For most of the season, Jon McKennedy has been the hunter. Now it’s his turn to be the hunted.

Following a fourth-place finish last Thursday at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, McKennedy overtook Ron Silk at the top of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings entering Saturday’s CheckeredFlag.com 150 at Langley Speedway (8:30 p.m. ET on FloRacing).

The change at the top of the standings has been several weeks in the making for McKennedy, who hasn’t finished worse than eighth in the last five races.

Silk, meanwhile, has had finishes of 21st at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and 12th last week at Thompson. He’s also winless this year while McKennedy picked up a victory on July 29 at Claremont Motorsports Park.

The battle between Silk and McKennedy took a bit of an aggressive turn at Thompson, where McKennedy spun Silk twice while the two were for battling for position. The first incident took place on Lap 91, when Silk drifted up Turn 1 shortly after a restart and clipped McKennedy, causing McKennedy to spin in front of nearly the entire field.

Both McKennedy and Silk were able to continue after the incident, but they would soon meet again.

On Lap 133, McKennedy was attempting to pass Silk for position into Turn 1 when he clipped the left-rear of Silk’s No. 16 Modified. Silk’s car slid up into the outside wall, severely damaging the back of the car. He was able to continue but finished 12th while McKennedy went on to finish fourth.

There is no indication that either incident was intentional, but it does serve as an indication of just how intense things could get as the battle for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship intensifies with five races left in the season.

Welcome back Jamie ‘The Jet’ Tomaino

One of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s most experienced drivers makes his first start of the season this Saturday night at Langley Speedway.

Jamie Tomaino, best known by his nickname “The Jet,” will make his 626th NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour start in the CheckeredFlag.com 150.

The 66-year-old driver from Howell, New Jersey, is one of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s most tenured drivers. He’s competed in at least one race every year since the modern NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was founded in 1985, with the exception of the 2020 season.

His lengthy career has seen him score three NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victories. They came in 1986 at Stafford Motor Speedway, 1990 at Monadnock Speedway and 1994 at Lee USA Speedway. His victory at Monadnock in 1990 helped propel him to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship.

His last full season with the Tour came in 2016, but he’s made a point to compete in a handful of events almost each year since. Last season he competed in a pair of events, earning a 10th-place finish at Martinsville Speedway and a 21st-place finish at Riverhead Raceway.

Should he manage to earn one more top-10 finish, it would be the 250th of his NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour career.

Ebersole carries experience into Langley

While the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour has only raced at Langley Speedway twice previously, that doesn’t mean Modified racing lacks history at the 0.395-mile asphalt oval.

Dating back to 2010, the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour visited Langley eight times. Among the drivers to visit Victory Lane during those events were 12-time Bowman Gray Stadium Modified champion Tim Brown, Andy Seuss, Jason Myers, Kyle Ebersole, George Brunnhoelzl III and Burt Myers.

Of that group of six, only Ebersole is scheduled to be in action this Saturday night.

Ebersole’s victory, which came in 2013, was his first with the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour and one of three victories he earned on the Tour before it was dissolved at the end of the 2016 season.

That experience gives Ebersole a distinct advantage on the competition going into Saturday’s race, as he’ll be the only driver with a NASCAR Modified victory at Langley in the field.

Notes:

- Gary Putnam is set to make his season debut with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour this Saturday night. The North Carolina driver has made 31 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts with a best finish of ninth on two occasions.

- Dave Sapienza, who is ninth in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings, will not be in attendance for Saturday’s race at Langley Speedway.