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By Kevin Rice
Photo Michael Jaworecki Myracenews
March 31st, 2023
RICHMOND, VA- Austin Beers backed up his fast time during final practice, taking fast time to end qualifying for tonight’s Virginia is for Racing Lovers 150 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Richmond Raceway.
Beers, the last car to take time, beat defending race winner Justin Bonsignore’s time by 0.024 seconds, claiming the pole with a lap at 21.237 seconds or 127.136 mph around the Virginia oval.
Bonsignore turned a lap at 21.261 seconds and will start beside Beers on the front row. Patrick Emerling was third with a lap at 21.309 seconds. Bryan Narducci continued to impress in his NWMT debut, placing fourth with a 21.311 second lap. Tommy Catalano rounded out the top five with a 21.406 second lap.
Doug Coby, Andrew Krause, Bobby Labonte, Ron Silk and Anthony Sesely rounded out the top ten.
Justin Brown was slowed by a flat right front tire that caused him to make minor contact with the wall. Matt Hirschman was the first car out to time because of having no practice laps, and he drove conservatively. Those two will start at the tail of the field, along with Bryan Dauzat who did not take time.
Jon McKennedy is the only driver to finish in the top ten in the two recent NWMT events, but he struggled to find speed in both practice and qualifying. Tyler Rypkema and Kyle Ebersole both finished top five last year but timed into positions 14 and 19 respectively.
The race is scheduled to take the green at 6:30 pm this evening. If the weather interferes, the race is expected to be run tomorrow afternoon, following the NASCAR Xfinity Series race, but that remains unofficial as of this writing.
NWMT Richmond Qualifying Results:
1. AUSTIN BEERS 21.237, 2. Justin Bonsignore 21.261, 3. Patrick Emerling 21.309, 4. Bryan Narducci 21.311, 5. Tommy Catalano 21.406, 6. Doug Coby 21.462, 7. Andrew Krause 21.498, 8. Bobby Labonte 21.534, 9. Ron Silk 21.558, 10. Anthony Sesely 21.593, 11. Ryan Newman 21.610, 12. Kyle Bonsignore 21.631, 13. Eric Goodale 21.640, 14. Tyler Rypkema 21.645, 15. Craig Lutz 21.692, 16. Jon McKennedy 21.699, 17. Ed McCarthy Jr. 21.726, 18. J.B. Fortin 21.739, 19. Kyle Ebersole 21.812, 20. Tim Connolly 21.819, 21. Dave Sapienza 21.840, 22. Max McLaughlin 21.878, 23. Cory Dimatteo 21.994, 24. Ken Heagy 22.180, 25. Gary McDonald 22.552, 26. Walter Sutcliffe 22.641, 27. Melissa Fifield 22.699, 28. Matt Hirschman 22.949, 29. Justin Brown 32.099.
