Statistical Advance: Lighthouse Mission 200
Analyzing The Whelen Modified Tour At Riverhead
Daytona Beach, FL — The 50th running of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway is set for Saturday, July 30 with the Lighthouse Mission 200.
Selected Driver Highlights:
Eric Beers (No. 45 Chevrolet)
• Has two wins, nine poles and 64 top 10s in 160 career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts.
• Is sixth in points with three top 10s in six races.
• Has a pole, seven top 10s and a best finish of second in 11 starts at Riverhead Raceway.
Justin Bonsignore (No. 51 Chevrolet)
• The 2010 Sunoco Rookie of the Year.
• Has two poles and eight top 10s in 22 career starts.
• Is 19th in the standings with two top 10s.
• Has two top-five finishes in three NWMT starts at Riverhead.
• Began his career at Riverhead, where he is two points out of the Modified division lead after 10 races this season.
Howie Brode (No. 96 Chevrolet)
• Has 14 top 10s in 54 career NWMT starts. Sixteen of those starts have come at Riverhead and 11 have resulted in top-10 finishes.
• Best career NWMT finish is third, twice. Both times were at Riverhead.
• A competitor in Riverhead’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Modified division.
George Brunnhoelzl III (No. 09 Chevrolet)
• The 2009 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour champion and 2011 points leader with two wins in the season’s first five races.
• Has eight wins and 33 top 10s in 47 career NWSMT starts.
• Has four top 10s in 15 career NWMT starts. Competed full-time in the NWMT in 2010.
• Earned the pole and recorded his best career finish of fifth in his first NWMT race at Riverhead in 2010.
Ted Christopher (No. 36 Chevrolet)
• The 2008 NWMT champion.
• Has 40 wins and 23 poles in 299 career starts. His wins total rank third all-time and his poles are eighth. Has at least one win 13 years in a row.
• Is third in points with a pair of wins and top 10s in all six races.
• Has three wins, two poles and 13 top 10s in 20 career starts at Riverhead.
Doug Coby (No. 52 Chevrolet)
• Has a win, three poles and 39 top 10s in 106 career starts.
• Is eighth in points with four top 10s in six races this year.
• Has five previous starts at Riverhead with a best finish of ninth in 2004.
Matt Hirschman (No. 3 Chevrolet)
• Has two wins, three poles and 34 top 10s in 63 career starts.
• Is fourth in points with top-10 finishes in five of the six races this year.
• Has three previous starts at Riverhead with a best finish of seventh in 2007.
Rowan Pennink (No. 93 Chevrolet)
• Has a win and 31 top 10s in 63 career starts. His win came at Riverhead in 2010.
• Is the points leader with three runner-up finishes and top 10s in all six races this year.
• Including the win last year, he has two top 10s in four career starts at Riverhead.
Ryan Preece (No. 20 Chevrolet)
• Has four poles, three wins and 30 top 10s in 61 career starts.
• Has one top-10 finish in four starts as a part-time driver this year.
• Will drive the No. 20 owned by multi-time Riverhead track champion Bill Park.
• Won at Riverhead from the pole in 2009 and his other three finishes at the track are 10th, fifth and second.
Tom Rogers Jr. (No. 9 Chevrolet)
• Has one top 10 in seven career starts. Has a best finish of 14th in two Riverhead starts.
• The defending Riverhead NWAAS track champion. Is seventh this year with a win. Finished third behind Ron Silk and Todd Szegedy in the 77-lap event on July 23.
Erick Rudolph (No. 98 Chevrolet)
• Has a win, a pole and 22 top 10s in 41 career starts.
• Is 10th in points with three top 10s in six outings.
• Finished 10th in his first race at Riverhead in 2010.
Bobby Santos (No. 4 Dodge)
• Earned the 2010 NWMT championship in his first full-time season.
• Has six wins, five poles and 26 top 10s in 49 career starts.
• Is seventh in 2011 points with a win and three top 10s in six outings.
• Finished ninth in his first race at Riverhead in 2010.
Ron Silk (No. 6 Chevrolet)
• Has five wins, four poles and 45 top 10s in 87 career starts.
• Is second in points – 10 behind Pennink – with a win and five top-fives in six events this year.
• Has three podium finishes in five starts at Riverhead. Best finish was second in 2008.
• Won the Baldwin, Jarzombek, Evans Memorial 77-lap NWAAS race at Riverhead on July 23.
Mike Stefanik (No. 16 Pontiac)
• The 1989, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2006 NWMT champion.
• Holds NWMT records for most titles (7), wins (70), poles (46), top fives (213) and top 10s (279).
• Has slipped from fourth to 12th in the standings the last two races. Has three top 10s.
• Has six wins, two poles and 20 top 10s in 33 career starts at Riverhead. Last win was in 2001.
Todd Szegedy (No. 2 Ford)
• The 2003 NWMT champion.
• Has 16 wins, eight poles and 90 top 10s in 143 career starts.
• Is fifth in points with four top 10s, including wins at Monadnock and New Hampshire.
• Has three top 10s and a best finish of seventh in 10 starts at Riverhead.
• Finished second in the NWAAS 77-lap feature at Riverhead on July 23.
Ron Yuhas Jr. (No. 64 Chevrolet)
• Has nine top 10s in 31 career starts.
• Is up to ninth in points with three of top 10s, including a best season finish of seventh at NHMS.
• This will be his first NWMT start at Riverhead.
At Riverhead Raceway:
History
• Built in 1949.
• Held its first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race on July 10, 1985 during the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s inaugural season. The inaugural race was won by Jimmy Spencer.
• Has held 49 NWMT races all-time, fourth-most among all venues.
• Is one of two tracks to play host to the NWMT in each of its 27 seasons of competition along with Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway.
Notebook
• At .25 miles, Riverhead is the smallest track on the schedule along with Monadnock Speedway.
• There have been four NWMT races that have been won by Riverhead NASCAR Whelen All-American Series drivers, the last of which was Ed Brunnhoelzl Jr. in 1995.
• Mike Ewanitsko experienced more success than any other NWMT driver at Riverhead during his days as a competitor. His 11 wins and eight poles lead in both categories.
• Mike Stefanik is the active wins leader at Riverhead with six while Ed Flemke Jr. has the most poles – four – among current competitors.
• The Lighthouse Mission 200 entry list – as of July 26 – included five drivers that have previously won at Riverhead: Stefanik (6), Ted Christopher (3), Flemke (1), Rowan Pennink (1) and Ryan Preece (1).
Riverhead Raceway Data
Race: #7 of 16
Track Layout: .25-mile banked oval
Race Length: 175 laps/43.75 miles
EVENT SCHEDULE | ENTRY LIST
Qualifying/Race Data
2010 Pole Winner: George Brunnhoelzl III (11.814 seconds, 76.181 mph)
2010 Race Winner: Rowan Pennink (58 min. 51 sec., 44.605 mph)
Qualifying Record: Mike Stefanik (11.562 seconds, 77.841 mph, 6/24/92)
2011 Wins
Ted Christopher … 2
Todd Szegedy … 2
Bobby Santos … 1
Ron Silk … 1
2011 Poles
Ted Christopher … 1
Doug Coby … 1
Bobby Santos … 1
Ron Silk … 1
Todd Szegedy … 1
Laps Led Leaders
Ron Silk … 218
Todd Szegedy … 192
Bobby Santos … 159
Ted Christopher … 107
Rowan Pennink … 105
Laps Completed Leaders
Ted Christopher … 900
Matt Hirschman … 900
Rowan Pennink … 900
Ron Yuhas Jr. … 900
Up to Speed:
• The 2011 schedule features 16 races at eight tracks across four states. The NWMT will make its international debut this year with a race at Delaware (Ont.) Speedway in Canada.
• Bobby Santos broke his own track record in qualifying for the season opener at Thompson International Speedway while Ted Christopher took the checkered flag in the Icebreaker on April 10.
• Doug Coby was the pole winner at Stafford Motor Speedway for the Spring Sizzler and Santos took home the checkered flag on May 1.
• Ron Silk won from the pole at SMS on May 27.
• Todd Szegedy followed Silk’s example as he captured the pole and led all 175 laps en route to victory at Monadnock Speedway on June 26. The race was postponed a day due to rain.
• In the second of four races at TIS this year, Christopher earned the pole and then came from outside the top 15 with 25 laps left to earn the victory on June 30.
• Ryan Newman took the pole and the checkered flag at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 16, but Szegedy was awarded the victory after Newman was disqualified due to post-race technical violations.
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR