SOUTH BOSTON, Va. — The young reigning King of the Modifieds knows he will be facing a tough challenge when the best-of-the best Tour-Type Modified drivers and teams converge on South Boston Speedway March 21-22 for the Second Annual SMART Modified Tour Pace-O-Matic King of the Modifieds powered by Dominion Energy event.
Yet, 18-year-old Luke Baldwin, who earned his first career Tour-Type Modified win in the biggest race of the season and went on to win the 2024 SMART Modified Tour championship in his rookie season, is confident he has what it takes to retain his title as King of the Modifieds and pocket the $20,000 winner’s prize for a second time.
“It’s going to take a lot to win, but I think we have it,” Baldwin remarked during a break in a testing session at South Boston Speedway. “I have a lot of confidence. I think we will be in good shape. I’ve got a lot of confidence in my race car especially. I think my racecar will be really good. It’s just all about whether I can drive a mistake-free race and beat some of the best in the business that will be coming here for the race.”
Baldwin, who drives for Sadler-Stanley Racing, ranks winning last year’s 125-lap King of the Modifieds race as one of the top accomplishments of his young racing career.
“Winning the SMART Tour championship and winning the race here at South Boston Speedway definitely sit at the top,” Baldwin pointed out. “I’m lucky to have the opportunity to go out and do that in equipment that’s good and to be surrounded by these great people on my team. It’s all glory to these guys. They do most of the job. I’m just holding the steering wheel.”
Last year’s 125-lap King of the Modifieds race was a highly competitive one that saw Baldwin edge veteran Matt Hirschmann of Northampton, Pennsylvania, one of the best-of-the-best in Modified racing, by .415-second in a 17-lap sprint to the finish following the last of the race’s six caution periods to earn the win.
“It was a little surreal,” Baldwin remarked. “Hirschman is one of the best in Modified racing right now. I grew up watching him dominate the SMART Tour when he came down. So, to come and beat him was pretty cool.”
Baldwin has gotten his 2025 season off to a good start. The Mooresville, North Carolina resident was in contention to win the SMART Modified Tour’s season-opener at Florence, South Carolina but had to settle for a ninth-place finish. He bounced back to win the series’ most recent race at Anderson, South Carolina. Now, Baldwin will be looking to make it two wins in a row in the 125-lap King of the Modifieds race March 22 at South Boston Speedway, a track at which he feels comfortable and confident.
“I’m excited to get back to South Boston,” Baldwin said. “I’m pumped. I love this racetrack. I love every time we come here. It’s a great facility that is run by great people that puts on really good racing. I love the speed of this place.
“This is a really good racetrack for us,” he added. “It fits my style. I think I’m a little better at the higher grip, fast racetracks where I can kind of go all out the whole time. My racecar is really, really good here.”
“I really enjoyed the event last year,” he continued. “Even if we didn’t go out and win, I could have run fifth and really enjoyed the professionalism and the competition of the event. I thought the SMART Modified Tour and South Boston Speedway did a really good job in putting on something I think will be special for a long time.”
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