THOMPSON, Conn. — In the two decades Matt Hirschman has competed on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, a win at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park had eluded him.
Thompson has long been a special track for Hirschman, who spent a good portion of his childhood watching numerous Modified legends compete around there like his father Tony, who won eight Modified Tour races at the track. Each trip to the historic facility only fueled Hirschman’s desire to join the notable list of Thompson winners.
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Hirschman checked off that box Wednesday in his 34th Thompson start. The speed in his No. 60 Bar Harbor Bank & Trust Modified enabled Hirschman to pass polesitter Austin Beers early on, but he made sure to credit his pit crew for keeping him ahead during the lone caution of the evening.
“When you have a car that’s been a winning car all day out of the trailer, you need [your pit crew] to do their part as well,” Hirschman said. “It was a perfect day. I missed the pole by a little bit, but with the way this car was running, I probably looked more like Tony Hirschman out there [on Wednesday] than what I’ve done here in my career.”
Hirschman has always had a great mentor in Tony to rely upon for advice on how to navigate Thompson, but he never seemed to find Victory Lane there for one reason or another.
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The first Modified Tour event at Thompson for Hirschman in 2005 ended in a crash after 92 laps. Misfortune followed Hirschman across his ensuing four Thompson starts, all of which ended with him behind the wall.
Despite the growing pains, Hirschman was determined to find a rhythm at a track where his father, Richie Evans, Mike Stefanik and so many others had won at before. The first top five for Hirschman at Thompson came in the 2007 Modified Tour season-opener. One year later, he earned his first runner-up finish at the track.
As the years progressed for Hirschman on the Modified Tour, Thompson continued to provide mixed results. Yet top-five finishes in his last three trips to Thompson with Pee Dee Motorsports left Hirschman optimistic that he was close to that elusive first series victory at the complex.
Hirschman’s faith was grounded in reality Wednesday. He was the only driver to break into the 18-second bracket during the final practice session. Although Hirschman did not get the pole, the speed he showcased earlier in the day emanated once again after finding his way around Beers.
Like Hirschman, Beers was also hoping to secure his first Thompson Modified Tour victory in his 12thstart at the track. Beers was thrilled to earn his second Thompson pole and finish runner-up Wednesday, which he believes are indications that his team is returning to their championship form from 2025.
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“[Hirschman’s] taken a lot of wins from me, but he was the class of the field [on Wednesday],” Beers said. “We were a tick snug on that second run, but it was a good points day for us. We’ve been consistent since Oxford [Plains] when we had that little mishap. We’re getting better and better every week and we’re going to keep fighting.”
Beers departs Thompson still in search of his first checkered flag of the 2026 season. For Hirschman, he now has two Modified Tour victories on the year to go along with four top fives in the last five races.
The Thompson triumph carried plenty of catharsis for Hirschman. He always knew he could win at the complex since making his first Modified Tour start there 21 years ago, but circumstances never worked out in his favor.
Hirschman felt Wednesday was going to be different from the moment he unloaded. Everyone at Pee Dee Motorsports, including himself, did their part to ensure Hirschman finally got to enjoy a Thompson victory.
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“We’ve had pole speed in some of these recent races,” Hirschman said. “We were close at Claremont with a second, but today we had a car off the trailer that could win this race tonight. My guys probably could tell I knew everything mattered tonight. I was getting on some of them, but I came in locked and loaded today.
“I had a good night sleep [on Tuesday]. I came here to take care of business, and I needed everyone to get on that same page.”
Patrick Emerling’s win streak came to an end at three races, but he still enjoyed a solid points night by finishing third. Chase Dowling secured a fourth-place finish, with Matt Swanson rounding out the top five.
The rest of the top 10 consisted of Eric Goodale, Paulie Hartwig III, Stephen Kopcik, Doug Coby and Tyler Rypkema.
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Next up for the Modified Tour will be the prestigious Mohegan Sun 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, Aug. 22. The green flag will wave at 4:30 p.m. ET with FloRacing providing live coverage of all the on-track action.
