A dominant performance from Ron Silk in Wednesday’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Icebreaker 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park was nearly derailed during the final pit sequence of the evening.
While attempting to exit pit road, Silk made contact with his long-time Modified Tour rival Justin Bonsignore and spun. The contact resulted in damage to the front of Bonsignore’s Modified while Silk continued without losing any track position.
Silk was unfazed by the pit road incident as he quickly worked his way around Patrick Emerling during the closing laps to reclaim the lead. With Emerling playing defense against the rest of the pack, Silk cruised to his 27th career Modified Tour win and his eighth overall at Thompson.
“I was pretty confident if I got a good restart and got to the lead, I would be able to hold them off,” Silk said. “My car drove great. The first 40 laps or so we were a little bit free, but we fixed that on the pit stop. The car was just spot-on after that.”
Thompson has always been a significant track in Silk’s career on the Modified Tour, as his first three triumphs in the series came at the facility.
Joining Haydt Yannone Racing in 2022 proved to be a catalyst in Silk recapturing the efficiency he enjoyed at Thompson. Aside from his first campaign with Haydt Yannone, Silk has now won at least one race at Thompson each year piloting the silver No. 16.
Finding his way to Victory Lane on Saturday evening required Silk and crew chief Phil Moran to be sharp with pit strategy. An early caution provided Silk and Moran the opportunity they needed to shift momentum in their favor, as Silk utilized fresh tires and adjustments to charge toward the front of the field.
Silk was untouched at the front of the pack until a spin by Craig Lutz with 27 laps remaining brought most of the field back into the pits. Once Silk shook off the contact from Bonsignore, he had to quickly dispatch both Emerling and Jake Johnson to regain the lead.
He comfortably did just that.
Emerling, who was piloting a Geoff Bodine tribute scheme, endured an eventful evening of his own. After losing control of his Modified on Lap 64, problems in the pit lane for Emerling resulted in his falling a lap behind the leaders, which he quickly regained on an ensuing yellow flag.
Going off-sequence from the leaders enabled Emerling to salvage a runner-up finish. Emerling was pleasantly surprised by the outcome, one that could prove to be beneficial in his quest for a Modified Tour title.
“That was an absolutely insane run by the team,” Emerling said. “We got stuck a lap down, but luckily there was quick caution there. We got our lap back and we passed a ton of cars. Our car was feeling good on those old tires, but that was an insane run.”
Following Silk and Emerling home in the third was Trevor Catalano, with Austin Beers and Bonsignore completing the top five. The rest of the top 10 consisted of Chase Dowling, Stephen Kopcik, polesitter Jon McKennedy, Tommy Catalano and Matt Swanson.
The next event on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule is the Cheshire County Clash 200 at Monadnock Speedway on May 3, which also marks the start of the Whelen Short Track Cup. FloRacing will have coverage of the on-track action starting at 6 p.m. ET.
1. 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountian Machine/ Future Homes 150
2. 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc 150
3. 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power & Construction 150
4. 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply 150
5. 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communication Inc 150
6. 44 Chase Dowling S&S Paving/ Harshaw Paving 150
7. 21 Stephen Kopcik Newtown Pools/Wanick Contruction 150
8. 79 Jon McKennedy Christophers Towing 150
9. 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara/USNE 150
10. 25 Matt Swanson Ceravolo’s Auto/Mully’s Auto Repair 150
11. 60 Matt Hirschman Elite Towing 150
12. 22 Kyle Bonsignore MTT/ChaLew Performance/Munns Auto 150
13. 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 150
14. 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotive 150
15. 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE/Northeast Drilling 150
16. 59 Tyler Barry* Pro Systems/BNP Machine 150
17. 81 Mark Stewart* Cromers Market/ Keith Grimes Excavating 150
18. 24 Andrew Krause Supreme Manufacturing 150
19. 82 Woody Pitkat Gunsmoke Stables Racing 150
20. 88 Roger Turbush Rheem 150
21. 11 Eric Berndt Alliant Insurance Services 149
22. 20 Max Zachem USNE/Lu-Mac’s 149
23. 18 Ken Heagy Avon Prime Meats 149
24. 12 Brian Sones* Dennis Wenner 147
25. 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 144
26. 07 Jake Johnson Lin’s Propane/Propane Plus 141
27. 55 Teddy Hodgdon IV* Montanari Fuel/Business Time Motorsports 141
28. 29 Mike Marshall* MLM Diagnostics 139
29. 63 Dylan Slepian Eastport Feeds 68
