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By Adam Fenwick
NASCAR.com
SEEKONK, Mass. — After an abysmal start to the 2026 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season, Matt Hirschman needed something positive.
The pilot of the No. 60 PeeDee Motorsports Modified got the morale boost he was looking for with a victory in Wednesday’s Firecracker 150 presented by the Bethesda Leadership Group at Seekonk Speedway.
“It’s been a minute here on this Whelen Modified Tour this year,” said Hirschman after his victory in the opening round of the three-race Whelen Midsummer Championship miniseries. “It’s a hot summer Wednesday night at Seekonk Speedway, and part of the nickname ‘Big Money’ Matt Hirschman came from winning this race on this Wednesday night here at Seekonk.
“(There is) no better place to get back in Whelen Modified Tour Victory Lane than here tonight.”
RELATED: Complete results from the Firecracker 150
Throughout his career, Seekonk Speedway has always been a place Hirschman could race and know he’d be competitive.
Entering the season, Hirschman had won the last three Modified Tour races at the track to go along with several victories in non-NASCAR events through the years.
Things didn’t go Hirschman’s way in the most recent event at Seekonk in May, when he struggled and finished a disappointing 20th. Entering Wednesday’s event, Hirschman was determined to flip the script and return to form.
That’s exactly what he did.
Starting eighth after the redraw, Hirschman patiently worked his way through the field and found himself in second when the first caution flag of the evening waved with fewer than 50 laps left.
Restarting on the outside of leader Stephen Kopcik, Hirschman rocketed into Turn 1 and easily took the lead. He held the top spot for the remainder of the race to earn his fourth Modified Tour victory at Seekonk and the 11th Tour victory of his career overall.
“We put it together tonight. I don’t know how; maybe we got lucky,” Hirschman said. “Here we are in Victory Lane. We’re going to enjoy this with the team. All these teams work hard, but I’m glad I could get a morale boost here for these guys.”
Dowling, making just his third Modified Tour start of the season, raced his way from the 12th starting position to finish second.
It was his best NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour finish since a runner-up result at South Boston Speedway in 2019.
Patrick Emerling finished third ahead of Kopcik, who led the most laps, in fourth and defending NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Austin Beers in fifth.
Eric Goodale, Teddy Hodgdon, Andrew Molleur, Jon McKennedy and Paulie Hartwig III were sixth through 10th, respectively.
The Modified Tour season continues with Round 2 of JDV Productions’ Whelen Midsummer Championship next Friday night, July 10 at Claremont Motorsports Park with the running of the Clash at Claremont.
FloRacing will provide live flag-to-flag coverage beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET.
- Race results
| Pos | No. | Name | Sponsor | Laps | Diff |
| 1 | 60 | Matt Hirschman | Bar Harbor Bank & Trust; Pee Dee Motorsports | 150 | — |
| 2 | 44 | Chase Dowling | S&S Paving / Harshaw Paving | 150 | 1.199 |
| 3 | 1 | Patrick Emerling | USNE Power | 150 | 3.326 |
| 4 | 21 | Stephen Kopcik | Wanick Construction; Newtown Pools | 150 | 4.072 |
| 5 | 64 | Austin Beers | Lumiere Electrical; Dell Electric; G&G Electrical Supply; Andrew James Interiors; AP Marquadt & Sons; Hughes Motors | 150 | 4.736 |
| 6 | 58 | Eric Goodale | GAF Roofing Riverhead Building Supply | 150 | 4.861 |
| 7 | 05 | Teddy Hodgdon | Business Time Motorsports; The Landau Team of Re/Max; Montanari Fuel | 150 | 5.455 |
| 8 | 82 | Andrew Molleur | Horton Avenue Materials | 150 | 6.054 |
| 9 | 79 | Jon McKennedy | Stuarts Automotive; Christophers Towing; John Young Landscaping; Levasseur HVAC; Hillsboro Enterprises | 150 | 7.287 |
| 10 | 73 | Paulie Hartwig III | Professional Therapy Associates; Jersey Shore Contracting | 150 | 7.808 |
| 11 | 31 | Mike Christopher Jr. | Elite Towing; Elite Racing; Baker Racing | 150 | 10.513 |
| 12 | 89 | Matt Swanson | Ceravolos Auto; Swanson GMC | 149 | 1 Lap |
| 13 | 3 | Tyler Rypkema | Northeast Drilling; J&R Pre Cast; SYP | 149 | 1 Lap |
| 14 | 28 | Doug Coby | Nucar | 149 | 1 Lap |
| 15 | 54 | Tommy Catalano | FX Caprara; USNE Power | 149 | 1 Lap |
| 16 | 56 | Trevor Catalano | USNE Power | 148 | 2 Laps |
| 17 | 36 | David Sapienza | USNE Power; Sapienza Enterprises | 148 | 2 Laps |
| 18 | 18 | Ken Heagy | Merkel Racing Engines | 148 | 2 Laps |
| 19 | 8 | John-Michael Shenette | USNE Power Charlotte; Eighty-Two Services | 78 | 72 Laps |
