Hirschman Wins J&R Precast 150, Scoring Third Straight NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Seekonk Win
Not a single person doubted the prospect of Matt Hirschman delivering yet another dominant performance at Seekonk Speedway on Sunday, this time in the J&R Precast 150.
Sure enough, after sweeping the afternoon’s pair of practice sessions and qualifying on the Hoosier Tire Pole, the 42-year-old scored his third consecutive Modified Tour victory at Seekonk.
Hirschman, who now has 10 victories on the Tour, won the series’ visits in 2023 and 2024, as well. He had not won a Tour race since last year’s Seekonk event; this, despite the fact that he entered Sunday with the most laps led on Tour this season. He now has at least one series victory in five consecutive seasons.
“This car was torn up after North Wilkesboro,” Hirschman said of his increasingly iconic No. 60 Pee Dee Motorsports Modified. “We worked countless hours on this. … Just want to thank all the people who help us here.
“This has always been a tough race track, but it’s a race track I really like. I enjoy coming here and look forward to coming here. It’s not an easy place to duplicate things or do it three times. You have to race the track as much as you do the competitors here. I’ve lost some tough ones over the years here, too. So to put a whole day together today … just can’t ask for a better day. And we really needed it after what our last day was at North Wilkesboro.”
Thanks in part to a redraw that moved the pole winner to the third starting position, the big move for “Big Money” on Sunday occurred during the second restart of the race. Hirschman restarted outside of redraw pole-sitter Justin Bonsignore and held his ground in the upper groove for several laps. With 121 of 150 circuits still to run, Hirschman powered by Bonsignore for the lead.
Hirschman experienced little resistance from that point. He managed his tires knowing he likely would not pit from the lead, a strategy that paid off when a caution with 54 to go sent more than a dozen contenders to the pits for a tire change.
Hirschman and Bonsignore stayed out, but the latter was no match for the former as Hirschman drove away from the field.
Not even a late caution for debris could spoil Hirschman’s day at Seekonk. The race’s final restart arrived with just two laps to go, and Hirschman utilized a smooth entry into Turns 1-2 to reclaim the lead for good.
On the final lap, Bonsignore, still fighting to get back to Hirschman, got loose coming off Turn 2. He spun and collected multiple cars on the backstretch, resulting in the event’s only pile-up. The yellow flag marked the end of the race.
“Obviously we didn’t want to see a caution at all,” Hirschman said. “We survived it. It’s going to take laps to get back hooked up. Of course, you want to protect the bottom from first, but that also hurts your center corner speed. (Bonsignore) was able to cross over and get a run. … I gave him the space he earned. … I think he got loose; I don’t know what happened from there.”
After the last-lap chaos, Stephen Kopcik was credited with a second-place finish. Austin Beers, who came agonizingly close to winning last year’s Seekonk race before Hirschman stole the show, finished third. Jake Johnson finished fourth in his second race of the season for JMA Motorsports, which considered Seekonk a home event. Trevor Catalano ran fifth. Kyle Bonsignore, rookie Tyler Barry, Chase Dowling, Kyle Ebersole, and Eric Goodale finished sixth through 10th, respectively.
Justin Bonsignore, the defending Modified Tour champion, was relegated to an 11th-place finish as a result of his last-lap crash. He led his first laps of the young season early in Sunday’s race.
Luke Lebrun Comes Out on Top for Second Late Model Win
SEEKONK, Mass. — Defending Seekonk Speedway Late Model champion Luke LeBrun came out on top of a hotly contested battle with veteran Charlie Rose to win Sunday’s 45-lap NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Late Model feature at Seekonk Speedway.
Continuing their battle from a week prior, it was LeBrun and Rose who would decide the feature win of the first round of the Everett’s Auto Parts Triple Crown Series.
The two battled side-by-side, traded paint, and raced their guts out for the lead over the second half of the race. In the end, it was LeBrun who got clear with a few laps remaining and drove on to score his second win of the young season, four races in.
Rose, who won the week before, finished in second. Connor Souza charged up to the top two in the final laps and made a run, but was able to come home with a strong third. Chase Belcher and Andrew Gomes rounded out the top-five.
Jacob Burns, Bobby Pelland, Ryan Vanasse Jr., Mark Jenison, and Richie Murray finished the top-10.
The Late Models will be back on the track on Saturday, June 7, for a 30-lap main event. For more information on Seekonk Speedway, visit SeekonkSpeedway.com and follow the track on social media.
Serydynski Snags His Second Sportsman Win of the Season
SEEKONK, Mass. — Consistency has been the name of the game for Scott Serydynski Jr. in the early part of the Helger’s Sportsman season at Seekonk Speedway. Sunday afternoon, in the fourth race of the season, he parked his No. 22 in Victory Lane for the second time. Serydynski jumped out front and drove away from a slipping and sliding field to take down the victory on NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour day at the races.
Serydynski is now joined by Colby Lambert (who finished second on Sunday), Jeremy Lambert (fourth) and Adam Pettey (fifth) as drivers to have finished in the top-five in all four of the first races of the season.
It was Serydynski, Colby Lambert, Josh Gerard, Jeremy Lambert and Adam Pettey who finished the top-five in Sunday’s 25-lap feature.
Doug Benoit, Jacob Burns, Nick Wood, Adam Giacomozzi and Austin Flanagan finished the top-10.
The Helger’s Sportsman will be back on the track on Saturday, June 7, for a 25-lap main event. For more information on Seekonk Speedway, visit SeekonkSpeedway.com and follow the track on social media.
Jake Vanada Wins His First Sport Truck Feature of the Year
SEEKONK, Mass. — Jake Vanada has definitely had an up-and-down start to the season at Seekonk Speedway in the Sport Truck division. After his Truck motor expired the first week and he had to race in a borrowed ride, Vanada has proven the last few weeks he has the speed to get the job done.
Sunday, he did just that in front of a packed house.
Vanada picked up his first win of the season in the No. 29, holding down the field in the final laps and winning by nearly two seconds. It was Mike Cavallaro, who now has four podium finishes in four races, finishing in second on Sunday afternoon. Tim Bolger Jr finished third, while Ethan Heilborn and Radical Rick Martin completed the top-five.
They were followed by Daryl Church, Colton Teague, Amy Helger, DJ Thibeault, and Dane Saritelli.
The Sport Trucks will be back on the track on Saturday, June 7, for a 35-lap main event in the second round of the Everett’s Auto Parts Triple Crown Series. For more information on Seekonk Speedway, visit SeekonkSpeedway.com and follow the track on social media.
Sources: Ed St. Germain & Souza Media/Seekonk Speedway