The season finale for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s 40th year is upon us as the mighty Modifieds will take to the track on Thursday night at Martinsville Speedway with 30 cars making the trip to the “Half-mile of Mayhem.”

The championship showdown between Austin Beers, who is looking to secure his first championship, and Justin Bonsignore, who could claim his fifth title, is where all eyes are rightfully focused heading into Thursday’s 200-lap finale. Beers leads Bonsignore by 14 points entering Martinsville, but Bonsignore has been stellar at Martinsville in the past.

Bonsignore dominated this race one year ago, leading 136 laps from the pole to score the victory and his fourth NWMT title. In five starts at Martinsville, Bonsignore has only finished off the podium one time, and that was due to a mechanical failure in 2022. Dating all the way back to 2010, Bonsignore has finishes of second twice, third in 2021, and his victory last year. 

That said, Beers has been pretty strong at Martinsville in his short career as well. He finished fourth last year and led three laps. He finished eighth in his first start at Martinsville in 2022. His lone Martinsville blemish came in 2023 when he finished 31st after being caught up in an early crash. 

The 22-year-old Beers doesn’t need to put in a strong performance to clinch his first championship on Thursday night. He just needs to be good enough. A finish of eighth or better will give him the championship.

Speaking of champions, the now two-time SMART Modified Tour champion will be in Thursday’s field as the young Luke Baldwin continues to look for his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory. Baldwin claimed the SMART crown on Saturday at North Wilkesboro Speedway, and claimed the victory, while driving for Sadler-Stanley Racing. But on Thursday he’ll be back in the family-owned No. 7NY for Tommy Baldwin Racing with his father, Tommy Baldwin Jr., back turning the wrenches. Baldwin has made one NWMT start at Martinsville so far. He finished seventh in this race one year ago after starting second.

Only two former Martinsville NWMT winners are entered in Thursday’s 30-car field. The aforementioned Bonsignore is one of them, having won this race a year ago. The other is Riverhead, New York’s Eric Goodale, who scored the victory in the Modified Tour’s long-awaited return to Martinsville in 2021. Goodale could use some luck and a good result, as his partial schedule in 2025 has not yielded the results he would have hoped for. In 10 starts, Goodale has just one top five finish and six top 10 finishes. He failed to finish three races, two with mechanical issues and one due to a crash at Thompson in the Tour’s most recent race. But aside from a crash in 2023, Goodale has been strong at Martinsville in recent years with four top 10 finishes and his 2021 victory.

The entire NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour entry list for the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 can be found below.

Race fans can watch Thursday’s season finale for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour from Martinsville Speedway by clicking here.

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Martinsville Speedway Entry List