Jon McKennedy has far more than 225 laps of driving ahead of him to sweep the two Tour-type Modified anchors of Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park’s season-opening Icebreaker weekend.
With plenty of sunlight left on Saturday, McKennedy and his team were in a good place.
The reigning and two-time Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series champion scored his first win of the year in the Propane Plus Heating & Cooling 75, opening the series’ 13th season on the first day of competition at the historic Connecticut oval.
Under any sanction, McKennedy has the setup to get around Thompson’s high banks.
“We definitely have a good package here for sure,” he said. “Between the [Outlaw Open Modified Series] shows last year and this, this is like five in a row at Thompson.
“But big picture, I want to really have a good run tomorrow at the NASCAR Modified Series.”
The winner of the Monaco Modifieds’ inaugural Thompson visit in 2024, McKennedy was a powerhouse in Thompson’s all-star weekly division last year, racking up multiple wins while also claiming a runner-up finish in the Race of Champions’ debut last October.
But the Chelmsford, Mass. open-wheel ace rolled off ninth Saturday, with Steven Chapman and Ronnie Williams leading the 30-car field to the green. Williams asserted himself out front early as Chapman settled into his new seat in the Gary Casella-owned No. 25.
Eric Berndt charged to the lead on lap 19, with McKennedy carving through traffic to take second shortly before a lap-36 yellow flag for Chase Grennan’s troubles off turn two. Berndt led the field to pit road under yellow, but trouble on his pit stop left him mired deep in the pack for the restart.
A frantic restart scramble handed the mid-race lead to Mike Christopher, Jr., who put the Jimmy Paige No. 00 at the head of the pack with McKennedy assuming second. McKennedy closed the gap to Christopher, but could not get past, while Williams held off a hard-charging Patrick Emerling for third. As McKennedy pressured Christopher for the lead, perennial contender Ron Silk peeled off the banking on lap 52, pitting with terminal issues.
Christopher could only keep McKennedy at bay so long, though, with McKennedy finally stealing the lead with the laps winding down.
Joey Cipriano’s spin in front of the leaders breathed new life into Christopher’s hopes, drawing the caution and bunching up the field with only four laps to go. But as the green waved, McKennedy powered away from the field, leaving Christopher to hold off Emerling’s last-ditch efforts.
In the final four circuits, McKennedy gapped the field by 1.169 seconds en route to his fourth career Monaco Modified win and his first since 2024.
Christopher’s runner-up finish matched his best series effort in only a handful of starts for the Connecticut stalwart. Emerling, a nine-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour winner, celebrated his own series best with his third-place result.
Jake Johnson overcame handling issues to finish fourth, while early leader Williams rounded out the top five.
A handful of drivers competing Saturday also planned to stick around for Sunday’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Icebreaker 150. Conspicuously absent on Saturday was Matt Hirschman, the nine-time Monaco Modified champion. Hirschman outran McKennedy in last year’s Race of Champions debut, but did not unload the familiar red entry to start the season.
McKennedy and his team were content to celebrate the big win regardless. Despite the string of open-show success at Thompson, McKennedy went winless in his Monaco Modified title pursuit last year. And McKennedy has had some narrow losses at Thompson in NWMT competition at Thompson, most notably running out of fuel late in 2018 and coming up short in last year’s Icebreaker.
“I know last year we won the pole, led a whole bunch of laps, came out of the pits like 17th, came in leading, and the race was over at that point,” he said. “This year, the guys are doing good. Hopefully tomorrow we get a really good race too.”
How much Saturday’s win factors into Sunday’s strategy is up in the air, though, with the NASCAR Tour making only its third start on American Racer tires. The Monaco Modifieds continue to favor Hoosiers as their tire of choice.
“At the end of the day, we’re on those American Racer tires tomorrow, and you know, those things are just hockey pucks,” McKennedy said. “Half a second slower, and kind of our notebook we have for these tires, nothing works for those tires. So it’s definitely a learning curve. As confident as I am, it’s hard to be real confident. And you’ll see a lot of good guys struggle on those tires. I know guys like Matt Hirschman, they’re struggling too. Those tires are a whole different deal.
“But we’ve got to eventually figure ‘em out and learn.”
More importantly, the McKennedy team had to load up and head back to Massachusetts. After their World Series Weekend win in 2024, McKennedy and crew tried to swap their car over to meet the NASCAR rulebook, but ran short of time to make the grid on Sunday. This year’s adventure will be markedly easier for the team.
“My NASCAR Modified’s at home,” he said. “Just gonna go home and swap the two cars out of the trailer.”
And after the back-and-forth, McKennedy will angle for the weekend sweep at a track that has become his playground over the last few years, with wins not only in Tour-type Modifieds but in winged Supermodifieds as well.
That the weather cooperated with teams and fans for the first time in years didn’t hurt.
“I thought today was overall a great day,” he said, “as far as people in the pits, good car counts, and what I could see of the stands, it looked like we had a pretty good crowd too. What can you say? This is a great track for racing, and people love watching the Modifieds here.
“Shoutout to [Thompson promoters and lessees] Tom Mayberry, Cris Michaud. At the end of the day, those two guys keep this deal going.”
Unofficial Results
Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series | Propane Plus Heating & Cooling 75
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, Thompson, Conn.
1. (79) Jon McKennedy
2. (00) Michael Christopher, Jr.
3. (1NY) Patrick Emerling
4. (15MA) Jake Johnson
5. (50) Ronnie Williams
6. (179) Austin Beers
7. (06) Tyler Chapman
8. (58) Eric Goodale
9. (11CT) Eric Berndt
10. (8) Kyle Bonsignore
11. (5CT) Chris Pasteryak
12. (25) Steven Chapman
13. (89) Matt Swanson
14. (92) Anthony Nocella
15. (85) Trevor Catalano
16. (76) Brett Meservey
17. (88) Woody Pitkat
18. (51CT) Joey Cipriano
19. (07) Teddy Hodgdon
20. (39) George Bessette, Jr.
21. (6) Troy Talman
22. (55X) Nickolas Hovey
23. (19) Jeffrey Battle
24. (31) Noah Korner
25. (1) Stephen Kopcik
26. (16) Ron Silk
27. (04CT) Dylan Izzo
28. (38) Chase Grennan
29. (76CT) Dana DiMatteo
30. (20) Paulie Hartwig III
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