Pro Late Models
George Phillips Wins Hart to Heart 100, Hunter Wright Takes World Series PLM Title
Feb 17, 2024
In a race that celebrates one of the greatest Modified drivers to ever compete, another racer continues to etch his name in history.
Matt Hirschman left New Smyrna Speedway a five-time World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing champion while capturing his seventh Richie Evans Memorial 100 win.
The PeeDee Motorsports driver led the championship standings by 10 points over Ronnie Williams heading into this event. To secure that title, he had to battle one of his biggest competitors of Speedweeks, Ryan Preece.
No. 40 of Preece, a multi-time Richie Evans Memorial winner, spent the first part of the race battling for first with Hirschman. On lap 34, Hirschman made a bold choice, dive-bombing under Preece into the bottom of turn three. This aggressive move paid off as Hirschman rocketed to the lead.
From there, the Pennsylvania native had to duel with the hard-charging cars of Eric Goodale and Jimmy Blewett. The No. 58 and No. 76 came to life later on in the race and were aided by a few cautions. However, neither driver was able to outrun the No. 60, leaving them with second and third-place finishes.
Hirschman ended his week at New Smyrna with his 20th career World Series win, an impressive stat that was made more special by winning this memorial event.
“It always means a lot to win the [Richie] Evans Memorial, and to have your name mentioned in the same category at times is quite an honor,” Hirchman said following the race. “Richie was one of the first guys to dominate down here when they brought the modifieds here a long time ago and in recent years we’ve been the guys doing the same thing that he did in the beginning years. Just great to carry the torch and hopefully we can continue to do this for years to come.”
Next year, Hirchman hopes to continue carrying the torch, seeking his seventh consecutive Richie Evans Memorial 100 win. Hirschman has won the event every year since 2019, finishing second to Preece in 2018.
-Story by: Taylor Kitchen
-Photo credit: Will Bellamy/Racing America
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
RICHIE EVANS MEMORIAL - TOUR-TYPE MODIFIEDS
| Fin | No | Driver | Laps | Diff |
| 1 | 60 | Matt Hirschman | 100 | --- |
| 2 | 58 | Eric Goodale | 100 | 1.065 |
| 3 | 76 | Jimmy Blewett | 100 | 2.056 |
| 4 | 40 | Ryan Preece | 100 | 2.501 |
| 5 | 92 | Anthony Nocella | 100 | 3.317 |
| 6 | 20PA | Austin Beers | 100 | 3.385 |
| 7 | 54C | Tommy Catalano | 100 | 4.096 |
| 8 | 32 | Tyler Rypkema | 100 | 5.077 |
| 9 | 46 | Craig Lutz | 100 | 5.746 |
| 10 | 50 | Ronnie Williams | 100 | 6.214 |
| 11 | 02 | Joey Coulter | 100 | 6.368 |
| 12 | 8M | Cam McDermott | 100 | 6.613 |
| 13 | 36 | David Sapienza | 100 | 7.023 |
| 14 | 11 | Norman Newman | 100 | 8.345 |
| 15 | 24 | Andrew Krause | 92 | 8 Laps |
| 16 | 12 | Brian Sones | 88 | 12 Laps |
| 17 | 2 | J.R. Bertuccio | 77 | 23 Laps |
| 18 | 20 | Eddie McCarthy | 74 | 26 Laps |
| 19 | 9 | Tom Martino, Jr. | 74 | 26 Laps |
| 20 | 98 | Landon Huffman | 74 | 26 Laps |
| 21 | 54X | Trevor Catalano | 70 | 30 Laps |
| 22 | 42 | Spencer Davis | 48 | 52 Laps |
| 23 | 00 | Brett Meservey | 32 | 68 Laps |
| 24 | 55 | Teddy Hodgdon | 23 | 77 Laps |
