What were you doing in eighth grade? Most likely not challenging for a championship in one of the premier Modified racing series in America. Well, Paulie Hartwig III is, and he’s doing it against drivers, sometimes, more than twice his age.

The 14 year-old driver, from Galloway, New Jersey, is currently third in the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic standings heading into the fourth race of the 2025 season, this Saturday (April 5), at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, NC.

“I’m learning every race and so far our journey has been on point,” said Hartwig, who attends Galloway Township Middle School. “It's definitely a learning experience with all the new tracks we are racing at, but so far the season is going a lot better than we even anticipated.”

Hartwig’s best finish of the season was in the SMART Mods second race of the season at Anderson Motor Speedway in South Carolina. He finished runner-up to Luke Baldwin, and might have had a shot at the win with the help of a late-race caution.

He followed that up with a sixth-place finish in the biggest race of the year, the King of the Modifieds, at South Boston Speedway in Virginia. Yet, it was his worst run of the season, a 16th place effort in the season opener at Florence Motor Speedway, that taught him a lot about the game of southern modified racing.

“I messed up by burning up the tires. It was driver error, and that hurt us in points a little,” said Hartwig, who is just 19 points behind series leader Baldwin. “I learn valuable lessons every single race, no matter whether it’s car setup or and how to be a better driver and not burn the tires off it. With 99 laps in these races, I have to be patient.”

Words of wisdom coming out of the mouth of a teenager. Yet, despite the talent that he has shown, Hartwig knows the support he’s received is the reason for his impressive performance.

“Jersey Shore Contracting is helping us out with practice tires, so we don't have to be all the way in the back and go out first for qualifying (qualifying lineups are the reverse order of speeds in practice),” explained Hartwig, who admits they are still looking for more supporters to help his family-run team. “My dad (fellow racer Paul Hartwig) is busting his butt to get me to the track, and my best buddy, Bobby Geiger, Jr, has been working with us for about four years. And, my mom does our tire pressures every race.”

Hartwig and a stellar field of racers head to Rougemont, North Carolina this Saturday. The 99-lap Rumble in Rougemont for the SMART Modified Tour might be just what Hartwig needs to reach Pace-O-Matic victory lane.

“I think we have a shot at Orange County,” stated Hartwig, who has never raced at OCS. “I like banked tracks, and that place has some banking. I think a win is coming around the corner and we hope to run well this week.”

Pit gates open at 8:30 a.m on Saturday at the track located just outside of Durham, North Carolina. Practice for the SMART Mods is slated for 1:15 p.m. Things heat up once grandstands open at 3 p.m., with qualifying scheduled for 4:15 p.m. and the Pace-O-Matic Pit Party at 5pm. Feature racing will begin at 6pm, with the Rumble at Rougemont for the SMART Mods the third of five scheduled races.

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_).

Written by: Bob Dillner - X: @bobdillner