North Wilkesboro Tradition Continues with SMART Modified Tour Title Fight
North Wilkesboro Speedway does not need much help feeling historic. Put modifieds back on its worn-in surface, add a championship battle separated by single digits, and the old place becomes more than a stop on the schedule. It becomes the kind of race weekend drivers remember.
That is the setting for the Friendly Tire 99, the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic season finale on Saturday, Oct. 17, at North Wilkesboro Speedway in the foothills of North Carolina.
The numbers are tight. Danny Bohn enters the finale with a three-point lead over Jake Crum and Ryan Newman. Brandon Ward is still right there, nine points out of the lead. Burt Myers remains mathematically alive as well, sitting 21 points back with one race left to make something happen.
For a tour with deep ties to short-track racing, it is hard to script a better closing act. North Wilkesboro brings history. The SMART Modified Tour brings a title fight. The field brings champions, past winners, rising names, and drivers who already know how to win in 2026.
A championship battle with no room to coast
The season comes down to 99 laps at one of the most recognizable short tracks in the country. That alone raises the stakes. What makes this finale sharper is how little room the contenders have between them.
Bohn owns the lead, but three points is not comfort. It is a thin cushion that can disappear in qualifying, pit strategy, traffic, or one late restart. Crum and Newman do not need a miracle. They need to beat Bohn and handle the moment.
Ward has a slightly larger gap to close, but nine points keeps him very much in the title picture. A strong run, combined with trouble for any of the three ahead of him, could swing the championship his way. Myers faces the steepest path at 21 points back, but with a full field and a demanding track, the math still leaves the door open.
Driver | Championship position entering North Wilkesboro |
Danny Bohn | Points leader |
Jake Crum | 3 points behind |
Ryan Newman | 3 points behind |
Brandon Ward | 9 points behind |
Burt Myers | 21 points behind, mathematically alive |
Those gaps change the way Saturday’s race may unfold.
A driver chasing the title might need to be aggressive, but not reckless. A driver protecting a lead cannot afford to give away track position, but also cannot race in fear. North Wilkesboro has a way of testing that balance. It rewards patience over a long run, but it can also punish anyone who waits too long.
That is the heart of this North Wilkesboro Tradition Continues with SMART Modified Tour Title Fight storyline. The track is not just hosting a finale. It is likely to shape how the championship gets decided.
North Wilkesboro and SMART Modifieds share real history
SMART Modified racing at North Wilkesboro dates back to 1988, when Billy Middleton won the series’ first race at the speedway. That win started a chapter filled with names that still carry weight in modified racing.
Jimmy Spencer, Frank Fleming, Junior Miller, Gary Myers, Jay Hedgecock, and Phillip Smith are among the drivers who reached victory lane at Wilkesboro before the track went quiet for more than two decades.
That history matters because North Wilkesboro is not a neutral backdrop. For modified racers, it is part of the sport’s memory. The track’s long absence from major racing only made its return feel bigger.
When racing returned to North Wilkesboro in 2022, the modifieds helped reintroduce the facility to fans. Ryan Newman, a Daytona 500 winner with deep short-track roots, scored one of the victories. Matt Hirschman, widely regarded as one of the top modified drivers of all time, also won there.
Since then, the winners list has continued to grow with elite names. Justin Bonsignore, a four-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion, has won at North Wilkesboro. So has Luke Baldwin, a two-time and defending SMART Modified Tour champion.
Both Bonsignore and Baldwin are entered for the Friendly Tire 99. That adds another layer to an already strong field. Bonsignore has a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour win this year. Baldwin, the defending winner of this event, is still looking for his first victory of the season.
For Baldwin, North Wilkesboro offers a chance to defend a major win and change the tone of his season in one night. For Bonsignore, it is another opportunity to add to a résumé that already travels well across modified racing.
The field brings champions, specialists, and recent winners
The championship fight will get most of the attention, and rightly so. But the Friendly Tire 99 is more than a points race among five names. The entry list is deep, and several drivers enter with wins already on their 2026 records.
Patrick Emerling, the 2026 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion, is entered and will drive the PSR Products No. 17. His presence gives the race another current champion and another proven closer.
The field also includes winners from a wide range of tracks and series across the country. That mix matters. Modified racing is not one-size-fits-all. A driver who wins at Bowman Gray Stadium faces different demands than one who wins at Wall Stadium, Riverhead Raceway, or Wake County Speedway. Put them together at North Wilkesboro, and the race becomes a meeting point for different styles.
Among the 2026 winners entered are:
Slate Myers, a winner at Bowman Gray Stadium
Carson Haislip, a winner at Wake County Speedway
Jacob Perry, a Modified Racing Series winner
Jimmy Blewett, a winner at Wall Stadium
Jonathan Brown, a Bowman Gray Stadium winner
Joey Braun, a winner at Riverhead Raceway
Carter McMurray, a Limited Late Model winner at Hickory Motor Speedway
Paulie Hartwig III, a Race of Champions Modified Series winner
That list gives the race a national short-track flavor. It also means the title contenders will not spend the night racing only each other. They will have to handle a field full of drivers chasing the same North Wilkesboro prize.
The number itself adds to the challenge. Thirty-three drivers are entered for Saturday’s SMART Modified race. That is a lot of talent, a lot of traffic, and a lot of different goals packed into 99 laps.
Some will be protecting championship hopes. Some will be trying to end the season with a statement. Others will see North Wilkesboro as a chance to beat the best modified drivers in the country on one of the sport’s biggest stages.
Victory lane has its own pull at Wilkesboro
North Wilkesboro has plenty of familiar sights, but one of its most unique draws is the ride to victory lane. The elevator up to the winner’s stage has become part of the track’s revived identity.
For the 33 drivers entered in the Friendly Tire 99, that ride is more than a photo opportunity. It is a symbol of winning at a place that still feels different from most tracks on the schedule.
That matters in modified racing. Many drivers build their careers around tough local tracks, regional touring events, and long nights where every position is earned. Winning at North Wilkesboro gives a driver something that stands apart. It connects them to the track’s past and to the list of names that already made their mark there.
For the championship contenders, the stakes are even higher. A win could mean a race trophy, a title, and a place in the ongoing story of SMART Modified racing at North Wilkesboro. A solid points night could do the same, depending on how the race breaks.
That creates a fascinating tension. The winner of the race may not be the champion. The champion may not need to win the race. But at North Wilkesboro, nobody wants to settle for just enough.
A full tripleheader weekend surrounds the finale
The SMART Modified Tour will headline the championship drama, but the weekend schedule brings more than one division to North Wilkesboro.
The Carolina Crate Modified Series will join the program, adding another modified-style feature to the weekend. Fans will also see a large Mini-Stock presence, with more than 60 Mini-Stocks expected as part of the tripleheader.
That kind of support card helps make the event feel like a full short-track weekend rather than a single-race finale. It gives fans more racing, more storylines, and a broader look at the regional short-track scene around the Carolinas and beyond.
For the SMART Modifieds, the extra divisions also add to the atmosphere. A packed weekend means changing track conditions, a busy pit area, and a crowd that gets to see several different kinds of short-track racing before the title is settled.
The event also serves as a reminder of how North Wilkesboro’s revival has reached beyond national stock car headlines. The track’s return has mattered to grassroots and regional racing too. Modifieds, crate modifieds, and Mini-Stocks all fit into that larger picture.
FloRacing carries the championship live
Fans who cannot make it to North Wilkesboro will still be able to follow the title race. All championship races are streamed live on FloRacing, the official streaming broadcast partner of the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic.
That live coverage matters for a finale this tight. With four drivers separated by less than 10 points, the championship picture can change quickly. A pass for position, a caution, or a restart could alter the standings in real time.
The series will also continue to share updates through its official social channels:
Facebook SMART Modified Tour
X, formerly Twitter @SMARTMods_
Instagram @smartmods_
The official SMART Modified Tour website also remains the series home for race information and updates, including details around the season finale and Event Hub.
Everything points to a memorable North Wilkesboro night
The Friendly Tire 99 has all the ingredients a season finale should have. A historic track. A close points battle. A field with champions and winners from across modified racing. A defending race winner looking for his first victory of the year. A Daytona 500 winner still in the title hunt. A current NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion joining the field.
Now it comes down to execution.
Bohn has the lead, but he does not have control of the night. Crum and Newman are close enough to force the issue. Ward is close enough to strike. Myers still has a mathematical path, even if it requires help. Behind them, a long list of capable drivers will chase the same checkered flag.
North Wilkesboro has already given modified racing plenty of memorable names and moments. On Saturday, Oct. 17, the SMART Modified Tour gets one more chance to add to that history, and one driver will leave the foothills of North Carolina with the championship decided.
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