NORTH WOODSTOCK, N.H. — The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour invaded White Mountain Motorsports Park Sunday afternoon for the Thunder in the Mountains 200.
In the end, point leader Patrick Emerling claimed his second consecutive victory after starting from the pole.
Emerling maintained a comfortable lead early with Matt Hirschman content to ride in second with Tommy Catalano in tow. Catalano decided enough was enough taking the lead on lap 30 with defending NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Austin Beers stealthfully following the New Yorker through.
Beers kept the momentum up to lead lad 42 under Catalano prior to the caution flag for debris that sent Emerling pit-side for a new air cleaner.
Beers continued to lead the fight under green with a pitstop change doing good for Paulie Hartwig III who kept consistency enough to take third by the halfway point. The second caution flew on lap 119 for the slowed Trevor Catalano machine atop turn two with the majority of the field jumping pit-side for tire strategy and adjustments.
Hartwig and Emerling fought hard at the front with Hartwig leading lap 128 before Emerling took lap 129 and began to drive away. Meanwhile the battle for third, fourth and fifth was a wild back-and-forth showdown that included Hirschman, Tyler Rypkema, Stephen Kopcik, Beers and Mike Christopher Jr., among others!
The rest of the journey was hammer down and don’t look back with point leader Patrick Emerling coming back from the early air-cleaner mishap to take the Thunder in the Mountains 200 for his first White Mountain Motorsports Park win with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Austin Beers grabbed second after motoring around Paulie Hartwig III with Tyler Rypkema and Matt Hirschman rounding out the top five.
