Posted on by Brandon White

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — The ending to Thursday’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season finale at Martinsville Speedway carried mixed emotions for Justin Bonsignore.

A year-long pursuit of his fifth series championship ended in a runner-up finish to Austin Beers in the point standings. Despite losing the war, Bonsignore did claim one last battle in the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200, putting together a strong performance for his second victory of 2025 and his 47th overall.

RELATED: Complete results from the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200

From Bonsignore’s perspective, more showings like the one at Martinsville could have shifted the title battle with Beers in his favor. While he could not help but reflect on the missed opportunities in 2025, Bonsignore took solace in defending his Martinsville triumph from last year’s championship campaign.

“We had a great car all day, unloaded well, obviously qualified on pole and did everything we could to keep [Beers] honest,” Bonsignore said. “We just didn’t do a good enough job all year for that as far as the points. A great night to cap off a so-so season by what we feel our standards are.

“It was amazing we had a shot [at the title], but it was nice to get a second win and a second grandfather clock.”

The Modified Tour championship was well within reach of Bonsignore entering Martinsville, as he only trailed Beers by 14 points. A maximum points night with a victory, pole, a lap led and the most laps led would have given Bonsignore the title if Beers finished eighth or worse.

Bonsignore took care of the pole and led the opening portion of the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200, giving him two crucial bonus points to help erase his deficit. Even with Beers bogged down in traffic from his eighth-place starting position, Bonsignore anticipated the running order would change several times throughout the night.

Cautions brought strategy into play, as teams came down pit road twice per Modified Tour rules to change tires or insert fuel. Bonsignore ended up losing track position through the two pit stop sequences, all while Beers gained spots to re-establish control of the points lead.

The speed in Bonsignore’s car enabled him to methodically climb back toward the lead, but a victory ended up being his only feasible goal on the evening. Beers never lost track position after the first pit stop sequence and secured a runner-up finish to become the youngest champion in Modified Tour history.

Bonsignore offered nothing but praise for Beers at the end of their championship bout, making sure to congratulate the young competitor in Victory Lane. From the moment he first met Beers, Bonsignore noticed plenty of characteristics that he knew would one day translate to success on the Modified Tour.

“I hate that [Beers] beat me to [become champion], but he’s a great young man,” Bonsignore said. “He joined the series four or five years ago, and I don’t know how, but we just hit it off. We became really good friends at the track, tried to give him advice and took him under my wing a little bit.

“He’s a super good kid. He was raised by great people.”

Beers, who is the son of two-time Modified Tour race winner Eric Beers, joins an elite list of previous series champions that include Bonsignore, Tony Hirschman, Doug Coby and Mike Stefanik, among many others.

The idea of being a part of such a group was a surreal one for Beers, who always wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a successful Modified driver. After three full-time years of hard work and patience on the Modified Tour, Beers will now forever be immortalized as a series champion.

“It’s pretty insane to think about,” Beers said. “Growing up, going to these Modified races with my dad, [I] was dreaming of running on the Tour. Now to be a champion with all those guys like Mike [Stefanik], and Justin, someone who I have a lot of respect for. I pride myself in trying to be like Mike a little bit with how he was championship-wise.

“[Mike would be OK] with running second, but championships mean more than wins. To be a champion in this division is unbelievable.”

With Beers only being 22, he still has plenty of time to one day reach the highs of previous Modified Tour champions, which includes the four titles Bonsignore has claimed during his illustrious career.

Bonsignore knows he is still more than capable of at least tying Hirschman with five total championships, which is why the lack of victories in 2025 was frustrating. The last two years saw Bonsignore win five races apiece, a trend that was replaced with only two this year.

A handful of suboptimal showings mixed into his decreased efficiency prevented Bonsignore from celebrating both a victory and a championship on Thursday.

“I crashed myself at Seekonk [Speedway] on the last lap and I probably would have won the championship [if I didn’t],” Bonsignore said. “We just didn’t run great. There were times throughout the summer when we were eighth or ninth. Our big goal in this series is to make it to tech every week and you’ll have a shot.

“I’ve been doing this 16 years and have only won four of them. You’re going to lose way more than you win in this game.”

Instead of lingering too much on the hypotheticals, Bonsignore plans to enjoy his second Martinsville victory with his family and team before regrouping for 2026, where the pursuit for a fifth NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour title will begin once again.

Stephen Kopcik ended the 2025 Modified Tour season with a third-place finish. He was followed in the running order by Joey Coulter and Craig Lutz to round out the top five.

The rest of the top 10 finishers consisted of Tyler Rypkema, Eric Goodale, Conner Jones, Matt Hirschman and Mike Christopher Jr.

The Modified Tour now enters a three-month hiatus before the 2026 season commences. New Smyrna Speedway will open the new year on Feb. 7, with the race being broadcasted live on FloRacing.

Posted on by Staff Report

Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200

Martinsville Speedway

Martinsville Speedway C

  • Race results:
Pos. Car No. Name Sponsor Laps Diff.
1 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc 206  –
2 64 Austin Beers G&G Eletric Supply/Dell Electric/Fastrack Electric 206 1.107
3 21 Stephen Kopcik* Newtown Pools/Wanick Construction 206 1.229
4 2 Joey Coulter IV SRI Performance/Billstein Shocks/PFC Brakes/Molecule 206 1.33
5 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 206 1.37
6 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE Power/SYP/Northeast Drilling 206 1.568
7 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 206 2.247
8 99 Conner Jones* Driveshaft Shop 206 3.559
9 60 Matt Hirschman PeeDee Motorsports/Bar Harbor Bank and Trust 205 1 Lap
10 77 Michael Christopher Jr* Curb Records/Mohawk Northeast 205 1 Lap
11 25 Danny Bohn Alpine Partners/Amerifast/Cutting Edge Stonework 205 1 Lap
12 8 John Michael-Shenette USNE Power Midwest/Eighty-Two Services 204 2 Laps
13 70 Andy Seuss Rockingham Boat 202 4 Laps
14 55 Jeremy Gerstner JT’s Services/Garage Doors of the Triad 201 5 Laps
15 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power 201 5 Laps
16 22 Kyle Bonsignore MTT/ChaLew Performance/Munns Auto 200 6 Laps
17 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc./Middlesex Interiors 198 8 Laps
18 5 Teddy Hodgdon IV* Montanari Fuel/Business Time Motorsports 198 8 Laps
19 18 Ken Heagy Speed 77 197 9 Laps
20 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara/USNE 191 15 Laps
21 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotive 181 25 Laps
22 40 Luke Fleming William E Smith Trucking/Taylor’s Auto Parts 172 34 Laps
23 29 Mike Marshall* MLM Diagnostics/Jusczak Electric 151 55 Laps
24 4 Ryan Newman Bobcat/USNE/Finzer Rollers/Montrose Molders 120 86 Laps
25 14 Jake Lutz* Advantage Trucks/Washtronics/Anastasi Trucking 111 95 Laps
26 23 Carson Loftin L&R Transmission/LeBleu Water/QMF Metal & Electronics 52 154 Laps
27 11 Norman Newman* Family Funland 33 173 Laps
28 38 Bobby Labonte Cook-Out/PSR Products/Pace-O-Matics 7 199 Laps

 

Posted on by Adam Fenwick

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — We all have dreams.

Some dreams can be simple, like hoping Santa Claus brings you a new PlayStation for Christmas.

Other dreams, like the one shared by Austin Beers and Mike Murphy, are a bit more complicated.

Beers, a 22-year-old, second-generation racer from Northampton, Pennsylvania, and Murphy, a 68-year-old Irish immigrant, dreamed of someday winning the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship together.

On Thursday night, Beers and Murphy got to live out their dream. Driving Murphy’s No. 64 KLM Motorsports Modified, Beers finished second in the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 to clinch his first championship in NASCAR’s oldest division.

“The biggest thing for me coming in was don’t think about it; don’t think about it, or you’re going to jinx it,” Beers told himself. “I didn’t really think about what I’d say or how I’d feel.”

He didn’t have to say much. In 2025, Beers let his driving do the talking.

In 16 Modified Tour races this season, Beers never finished worse than ninth. He scored two wins – at Lancaster Motorplex and Riverhead Raceway – to go along with 12 top fives and 16 top 10s.

He was the only driver to complete every possible lap this season, and he led all drivers with a 4.6 average finish.

Austin Beers
Austin Beers celebrates after clinching the 2025 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship Thursday at Martinsville Speedway. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR)

Despite all those incredible stats, he still had to survive Thursday’s race to win his first championship. He avoided a multi-car melee during a restart and survived an overtime sprint to finish second, more than enough to clinch the championship.

Anxiety and stress levels were at all-time highs, but Beers showed maturity and composure beyond his years during a race that could have easily derailed his entire season.

“I knew I just had to do what I’ve been doing my whole life — that was the biggest thing,” Beers said when discussing the final restart. “I brought it home to the line and heard (on the radio) 2025 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion. That was a great feeling.”

As if that wasn’t good enough, Beers wrote a new chapter in the Modified Tour history books with his first championship.

At 22 years, seven months and five days old, Beers is now the youngest champion in the history of the Modified Tour. He broke the record set by current NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Preece, who was 22 years, 11 months and 25 days old when he won his Mods championship in 2013.

Beers has come a long way from playing video games with Preece between practice sessions at Modified Tour races a decade ago.

“Ryan was young running the Tour and just getting started, and my dad (Eric) was running the Tour. He’d hang out in the camper with me, and we’d play video games,” Beers remembered. “All the other drivers and crew members would go to the bar after the races. I’ve looked up to Ryan my whole racing career and pretty much since I was 6 years old.”

Murphy, who most of his friends and family affectionately call “Murph,” has watched Beers take his small team from a mid-pack organization to champion in the span of just four years.

For the native of Waterford, Ireland, just being in position to win a Modified Tour championship was something he never fathomed when he bought his first race car in the mid-1990s.

“This beats all of our expectations,” Murphy said. “We never even dreamed we’d be in a position like this when we started 25 or 30 years ago. Dreams come true, right?

“I’d never even seen what the (championship trophy) looked like, because we’d usually be pitted way over (in Turn 4) and the (trophy) would be over (in Turn 1). In all the years we’d been doing it, I never saw it for that reason.”

Austin Beers
Austin Beers became the youngest NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion in series history Thursday evening. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR)

The KLM Motorsports team is truly a family operation. The team, which is named after Murphy’s wife Maggie and children Lyndsey and Kelly, is led by former driver Ron Yuhas and Sly Szaban.

The group has flourished since tabbing Beers to drive the No. 64 for his rookie campaign in 2022. Beers delivered the team’s first Modified Tour win in 2023 at Richmond Raceway, and since then, he has added four more checkered flags to Murphy’s growing collection.

It’s all still a bit surreal for Murphy, who was forced to sit on the sidelines for much of the 2024 season and the start of the 2025 season due to a host of health issues.

In January, Murphy got a new lease on life when he received a bilateral lung transplant. By May, he was back at the race track watching his driver and team chase a championship.

This could have been the worst year of Murphy’s life. Instead, he’s the living embodiment of the American dream.

“This is the best year of my life. I got a second chance at life,” Murphy said. “Hard work, I would say, is all it takes. This is a great country. A country of opportunity. The only thing that is going to stop you is yourself.”

While the championship meant the world to Beers and his family, Beers felt it was more important to deliver the title to Murphy. After all, Murphy is the one who took a chance on an unproven, 18-year-old kid.

Murphy gave Beers all the tools he needed to become the Modified Tour champion. And Beers delivered.

“Murph gave me the ultimate break to run this car and get my name out there,” Beers said. “Obviously the last year was really tough not having him at the race track. With him getting that lung transplant, you don’t know what’s going to happen. It was a pretty emotional time for our whole team.

“He’s been running the Tour since my dad (Eric) was running (the Tour), so 2010 or 2011. After all these years of ups and downs, to finally deliver that championship to him, it means more to me to give that championship to him than for me to win that championship, honestly.

“I owe everything to Murph and Maggie for giving me this opportunity to begin with, because I wouldn’t have it without them.”

With a Modified Tour championship secured, Murphy hopes to have Beers back next season to chase another championship.

However, what Murphy really wants is for Beers to get an opportunity to move on to bigger and better things.

That’s his new dream. It’s a dream Murphy believes that, like Thursday’s championship, Beers can make a reality.

“I hope this is a steppingstone,” Murphy said. “He’s still young. He’s only 22. Hopefully there is somebody out there watching and will see how good he is, and maybe they’ll offer him a ride somewhere along the way.

“I’d love to see him walking in Preece’s footsteps. Can you imagine? You turn the television on Sunday and see him at the race and you say, ‘We knew him when he was only a kid.’

“That would be another unbelievable dream as good as this. Maybe better.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200

Martinsville Speedway

  • Qualifying results
Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc 18.691 101.311 2 2
2 22 Kyle Bonsignore MTT/ChaLew Performance/Munns Auto 18.714 101.186 2 2 0.023
3 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc./Middlesex Interiors 18.766 100.906 2 2 0.075
4 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 18.778 100.841 2 2 0.087
5 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE Power/SYP/Northeast Drilling 18.829 100.568 2 2 0.138
6 23 Carson Loftin L&R Transmission/LeBleu Water/QMF Metal & Electronics 18.833 100.547 2 2 0.142
7 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotive 18.838 100.52 2 2 0.147
8 64 Austin Beers G&G Eletric Supply/Dell Electric/Fastrack Electric 18.856 100.424 2 2 0.165
9 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara/USNE 18.887 100.259 2 2 0.196
10 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 18.904 100.169 2 2 0.213
11 4 Ryan Newman Bobcat/USNE/Finzer Rollers/Montrose Molders 18.911 100.132 2 2 0.22
12 60 Matt Hirschman PeeDee Motorsports/Bar Harbor Bank and Trust 18.913 100.122 1 2 0.222
13 05 Teddy Hodgdon IV* Montanari Fuel/Business Time Motorsports 18.914 100.116 2 2 0.223
14 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power 18.984 99.747 2 2 0.293
15 99 Conner Jones* Driveshaft Shop 18.988 99.726 2 2 0.297
16 14 Jake Lutz* Advantage Trucks/Washtronics/Anastasi Trucking 18.989 99.721 1 2 0.298
17 77 Michael Christopher Jr* Curb Records/Mohawk Northeast 19.052 99.391 2 2 0.361
18 21 Stephen Kopcik* Newtown Pools/Wanick Construction 19.094 99.173 2 2 0.403
19 02 Joey Coulter IV SRI Performance/Billstein Shocks/PFC Brakes/Molecule 19.111 99.084 2 2 0.42
20 25 Danny Bohn Alpine Partners/Amerifast/Cutting Edge Stonework 19.129 98.991 2 2 0.438
21 38 Bobby Labonte Cook-Out/PSR Products/Pace-O-Matics 19.132 98.976 2 2 0.441
22 70 Andy Seuss Rockingham Boat 19.133 98.97 2 2 0.442
23 18 Ken Heagy Speed 77 19.191 98.671 2 2 0.5
24 8 John Michael-Shenette USNE Power Midwest/Eighty-Two Services 19.38 97.709 2 2 0.689
25 55 Jeremy Gerstner JT’s Services/Garage Doors of the Triad 19.453 97.342 2 2 0.762
26 40 Luke Fleming William E Smith Trucking/Taylor’s Auto Parts 19.485 97.182 2 2 0.794
27 11 Norman Newman* Family Funland 19.636 96.435 2 2 0.945
28 29 Mike Marshall* MLM Diagnostics/Jusczak Electric 19.782 95.723 2 2 1.091

 

Posted on by Reid Spencer

With one notable exception, the elimination race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series features the closest competition among the three national touring series.

With three spots left in the Championship 4, five drivers are within 15 points of each other entering Friday night’s Slim Jim 200 at Martinsville Speedway (6 p.m. ET, FS1, NASCAR Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

With a record 10 victories this season, Corey Heim is guaranteed a spot in the Championship 4, but second-place Rajah Caruth is only 14 points above the current elimination line.

RELATED: Martinsville schedule | Truck Series standings

Sixth-place Layne Riggs is only 15 points behind Caruth. Between them, Tyler Ankrum is eight points above the line, Kaden Honeycutt is five points to the good, and defending series champion Ty Majeski trails Honeycutt by five points.

Caruth finished ninth last Friday at Talladega to preserve his position above the cutline, and he’s determined to concentrate on the task at hand.

“Similar to Talladega, we have to treat it like a normal race,” said Caruth, whose best finish in four Martinsville starts was seventh in the 2024 spring race. “Obviously, the stakes are higher, but you can’t psych yourself out of it. I think my mindset in the Round of 8 has been good to keep it calm and focus on the big picture.

“Anything can happen and take you out of the game. If you can keep yourself in it and not self-sabotage your day, you will have the opportunity to capitalize on others’ misfortunes and gain points wherever you can find them.

“We are in a good spot, and I know there are six other drivers that would love to be in the position we are right now. Those 14 points can vanish quickly, so we have to be ready to go off the truck to preserve that point cushion.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

Two JR Motorsports drivers — prolific rookie Connor Zilisch and defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier — already have qualified for the Championship 4 on points.

Two other JRM drivers, though, are locked in a close battle for the final Championship 4 berth as the series moves to Martinsville Speedway for Saturday’s IAA & Ritchie Bros. 250 (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Weekend schedule | Paint Scheme Preview

Carson Kvapil arrives at the legendary 0.526-mile short track 11 points above the cutline, leading teammate Sammy Smith by that margin entering the event that will set the field for the Nov. 1 title race at Phoenix Raceway.

If past performance is any indication, Smith has an edge in the elimination race. In six starts at Martinsville, the No. 8 Chevrolet driver has scored five top 10s, including two runner-up finishes and a third-place result.

“Heading into Martinsville under the cutline is not where we envisioned ourselves, but we’ve been strong here in the past, and this No. 8 Pilot team is hungry to advance to the Champ 4,” Smith said. “Just like Talladega last week (where Smith finished ninth), anything can happen on these short tracks, so we just need to be smart and keep our nose clean. If we can do that, I see no reason why we won’t be right where we need to be at the end of the race.”

In two Martinsville starts (the last two spring races), Kvapil has finished fourth and 20th.

Auguring what could be an all-Chevrolet Championship 4, Jesse Love of Richard Childress Racing is 40 points above the elimination line and likely to advance.

MORE: Playoff standings

Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver Brandon Jones, a 2022 winner at “the Paperclip,” has the best chance to break the Chevrolet monopoly. Jones is 20 points below the cut, but he has posted five top 10s and two poles in 10 Martinsville starts.

With Aric Almirola winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Austin Hill taking the checkered flag at Talladega Superspeedway, the field for the Owner’s Championship has already been set. Those two drivers will compete against Zilisch and Allgaier for the owner’s title.

Posted on by Staff Report

Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200

Martinsville Speedway

  • Final practice results
Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc 18.684 101.349 6 7
2 14 Jake Lutz* Advantage Trucks/Washtronics/Anastasi Trucking 18.718 101.165 7 19 0.034
3 60 Matt Hirschman PeeDee Motorsports/Bar Harbor Bank and Trust 18.725 101.127 28 30 0.041
4 22 Kyle Bonsignore MTT/ChaLew Performance/Munns Auto 18.735 101.073 13 13 0.051
5 64 Austin Beers G&G Eletric Supply/Dell Electric/Fastrack Electric 18.739 101.051 16 35 0.055
6 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE Power/SYP/Northeast Drilling 18.764 100.917 7 22 0.08
7 21 Stephen Kopcik* Newtown Pools/Wanick Construction 18.788 100.788 4 5 0.104
8 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc./Middlesex Interiors 18.791 100.772 24 24 0.107
9 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotive 18.814 100.648 8 12 0.13
10 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power 18.825 100.59 21 22 0.141
11 23 Carson Loftin L&R Transmission/LeBleu Water/QMF Metal & Electronics 18.836 100.531 17 18 0.152
12 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 18.873 100.334 28 29 0.189
13 4 Ryan Newman Bobcat/USNE/Finzer Rollers/Montrose Molders 18.877 100.313 5 15 0.193
14 77 Michael Christopher Jr* Curb Records/Mohawk Northeast 18.909 100.143 17 18 0.225
15 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 18.93 100.032 21 22 0.246
16 70 Andy Seuss Rockingham Boat 18.939 99.984 8 23 0.255
17 99 Conner Jones* Driveshaft Shop 18.976 99.789 1 26 0.292
18 05 Teddy Hodgdon IV* Montanari Fuel/Business Time Motorsports 19.028 99.517 5 23 0.344
19 02 Joey Coulter IV SRI Performance/Billstein Shocks/PFC Brakes/Molecule 19.029 99.511 17 17 0.345
20 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara/USNE 19.03 99.506 9 18 0.346
21 25 Danny Bohn Alpine Partners/Amerifast/Cutting Edge Stonework 19.036 99.475 14 18 0.352
22 18 Ken Heagy Speed 77 19.116 99.058 8 10 0.432
23 38 Bobby Labonte Cook-Out/PSR Products/Pace-O-Matics 19.154 98.862 5 22 0.47
24 8 John Michael-Shenette USNE Power Midwest/Eighty-Two Services 19.259 98.323 14 30 0.575
25 40 Luke Fleming William E Smith Trucking/Taylor’s Auto Parts 19.294 98.145 10 10 0.61
26 55 Jeremy Gerstner JT’s Services/Garage Doors of the Triad 19.472 97.247 17 17 0.788
27 79 Jake Crum EME Industrial/Mt. Airy Toyota 19.482 97.197 2 4 0.798
28 11 Norman Newman* Family Funland 19.751 95.874 13 20 1.067
29 29 Mike Marshall* MLM Diagnostics/Jusczak Electric 19.756 95.849 12 58 1.072

 

Posted on by Neil Paine

Chase Briscoe clinching a Championship 4 spot with his win at Talladega shouldn’t have caught anyone off guard. In this very space, we’d been shouting from the rooftops about his championship potential all summer — and now the 30-year-old Indiana native and first-year Joe Gibbs Racing driver is one race away from cashing in on it.

But Briscoe’s win at a superspeedway — one of his weaker track types — still managed to blow up everybody’s playoff math. He’d entered Talladega as the driver teetering most on the edge between making and missing the championship cut, so his sigh of relief in Alabama immediately became cause for concern among the rest of the playoff field … even the ones who may seem safe at a glance.

Yes, it’s true that as Briscoe was joining teammate Denny Hamlin by locking into the Championship 4, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell were also building their leads relative to the cutline. Larson went from +35 before Talladega to +36 after, while Bell went from +20 to +37. The gap versus William Byron and company below the line is now wide enough to give both Bell and Larson at least an 87 percent chance each to make the Champ 4, according to our Cup Series Playoff forecast model (which simulates the playoffs 10,000 times using projected Driver Ratings):

Chart showing the odds for Round of 8 drivers advancing to the Championship 4.

That wouldn’t seem to leave much room for anybody else to barge into the final-race picture aside from Bell and Larson — after those two, nobody else is higher than Byron at 7 percent, for instance. But the beauty (or treachery, depending on your perspective) of the win-and-in advancement system is that no points lead is truly safe if you get leapfrogged by a winner coming from below the cutline.

That’s why, in the simulations, there’s just a 77 percent chance that both Larson and Bell race for the title at Phoenix. While there’s next to no chance that neither will be there, there is a 23 percent chance that one of the two makes it and the other is left on the outside looking in:

Chart showing the odds of Larson and Bell making it to the Championship 4 under different scenarios.

Basically the only way that would happen is, again, if Sunday’s winner at Martinsville comes from either Byron, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney or Chase Elliott. But that could certainly happen. Each has won here before in their careers, and Blaney and Byron actually each have a pair of those great, big grandfather clocks in their collections. They’re also all basically in must-win mode, making them especially dangerous.

And if one of them steals the win, the calculations for Larson and Bell change drastically. As the chart below shows, both drivers’ odds of making the Championship 4 would plummet from nearly 100 percent when the Martinsville winner doesn’t come from the bottom four of the active playoff standings, to roughly 50-50 apiece if it does:

Chart showing chances of Larson and Bell getting knocked out on points.

Conditional on either a Blaney, Byron, Logano or Elliott win, the model gives Bell a 53 percent chance to be the last driver in, versus 47 percent for Larson. So why the slight edge for the No. 20 over the No. 5?

For one thing, Bell does start Sunday’s race with a slim one-point lead in the points. That may not sound very important, but the margin between Bell and Byron for the final Championship 4 slot during the final lap of last year’s cutoff race at this track was … you guessed it, one point. So that single point could matter a lot in the end. (If they’re tied, currently Larson holds the tiebreaker for his second-place finish at Las Vegas, one spot ahead of Bell as the best of the round for the pair.)

Beyond that, Bell is projected for a slightly higher rating on short tracks in the system that drives the playoff forecast, thanks in part to a better recent form — Bell averaged an 88.9 Driver Rating over the past three short-track races, versus Larson’s 74.7 — even though Larson was ridiculously dominant with a near-perfect 149.6 rating at Bristol in the race directly before that. In terms of average rating on short tracks overall this year, they’re virtually tied, with Larson at 96.5 and Bell at 96.1.

As for Martinsville in particular, the tale of the tape slightly favors Larson … at least on paper. He’s been faster overall in his career at “The Paperclip,” with a better average start (10.5 vs. 15.5), average finish (15.5 vs. 15.5, but buoyed by more top fives), Adjusted Points+ index (148 vs. 135) and a career Driver Rating nearly four points higher than Bell’s (88.0 vs. 84.9). And since the debut of the Next Gen car in 2022, Larson’s advantage has only widened: His Adjusted Points+ index at Martinsville (261) dwarfs Bell’s 157, along with a massive Next Gen-era Driver Rating edge of 109.2 to Bell’s 89.4.

Chart showing tale of the tape at Martinsville between Bell and Larson.

So if we’re looking for a tiebreaker in that coin flip based on overall short-track skill, Larson probably deserves the nod as first among equals going into Sunday’s race. Still, Bell has one important edge that can’t be ignored: He’s won here in a playoff cutoff race before, sealing his 2022 Championship 4 berth with a clutch Martinsville victory — albeit one overshadowed by Ross Chastain’s unforgettable wall-ride.

Most likely, things won’t come down to the direct Bell-versus-Larson showdown in the end. There’s room enough in the Championship 4 for both star drivers — as long as nobody from the bottom half of the Round of 8 crashes the party with a W of their own. The odds of that happening aren’t particularly high, but Martinsville has a way of manufacturing madness when it matters most. Which means both drivers would be wise to keep an eye on each other this Sunday — just in case two open spots suddenly become one.

Posted on by Staff Report

Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200

Martinsville Speedway

  • Practice results
Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 14 Jake Lutz* Advantage Trucks/Washtronics/Anastasi Trucking 18.74 101.046 17 18
2 64 Austin Beers G&G Eletric Supply/Dell Electric/Fastrack Electric 18.798 100.734 25 29 0.058
3 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc./Middlesex Interiors 18.931 100.026 6 14 0.191
4 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc 19.013 99.595 12 31 0.273
5 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 19.017 99.574 17 18 0.277
6 22 Kyle Bonsignore MTT/ChaLew Performance/Munns Auto 19.026 99.527 9 20 0.286
7 21 Stephen Kopcik* Newtown Pools/Wanick Construction 19.033 99.49 23 25 0.293
8 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE Power/SYP/Northeast Drilling 19.034 99.485 4 15 0.294
9 70 Andy Seuss Rockingham Boat 19.063 99.334 12 19 0.323
10 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 19.066 99.318 2 27 0.326
11 25 Danny Bohn Alpine Partners/Amerifast/Cutting Edge Stonework 19.066 99.318 24 24 0.326
12 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power 19.083 99.23 4 24 0.343
13 60 Matt Hirschman PeeDee Motorsports/Bar Harbor Bank and Trust 19.088 99.204 7 18 0.348
14 23 Carson Loftin L&R Transmission/LeBleu Water/QMF Metal & Electronics 19.101 99.136 3 23 0.361
15 77 Michael Christopher Jr* Curb Records/Mohawk Northeast 19.117 99.053 16 19 0.377
16 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotive 19.119 99.043 2 15 0.379
17 99 Conner Jones* Driveshaft Shop 19.135 98.96 6 16 0.395
18 38 Bobby Labonte Cook-Out/PSR Products/Pace-O-Matics 19.137 98.95 16 19 0.397
19 4 Ryan Newman Bobcat/USNE/Finzer Rollers/Montrose Molders 19.162 98.821 9 21 0.422
20 05 Teddy Hodgdon IV* Montanari Fuel/Business Time Motorsports 19.195 98.651 4 18 0.455
21 79 Jake Crum EME Industrial/Mt. Airy Toyota 19.222 98.512 5 15 0.482
22 02 Joey Coulter IV SRI Performance/Billstein Shocks/PFC Brakes/Molecule 19.382 97.699 14 15 0.642
23 8 John Michael-Shenette USNE Power Midwest/Eighty-Two Services 19.422 97.498 13 25 0.682
24 55 Jeremy Gerstner JT’s Services/Garage Doors of the Triad 19.507 97.073 14 14 0.767
25 18 Ken Heagy Speed 77 19.537 96.924 8 11 0.797
26 40 Luke Fleming William E Smith Trucking/Taylor’s Auto Parts 19.543 96.894 12 23 0.803
27 11 Norman Newman* Family Funland 19.767 95.796 18 24 1.027

 

Posted on by Press Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR today revealed the 2026 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule, a 16-race slate that blends tradition, competition and fan-favorite venues.

The new season marks the highly anticipated return of Stafford Speedway and Oxford Plains Speedway, while the championship finale moves back to its storied home at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.

“Regional racing has always been the bedrock of NASCAR, and the Whelen Modified Tour stands as its longest lasting and forever thriving cornerstone,” said Joseph Dennewitz, Managing Director, NASCAR Regional. “The Whelen Modified Tour is where the engines pound, legends rise, and the spirit of competition burns brightest. We listened to the fans and the drivers, and built a schedule worthy of that fire — one that honors the past, fuels the present, and charges headlong into the future of raw, gritty Modified racing.”

The Tour will once again kick off at New Smyrna Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 7, marking the fifth straight year the high-powered Modifieds will open their season at the 0.48-mile Florida oval near NASCAR headquarters.

From there, the series will appear on some of NASCAR’s biggest weekends. On Friday, March 27, the Tour will set the stage at Martinsville Speedway, opening a weekend that includes the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series. Later in the season, on Saturday, Aug. 22, the Modifieds will headline the NASCAR weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Two beloved tracks make their long-awaited returns in 2026. Oxford Plains Speedway rejoins the Tour for the first time since 1991 with a race on May 2, while Stafford Speedway returns on Aug. 28 with the Riverhead Building Supply 150 for the first time since 2021.

“There’s no place like home for the Modifieds, and Stafford Speedway has always been that home,” said Paul Arute, Chief Operating Officer of Stafford Speedway. “Our history with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour runs deep, spanning generations. With support from our partners at Riverhead Building Supply, we’re proud to welcome the Tour back and continue that tradition next August.”

Stafford Motor Speedway
Stafford Motor Speedway will return to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour for the first time since 2021. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)

“Riverhead Building Supply is a proud sponsor of Stafford Speedway, and we’re excited to see the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour return to the premier short track in 2026,” said Eric Goodale, Director of Marketing at Riverhead Building Supply and a competitor on the Tour. “The rich history shared between Stafford and RBS makes this partnership a perfect fit to bring the best in Modified racing back to the New England racing community.”

The 2026 calendar also features the return of White Mountain Motorsports Park (June 20), Monadnock Speedway (July 25) and Oswego Speedway (Sept. 5) — all familiar stops for the Tour’s loyal fanbase. Claremont Motorsports Park is also back on the schedule for the first time since 2022.

Classic short tracks remain the heartbeat of the series.

Seekonk Speedway (Massachusetts) will host races on May 16 and July 1.

Riverhead Raceway (New York) will stage events on May 30 and Sept. 19.

Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (Connecticut) returns with three marquee events: the Icebreaker on April 12, a mid-summer midweek race on Aug. 5, and the Tour’s season finale on Oct. 11 as part of the World Series of Speedway Racing.

2026 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule

Date Track
Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026 New Smyrna Speedway
Friday, March 27, 2026 Martinsville Speedway
Sunday, April 12, 2026 Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
Saturday, May 2, 2026 Oxford Plains Speedway
Saturday, May 16, 2026 Seekonk Speedway (J&R Precast 150)
Saturday, May 30, 2026 Riverhead Raceway
Saturday, June 20, 2026 White Mountain Motorsports Park
Wednesday, July 1, 2026 Seekonk Speedway
Friday, July 10, 2026 Claremont Motorsports Park
Saturday, July 25, 2026 Monadnock Speedway
Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026 Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026 New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Friday, Aug. 28, 2026 Stafford Speedway (Riverhead Building Supply 150)
Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026 Oswego Speedway
Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026 Riverhead Raceway
Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026 Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park