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By Brandon White NASCAR.com
Photo Tom Morris Racing Photography
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — A perfect October in the closing stages of the 2025 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season was something Austin Beers knew would be imperative to fend off Justin Bonsignore for his first series championship.
Riverhead Raceway‘s Eddie Partridge 256 presented a major hurdle toward Beers’ goal. Bonsignore holds the all-time Modified Tour wins record at Riverhead with 12, while Beers only possessed three top fives at the quarter-mile bullring prior to Saturday evening.
Beers stood tall in the face of immense pressure, denying Bonsignore a 13th series victory at Riverhead while securing his first checkered flag at the Long Island bullring. Being able to outlast Bonsignore at one of his best tracks and consolidate his points lead was a much-needed relief for Beers following a disappointing showing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway two weeks ago.
RELATED: Complete results from the Eddie Partridge 256
“We struggled really bad at New Hampshire, and I lost a lot of confidence in myself,” Beers said. “This team just had a bad ass race car. We kind of struggled in practice there, but they did a hell of a job working on it. We were able to get the car to rotate in the center really good there throughout that last long run and were able to pick off Justin [Bonsignore].”
Beers’ 2025 season reflects that of many past Modified Tour champions. Not only has Beers completed every possible lap, but he also does not have any finishes outside the top 10.
Despite the consistency displayed by Beers all year, Bonsignore has remained within striking distance. The four-time Modified Tour champion entered the Eddie Partridge 256 just seven points back from Beers in the standings with momentum on his side following a second place run at New Hampshire.
Bonsignore possesses a combined 27 victories between the final three tracks on the schedule in Riverhead, Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park and Martinsville Speedway. There would be no margin of error for Beers, who got a head start over Bonsignore on Saturday by lining up second on the grid following the redraw.
Although he battled an ill-handling car all evening, Bonsignore took advantage of several cautions to cycle his way toward the front but found himself vulnerable to Beers in the closing stages. With Bonsignore keeping his car glued to the bottom, Beers utilized his fresher tires to overtake Bonsignore.
Not even a late caution was enough for Bonsignore, who ultimately surrendered second to Ron Silk. Bonsignore knew creativity with strategy would be required to usurp Beers, but he now heads into the final two races knowing he has a slightly larger points deficit to overcome.
“You always want to win, especially at home,” Bonsignore said. “Congrats to Austin; they executed really well and probably had the best car throughout the entire race. It’s so hard to know what the right strategy is going to be, and we short-cutted because we weren’t too good and got the track position, but it just didn’t play out at the end.”
Beers’ victory at Riverhead gives him an advantage over Bonsignore in another regard: multiple wins on the season. He joins Silk, Patrick Emerling and Craig Lutz as the Modified Tour competitors with more than one trip to Victory Lane so far, with Bonsignore’s only triumph occurring earlier this year at Riverhead.
Victories are only one part of the championship formula for Beers. With Bonsignore following him closely in nearly every measurable statistic, Beers knows his team has to stay vigilant while trying to stay ahead of the seasoned Modified veteran at Thompson and Martinsville.
If Beers manages to keep Bonsignore behind him in the standings, he will surpass Ryan Preece as the youngest Modified Tour champion. Now that one major hurdle is cleared, Beers is ready to face Bonsignore head-on for a grueling title fight that could come down to the last lap.
“This is big,” Beers said. “[Riverhead] is a track where we’ve kind of struggled, but we’ve had good runs here and bad runs here. This gives us confidence going into Thompson and pad the points lead a little bit there. We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing. We’ve been consistent all year, and this win is going to help us.”
Completing the top five in the Eddie Partridge 256 were Lutz and Kyle Bonsignore. Eric Goodale, Stephen Kopcik, Trevor Catalano, Matthew Brode and Tommy Catalano rounded out the top-10 finishers.
Two races remain on the 2025 Modified Tour schedule. The penultimate race of the season takes place at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park next Sunday for the World Series 150, which will be broadcasted live on FloRacing.
