2009 In Review: Whelen Modifieds
Daytona Beach, FL — The 25th season of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour concluded with Donny Lia hoisting the championship trophy in late October at Thompson International Speedway. The following is a look back at the 2009 season, from green to checker.
Preseason
From the time Ted Christopher celebrated his 2008 title, until the green flag dropped on the 2009 campaign, there was plenty to talk about surrounding the Whelen Modified Tour. The addition of a date at Bristol Motor Speedway had the Modified community abuzz, and in late February six drivers participated in a Hoosier Tire test at the “World’s Fastest Half Mile,” with all but one recording times faster than the official track record.
Leading the silly season news was the return of Donny Lia to the No. 4 “Mystic Missile” after a one-year absence following a 2007 championship run in the same car. It was also announced that Woody Pitkat had unofficially won the “Don King Gong Show” and would pilot King’s No. 28 Modified full-time. Another driver change saw Erick Rudolph tabbed to take over for Matt Hirschman in Ed Bennett’s No. 59. The offseason also saw the retirement of Rick Fuller, a 24-year veteran of the Whelen Modified Tour, and its champion in 1993.
In preseason balloting by the Whelen Modified Tour’s media, Christopher was tabbed to repeat as champion in 2009. He received nearly triple the first place votes of any other driver, and had a 47-point lead on Todd Szegedy in the overall ballot.
Race 1 – Icebreaker
The traditional season-opener for the Whelen Modified Tour – the Icebreaker – took place on April 4-5 at Thompson. The defending champion Christopher wasted little time in letting the rest of the competition know that he planned to pick up right where he left off in 2008. Christopher took the pole on Saturday and then led 111 of the 154 laps on Sunday to earn the first “25 Seasons Running” commemorative Tissot watch, which was presented in Victory Lane.
The Icebreaker also marked the 500th start for veteran Jamie Tomaino, who became the first Whelen Modified driver to reach that milestone. Tomaino was presented with a commemorative plaque in opening ceremonies, then went on to lead 25 laps in the race to mark the first time he had ran up front in four years. Tomaino and Carl Pasteryak, who was also in the starting lineup, became the only drivers to have starts in each of the Whelen Modified Tour’s now 25 years of competition.
Race 2 – Tech-Net Spring Sizzler presented by CARQUEST
With just as much tradition as the Icebreaker, Stafford Motor Speedway’s Spring Sizzler was the second stop on the schedule for the Whelen Modified Tour on April 25-26. Once again, Christopher had the field covered as he captured his 20th career Coors Light Pole Award on Saturday, which marked the first time in the 25 years of the Tour that a driver had earned the first two poles of the season. The dominance carried over to Sunday’s 200-lapper as Christopher led 125. He overcame a mid-race cut tire to rocket from the rear of the field in the final one-third of the race for the 33rd triumph of his career.
Rowan Pennink led the first laps of his career in the race, which would prove to be an early indication that he would be one of the most improved drivers in 2009. Ryan Preece nabbed his second top-five effort in a row, also an early indicator that he would be a championship contender.
Race 3 – TSI Harley-Davidson Classic
The third race of the 2009 Whelen Modified Tour season on May 22 at Stafford was also the shortest. The 100-lap format – which was the length of this same race in three previous instances during the first 24 years of the Tour – proved to be controversial, but it was just fine with Jimmy Blewett. Blewett led the event wire-to-wire for his fifth career victory. It marked the fourth year in a row that Blewett had registered a win, but he had to survive multiple late-race restarts and a green-white-checkered finish to hold off Szegedy and Christopher.
Earlier in the day Christopher captured his third-consecutive Coors Light Pole Award and became the seventh driver in Whelen Modified Tour history to accomplish the feat. It was the 21st of his career, which put him on sole possession of eighth place on the Tour’s all-time list.
Race 4 – New England 100
The Whelen Modified Tour has a reputation for providing an exciting show at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and the June 27 edition lived up to that billing. After 16 lead changes at the line – and many more at one point on the track or the other throughout the race – it came down to the last turn of the last lap. A four-way battle for the lead between Christopher, Szegedy, Lia and Silk resulted in a chain reaction of contact that sent Christopher and Szegedy violently into the wall and Lia first across the finish line for the 12th win of his career.
Amazingly, both Christopher and Szegedy were able to limp across the line in the top 10 to earn valuable points in the championship chase. The frenetic finish also served as a statement that Lia would be a title contender once again. He had won this same race en route to his 2007 title.
Race 5 – Spencer Speedway 155
The 17-year-old Rudolph etched is name in the record book during the Whelen Modified Tour’s 25th season by becoming the youngest driver to win a race when he took the checkers on July 12 at Spencer Speedway in Upstate New York. Although he had a slight home-track advantage – having raced Spencer’s tricky flat half mile many more times than the majority of his competition – Rudolph needed all the experience and poise he could muster to win a drag race to the finish line with Szegedy.
The Spencer race also proved to be very important to the eventual championship chase, thanks to Mother Nature. Lia was not expected to compete in this race as it conflicted with his sister’s wedding. However, when rain washed out racing action on Saturday, the event was pushed back one day to Sunday. Lia not only made the trip up to Williamson, he was able to finish sixth and earn 150 points that he would not have otherwise.
Race 6 – Riverhead 175
Preece turned in one of the most dominant performances of the season as he captured the pole and led the feature from start-to-finish on Aug. 1 at Riverhead Raceway. Although it was Preece’s night, the Riverhead regulars had one of their best showings in recent memory. Dave Brigati finished as the runner-up, Howie Brode came home third and Justin Bonsignore finished fourth.
Although he was already in contention, the Riverhead 175 results loomed large in putting Preece in serious title contention. Christopher and Lia became the first to flinch as both left the race early due to accidents and mechanical failure and lost valuable points. With an eighth place finish in the race, Szegedy temporarily ended Christopher’s stranglehold on the points lead as he moved to the top of the standings.
Race 7 – Town Fair Tire 150
Preece earned the first victory of his career at his “home track” with a triumph at Stafford on Aug. 7, and in the process became just the 20th driver in the 25 years of the Whelen Modified Tour to earn back-to-back wins. After Christopher was dominant early, Preece took the lead on Lap 104 and held it the balance of the event as Christopher, who did not pit for tires, didn’t have enough to seriously challenge again. The runner-up effort was enough for Christopher to retake the season points lead, however.
Eric Berndt, a veteran part-time competitor, earned the first Coors Light Pole Award of his career prior to the event. The race also saw Chris Pasteryak’s tie his previous career-best finish with a third-place effort.
Race 8 – UNOH Perfect Storm 150
In one of the more anticipated events in years, the Whelen Modified and Whelen Southern Modified Tours made their inaugural visit to Bristol on Aug. 18-19. After extensive practice sessions on the 18th, rain plagued many race day activities on the 19th, and the starting field was set by the rulebook. The skies cleared up by race time, however, and the whirlwind of the ground-pounders around the concrete half mile soon thrilled those in attendance. To no one’s surprise, Christopher was in control early as he led the race’s first 107 circuits, but adjustments made by the crew during the mid-race break might have proved to be costly. Conversely, Lia’s crew turned his top-five car into a race winner as the Long Islander went on to capture the checkers in the historic Bristol debut.
Continuing the trend, there was little change atop the season standings as Christopher finished second with Preece third. George Brunnhoelzl III led the Whelen Southern Modified Tour effort with a fourth place finish. Eight of the top 10 finishers in the race came from the Whelen Modified tour.
Race 9 – Budweiser 150 presented by New England Dodge Dealers
This rescheduled race was held at Thompson on Sept. 3 after the original date rained out. While he might not have directly benefited from the rain this time like he did at Spencer, Lia was able to carry his Bristol momentum up to Thompson for a dominant performance. After earning his first Coors Light Pole Award of the season, Lia led three different times for 49 laps to become the third different driver this year to win back-to-back races.
Christopher led a race-high 51 laps and gave little ground in the season standings with his fourth runner-up effort of the season. Christopher’s main competition at the weekly racing level – Keith Rocco – made his debut in the No. 12 Modified in the race following the departure of Blewett, and recorded a fifth place finish. A month after recording the first pole of his career, Berndt recorded the first laps led of his career in the Bud 150.
Race 10 – New Hampshire 100
The 50th running of the Whelen Modified Tour at New Hampshire on Sept. 19 was once again full of storylines. Silk, who had previously left his full-time ride in the No. 79, made a winner of car owner Ed Partridge in his first start with the Long Island-based team. Silk had reached Victory Lane three times previously during his Tour career, but all had come at Thompson. On this day he proved to be a master of the “Magic Mile” as well as he led six different times in the race and out-foxed multi-time NHMS winner Reggie Ruggiero with a pass on the white flag lap.
Like Spencer, the fall NHMS race would also prove to be a major tick on the timeline of the eventual championship season of Lia. With his car burned up after a fire during Thursday practice, Lia had to start in the rear on Saturday. As if that wasn’t enough, he was involved in multiple accidents and needed to utilize the free pass twice. Once on the lead lap, he charged to the front and eventually registered a second place finish. Following the race, Lia trailed Christopher by just 48 points in the standings.
Race 11 – Made In America Whelen 300
The second combo race of the year with the Whelen Southern Modified Tour saw their northern counterparts remain dominant, and a familiar name returned to Victory Lane, on Sept. 25 at Martinsville Speedway. Once again eight of the top 10 finishers came from the Whelen Modified Tour, this time topped by Mike Stefanik. The winningest driver in Tour history became the first to earn five wins at the historic track, and the first non-NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver to reach the 70-win plateau.
Carrying momentum from the previous week, Silk captured the pole for the race. Perhaps surprise contenders in the race, Chris Pasteryak and Pennink led race-high 85 and 77 laps, respectively. Championship hopefuls Preece and Lia finished third and eighth to put further pressure on Christopher, who had engine troubles and crossed the line 30th. As a result, Christopher led Lia by just one point at the end of the day, with Preece 12 back.
Race 12 – CARQUEST Fall Final
The momentum may have swung in Lia’s favor in the previous race at Martinsville, but on Oct. 4 at Stafford the transition atop the season standings became complete. Lia took destiny in his own hands in the Fall Final by winning the pole and leading 99 of the 153 laps in the race to steal the points lead away from Christopher. His fourth win and second pole of the year gave Lia 15 in both categories for his career.
Christopher, who once again suffered through multiple accidents and mechanical failure, was relegated to a 32nd place finish and his hopes of repeating were essential over as he trailed Lia by 91 points with just one race left. In addition to all of the title implications, the Fall Final also saw Joe Hartmann lead the first laps of his career, the first top-five efforts of the year for James Civali and Doug Coby, and an impressive debut for Richie Pallai Jr.
Race 13 – World Series of Speedway Racing presented by Xtra Mart
While Christopher was able to salvage some of the spotlight in the season finale, at the end of the day it was Lia who became the two-time Whelen Modified Tour champion. With the event delayed a week by rain, Lia and Preece entered the race on Oct. 25 with just 12 points between them, and when qualifying was rained out, they started beside each other on the front row. A three-way battle for the race win was contested throughout the day between Christopher, Preece and Lia, but in the end it was Christopher who earned his 34th career win. The season finale triumph wasn’t enough to atone for his two previous races, however, as Lia took home the season title.
The final margin in the points standings saw Lia edge Preece by just 16 points, which was the fourth-closest in the 25 years of the Whelen Modified Tour. Lia joined elite company by becoming just the fourth driver to earn multiple championships in Tour history. Christopher also moved within one win of tying Tony Hirschman for fourth on the Tour’s all-time wins list.
Postscript
After Lia clinched his second Whelen Modified Tour crown at Thompson in late October, he and the rest of NASCAR’s Touring series champions were celebrated at the inaugural NASCAR Touring Series Awards Gala on Nov. 7 in Concord, N.C. Christopher was recognized as the Most Popular Driver for the second year in a row at the Gala while Pennink was bestowed the Most Improved Driver Award and the No. 79 Hillbilly Racing team earned the Sportsmanship Award.
Although the calendar has yet to turn to 2010, there have already been some team transactions. After a year’s absence, Chuck Hossfeld is expected to return to the Tour full-time in 2010 in Bennett’s No. 59 and the previous driver – Rudolph – has been announced as seat-holder for a new team formed by Tommy Baldwin and Al Heinke. Silk has also been tabbed to become the full-time driver for Partridge.
The 2010 schedule has been released, with two different tracks added. In addition to staples like Thompson, Stafford, New Hampshire, Riverhead, Martinsville and now Bristol, the Whelen Modified Tour will welcome back Monadnock Speedway to the schedule, and will trek to the road course at Lime Rock Park for the first time.
Although offseason has not even reached its halfway point, Whelen Modified Tour fans have plenty to anticipate about the 2010 season. Are there any more driver changes on the horizon? Will previous champions Lia, Christopher or Szegedy be able to put together another title run? Can Hossfeld finally break through for a championship? Will Preece or Pennink usher in a new guard? How will the Tour fare in its return to a road course? That’s just a small sample of all the unanswered questions that can be debated in the coming months.
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR