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Ryan Newman wins first race of North Wilkesboro Speedway revival in Tour Type Modifieds

On a track that so many nascar stars have sought to win at, it was one longtime cup veteran who got the distinction of taking the track's first checkered flag in many years.

After more than a quarter century as a decaying relic of NASCAR's heritage, the legendary North Wilkesboro Speedway finally came back to life on Tuesday night with cars on track and grandstands packed with fans. And on a track that so many NASCAR stars have sought to win at, it was one longtime Cup veteran who got the distinction of taking the track's first checkered flag in many years.

Former NASCAR Cup Series star Ryan Newman won the first race of North Wilkesboro's Racetrack Revival, taking the checkered flag in the Uncatchable Moonshine 50 for Tour Type Modifieds. Newman took the lead from Spencer Davis with six laps to go, outlasting the dominant driver of the night to win the 50-lap feature.

Matt Hirschman, Ryan Preece, and Burt Myers rounded out the top five.

"This is really special," Newman said in a report by Matt Weaver of Racing America . "I drove by this place for years watching the trees grow up. I didn't know if it would ever be open again. It's a special place. It holds so much history with NASCAR and the Cup Series."

The Tour-type Modifieds led off the @RTRevival at @NWBSpeedway Tuesday night with spectacular side-by-side action over the 50-lap feature. Full highlights are now on https://t.co/S4MfBet6tA : https://t.co/bWrVMOLTOC pic.twitter.com/EtU7GQnxR8 — Racing America (@RacingAmerica) August 3, 2022

Located in the high country of Western North Carolina, the very place where moonshiners once roamed and NASCAR racing began, North Wilkesboro was a stock car racing institution for most all of NASCAR's first 50 seasons, hosting races from the Cup Series' inaugural season in 1949 until well into the mid-1990s. But when track owner Enoch Staley died in 1995, the aging and antiquated facility was sacrificed for the sake of NASCAR's growth.

The track was purchased by Speedway Motorsports Inc., which closed the track after the 1996 season and moved its two race dates to newer facilities in bigger markets.

But after a North Carolina state budget allocated millions of dollars for improvements to North Wilkesboro, Speedway Motorsports Inc. announced in April that the track would be re-opened and revitalized with a focus on becoming a premier facility for short track racing and grassroots touring series. Multiple asphalt series will compete on the track in August, and the fall will see dirt racing at the speedway in between the track's old asphalt being torn up and a new asphalt surface being laid down for 2023.

Newman dedicated his victory to the Parsons family, particularly NASCAR Hall of Famer Benny Parsons and his widow Terri. A Wilkesboro native, Benny Parsons had been very passionate about trying to re-open North Wilkesboro before he died of complications of lung cancer in 2007.

"It meant so much to Benny Parsons to get this place back, to try to get this place back open. It means so much to Terri Parsons and when it's from someone who has become family to you, it becomes personal to you too," Newman said. "To be a part of this, with all the sponsors and people that made it happen, it's a special feeling."

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Battle for the thrones, porsche sprint challenge at barber, rmsha bear valley ski resort, mwdrs xtreme texas nationals, usac midgets at kokomo, lucas oil late models at georgetown, weekly racing at utica-rome, mars late models at brownstown, imca weekly racing at marshalltown, nascar weekly racing at florence, spring sizzler at stafford, nascar weekly racing at berlin, american flat track at texas, keith kauffman classic at port royal, big names on inaugural smart modified tour king of the modifieds entry list, a big field full of modified stars is descending upon south boston speedway for the smart modified tour's inaugural "king of the modifieds".

The biggest race in SMART Modified Tour history is shaping up to be a can’t-miss event. With $20,000 on the line, a stout field of drivers will call South Boston Speedway home this Saturday during the inaugural King of the Modifieds event. 

2024 SMART Modified Tour King of the Modifieds at South Boston Speedway

Let’s take a look at the drivers expected to be in the pit area for the race. The full list of current entries can be found at the bottom of this story. 

The Outsiders

One of the biggest surprises to hit the entry list is Doug Coby.  The Connecticut driver is a six-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Champion. He is entered in the potent Tommy Baldwin Racing No. 7NY.  Besides the North South Shootout and some Whelen shows south of the Mason-Dixon Line it’s rare to see Coby at a race outside of the northeast region. The 35-time NASCAR Whelen Mod winner will be making his SMART Modified Tour debut in the King of the Modifieds. 

Matt Hirschman, one of the most successful Modified racers in the country is entered in the Pee Dee Motorsports No. 60 Modified. He’s no stranger to SMART competition.  Since the re-birth of SMART, Hirschman has won nine of 15 races entered with the Tour, giving the 60-car a staggering 60-percent win ratio. He led laps in both races this year but has had bad luck following him with a spin at Florence Motor Speedway’s Peanut Patch 99 and a flat tire in the Warrior 100 at Caraway Speedway. 

Modified veteran Chris Pasteryak is another northern name that has added himself to the list of outlaws looking to capture the King’s crown. His uncle Carl and father Charlie were synonymous with Modified racing for years in the northeast.  Chris is a 13-time winner and two-time Champion with the Milton CAT Modified Racing Series in New England. 

Woody Pitkat was the first of the invaders to throw his hat into the chase for Kingship.  The Stafford Springs, Connecticut native is one of the all-time winningest drivers at Stafford Motor Speedway. He sits second to only Ted Christopher with 83 wins at the Connecticut half-mile. Pitkat knows how to win big races having won his hometown Spring Sizzler in 2015. Pitkat will be piloting the Doug Dunleavy-owned No. 88 machine at South Boston. 

New Jersey speedster Jimmy Blewett has been racing on the SMART Modified Tour in 2023 preparing for the King of the Modifieds. Blewett finished sixth in the season opener and fourth in the Warrior 100 at Caraway Speedway and is fourth in the championship standings with the Jamie Tomaino owned No. 99 car. Blewett will bring his family-owned red-white-and-blue No. 76 car from the Garden State to go for the King’s crown at South Boston. The driver known as “Showtime” has hinted that with partner support he may attempt to race the full SMART Modified Tour schedule in 2024. 

The Best Of The South?

15-year-old Carson Loftin leads the SMART Modified Tour points thus far in 2024 opening the season with back-to-back wins. After his sophomore campaign saw the Clemons, NC driver win Rookie of the Year honors and come painfully close to victory, the young driver is filled with confidence after his first two career victories.  He dueled Matt Hirschman at the Peanut Patch 99 season opener and held off 2008 Daytona 500 Champion Ryan Newman in the Warrior 100 at Caraway Speedway.  Not bad for a high-school student.

Ryan Newman and his new-ride in Randy Renfrow’s No. 2 is producing results in the first two races of the SMART Tour season. He has third and second place finishes to open the season. Newman, an 18-time winner in the NASCAR Cup Series is looking for his first SMARTY trophy. He did win in the SS Racing Modified at North Wilkesboro Speedway in 2022 Southern Modified competition. Newman has scored four wins on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway.  

Newman and the No. 2 team tested at South Boston Speedway for the King of the Modified event.  

“I think we are almost there,” said car-owner Randy Renfrow at the practice session. “We are learning some things with Ryan and are almost to where we want to be.” 

Brandon Ward was one of several cars testing at South Boston.  With a ninth and 16th place finish in the two-races thus far, Ward is looking to get his season back in the right direction in a big-way going for big money at South Boston with the New Day Motorsports Team.

Three-time SMART Modified Tour Champion Burt Myers was among the teams testing at the speedy Virginia track. He loves South Boston Speedway but has never won at the historic track. “This place is fast and really is a true Modified track,” said Myers. “We tested on real old tires to make sure we will have a good car for the race. I want to win this one bad. I’ve come so close to winning here and want to add it to the list. I’ve heard about the crown and robe. Being crowned King of the Modifieds and winning that money sure would be nice.” 

 Joey Coulter IV has two top-ten finishes in his Rum-Runner Racing gray No. 02.  Coulter tested his Modified at South Boston in preparation for the King of the Modifieds and was boasting about how fast and fun it is to wheel a Modified around the superfast Virginia oval. The former NASCAR Truck Series winner has two career SMART Tour wins in 23 starts. 

Speaking of Trucks, occasional NASCAR trucker Danny Bohn is quietly third in SMART points with two top-ten finishes to start the season in the Buddy Ellis-owned Amerifast No. 24. Bohn has five top-five finishes at South Boston dating back to the old NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour days. 

Brian Loftin won the 2023 spring SMART race at South Boston, taking the checkers in the “Flying VA Classic” race in honor of Ray Hendrick.  

Luke Baldwin’s rookie campaign has started out nicely in the No. 7VA PSR Modified owned by Senator Bill Stanley and former NASCAR star Hermie Sadler. The 17-year old has been impressive in his Tour-type Modified initiation finishing 5th and 7th in his first two starts and sits in fifth in points heading into the King of the Modifieds. 

Richest Race In Modified History?

Examining the history of Modified racing, there haven’t been a boat-load of, what the Motorsports industry would consider, big-pay shows. The historic division has had a few Crown Jewel type events but major money races are somewhat rare within the division. Historically, Modified racing has been built on passion not prize money.

The Monaco Tri-Track Series’ created a great annual tradition in 2005 with the Open Wheel Wednesday event at Massachuset’s Seekonk Speedway. In 2022, Matt Hirschman banked the annual 10-thousand-dollar winners check and another eight-thousand in bonus money. The annual Spring Sizzler at Connecticut’s famed Stafford Speedway is considered by many to be one of the biggest Crown Jewels in Modified racing.  Last year’s edition saw Ron Silk take home over 30-thousand dollars by winning the preliminary night feature, the Saturday Spring Sizzler main coupled with bonus lap money. Taking the way-back-machine you can point to 1985 when Chemung, New York’s Brett Bodine took home over 19-thousand dollars in winnings at the Pocono Raceway “Race of Champions” event in the Sheri-Cup No. 12 car. “Magic Shoes” Mike McLaughlin won over 18-thousand in prize money at the 1985 Bud 200 at upstate New York’s Oswego Speedway. All the way back in 1979, nine-time NASCAR National Modified Champion Richie Evans pocketed over 19-grand in a Modified at the Daytona International Speedway road course. 

Where does the SMART Modified Tour King of the Modifieds rank?  With an overall purse of over 100-thousand dollars rivals most-any race total in asphalt Modified history. For Southern Modifieds it boasts a bigger purse than any researched at the time of this story. The 125-lap race at South Boston Speedway will pay 20-thousand dollars to the winner, 10-thousand dollars to second place and $1200 to the last place finisher.  

In a day and age of big money races across dirt track Auto Racing, it’s always good to see high paying races surfacing to elevate the platform of asphalt racing.

KING OF THE MODIFIEDS ENTRY LIST

• Pavement Late Models
• Pavement Modifieds
• SMART Modifed Tour
• South Boston Speedway

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Results Speak For Themselves

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