McKennedy Scores First Whelen Modified Tour Win

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Myrtle Beach, SC

March 17, 2018

   With only a handful of laps left in the in the Performance Plus 150 presented by Safety Kleen at the Myrtle Beach Speedway, Jon McKennedy of Chelmsford, MA. made the pass on race leader Chase Dowling and then streaked away for the prestigious win over a stellar field of Nascar modifieds.

   Starting on the outside pole along side Matt Hirschman, McKennedy stayed within striking distance of the lead throughout the event.

   Six cautions slowed the field briefly throughout the 150 lap marathon giving each team an opportunity to make vital adjustments to their machines. A lap 99 caution for a minor spin by Melissa Fifield was just what the Tommy Baldwin Jr. owned team needed to make their change, setting up their final run to the checkered.

  McKennedy restarted from inside the fourth row and meticulously picked off one competitor at a time finding himself fourth by lap 120. By lap 130 he had only the leader, Chase Dowling and second place driver Craig Lutz in front of him. One lap later McKennedy used an inside pass on Lutz and glued himself to Dowling's back bumper for the next 8 laps until he found the groove to race by for the lead. McKennedy's Accell Construction sponsored #7NY was in clean air now being chased by Jimmy Blewett and pole sitter Matt Hirschman who lead more than half of the first part of the race. Hirschman also pitted on lap 99 but restarted deep in the pack and could only muster a third place finish.

   At the finish line McKennedy lead Blewett by five car lengths with Hirschman trailing in third.

   Ten different drivers took turns at the point throughout the day including Matt Hirschman-77, Justin Bonsignore-26, Jon McKennedy-12, Chase Dowling-9, Kyle Bonsignore-7, Craig Lutz-6, Gary Putnam-6, Burt Meyers-5, Andy Seuss-1, Doug Coby-1

   Always a favorite to win, Woody Pitkat suffered power steering issues in practice and lost valuable track time while repairs were made, then suffered more problems in the race relegating him to a 27th place finish.

  Whelen modified champion Doug Coby driving the Mayhew Tools #2 started the event mid pack, slowly raced his way forward to lead one lap around the 100 lap mark then was never a contender from that point on. He finished 14th.

    In victory lane McKennedy was a very happy driver indicating this was his first Whelen modified win. "Something I've looked for a long time" he said. "I've got to thank Tom Baldwin for the call to drive this car. He called all the shots today and the crew did an awesome job for me in the pits. It feels really good to get my first win and get that monkey off my back."  He added, "We only had a handful of races scheduled for the year but this win might change that, I know I've got some races to run on the super modified trail to run."

by Jim Snape

photos by Crystal Snape
Myrtle Beach Speedway was built in 1958 and is located on U.S. Route 501 near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The speedway is a semi-banked asphalt oval track that spans 0.538 miles. The NASCAR Cup series competed at the Speedway from 1958 through 1965. The NASCAR Busch Series raced at Myrtle Beach Speedway from 1988 to 2000.
Finish by Racing Reference

1	2	7	Jon McKennedy	Accell Construction Inc.   (Tommy Baldwin)	Chevrolet	150	running	12	47
2	10	6	Jimmy Blewett	TS Hauler   (Ed Partridge)	Chevrolet	150	running	0	42
3	1	60	Matt Hirschman	Pee Dee Motorsports   (Roy Hall)	Chevrolet	150	running	77	43
4	7	15	Chase Dowling	15-40 Connection   (Rob Fuller)	Chevrolet	150	running	9	41
5	6	51	Justin Bonsignore	Phoenix Communications Inc.   (Kenneth Massa)	Chevrolet	150	running	26	40
6	8	36	Dave Sapienza	Sapienza Enterprise   (Judy Thilberg)	Chevrolet	150	running	0	38
7	11	58	Eric Goodale	GAF Roofing   (Edgar Goodale)	Chevrolet	150	running	0	37
8	22	25	Calvin Carroll	Power with Prestige / Cruising w / Betty   (Joe Carroll)	Chevrolet	150	running	0	36
9	19	46	Craig Lutz	Riverhead Building Supply   (Russell Goodale)	Chevrolet	150	running	6	36
10	4	64	Rob Summers	Hoosier Tire East / Fast Track   (Mike Murphy)	Chevrolet	150	running	0	34
11	16	14	Blake Barney *	Atlantic Sprinkler   (Richard Barney)	Chevrolet	150	running	0	33
12	5	16	Timmy Solomito	Starrett Racing   (Eric Sanderson)	Ford	150	running	0	32
13	12	97	Andy Seuss	O.B. Builders   (Byran Dauzat)	Chevrolet	150	running	1	32
14	9	2	Doug Coby	Mayhew Tools   (Mike Smeriglio III)	Chevrolet	150	running	1	31
15	18	77	Gary Putnam	Curb Records   (Mike Curb)	Chevrolet	150	running	6	30
16	13	1	Burt Myers	Citrusafe / Dunleavy Truck & Trailer   (Eddie Harvey)	Ford	150	running	5	29
17	26	26	Gary McDonald	Lakeland Landscape / TRC Electric   (Sean McDonald)	Chevrolet	150	running	0	27
18	14	75	Chris Pasteryak	Dawley's Auto   (Charles Pasteryak)	Chevrolet	150	running	0	26
19	24	99	Jamie Tomaino	Atlantic Sprinkler / PSR   (Cheryl Tomaino)	Chevrolet	150	running	0	25
20	27	23	Joe DeGracia *	PJ DeGracia Contracting   (Paul Degracia)	Chevrolet	150	running	0	24
21	15	21	Ronnie Williams	Gershow Recycling / Empower Financial   (Joseph Bertuccio)	Chevrolet	149	running	0	23
22	23	40	Frank Fleming	Lewisville Motors / Smith Trucking   (Gina Fleming)	Chevrolet	148	running	0	22
23	3	22	Kyle Bonsignore	Snap-On Tools   (Kyle Bonsignore)	Chevrolet	148	running	7	22
24	21	33	Wade Cole	Perf. Engines / Kendall Oil   (Wade Cole)	Chevrolet	141	running	0	20
25	25	01	Melissa Fifield	Crowells Towing   (Kenneth Fifield)	Chevrolet	141	running	0	19
26	20	18	Ken Heagy	Buoy One Seafood   (Robert Pollifrone)	Chevrolet	120	tire	0	18
27	17	82	Woody Pitkat	Horton Avenue Materials   (Danny Watts Jr.)	Chevrolet	115	running	0	17