Red Light Racing – Aho Conquers the Magic Mile in Tour Mod Thriller

by Tim Corder

📊 Race Stats at a Glance

🏆 Winner: Jeff Aho (10 Laps Led)
🥈 2nd Place: Brian Bianchi (4 Laps Led)
🥉 3rd Place: Eric Stout (41 Laps Led)
⏱️ Fastest Lap: Eric Stout – 29.593 sec (Lap 53)
🚦 Pole Position: Andrew Lewis – 29.649 sec
🔁 Leaders: 4 | Lead Changes: 5
🚨 Cautions: 5 (10 Laps)
⏱️ Race Time: 36 minutes (60 laps)
🧼 Clean Machines (0 Incidents): Jeff Aho, Eric Stout, Fred LeClair, Bill Benedict, Bruce Pearson, Bob Higgins, Mike Taschereau
🔼 Hard Charger: Brian Neff (+10 spots, 17th → 7th)

Red Light Racing’s Modified Series traded its usual short-track bullrings for the long straights and sweeping corners of New Hampshire Motor Speedway this week. With the more powerful Tour Modifieds on tap, the “Magic Mile” felt more like a superspeedway than a short-track, putting drafting and strategy at a premium.

Qualifying set the tone: Andrew Lewis grabbed the pole with a 29.649, barely edging Brian Bianchi by 0.022 seconds. Brian Bianchi sat on the outside pole. Devin Visnaw, Eric Stout, and Bill Benedict rounded out the top five on the RaceDayCT.com starting grid. From first through seventh the field was separated by less than one-tenth, a clear sign that speed alone wouldn’t win it on the big stage.

When the green flag flew, it was Eric Stout who took command early, leading 41 laps and showing the same dominant form that’s carried him to the top of the points standings. But the “Magic Mile” rarely allows a runaway. Five cautions slowed the pace and kept the field bunched, with strategy and restarts becoming just as critical as raw speed.

The most impactful caution fell with just 15 laps remaining in the event. Entering turn three, fourth place Glenn Jamieson dove to the inside of third place Josh Buckley, sending the pair spinning and bringing out the caution. At the time of the caution, Devin Visnaw and Eric Stout were battling hard for the lead. Under the caution, Stout decided to give up the point to take tires. Visnaw stayed out to take over the lead. Most of the field joined Stout on pit road for fresh rubber while Jamieson, Ethan Troutman, Jeff Aho, Brian Bianchi, and Brian Neff stayed out with Visnaw. Eric Stout rejoined the race in seventh place, the first car on fresh tires.

Visnaw brought the field to the restart green with 10 laps remaining. Visnaw and Jamieson bumped off each other just after the start/finish line, bouncing Jamieson off the outside wall. This opened the door for eventual winner Aho, who restarted in 4th, to take over the lead on the back stretch. Bianchi held on to second and Eric Stout fought hard to climb back to finish third. Devin Visnaw and Ethan Troutman rounded out the top five.

Further back, Brian Neff took home “Hard Charger” honors with a 10-spot climb to finish seventh, while seven drivers earned “Clean Machine” recognition for keeping their noses clean in the hard-fought race: Aho, E. Stout, LeClair, Benedict, Pearson, Bob Higgins, and Taschereau.

Championship Update

Eric Stout’s third-place run keeps him comfortably on top of the standings at 470 points. Ethan Troutman remains second (−41), but the story of the night was Jeff Aho, who is now just 2 points behind Troutman thanks to his victory.

Chad Alcares holds fourth, while Devin Visnaw’s steady drive and consistent finishes push him into the top five. Bill Benedict and Joshua Buckley are now tied just behind, while the mid-pack battle remains intense with drivers like Bradley Stefane, Rob Higgins, and Fred LeClair all jockeying to be in the top 10.

With seven more chances for points this season, Stout has the advantage, but Aho’s momentum and Troutman’s consistency mean the title is far from locked up.

Next Week’s Teaser

After the long straights and drafting duels of New Hampshire, the series heads back to its roots with Twin 50 lap events at Five Flags Speedway in the SK Modifieds. Expect the bump-and-run to return to the spotlight as drivers swap clean air for close quarters in a battle that will surely shake up both tempers and the points race.

🕖 Green flag drops at 7:55 PM Eastern
📺 Watch it live on Virtual Grip Network