Patrick Emerling finished fourth in last year’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season opening at New Smyrna Speedway, Rich Gautreau’s first race as car owner.
Their second excursion to New Smyrna together culminated in a trip to Victory Lane. In a race marked by a record amount of cautions and divergent pit strategy, Emerling took advantage of every opportunity to ascend from the back of the pack. Emerling opened 2025 with his seventh Modified Tour victory, thanks to fresh tires on his No. 1 Fleetworks Inc. Modified in the final laps.
Emerling was excited to hit the track on a Saturday after a lengthy winter of training because of the connection he had created with Gautreau’s crew in such a short period of time.
“We couldn’t wait to get rolling,” Emerling remarked. “This is a brand new LFR vehicle.” [My crew chief] Dale Hedquist and the staff worked extremely hard. I believe Dale worked 100 hours per week. This is really wonderful. We weren’t the best automobile at first, but we had to dial it in so we were okay by the end.”
When Emerling made the decision to join Gautreau’s start-up organization ahead of the 2024 season, he intended to compete every week.
Aside from a mishap that forced them to miss the season’s second race at Richmond Raceway, Emerling and Gautreau soon adopted efficiency as a motif. The duo’s first nine races together consisted of six top-five results, all while Emerling was getting closer to delivering Gautreau his first win as a vehicle owner.
Everything came together for Emerling in the tenth race of the season at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, where he cruised to victory after leading all 150 laps from the pole. Emerling won two additional races at Oswego Speedway and Monadnock Speedway, putting him third in points behind Ron Silk and champion Justin Bonsignore.
Emerling enters the New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau 200 determined to build on a successful 2024. The car given by Gautreau had plenty of speed, but the path to the front proved unusual, with a slew of cautions leading in multiple pit stops.
An ill-timed yellow may have disrupted Emerling’s tactics and relegated him to the back.
Emerling had been in similar situations countless times during his career, and he retained his composure while patiently waiting for an opening to give himself a tire advantage over his opponent.
“We started dead last, but as a team, we didn’t panic at all,” Emerling said. “We won the Spring Sizzler with the same motor trouble in qualifying. This was a strategy race, and you’re going to lose your track position early on. There were many uncertainties, but we wanted to out-tire the field, and everything worked out.”
With 50 circuits remaining, Trevor Catalano received a caution, prompting Emerling to pit for fresh rubber. He then picked off the slower cars ahead of him before executing the race-winning pass on Craig Lutz during the penultimate restart.
He then picked off the slower cars ahead of him before executing the race-winning pass on Craig Lutz during the penultimate restart.
Lutz, who hadn’t been to Victory Lane in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour since 2022, knew he was at the mercy of yellow flags. The early cautions enabled Lutz to climb into the top five with his plan, whilst the late ones made it impossible to fend off Emerling.
“With the pit strategy there, it’s such a gamble,” Lutz told me. “It truly makes the crew chief and the crew throw the dice on the calls and hope one works out for you. [Emerling] had the best car, and his approach paid off, but we fought for it.
We just came up a little short.
Despite finishing second, Lutz viewed Saturday’s season opening as a positive step forward. If he can put together more solid laps like the one at New Smyrna, Lutz believes he can compete for the Modified Tour title in his second year with Goodie Racing.
Lutz and the rest of the Modified Tour field will have a significant challenge from Emerling. Emerling’s triumph at New Smyrna on Saturday marks his 15th consecutive top-10 finish.