October 24, 2025 | By Adam Fenwick, NASCAR.com

Justin Bonsignore wins NASCAR Mod finale, Austin Beers claims championship

MARTINSVILLE, Va.—Austin Beers made history Thursday by becoming the youngest champion in the 40-year history of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.

Beers, who hails from Northampton, Pennsylvania, secured his first series championship aboard the No. 64 KLM Motorsports Modified with a fourth-place finish in the season-ending Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 at Martinsville Speedway.

At 22 years, 7 months and 5 days old, Beers broke the series record for youngest champion previously held by Ryan Preece, who was 22 years, 11 months and 25 days old when he captured the Modified Tour championship in 2013.

Following in the footsteps of his father Eric, who raced on the Modified Tour from 1997-12 and scored two wins, Austin Beers made his series debut in 2021 at the age of 18.

He scored his first Modified Tour victory in 2023 at Richmond Raceway, and he followed that with three consecutive victories at New York’s Lancaster Motorplex from 2023-25.

This season, Beers was a model of consistency. He scored wins at Lancaster and Riverhead Raceway and secured 12 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes in addition to one Hoosier Tire Pole Award.

The championship is also the first for KLM Motorsports owners Mike and Maggie Murphy, who have been car owners on the Modified Tour for more than a decade.

dJustin Bonsignore scores bittersweet season-ending win at Martinsville; Austin Beers takes home championship


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JUSTIN BONSIGNORE SCORES BITTERSWEET SEASON-ENDING WIN AT MARTINSVILLE

By Brandon White

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — The ending to Thursday’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season finale at Martinsville Speedway carried mixed emotions for Justin Bonsignore.

A year-long pursuit of his fifth series championship ended in a runner-up finish to Austin Beers in the point standings. Despite losing the war, Bonsignore did claim one last battle in the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200, putting together a strong performance for his second victory of 2025 and his 47th overall.

From Bonsignore’s perspective, more showings like the one at Martinsville could have shifted the title battle with Beers in his favor. While he could not help but reflect on the missed opportunities in 2025, Bonsignore took solace in defending his Martinsville triumph from last year’s championship campaign.

“We had a great car all day, unloaded well, obviously qualified on pole and did everything we could to keep [Beers] honest,” Bonsignore said. “We just didn’t do a good enough job all year for that as far as the points. A great night to cap off a so-so season by what we feel our standards are.

“It was amazing we had a shot [at the title], but it was nice to get a second win and a second grandfather clock.”

The Modified Tour championship was well within reach of Bonsignore entering Martinsville, as he only trailed Beers by 14 points. A maximum points night with a victory, pole, a lap led and the most laps led would have given Bonsignore the title if Beers finished eighth or worse.

Bonsignore took care of the pole and led the opening portion of the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200, giving him two crucial bonus points to help erase his deficit. Even with Beers bogged down in traffic from his eighth-place starting position, Bonsignore anticipated the running order would change several times throughout the night.

Cautions brought strategy into play, as teams came down pit road twice per Modified Tour rules to change tires or insert fuel. Bonsignore ended up losing track position through the two pit stop sequences, all while Beers gained spots to re-establish control of the points lead.

The speed in Bonsignore’s car enabled him to methodically climb back toward the lead, but a victory ended up being his only feasible goal on the evening. Beers never lost track position after the first pit stop sequence and secured a runner-up finish to become the youngest champion in Modified Tour history.

Bonsignore offered nothing but praise for Beers at the end of their championship bout, making sure to congratulate the young competitor in Victory Lane. From the moment he first met Beers, Bonsignore noticed plenty of characteristics that he knew would one day translate to success on the Modified Tour.

“I hate that [Beers] beat me to [become champion], but he’s a great young man,” Bonsignore said. “He joined the series four or five years ago, and I don’t know how, but we just hit it off. We became really good friends at the track, tried to give him advice and took him under my wing a little bit.

“He’s a super good kid. He was raised by great people.”

Beers, who is the son of two-time Modified Tour race winner Eric Beers, joins an elite list of previous series champions that include Bonsignore, Tony Hirschman, Doug Coby and Mike Stefanik, among many others.

The idea of being a part of such a group was a surreal one for Beers, who always wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a successful Modified driver. After three full-time years of hard work and patience on the Modified Tour, Beers will now forever be immortalized as a series champion.

“It’s pretty insane to think about,” Beers said. “Growing up, going to these Modified races with my dad, [I] was dreaming of running on the Tour. Now to be a champion with all those guys like Mike [Stefanik], and Justin, someone who I have a lot of respect for. I pride myself in trying to be like Mike a little bit with how he was championship-wise.

“[Mike would be OK] with running second, but championships mean more than wins. To be a champion in this division is unbelievable.”

With Beers only being 22, he still has plenty of time to one day reach the highs of previous Modified Tour champions, which includes the four titles Bonsignore has claimed during his illustrious career.

Bonsignore knows he is still more than capable of at least tying Hirschman with five total championships, which is why the lack of victories in 2025 was frustrating. The last two years saw Bonsignore win five races apiece, a trend that was replaced with only two this year.

A handful of suboptimal showings mixed into his decreased efficiency prevented Bonsignore from celebrating both a victory and a championship on Thursday.

“I crashed myself at Seekonk [Speedway] on the last lap and I probably would have won the championship [if I didn’t],” Bonsignore said. “We just didn’t run great. There were times throughout the summer when we were eighth or ninth. Our big goal in this series is to make it to tech every week and you’ll have a shot.

“I’ve been doing this 16 years and have only won four of them. You’re going to lose way more than you win in this game.”

Instead of lingering too much on the hypotheticals, Bonsignore plans to enjoy his second Martinsville victory with his family and team before regrouping for 2026, where the pursuit for a fifth NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour title will begin once again.

Stephen Kopcik ended the 2025 Modified Tour season with a third-place finish. He was followed in the running order by Joey Coulter and Craig Lutz to round out the top five.

The rest of the top 10 finishers consisted of Tyler Rypkema, Eric Goodale, Conner Jones, Matt Hirschman and Mike Christopher Jr.

The Modified Tour now enters a three-month hiatus before the 2026 season commences. New Smyrna Speedway will open the new year on Feb. 7, with the race being broadcasted live on FloRacing.


RACE RESULTS

Pos. Car No. Name Sponsor Laps Diff.
1 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications Inc 206 –
2 64 Austin Beers G&G Eletric Supply/Dell Electric/Fastrack Electric 206 1.107
3 21 Stephen Kopcik* Newtown Pools/Wanick Construction 206 1.229
4 2 Joey Coulter IV SRI Performance/Billstein Shocks/PFC Brakes/Molecule 206 1.33
5 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 206 1.37
6 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE Power/SYP/Northeast Drilling 206 1.568
7 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 206 2.247
8 99 Conner Jones* Driveshaft Shop 206 3.559
9 60 Matt Hirschman PeeDee Motorsports/Bar Harbor Bank and Trust 205 1 Lap
10 77 Michael Christopher Jr* Curb Records/Mohawk Northeast 205 1 Lap
11 25 Danny Bohn Alpine Partners/Amerifast/Cutting Edge Stonework 205 1 Lap
12 8 John Michael-Shenette USNE Power Midwest/Eighty-Two Services 204 2 Laps
13 70 Andy Seuss Rockingham Boat 202 4 Laps
14 55 Jeremy Gerstner JT’s Services/Garage Doors of the Triad 201 5 Laps
15 56 Trevor Catalano USNE Power 201 5 Laps
16 22 Kyle Bonsignore MTT/ChaLew Performance/Munns Auto 200 6 Laps
17 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc./Middlesex Interiors 198 8 Laps
18 5 Teddy Hodgdon IV* Montanari Fuel/Business Time Motorsports 198 8 Laps
19 18 Ken Heagy Speed 77 197 9 Laps
20 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara/USNE 191 15 Laps
21 7 Luke Baldwin* Baldwin Automotive 181 25 Laps
22 40 Luke Fleming William E Smith Trucking/Taylor’s Auto Parts 172 34 Laps
23 29 Mike Marshall* MLM Diagnostics/Jusczak Electric 151 55 Laps
24 4 Ryan Newman Bobcat/USNE/Finzer Rollers/Montrose Molders 120 86 Laps
25 14 Jake Lutz* Advantage Trucks/Washtronics/Anastasi Trucking 111 95 Laps
26 23 Carson Loftin L&R Transmission/LeBleu Water/QMF Metal & Electronics 52 154 Laps
27 11 Norman Newman* Family Funland 33 173 Laps
28 38 Bobby Labonte Cook-Out/PSR Products/Pace-O-Matics 7 199 Laps