Triple Play: Matt Hirschman Wins Richie Evans Memorial At New Smyrna; Chuck Hossfeld Gets Title

Matt Hirschman celebrates victory in the Richie Evans Memorial 100 Friday at New Smyrna Speedway (Photo: Jim DuPont)

NEW SMYRNA, FLA – Matt Hirschman went to the 2019 World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing as the reigning Tour Type Modified champion of the division. 

Friday at New Smyrna Hirschman closed out the 2019 World Series by showing competitors that, despite not winning another title, he is the reigning king of Modifieds at speedy Florida oval. 

Hirschman, of Northampton, Pa., dominated on the way to his third consecutive World Series victory of the week in the Richie Evans Memorial 100 Friday at New Smyrna Speedway. 

“This is the biggest of the week, but man to win three in a row is incredible,” Hirschman said. “Before we left the last thing my dad said to my son and I was to win some races, so we just got three in a row. … We didn’t end up winning the points … but we kind of dominated the end of speedweeks here and I’ve never done that before.” 

The event closed out five consecutive nights of Tour Type Modified events at New Smyrna. Hirschman won the final three events of the week. He also had a second place on opening night Monday. His only hiccup of the week came when he was caught up in an early wreck on Tuesday and finished 18th.

“It’s just such a grind,” Hirschman said. “For this week plus, all eyes of the short track world are on New Smyrna and speedweeks down here. This is just so cool to come down here with a group of guys and just work your rear ends off. We wrecked Tuesday bad, almost thought we were done. Just worked hard, put it back together and I found my groove.” 

It was Hirschman’s seventh career Tour Type Modified victory at New Smyrna and his third victory in the Richie Evans Memorial. He became the first driver to win the John Blewett III Memorial 76 (Wednesday) and the Evans Memorial in the same week. 

“To win the Blewett Memorial and now the Evans Memorial, the two biggest races of the week, these guys just worked hard,” Hirschman said. “… With all the hard work from my dad at home to all these guys here, it’s just a great accomplishment. This is one where I’m talking a lot because I’m really pumped. Three in a row, this is a nice streak.” 

Jimmy Blewett of Howell, N.J. was second and Anthony Nocella of Woburn, Mass. third in Friday’s 100-lap feature.

“Matt and his guys they do their homework,” Blewett said. “They don’t call him ‘Big Money Matt’ for nothing. My guys came here with a great car, I couldn’t ask for anything more.” 

Chuck Hossfeld celebrates the New Smyrna World Series Tour Type Modified division championship Friday (Photo: Jim DuPont)

Chuck Hossfeld of Ransomville, N.Y. used a seventh place finish Friday to clinch the division championship for 2019. Hossfeld also had finishes of fifth, fourth, second and third respectively over the course of the week at New Smyrna. He also won the Tour Type Modified event on Feb. 9 at Bronson Speedway in Archer, Fla. kicking off Modified Speedweek in Florida. 

It was the second Tour Type Modified division championship at New Smyrna for Hossfeld, who also won it in 2012.

“This morning I was thinking about the championship meaning more than the race,” Hossfeld said. “Our car was not good enough to win the race. We had to hold off Doug Coby with like 15 [laps] to go and luckily we did that. … We had a great week, a fun week and my car is as pretty as when it came. It’s not all beat up like some of the other guys cars. I joked around and said I had the prettiest car and the prettiest girl and the best guys and we finished strong so I’m really proud of what we did.” 

Pole sitter Doug Coby led the first 40 laps, but on lap 41 Hirschman went by him for the lead. From there it was the Hirschman show at the front of the field as he went unchallenged the rest of the way.

Coby opened the week Monday by winning the Tour Type Modified division feature at New Smyrna, the first of his career at the track. Ryan Preece got the division’s victory on night two on Tuesday.


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Comments

  1. His next two races are in the Pee Dee at Myrtle and Richmond. I wouldn’t wager against him.
    He’s done these streaks before where he gets in a groove and everything goes right.
    A performance even his detractors have to admire even if they don’t acknowledge it here.

  2. Congrats to ” big money ” Matt Hirshman for winning the Richie Evans/ Ted Christopher Memorial 100. This win along with winning the Blewitt Memorial 76, and a third race, makes a statement. Congrats to Chuck Hossfield on winning the Speedweeks “tour type” modified championship. TROYER came out on top winning 4 of 6 races, as well as the championship. Still unsure if either guy was running the TROYER TA3. Congrats to both again.

  3. Driver A finishes: 2,3,4,5,7
    Driver B finishes: 1,1,1,2,18

    In what universe does A win the championship over B?
    Point system is seriously flawed.

  4. Andrew,
    Not sure how flawed the system is flawed. It’s like most any other system in short track racing. In the most basic sense, take the composite total of finishes and Hossfeld has a 21 total and Hirschman has a 23. Any short schedule series like this, one bad finish will usually ruin someone’s chances, even if they are nearly perfect the rest of the way.

  5. Maybe I missed the announcement, Richmond? What modified touring series is racing at Richmond in 2019? Give the lips a rest and engage the brain.

  6. Go one step further and average the finishes. Hossfield comes out to 4.2, Hirshman 4.6. That 18th place finish killed Hirshman.

  7. NH MOD CHASER says

    Richmond is a open Tour Type show and Hossfeld is in a new Troyer but i dont know if it is a TA3…

  8. The racing over I want there to be some kind of takeaway regarding how the series shape up against each other as well as the chassis war. Not sure there are any conclusions to be had.
    The NWMT with Coby, Sapienza and Solomito had their moments but clearly have nothing to brag about. ROC top dog Hossfeld was steady but unspectacular and Jankowiak has to be disappointed. Emerling did not do well in his brand new TA3 but is less identified with any series anyway. The Catalano’s once ROC stalwarts are a blur now with Tommy a NWMT regular and the team mentored by Tommy Baldwin. Nocella? MRS or NWMT. Wills did not fair well and Gallup’s week was more like a nightmare.
    It’s all just a muddle now. Spec engines, same trannies and competent chassis builders. Except if you consider Hirschman his own series The Hirschman Racing Schedule Series. Most stand in awe at three wins and dominance. What I really am in awe of is his effort from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning. Not only repairing a wrecked car but returning it to one that is dominant. Do these guys race a specific chassis? Or are they so accomplished they could race any chassis, add their own special sauce and win?
    LFR vs Troyer vs whatever. I don’t see anything to indicate one had a leg up not including MH who I believe to be his own class.
    Regardless of series competition this week set the table and created a bunch of expectations that should keep us occupied until the season starts in earnest.
    Where and when will Preece and his new Chassis Dynamic experiment reappear and will it be competitive? Is Tommy Catalano now a legitimate threat to win a race? Sure would be nice to see mom Amy in a NWMT race. Were it not for being taken out the last two nights she would have been top 5 in the championship race. She’s steady, fast and smart and is perfect for a longer NWMT race.
    Sapienza will be the first to say he can’t qualify a car but can race the wheels off it when the green flies and he could be right. But to win with his new found LFR speed buggy he can’t consistently handicap himself qualifying poorly.
    For now the possum and his Hirschman Schedule Racing Series are the kings of the hill. But we all know what we really want to see don’t we? If the possum can take Gentleman Justin and we don’t have long to wait.

  9. What is the Richmond date? Did not see that posted.

  10. Crazy in NY says

    Shawn, if you’ll accommodate me (us) I’d like to pass this along to those down in the basement with the lights off under the computer desk. Dahumpy take note : http://www.proallstarsseries.com/2019-FORMS-1/2019-EVENT-SCHED-RICHMOND-3-30-19.pdf
    brain on……Thank you Shawn

  11. Don’t need it flappy, already found it. Well at least he will run 1 whole WMT race this year, impressive. I know, I know, his EXTENSIVE schedule won’t allow it. Heard it before, no need to repeat it. Flap on……….

  12. Final thoughts on Speedweeks from NSS and Bronson. ( No quills I promise)
    Doug mentioned he was impressed with the turn over from Tues night to Weds and the dominance the car showed. It must always be remembered how much experience they ( Matt and Tony) have together going back to before Matt took up his own driving. I’ll add the change over from the 3/8 Bronson to the long 1/2 or..whatever NSS is. They worked hard on Sunday to get that done. Add the good notes from
    the previous experience there and the P2 finish on Monday wasn’t a surprise. Good isn’t good enough however so they keep working and refining. Tues….wrecks happen. Went from “thought we were done” to lets fix it and see how it goes. Experience again and some good fortune resulted in 3 in a row. That speaks for itself.
    as for 2019…… it hasn’t been finalized exactly when and where he’ll race. Consider this: I’m one of a dozen or so guys who help MH during the long year. He has help from at least 5 different states and guys go or not depending on when, where and what is going on in our lives. Consider also where Hirshman Racing is located. Not exactly in the center of pavement Mod country. Outside of MVS and Evergreen every trip to race is a considerable drive. As anybody who has done that can attest it’s a grind. Not a single crew guy there does every race. Not one Being based in NY I’m up for most of the ROC and the TTOM (because I love the series and NE bullrings), I do others but it goes like that somewhat for most of the guys. I don’t do Fla. I have an off season and I work for a living in the snow fighting game so Winter is most busy for me. Know this however. MH is as Doug alludes to his own series if you will. He races to his personal liking, where the car owner(as) want to race and what crew will be available. It doesn’t sit well with some but the 60 isn’t Tourcentric. He will be at Myrtle but not South Boston ( Richmond that weekend), After that is ??? I don’t know yet he hasn’t communicated that to us yet as I’m sure he’s still working on his 19 plans. The ROC is going to happen but in what form. ???? nobody knows yet. He doesn’t worry about what the web sites, blogs or other social media outlets think he should do. People are free to to speculate, guess and anticipate to their hearts content but it’s really no more complicated than I’ve tried to explain here.
    As an addendum , in spite of some of the cruel and crude comments directed the Carroll’s way Calvin did a fine job in the Evans even passing Coby on the last lap to grab an 8th. They don’t deserve the bullcrap that too many on the Net dished up their way. They are not quitters and i admire that in any young up and commer. To my friend Humphry sorry for the gratuitous shots fired your way but I’m wired much like Trump in that regard. You take a shot at me I’m coming back with my own but recognize we both love this sport so hey it’s all in fun really. We good guy?
    Dareal remains hopeless…..(sorry). Hope you all are looking forward to Spring up here and get to as many Mod races where ever they are as you can. ( GRIN) Crazy out………..

  13. Well that was a surprise Mr NY and very welcome indeed. Great information and no blood shed. A banner day.

  14. Yea Crazy we are good. I am wired the same way, throw a hand grenade at me and I am firing a missle back. Actually would like to have a beer or two with you sometime.

    MH is a good shoe, no doubt about it. Just wish he had the financial backing to run the tour. Certainly would increase the excitement level.

    What is miss the most about racing is the days where everyone respected each other. You sized up the guy in front of you, worked them over mentally, a love tap here and there to let them know you were there, then make a clean pass. Today if you are faster and can’t pass then you move them, run them up or what ever. That ain’t racing in my book.

    But that is only my opinion.

  15. Rob P. Quick question. In the tour where everyone is running the same engine and there are several officials watching and checking the competition, what’s the LFR vs Troyer win count since 2015? Just curious. You speak of Smyrna as if it means anything. Where was the 51 and 15 or the 46? Three of the top 5 in tour points. If they wasted their time and money to show up I promise your win total would vary. Man wake up and smell what your shoveling dude.

  16. Shawn, regarding the point system – “It’s like most any other system in short track racing” – that’s my point — and the problem. There should be more emphasis on winning.

    Look at the purse structure at any short track. The difference between 1st and 2nd is larger than the difference between 17th and 18th. Points should be the same way.

    Hirschmann and Hossfeld each had a 2nd place finish. For the remainder of the week, I don’t think there’s a racer worth their HANS device who wouldn’t prefer three wins and a DNF, compared to 3/4/5/7. (potential crash damage from a DNF excluded)

    Hypothetically, what if Hirschmann’s DNF resulted in a 12th place finish instead of 18th – would that have magically made his week championship-worthy? A DNF is a DNF. Again: the difference between positions at the top of the order should matter more than those at the bottom.

    Granted, the World Series @ New Smyrna is a small-sample, five-race series that amounts to nothing in the grand scheme of modified racing; I get that. But, when one driver wins 60% of the races and finishes in the top two all but once, and yet we read how a driver who could only crack the top two a single time is deemed to have had a better performance, I have to shake my head.

    Formula 1 has the right idea:
    https://www.tutorialspoint.com/formula_one/images/championship_points.jpg

  17. What is miss the most about racing is the days where everyone respected each other. You sized up the guy in front of you, worked them over mentally, a love tap here and there to let them know you were there, then make a clean pass. Today if you are faster and can’t pass then you move them, run them up or what ever. That ain’t racing in my book.

    But that is only my opinion.

    Only you say ? Wrong…LOL we share that view. Maybe we can expand on that over a beer or three sometime.
    I always like talking to people who are right (;). Just as long as it’s not PBR………..yuk

  18. The series championship awards high performance consistency. In a small series (only five races) a single bad finish can eliminate any chance of winning the series championship. That’s the way the arithmetic works. Too bad. Whaaaaa-whaaaaa-whaaaaaa!!!!! That there are 5 races in back-to-back fashion plays into the strategy. Racing has to be careful so as not to eliminate yourself with wrecking. The format of the series, 5 races in back-to-back fashion becomes part of the strategy, extreme care and staying out of trouble is far more important than ever in a short series.

    In a series format like this, the championship is not all about winning the races, it is intensified and compressed points racing. A much different risk assessment. And it is compounded by the fact that there isn’t a week or more to repair a car.

    I liked this series, the racing was careful. Very little rubbing. And what rubbing there was was very light and infrequent. The fact that a team could be eliminated from the championship by a bad night meant something, and they respected and feared that fact.

  19. NH MOD CHASER says

    humphry, met Crazy @ Stafford last year.He is one COOL CAT and very enjoyable to chat with.Can i get in on the 5 or 6 beers you guys are going to have ?? Happy Dayton Day hope everyone enjoys the 500…

  20. A 🍺 or three it is. Let me know if you guys get up in the CT RI area and I will take you up on that. Are you guys doing the bull ring deal? We may try the first one to see how it goes, still up in the air.

    Be safe in the snow and enjoy those “pennies from heaven” or should I say 1/2 after taxes!

  21. Beer count is increasing and I am good if he is NH, always nice to make new friends especially hard core racers. Nothing like the smell of racing fuel and 🍕or 🍔 to go with a cold beer!

  22. Liz Cherokee says

    Beer🍻 is good, so is wine🍷, but I love good cocktails🍹… And I’m hardcore too!

  23. NH MOD CHASER says

    humphry,yes i am going to try and do the bull ring bash.Will keep you posted when the time comes.

  24. What happened to the 2/Colby/LFR car?

    I guess they weren’t really there to race, just do some R&D. JBon better watch out, all that super racing intel the 2 gathered will be used to beat him.

  25. I’m so happy!! 😃 Some of you are learning 🤓 to use emojis!!!!

    Liz, you are such a 🥴🥴🥴. Cheers! 🥃

  26. Hillary 2020 says

    Dahump is learning to use emojis like our resident expert dafella. How exciting.

  27. A little early again Dareal , do I need to remind you again

  28. Hill, please don’t compare me with dareal, I am taking that as an insult LOL…….

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