory in a Modified event at Evergreen back in 2016.
Determination is a quality Hartwig has instilled into Paulie III throughout his own journey. The second-generation racer already has several achievements on his resume with Modified victories at tracks like North Wilkesboro Speedway, along with a pole in the prestigious Islip 300 at Riverhead Raceway.
The driver Paulie beat for that pole was Hirschman.
Paulie is still ascertaining all the fundamentals of Modified competition, particularly against the seasoned veterans, but he credits his father for helping him find a comfort zone. The primary piece of advice Paulie has absorbed from his dad is to be smart, as strong performances play a crucial role in the family getting to the track.
“Every single week, he’s said to me as long as we get a top 10, that pays the tire bill,” Paulie said. “We definitely have a good car to win, but it matters where we start. I’m a terrible pill drawer, and have not gotten inside the top two yet. We start way too far back, so we want to ride and save.
“[My dad] says it doesn’t matter where we finish, as long as it’s inside the top 10.”
From day one, Hartwig Jr. has drawn on his own experiences to help mentor Paulie. There are several moments Hartwig wishes he could redo as a competitor, but he is using those mistakes and shortcomings to provide his son several valuable lessons on what he needs to thrive behind the wheel.
Those teachings molded Paulie into a competitor capable of not only winning on pavement facilities, but also dirt tracks. The most recent outing for Paulie saw him take home a checkered flag in a dirt sportsman car at All-Tech Speedway on Feb. 8, one day before Junior began his last week of racing at New Smyrna.
Hartwig always knew his son was capable of being a great driver. The process toward optimizing Paulie’s talents has been arduous at times but also rewarding in many regards.
“I’ve worked very hard with him since he was three years old in the backyard with a go-kart,” Hartwig said. “I just pushed him as far as I could, to every limit he had, and he never failed me. He’s always taken on everything that I’ve put him in. There’s nothing he’s driven yet where he’s lost it.”
Expectations remain high for both Hartwigs as they move on from New Smyrna to focus on a busy 2025 schedule. Paulie intends to participate in several Modified events across the northeast and southeast, all while Hartwig Jr. keeps a watchful eye and guides his son through any questions or obstacles.
Every opportunity for Paulie to race against his dad made him a better driver and bolstered his appreciation for Hartwig’s career. Paulie knows how much his father sacrificed just to stay involved in racing, which is why he believes his dad will climb back into a car one day soon.
“I know it’s not going to be his last race,” Paulie said. “We love racing with each other all the time, so I believe he’s going to race a couple more this year.”
Despite Paulie’s optimism about his dad’s potential return to racing, Hartwig Jr. is content shifting his responsibilities over to exclusively being a team owner and father. By focusing more on his son’s future, Hartwig believes he can put him in the best position to advance up the developmental ladder.
With his time as a driver now over, Hartwig can not help but reflect on his own journey. Two decades of competition flew by for the seasoned Modified competitor, which featured tribulations but also plenty of great memories. He still cherishes his race-winning drive over Hirschman to this day.
Legacy is not something with which Hartwig is overly concerned. He made plenty of enemies — but also plenty of fans — over the past 22 years. What matters to him now is doing whatever it takes to keep Paulie in an environment where he can showcase how much talent he possesses.
“The only way we’re going to excel is if we get some backing to follow us,” Hartwig said. “We have very good equipment, but we don’t have the backing to run the equipment top-notch like we need to.”
New Smyrna was the end of one chapter for Hartwig, but the beginning of another. He is never going to stop supporting Paulie’s racing endeavors, and he looks forward to seeing what his son accomplishes over what he hopes is a prolonged span in racing — just like the one he enjoyed.