The 2025 World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway is likely not a week of racing Modified veteran Matt Hirschman will remember fondly.
But on Friday the Northampton, Pa. driver made sure that there would be at least one very big positive to come out of a disappointing week at the historic venue.
Hirschman cruised easily to victory in the Richie Evans Memorial 100 Friday at New Smyrna Speedway.
It was Hirschman’s sixth consecutive Richie Evans Memorial 100 victory and his eighth win in the event overall. The event was rained out in 2023. In addition to wins in the last six since 2019, Hirschman also won the Richie Evans Memorial 100 in 2010 and 2017.
“I’m glad we’re leaving here with a win,” Hirschman said. “It’s always special to win the Richie Evans Memorial. It’s still the biggest part of the World Series for the [Tour Type Modified division]. We’ve won it many times in a row now, so we continue that streak.”
It was Hirschman’s 21st career Tour Type Modified victory at the New Smyrna World Series. It marked the eighth consecutive year that Hirschman has won at least one Tour Type Modified event at New Smyrna.
Hirschman started the week off with a 13th place in the Tour Type Modified division opener on Monday after an early penalty sent him to the back of the field. He retired early from Tuesday’s event with a leaking issue. He was third in the John Blewett Memorial 76 on Wednesday. He made the decision to sit out Thursday’s 50-lap feature for the division.
“It’s like that Toby Keith song, I wasn’t as good this week as I once was, but I was as good once as I ever was,” Hirschman said. “Finally put it together. I don’t know if taking last night off was maybe the right thing. I just had to reset. Just didn’t start off the week good.”
Patrick Emerling of Orchard Park, N.Y. was second in the caution free event Friday and clinched his first Tour Type Modified division World Series championship.
Emerling was third on Monday before winning three consecutive events Tuesday to Thursday. Emerling also won the NASCAR Modified Tour season opening event on Saturday at New Smyrna.
“We’ve had long green flag runs here before at this Richie Evans [Memorial] 100, but I don’t think it ever went caution-less,” Emerling said. “That’s definitely interesting. Congrats to [Hirschman], he had a little bit of a tough week and he got it turned around a little bit. … I’ve just got to give it up for our whole Fleetworks No. 1 team. Everyone did an excellent job all week. Great week. … I had an awesome week. I’m super happy. We were really close to winning a championship down here several times and to be able to get it is awesome. We had an awesome week.”
Tyler Rypkema of Owego, N.Y. was third after starting on the pole.
“We were able to settle in line around fourth or fifth there and just ride and save everything we could anticipating a decently long run, but never anticipating 100 laps green to checkered,” Rypkema said. “I just didn’t have what it took to be with them at the end there. It was taking all I could to fend off [Jacob Lutz] at the end. Really good race all in all.”
At the start it was Ronnie Williams using the second starting spot to move past Rypkema for the lead. Behind him Hirschman went from fourth to second.
On lap 14 Emerling found a lane under Rypkema to move into third. Out front, Williams had opened up about a half a second lead over second place Hirschman.
At lap 50 Williams held about a half second lead over Hirschman will Emerling sitting in third and Tyler Rypkema in fourth.
By lap 55 Hirschman closed the lead down to nothing. On lap 56 Hirschman went low by Williams off of turn two to move into the lead.
On lap 57 Emerling found a lane under Williams to move into second.
By lap 67 Hirschman had opened up nearly a one second lead over Emerling in second. Emerling began to cut into that lead slowly. By lap 74 Hirschman’s lead was down to half a second.
At lap 75 Hirschman seemed to turn things, up quickly reopening his lead to nearly a second over Emerling by lap 78.
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