WMT Championship to be Decided at Thompson
Thompson, CT — The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship will once again be decided at the Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing presented by XTRA MART. With very few exceptions, the WMT championship is determined each year at Thompson in the Tour’s final race of the season. The October 15th-17th race weekend thus becomes the most important race of the season for the drivers in contention for the crown.
Going into the Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing, Bobby Santos holds a slim 37 points advantage over seven-time Tour champion Mike Stefanik. Ronnie Silk is only 99 points out and defending champion, Ted Christopher finds himself with a 113 points deficit. All four drivers have visited victory lane at Thompson this season so the competition could not be better.
Santos kicked off his season with a win at Thompson’s Icebreaker in April and had another great run, finishing 3rd, in the WMT Bud 150 in August. Stefanik claimed a 3rd Place finish at the Icebreaker and 5th in the August outing. Silk was a bit off his normal pace back in April when he scored an 8th place finish but roared back in August to finish 2nd. Christopher ran to a 4th place finish in the season opener but came back with win a win the August race.
Performances like these bode well for all four title contenders. But, what might be even more telling is how these drivers did in other 2010 Thompson races. Christopher had a brilliant season in the track’s Sunoco Modified Division claiming ten wins. Silk, in the same division, also visited victory lane and Stefanik drove his Super Late Model to a win.
All four drivers also competed in the Tour-Type Modified races held at Thompson and Stefanik won two of the four. Silk scored a win, two second place finishes and a disappointing 19th place. Christopher competed in two of the four and secured a 2nd and a 15th position in those outings. Santos ran only one of the four and managed a 7th place finish in the September 2nd event.
When looked at in total, the performances of these drives were impressive and clearly display just how open the run for the WMT championship will be. The pressure will be on when the field assembles for their 150-lap finale at roughly 3 PM on Sunday, October 17th.
For more information on the Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing, fans are urged to visit the Thompson web site. www.thompsonspeedway.com . Fifteen different divisions of race cars and trucks will compete over the three days of the World Series with the final race of the year being the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Tickets are available by calling the track office at 860-923-2280.
Sources: Russ Dowd/Thompson International Speedway PR