A strong field of more than 30 modifieds are headed to southern Virginia for Saturday’s King of the Modifieds spectacular at South Boston Speedway. The 125-lap race pays $20,000 to win, but more importantly, the victor becomes royalty in the modified community, with the reading of a declaration and the reward of a king’s crown and cloak with the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic.

No matter whether you are going to be in attendance this weekend, or watching live on FloRacing, we want to prepare you with a scouting report for the big race. 

02    Joey Coulter             Miami Springs, FL        TORCH Eyewear

• Former NASCAR Trucks Series winner
• 7th in SMART points | 2-time SMART Winner
• SoBo Stats: 5 starts, 2 Top-5 finishes, Best: 3rd

04    Brandon Ward        Winston-Salem, NC        KevinSaysYes.com

• 6-time SMART Winner | 2023 NASCAR Modified Champ - Bowman Gray Stadium
• SoBo Stats: 24 starts, 8 Top-5 finishes, Best: 2 wins (NASCAR Mod Tour / Pro Cup)

06    Sammy Rameau        Westminster, MA        New England Truck Design

• SMART Winner at Motor Mile Speedway (2023)
• SoBo Stats: 1 start, Best: 15th (NWMT - 2019)

1    Burt Myers            Walnut Cove, NC        Pinnacle / Citrusafe

• Racing NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway next week
• 3-time SMART Champ | 12-time SMART Winner | 11-time Bowman Gray Champ
• SoBo Stats: 17 starts, Best: 1 win (2024), Never finished outside top 7

1    Stephen Kopcik         Newtown, CT            Paul’s Auto Center

• 17 SK Modified wins at Stafford Motor Speedway (CT)
• 2-career SMART starts | Tri-Track Modified Winner (2024)
• SoBo Stats: 1 start, Best: 27th, Started 7th in last year’s KoM race

2    Ryan Newman         South Bend, IN        SHITI Coolers

• Former Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 Winner
• 3rd in SMART points in 2024 | 3-time SMART Winner
• SoBo Stats: 3 starts, Best: 2nd (Oct), Finished top 5 in SRX race at SoBo

4    Slate Myers             Walnut Cove, NC        Bryson Bros. Aerial

• 4th generation racer from Myers family, son of Burt Myers
• 3rd in SMART points | 4-career SMART starts | Best Finish: 4th (season opener)
• SoBo Stats: 1 start, Best: 12th (Oct)

5    Tommy Buzze         Maiden, NC            Mark III Financial

• 33-career SMART starts | 1st start of 2025
• SoBo Stats: 5 starts, 3 top-5 finishes, Best: 2nd (2023)

5ct    Chris Pasteryak         Lisbon, CT            Dawley’s Collision & Custom

• 2-time Modified Racing Series Champ | 13-time MRS Winner
• 2-career SMART starts | Finished 12th at season opener (Florence)
• SoBo Stats: 0 starts, Mechanical issues resulted in DNQ in 2024

7ny    Jack Baldwin         Mooresville, NC        Mohawk Northeast

• 3rd generation racer | Son of Tommy Baldwin (Daytona 500 winning crew chief)
• 2-career SMART starts | 7-time Winner in Crate Modifieds
• SoBo Stats: 0 starts

7va    Luke Baldwin         Mooresville, NC        Pace-O-Matic

• 3rd generation racer | Son of Tommy Baldwin (Daytona 500 winning crew chief)
• Defending SMART Champion | 3-time SMART Winner | Defending KoM Winner
• SoBo Stats: 2 starts, 2 top-5 finishes, Best: Win (KoM, 2024)

9nj    Tom Martino Jr.         Farmingdale, NJ        Martino Race Engines    

• Winner in Modifieds at Wall Stadium (NJ) in 2024
• 1st career SMART start 
• SoBo Stats: 0 starts

12pa    Anthony Bello         Newtown, CT            TBA

• 2-time SK Modified Winner at Stafford Motor Speedway (CT)
• 18-career SMART starts | 1st start of 2025
• SoBo Stats: 2 starts, 2 top-10 finishes, Best: 5th (KoM, 2024)

15    Bryce Bailey             Waverly, NY            K2 BBQ Sauces

• Driver for famous Shady Grady Racing team
• 5-career SMART starts | Fast-time qualifier in season opener (Florence)
• SoBo Stats: 1 start, Best: 30th (KoM, 2024)

16    Ron Silk             Norwalk, CT            Future Homes

• 2-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Champ | 26-time NWMT Winner
• 1st career SMART start 
• SoBo Stats: 1 start, 1 top-5 finish, Best: Win (2019, NWMT)

16va    Jonathan Cash         Oxford, NC            Pace-O-Matic

• 10th in SMART points | 23-career SMART starts 
• SoBo Stats: 7 starts, 2 top-5 finishes, Best: 4th (2x)

18    Daniel Yates             Lexington, NC            Yates Grading & Paving

• 9th in SMART points | 30-career SMART starts 
• SoBo Stats: 5 starts, Best: 10th (October 2024)

20    Eddie McCarthy         Brick, NJ            McCarthy’s Marine

• 2-time Winner at Wall Stadium (NJ) in 2024
• 1st career SMART start  
• SoBo Stats: 0 starts

20    Tony Hanbury            Oswego, NY            Jerry Gradl Motors

• 2-time RoC Modified Series Champ | 6-time RoC Winner
• 1st career SMART start  | 1 RoC Sportsman Win in 2024
• SoBo Stats: 0 starts

21    Jimmy Wallace        Reedy Creek, NC        Carolina Drilling

• 48-career SMART starts | 8th in KoM in 2024
• SoBo Stats: 6 starts, Best: 7th (2021)

22    Jason Tutterow        Advance, NC            Carolina Drilling

• Former Southeast Limited Late Model Winner
• 16-career SMART starts 
• SoBo Stats: 3 starts, Best: 9th (KoM, 2024)

23    Carson Loftin         Lexington, NC            LeBleu Water

• 5 SMART Wins in 2024
• 30-career SMART starts | 4th in CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car Opener in 2025
• SoBo Stats: 4 starts, 1 top-5 finishes, Best: 2nd (2023)

33    Carsten DiGiantomasso     Jackson, NJ            TBA

• 2-time Winner at Wall Stadium (NJ) in 2024, including Garden State Classic
• 2-career SMART starts 
• SoBo Stats: 0 starts

40    Carter McMurray         Mooresville, NC        Bass Pro Shops

• Son of former Daytona 500 winner, Jamie McMurray
• 5th in SMART points | 2-career SMART starts
• SoBo Stats: 0 starts

45    Gary Young, Jr.         Burlington, NC        Ideal Comfort Heating & Air

• Former Ace Speedway Modified Champ
• 23-career SMART starts | 1st start in 2025
• SoBo Stats: 5 starts, Best: 19th (2x)

48    Jonny Kievman         Deerfield Beach, FL        A-Best Forklift

• Former Florida Late Model Winner
• 27-career SMART starts | Bell Helmets Stage Winner at most recent SMART race
• SoBo Stats: 4 starts, Best: 13th (2012)

51    Jayden Harman         Sugarloaf, PA            K.D. Wolfe Trucking

• 10th in RoC Modified Series points in 2024
• 2-career SMART starts 
• SoBo Stats: 1 start, Best: 10th (2024)

55    Jeremy Gertsner         Wesley Chapel, FL        Cherokee Underground

• 6-time Tour-Type Modified Winner
• 36-career SMART starts | 1st start of 2025
• SoBo Stats: 9 starts, 4 top-10 finishes, Best: 5th (2015)

60    Matt Hirschman         Northampton, PA        Colyer Trucking

• Nearly 150 Tour-Type Modified Series Wins
• 9-time SMART Winner | 18-career SMART starts 
• SoBo Stats: 2 starts, 2 top-5 finishes, Best: Win (2022), 2nd (KoM, 2024)

73    Paulie Hartwig, III         Galloway, NJ            Jersey Shore Contracting

• 4 Wins (dirt) in 2025 | 2nd in most recent SMART race (Anderson)
• 4th in SMART points | 3-career SMART starts 
• SoBo Stats: 0 starts

79    Joey Braun             Manorville, NY            Highmark Building Efficiency

• 17 Legend Cars Wins at Riverhead Raceway (NY)
• 8th in SMART points | 2-career SMART starts 
• SoBo Stats: 0 starts

98    Landon Huffman         Claremont, NC        Shamrock Motorsports

• Former Hickory Motor Speedway (NC) Late Model Stock Car Champ
• 3-career SMART starts | 6th in most recent SMART Modified race (Anderson)
• SoBo Stats: 5 starts, Best: 6th (CARS Tour, LMSC)

99    Jake Crum             Statesville, NC            Mount Airy Toyota

• Driver for owner, Jamie Tomaino (former NWMT Champ)
• SMART Point Leader | 15-career SMART starts
• SoBo Stats: 5 starts, 5 top-10 finishes, Best: 3rd (2024)

To see these Modifieds drivers invade South Boston Speedway with the SMART Modified Tour this weekend, you are encouraged to get advanced tickets on the track website.

Practice and qualifying for the Pace-O-Matic King of the Modifieds powered by Dominion Energy will occur on Friday, March 21. Friday’s action is free to the public.

The 125-lap race, plus twin features for NASCAR Late Models and STAR Super Stocks, will highlight the action on Saturday, March 22. Advanced tickets are $20 with tickets also available for purchase on race day at the track for $25.

For more information about the event, fans are urged to visit the “King of the Modifieds Central” on the SMART Mods website.

All SMART races are streamed live on FloRacing, the official streaming broadcast partner of the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic.

For updates on the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic, be sure to follow the series on social media (Facebook: SMART Modified Tour| Twitter: @SMARTMods_ | IG: @smartmods_).