Hirschman stellar at Star SBM 125

EPPING, N.H. (WWLP) - Matt Hirschman led early, led late, and led when it mattered the most to win Saturday's Exeter Decorating SBM 125 at the Star Speedway in Epping, New Hampshire .

There is no all-star race for modifieds in New England, however this event is quickly filling that bill. Last year's inaugural event drew 17 cars for what turned out to be a $7,000 plus payday for winner Jon McKennedy. Saturday's car count increased to 28 for 24 starting positions with 4 racers failing to make the show.

Hirschman, son of NASCAR Modified Tour past champ Tony Hirschman, collected around $9,000 between the posted purse and lap money. The Northampton, Pennsylvania driver is competing in the Race of Champions Modified Series this season.

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour racer Ryan Preece of Berlin, Connecticut finished 2nd, and defending Star Modified Track Champ Josh Cantara of Wells, Maine took 3rd place.

When race promoters put up a big payoff for a race, it's reasonable to expect a larger turnout of cars as well as quality competitors. So was it the money or a chance to go racing on an off-weekend that drew the competitors? Valenti Modified Racing Series driver Les Hinckley's answer to that question was "Both!"

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour point leader Doug Coby was appreciative of the payday. He told 22News, "There's not a whole lot of short track modified races that pay like this one. This isn't just a front heavy purse, this is a purse that pays throughout the field."

Fellow tour driver Todd Szegedy said his team came for the money and the chance to race at the seacoast track he had never visited before. "We're only racing 14 races on the tour. We want to 25 races a year or more. I wish I could do 60 races a year. With only 14 shows it feels like you're out of the seat too long, so we're running as many shows as we can.", he explained.

The 2011 SBM 125 was almost free of yellow flags. Before the race Doug Coby predicted, "It's going to be a different race this year because there's so many cars so there'll probably be a lot more cautions." He was right as the cautions came early and often, totaling at least 15 for the event. Caution laps weren't counted, and on lap 116 Szegedy's #02 ran out of gas. He pitted and returned to finish the race.

Drivers, spotters, and crews weren't the only ones getting a workout. On the starter's stand flagman John Spence, Jr. also had plenty of work to do with all the restarts. Spence is always part of the show with his high energy and colorful style. On Sunday 22News asked John if he needed an anti-inflammatory pain reliever or some other remedy for muscle aches. In a text John replied, "Yep, lol, very sore."

But when these guys did race, there was plenty of hard and aggressive competition. Time trials determined the lineup for heat races and a drawing led to the top 6 in the starting field being inverted. It's not unusual to see some fans get up and leave a race when there's about 10 laps left. Even though Hirschman won by a comfortable margin, the fans in the stands stuck around for what turned out to be an action packed finish, with Cantara and Mike Stefanik sliding through the infield grass at the end.

Click here for a photo gallery of the race's highlights.