LOUDON, N.H. — Jonathan McKennedy saved his best move – and just enough fuel – for the final lap Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS), taking the lead from Tommy Catalano and holding on to win the Mohegan Sun 100 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) race at “The Magic Mile.”
McKennedy was in the middle of a thrilling battle for the lead throughout the closing laps of the 100-lap race, trading the top spot with Catalano while NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) veteran Ryan Preece lurked close behind. After Catalano led the field to the white flag, McKennedy dove to the inside entering turn one and emerged with the lead.
McKennedy held the top spot through the final two corners and raced back to the checkered flag to earn the Mohegan Sun 100 victory, but his car was already beginning to run out of fuel as he approached the finish line. Catalano crossed the Granite Stripe just 0.215 seconds behind McKennedy, while Preece finished third, only 0.308 second behind the winner.
“I actually ran out. It started to stumble before taking the checker,” McKennedy said. “And when I crossed the checker, it was done, stalled, so it was a huge gamble.”
The dramatic finish capped an eventful afternoon at “The Magic Mile,” where drafting and changing track conditions kept the running order in constant motion.
Austin Beers and Justin Bonsignore established themselves as two of the cars to beat early, swapping the lead several times before a caution with 63 laps remaining sent the leaders to pit road. Chase Dowling inherited the lead before Beers and Bonsignore began working their way back through the field.
Rain brought out another caution with 28 laps remaining and temporarily halted the action as track-drying efforts began. Once racing resumed, the intensity picked up quickly. Beers battled McKennedy for the lead before McKennedy regained the top spot with 14 laps remaining, setting the table for a frantic run to the victory.
Catalano challenged McKennedy for the lead with 10 laps remaining as Preece joined the fight from behind. A late caution bunched the field once again and gave the leaders one final opportunity to settle the race.
Catalano and McKennedy raced side-by-side and made contact after the restart before Preece helped push Catalano back to the lead. McKennedy stayed within striking distance, however, and made his move as the field took the white flag, completing the final-lap pass that delivered one of the biggest victories of his career.
“The is probably the biggest event in the Northeast,” McKennedy said. “This is our Super Bowl, so to win here in New Hampshire was just huge. Tons of people here. The whole NASCAR group’s here this weekend. A ton of eyes on this race. Everyone talks about this race. Everyone comes to watch this race.”
Defending Mohegan Sun 100 winner Tyler Rypkema finished fourth, with Trevor Catalano rounding out the top-five. Michael Christopher Jr. finished sixth, followed by Dowling, David Sapienza, Teddy Hodgdon and Andrew Molleur.
The victory also gave McKennedy a boost in the NWMT championship standings after a pair of difficult races had dropped him from near the top of the standings.
“Anything’s possible,” McKennedy said. “I’ve been doing this a long time, and you just gotta keep on digging until the last race. It was just a few races ago I was only, I think, 10 points out of the lead. We had two bad races, just nothing but bad luck. Here we are today, just like that, within striking distance again. Anything can happen.”
The finish:
Jon McKennedy, Tommy Catalano, Ryan Preece, Tyler Rypkema, Trevor Catalano, Michael Christopher Jr., Chase Dowling, David Sapienza, Teddy Hodgdon, Andrew Molleur, Matt Hirschman, Craig Lutz, Paulie Hartwig III, Doug Coby, Ronnie Williams, Jacob Perry, Stephen Kopcik, Ryan Newman, Austin Beers, John-Michael Shenette, Cory Dimatteo, Ken Heagy, Eric Goodale, Justin Bonsignore, Cory Plummer, Anthony Nocella, Matt Kimball, Luke Baldwin, Andy Suess, Patrick Emerling.
