PIT BOX: Buffalo welcomes back the Whelen Modified Tour on Lancaster Motorplex’s unique layout
Adam Fenwick
(Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR)
For just the fourth time in NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour history, New York's Lancaster Motorplex will welcome the series Saturday night for the running of the Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 (8:15 p.m. ET on FloRacing).
Saturday's race marks the seventh of 16 races on the 2025 Modified Tour schedule. Through the first six events of the year, the series has seen six different winners. Not among them is Austin Beers, the two-time and defending winner in Modified Tour competition at Lancaster.
A unique, half-mile oval on the outskirts of Buffalo and a track that features a drag strip on the frontstretch, Lancaster welcomed the Modified Tour for the first time in 2021. On that evening it was Patrick Emerling who visited Victory Lane after an intense late-race battle with Justin Bonsignore.
Tickets to the Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 are available here. Below is everything you need to know before Saturday's race.
[caption id="attachment_477984" align="aligncenter" width="1300"] Cars lined up prior to the start of the Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 at Lancaster Motorplex on Aug. 3, 2024. (Photo: Jeffrey Barnes/NASCAR)[/caption]
Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 at Lancaster Motorplex
For the last two years, Austin Beers has owned Lancaster Motorplex on the Modified Tour.
The driver from Northampton, Pennsylvania has won the last two Tour races held at Lancaster, and in both instances, he led the most laps aboard the KLM Motorsports No. 64. The wins, the second and third of his career, make him the obvious favorite for Saturday's race.
Should Beers win at Lancaster for the third time in as many years, he'd become the seventh different winner in as many races so far in 2025. That would tie the all-time Modified Tour record for consecutive different winners to start a season, which was set in 1999.
There are plenty of drivers who will be looking to deny Beers his third win at Lancaster. Leading that charge is Justin Bonsignore, the current Modified Tour points leader who scored his lone win of the season in June at New York's Riverhead Raceway. Bonsignore has not won at Lancaster, but he would love to add a victory at the unique half-mile to his list of accolades.
His cousin, Kyle Bonsignore, is the most recent Modified Tour winner following a dominant victory two weeks ago at White Mountain Motorsports Park. Based on that performance, he could also be a serious contender at Lancaster, too.
Also on the list of contenders is Ryan Newman, who is back in Tim Connolly's No. 4 Mystic Missile Modified after making his most recent series start at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Craig Lutz and Matt Hirschman, both of whom have found Victory Lane this year, could also be threats to win Saturday night.
Stephen Kopcik and Luke Baldwin, fourth and fifth in the series standings, respectively, are pursing their first Modified Tour wins and could be contenders Saturday night if things work in their favor.
Mike Christopher Jr., who hasn't raced with the Modified Tour since he finished second at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in 2022, is making his return to the series aboard the No. 77 for Mike Curb and Gary Putnam. Also entered is local competitor George Skora III, who will be making his Modified Tour debut.
The full entry list for Saturday's Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 will be released later this week.
[caption id="attachment_477987" align="aligncenter" width="1300"] Austin Beers in action during the Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 at Lancaster Motorplex on Aug. 3, 2024. (Photo: Jeffrey Barnes/NASCAR)[/caption]
RACING REFERENCE:
SCHEDULE: Saturday, July 12 ... Practice from 5 to 5:30 p.m. ET ... Final practice from 5:40 to 6 p.m. ET ... Qualifying at 7:10 p.m. ET ... Start of the Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 (150 Laps / 75 Miles) at 8:30 p.m. ET.
QUALIFYING: Two consecutive qualifying laps. Faster lap determines qualifying position. Adjustments or repairs may not be made on the vehicle after the vehicle has taken the green flag at the start/finish line. NASCAR reserves the right to have more than one vehicle engage in qualifying runs at the same time. Starting field for the Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 is limited to 24 starters including Provisional Positions.
TIRE ALLOTMENT: The maximum tire allotment available for this event is eleven (11) tires per team. All tires used for qualifying and the race must be purchased at the track and scanned by Hoosier, unless otherwise approved in advance by the Series Director. Four (4) tires must be used for qualifying and to begin the race. All qualifying tires must remain in impound until released by NASCAR Officials. The remaining tire allotment may be used for practice and/or change tires during the event. Maximum of nine (9) tires may be used for the race, not including Emergency Change Tires. Teams will declare to NASCAR Officials at the conclusion of practice the tires they will use during the race. The tire change rule is two (2) tires per stop.