Matt Hirschman Goes Back-To-Back with RoC, Wins Tommy Druar/Tony Jankowiak 110

One week after his first Race of Champions Modified Series victory of 2025, Matt Hirschman doubled up with a win in the Tribute to Tommy Druar and Tony Jankowiak 110 at Spencer Speedway.

Hirschman claimed the victory in the 35th running of the event, finishing ahead of Patrick Emerling and Paulie Hartwig, III.

Hirschman took the lead on lap 67, as his pit crew got him out of the pits in front of Mike Leaty during caution-flag pit stops. Leaty had previously taken the lead from Hirschman on lap 41.

From there, Hirschman maintained the top spot and claimed the victory in the Friday's Tommy/Tony 110.

The Tribute to Tommy Druar and Tony Jankowiak traditionally takes place at Lancaster Motorplex, as it will later this year for the 36th edition of the race. However, the 35th running of the event ran at Spencer on Friday after multiple attempts to run the event during the 2024 season.

This offered a platform for Hirschman and his competitors to prepare for another big race at Spencer on August 29, the Maynard Troyer Classic VI. Despite winning, Hirschman believes there's still some work to be done to compete for the big win on that night.

"I think what was important tonight for me was we've got a big race coming up later this year, the Maynard Troyer Classic," said Hirschman. "Tonight was important to be here, I think, to size ourselves up and see what we had. If we were running the 60, whatever lap it is this year, I think Mike Leaty's your winner, so we might still have some work to do.

"My guys had a great pit stop that got us back out in first, and we adjusted on it a little bit. I think we picked up some speed again then and ha da good, strong car to the finish, but Mike also had trouble. He's the guy to beat here. When he won in dominant fashion at Lancaster a few weeks ago, that put a little pressure on me for Evans Mills, because I'm like, I don't know if we're going to beat him at Spencer, so we better get a win at Evans Mills, which we did."

No matter the location, it's always special to win the Tommy Druar/Tony Jankowiak 110.

"This is not a place I've ever had a string of much success at, but we've picked up some wins here now. First and foremost, though, Tommy/Tony night, 110, two fallen heroes from this area up here. I've won this race a bunch of times, mostly, I think, at Lancaster. Tommy Druar, Tony Jankowiak, it's great to see that their families are still involved, their kids are racing, and keep that going after such a tragic loss for both of them."

Emerling finished second, rallying from the rear of the field after an alternator issue following his heat race.

"It might have been a little bit of my fault earlier," said Emerling. "I didn't notice when we came in from that heat race, I didn't see anything funky on my volt meter. When I was driving up there, we weren't charging. So we wouldn't have lasted the race if the alternator wasn't working. We found a broken wire, and unfortunately we had to start scratch.

"We had a great car. We just kind of bided our time. We battled back there and played the strategy accordingly. We had one of the fastest cars here. We were pretty darn close tonight. I think we were pretty close to speed on the 60. Given our starting position there, we didn't have a chance to race with him. We had a lot of fun out there. Happy to come run these RoC races here."

Hartwig, III rounded out the podium, making his second start with the Race of Champions Modified Series in 2025. It was also a new look for Hartwig, as he piloted the No. 20 Jerry Gradl Motorsports entry.

"This piece was really good tonight," said Hartwig, III. "It was a lot of saving, you know, 110 laps is really long. This is one of my favorite tracks. Third and a fourth and a third right now in the last year. We've got three more races coming up with Gradl Motorsports. I've got to really thank them for the call.

"Congrats to Matt. He was fast all day long. We were trying to find some speed to come catch him, but just not enough."

Jake Lutz finished fourth, with Leaty rounding out the top five.

The Race of Champions Modifieds return to action on July 26 at Holland Speedway for the Crosby 100.

-Photo credit: MoJo Photos/Race of Champions

35th Tribute to Tommy Druar and Tony Jankowiak 110 Unofficial Results