PHOTO: Ron Silk celebrates his New Hampshire 100 victory in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour on Saturday. (Ricky St. Clair/VMM photo)

LOUDON, N.H. — Ron Silk was determined to prove ocne again that he was worthy of winning at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

After multiple battles for the lead throughout Saturday’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour New Hampshire 100, Silk picked up his third victory of 2011, fending off a valiant charge from Rowan Pennink in a race that featured 17 lead changes among five drivers.

“The car was really great right from the beginning,” Silk said. “We got out and led some laps. I was happy with the car and it was actually a little bit better for the second half of the race. I was able to get right up to the lead.”

A red flag for rain halted the event on lap 37. When the tarps were removed and the cars refired, Silk along with the rest of the top ten, elected to duck pit side for tires and adjustments. Passing Woody Pitkat for the lead on lap 52 proved to be a turning point for the Norwalk, Conn., driver.

“I didn’t think we were going to pit when we did,” Silk explained. “All of a sudden my crew chief came over the radio and said ‘pit now, pit now’. It was definitely the right time to pit. It went green for a while and it probably would have been pretty tough to wait longer, take tires, and get back through the field.”

Pennink grabbed the lead from Silk on laps 83 and 84, but Silk managed to maneuver underneath Pennink one final time in turn three to solidify himself in the top spot on lap 85.

A caution period that lasted from laps 94 to 98 for a Ryan Preece spin on the backstretch setup a green-white-checkered shootout between Silk and Pennink. However, Pennink faltered on the restart and dropped back to 22nd place. The Huntingdon Valley, Pa., driver ran out of gas after having a potential chance at collecting the checkers.

“The 93 car and the whole team did an awesome job,” Pennink stated. ‘We led the beginning part of the race and we pitted after the rain. We had to come from the back and we got the thing right up to the front. The last 30-laps, I was just hanging in second waiting for the white flag to come out. I was going to send it down underneath [Silk] in [turn] three, but we got the caution that setup the green-white-checkered. We didn’t win, but everyone knows we should have won the race.”

Previous point leader Todd Szegedy, who started eighth in the event, capitalized on Pennink’s misfortunate to finish second.

“We were a top ten car, but I don’t think we were quite a top five [car],” Szegedy said. “This is how you win championships. You use your head and stay out of trouble. I had guys bodyslam me. It was real hard not to turn them straight into the fence. Second place is definitely a phenomenal finish.”

Justin Bonsignore was the final podium finisher. Bonsignore also took advantage of the Pennink bobble on the lap 98 restart to finish third. Ted Christopher finished fourth after starting dead last in the field. Christopher failed to time trial on Thursday with personal issues. Eric Beers rounded out the top five.

Erick Rudolph, Zane Zeiner, Mike Stefanik, Matt Hirschman, and Eric Goodale completed the unofficial top ten.

Silk now enters the October 2 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at Stafford Motor Speedway with a slim eight-point advantage over close friend Szegedy. Silk is vying for his first ever title while Szegedy hopes to collect his second championship.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS — New Hampshire 100
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour — New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, N.H.
Saturday, September 24, 2011

Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
(# – denotes rookie)

1. (1) Ronnie Silk, Norwalk, Conn.
2. (8) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn.
3. (3) Justin Bonsignore, Holtsville, N.Y.
4. (28) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn.
5. (2) Eric Beers, Northampton, Pa.
6. (5) Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, N.Y.
7. (20) Zane Zeiner, Bath, Pa.
8. (12) Mike Stefanik, Coventry, R.I.
9. (7) Matt Hirschman, Northampton, Pa.
10. (17) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y.
11. (23) Ken Wolley, Jr., Howell, N.J.
12. (14) Ed Flemke, Jr., Southington, Conn.
13. (15) Rob Fuller, Boylston, Mass.
14. (16) Ryan Preece, Berlin, Conn.
15. (19) Glenn Tyler, Hampton Bays, N.Y.
16. (11) Doug Coby, Milford, Conn.
17. (10) # Patrick Emerling, Orchard Park, N.Y.
18. (29) Bobby Santos, III, Franklin, Mass.
19. (25) Ken Heagy, Calverton, N.Y.
20. (21) # Bryon Chew, Mattituck, N.Y.
21. (24) Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J.
22. (6) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.
23. (18) Eric Berndt, Cromwell, Conn.
24. (26) Wade Cole, Riverton, Conn.
25. (22) Richie Pallai, Jr., Yorktown Heights, N.Y.
26. (13) James Civali, Meriden, Conn.
27. (9) Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn.
28. (4) Ryan Newman, South Bend, Ind.
29. (27) Jake Marosz, Middletown, Conn.