Emerling Prevails in Late-Race Shootout, Tour-type Modified Title Fight Tightens

A dramatic finish to Thursday's Tour-type Modified feature saw Patrick Emerling snag a late-race victory from Ronnie Williams, setting the stage for the division's World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing championship fight in Friday's Richie Evans Memorial.

Williams appeared destined for his first career World Series victory in 33 Tour-type Modified starts with a sizable lead. However, a late caution erased that advantage, bringing 2025 World Series champion alongside him for a series of restarts.

What ensued was a series of bumps, swipes and scrapes, with Emerling coming out on top ahead of Williams for the second straight night.

Emerling's car was not perfect on Thursday night, but it was good enough when it counted on the physical closing laps.

"We missed it a little bit tonight," said Emerling. "We were a little bit too snug, started out a little snug. We kind of got pushed in the marbles there at the beginning, so we fell back. I mean, we just did our best to keep the Energizer 1 pointed in the right direction.

"We got to second and we were about to finish second to Ronnie. He was a little faster than us. Some cautions came out and all heck broke loose. I think I went to, I believe it was Ron's Clam Shack a few times.

"That was freaking crazy. We got moved a little bit, but we had a good run off the bottom. He threw the block, and it was like, oh, kind of fair game. We got shoved a few times there. We ran really clean last night together. A little aggressive there, but we had some fun."

Despite the close-quarters, high-contact racing, Williams took no issue with the battle with Emerling. His frustrations stemmed instead from the restarts themselves, where he felt Emerling gained an advantage

"I thought it was just good, hard racing," said Williams. "I was going for the win. My problem was more the restart. The first one, clearly beat me to the line. Second one, clearly beat me to the line, thought he also fired first.

"The last time I checked, the leader should control the race and the leader should get to the line first. It's kind of out of our control. Of course, we wish the caution didn't come out with four to go."

"Did we have one of the best race cars? Yeah, I would say so," Williams continued. "I guess the best race car doesn't always win. It just sucks, because we were that close and that happened. Hopefully, we can finish one spot better tomorrow.

"Don't get me wrong, I dove it in there expecting to make contact to get myself to turn and have a shot at the win. Patrick's one of the hardest guys to pass, I will say that about him and [Anthony] Nocella, those are the two toughest guys to really pass, I would say. I knew that was going to be my one chance with him being just a little tight.

"Going down into three, things happen quick. Of course, I'm blocking, trying to protect my spot so I can get to the line first. He probably got into my left-rear because I was blocking. I don't think any of that happens if the restarts called back, so it is what it is."

With Thursday's race, an already-tight Tour-type Modified World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing title fight grew even tighter, ahead of the division's marquee finale.

Even without a win, back-to-back runner-up finishes tie Williams with Andrew Krause for the points lead. Despite missing Monday's race with mechanical issues, Emerling's two wins have lifted him to third, just six points behind Williams and Krause.

The championship will be decided in the Richie Evans Memorial, a 100-lap feature highlighting Friday night's program at New Smyrna Speedway. Pro Trucks, Florida Modifieds and Ground Pounders will also be in action.

-Photo: Screenshot from FloRacing Broadcast

World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing Night #7
Tour-type Modified Unofficial Results