“Big Money Matt” builds on record books with tenth Race of Champions checkers

For the first time in its 75-year history, the Race of Champions played out on the high banks of Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.

But not even a change of venue could stifle the march of inevitability.

Matt Hirschman dominated the second half of the 150-lap event, winning his tenth Race of Champions and clinching a record eighth RoC Asphalt Modified Series crown.

One of the oldest continuous events in American motorsports, the Race of Champions celebrated its diamond anniversary as part of Thompson’s 63rd Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing. Originally the headliner for Saturday’s World Series schedule, the race was instead the first of two 150-lap Tour-type Modified features on a jam-packed combined final day of the Connecticut oval’s season finale weekend.

Eight other speedways have hosted the iconic event over its history. The one-mile Langhorne Speedway in Pennsylvania hosted the Race of Champions through its closing in 1971, after which the race moved to the defunct Trenton (N.J.) Speedway for five years. Pocono Raceway hosted the race both on its full layout and a 3/4-mile frontstretch course, followed by Flemington Speedway. Oswego Speedway took over the event in 1996, with Chemung Speedrome taking over for a year in 2015 before the race was moved to Lake Erie Speedway in North East, Pa. through last fall’s 74th edition.

While Thompson became the ninth different speedway to host the marquee event, the high-banked 5/8-mile had featured the RoC Asphalt Modified Series four times before. Hirschman won the most recent of those bouts in 2007 and 2008. 

Even though the Northampton, Pa. veteran had not won at Thompson since, Saturday’s feature was a prime opportunity to end that drought. 

However, staging the Race of Champions in the heart of New England’s Modified ecosystem on World Series weekend welcomed a number of wildcards. NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champions Justin Bonsignore, Ron Silk and Jon McKennedy and Connecticut ace Ronnie Williams were among those who threatened to steal a win from the RoC’s own circle.

McKennedy, who won the afternoon’s New England Supermodified Series feature only a couple hours before, brought the field to the green flag alongside Williams. The winner of Friday night’s Outlaw Open Modified Series feature, McKennedy set the pace early on, with Patrick Emerling settling into second place after an early caution.

Hirschman, who rolled off fourth, was content to ride.

A spin for Bonsignore on lap 65 presented an opportunity for pit stops, with the leaders all ducking onto pit road for service. Fast service for Silk got him out of the pits in the lead, with Silk angling for his fourth Thompson win of 2025.

But Silk faltered on the restart, with Hirschman and Emerling sliding under Silk to take the lead. Silk plummeted through the field, nursing a flat tire as Hirschman and Emerling distanced themselves from McKennedy and NWMT points leader Austin Beers.

Silk was ultimately spared on lap 80, with a timely caution keeping him from falling a lap down. Fuel stops were in order for the field as Silk’s team tended to their tire issue.

Hirschman and Emerling took the green flag for the restart, but the field stacked up behind them, with recently-crowned NESS champion Jeffrey Battle vaulting over Eric Goodale’s left front tire. Goodale was able to soldier on, while Battle’s team waved him behind pit wall after a quick check.

Silk was resurgent on the restart, carving through traffic to reach the top five as Hirschman and Emerling remained in control. A long green flag run came to an end with Randall Richard’s crash in turn two, slowing the race again within forty laps of the checkered flag.

On the restart, Emerling washed out high, opening the door for McKennedy to charge back into second. A few laps later, Austin Kochenash crashed in turn one, ending the RoC regular’s afternoon.

Back under green, Hirschman stretched his advantage over McKennedy with 25 laps to go. With a handful of laps remaining, McKennedy’s car began smoking down the straightaways, the same fate that befell him en route to his NESS victory. Suddenly, McKennedy’s runner-up status was in doubt.

Hirschman, meanwhile, coasted to a 2.106-second victory, earning his first win at Thompson since 2008.

McKennedy’s drivetrain held together as he crossed the line second, with Emerling in tow. Silk recovered from his flat tire to finish fourth. Jake Christman climbed to fifth by the finish.

Chris Pasteryak finished sixth, a career best in three RoC starts. Max Zachem ran in the top five before fading to seventh at the end. Beers, racing a chassis his father Eric had driven many years before, ended the evening in eighth. Kyle Bonsignore and Matt Swanson rounded out the top ten.

But the afternoon’s superlatives belonged to “Big Money Matt.”

Hirschman’s tenth win in the Race of Champions leads all drivers. Modified and dirt racing hero Dutch Hoag has five; George Kent, Jr. and Hirschman’s father Tony, Jr. each have four. Hirschman’s ten wins are spread among three tracks; five were won at Lake Erie (Pa.) Speedway, three at Oswego Speedway and one at Chemung Speedrome, both in New York.

With the race paying points toward the RoC championship fund as well, Hirschman scored his 65th RoC Asphalt Modified Series feature win.

While Hirschman’s moniker hints at his history of chasing wins over championships, Saturday clinched his eighth RoC Asphalt Modified Series title and his first since 2015. Despite missing one event, Hirschman handily outpaced Beers and ARCA Racing Series regular Andy Jankowiak to lock down the crown. 

It has been a change-of-pace year for Hirschman, who has been competing with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour for his first full-season effort since 2011. Hirschman’s attention is usually directed toward the regional Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series, but the nine-time MMTTS champ has only run part-time in the series this year with a single victory. 

That win came at Seekonk Speedway, where the Monaco Modifieds wrap up their schedule in another week. Hirschman has ten wins at the “Cement Palace,” seven of them under the MMTTS banner. 

The Race of Champions schedule may be over. But Hirschman still has more races to win.

Unofficial Results
Race of Champions Asphalt Modified Series | 75th Annual Race of Champions
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, Thompson, Conn.
1. (60) Matt Hirschman
2. (79) Jon McKennedy
3. (11) Patrick Emerling
4. (16) Ron Silk
5. (48) Jake Christman
6. (5) Chris Pasteryak
7. (20) Max Zachem
8. (9) Austin Beers
9. (8) Kyle Bonsignore
10. (25) Matt Swanson
11. (51) Jayden Harman
12. (58) Eric Goodale
13. (15) T.J. Bleau
14. (3) Daren Scherer
15. (50) Ronnie Williams
16. (66) Austin Kochenash
17. (0) Randall Richard
18. (07) Justin Bonsignore
19. (19) Jeffrey Battle
20. (73) Andy Jankowiak
21. (81) Jack Ely
22. (80) Jacob Perry

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