Statistical Advance: Analyzing the CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler at Stafford
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will headline CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler weekend at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway for the second race of the 2012 season on Sunday, April 29. Below is a statistical look at the performance of selected drivers on the Tour:
Selected Driver Highlights:
Eric Beers (No. 45 Horwith Freightliner/John Blewett Inc. Ford)
• Has two wins, nine poles and 72 top 10s in 171 career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts.
• Has two poles and 19 top 10s in 37 career starts at Stafford Motor Speedway with a best finish of second in the 2008 Spring Sizzler.
• Had three top fives in four starts at Stafford in 2011.
Jimmy Blewett (No. 76 John Blewett Inc./Ling Trucking Chevrolet)
• Has five wins, a pole and 27 top 10s in 86 career NWMT starts.
• Two of his five career wins have come at Stafford, along with nine top 10s in 24 appearances.
• Made three starts at Stafford in 2011 with a best finish of 10th.
Justin Bonsignore (No. 51 M3 Technology Chevrolet)
• Has a win, three poles and 16 top 10s in 33 career NWMT starts.
• Has two poles and two top 10s in eight races at Stafford.
• Recorded an average finish of 17th at Stafford in 2011.
Ted Christopher (No. 36 AL-Lee Installations Chevrolet)
• The 2008 NWMT champion, he has 42 wins and 23 poles and 169 top 10s in 307 career starts. His 42 wins rank third all-time and his 23 poles are eighth. Has at least one win in the 13 previous seasons.
• Has 12 wins, four poles, 41 top 10s and 2,083 laps led in 76 career starts at Stafford.
• Has a record five NWMT Spring Sizzler wins (2002, `03, `08, `09, `10) and is credited with another event headliner victory in 1988 in the SK Modifieds.
• Is the winningest driver in Stafford history with 114 career triumphs across all weekly divisions and touring series.
Doug Coby (No. 52 Reynolds Auto Wrecking/Furnace & Duct Supply Chevrolet)
• Has two wins, four poles and 46 top 10s in 117 career starts.
• Won the 2006 Spring Sizzler and has a pair of poles and 10 top 10s in 28 career starts at Stafford.
• Both Stafford poles came last year when he recorded three top 10s in four races.
• Also has 18 career NASCAR Whelen All-American Series wins at Stafford across four divisions.
Ed Flemke Jr. (No. 28 Ron Bouchard’s/Raceworks TV Chevrolet)
• Has 17 wins, 16 poles and 157 top 10s in 412 career starts.
• Carries a NWMT record streak of 355 consecutive race starts that dates to 1992.
• Has three wins, two poles and 31 top 10s in 84 starts at Stafford.
Corey LaJoie (No. 17 LaJoie Scrap Metal/Joie of Seating Chevrolet)
• Will attempt to make his NWMT and Stafford debut.
• Has a win and three top 10s in four career NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour starts. The win came on the quarter mile at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway in 2010.
• Will also compete at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway this Thursday in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East event, the series in which he races full-time.
Donny Lia (No. 4 Mystic Missile Racing Dodge)
• The 2007 and 2009 champion, he has 15 wins, 15 poles and 56 top 10s in 114 career starts.
• Won the 2007 Spring Sizzler and has posted three wins, seven poles and 17 top 10s in 28 career starts at Stafford.
• Has won three of his eight races at Stafford with the No. 4 team, a stretch in which he has finished worse that seventh only once.
• Finished third in his only 2011 Stafford appearance, the Fall Final.
Rowan Pennink (No. 93 Monk Mechanics Hand Cleaner Chevrolet)
• Has a win and 36 top 10s in 74 career starts.
• Has 10 top 10s in 18 career starts at Stafford with a best finish of second on two occasions, both last year, and one of which came in the Spring Sizzler.
Woody Pitkat (No. 11 Spectro Oils of America Ford)
• Has 19 top 10s in 56 career starts.
• A Stafford resident, he has posted five top 10s in 14 NWMT starts at his hometown track with a best finish of seventh in 2009.
• Has 58 career NWAAS wins at Stafford across three divisions.
Ryan Preece (No. 16 Diversified Metals/R.B. Enterprises Ford)
• Has three wins, six poles and 34 top 10s in 68 career starts.
• Has a win, a pole and eight top 10s in 18 career starts at Stafford.
• Is the defending Stafford NWAAS track champ out of the SK Modified division, where he has six career wins.
Keith Rocco (No. 3 Wheelers Auto/Silver Dollar Construction Chevrolet)
• Has two top-10 finishes in six career NWMT starts.
• Has one previous NWMT appearance at Stafford, the 2009 Fall Final, where he finished 26th.
• Has 37 career victories at Stafford, including 31 in SK Modifieds, and is a two-time track champion.
• The 2010 NWAAS champion has finished in the top four in the nation in each of the previous five years.
Ron Silk (No. 6 Reynolds Auto Wrecking/Schnitzer Chevrolet)
• The 2011 NWMT champion has eight wins, five poles and 53 top 10s in 98 career starts.
• Has a win, a pole and nine top 10s in 25 career starts at Stafford. The win came last May.
• Has been in the top seven in the previous six races at Stafford, including four podium finishes.
• Has an average finish of sixth with 14 podium finishes in his last 27 overall starts dating to 2010.
Mike Stefanik (No. 66 Robert B. Our Co. Chevrolet)
• The 1989, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2006 NWMT champion.
• Holds NWMT records for most titles (seven), wins (71), poles (46), top fives (217) and top 10s (285).
• Owns NWMT Stafford record with 20 wins, 17 poles, 68 top 10s and 2,165 laps led in 87 career starts.
• Has top 10s in 20 of his last 24 Stafford races with his last win in the 2008 Fall Final.
Todd Szegedy (No. 2 Dunleavy Repair/A&J Romano Const. Ford)
• The 2003 NWMT champion has 17 wins, nine poles and 97 top 10s in 154 career starts.
• Has four wins, two poles and 25 top 10s in 40 career races at Stafford. Last win was in August 2010.
• Had an average finish of 17th at Stafford in four 2011 races.
Up to Speed:
• The 2012 season is the 28th for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
• The 2012 schedule features 14 races at seven different tracks across four states.
• Defending NWMT champion Ron Silk won the 2012 season-opener at Thompson International Speedway on April 15. Ryan Preece was the polesitter for the Icebreaker.
• Following the Spring Sizzler at Stafford Motor Speedway, the NWMT will return to action on May 12 at Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, N.H.
At 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 102 races at Stafford since 1985. The NWMT has run there every year of its existence, except for 1988.
• The 102 all-time NWMT races at Stafford rank second only to the 117 held at Thompson International Speedway.
• Stafford is one of nine tracks that have been a part of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series program in each of its now 31 years of competition.
Notebook
• There have been 31 different race winners at Stafford, led by Mike Stefanik’s 20 victories. Bobby Santos is the defending race winner while Ted Christopher has the most NWMT Spring Sizzler wins with five.
• There have been 40 different pole winners at Stafford, led by Stefanik’s 17. Doug Coby earned the Spring Sizzler pole a year ago while Santos owns the track qualifying record.
• The preliminary entry list for the Spring Sizzler includes 10 drivers who have won at Stafford during their careers.
Stafford Motor Speedway Data
Race: #2 of 14 overall, #1 of 4 at SMS
Track Layout: .5-mile asphalt oval
• Race Length: 200 laps (100 miles)
• Banking/Turns 1 & 2: nine degrees
• Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 7.5 degrees
Qualifying/Race Data
2011 Pole Winner: Doug Coby
2011 Race Winner: Bobby Santos
Qualifying Record: Bobby Santos (17.965 seconds, 100.195 mph – 5/1/10)
Active Win Leaders at SMS
1. Mike Stefanik … 20
2. Ted Christopher … 12
3. Todd Szegedy … 4
4. Ed Flemke Jr. … 3
Donny Lia … 3
Bobby Santos … 3
Active Pole Leaders at SMS
1. Mike Stefanik … 17
2. Donny Lia … 7
3. Ted Christopher … 4
4. Seven drivers with … 2
Active Laps Led Leaders at SMS
1. Mike Stefanik … 2,165
2. Ted Christopher … 2,083
3. Todd Szegedy … 801
4. Ed Flemke Jr. … 482
5. Doug Coby … 319
Active Starts Leaders at SMS
1. Jamie Tomaino … 101
2. Mike Stefanik … 87
3. Ed Flemke Jr. … 84
4. Ted Christopher … 76
5. Wade Cole … 42
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR