News & Notes: Magic Mile Up Next For Mods
Often regarded as the highlight event of New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s race weekends, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will make the first of its two annual trips to Loudon, N.H., for the New England 100 on June 26.
The Whelen Modified Tour and NHMS have been a match made in heaven since the inaugural event at the 1.058-mile oval in September 1990. With its long straightaways that produce drafting unique to the Whelen Modifieds, the races feature an abundance of lead changes, often with multiple passes per lap.
The Whelen Modified Tour’s race in Loudon last September marked the 50th all-time Tour event at the “Magic Mile,” which is more than any facility outside of the state of Connecticut.
Tony Hirschman holds the Whelen Modified Tour record for wins at New Hampshire with seven. Among current competitors Mike Stefanik leads with six victories while Ted Christopher has five.
Christopher enters the New England 100 on a mini-slump, but the Connecticut racer that recently turned 52 years old figures to be a favorite for yet another NHMS checkered flag. With the five more NASCAR K&N Pro Series East wins to go along with his handful of Whelen Modified Tour triumphs, Christopher is the winningest driver in NHMS history across all series. His last victory came in the 2008 fall race.
Current points leaders Bobby Santos and Stefanik also enter the weekend as favorites. Santos will look for his first NHMS win while Stefanik will strive for his first there since 1998.
The Whelen Modified Tour will share the bill on race weekend with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. Practice and qualifying for the Whelen Modified Tour and K&N Pro Series East is scheduled for Thursday, June 24.
The Whelen Modified Tour will take the green flag on Saturday at 1 p.m. with the Nationwide Series race to follow.
The Race New England 100
The Place New Hampshire Motor Speedway
The Date Saturday, June 26
The Time 1:10 p.m. ET
Track Layout 1.058-mile oval
Race Purse $166,513
2009 Winner Donny Lia
2009 Polesitter Doug Coby
Event Schedule 6/24: Practice 1:15-2:45 p.m., Qualifying 4:45 p.m.; 6/26: Final Practice 8:15-8:55 a.m.
Track Contact Kristen Costa, (603) 513-5708, kcosta@nhms.com, Twitter: @NHMotorSpeedway
NASCAR PR Contact Jason Cunningham, (704) 201-6658, jcunningham@nascar.com
Raceday Notes
The Race … The New England 100 will be the fifth of 14 races for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in 2010 and the first of two stops at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The Procedure … Starting Positions 1-33 will be set from time trials with an additional five provisional positions rounding out the field.
The Track … NHMS is a 1.058-mile, slightly-banked asphalt facility, which is the largest oval track the Whelen Modified Tour races at. The Whelen Modified Tour, along with the K&N Pro Series East, became the second and third NASCAR divisions to compete at NHMS when it opened in 1990. NHMS has played host to the Whelen Modified Tour 50 times previously, the most of any facility outside of Connecticut.
Race Winners … There have been 16 different winners in 50 all-time races at NHMS, led by Tony Hirschman’s seven victories, which is one more than Reggie Ruggiero and Mike Stefanik. Donny Lia was the winner of the 2009 New England 100.
Pole Winners … There have been 21 different pole winners at New Hampshire, led by Ted Christopher and Jan Leaty with seven apiece. Mike Ewanitsko holds the qualifying record at 28.693 seconds (132.743 mph), set in 2001. Doug Coby earned the 2009 New England 100 pole.
Mystic Missile Looks For More Granite
The two most unique trophies up for grabs annually in NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour competition are the Martinsville Speedway grandfather clock and the granite hardware at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The No. 4 Dodge driven by Bobby Santos already has earned the former this year, and will look for the latter this week. And he could have just the car for the job as the famed “Mystic Missile” has had quite a run in Loudon in recent seasons, especially in the New England 100.
Donny Lia piloted the No. 4 Dodge to Victory Lane in June 2007 and Chuck Hossfeld followed with a win in the 2008 edition. Lia then made it three-in-a-row last season.
Santos has just six career starts at NHMS, with three top 10s and a best finish of fourth in the 2007 fall race. None were in Bob Garbarino’s Modified, however.
Not only does the team’s recent history bode well for Santos, but Garbarino’s crew has had plenty of success through the years at the largest track the Whelen Modified Tour visits. Their first win came in 1997 with Tim Connolly behind the wheel, and Hossfeld took the checkers in consecutive races in 2002 and 2003 in his first stint with the team.
Garbarino’s six total wins as a car owner at New Hampshire are tied for the most by a team.
The long-tem success of the “Mystic Missile” in Loudon figures to offset Santos’ lack of experience at the facility. That was the case at Martinsville Speedway on June 6 when Santos reached Victory Lane in just his second career start at that facility.
Santos and the No. 4 will also look to ride their current wave of momentum. Through four races in their first season together, the pairing has earned three poles and three race wins and leads in the points standings by 89 tallies. Santos has led laps in all four races.
Rookies Hang Tough Out Of The Gate
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidates Justin Bonsignore and Richie Pallai Jr. have quickly proved to be capable of top finishes.
Bonsignore has just six career starts, but he’s already registered four top-10 finishes. The Whelen Modified Tour debut for Bonsignore came at his home track – Riverhead Raceway – in 2007 and resulted in a fourth-place effort. He then duplicated that in the same race in 2009. In four races to start the 2010 season he has two top 10s, including a career-best finish of second at Martinsville Speedway on June 6.
Bonsignore’s only competition for 2010 Rookie of the Year honors is Pallai, who also had a career day at Martinsville with his first top 10 in his fifth start.
With their efforts through four races, Bonsignore ranks sixth in the season standings and Pallai is up to eighth. The last rookie to stay in the top 10 in points was James Civali in 2006.
Tour Tidbits: Santos Continues To Dominate
The fourth race of the 2010 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season was the Made In America Whelen 200 at Martinsville Speedway on June 6.
More History for Santos … At Stafford Motor Speedway on May 28, Bobby Santos tied Ted Christopher’s record of three-consecutive pole awards to start a season. The next time out at Martinsville on June 6, Santos was not able to make that record his own, but the Franklin, Mass., wheelman went out and got another mark instead. Santos’ win in the Made In America Whelen 200 marked the first time in the 26-year history of the Whelen Modified Tour that a driver had taken the checkered flag in three of the first four races of a season.
More History for Stefanik … At this point in Mike Stefanik’s career, it is less about attaining records, and more about adding to them. The Coventry, R.I., resident added to his record for career pole awards at Martinsville with the 43rd of his distinguished Whelen Modified Tour tenure. It was also Stefanik’s fifth at Martinsville, which put him in sole possession of the lead for poles at the historic speedway.
Santos Extends Lead … With three wins and a runner-up finish, Santos will enter this week’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with an 89-point lead in the standings on Stefanik, who avoided losing too much ground at Martinsville with a fourth-place finish.
Civali, Pitkat Have Positive Runs … In the first three races of the season, James Civali had an average finish of 22nd and was 22nd in points while Woody Pitkat ranked 19th with an average finish of 20th. Both might have started the road to recovery at Martinsville, however, as Civali crossed the line sixth and Pitkat finished eighth. Pitkat led 45 laps, his first since the 2008 World Series, and improved to 12th in points. Civali ran as high as second at Martinsville and improved to 13th in points. Pitkat earned the Coca-Cola Move of the Race and the Clarence’s Steak House Mid-Race Leader Awards and Civali took home the Featherlite Most Improved Driver Award.
Seeing Yellow … The race was slowed by 18 cautions for 119 laps. Although records are incomplete, according to what is available, that was the most yellow flags since the 2000 Thompson 300 (20) and the most laps under yellow on record since the 250-lap 1989 Pocono Race of Champions (121).
Race Wrap … The third race in a row to conclude on a green-white-checker, the Made In America Whelen 200 finished as the Whelen 204 … Ryan Preece led a race-high 48 laps, but had ignition box issues during the race and finished 16th … Ted Christopher led two times for 43 laps, but finished 18th after he was black flagged in the middle of the race for leaking oil … Burt Myers led a contingent of seven NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour drivers entered in the race as he finished fifth … Wade Cole registered his first top-10 finish since 2008 at Spencer Speedway.
Up Next: Lime Rock
The sixth race of the 2010 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season on July 3 will be a historic date on the storied division’s timeline.
For the first time in the now 26-year history of the Whelen Modified Tour, Lime Rock Park will serve as host to a race. The 1.53-mile circuit in Lakeville, Conn., will become just the second road course to play host to a Whelen Modified Tour race.
Ted Christopher, Rowan Pennink, Bobby Santos and Todd Szegedy tested their cars at Lime Rock on May 11 for Hoosier Tires, and an open test date for June 29 will allow all teams to get a feel for the track, but for many of the Whelen Modified Tour’s drivers the Lime Rock 100 will be their first road course racing venture.
Among the 2010 driver roster just Christopher, Szegedy, Tim Arre, Wade Cole, Ed Flemke Jr., Jake Marosz, Mike Stefanik, Rob Summers and Jamie Tomaino competed in some or all of the six Whelen Modified Tour races at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International from 1996-2000. Those six events are the only road course races in the Tour’s history.
Christopher, Stefanik and Szegedy figure to have a leg up on the competition as they have experience at Lime Rock in other divisions. Stefanik has a win (1998) and seven top 10s in nine NASCAR K&N Pro Series East starts and Christopher has a win (1997) and four top 10s in five East starts at Lime Rock. Szegedy had success in SCCA events at the track.
The Whelen Modified Tour will share the racing card at Lime Rock with the K&N Pro Series East. The East will utilize the traditional course while the Modifieds will run the new “Optional Uphill” coming out of “No Name Straight” and entering the “Back Straight.”
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR PR