Worst to First: Bianchi Prevails at SoBo

Bianchi's #14 YesterYear Racing™ Tour Modified stock car.

Round #2 of the 2025 YesterYear Racing™ Tour Modified Series was always going to be a learning experience for the drivers. Only once in the 2024 season did the Series visit a true bull ring. It was Hickory Motor Speedway during race two of 2024. Tuesday night's race saw 29 cars line up to tackle the famed Virginia bull ring and the fans were treated to a dandy of a show.

Defending series champion Brian Bianchi saw his 2025 campaign get off to a slow start in Round #1 at Daytona. After spinning through the infield, Bianchi miscalculated and ran out of fuel finishing in 29th place in a field of 30 cars. To make matters worse, Daytona was a double points race which meant Bianchi was in a hole and needed a solid run at a South Boston track that is known for wearing out tires and trying driver patience.

Bianchi qualified near the front and was fortunate to stay out of trouble when leader and pole winner Jerry Isaacs got collected by some lapped cars coming together right in front of him. This set up a lengthy battle between BRL driver Todd Liston and Bianchi over the course of the rest of the race. In the end Bianchi was able to get by Liston who's car was on "skates" after burning up much of his right-side tires from leading most of the race. "I was very conscious of saving my tires throughout the entire race," Bianchi said in the post-race interview. When asked about his outing, Liston said he was also worried about tires. "I knew tires were going to be key and when Jerry wrecked it put me in front. It is always difficult to run out front on a track like this and save tires. You want to keep a good pace, but don't want to use your right-sides up. That balance is hard to manage when leading," Liston said in the post-race interview.

Liston isn't too bummed though. With two 3rd place finishes in the first two races, he is the Series points leader. "Consistency can pay off in the end," said Race Director Allen Wannamaker in a post-race chat. "Terry Labonte was always my favorite stock car driver back in the day. I liked how he raced. He rarely won, but he stayed out of trouble and his race craft and situational awareness was unmatched," Wannamaker said.

The Series will take a week off before heading to "The Action Track" for Round #3. "Richmond Raceway will be a good next stop for us. We raced Round #3 there last year. There is more space for drivers to maneuver, and so we should see some good side-by-side racing. We visited this track last year and Brian (Bianchi) won it. We'll see what happens," said Wannamaker.