Matt Hirschman Seeking 10th Race of Champions Win at Thompson

Matt Hirschman is no stranger to making history, but Saturday's Race of Champions 150 has the potential to be a very special day for him.

A Hirschman victory in Saturday's race at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park would be his 10th in the historic event, celebrating its 75th running this weekend. It would also secure the Race of Champions Asphalt Modified Series championship, as he leads Austin Beers by 135 points entering the weekend.

WATCH ON RACINGAMERICA.TV

As hard as it is to fathom for the driver who has now won the event nine times, the Race of Champions was once a crown jewel that eluded the Northampton, Pennsylvania driver.

“It took me longer to win than I would have liked," Hirschman told Racing America. "I felt like I was in contention to win for the better part of probably five or six runnings of the race and came up empty."

After winning the event for the first time in 2012 at Oswego Speedway, he'd proceed to win eight of the next nine, including six in a row between 2014 and 2019. He added his ninth Race of Champions win in 2024 at Lake Erie Speedway.

RELATED: What Makes The Race of Champions Special?

"Once we finally broke through with the first win, I mean, they came in succession. We really racked up a lot of wins, I believe at one point, six straight years, which is pretty difficult to do consecutively in any race, let alone a race as big as this and with as many variables as it has with multiple pit stops and things like that.

“Now, this is just another challenge in the history of the race for me. I’ve won it at three different locations already, so we’ll see if we can add a fourth to that.”

If Hirschman is going to add a fourth track to the list of places he has won the Race of Champions and hoisted the Al Gerber Trophy, it will have to come at a track that has stymied him over the years.

“It’s never been an easy race to win, just because there are a lot of variables," Hirschman explained. "The laps are less [this year], but it’s on a longer track and still using the same pit format. You’re going to see comers and goers throughout the race. You just have to try and position yourself that you are going in that forward direction when it matters most when it comes down to winning time.

“I think, for me, just being honest, it’s just not one of my best tracks. I’ve won a couple of ROC races there when they had just a regular ROC race there back around 2007, 2008, maybe. Those are my only two wins there. I’ve gotten second-place finishes in Whenel Modified races there, one as recent as this August.

"I’ve been competitive there, and I’ve won with ROC there before, but for a track that, over the years, as many times as I have raced there, I don’t have the success rate that I have a lot of other racetracks, including race tracks in New England. It’s never really been one of my strengths, but at the same time, when you still have second-place finishes, as recent as August of this year with the Whelen Tour, you’re in contention, you’re still in the hunt.”

An added challenge on Saturday at Thompson will be the revamped schedule for the second day of the Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing. Originally, Hirschman's plans featured the Race of Champions 150 on Saturday and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour's traditional World Series event on Sunday.

With an inclement weather forecast for Sunday, officials have moved the Whelen Modified Tour contest to Saturday evening, following the Race of Champions.

“It certainly creates a challenge for someone as hands-on as I am," said Hirschman. "I don’t just drive the cars that I’ll be competing in. I am also involved with the tire process, adjustments and things like that. It certainly makes things more difficult, but you know, I won’t prioritize one over the other. The events are equally big and, you know, we’ll do the best we possibly can in both events.

“It’s something I’ve had experience with, running both classes at the Turkey Derby on the same day already. It’ll be a long day, for sure, but hopefully it ends in a successful day.”

Whether or not he's able to score a victory in one or both of the Modified features on Saturday, Hirschman hopes, at the very least, he can wrap up the 2025 Race of Champions Modified Series championship with a solid showing to start the day.

“It’s been since 2015 that I’ve won a championship on the Race of Champions," Hirschman explained. "For me, personally, I think it’s that I came into the season, not necessarily with this goal or even thinking it was a possibility. The way my season started, just some things that changed for me personally on scheduling and weather affected some things.

"Once it became a reality, I kind of liked the idea of, it’s been that long, there are a lot of crew guys with me now that weren’t with me when I won championships from, I think my first was in 2004 and my last was in 2015. So I’ve got a lot of people that are with me now that weren’t part of those championships. I think it’ll be quite satisfying because, like I said, it’s something I haven’t accomplished in a long time and it’s something new for quite a few people that are with me now that weren’t then."

Fans can watch Saturday's Race of Champions 150 live on RacingAmerica.TV. Click here to subscribe today and tune in to RacingAmerica.TV's coverage of the Sunoco World Series from Thompson.

-Photo credit: Race of Champions