The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returns to action after having the Memorial Day Weekend holiday off at the tricky and tight confines of Seekonk Speedway in Seekonk, Massachusetts. 

The usual faces and names dot this entry list, but the winner can come from anywhere here at Seekonk. 

To understand why, it’s worth noting that Seekonk Speedway does not have a deep history on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. The 1/3-mile oval (circle is probably more accurate) has hosted 11 NWMT races dating back to 1987, but just five races dating back to 2016. 

In those five races, there’s only been one repeat winner, and that is six-time NWMT champion, Doug Coby. Coby is entered this week in the Tinio Racing No. 44 machine with Lawney Tinio as his crew chief. Coby has made seven NWMT starts at Seekonk and of course has two wins on his resume in 2017 and 2019. In total, Coby has led 331 laps and has an average finish of 5.9 at Seekonk.

Islip, New York’s Timmy Solomito won the 2016 race at Seekonk, which was the Tour’s first trip back to “The Konk” in more than a decade. Solomito at the time was driving the Flamingo Motorsports No. 16 car. Solomito is on the entry list this weekend driving Eric Goodale’s No. 58 with Jason Shephard as his crew chief.

In 2018, the victory went to three-time NWMT champion, Justin Bonsignore. Bonsignore has been stellard at Seekonk throughout the years. In five starts here, Bonsignore has only finished outside the top five one time, and that finish was still inside the Top 10. He’s led 103 of the 751 laps he’s run here, only Coby and Matt Hirschman have led more out of active drivers.

Speaking of Hirschman, the Northampton, Pennsylvania driver is your defending winner of this race. Hirschman led all 150 laps one year ago to win from the pole position. In NWMT competition, Hirschman has led 276 laps at Seekonk and has a win, three top five finishes, four top 10 ten finishes, and two poles in six starts. And that’s just NWMT competition. Hirschman is a multi-time winner of Seekonk’s annual “Open Wheel Wednesday” Open Modified race held every summer, as well as the “Haunted Hundred” Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series race that used to be held at Seekonk. In short, Hirschman is the Seekonk supervisor.

But one driver that’s poised to challenge all of them for the victory on Saturday night is the two-time and defending champion, Ron Silk. It doesn’t matter that Silk has never won at Seekonk. It doesn’t matter that Silk has never even led a lap at Seekonk. These are different times for Ron Silk. Wherever he goes, he is the favorite for the win. 

In four starts at Seekonk, Silk has three top five finishes, including the last three races in a row. Silk has finished fifth, fourth, and third in that order. If you’re a believer in trends, then he’s set to finish second this week. But Silk has been breaking all of his previous trends over the last two and a half seasons, and there’s no reason to believe he won’t break another one this weekend.

Saturday’s J&R Precast 150 at Seekonk Speedway is scheduled to go green at 8 p.m. ET live on FloRacing. Race fans can subscribe to FloRacing by clicking here.

NWMT at Seekonk Speedway Entry List