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— John Bennett, Race of Champions Super Stocks and Gene Purvis, Race of Champions FOAR SCORE Four Cylinder Dash Series —
Barton, NY (July 12, 2026) — Matt Hirschman of Northampton, PA, used a timely caution and a brave move to the bottom of the speedway to capture the Race of Champions Modified Series victory in it’s first visit in over 10-years to the “Concrete Castle” Shangri-La II Speedway near Owego, NY.
Hirschman who started 4th, out maneuvered race leader, Patrick Emerling of Orchard Park, NY, to go on and win in front of a Sunday drenched crowd Sunday afternoon.
“We had a great day today and it’s great to be back here and win,” offered Hirschman. “The place has character and it is great for big races like this. We are happy to be in victory lane and I need to than my team, my family and everyone that supports to win on days like this.”
Emerling wound up 2nd with his teammate Andrew Lewis, Jr., coming home 3rd.
Austin Beers of Northampton, PA, and Jimmy Zacharias of Owego, NY rounded out the top-five.
Hirschman, Emerling and Beers won the qualifying races.
Hirschman also posted the fastest time in green-white-checker qualifying.
Other racers who saw Victory Lane along with Hirschman were:
● John Bennett (Lehighton, PA) in the Race of Champions Super Stocks
● Gene Purvis (Elmira, NY) in the Race of Champions FOAR SCORE Four Cylinder Dash Series/
The next Race of Champions “Family of Series” event will take place next Saturday, July 18, at Holland Speedway. Classes included will be:
● Race of Champions Modifieds
● FOAR Score Dash Series
● Race of Champions Street Stocks
● Race of Champions Late Models
Full unofficial results and more:
Shangri-La II Speedway; www.rocmodifiedseries.com/schedules/event/648126
About the Race of Champions: The Race of Champions is a sanctioning body presenting Modified and Stock Car racing on asphalt and dirt surfaces throughout the Northeast, with events in New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
Primary marketing partners include Hoosier Racing Tire, Sunoco Race Fuels, FX Caprara, Airport Collision, Waddell Communications, Image X Design, Sherwood Racing Wheels, DirtTrackDigest.com, and Speed Sport.
The 76th Annual Race of Champions will take place in 2026, continuing its legacy as the second-longest consecutively run auto-racing event in North America, second only to the Indianapolis 500.
For more information, contact;
Race of Champions Media at media@rocmodifiedseries.com
Follow us on Twitter; Instagram and Facebook; @RoCModSeries or visit our website: www.rocmodifiedseries.com
