Statistical Advance: CARQUEST Fall Final
Analyzing The Whelen Modified Tour At StaffordDaytona Beach, FL — The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will return to Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway for the fourth and final time in 2011 for the CARQUEST Fall Final on Sunday, Oct. 2.
Selected Driver Highlights:
Eric Beers (No. 45 Chevrolet)
• Has two wins, nine poles and 70 top 10s in 168 career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts.
• Is fourth in points with nine top 10s in 14 races.
• Leads all drivers in laps completed with 1,928, two shy of the entire season’s total.
• Has 18 top 10s in 36 career starts at Stafford Motor Speedway with a best finish of second in 2008.
Jimmy Blewett (No. 76 Chevrolet)
• Has five wins, one poles and 26 top 10s in 85 starts.
• Has one top-10 finish in six appearances this year.
• Has two wins and nine top 10s in 24 SMS races.
Justin Bonsignore (No. 51 Chevrolet)
• The 2010 Sunoco Rookie of the Year.
• Has a win, two poles and 15 top 10s in 30 starts.
• Is up to fifth in points with a win and eight top 10s, including the last six races in a row.
• Only top-10 finish in seven races at SMS was his debut there in 2010. Has three DNFs in those races. Earned the pole for this event last year.
• Is the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series 2011 Riverhead Raceway champion.
Ted Christopher (No. 36 Chevrolet)
• The 2008 NWMT champion. Has 41 wins and 23 poles in 305 career starts. His 41 wins rank third all-time and his 23 poles are eighth. Has at least one win in 13-straight seasons.
• Is ninth in points with three wins and 10 top 10s in 12 starts this year.
• Has 11 wins, four poles and 40 top 10s in 75 career NWMT starts at SMS. Won the August event.
• Is the winningest driver in SMS history with 113 across all weekly divisions and touring series.
Doug Coby (No. 52 Chevrolet)
• Has two wins, four poles and 44 top 10s in 114 career starts.
• Is fifth in points with nine top 10s in 14 races this year. Won both the regular and exhibition races at Thompson International Speedway in the UNOH Showdown.
• Has a win, three poles and nine top 10s in 27 career starts at SMS.
Matt Hirschman (No. 3 Chevrolet)
• Has two wins, three poles and 35 top 10s in 71 career starts.
• Is eighth in points with top-10 finishes in six of 14 races this year.
• Has 12 top 10s in 17 starts at SMS with a best finish of second in the 2008 Fall Final.
Donny Lia (No. 11 Ford)
• Has 15 wins, 15 poles and 54 top 10s in 112 career NWMT starts.
• Has DNFs in both of his appearances this year at Riverhead Raceway and the August at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
• Has three wins, seven poles and 16 top 10s in 27 career starts at SMS.
Rowan Pennink (No. 93 Chevrolet)
• Has a win and 35 top 10s in 71 career starts.
• Is third in points with 10 top 10s in 14 races. Held the points lead the first six races of the season.
• Has 10 top 10s in 17 races at SMS with a best finish of second, recorded in the first two 2011 races.
Ryan Preece (No. 40 Chevrolet)
• Has three wins, four poles and 33 top 10s in 65 career starts.
• Has four top 10s in eight appearances in 2011.
• Has a win, a pole and seven top 10s in 17 career starts at SMS.
• Is the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series 2011 SMS champion out of the SK Modified division.
Erick Rudolph (No. 98 Chevrolet)
• Has a win, two poles and 26 top 10s in 49 career starts.
• Is 10th in points with seven top 10s in 14 outings.
• Has nine straight top 10s and 10 total in 14 SMS races with a best effort of third in the 2010 Fall Final.
Bobby Santos (No. 4 Dodge)
• Earned the 2010 NWMT championship in his first full-time season on the tour.
• Has six wins, seven poles and 29 top 10s in 57 career starts.
• Is seventh in points this year with a win, three poles and six top 10s in 14 outings.
• Has three wins, two poles and seven top 10s in 12 SMS races and podiums in six of the last seven.
Ron Silk (No. 6 Chevrolet)
• Has seven wins, five poles and 51 top 10s in 95 career starts.
• Leads Todd Szegedy by eight points in the standings. Has three wins and 11 top 10s in 14 races.
• Has a win, two poles and eight top 10s in 24 career SMS races. Won from the pole in this year’s May night race.
Mike Stefanik (No. 16 Ford)
• The 1989, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2006 NWMT champion.
• Holds NWMT records for most titles (7), wins (71), poles (46), top fives (215) and top 10s (282).
• Is 12th in points with a win and seven top 10s in 13 starts. The win came at NHMS in August.
• Has SMS records with 20 wins and 17 poles and has 68 top 10s in 86 starts there. Last win came in the 2008 Fall Final from the pole.
Todd Szegedy (No. 2 Ford)
• The 2002 Sunoco Rookie of the Year and 2003 tour champion.
• Has 17 wins, nine poles and 97 top 10s in 151 career starts.
• Trails points leader Ron Silk by eight tallies. Has three wins and 11 top 10s in 14 events.
• Took the points lead for one week following his win from the pole at Lime Rock Park.
• Has four wins, two poles and 25 top 10s in 39 career starts at SMS.
Up to Speed:
• Bobby Santos broke his own track record in qualifying for the season opener at Thompson International Speedway while Ted Christopher took the checkered flag 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.
• Justin Bonsignore earned his first NWMT victory at his home track when he took the checkers at Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway on July 30. Local competitor Howie Brode also captured his first NWMT pole award prior to the race.
• Christopher retuned to Victory Lane once again at Stafford when he took the Town Fair Tire 150 checkered flag on Aug. 5. Coby earned the pole earlier in the day.
• Mike Stefanik tied Tony Hirschman for the most NWMT career wins at NHMS with his seventh on Aug. 13. Santos earned the pole as the NWMT shared the race weekend at ‘Magic Mile’ with the IZOD IndyCar Series.
• Santos earned his third pole and Newman once again proved to be unbeatable as he led 109 of 150 laps in the NWMT-NWSMT combination race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 24.
• Erick Rudolph captured his second career pole and Silk his sixth career victory in the inaugural event at Delaware (Ont.) Speedway on Sept. 4.
• Ryan Preece nabbed the pole and Coby the win in the Northern Thompson 125 on Sept. 11 at TIS. Coby followed later in the day by taking checkers in the exhibition UNOH Showdown.
• Szegedy earned the pole and had to make a late-race charge to reach Victory Lane for his first NWMT road course win at Lime Rock Park on Sept. 17.
• Silk regained the points lead with his third win of the season last time out at NHMS on Sept. 24. Silk was also the pole winner for the New Hampshire 100.
Stafford Motor Speedway:
History
• The Stafford Springs Agricultural Park opened in 1870. The current race track was originally used for horse racing, which gave way to automobiles after World War II.
• Stafford Motor Speedway became a NASCAR track in 1959 and was paved in 1967.
• The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour has held 101 races at SMS since 1985. The NWMT has run there every year of its existence, except for 1988.
• The 101 all-time NWMT races at SMS rank second only to the 115 held at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway.
• SMS is one of nine tracks that has been a part of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series program in each of its 30 years.
Notebook
• There have been 31 different race winners at SMS, led by Mike Stefanik’s 20 victories. Bobby Santos, Ron Silk and Ted Christopher have won the first three events at SMS in 2011.
• There have been 40 different pole winners at SMS, led by Stefanik’s 17. Doug Coby (twice) and Silk have captured the first three poles at SMS this year.
• The preliminary entry list for the CARQUEST Fall Final includes 10 drivers who have won at SMS during their careers.
Stafford Motor Speedway Data
Race: #15 of 16 overall, #4 of 4 at SMS
Track Layout: .5-mile asphalt oval
Banking: 9 degrees in Turns 1 & 2, 7.5 degrees in Turns 3 & 4
Race Length: 150 laps / 75 miles
Qualifying/Race Data
2010 Race Winner: Bobby Santos (1:12.40, 61.927 mph)
2010 Pole Winner: Justin Bonsignore (18.355 seconds, 98.006 mph)
Qualifying Record: Bobby Santos (17.965 seconds, 100.195 mph, 5/1/10)
Wins at SMS – Active Drivers
Mike Stefanik … 20
Ted Christopher … 11
Todd Szegedy … 4
Ed Flemke Jr. … 3
Donny Lia … 3
Bobby Santos … 3
Jimmy Blewett … 2
Five drivers with … 1
Poles at SMS – Active Drivers
Mike Stefanik … 17
Donny Lia … 7
Ted Christopher … 4
Chuck Hossfeld … 3
Six drivers with … 2
Five drivers with … 1
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR