February 8, 2025
New Smyrna Beach, FL — The 40th season of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour started with a bang. In a night full of yellow flags, lead changes, and close calls, it was Patrick Emerling who ultimately came out on top.
Emerling had his work cut out for him from the drop of the green flag, starting from deep in the field and having to avoid carnage at what felt like almost every corner. Several yellow flags contributed to a wild variance in tire strategy, producing several comers and goers.
In addition to Emerling, names such as Baldwin, Beers, Lutz, Catalano, and Newman all claimed the top spot at one point or another.
For Emerling specifically, his stint at the front came when it mattered most. Shortly following a caution with around 25 laps remaining, Emerling worked his way into the lead. Withstanding one last restart in overtime, Emerling propelled to the lead once more, holding off Craig Lutz and Justin Bonsignore to take home the win.
“I think we have the best crew in the garage, best team, best everything,” said Emerling to FloRacing in victory lane. “This is incredible, but it’s what we expected to do.”
“We made it a little harder on ourselves, had a little motor issue and started dead last today. I’ve won races like that before in this series. It can put you on a different schedule, a different pit cycle, and it can get you there.”
Second place finisher Craig Lutz was also a beneficiary of pit strategy, making his way to the front when it mattered the most.
“We wanted this one bad for a fellow team member of ours that we lost at Martinsville, we were trying like hell. Had a great car. The best car won, but we gave it a fight.”
To say that third place finisher Justin Bonsignore had an up-and-down race is an understatement. Cutting a tire and getting a subsequent penalty for purposefully bringing out the yellow certainly didn’t help. Neither did tapping the outside wall with the right rear of his car. While the defending champ didn’t continue his winning streak, he certainly has some decent momentum rolling into the rest of the season.
“Just a wild night,” sighed Bonsignore. “Tire went down like a half lap into the restart, and there’s really nothing you can do. Just gotta take that penalty. You’d be four to five laps down if you come down pit road. Then off of [Turn] 2, I just ran out of talent and knocked the fence down. That probably knocked the rear out of alignment, but we just fought back.”
Unofficial New Smyrna Visitors Bureau 200 Results
- Patrick Emerling
- Craig Lutz
- Justin Bonsignore
- Luke Baldwin
- Austin Beers
- Stephen Kopcik
- Eric Goodale
- Ryan Newman
- Ron Silk
- Andrew Krause
- Tyler Rypkema
- Brian Robie
- Trevor Catalano
- Tony Catalano
- Matt Hirschman
- Max Zachem
- Mark Stewart
- Tyler Catalano
- Ken Heagy
- Dave Sapienza
- Mike Marshall
- Tyler Barry
- Norman Newman
- Gary McDonald
- Chris Hatton
- Jeremy Gerstner
- Kyle Bonsignore
- Frank Fleming
- Chase Dowling
- Brian Sones
- Jacob Lutz
Liberty Racing Review’s 2025 race coverage is presented by Patriot Media & Marketing Solutions.
Patriot Media & Marketing Services was founded in 2018 by racers who want premium branding for an affordable price. They offer a full suite of marketing services and have the experience and resources to make sure your brand is reaching its full potential. Whether you’re looking for graphic design, social media management, or apparel development, they can help. Patriot’s team is passionate about what they do, and they are dedicated to providing quality service at an affordable price. Contact them today to learn more!
Photo: Jason Reasin
Liberty Racing Review 