News & Notes: Whelen Modified Tour Heads Back To “Magic Mile” For F.W. Webb 100

It appears NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Ryan Newman has this Modified thing figured out now.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star teamed with accomplished Cup crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion in September 2008 and the pair made their NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour debut together at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. While Newman contested the track record when he won the pole, his debut in the race was soured by an accident and a 20th-place finish despite leading 28 laps.

Newman’s three starts in 2009 provided similar results as he recorded an average finish of 22nd. But this year the team’s effort as a side project has paid dividends.

In June’s New England 100, Newman sat on the pole and came out on top of a last-lap battle with Ted Christopher to pull out his first Whelen Modified Tour win. Then, last time out, Newman held off a hard-charging Mike Stefanik at Bristol Motor Speedway for his second win in as many outings this year.

While Christopher, Stefanik and the rest of the Whelen Modified Tour regulars have gone on record as saying they enjoy competing with Newman, they’ll collectively be looking to keep the No. 7 at bay when the Tour returns to New Hampshire this week for the F.W. Webb 100.

There will be no shortage of qualified challengers for Newman at the “Magic Mile.” There are five drivers on the entry list for the F.W. Webb 100 who have combined to win 16 races at New Hampshire, led by Stefanik’s six. Christopher also has five NASCAR K&N Pro Series East wins to go along with a handful of Whelen Modified Tour triumphs.

Current points leader Bobby Santos would figure to be the leading candidate to get his first win in Loudon as he has proved to be a threat at nearly every track he shows up at. Ryan Preece would also be a driver to keep an eye on as he has recorded a podium finish in three of his last four starts at New Hampshire.

In addition to the intrigue of chasing the checkers at one of the premier tracks on the circuit, the F.W. Webb 100 will also have plenty of championship implications.

Santos is in a fierce battle with Christopher and Stefanik for the 2010 title with Todd Szegedy not too far out of the race in fourth. With 32 points separating Santos and second place Christopher, and Stefanik just 61 tallies out of first, an win by any of the trio could go along way toward shaping the championship picture.

One thing the three challengers have in common is that they have all earned championships before and are battle-tested in such situations. Not only will this be Santos’ first title chase, but this is the first time he has ever competed a full season for points.

The F.W. Webb 100 will go green on Saturday at 12:45 p.m., with the SPEED telecast of the race set to begin on a 15-minute delay at 1 p.m. The Whelen Modified Tour will be followed by the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on Saturday’s race card.

Bobby Santos
June finish at NHMS: 4th
Avg. finish at NHMS: 18th
Avg. finish in August: 10th
Wins at NHMS (Last): 0

Ted Christopher
June finish at NHMS: 2nd
Avg. finish at NHMS: 13th
Avg. finish in August: 8th
Wins at NHMS (Last): 5 (9/13/08)

Mike Stefanik
June finish at NHMS: 27th
Avg. finish at NHMS: 10th
Avg. finish in August: 3rd
Wins at NHMS (Last): 6 (8/2/98)

ENTRY LIST

Raceday Notes
The Race … The F.W. Webb 100 will be the 12th of 14 races for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in 2010 and the second 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 51 times previously, the most of any facility outside of Connecticut.

Race Winners … There have been 17 different  winners in 51 all-time races at NHMS, led by Tony Hirschman’s seven victories, which is one more than Reggie Ruggiero and Mike Stefanik. Ryan Newman earned his first Whelen Modified win in June at New Hampshire.

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. Newman was the June pole winner. 

Mid-Season Surge For The Eric(k)’s
Full-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour drivers Eric Beers, Eric Goodale and Erick Rudolph may have not been mistaken for each other, but they have had more in common than just their first names in 2010.

Beers, who has finished in the top 10 in points in four of the previous first five seasons, had a subpar start to the 2010 campaign by his standards. After three races he was 24th in points, and it took top-10 efforts in five of the next six races to get him in the top 10 of the season standings. Beers now sits ninth in points despite finishes outside the top 10 in the last two races, but a finish to the season as high as seventh seems in sight.

Among the trio, Goodale took the longest to get on track, but was one of the more-consistent top finishers in the month of August. The defending Sunoco Rookie of the Year, Goodale had five top 10s in his first 22 career races, but has finished ninth or better in each of his last four outings, including eighth overall last time out at Bristol Motor Speedway. He is now up to eighth in the standings.

The only 2010 winner of the group is also the only one with a “k” at the end of his given name. Rudolph, like the others however, didn’t get the ship righted until the season got well underway. After the sixth race of the season he was 14th in points, but a pole and a strong runner-up effort to Ted Christopher at Monadnock Speedway got the ball rolling in the right direction with four top 10s in the last five races. Rudolph is solidly in seventh in the standings after finishing 12th a year ago.

Beers, Goodale and Rudolph will all look to take the next step toward finishing the season strong at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Tour Tidbits: Newman Makes It Two-For-Two
The last time out the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour visited the high banks of Bristol Motor Speedway for the UNOH Perfect Storm  150 combination race with the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour on Wednesday, Aug. 18.

Newman Wins Again … Following his first Whelen Modified Tour win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in June, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series veteran Ryan Newman made it two-for-two in 2010 with a triumph at Bristol. Newman took the lead on Lap 131 and held it the balance of the event to earn the checkered flag.

Santos Regains Points Lead … The one week hiatus from atop the season standings ended for Bobby Santos at Bristol as he brought the “Mystic Missile” home fourth. Another top-five for Santos, combined with Ted Christopher’s late-race misfortune, pushed Santos back into the championship lead.

Christopher Dominant, Blows Engine Late … Entering the race with the points lead for the first time in 2010, Christopher looked to strengthen his title bid at Bristol and was well on his way. Christopher led three times during the bulk of the middle stages of the race, but was passed on Lap 126 and his engine let go nine laps shy of the finish while running in the top five.

Stefanik Knocking on the Door … The winningest driver in Whelen Modified Tour history, Mike Stefanik is still looking for that first win of 2010, and he’s been close a number of times. Stefanik surrendered the lead at Bristol with 20 circuits remaining, but held on for second place and his fifth top-five finish of the year. Stefanik’s rejuvenated 2010 season has him just 61 points behind championship leader Santos.

First Pole for Bonsignore … Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Justin Bonsignore captured his first career Whelen Modified Tour pole prior to the UNOH Perfect Storm 150. His pole time of 14.835 seconds (129.343 mph) is the fastest lap ever record in a NASCAR qualifying session at Bristol. The last Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender to take home a Coors Light Pole was Richard Savary in 2007.

Quarterley Registers Another top Finish … Following a win at Lime Rock Park in this 2010 Whelen Modified Tour debut, former NASCAR K&N Pro Series East driver Dale Quarterley registered another top finish at Bristol. In his first appearance at the “Worlds Fastest Half Mile,” Quarterley drove to a seventh place finish.

North Continues Dominance … There have  been seven Whelen Modified-Whelen Southern Modified Tour combination races since 2005, and the Southern Tour is still looking for its first overall winner. James Civali, who also competes in the northern circuit, was the highest-finishing Southern Tour car in third overall. Fourteen of the top 16 cars across the line at Bristol were from the Whelen Modified Tour.

Up Next: Stafford
Following this weekend’s action at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will make its fourth and final stop in 2010 at Stafford Motor Speedway.

The CARQUEST Fall Final is slated to be contested at the Connecticut half mile on Sunday, Oct. 3. This will be the 25th time the Whelen Modified Tour has participated in the Fall Final, the traditional season-ending race weekend for Stafford.

The first three races at Stafford this year have produced three different winners. Ted Christopher took the checkers in the Spring Sizzler, Bobby Santos was victorious in the May race and Todd Szegedy won the last appearance for the Tour there in August.

As the penultimate race of the 2010 season, the Fall Final will have many championship implications. Donny Lia’s win in last year’s event solidified his title hopes, which marked the seventh time the eventual champion won the Fall Final.

Action will begin on race weekend with practice and qualifying on Saturday and raceday will commence with the CARQUEST Belts & Hose Pit Party.

Contingency Awards
COORS LIGHT POLE AWARD
Bobby Santos, 3
Justin Bonsignore, 1
George Brunnhoelzl III, 1
Ted Christopher, 1
Ryan Newman, 1
Erick Rudolph, 1
Ron Silk, 1
Mike Stefanik, 1
Todd Szegedy, 1

COCA-COLA MOVE OF THE RACE AWARD
Woody Pitkat, 3
Eric Goodale, 1
Danny Knoll Jr., 1
Dale Quarterley, 1
Glen Reen, 1
Erick Rudolph, 1
Ron Silk, 1
Mike Stefanik, 1
Jamie Tomaino, 1

FEATHERLITE MOST IMPROVED DRIVER AWARD
Eric Beers, 1
Justin Bonsignore, 1
James Civali, 1
Chuck Hossfeld, 1
Rowan Pennink, 1
Ryan Preece, 1
Bobby Santos, 1
Mike Stefanik, 1
Rob Summers, 1
Todd Szegedy, 1
Glenn Tyler, 1

WHELEN WINNER OF THE RACE
Ted Christopher, 3
Bobby Santos, 3
Ryan Newman, 2
Rowan Pennink, 1
Dale Quarterley, 1
Todd Szegedy, 1

SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE RACE AWARD
Justin Bonsignore, 8
Richie Pallai Jr., 3

SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE YEAR STANDINGS
Justin Bonsignore, 107
Richie Pallai Jr., 102

Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR

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