Matt Hirschman left Oswego Speedway with a sour taste in his mouth last year.
The Northampton, Pennsylvania, driver started from the pole and led 117 laps driving the No. 60 PeeDee Motorsports Chevrolet but found himself trailing the back bumper of Ryan Preece in the final laps.
A day of qualifying in the top spot, leading the most laps and ending with a podium was exactly what he was looking for when he drove into the track. But he wanted to finish one spot further up in the field.
“Anytime you get passed for the lead after leading as much as we did, it’s disappointing,” Hirschman said. “But at the same time, it was a really strong performance for us. Since then, everytime we have been out, we have finished inside the top three. We’ve really been stringing together a lot of good, solid days.”
Now, with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour steering back in the direction of the Oswego Speedway for the Toyota Mod Classic 150 presented by McDonald’s next Saturday, Hirschman is looking for a little redemption. He will look to seal his first victory since 2008 on the circuit at a track he is familiar with.
Even though it will only be his second Whelen Modified Tour start at Oswego, Hirschman does have modified experience with the Race of Champions division, and has been to Victory Lane before.
“When we first started PeeDee Motorsports, we built it from the ground up,” Hirschman said. “We wanted to attend the 2016 Oswego race, but we just missed on being 100 percent prepared to be there. I think my Oswego experience would’ve possibly outweighed the regulars that year. It was a first time venue for almost everyone. In year three, I don’t feel like there is an advantage there for me.”
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Much like Patrick Emerling, who competes in the modified ranks of upstate New York, Hirschman hasn’t been running the full calendar in Whelen Modified Tour competition. Last year, he only put three starts on the board, but finished inside the top-10 in two of them. And, in three starts so far this year, Hirschman has three straight finishes of third-place.
But the 2018 edition of the Oswego event introduces a whole new animal for teams to attack: live pit stops. He thinks that will play a major factor.
“It could drastically affect the outcome of the race,” Hirschman said of those live pit stops. “I have put together a crew to go over the wall with some people that don’t work with us all the time, just because I’m trying to put together the best possible team that we can. We probably will have a crew go over the wall with maybe four of five different states. Practicing isn’t really an option, but we just want to put the best possible people in place. I’m excited, but I’m very realistic about what we are up against.”
Even though he has plenty of experience at the New York oval, even Hirschman is still tuning on the setup under the hood.
“I think for anyone, the inside wall, it takes time to get used to it,” Hirschman said of what it takes to get around the track. “Growing up, my father had a lot of success there, so it was a place I really looked forward to driving at. It took me a while for me to win there, but once I did, we have had a lot of success there.”
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