On a family trip to Mystic, Connecticut in 1999, Mike Murphy was introduced to the New London-Waterford Speedbowl. Not long after Murphy was a team owner at the track. Born was KLM Motorsports. On Thursday at Martinsville Speedway driver Austin Beers finished second in the Virginia Is For Racing Lovers 200 to clinch the 2025 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship for KLM Motorsports.
KLM Motorsports Timeline
— On Aug. 28, 1999 a Mike Murphy owned Late Model hit the track for its first event at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl.
— Following the 2000 season Mike Murphy had Tom Fox build him a new Late Model to field for driver John Materas in 2001.
— Tom Fox began driving for Mike Murphy in 2002 and the team raced both SK Modified and Late Model entries at the Speedbowl. Tom Fox would give Mike Murphy his first victory as a team owner in the second SK Modified feature of the 2002 season at the Speedbowl.
— Mike Murphy sold his Late Model following the 2002 season to focus on the SK Modified with driver Tom Fox. From 2003 to 2007 the team would record 14 victories.
— After parting ways with Tom Fox, Mike Murphy brought Ron Yuhas in to drive his SK Modified in 2008.
— Ron Yuhas won the 2009 SK Modified division championship at the Speedbowl to give Mike Murphy his first championship as a team owner.
— In 2011 Mike Murphy decided to transition his SK Modified team to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour with driver Ron Yuhas. The team ran 10 of 16 series events in 2011.
— The team ran full-time on the series with Ron Yuhas in 2012 and 2013.
— On Sept. 20, 2014, Ron Yuhas sustained career ending injuries in a crash during a Whelen Modified Tour event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Shawn Solomito drove for the team in the final event of that season.
— With Ron Yuhas taking over as crew chief, the team fielded a car for driver Anthony Nocella in 2015.
— Rob Summers took over driving duties for the KLM Motorsports Whelen Modified Tour entry in 2016 and drove for the team until early in the 2021 season.
— After the departure of Rob Summers early in the 2021 season, Timmy Solomito ran seven events for the team. In the 11th event of the season Mike Murphy put then teenager Austin Beers behind the wheel of his Whelen Modified Tour car full-time.
— Austin Beers finished fifth in the Whelen Modified Tour standings and won Rookie of the Year driving for KLM Motorsports in 2022.
— On April 1, 2023 Austin Beers won the Virginia Is For Racing Lovers 150 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway, marking the first Whelen Modified Tour victory for KLM Motorsports. Beers went on to record another win that season at Lancaster Motorplex and finish third in the series standings.
— Austin Beers had one victory and nine top-five finishes and finished fourth in the season standings for KLM Motorsports in 2024.
— Austin Beers finished the 2025 season with two wins, 12 top-fives and 16 top-10’s in 16 events to win the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship for KLM Motorsports.
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Congratulations to Austin,Ron and Mike as well as the entire KLM team on a well earned and most assuredly deserved Whelen Mod tour championship…Celebrate well!!