NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour News & Notes – Thompson
Tour Title On Line At Thompson World Series
The 25th season of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will draw to a close and a champion will be crowned at the World Series of Speedway Racing presented by Xtra Mart on Sunday, Oct. 18 at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway.
The final stop for the Whelen Modified Tour in 2009 will be a familiar one as Thompson has played host to more events than any other venue in the Tour’s 25-year history. And as the season concludes, a familiar storyline has once again come to the forefront: a tight championship battle.
Donny Lia – the 2007 Whelen Modified Tour champion – carries a slim 26-point lead into the season finale. Lia, from Jericho, N.Y., earned his Tour-high fourth win of the year last time out at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway, and consequently took the points lead for the first time this year.
Although he may have momentum on his side after winning three of the last five races, Lia will have his hands full at Thompson, however. Ryan Preece is Lia’s closest competition at just 26 markers back.
Preece, from Berlin, Conn., has been the season’s most consistent top finisher. Highlighted by a pair of wins and third-place efforts in the last three races entering Thompson, Preece has a Tour-high nine top-five finishes in 12 starts this year. Recent history has shown that – barring mechanical failure or getting caught up in an accident – Preece will be at or near the front on Sunday.
The Lia versus Preece match-up provides an interesting storyline entering the World Series. The No. 4 “Mystic Missile” driven by Lia has been a fixture in NASCAR Modified racing since 1962 with car owner Bob Garbarino, while the No. 3 “Ole Blue” Modified of Boehler Racing Enterprises began competition in 1957 under the direction of the late Len Boehler. History has come full-circle in the 25th season of the Whelen Modified Tour with Lia and Preece the title frontrunners in cars that represent the longest-running Modified teams in the Northeast by far.
For all intents and purposes, it is a two-horse race between Lia and Preece. Although still mathematically alive, Ted Christopher, Todd Szegedy and Rowan Pennink will be long shots for the championship trophy at Thompson. Szegedy and Pennink will be eliminated from contention when Lia takes the green flag and Christopher – at 109 points out of first – would need to win and have Lia finish worse than 30th to pass the current points leader. Should that happen, Christopher would also have to leapfrog Preece by finishing sixth or better, assuming Preece finished between 22nd and 32nd.
The 2009 World Series marks the second year in a row – and just the latest on the list of instances – where the championship comes down to the last race. A year ago, Christopher carried a 35-point lead to Thompson against Matt Hirschman. Christopher went on to win the race and secure his first title.
Raceday Notes: The smallest championship points differential occurred in 1995 when Tony Hirschman edged Steve Park by three points … If Lia were to win the title, he would become just the fourth driver in Whelen Modified Tour history to earn multiple championships, joining Tony Hirschman (5), Jimmy Spencer (2) and Mike Stefanik (7) … If Preece were to clinch the title, it would mark the third year in a row that the crown goes to a first time winner, following Lia in 2007 and Christopher in 2008 … Lia enters the race with 15 career wins, which has him tied with Spencer on the Whelen Modified Tour all-time list, and one shy of the totals of Mike McLaughlin and Park … The Whelen Modified Tour champion will earn a secured starting position in the 2010 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, to be held Jan. 29-30 at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.) … Renee Dupuis will attempt to make her 100th career Whelen Modified Tour start at the World Series.
Fast Facts
The Race: World Series of Speedway Racing presented by Xtra Mart
The Place: Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway
The Date: Sunday, October 18
The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
The Distance: 150 laps / 93.75 miles
Race Purse: $85,971
2008 Winner: Ted Christopher
2008 Polesitter: Eric Beers
Event Schedule: Saturday: Practice 11 a.m. – 12 p.m., Qualifying 2:20 p.m.
Track Contact: Russ Dowd, (860) 923-2280, pitcrew@thompsonspeedway.com
NASCAR PR Contact: Jason Cunningham, (704) 201-6658, jcunningham@nascar.com
News & Notes
The Race … The World Series of Speedway Racing presented by Xtra Mart will mark the conclusion of the 2009 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule, and will be the last of three stops for the Tour to Thompson International Speedway.
The Procedure … Starting positions 1-27 will be set from time trials. The remaining five positions in the maximum starting field of 32 cars will be filled through the provisional process. The race is 150 laps (93.75 miles).
The Track … A .625-mile banked oval that opened in 1940, Thompson was the first asphalt track in the nation, and the largest in New England until New Hampshire Motor Speedway opened in 1990. Thompson has held a total of 108 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races, the most in Tour history.
Race Winners … There have been 29 different race winners at Thompson, led by Mike Stefanik’s 14 victories. Ted Christopher is the defending winner of this race, and was victorious in the first race of 2009 at Thompson. Donny Lia won the September Thompson event.
Pole Winners … There have been 36 different pole winners at Thompson, led by Jeff Fuller’s 13. Eric Beers set the Thompson qualifying record in last year’s World Series at 18.429 seconds (122.080 mph). Christopher and Lia earned poles in the two previous races this year.
Tour Tidbits: Stafford Recap
Another Sweep for Lia … For the second time this year, Donny Lia earned both the pole and the race win when he covered the field on Oct. 4 at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway. Lia had also done so at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway on Sept. 3. Ted Christopher (April 4, April 26) and Ryan Preece (Aug. 1) have also swept the pole and the race this year.
Christopher, Szegedy Stumble in Title Hunt … Entering the CARQUEST Fall Final, Christopher was atop the season standings and Todd Szegedy was within striking distance at just 37 points out. Accidents hampered the championship hopes of both, however, as Szegedy finished 20th and Christopher was 31st. As a result, both enter the season finale more than 100 points out of first.
Best Outing of Year for Coby … The Fall Final proved to be the best run of the year for part-time competitor Doug Coby, who crossed the line second to Lia. It was the first top-five effort of the year for Coby, and his first top-10 since the June race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Another Podium Finish for Preece … The Whelen Modified Tour leader in top fives in 2009, Preece recorded his third third-place effort in a row in the Fall Final, and his sixth podium finish in the last seven races. Among his nine top-fives – two more than any other driver – are a pair of wins and five third-place finishes.
Civali Back in Top Five … After taking over in the No. 79 of Hillbilly Racing in mid-season, James Civali had registered an average finish of 23rd in his first four starts. In the Fall Final he led 20 laps and crossed the line fourth for his first top-five finish since the 2008 Spring Sizzler at Stafford.
Tyler Records 50th Start … After debuting with eight starts in 2006, Glenn Tyler is now in his third season as a full-time Whelen Modified Tour competitor. The Long Island driver recorded his 50th career start at the Fall Final and will enter the season finale 15th in points.
Hartmann Runs Out Front … Part-time competitor Joe Hartmann recorded the first laps led of his Whelen Modified Tour career in the Fall Final. Hartmann, also from Long Island, stayed out when the leaders pitted on Lap 56 and then beat Civali to the line from the outside row on a restart and led the next five circuits.
Pallai Solid in Debut … After missing the cut in his first attempt, Richie Pallai Jr. did more than just make the starting grid in his Whelen Modified Tour debut. Pallai failed to qualify as a teammate to Szegedy at Stafford in May, but in his own car at the Fall Final he laid down the third-fastest lap in qualifying. Pallai – a freshman on the ice hockey team at Connecticut College – ran with the leaders the first one-third of the race and ended the day on the lead lap in 17th.
Thompson Crowns Six NWAAS Champions
Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway has crowned champions for each of its NASCAR Whelen All-American Series “Super Six” divisions for the 2009 season.
Heading the list is Keith Rocco. Now a full-time competitor in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, Rocco captured the Sunoco Modified division championship at Thompson on the strength of three wins. His 722 points in the premier division of “Thursday Night Thompson Thunder” was enough to clinch the title against fellow Whelen Modified Tour competitors Woody Pitkat (692), Rowan Pennink (680) and Ted Christopher (662).
In addition to being recognized as the Thompson track champion, Rocco also earned the NWAAS Connecticut state title and finished as the national runner-up.
In the Super Late Model division, Derek Ramstrom took home his first title. Ramstrom, who made three NASCAR Camping World Series East starts in 2009, recorded four SLM wins at Thompson and edged Mike O’Sullivan by six points (686-680) for the title.
In Late Model action, John Materas used four wins to cruise to a division title by 74 points over Mark Olivera, and six wins by Brian Sullivan clinched the Thompson Modified division crown by 10 tallies over Keith McDermott.
The 2009 Limited Sportsman title went to Larry Barnett by 38 points over Joseph Arena and Scott Michalski compiled a 58-point championship victory against Brad Caddick in the Mini Stock division.
Last Week To Vote
Just one week remains for fans to vote for their favorite NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour driver as balloting concludes on Sunday, Oct. 18.
For the second year in a row, it will be up to the fans to determine the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Most Popular Driver. In the inaugural season of online balloting, Ted Christopher came away victorious in a close vote.
Just go to www.nascarhometracks.com to vote for your favorite NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour driver.
Up Next: Awards Gala
NASCAR will host a special week of activities culminating in the 2009 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series (NWAAS) Awards Banquet on Friday, Nov. 13, and the new NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Awards Gala on Saturday, Nov. 14.
Both season-end awards banquets will be held at the Embassy Suites Hotel Concord Convention Center, which is located near the NASCAR Research & Development Center, in proximity to the future NASCAR Hall of Fame complex, as well as the home bases of many of today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams.
Moving the banquets to the Charlotte area complements the commitment the community has made to the business of NASCAR and the development of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
The NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Gala will feature the champions and top drivers from all of NASCAR’s North American regional touring series including invitees from the NASCAR Camping World Series East, the NASCAR Camping World Series West, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour and the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series.
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR