CLAREMONT, NH – Empire State Modified star Patrick Emerling won the 150-lap NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Clash At Claremont Friday at the storied Thrasher Road third-mile, outdistancing a stellar field of open-wheel rocketships to top his first series win of the season.
Emerling was one of three main event winners Friday at the Claremont Motorsports Park oval, as Josh Vanada and his JDV Productions team served up another night-for-the-ages show in the second running of the Clash event, the first since 2022.
Granite State Pro Stock Series ace DJ Shaw led all the way to top Friday’s GSPSS 100-lap feature, and SMAC 350 Super Modified hot shoe Justin Harris made a late race pass to win the winged missile’s 50-lap main event.
Matt Hirschman, gunning for his second JDV Whelen Midsummer Championship three-track mini series victory after a win ten days earlier at Seekonk, set fast time in qualifying Friday. One of 16 drivers to blister the track in sub-14-second laps, the Keystone State ace toured the third-mile in just 13.645 seconds. A top six redraw, though, would place him third on the 150-lap starting grid.
Emerling and Mike Christopher Jr. sat up front, as Whelen Engineering’s Hailey Mitchell threw the green flag on the night’s top event. Just behind them, the dynamic duo of Hirschman and Jon McKennedy – the first Clash winner four years earlier – blasted off.
Emerling had done his homework for this one.Competing here in an MRS event back on June 19, he’d finished second to McKennedy in that one. What he’d learned that night would pay big dividends Friday in the Clash At Claremont.
The Orchard Park, NY star took control at the drop of the green, bringing Hirschman and 15-year-old Paulie Hartwig III with him. The top trio would run glued together in that order until the event’s only caution on lap 19, which took series points leader Stephen Kopcik out of the money and they would then resume their battle for supremacy again.
Hirschman, fully focused on duplicating his Seekonk success, blasted to the point on lap 32, with Emerling still racing under the same blanket but now in second. McKennedy got up for third on lap 36 and the three-man charge was on.
While McKennedy strutted the stuff that’s guided him to victory lane many times at Claremont, on this night the win would surely be decided between Emerling and Hirschman. Emerling made his final pass to the front on lap 96, rocketing through the bottom of turn two to lead by a wheel the next trip around.
Once in front, he was clearly the class of the show, darting off to win by six lengths ahead of Hirschman, who finished the night still atop the Whelen Midsummer Championship points parade. McKennedy was strong in third, with Austin Beers at his bumper for fourth. Hartwig, in the top five all night, came home fifth.
Friday’s JDV Clash At Claremont 150 afforded the locals their first up-close look at Hartwig, who may be the face of the future for the Whelen Modified Tour. It was the New Jersey young gun’s second top five of his rookie campaign. The winner of his first crate motor Modified feature when only 11, he’s now a rising star at 15.
Home state ace DJ Shaw had all bases covered in Friday night’s Granite State Pro Stock Series action at CMP. Setting fast time in qualifying with a lap of 13.936, the Center Conway blaster then started up front in the 100-lap main event and never looked back en route to his sixth career victory at the fast third-mile.
Cory Casagrande and Joey Pole raced wheel-to-wheel for second in the caution-free 100, with Casagrande prevailing for runner-up honors, but this one was all Shaw’s in the second round MDP Motorsports Productions 2026 Triple Crown event.
With Shaw prevailing by a healthy 15-length margin over Casagrande, Pole was strong in third, series points leader Jeremy Sorel fourth, and Tom Carey III came home fifth.
The winged warriors of the SMAC 350 Super Modified series had the fastest cars on the track Friday. Making their first run under the JDV Productions banner, the USNE wingers staged a dandy.
Justin Haris set fast time with a sizzling lap of 12.770 seconds, but a redraw put hometown hot shoe Haydon Grenier – 12.840 in his fast qualifying circuit – on the pole for the night’s 50-lapper.
Many-time CMP Modified champ Brian Robie, firing from row two, took charge on lap two and it looked like a hometrack one-two for he and Grenier until Mike Netishen’s ride pulled up lame on lap 42, with Robie then suddenly dropping pitside under caution.
Robie’s demise moved Grenier back to the top spot, but Harris wasn’t done yet. Blasting past Brad Babb for second, Harris then took the lead on lap 44 and sailed off to victory.
A past CMP winner in Dwarf Car action, Harris’ Friday night win was his first SMAC score at the Thrasher Road speedplant. Grenier’s strong runner-up performance was his best yet in the wingers, taking the checkers just ahead of Rusty Poland.
Paul Buzel was fourth under the flags Friday, with Brad Babb – the SMAC winner here just a few weeks back – rounding out the top five. Robie returned from his pit visit to finish eighth on the night.
JDV Productions and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will serve up another thrilling night of action on Saturday, July 25, when they return to the high banks of Monadnock Speedway for the fifth annual Duel At The Dog Energized by USNE Power. For tickets to this blockbuster show, visit the JDV Productions website.
JDV CLASH AT CLAREMONT JULY 1O TOP TENS
NASCAR WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR: Patrick Emerling, Matt Hirschman, Jon McKennedy, Austin Beers, Paulie Hartwig III, Max Zachem, Teddy Hodgdon, Mike Christophen Jr, Eric Goodale, Andrew Molleur.
GRANITE STATE PRO STOCK SERIES: DJ Shaw, Cory Casagrande, Joey Pole, Jeremy Sorel, Tom Carey III, Evan Beaulieu, Joey Kendall, Dan Winter, Jamie Wright, Chris Riendeau,
SMAC 350 SUPER MODIFIEDS: Justin Harris, Haydon Grenier, Rusty Poland, Paul Buzel, Brad Babb, Tom Harwood, Mike Spurling, Brian Robie, Bradley Osgood, Mike Netishen.
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