The SMART Modified Tour is back in action this Sunday at Virginia’s Franklin County Speedway to wrap up a stretch of four races in four weeks. The ground-pounders will run their longest race of the season so far with 110 laps around the 3/8-mile high-banked oval.

Sunday’s race will be the first of the season to not feature Matt Hirschman, who has scored wins in three of the first four races of the year. That leaves things wide open for the prestigious SMARTY Trophy as Caleb Heady is the only winner from this season on the entry list.

A strong 22-car field is expected, with Heady, the winner at Caraway Speedway a couple of weeks ago, headlining the entry list.

Heady is joined at the top of the entry list by defending series champion, Burt Myers. Myers, a 10-time champion at Bowman Gray Stadium, is still seeking his first SMART win in a long while. Myers won the 2021 championship through a model of consistency, without scoring a single victory.

Burt’s brother, Jason Myers, is probably the driver most excited to be heading back to Callaway’s Franklin County Speedway. Of all 22 drivers entered, Jason Myers finished the highest the last time the series was at the action-packed bullring. Myers finished in third behind winner John Smith and James Civali.

With four races already in the books, the championship battle is about to start looking a little bit clearer. Currently, Hirschman leads Heady by 25 points, but Hirschman has no plans to compete for the championship. Realistically, Heady is the points leader by 24 points over the defending champion, Burt Myers. The 2000 NASCAR Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte sits one point behind Myers, 25 points behind Heady.

And while it may feel like looking at the points standings in early April is too early for the season, after Sunday’s race at Franklin County, the season will be half over when they roll into Caraway Speedway on June 29.

After that event, the SMART Modified Tour will take its summer break to allow its teams to focus on competing at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The next time the series will compete will be on September 3 at North Carolina’s Carteret County Speedway, which will be the first of three races in three weeks.

Race fans can catch Sunday’s 110-lap race from Franklin County Speedway live on FloRacing. Coverage will begin with qualifying at approximately 3 p.m. ET.