WINCHESTER, N.H. – Modified racing superstar Ron Silk led early and often Sunday afternoon at Monadnock Speedway, topping the NASCAR Whelen Modified Series 200-lap Cheshire County Clash at the high-banked quarter-mile.
Sunday’s victory was the Nutmeg State hot shoe’s 28th career win on NASCAR’s fastest circuit. Other winners on the same card included Midget racing king Randy Cabral, who blasted to both a first and a second in NEMA events, and Todd Taylor, fastest of the fast in the Evolve Pro Truck feature.
The weekend Whelen twinbill was the series’ first-ever back-to-back endeavor held at the same track, with Sunday’s clash run on the heels of Saturday’s 200-lap Duel At The Dog biggie. The Duel event, rained out a month ago, was incorporated into the huge weekend pairing when promoter Josh Vanada and NASCAR rolled up their collective sleeves,
Sunday’s Clash, though, wasn’t run without a hitch, as Vanada’s JDV Productions team had to work flawlessly through two rain delays to complete the show. The Whelen 200, while held up by a 35-minute delay, ran all 200 circuits – start to finish – without pause.
Austin Beers set fast time in qualifying Sunday, but after a redraw, it was Silk and Justin Bonsignore who sat up front as the 21-car field went to battle. Silk pounced all over the opening lead, and would hold it for 56 laps, many with Saturday night’s runner-up, Patrick Emerling, draped all over him.
While Silk would have his way in this one, leading 101 of the 200 laps en route to victory, many eyes were on Matt Hirschman – Big Money Matt – who would run a savvy race to third and, with it clinch the top spot in the three-race Whelen 2025 Short Track Series and, with it, the lion’s share of the $20,000 series jackpot.
The key to Hirschman’s success happened on a lap-78 caution, with much of the field ducking pitside for new rubber. Hirshman shrewdly stayed out, taking the lead and, with it, the top spot in the Short Track Series point standings.
But the deciding factor in the race occurred 93 circuits later. With Emerling holding a slight advantage, he and Silk touched ever so slightly in turn three, sending Emerling around and Silk back into the lead he would never relinquish.
Justin Bonsignore, an ace of five career wins on the high banks, was quickly up to second but could never find his path to the front, while Hirschman, aboard his ill-firing ride, came home third, good enough to edge Austin Beers by a single point for the Short Track title, his second in the annual three-event series.
Anthony Nocella and Trevor Catalano – the winner here a summer ago – rounded out Sunday’s top five, while Emerling was disappointed in eighth, and Saturday night’s winner Tommy Catalano came home tenth.
It takes some very special talent to become an eight-time NEMA champion, and Randy Cabral has it.
Sunday, Cabral rocketed from third to first on lap four, took the lead from potent Mike Horne on the eighth go-round, and charged off to win the caution-free Marvin Rifchin Memorial Race. While he didn’t drive off into the sunset in this one, he had the field covered, hitting the checkers two lengths ahead of Horne.
Dangerous One Paul Scally was third in the fast-paced event, with Braydon Egan and Matt O’Brien rounding out the top five.
Zach Martinez won the NEMA Lites 40-lap nightcap, holding Cabral to second and Empire State hot shoe Mike Pernsiglio to third. Points leader Kyle Valeri soared home fourth, and Joey Bailey was fifth.
The Evolve Pro Truck Series, doing double duty on the busy JDV Productions Cheshire County Clash weekend, sent 18 trucks to the green Sunday.
Todd Taylor, firing from row four, took charge on lap 39 and sped off to victory. Finishing a single length behind, Nikolas Frechette scored his second runner-up finish of the weekend. Top gun Randy Burr’s nightmare weekend continued, as a lap-24 looper dropped him far out of the money.
NASCAR WHELEN MODIFIED CHESHIRE COUNTY CLASH 200 TOP TEN: Ron Silk, Justin Bonsignore, Matt Hirschman, Anthony Nocella, Trevor Catalano, Joey Cipriano, Luke Baldwin, Patrick Emerliing, Austin Beers, Tommy Catalano.
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