RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — Although he dominated Sunday’s Miller Lite Salutes Wayne Anderson 200 at Riverhead Raceway, the final laps were anything but smooth for Ron Silk.

From running over a muffler to fending off a hard-charging Austin Beers, nothing came easy for the defending NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion. Silk still managed to withstand every obstacle in his path to obtain his third victory of the 2024 season.

RELATED: Complete results from Riverhead

Silk’s paramount concern during the closing laps was how his car would handle after hitting the loose muffler off Turn 4. The only damage on Silk’s car was superficial, which was crucial in helping him fend off the rest of the field behind him.

“[The muffler] kind of went under [the car], and I felt it come out the back,” Silk said. “This was just a great job from my entire crew. The car was awesome, and [the speed] lasted right until the end. We’ve got another win on the season, and we’re just going to keep trying to pick them off.”

Silk considered himself fortunate the muffler did not derail what had been a hard-fought battle to obtain and then maintain the top spot.

A rainout of qualifying on Saturday would have normally given Silk the pole according to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour rulebook. Instead, Silk ended up starting in the sixth position following a redraw of the top 10 starters, which allowed Trevor Catalano to lead the field to the green flag.

Silk did not let the circumstances deter him; he utilized the speed of his silver No. 16 Haydt-Yannone Modified to pick off his fellow competition. After only 30 laps, Silk had already worked his way into the lead after passing Craig Lutz.

Despite holding steady at the front of the field, Silk faced relentless pressure from Lutz, who was eager to obtain his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory since 2022. When Lutz’ car began to fade, Silk then encountered challenges from championship rival Justin Bonsignore and Austin Beers.

An overtime restart provided Beers the perfect opportunity to steal a victory. The young Modified competitor attempted a crossover on Silk in Turn 4 coming to the checkered flag but could not get the run he needed to make the race-winning pass.

Beers, who won two NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events last year, knew it would be tough to usurp Silk with how strong he was on the bottom line. He was still proud of his overall effort at Riverhead and hopes two consecutive second-place finishes provide him the necessary momentum to earn another win soon.

“[Silk] just had a little bit better drive,” Beers said. “Being on the bottom really helped, and that’s where our car really worked. We were stuck on the top, but my spotter did a great job clearing me down and giving me a shot to get Ron.

“It was bumper cars at the end, but we made it across the line for another good points day.”

With his triumph Sunday, Silk has now won twice at Riverhead over the past two seasons after previously being unable to visit the track’s Victory Lane since making his NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour debut in 2003.

Being so competitive on a regular basis is something Silk attributes to the hard work that is prevalent at Haydt-Yannone Racing. It took time for everyone within the program to build cohesion when Silk first joined in 2022, but the chemistry and leadership were instrumental in Silk breaking a 12-year championship drought last season.

Now with three wins on his resume through five races this season, Silk knows he and Haydt-Yannone Racing can end the year as NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champions once again with the speed and determination they possess every week.

“I have all the confidence in the world,” Silk said. “We haven’t gone anywhere where we haven’t had a chance to win. Crew chief Phil Moran and car chief Bob Tulipani work a lot on these things to get them just right. The commitment is certainly appreciated.”

Following Silk and Beers in the running order was Justin Bonsignore, with J.B. Fortin and J.R. Bertuccio completing the top five. Jake Johnson, Lutz, John Beatty Jr., Patrick Emerling and Mark Stewart were the rest of the top-10 finishers.

The next race up for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will be the J&R Precast 150 at Seekonk Speedway on Saturday, June 1. FloRacing will provide live coverage of all the on-track action.