Posted on by Brandon White

A healthy contingent of stars are set to descend upon Berlin Raceway on Wednesday evening for the prestigious Battle at Berlin 250.

Serving as Berlin’s second crown jewel event after the Money in the Bank 150, which was won by Erik Jones earlier this year, the Battle at Berlin 250 is offering a total purse of $90,900 for drivers, with the winner receiving a total of $30,000.

RELATED: Watch Wednesday’s Battle at Berlin live on FloRacing

Throughout its history, the Battle at Berlin has typically favored local drivers such as Boris Jurkovic, Kyle Crump and Brian Campbell. The most recent winner is defending Berlin track champion Evan Shotko, who saved his tires and took the lead from Campbell with 44 laps remaining last year.

The hometown heroes of Berlin will have their work cut out for them Wednesday evening as they look to keep the trophy in Michigan against many of the best drivers from both NASCAR and Super Late Model competition.

Below is everything you need to know about Wednesday’s Battle at Berlin 250 at Berlin Raceway.

Battle at Berlin
(Photo: Nic Antaya/ARCA Racing)

What TV Channel is the Battle at Berlin 250 on in 2023?

All the on-track action for the Battle at Berlin 250 can be viewed live on FloRacing, the official streaming home for all NASCAR Roots properties.

The event will not be shown on a traditional television network.

Below is the complete schedule for FloRacing’s coverage of the Battle at Berlin 250.

Date Start Time How to Watch
Wednesday, Aug. 9 6:30 p.m. ET FloRacing

Race-day schedule

This year’s Battle at Berlin will take place Wednesday, Aug. 9. The event is headlined by the 250-lap Super Late Model feature, with a 50-lap Limited Late Model race being the only support show of the night.

Below is the complete race-day schedule at Berlin Raceway (all times ET).

Time Event
9:30 a.m. Pit pass window opens
10 a.m. Pit area opens
11 a.m. Race tires sold and impounded
12 p.m. Super Late Model Drivers / Spotters meeting
1-1:40 p.m. First Super Late Model practice
1:50-2:30 p.m. Final Super Late Model practice
3:30 p.m. Super Late Model tech
4:10-4:30 p.m. Model Coverall Limited Late Model practice/qualifying
4:40-5 p.m. Model Coverall Limited Late Model practice/qualifying
5:45 p.m. Super Late Model qualifying
6:27 p.m. Invocation / National Anthem
6:30 p.m. Battle at Berlin Last Chance Race (40 laps)
Immediately following… Model Coverall Limited Late Model feature (50 laps)
Immediately following… Driver introductions
Immediately following… Battle at Berlin 250 pres. by Tekton (250 laps)

Battle at Berlin entry list

The top divisions of NASCAR are well-represented in this year’s Battle at Berlin.

Leading the way is 2023 Money in the Bank 150 winner Erik Jones. During the early years of his career, Jones found plenty of success at Berlin by winning his lone ARCA Menards Series race at the facility along with two Battle at Berlin 251 triumphs in 2015 and 2016.

Joining Jones on the entry list is William Byron, who won Berlin’s Money in the Bank 150 in 2022. Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott is also making the trip to Marne, Michigan on Wednesday. So is Josh Berry, who will pilot the No. 71 for TK Racing.

Carson Hocevar, who has two Money in the Bank 150 wins on his resume, will try for his first Battle at Berlin victory before continuing his quest for a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title on Friday at Lucas Oil Raceway.

Other notable names set to take part in Wednesday’s race include defending winner Evan Shotko, Bubba Pollard, Derek Kneeland, Jesse Love, Gio Ruggiero, Derek Griffith and Brian Campbell.

Below is the complete entry list for the Battle at Berlin 250.

Car No. Driver
08 Tony Elrod
1 Chris Munson
4 Erik Jones
9 Chase Elliott
12 Derek Griffith
14 Carson Hocevar
16 Jacob Gomes
18 Chase Burda
18 Keith Herp
20 Austin Hull
20 Jesse Love
22 Gio Ruggiero
22 Evan Shotko
24 William Byron
24 Tyler Roahrig
24 Dylan Stovall
26 Bubba Pollard
27 Ken Wobma
28 Cole Butcher
28 Kevin Cremonesi
28 Scott Thomas
33 Wes Griffith
44 Trevor Sanborn
45 Michael Simko
47 Brian Campbell
50 Kyle Crump
53 Boris Jurkovic
71 Josh Berry
76 Brian Tillema
88 Andrew Scheid
90 Derek Kneeland
101 Joe Bush
131 Blake Rowe

Race format

The field for Wednesday’s Battle at Berlin will be set by qualifying and a Last Chance Race. Competitors will make two consecutive laps during qualifying, with the quickest of the two serving as the official time.

Any driver who is among the fastest 24 in qualifying will automatically lock into the 250-lap main event. The remaining cars will then compete in the Last Chance Race, with the top four finishers transferring to the main event.

Positions 29-30 are determined by the Promoter’s Option.

The starting lineup is determined by qualifying times followed by the transfers and provisional starters. Competition cautions will occur every 50 green flag laps.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

BROOKLYN, Mich. — After the completion of the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, we can hold the following truths to be self-evident: 

• Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing is officially “back.”
• Chris Buescher is rapidly gaining elite status as a driver.
• Ford maintained its dominance in the Irish Hills.
• Chase Elliott will have to win one of the next three races to make the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
• The fastest car didn’t win Sunday’s race.

In an extended, dramatic, nail-biting green-flag run to the finish, Buescher held off hard-charging Martin Truex Jr. to win his second straight Cup Series race. 

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Michigan

With team co-owner Brad Keselowski finishing fourth and Buescher winning — the ninth straight victory for Ford drivers at the 2-mile speedway — RFK can claim bragging rights as the top Ford team in the Cup garage, at least for now.

When the race resumed at Lap 75 on Monday after a postponement from Sunday because of rain, Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet wasn’t on the track, having crashed out in 36th place on Lap 35 the day before.

Elliott’s deficit to the playoffs’ elimination line grew to 55 points; realistically, the 2020 series champion will have to win one of the next three races to avoid missing the postseason for the first time in his career.

Eight days after winning his first race of the season on the 0.75-mile Richmond Raceway short track, Buescher proved himself a formidable competitor lap after lap in holding off Truex, whose No. 19 Toyota arguably was the fastest car in the race.

With Truex closing the distance between the cars over the final six laps, Buescher roared off Turn 4 and crossed the finish line 0.152 seconds ahead of the runner-up.

“This Castrol Mustang was so good in practice, qualifying,” said Buescher, who picked up his fourth career victory. “Gave me a great car again. Had to work for that one, too, hard racing at the end.  

“Martin was very clean with me. I appreciate that. Get to go to Victory Lane two weeks in a row. That’s pretty awesome.”

With 13 laps to go, Truex had his best chance. Buescher slipped slightly off Turn 4, and Truex pulled alongside. The No. 19 Camry edged ahead to the inside, but Buescher doggedly kept Truex beside him for nearly two laps. 

Rounding Turn 4 on Lap 188 of 400, Buescher held Truex’s car to the bottom of the track, forcing Truex to slip and lift off the gas. Truex also had to clear the lapped car of Michael McDowell as Buescher opened a gap of 10 car-lengths. 

That gave Buescher enough of a margin to hold off Truex for the win over the final 11 circuits. 

“I think we needed maybe a little bit longer run to wear the tires some more,” said Truex, who swept the first two stages and increased his series lead to 57 points over second-place Denny Hamlin, who finished third on Monday. “I feel like we were a little better. It’s hard to pass the leader on equal tires. 

“We had an unbelievable car today. Hats off to everybody that puts in the work on these things. … It was a rocket. The leader in clean air is really, really hard to pass. Just didn’t quite have enough. All in all, a good day. 

“Tough to get a win here. We’ve been really good in the past. Just can’t get it done. Hopefully, I don’t know, maybe next year.” 

Kyle Larson finished fifth, followed by Daniel Suárez, Ross Chastain, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney and Erik Jones. Ty Gibbs came home 11th and supplanted McDowell in the 16th and final playoff-eligible position. McDowell trails Gibbs by three points, with Suárez five points back. 

With Buescher winning his second race and qualifying for the postseason, all the single-race winners this season also clinched playoff berths on Monday: Christopher Bell, Chastain, Blaney, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 

Bell, the Michigan pole winner, damaged his car severely with a spin into the wall on Lap 65 on Sunday, but after repeated trips to pit road for repairs, he salvaged a 13th-place result. 

Three contenders were sidelined during the early going Sunday, with 74 laps completed before rain forced the postponement. Among them were Kyle Busch, Elliott and William Byron — all of whom retired with damage after contact with the outside retaining wall.

Byron finished 35th, Elliott 36th and Busch was last in the 37-car field after incidents in the opening stage. Busch completed 14 laps before his contact with the No. 12 Ford of Ryan Blaney sent his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet into the outside barrier. Twenty laps later, Elliott was out after a tire issue on his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, and Byron — his teammate — exited after a wall scrape on the last lap of Stage 1.

MORE: Trouble for Elliott, Byron at Michigan

Xfinity Series regular Josh Berry finished 34th as a substitute for the suspended Noah Gragson after a crash early in Stage 2. Berry was making his ninth Cup Series start this season and his first in Legacy Motor Club’s No. 42 Chevy.

The Cup Series’ next race is the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard, scheduled Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.

Notes: Buescher becomes the first driver for the Roush Fenway Keselowski operation to win consecutive races since Carl Edwards went back-to-back in 2010. … Post-race inspection was completed in the Cup Series garage without issue, confirming Buescher as the Michigan winner. … Competition officials indicated that six cars will return to the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, N.C. The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and the No. 22 Team Penske Ford will be brought back for further inspection, and both cars will join the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota and the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet for engine dynamometer testing. Additionally, the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet and the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevy will be kept for wind-tunnel testing.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Cameron Richardson

BROOKLYN, Mich. — Mother Nature won the day Sunday at Michigan International Speedway as the NASCAR Cup Series race saw a delayed start and was ultimately postponed 74 laps into the 400-miler.

Six caution flags waved in the early portion of the FireKeepers Casino 400, with four cars going to the garage and retiring from the event.

Tyler Reddick is the current race leader, with Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr. and Erik Jones rounding out the top five.

RELATED: See running order after 74 laps

Despite not reaching the halfway point at Michigan, there were a handful of takeaways from the race so far.

Editor’s note: The race will resume Monday at noon ET on USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and the NBC Sports App.

BIG-NAME DRIVERS HAVING ISSUES

Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott and William Byron all crashed out on Sunday due to separate incidents. On Lap 14, Busch spun into the wall after a hard battle for position with Ryan Blaney in Turns 1 and 2, resulting in a 37th- and last-place finish for the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

Twenty laps later, Elliott had a tire go down that sent the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet into the wall in Turn 2. The DNF for Elliott forces him into a must-win situation entering the final three races of the regular season as he will leave the Irish Hills with just one additional point after entering Sunday 40 points below the playoff cutline.

Elliott’s teammate William Byron made contact with the wall off Turn 4 that was enough to put the No. 24 behind the wall.

MORE: Recap the issues for the Hendrick Motorsports duo

IT’S ANYBODY’S RACE

Toyota drivers have led 38 of the 74 laps so far but varying strategies through Stage 1 and thus far through Stage 2 have jumbled the running order.

Truex Jr. looks to be the best of the Toyota bunch as he stormed to the lead on Lap 30, pacing the field for a current race-high 30 laps after starting fifth.

Bowman, who currently sits 21st in points and 42 points below the elimination line, has led 19 laps and will return to the track on Monday running second. Fellow winless drivers Jones, Austin Cindric, Austin Dillon and Bubba Wallace will sit inside the top 10 when the race resumes.

FORDS STRUGGLING TO FIND SPEED

A ninth Michigan win in a row for the Ford camp doesn’t appear to be in the cards at the moment. Six-time Michigan winner Kevin Harvick started outside the top 20 and has been stuck toward the back all race long. He will resume from the 23rd position on Monday.

Austin Cindric (sixth) and Brad Keselowski (seventh) are the only Fords inside the top 10 as it stands. Keselowski was the only Ford driver to score points in Stage 1 with a fourth-place result.

Posted on by Staff Report

Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and William Byron dropped out of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race early at Michigan International Speedway.

Elliott was the first of the two who found trouble, losing control of his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet after a tire went down in Turn 2 at the 2-mile track. The issue sent the car careening off the outside retaining wall. Elliott had been running ninth in the 37-car field, but his damage was terminal and he drove to the garage.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Michigan

“Yeah, I feel good,” Elliott told NBC Sports after being evaluated and released from the infield care center. “I hate that it happened. It was really early in the day to have a tire blow like that. It was really weird. It’s a bummer, but not surprised.”

Elliott completed just 34 of a scheduled 200 laps and finished 36th in the FireKeepers Casino 400, which was pushed to a Monday finish after persistent rain. The result hinders his long-shot hope of making the Cup Series Playoffs grid on the basis of points, and his outlook is virtually must-win with three races remaining in the regular season.

“Yeah, I mean, I told y’all that the week I got back,” said Elliott, who is now 55 points below the elimination line. “So, nothing’s changed.”

WATCH: Elliott: ‘I think we need to win’ to make playoffs

Byron logged just 12 more laps, scraping the outside wall at the exit of Turn 4 on the final lap of Stage 1. The 25-year-old driver brought the No. 24 Hendrick Chevy to pit road, but the car was too damaged to continue and his day was done.

Byron ended up 35th in the final rundown once the race was completed, hampering his pursuit of the Cup Series’ regular season championship and the 15 playoff-point bonus. Byron remained in third place in the series standings, but he is now 96 points behind Cup Series leader Martin Truex Jr., who finished second Monday.

“I just got loose trying to get stage points there,” Byron said after his own check at the infield care center. “We were dicing it up. We didn’t have the best restart, so we were gaining spots back, but just tried too hard. We’ll just regroup and try to get a good couple of weeks before the playoffs. Just made a mistake — was just trying hard and got loose.”

Posted on by Staff Report

An early crash sidelined Kyle Busch on Sunday in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway.

Busch was racing with Ryan Blaney in a contest for 10th place during Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400, which was pushed to a Monday finish by nagging rain. Busch’s No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet bumped alongside Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford, causing Busch to lose control through Turns 1 and 2.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Michigan

“They all run hard,” Busch said after he was evaluated and released from the infield care center. “They all want to race to crash and, you know, I tried to make a move and in the old days, guys who you’re racing, they let you go and have that spot and work for it later, but this day and age it’s completely different. So I got a guy that ran on my outside and took the air off.”

Busch’s No. 8 Chevy made significant contact with the outside retaining wall. He drove to the garage and retired from the race with just 14 of a scheduled 200 laps complete.

Busch was credited with a last-place finish for the second time in the last four weeks, marking his fifth DNF of the 2023 season. He dropped four spots in the Cup Series standings to ninth place with three regular-season races remaining.

Posted on by Staff Report

Rain has forced the remainder of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Michigan International Speedway to be postponed to a Monday finish.

The FireKeepers Casino 400 started after a one-hour, 43-minute delay, caused by a rain shower that halted the field during pace laps. The field completed 74 of the 200 scheduled laps until more rain dampened the 2-mile oval, bringing the field to a halt on pit road.

RELATED: Leaderboard | At-track photos: Michigan

With rain persisting and daylight waning, competition officials scheduled the race to resume Monday at noon ET (USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM, NBC Sports App).

Tyler Reddick is scored as the race’s leader in the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota. He is just ahead of second-place Alex Bowman, who has led three times for 19 laps in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Kyle Larson sits third, Martin Truex Jr. fourth and Michigan native Erik Jones fifth.

Truex, the Cup Series points leader, claimed his fourth stage win of the year in Stage 1. He has led the most laps — 30 — thus far in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

Four drivers have already retired from the event because of crashes — Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, William Byron and Josh Berry. Berry, an Xfinity Series regular, was subbing in for the suspended Noah Gragson in the No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet.

MORE: Elliott, Byron exit early | Stage 1 wreck ousts Kyle Busch

The event is the 23rd of a scheduled 36 races on the Cup Series calendar. Four races remain in the regular season before the 16-driver playoff field is determined.

Note: The Michigan track announced a multi-year extension with FireKeepers Casino on Sunday to remain as the Cup Series race’s entitlement sponsor. The track and the hotel and casino based in Battle Creek, Michigan, have been partners since 2016.

Posted on by Staff Report

Kevin Harvick came into Michigan as a race favorite with a strong history of success in the Irish Hills, but a tough day of practice and qualifying on Saturday pushed him back in Racing Insights’ projections. After qualifying 22nd and coming in 25th in practice, Harvick dropped from being projected as the race winner to instead finishing fifth.

FANTASY LIVE: Set your roster | Weekend schedule

Meanwhile, vaulting to the top of the list was Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. You might not think of Truex as being a good pick on a big track like the 2-miler at Michigan, but he owns the longest active top-10 streak there at six straight.

Plus, Truex finished first in practice and posted the fifth-best 10-lap average. Truex rolled off fifth when the green flag dropped for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400. The race was postponed due to rain after 74 of 200 laps, setting for a Monday resumption (noon ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), and Truex might have some extra motivation after signing a one-year contract extension to return to JGR in 2024.

OTHERS TO WATCH

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Bell set a blazing pole-winning speed of 193.382 mph in qualifying as he tries to bounce back from some recent subpar performances.

DENNY HAMLIN: Hamlin hasn’t won at Michigan since 2011, but he has two victories here and a top-10 streak of five straight races.

KYLE BUSCH: Busch has six career victories on tracks that are two miles in length, including one win at Michigan.

KYLE LARSON: Larson is a three-time winner at Michigan and has five victories on tracks that are two miles in length.

CHASE ELLIOTT: Elliott has finished in the top 10 in 10 of 12 Michigan starts, including three runner-up finishes.

Projections as of Sunday, Aug. 6.

RACING INSIGHTS’ PROJECTIONS FOR THE FIREKEEPERS CASINO 400

Racing Insights’ advanced statistical formula includes current track, current track type, recent performance, team data and pit-crew data to arrive at a projected winner and full race results.

FinishCar NumberDriver
119Martin Truex Jr.
211Denny Hamlin
38Kyle Busch
424William Byron
54Kevin Harvick
622Joey Logano
79Chase Elliott
812Ryan Blaney
95Kyle Larson
106Brad Keselowski
1154Ty Gibbs
1220Christopher Bell
1317Chris Buescher
1448Alex Bowman
1523Bubba Wallace
161Ross Chastain
1745Tyler Reddick
1843Erik Jones
1999Daniel Suárez
2010Aric Almirola
213Austin Dillon
2214Chase Briscoe
2316AJ Allmendinger
2447Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2541Ryan Preece
2631Justin Haley
272Austin Cindric
2834Michael McDowell
297Corey LaJoie
3038Todd Gilliland
3177Ty Dillon
3221Harrison Burton
3351Cole Custer
3442Josh Berry
3515J.J. Yeley
3662Austin Hill
3778Josh Bilicki
 

Posted on by Dustin Albino

Michigan International Speedway is known for horsepower and speed. That was on full display during Saturday’s qualifying session, as Christopher Bell ran the quickest pole-winning speed since the 2020 Daytona 500. It was the fastest pole speed at Michigan since 2018. On top of that, there are about 15 cars I could think of potentially putting in my fantasy lineup this weekend, which is probably the most of the season. Let’s try to boil it down.

Dustin Albino’s race-day lineup:
Starter 1: William Byron
Starter 2: Christopher Bell
Starter 3: Kyle Busch
Starter 4: Joey Logano
Starter 5: Ross Chastain
Garage pick: Ty Gibbs

NEXT IN LINE: Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin.

RELATED: Set your lineup | Odds for Sunday’s race

RISING: This weekend marks one year since Gibbs’ first top-10 finish. Consistently, he had a top-five car throughout practice and qualifying on Saturday, so this would be a good choice for using the No. 54 Toyota. All hands are on deck for Joe Gibbs Racing to try to get the rookie into the playoffs, sitting just 18 points below the cutline. The last time the Cup Series visited a high-speed track was Pocono, where Gibbs earned his best career Cup finish.

Over the last 10 races, Chastain has seven finishes of 22nd or worse. Since winning at Nashville Superspeedway in late June, the No. 1 team has cracked the top 20 just once in the final rundown. But the Trackhouse Racing team showed up to Michigan with plenty of speed, turning the third best lap in qualifying. Chastain also performed well at MIS last season by leading 29 laps. He just didn’t cap off the race; the same problem he’s had since early May.

FALLING: Harvick has been dominant at Michigan, having won five of the last seven races held at the 2-mile oval. The No. 4 car lacked speed on Saturday, as he ranked 25th in single-car speed during practice and was 18th of 21 cars that made a 10-lap run. Crew chief Rodney Childers is known for making wholesale changes that will improve the handling, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see Harvick contending for another win at Michigan. He’s missed the cut on my lineup.

All six Toyotas were slotted in Group B of practice and qualifying. Denny Hamlin ranked the slowest of the Toyota brigade in practice and missed the final round of qualifying. The No. 11 team has five straight finishes of sixth or better at Michigan, so he should still be considered for your lineup.

FEATURED MATCHUPS

Chris Buescher vs. Daniel Suárez: Buescher is carrying the momentum of his second win for RFK Racing in the last calendar year into Michigan. Suárez has consecutive finishes outside the top 30, but showed improvement in speed on Saturday, as the No. 99 car will start 14th. It’s hard to bet against Buescher, however, as he continues to have the most consistent season of his Cup career.

Ryan Blaney vs. Kevin Harvick: Though Blaney’s numbers at Michigan aren’t superb like Harvick’s have been, he does have consecutive top-five finishes at the track. Harvick tends to make the most out of his days and one should expect improvement from practice and qualifying to the race. But not enough to beat Blaney, who needs to get back on track before the playoffs begin (four finishes of 30th or worse in the last seven races).

Harrison Burton vs. Erik Jones: Jones won earlier this week, marrying longtime partner Holly Shelton. The No. 43 Chevrolet ranked better than Burton in all metrics in practice and qualifying, though neither driver made a 10-lap run. Unless Jones has an issue during the event, would pick him to easily outrun Burton.

Kyle Busch vs. William Byron: From what we saw on track Saturday, this has the potential to be the best matchup of the weekend. Both cars were inside the top five on one-lap and five-lap averages, while the Nos. 24 and 8 ranked first and second on a 10-lap run. Byron had slightly more speed in all three categories and out-qualified Busch by one position. Think either driver could win the race, but going into Sunday, Byron is my choice to score his season-high fifth win of the season.

Posted on by Brandon White

LANCASTER, N.Y. — The second win of Austin Beers’ brief NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour career required him to hold off one of the best drivers in the discipline.

With Matt Hirschman all over his back bumper during the final 10 laps of Saturday’s Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 at Lancaster Motorplex, Beers did everything possible to defend his race lead before gradually inching away from Hirschman by the time the checkered flag was displayed.

The triumph at Lancaster proved to be emotional for Beers in several aspects. He dedicated the victory to both his mother and late crew member Nate Appell Jr.

“This is for Nate,” Beers said in Victory Lane. “We lost him last month, so this one is for him. My mom was here today, and she had to go to the hospital, so this one is for her, as well.”

RELATED: Complete results from Nu-Way Auto Parts 150

By defeating Hirschman on Saturday evening, Beers continued a stellar sophomore campaign on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.

The son of former competitor Eric Beers, who won two NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events between 2005-06, the younger Beers impressed many in the garage area by leading 102 of 150 laps from the pole at Richmond Raceway in March to score his maiden victory.

Since then, Beers has tallied two more poles (Riverhead Raceway and Wall Stadium) with both races seeing him lead more than 50 laps apiece. A 17th in the first Riverhead event is Beers’ only finish outside the top 10 in a year that has seen him complete all but one lap.

Beers carried that efficiency into his first Lancaster appearance on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. A time of 17.317 seconds in qualifying put him third on the starting grid behind Hirschman and three-time series champion Justin Bonsignore.

After dispatching Bonsignore on the first green flag run of the evening, Beers took advantage of a long pit stop from Hirschman to slot into the lead. Hirschman methodically worked his way back through the field to chase down Beers but ran out of time to claim his third win on the season.

A late caution for Anthony Sesely’s crash gave Hirschman one last chance to chase down Beers, but he saw his chances evaporate with every lap Beers led under green.

“We were just making up for lost ground on the pit stop there,” Hirschman said. “To make a better race, we needed a caution. We just gave up a little bit more than I would have liked to have seen. With every lap, [Beers] was inching away and [the pass] would needed to have come on the restart.

“I just didn’t get it done tonight.”

The start of the Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 had the makings of another dominant Hirschman victory after he passed the pole-sitter in Bonsignore. Hirschman’s other two NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour wins in 2023 saw him lead 323 of 325 possible laps.

Although he was disappointed to come home second, Hirschman enjoyed the challenges provided by Lancaster’s unique layout. He hopes the speed and hard work shown on Saturday carries over into his next NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour appearance.

“I enjoy coming to Lancaster,” Hirschman said. I’ve always said this place is made for Modifieds. With that [late] caution, we made a race out of it. I would have liked to come out on top, but we’ll have to try again next time.”

With his victory, Beers joined Patrick Emerling as the only other driver to take home a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour checkered flag at Lancaster. Emerling’s triumph in the inaugural event came in 2021.

Trying to fight off Hirschman to become the second Lancaster winner was far from an easy task for Beers. Although he was flawless on track during the final laps, Beers said the crucial turning point was his crew perfectly executing their lone pit stop to get him the lead, which he did not surrender for the rest of the evening.

“This means a lot, especially with everything that has happened the last month,” Beers said. “Since we switched [tire] compounds, we’ve been struggling a little bit, but we’ve been trying to get back on track. This team did a hell of a job and had a hell of a pit stop.

“They won me this race.”

Beers still has plenty of ground to make up to get back in contention for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour title, but his confidence is high as he looks to add to his win total over the final eight races of the year.

Ron Silk maintained control of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour points lead with a third-place run over Bonsignore in fourth. Chuck Hossfeld completed the top-five finishers.

Tommy Catalano, Doug Coby, Bryan Narducci, Kyle Bonsignore and Kyle Ebersole rounded out the top 10.

A replay of the Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 at Lancaster Motorplex can be seen on CNBC on Sunday, Aug. 20 at 9 a.m. ET.

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour gets a week off before embarking on a mid-week showdown at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. The Thompson 150 presented by FloSports.com will take place on Wednesday, Aug. 16 at 8 p.m. ET, with FloRacing providing coverage of the on-track action.

Posted on by Brandon White

Nu-Way Auto Parts 150

Lancaster Motorplex

Nuway150 Logo

  • Race results
Pos No. Name Sponsor Laps Diff
1 64 Austin Beers Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical/Andrew James Interiors 150
2 60 Matt Hirschman Pee Dee Motorsports 150 0.287
3 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine & Future Homes 150 2.129
4 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc. 150 3.659
5 14 Chuck Hossfeld Advantage Trucks/Anastasi Trucking 150 4.346
6 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprera 150 4.493
7 7 Doug Coby Mayhew Tools 150 4.976
8 3 Bryan  Narducci* Florida Connection 150 6.681
9 22 Kyle Bonsignore Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto 150 7.923
10 5 Kyle Ebersole Ebersole Excavating, Inc. 150 10.229
11 77 Max McLaughlin Curb Records/Mowhawk Northeast 149 1 Lap
12 32 Tyler Rypkema Northeast Driling/MUSCO Lighting 148 2 Laps
13 46 Anthony Nocella Riverhead Building Supply 146 4 Laps
14 9 Tommy Wanick* Wanick Construction Inc. 144 6 Laps
15 26 Gary McDonald Lakeland Ave Landscape Supply/L.I. Wood Heat 142 8 Laps
16 01 Melissa Fifield Pine Knoll Auto Sales 134 16 Laps
17 19 Anthony Sesely Wanick Construction Inc. 128 22 Laps
18 4 Tim Connolly* Connolly Companies LLC 125 25 Laps
19 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood Market & Restaurant 115 35 Laps
20 25 Mike Leaty Northeast Industrial Technologies 112 38 Laps