THOMPSON, Conn. — Patrick Emerling delivered team owner Rich Gautreau his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory in perfect fashion Wednesday night at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.
Emerling was not only fastest in both practice and qualifying aboard Gautreau’s No. 1 Fleetworks Inc. Modified, he also led every lap of the Thompson 150 to earn his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory in nearly three years.
The win by Emerling makes him the seventh consecutive different winner in NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour competition in as many events.
Emerling believed a victory was inevitable based on the consistency they’d displayed leading into Wednesday’s race, but he admitted he was pleasantly surprised with the team’s performance Wednesday evening.
“We’ve had a dominant car the last three races and we’ve been building momentum,” Emerling said. “This is our first year racing as a team and we executed pretty well at [Thompson]. That was probably the fastest car I’ve ever driven in my life and it’s awesome to finally get a win at Thompson.”
Justin Bonsignore, who trailed Ron Silk by one point in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings prior to Wednesday, made a charge on Emerling during the closing laps but had to settle for second. He commended the efforts of Gautreau and Emerling for having such a dominant car, adding he needed more from his own Modified to challenge for the lead.
“[Emerling’s] car was just really good,” Bonsignore said. “Track position would have been nice if I could have gotten the lead on the start. We were starting to run him down a little bit with 15 to go, but I got stuck in lapped traffic a little worse than he did and then the car gave up on the rear tires. All in all, a really good night.”
Bonsignore’s runner-up finish, combined with Silk’s seventh-place finish Wednesday, has allowed Bonsignore to lay claim to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship lead for the first time this season. He leads Silk by four points with six races remaining.
Craig Lutz finished third at Thompson on Wednesday evening, with Jon McKennedy and Tommy Catalano completing the top five.
The finish:
Patrick Emerling, Justin Bonsignore, Craig Lutz, Jonathan McKennedy, Tommy Catalano, Matt Swanson, Ron Silk, Austin Beers, Trevor Catalano, Eric Goodale, Andrew Krause, Tyler Rypkema, Anthony Sesely, Tim Connolly, Woody Pitkat, Doug Coby, Andy Jankowiak, Roger Turbush, Tyler Catalano, Ken Heagy, Dave Sapienza, Matt Hirschman, Steven Kopcik, Kyle Bonsignore, Chase Dowling, Jake Johnson.