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(September 11, 2021):  John McClelland of Martinsville, NJ has been racing a Modified at New Egypt Speedway for 13 years. He has come close on many occasions, has been a top five point driver several times, but had never visited victory lane in a Modified. That all changed Saturday night on First Responders night as the veteran racer broke thru in a big way, taking the lead on lap 8, then surviving a restart challenge from Mike Butler with 4 laps remaining to record his first Vahlco Wheels Modified triumph.  

Mike Gular of Boyertown, PA clinched the track championship in his first full season of racing at the central Jersey track by finishing 4th for the third straight week. Gular only won a single feature this season on April 17th, but that propelled him to finish in the top 3 in eight straight events resulting in the 2021 Modified championship.          

 Wade Hendrickson grabbed the lead at the start of the 30 lap event trailed by DJ Hunt and David Burns. Hendrickson immediately began to open up a comfortable lead as Dakota Kessler moved into third. McClelland, who started 6th, had entered the top five after the opening lap and immediately used the outside groove to march toward the front. “Johnny Mac” began picking off a position a lap and found himself second by lap 5 and closing quickly on the leader. On lap 8 he caught Hendrickson and after a “slider” in turn 4 he was the leader of lap 8. McClelland was hooked up and just drove away from the competition as Modified rookie DJ Hunt raced in second.  Mike Butler took over third at halfway and began pressuring Hunt when the caution came out with 20 laps in the books.  McClelland drove away on the restart as Butler charged by Hunt for second, bringing Rick Laubach and Mike Gular with him. Brandon Grosso also used this restart to charge forward and enter the top 5.  With just four laps remaining Frank Venezia slowed on the front straightaway with a broken RR suspension, setting up a final challenge for McClelland. When the green waved Mike Butler threw his car under the leader as they raced side by side for a lap. Butler looked to have completed the pass the following lap in turn 1, only to watch “Johnny Mac” drive back around him in turn 2 and drive away to his first ever Modified win. Laubach got by Butler to finish second with Butler settling for third. Mike Gular crossed the line fourth to clinch his first ever championship, and Brandon Grosso rounded out the top 5.   

(September 4, 2021) Billy Pauch Jr. overcame a broken driveshaft in his heat race, which relegated him to start 20th in the feature, and earned his 6th win of 2021 at New Egypt Speedway Saturday Night in the Vahlco Wheels Modified 30 lap feature event.  Pauch marched steadily to the front, and then took advantage of a lap 19 restart, as he wrestled the lead away from Kory Fleming and drove away to victory. 

Chris Grbac and Jack Swain brought the field to the start with Grbac assuming command. Bryan Kuhl quickly charged into second and began catching the leader. As he closed in to challenge Grbac, 7th starter Kory Fleming was also charging to the front and quickly passed Kuhl and Grbac for the lead on lap 7. Fleming began to open up a comfortable lead as Kuhl moved into second and took up the chase.  Meanwhile, 20th starting Pauch was already up to 8th and following a restart began to show how strong his car was becoming as the race moved on.  By lap 17 Pauch had moved into third but had a lot of ground to make up on the two leaders and was having trouble closing the gap.  But that changed 2 laps later as the yellow flashed on for John Aumick, who had spun in turn four.  On the restart Pauch beat Kuhl into turn 1 and drove up on the outside of Fleming.  Fleming was fast on this night and as Pauch past him in turn 2, Fleming came roaring back under him to hold the lead. The duo raced side-by-side for 2 laps before Pauch wrestled the lead away from him.  Once in front, Pauch Jr cruised away to post the victory, the 35th of his career at NES. Cale Ross found a bite on the outside in the closing laps and took second, ahead of Rick Laubach who also made a late charge past several cars.  Fleming settled for 4th with Mike Gular rounding out the top five.       

Due to the inclement weather forecast for today, speedway management has decided to cancel tonight's 2nd Annual Ron John Koczon Classic. We will be back in action next Saturday, September 4th for Back To School Night!

(August 14, 2021) David Van Horn captured his first Modified feature win of 2021 on Jeep Night at New Egypt Speedway on Saturday. Van Horn marched from 12th starting position, taking the lead from Louden Reimert on lap 18, and never looked back. It was the 11th victory of his career at NES.      

Chris Grbac and DJ Hunt brought the field to the start of the 30-lap contest with Hunt opening up a nice half straightaway lead over the first 5 laps. Hunt withstood one restart but by lap 8 the Modified Rookie had heavy pressure coming from behind as newcomer Louden Reimert and 5-time winner Billy Pauch Jr. were making quick work of the competition behind him.  It took a couple laps for Reimert to find a way by Hunt, all the while holding off Pauch.  As Reimert grabbed the lead Pauch Jr. followed him by and continued to hound Reimert, now for the lead. Suddenly from seemingly out of nowhere, Van Horn burst onto the scene and raced side by side with Pauch for second. This battle was waged on Reimert’s back bumper for 4 laps, with Van Horn and Pauch trying to one up each other on every turn. Twice the duo attempted to make it three wide for the lead, but Reimert was up to each challenge.  Finally on lap 18, Van Horn got a tremendous bite on the low side of turn two and shot by both Pauch and leader Reimert.  Once in front DVH pulled away, as his car got faster with each passing lap.  With Van Horn out in front, Pauch picked up his battle with Reimert, trying every groove over the next 10 laps to no avail.  Finally as the field was shown the “two to go” signal Pauch found just enough room and squeezed by Reimert’s Fleuer #16. Van Horn cruised to the victory as Pauch Jr. earned a hard fought runner-up finish. Tenth starter Reimert settled for third, making a lot of fans at NES in the process, with his hard work and smooth driving throughout the 30 lap affair, as he got onto the podium for the first time in just his fifth start. Mike Gular, who looked to be the fastest car on the track in the opening laps, fought his way back to finish 4th, as he quickly closed on the leaders over the final five laps. Mike Butler crossed the line fifth for his second top five in the last 3 races.    

(August 7, 2021):  The Grosso brothers took center stage Saturday night at New Egypt Speedway as Brandon won for the third time this season in a special 40 lap Modified event and younger brother Justin destroyed the field in the 20 lap Sportsman feature for his 4th win in a row. This marks the first time this year that the brothers have won a feature on the same night at the track.     

26 cars took the green flag in the Vahlco Wheels Modified 40 lapper with PJ Oliver grabbing the lead over Chris Grbac.  Oliver was looking dominant in the early going as he opened up a sizable lead until two consecutive cautions flew on lap 6 & 8 to slow the action.   Oliver continued to lead when racing resumed as Rick Laubach took over the runner-up spot. Laubach quickly had his hands full as Oliver drove away from the field again, with 11th starter Grosso already challenging for second. Grosso quickly moved into second, bringing 2018 track champ David Van Horn with him, and took up the chase after Oliver who was more than a half straightaway in front. Grosso took only 5 laps to catch the leader and on lap 17 made what proved to be the winning pass.  As Grosso assumed command, last week’s winner Billy Pauch Jr. and point leader Mike Gular were hot on his heels and also passed Oliver.  This duo traded second spot back and forth a couple times as Grosso proved too strong, even thru two more restarts.  Grosso cruised to his third win of the season ahead of Pauch Jr. and Gular, with Van Horn coming home fourth. Some confusion occurred on the final lap when chief starter Terry Branson was hit by an object causing him to prematurely throw the checkered flag. He quickly realized his mistake and switched back to the white flag, however not before fifth place runner Dominic Buffalino, who had been battling to hold off a fast Louden Reimert, had seen it. This resulted in fifth place switching on the final circuit. Track officials, upon reviewing what had happened, decided that both drivers would be credited with finishing fifth in the final rundown, and would both receive fifth place money and points for the event.  Thankfully flagger Branson was uninjured. Mike Gular remains the point leader by just 2 points over Billy Pauch Jr.