By: Ashley McCubbin

Following the first five races of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series schedule, Ron Silk holds a three-point advantage over Tommy Catalano.

Prior to this weekend’s Duel at the Dog 200 at Monadnock Speedway, the driver of the No. 16 Blue Mountain Machine and Future Homes Modified shared his thoughts with NEWS FROM THE PITS.

ASHLEY MCCUBBIN: What are your thoughts going into the weekend?

RON SILK: I am looking forward to it. The last race that we ran at Monadnock was in 2020 and led a lot of the race and came up a little short and finished second, but it’s a track that I’m confident going to.

ASHLEY: What stands out about Monadnock compared to other tracks on the schedule?

RON: I would say the toughest part is the two ends of the track of really different from each other. Turns one and two are similar corners with a lot of banking, and then turns three and four are much flatter and it really flattens out off of four onto the frontstretch. Just to get your car to handle well at both ends has been challenging.

ASHLEY: What are your thoughts on how your season has gone so far?

RON: I think its gone okay. We’re leading the driver’s points as this stage of the season, and we’ve done a good job. We certainly haven’t hit on all eight cylinders yet and won a race yet, but I think if we keep working hard, I think that’s the direction we’re headed in.

ASHLEY: Being that it’s a new team, how satisfying is it for you to see the early consistency?

RON: It’s satisfying. It’s a new team, but the team itself that I am racing for I have raced some races with them the last couple years in other series. I have a new crew chief this year in Phil Moran, who’s had a lot of success on the tour. So I went into the season with high expectations and it’s good we’ve been consistent, but we all want to win.

ASHLEY: So what is it going to take to reach that next level to get to victory lane?

RON: I don’t think there’s one thing in particular. I think it took a little bit of getting used to each other as a group, and I think we’re headed in the right direction. I think if we keep working on what we’re working on, we’ll get there.

ASHLEY: Beyond this coming weekend, what track are you most excited to get to on the schedule?

RON: I’m always excited to go to Loudon. I think the Modifieds have a great race there. I’m excited to get back to Ohswego; I won the second race there last year, and definitely to finish the year at Martinsville. A great historical place so excited to get back there.

ASHLEY: What is it about the modifieds that makes it fun for you to have done this as long as you have?

RON: Well, I mean, I love racing. I’ve been racing since I was a kid at seven-years-old and the region of the United States where I live, modifieds are the big attraction. They’re great, fun cars to drive. They have a pretty good amount of horsepower, pretty light, low to the ground and basically, they’re just fun to race.

ASHLEY: You mentioned racing since you were seven. How did you get started?

RON: I got started – well, Randy LaJoie who’s a two-time Busch Series (now NASCAR Xfinity Series) Champion is actually my godfather. His family is from the same town that I am from and really close family friends with the LaJoies. So when I was seven, my father bought me a go-kart and I started racing those. I just kept moving up over the years.

ASHLEY: So with that in mind, who would you consider your racing hero?

RON: Probably Randy LaJoie. It’s cool to have someone you know that well who’s had that much success.

Lastly, based on everything you’ve done, what would be one piece of advice that you’d give to the next person getting started in the sport?

Just that it’s not easy and success normally doesn’t come real quick. If you stick with it and work real hard at it, you can get to where you want to be.