Statistical Advance: Analyzing the Riverhead 175

By admin July 29, 2009 NASCAR WMT, Riverhead

Daytona Beach,FL — For the 25th season in a row the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will visit Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway for the Riverhead 175 on Saturday, Aug. 1.

At Riverhead Raceway:

History

  • Built in 1949.
  • Held its first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race on July 10, 1985 during the NWMT’s inaugural season.
  • Has held 47 NWMT races all-time, fourth-most among all venues.
  • Is one of two tracks to play host to the NWMT in each of its 25 seasons of competition along with Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway.

Notebook

  • Mike Ewanitsko experienced more success than any other NWMT driver at Riverhead during his days as a competitor … His 11 wins and eight poles lead in both categories.
  • Jimmy Blewett earned his first Riverhead NWMT victory in last year’s event … Bill Park, who competes in Riverhead’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, earned his first NWMT Coors Light Pole Award in the 2008 event.
  • Donny Lia has won four of the last eight NWMT races at Riverhead dating back to 2003.
  • At .25 miles, Riverhead is the smallest track on the 2009 NWMT schedule … The largest is New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., at 1.058 miles.

Up to Speed:

  • Ted Christopher earned the Coors Light Pole Award and a trip to Victory Lane in the season opener at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway.
  • Christopher also earned the pole and the win in the second race of the year at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway.
  • Christopher made it three-for-three when he earned the pole for the third race of the season, also at SMS, but finished second to Jimmy Blewett in the race … Christopher became the seventh driver in NWMT history to earn at least three-consecutive pole awards, and extended his mark for consecutive poles to start a season.
  • At New Hampshire Motor Speedway Donny Lia earned his first win of the season and the 12th of his career … Doug Coby captured the pole, the second of his career.
  • Erick Rudolph became the youngest winner in NWMT history when he took the checkered flag at Spencer Speedway … Qualifying was rained out and the race was pushed back a day.
  • The points lead belongs to Christopher, who is 17 tallies ahead of Todd Szegedy.

Selected Driver Highlights:

Eric Beers (No. 46 Chevrolet)

  • Has two wins and nine poles in 132 career starts.
  • Is 13th in points after five races.
  • Finished 10th at Riverhead in 2008 … Earn a pole there in 2005.

Jimmy Blewett (No. 12 Chevrolet)

  • Has five wins and one pole in 67 career starts.
  • Is eighth in the standings with top 10s in the three of the five races.
  • Won at Riverhead in 2008 … His brother, John Blewett III, won there in 1999.

Ted Christopher (No. 36 Chevrolet)

  • The 2008 NWMT champion.
  • Has 33 wins and 21 poles in 270 career starts … Has at least one win in 11 consecutive seasons … His 33 wins rank fourth on the all-time list and his 21 poles rank ninth.
  • Earned the Coors Light Pole Award in the first three events of the year, and the race win in the first two … Finished second in the third race … Became the first driver in NWMT history to begin the season by earning multiple poles.
  • Brings a current streak of 10 top-10 finishes in a row to Riverhead.
  • Finished fourth at Riverhead in 2008 and has wins there in 2002, 2005 and 2006.
  • Is currently 10th in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national standings with five wins, 14 top 10s and 611 points in 17 starts.

Ed Flemke Jr. (No. 10 Chevrolet)

  • Has 17 wins and 15 poles in 375 career starts … Has made a record 316 consecutive starts … The last time he did not start a NWMT race was on July 22, 1992 at Riverside Park Speedway.
  • Is 10th in the season standings.
  • Finished 19th at Riverhead in 2008 … Won at Riverhead in 2002 and has four career poles there.

Donny Lia (No. 4 Dodge)

  • The 2007 NWMT champion.
  • Has 12 wins, 13 poles and 47 top 10s in 102 career starts.
  • Is third in points with a win and four top 10s in five races.
  • Finished third last year at Riverhead … Has wins there in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007.

Bill Park (No. 20 Chevrolet)

  • Defending Riverhead track champion in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series … Is currently fifth in this year’s Modified division standings.
  • Earned his first NWMT Coors Light Pole Award in last year’s race at Riverhead.
  • Best career finish in a NWMT race at Riverhead was a runner-up effort in 2007.
  • Brother (Bob) and nephew (Steve) have NWMT wins at Riverhead.

Rowan Pennink (No. 93 Chevrolet)

  • Has 12 top 10s in 35 career starts.
  • Is currently sixth in points with four top 10s in five starts.
  • Established a new career-best finish with his fourth-place effort at Spencer.

Woody Pitkat (No. 28 Chevrolet)

  • Has 10 top 10s in 22 career starts … Saturday will be his first Riverhead start.
  • Is currently ninth in points with three top 10s in five starts.

Ryan Preece (No. 3 Chevrolet)

  • Has two poles, a win and 14 top 10s in 35 career starts.
  • Is currently fifth in points with four top 10s in five starts.
  • Finished fifth at Riverhead in 2008.

Ron Silk (No. 79 Pontiac)

  • Has three wins, a pole and 27 top 10s in 61 career starts.
  • Is currently seventh in points with four top 10s in five starts.
  • Finished as the runner-up to Jimmy Blewett at Riverhead in 2008.

Mike Stefanik (No. 16 Pontiac)

  • The 1989, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2006 NWMT champion.
  • Has 69 wins, 42 poles and 258 top 10s in 386 career starts … Holds NWMT record for most championships, wins, poles, top fives and top 10s.
  • Is currently fourth in points with four top 10s in five starts.
  • Finished seventh at Riverhead in 2008 … Won there in 1986, 1992, 1996, 1997 and 2001 (2).

Chuck Steuer (No. 11 Chevrolet)

  • Competitor in Riverhead’s Modified division of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series … Is currently second in the season standings, two points back of leader Dave Brigati.
  • Has earned three career NWMT Coors Light Pole Awards at Riverhead.
  • Best NWMT finishes at Riverhead were fourth place efforts in 1996 and 2000.

Todd Szegedy (No. 2 Ford)

  • The 2003 NWMT champion.
  • Has 13 wins, five poles and 72 top 10s in 115 career starts.
  • Is second in points, just 17 behind Ted Christopher, and has top 10s in each of the five races.
  • Finished 14th at Riverhead in 2008 … Does not have a top five in his career there.

Jamie Tomaino (No. 99 Chevrolet)

  • The 1990 NWMT champion.
  • Has three wins, six poles and 234 top 10s in 503 career starts.
  • Streak of 60-consecutive starts was broken when engine failure precluded him from starting last time out at Spencer.
  • Become the first driver in series history to start 500 races at the Icebreaker … Has missed only five of the 508 races in the history of the NWMT (1985-present) … Is one of only two drivers, along with Carl Pasteryak, to make a start in each of the 25 years of the NWMT.
  • Finished 28th at Riverhead in 2008 … Best career finish there is fourth in 1985, 1986, 1991 and 1998.

Upcoming Milestones/Benchmarks:

  • Ed Flemke Jr. will attempt to extend his record consecutive starts streak to 317.
  • Jamie Tomaino will attempt to extend his series record for total starts to 504.
  • Ted Christopher is two wins shy of tying Tony Hirschman for third on the all-time list at 35.
  • Donny Lia’s next win would move him past Richie Evans and George Kent on the all-time wins list … The trio currently has 12 apiece … A 13th win would then place him in a tie with Todd Szegedy.
  • Mike Stefanik’s next victory would make him the eighth driver in NASCAR history to earn 70 wins in a series … All others on the list accomplished the feat in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR