NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour 2009 Schedule Announced
Four new venues added for 2009
Daytona Beach, FL — The fifth season of the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour will feature 16 races spread across nine tracks in five different states.
The 2009 schedule, announced today, is an exciting blend of the top short tracks in the southeast.
The 15 dates include the return to the traditional venues of Caraway Speedway, Bowman Gray Stadium, Ace Speedway, Lanier National Speedway and Martinsville Speedway, and adds trips to South Boston Speedway, Concord Motorsports Park, and Myrtle Beach Speedway.
Also new to the 2009 calendar will be an inaugural visit for the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour to historic Bristol Motor Speedway as part of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series August visit.
“The calendar for the 2009 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour is a strong mixture of traditional venues and new markets,” said George Silbermann, NASCAR managing director of racing operations. “We thank our promoters and competitors throughout the southeast for their continued support, and look forward to the new events at Concord Motorsports Park, Bristol Motor Speedway, South Boston Speedway and Myrtle Beach Speedway.”
Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, N.C., will once again serve as the site for the season-opening race. L.W. Miller is a two-time defending champion of the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour 150, which will kick off the 2009 season on Sunday, March 15.
Caraway, a .455-mile high-banked oval, is slated for seven NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour races in 2009. In addition to the opener, the season will also close at Caraway on Saturday, Oct. 10. Caraway has held 23 races in the first four years of the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour.
The 2009 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour slate is also highlighted by first-time visits to four long-time southern NASCAR venues. Concord (N.C.) Motorsports Park, a half-mile oval, will host the second race of the season, Saturday, March 21.South Boston (Va.) Speedway, a .4-mile track, has a date on Saturday, April 4, while Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Speedway, a half-mile oval, will bring the Modifieds to town on Saturday, Sept. 5.
Like the Martinsville date on Sunday, Sept. 27, the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour’s first trip to Bristol will be a combination race with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. The high-banked half mile in Tennessee will welcome the Modifieds for the first time on Wednesday, Aug. 19.
Other 2009 highlights include:
- Ace Speedway, in Altamahaw, N.C., will hold multiple NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour races in 2009 as the series is set to visit on Friday, March 27 and Friday, Oct. 2.
- Legendary Winston-Salem, N.C., quarter-mile Bowman Gray Stadium will play host to the series on Saturday, Aug. 1.
- Lanier National Speedway, in Braselton, Ga., will have a race for the second year in a row on Saturday, April 18.
Schedule Notes:
- The Martinsville date will mark the fifth year in a row of the combination race format with the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified and NASCAR Whelen Modified Tours.
- The Bristol race, also a combination race, will fall on the same day as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at the track.
- While this is the first visit for the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour to South Boston, the track played host to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in 2001. That race featured current NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour drivers Jay Foley, Junior Miller and L.W. Miller in the starting lineup.
About NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR), celebrating 60 years in 2008, is the sanctioning body for one of North America’s premier sports. NASCAR is the No. 1 spectator sport – holding 17 of the top 20 highest attended sporting events in the U.S., and is the No. 2 rated regular-season sport on television. NASCAR races are broadcast in more than 150 countries and in more than 30 languages. NASCAR fans are the most brand loyal in all of sports, and as a result more Fortune 500 companies participate in NASCAR than any other sport.
About The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour
The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour was established in 2005. While the Tour itself was a new addition, Modified teams have competed in championship events up and down the east coast since the earliest days of NASCAR. The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour are the only open-wheeled series in NASCAR. The race cars weigh 2,610 pounds and have a wheelbase of 107 inches. They drive on wide Hoosier bias-play tires, while power is provided by “small block” 350 to 360 cubic-inch engines. The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour holds races throughout the Southeast on short tracks ranging in size from a quarter-mile to just over a half-mile.
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WSMT PR
2009 NASCAR WHELEN SOUTHERN MODIFIED TOUR SCHEDULE
Date Track (Length) Location
Sunday, March 15 Caraway Speedway (.455-Mile) Asheboro, N.C.
Saturday, March 21 Concord Motorsports Park (.5-Mile) Concord, N.C.
Friday, March 27 Ace Speedway (.4-Mile) Altamahaw, N.C.
Saturday, March 28 Caraway Speedway (.455-Mile) Asheboro, N.C.
Saturday, April 4 South Boston Speedway (.4-Mile) South Boston, Va.
Saturday, April 11 Caraway Speedway (.455-Mile) Asheboro, N.C.
Saturday, April 18 Lanier National Speedway (.375-Mile) Braselton, Ga.
Friday, July 3 Caraway Speedway (.455-Mile) Asheboro, N.C.
Saturday, Aug. 1 Bowman Gray Stadium (.25-Mile) Winston-Salem, N.C.
Wednesday, Aug. 19 * Bristol Motor Speedway (.533-Mile) Bristol, Tenn.
Saturday, Aug. 29 Caraway Speedway (.455-Mile) Asheboro, N.C.
Saturday, Sept. 5 Myrtle Beach Speedway (.5-Mile) Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Saturday, Sept. 12 Caraway Speedway (.455-Mile) Asheboro, N.C.
Sunday, Sept. 27 * Martinsville Speedway (.526-Mile) Martinsville, Va.
Friday, Oct. 2 Ace Speedway (.4-Mile) Altamahaw, N.C.
Saturday, Oct. 10 Caraway Speedway (.455-Mile) Asheboro, N.C.
* Combination race with NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
All dates subject to change