Austin Beers is doing everything he can not to think about the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour title.
Each day he goes to work and tries to forget the fact that, at 22, he’s two races away from winning a championship in NASCAR’s oldest division.
“Everybody is going to ask. All my friends are going to tell me not to mess it up,” Beers said. “One race at a time. That’s what we’ve been doing all year. Just focus on the next one and don’t worry about something you can’t control right now.”
The driver of the No. 64 KLM Motorsports Modified for Mike and Maggie Murphy has enjoyed a spectacular 2025 season. He leads the series in almost every major statistical category, including top fives, top 10s, laps completed, average qualifying position and average finish position.
“I wouldn’t be racing the Tour if not for Mike and Maggie and that whole family,” said Beers. “They gave me this huge opportunity, and I’ll forever be in debt to them. I want to deliver this championship to Mike. All those years where they’ve struggled; they’ve had rough years and haven‘t had much success.
“I just want to show them with hard work and dedication, we’re going to get it done for them.”
UPDATE:Mods race at Thompson rescheduled for Saturday
Beers sits atop the Modified Tour standings by 13 points ahead of Justin Bonsignore going into Saturday‘s World Series 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (8:15 p.m. ET on FloRacing and The NASCAR Channel).
His championship lead arrives in large part thanks to wins at Lancaster Motorplex and, last Saturday, Riverhead Raceway. The win at Riverhead last weekend was a huge shot in the arm for Beers following what he considered disappointing ninth-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
There are several reasons why the victory at Riverhead was significant. First and perhaps most important, it added six points to Beers’ lead over Bonsignore in the standings.
If that weren’t enough, Beers won the race by passing Bonsignore, who leads all drivers with 12 Modified Tour wins at the track.
“We kind of struggled for speed in practice, and it showed in qualifying, as well,” Beers recalled. “I kind of got lucky there with the (redraw) wheel for the first time. Usually, the wheel sends me back some spots, but I went plus six before the green and got to start up front. That’s a big help there.
“I wanted to get the lead early and get a bonus point and maybe try to lead the most laps if our car could contend for it. I got up front and the car was just working really good and got through the center really well.”
While the win was vindicating for Beers and team, it was only a small step toward the larger goal of winning the Modified Tour championship.
“We’ve still got work to do,” Beers said bluntly. “We’re happy, but we’ve still got stuff we need to do.”
The next challenge Beers faces comes Saturday at Thompson, another track where Bonsignore has the statistical advantage.
In 48 starts at Thompson, Bonsignore has won 14 times. That ranks him second on the all-time Modified Tour win list at the 0.625-mile oval behind only NASCAR Hall of Famer and seven-time Modified Tour champion Mike Stefanik.
While Beers has never won at Thompson, he does have one thing going for him. In the two races this year at Thompson, he’s beaten Bonsignore both times.
“Obviously Justin and that whole No. 51 team, they are the best in the business. Everyone is hunting them,” Beers said. “Like I said, we’ve still got work to do. We’re going into Thompson this week. That’s obviously another track that he’s really, really good at.
“We’ve got to keep doing what we’re doing and keep showing up with our confidence and good speed in the race car.”
His confidence may be high after winning last weekend at Riverhead, but Beers knows there is still work to be done. It’s why he hasn’t allowed himself to think about what winning the Modified Tour championship would mean.
His friends, however, won’t let him forget.
“I’ve got some good friends; they try to rile me up and get me thinking about it,” Beers said. “But they’re also my biggest supporters.”
