Whelen Modified Tour Checking The Temps Heading To Riverhead Raceway

Checking the temperatures on the competition on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour heading to the Miller Lite 200 Salute To Don Howe at Riverhead Raceway Saturday

Stephen Kopcik: Kopcik has been a force over the last three events. Kopcik scored his first career Whelen Modified Tour victory on March 28 at Martinsville and followed that up with his second series victory in the Icebreaker 150 on April 12 at Thompson Speedway. On May 16 he led a race-high 78 laps at Seekonk Speedway before settling for a second place finish to Jon McKennedy. Holds an 11 point lead at the top of the series standings.

Jon McKennedy: Bounced back from a 27th place at Martinsville by battling at the front of the field much of the day at Thompson Speedway and settling for a fourth place finish. Got his first victory of the season at Seekonk. Jumped from 14th to fourth in the standings over the last two events.

Austin Beers: Had a sixth place run at Thompson to go with a fifth at New Smyrna and a third at Martinsville. Rallied from an early issue at Seekonk to finish third. Defending series champion sits second in the standings, 11 points off the top spot. 

Patrick Emerling: Bounced back from a a 13th place run at Thompson to finish sixth at Seekonk Speedway. Has finished in the top-six in three of four events this season. Sits third in the standings, 21 points off the lead.

Teddy Hodgdon IV: Crash at Martinsville relegated the rookie to a 28th place. Bounced back with an 11th place run at Thompson and followed that with a seventh place at Seekonk.

Chase Dowling: Part-time runner had a third place finish at Seekonk following a ninth place at Thompson.

Ron Silk: After a last place finish in the season opener at New Smyrna, Silk bounced back with consecutive second place runs at Martinsville and Thompson, but a 21st place at Seekonk dropped the two-time series champion from ninth to 12th in the series standings. Team expected to go to a part-time schedule following Riverhead event.

Mike Christopher Jr.: Followed up a podium finish at Thompson with an 11th place run at Seekonk. Has finished outside the top-10 in three of four events this year.

Tyler Rypkema: A 22nd place finish at Seekonk was the first run outside of the top-10 this year for Rypkema. Dropped him from third to sixth in the standings.

Matt Hirschman: Dropped from eighth to ninth in the series standings after a 20th place finish at Seekonk, a track where he had won the previous three series events.

Craig Lutz: Made the best out of Seekonk with a 12th place run. Average finish of 9.8 this year has him seventh in the standings, Finished eighth at Thompson with an average finish of ninth this season. Sits seventh in the standings, 33 points off the top spot. 

Tommy Catalano: Finished fifth at Seekonk to continue an up-and-down cycle in 2026. Was 17th at New Smyrna, eighth at Martinsville and 19th at Thompson.

Andrew Molleur: Cracked the top-10 for the first time in three starts this season with a 10th place run at Seekonk.

Eric Goodale: An 18th place run at Seekonk was his second consecutive finish outside of the top-10 and dropped him from fifth to eighth in the series standings.

Justin Bonsignore: Won the pole and spent the early stages of the race battling at the front before settling for an 11th place finish at Seekonk. After winning the season opener, involved in a late wreck at Martinsville near the front of the field to finish 24th. Ran mid-pack much of the day before grabbing a seventh place finish at Thompson. Four-time series champion sits fifth in the standings, 29 points off the lead. Unclear if he will run full-time for the remainder of 2026.

Kyle Bonsignore: Ninth place at Seekonk after 22nd place at Thompson. Announced this week that his team would be taking an undetermined amount of events off.

Trevor Catalano: Opened the season with a ninth place at New Smyrna and an 11th place at Martinsville. After retiring from Thompson with a suspension issue for a 29th place finish, was14th at Seekonk.

John-Michael Shenette: After opening the season with an 18th place finish at New Smyrna, has falled down the finishing order in each event. Was 20th at Martinsville, 23rd at Thompson and 25th at Seekonk.

Ken Heagy: Was 26th (last) at Seekonk, two laps down from the leaders. Series veteran has an average finish of 24.5 th place average over the first four events of the season with a best finish of 22nd (New Smyrna). 

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