Patrick Emerling conquers Claremont and takes control of the Whelen Modified Tour title fight

Patrick Emerling proved Friday night that hard work pays off.

In preparation for the Clash at Claremont, Emerling and the No. USNE Motorsports team made an extra trip to Claremont Motorsports Park a few weeks ago. They used that event as an opportunity to prepare for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at the track a few weeks later.

That preparation paid off in spades after Emerling secured his first victory of the season Friday night at Claremont, which served as Round 2 of JDV Productions’ Whelen Midsummer Championship miniseries.

“This whole team works hard. We came here and ran a few weeks ago to figure out the track a little bit. We missed it a little bit in the race and finished second,” Emerling said. “It’s the determination of the team. We put in the effort to go race another race here to get a feel for the track and then we just made our adjustments, and we unloaded that much stronger today.”

Emerling qualified fourth but had the good fortune to draw the pole in the pre-race redraw, which allowed him to lead the field to the green flag.

He led the opening stanza of the race, but perennial contender Matt Hirschman utilized a restart just past Lap 30 to drive around Emerling to take the lead.

Emerling paced himself and slowly reeled Hirschman back in during the long green-flag run. With 56 laps left, Emerling was on Hirschman’s rear bumper. Two laps later Emerling worked to Hirschman’s inside and completed the pass to regain the lead.

Hirschman kept Emerling honest for the final 50 laps, but Emerling held serve and drove to his first Modified Tour victory of the season and 10th of his career.

The victory makes Emerling just the 24th driver in Modified Tour history to earn 10 or more victories.

The win also propelled Emerling to the top of the Modified Tour championship standings after Stephen Kopcik, who entered the race as the points leader, finished last after fighting power steering issues all night.

“I’ve just got to give it up to the whole USNE Power Energizer No. 1 group and everyone involved,” Emerling said. “We kind of had a little bit of a slow start to the season. We were kind of struggling.

“We’re just working on getting in our groove, and we’re finally kind of getting that going.”

Hirschman, who was the only driver eligible to win a $10,000 bonus offered to any driver who could sweep all three rounds of the Whelen Midsummer Championship following his victory at Seekonk Speedway on July 1, admitted Emerling simply outpaced him during the final run to the checkered flag.

“I just needed to be a little tighter and have a little better drive longer than it lasted. I think the best car won tonight, the best handling car,” Hirschman explained. “They just outlasted us tonight. Once he got to me, I kind of knew I was in trouble.”

Jon McKennedy, the most recent Claremont winner prior to Friday night, finished third. Austin Beers was fourth, and rookie Paulie Hartwig III finished fifth.

Max Zachem, Teddy Hodgdon, Mike Christopher Jr., Eric Goodale and Andrew Molleur were sixth through 10th, respectively.

There is no rest for the Mod Squad, as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returns to action next Saturday, July 18 for the running of the rescheduled Thunder in the Mountains 200 at White Mountain Motorsports Park. FloRacing will provide live coverage of the event beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

NWMT Clash at Claremont
July 10 2026
Claremont Speedway

1. Patrick Emerling
2. Matt Hirschman
3. Jonathan McKennedy
4. Austin Beers
5. Paulie Hartwig III*
6. Max Zachem
7. Teddy Hodgdon*
8. Mike Christopher Jr.
9. Eric Goodale
10. Andrew Molleur
11. Tyler Rypkema
12. Tommy Catalano
13. Trevor Catalano
14. Joey Cipriano
15. Jayden Harman*
16. John-Michael Shenette
17. Cory Plummer*
18. Ken Heagy
19. Stephen Kopcik

Updated standings

Patrick Emerling
Austin Beers -5
Jon McKennedy -9
Stephen Kopcik -10
Eric Goodale -34
Matt Hirschman -40
Tyler Rypkema -49
Tommy Catalano -55
Teddy Hodgdon -58
Mike Christopher, Jr. -64
Trevor Catalano -73