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By KEVIN RICE
Richmond, VA- Ron Silk continued his run of success on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, taking the Mayhew Tools pole position for the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 150 with a time trial lap at 21.159 seconds around the three-quarter mile Richmond (VA) Raceway. It was Silk’s first Richmond pole In three starts, but he has yet to finish a Richmond race in the top five.
“I am happy to win the pole today,” Silk said. “I typically haven’t qualified that great here in the past. This isn’t my favorite racetrack, but I’m liking it a little bit more today. I think we made some major improvements to the car.
“It’s nice to have the confidence of winning the pole, but that certainly doesn’t guarantee you anything. We have to make the fight adjustments and hopefully get our tires at the opportune time and see how it works out.
“Last year we raced during the day, after getting rained out. I don’t think the track is going to change that much (with the cooling temperatures), but you never know.”
Silk’s pole run came after 2023 race winner Austin Beers moved to the top of the board with laps at 21.249 and 21.197 seconds. Justin Bonsignore ended qualifying with the second-best lap. Bobby Santos and Jake Johnson rounded out the top five, followed by Craig Lutz.
Despite Silk’s recent successes, his career Richmond results of seventh, tenth and nineteenth place would indicate that winning here would be extra satisfying for the Connecticut driver. Two of the top five finishers in ‘23 aren’t in the field, with Beers having won over JB Fortin and Max McLaughlin.
Tonight’s main event goes green at approximately 6:30 p.m. and will be televised on FloRacing.
- Qualifying results
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Sponsor | Best Time | Best Speed |
| 1 | 16 | Ron Silk | Blue Mountain Machine/Future Homes | 21.159 | 127.605 |
| 2 | 51 | Justin Bonsignore | Coastal Fiber LLC | 21.175 | 127.509 |
| 3 | 64 | Austin Beers | G&G Electrical Supply/Dell Electric | 21.197 | 127.377 |
| 4 | 14 | Bobby Santos III | AdvantageTrucks.com | 21.259 | 127.005 |
| 5 | 3 | Jake Johnson | Propane Plus/Lin’s Propane Trucks | 21.272 | 126.927 |
| 6 | 46 | Craig Lutz | Riverhead Building Supply | 21.304 | 126.737 |
| 7 | 7 | Doug Coby | Baldwin Automotive | 21.313 | 126.683 |
| 8 | 23 | Carson Loftin* | L&R Transmissions/LeBleu Water | 21.363 | 126.387 |
| 9 | 56 | Trevor Catalano* | Catalano Motorsports | 21.425 | 126.021 |
| 10 | 22 | Kyle Bonsignore | Munns Automotive/Chalew Performance | 21.428 | 126.003 |
| 11 | 1 | Patrick Emerling | Fleetworks Inc/LFR | 21.476 | 125.722 |
| 12 | 38 | Bobby Labonte | Pace-O-Matic | 21.507 | 125.541 |
| 13 | 58 | Eric Goodale | GAF Roofing | 21.532 | 125.395 |
| 14 | 19 | Anthony Sesely | Franzosa Trucking Co/Karchner Warehousing | 21.532 | 125.395 |
| 15 | 84 | Tyler Catalano* | Catalano Motorsports | 21.535 | 125.377 |
| 16 | 32 | Tyler Rypkema | Northern Drilling/Musco Lighting/Make-a-Wish | 21.547 | 125.307 |
| 17 | 4 | Tim Connolly | Connolly Companies, LLC | 21.568 | 125.185 |
| 18 | 77 | Ryan Newman | Curb Records/Cassella Waste Systems | 21.577 | 125.133 |
| 19 | 70 | Andy Seuss | Rockingham Boat | 21.718 | 124.321 |
| 20 | 54 | Tommy Catalano | Catalano Motorsports/FX Caprara | 21.758 | 124.092 |
| 21 | 24 | Andrew Krause | Supreme Manufacturing Co. | 21.854 | 123.547 |
| 22 | 17 | Marcello Rufrano* | Wheeler’s Auto Sales | 21.883 | 123.383 |
| 23 | 25 | Brian Robie | Maurice Enterprises | 21.901 | 123.282 |
| 24 | 18 | Ken Heagy | Buoy One Seafood & Restaurant | 22.071 | 122.332 |
| 25 | 26 | Gary McDonald | Lakeland Avenue Landscape Supply | 22.856 | 118.131 |
| 26 | 01 | Melissa Fifield | Pine Knoll Auto Sales | 24.13 | 111.894 |
