Jon McKennedy Dashes to Friday Night Sunoco World Series Outlaw Open Modified Win

Before a busy Saturday at the Sunoco World Series at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, Jon McKennedy went to victory lane in the Outlaw Open Modified Sunoco Race Fuels Dash for Cash on Friday.

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McKennedy took the checkered flag in the 50-lap race for Modified competitors on the first of two days of racing for this year's fall classic at "The Big T." He took the lead nine laps into the feature event and claimed the victory ahead of Woody Pitkat and Patrick Emerling.

The Massachusetts native has a big day planned for Saturday, competing in both the Race of Champions 150 as well as the New England Supermodified Series feature on the second day of racing. He'll go into Saturday with an extra $5,000 and the momentum from Friday's Dash for Cash.

"The car was just awesome all day. It was an absolute rocket. A big thanks to all my guys, they all worked hard. It's been a crazy couple of weeks here at the shop. Had a pretty tore-up car there at Stafford a few weeks ago. This thing was a bare frame basically two weeks ago, so a ton of work went into this, as well as preparing the Supermodified for tomorrow's race.

"I think this is our fourth win here at Thompson in the last six races, so we've definitely got a good package, a good engine program. It's good to be back in victory lane."

Pitkat settled for second place behind McKennedy. With a challenging 2025 season coming to a close, Pitkat was pleased with a strong showing and a clean race car in Friday's race.

"We've had a rough season," said Pitkat. "Not real bad, we've just struggled. You have good years and you have bad years. I can't thank these guys enough for working so hard. After the Fall Final there, I left them in a bad spot with having to fix the race car.

"This was a great day. We built some momentum here. Hopefully, we can be one spot better at Seekonk."

Another driver with sights set on Saturday's Race of Champions 150, Emerling rounded out the podium in Friday's sprint.

"Our goal today was to get dialed in for the race tomorrow," said Emerling. "We had a good car. I was kind of riding there once I got to third and I wasn't sure, maybe I went a little too late. It's hard to say, I don't know. For whatever reason, I used to be really good on restarts. I'd have a lot of drive. For whatever reason, I don't know if it was some sort of a combination or something was really weird. I couldn't restart.

"I don't normally have that issue. It was just something we've got to figure out. I don't know if it's some sort of gear ratio, motor package. We had a good car and it was a pretty stacked field. Thanks to everyone involved, and we'll get her a little bit better for tomorrow."

Fans can watch a full day of racing from Thompson on RacingAmerica.TV Saturday, starting at 12:30 p.m. ET. Click here to subscribe to RacingAmerica.TV to watch the second day of the Sunoco World Series, including the 75th Race of Champions 150.

Due to broadcast rights restrictions, RacingAmerica.TV will not air the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour portions of the event.

-Photo credit: Connor Sullivan

Outlaw Open Modified Series Sunoco Race Fuels Dash for Cash