NASCAR Modified Tour Lancaster preview

The next track up for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour is one of the more unique facilities on the schedule, Lancaster Motorplex.

Since opening in 1959, Lancaster has served as a multi-purpose racing facility for several different motorsports disciplines. Along with hosting a vibrant weekly series platform, Lancaster also has a functional dragway that encompasses the frontstretch on the .625-mile oval.

Modified Tour competitors will utilize every aspect of Lancaster’s surface as they look to build crucial momentum over the second half of 2024. With only two previous events to lean on for guidance, Lancaster presents several unknowns for experienced and new competitors alike.

Despite this, plenty of drivers entered in Saturday’s Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 have logged copious track time at Lancaster in other divisions. Knowledge and patience will be invaluable for competitors if they wish to depart Lancaster with a checkered flag in hand.

Tickets to the Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 can be purchased here. Below is everything to know for the ninth race of the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season.

What to watch for

Both previous Modified Tour winners at Lancaster Motorplex are on the entry list for Saturday’s Nu-Way Auto Parts 150.

The most recent of the two, Austin Beers, is still searching for his first victory of 2024 following an impressive sophomore campaign that saw him acquire two checkered flags. Beers has displayed plenty of speed with a pole in his last race at Monadnock Speedway and three consecutive second-place runs earlier in the year.

Veteran Patrick Emerling claimed the inaugural NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at Lancaster in 2021. Emerling is enjoying a solid debut season in the No. 1 Fleetworks Inc Modified owned by Rich Gautreau, but he enters the Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 seeking to deliver his first victory in almost three years.

Trevor Catalano is determined to become the third different Lancaster Modified Tour winner following his breakthrough victory at Monadnock Speedway two weeks ago. Catalano looks to parlay that triumph into another stellar streak of races after he opened his rookie year with two consecutive top fives.

Everyone in the field will have to contest with both Ron Silk and Justin Bonsignore, who currently find themselves in a heated battle for the Modified Tour championship. Bonsignore holds an advantage over Silk at Lancaster with two top fives, but Silk maintains a narrow eight-point lead with eight races remaining.

Ken Heagy is set to make his 200^th Modified Tour appearance this weekend. Joining him on the entry list are Matt Hirschman, Andy Jankowiak, Jake Lutz, Tyler Rypkema and Tim Connolly, among others.

Race facts

Schedule and procedures

Schedule: Saturday, August 3 … Final practice from 4:15 to 5 p.m. ET … Qualifying at 6:45 p.m. ET … Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 at 8 p.m. ET (FloRacing).

Qualifying: Two consecutive qualifying laps. Faster lap determines qualifying position. Adjustments or repairs may not be made on the vehicle after the vehicle as taken the green flag at the start/finish line. NASCAR reserves the right to have more than one vehicle engage in qualifying runs at the same time. Starting field for the Nu-Way Auto parts 150 is limited to 26 starters including Provisional Positions.

Tire allotment: The maximum tire allotment available for this event is eleven (11) tires per team. All tires used for qualifying and race must be purchased at the track and scanned by Hoosier, unless otherwise approved in advance by the Series Director. Four (4) tires must be used for qualifying and to begin the race. All qualifying tires must remain in impound until released by NASCAR Officials. The remaining tire allotment may be used for practice and/or change tires during the event. The tire change rule is two (2) tires per caution.

Heagy to make 200th start

Saturday’s Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 at Lancaster Motorplex will see one of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s most seasoned drivers reach a milestone start.

Ken Heagy, who has been a part of the series since making his official debut at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park back in 1987, is making his 200^th appearance as he seeks to put together his best performance of the 2024 season.

A native of Calverton, New York, Heagy’s experience on the Modified Tour alone exceeds the current lifespan of many of his competitors. He has placed inside the top 10 on nine different occasions over his three decades of racing, his best performances being sixth-place runs at Riverhead Raceway in 2008 and Bristol Motor Speedway in 2012.

The most recent top 10 Heagy scored came at Riverhead last September, where he persevered to finish 10^th despite being five laps behind race-winner Justin Bonsignore. Although he lacks resources of his contemporaries, Heagy’s passion to excel on the Modified Tour is still prevalent going into his 200^th start.

Heagy looks to claim his 10^th career top 10 on Saturday night at Lancaster, where his best performance through two appearances was a 13^th he obtained during the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s inaugural race at the facility in 2021.

Emerling chasing first win with Gautreau

When the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour visited Lancaster Motorplex for the first time in 2021, Patrick Emerling ended up taking home the checkered flag.

A lot has changed for Emerling in the three years since that victory, but he is still a regular presence at the front of the field. Now partnered up with Rich Gautreau, Emerling looks to finally deliver him a victory in Saturday’s Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 at Lancaster.

Emerling prevailing would not only give Gautreau a checkered flag in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, but also snap his own three-year winless drought in the series. The last time Emerling claimed a Modified Tour checkered flag was at Riverhead Raceway in September 2021.

Despite the prolonged dry spell, Emerling has come close to visiting Victory Lane several times during his first year with Gautreau. He has five top-five finishes to his name on the 2024 season, which includes leading 35 laps during the most recent Modified Tour event at Monadnock Speedway before settling for third.

Emerling’s consistency current has him fourth in the point standings and on the precipice of earning an overdue victory for himself and Gautreau.

NOTES:

• Trevor Catalano surprised many in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour garage area by fending off Ron Silk at Monadnock Speedway for his first career victory. Catalano seeks to keep the momentum going at Lancaster Motorplex, a track where his brother Tommy earned a sixth-place finish last year.
• Andy Jankowiak is back with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour this weekend after last competing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in June. Currently a part-time competitor in the ARCA Menards Series, Jankowiak is fresh off a victory in Lancaster’s Sportsman division back on July 20.
• In his first career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour start at Seekonk Speedway in June, Jacob Lutz put together an impressive performance that resulted in a sixth-place finish. Lutz is back behind the wheel of Joe Stearns’ No. 14 Modified for the Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 as he looks to record his first top-five showing.
• Veteran driver Bob Reis has not run a professional touring event since 2013 at Oswego Speedway. Although he has made sporadic qualifying attempts since then, Reis will get a chance to showcase his experience Saturday at Lancaster Motorplex in his Modified Tour debut piloting his own No. 10.

Updated standings

1. Ron Silk
2. Justin Bonsignore -8
3. Jake Johnson -41
4. Patrick Emerling -46
5. Austin Beers -51
6. Kyle Bonsignore -65
7. Craig Lutz -73
8. Trevor Catalano -79
9. Tommy Catalano -105
10. Matt Hirschman -132

Entry list