Statistical Advance: Analyzing Monadnock 200 at Monadnock Speedway

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will head to Monadnock Speedway for the third race of the 2012 season on Saturday, May 12 in Winchester, N.H. 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 172 career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts.
• Has finishes of 10th and 12th in two starts at Monadnock Speedway.

Jimmy Blewett (No. 76 John Blewett Inc./Ling Trucking Chevrolet)
• Has five wins, a pole and 28 top 10s in 87 career NWMT starts.
• Has finished in the top five in both of the season’s first two races.
• This will be his first career NWMT race at Monadnock.

Justin Bonsignore (No. 51 M3 Technology Chevrolet)
• Has a win, three poles and 17 top 10s in 34 career NWMT starts.
• Has finishes of ninth and second in two previous races at Monadnock.
• Has four top fives in six quarter-mile track starts between Monadnock and Riverhead Raceway.

Ted Christopher (No. 36 AL-Lee Installations Chevrolet)
• The 2008 NWMT champion, he has 42 wins and 23 poles and 169 top 10s in 308 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.
• Won the 2008 Monadnock race and finished sixth last year.

Doug Coby (No. 52 Reynolds Auto Wrecking/Furnace & Duct Supply Chevrolet)
• Has three wins, four poles and 47 top 10s in 118 career starts.
• Won last time out at Stafford Motor Speedway.
• Competed in the 2011 event at Monadnock and finished 11th.

Ed Flemke Jr. (No. 28 Ron Bouchard’s/Raceworks TV Chevrolet)
• Has 17 wins, 16 poles and 157 top 10s in 413 career starts.
• Carries a NWMT record streak of 356 consecutive race starts that dates to 1992.
• Has an average finish of 20th in four previous races at Monadnock, with a best result of 15th in 1989.

Donny Lia (No. 4 Mystic Missile Racing Dodge)
• The 2007 and 2009 champion, he has 15 wins, 15 poles and 56 top 10s in 115 career starts.
• This will be his first career NWMT race at Monadnock.

Jerry Marquis (No. 0 Cliff Nelson/AARN/LIModManiac Chevrolet)
• The 2000 NWMT champion has 19 wins, 10 poles and 116 top 10s in 212 career starts. His win total ranks eighth all-time and his pole total ranks 14th.
• Will attempt to make his first NWMT start since the 2007 finale.
• Has an average finish of 16th in three NWMT starts at Monadnock, with a best finish of seventh in 1989.
• Recorded a win (1994) and an average finish of ninth in four NASCAR K&N Pro Series East starts at Monadnock.
• Earned weekly track titles at Monadnock from 1990-92.

Rowan Pennink (No. 93 Monk Mechanics Hand Cleaner Chevrolet)
• Has a win and 36 top 10s in 75 career starts.
• Has finished 13th and 10th in two previous Monadnock races.

Woody Pitkat (No. 11 Spectro Oils of America Ford)
• Has 20 top 10s in 57 career starts.
• Finished 14th in the 2010 Monadnock race.

Ryan Preece (No. 16 Diversified Metals/R.B. Enterprises Ford)
• Has three wins, eight poles and 35 top 10s in 69 career starts.
• Has earned the pole and led a combined 222 laps in the last three races entering Monadnock.
• Finished 23rd in the 2010 Monadnock race.
• Has a win (Riverhead) and an average finish of fourth in six career quarter-mile track races.

Keith Rocco (No. 3 Cape Cod Copper/Silver Dollar Construction Chevrolet)
• Has three top-10 finishes in seven career NWMT starts.
• Recorded his best NWMT career finish of third last time out at Stafford.
• This will be the first quarter-mile track start of his brief NWMT career.
• The 2010 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series champion has finished in the top four in the nation in each of the previous five years.

Andy Seuss (No. 70 Rockingham Boat Chevrolet)
• Has three top-10 finishes in 24 career NWMT starts.
• Finished 17th in his only previous start at Monadnock in 2011.
• Has 11 wins and 45 top 10s in 61 career starts on the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour.

Ron Silk (No. 6 Reynolds Auto Wrecking/Schnitzer Chevrolet)

• The 2011 NWMT champion has eight wins, five poles and 54 top 10s in 99 career starts.
• The current points leader, he’s been atop the standings following 11 of the last 12 races dating to 2011.
• Has an average finish of sixth with 14 podium finishes in his last 28 overall starts dating to 2010.
• Has finishes of third and fourth in two previous races at Monadnock.

Mike Stefanik (No. 66 Sheraton Harborside Portsmouth 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 (286).
• Has an average finish of eighth in seven career starts at Monadnock.
• Won and set the track qualifying record at Monadnock in 1988.
• Posted an average finish of 13th and a best effort of second in four NKNPS East starts at Monadnock.

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 155 career starts.
• Won from the pole at Monadnock a year ago and finished 25th in his only other start there in 2010.

At Monadnock Speedway:
History
• Monadnock Speedway opened Aug. 13, 1971.
• Monadnock has played host to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour six times previously, from 1986-90, and most recently in 2010 and 2011.
• A member of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, Monadnock sanctions six divisions in its weekly program, headlined by the Sportsman Modifieds.
Notebook
• Ken Bouchard won the inaugural NWMT race at Monadnock on May 18, 1986. Bouchard also earned the first two poles at the track.
• Current competitors Ted Christopher (2010), Mike Stefanik (1988), Todd Szegedy (2011) and Jamie Tomaino (1990) have earned wins at Monadnock.

Monadnock Speedway Data

Race: #3 of 14
Track Layout: .25-mile asphalt oval
• Qualifier Length: 25 laps (6.25 miles)
• Feature Length: 175 laps (43.75 miles)
• Banking/Turns 1 & 2: 18 degrees
• Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 16 degrees

Qualifying/Race Data
2011 Pole Winner: Todd Szegedy
2011 Race Winner: Todd Szegedy
Qualifying Record: Mike Stefanik (12.390 seconds, 72.693 mph – 5/22/88)

Active Race Winners at Monadnock

1. Ted Christopher 1
2. Mike Stefanik 1
3. Todd Szegedy 1
4. Jamie Tomaino 1

Active Pole Winners at Monadnock

1. Mike Stefanik 1
2. Todd Szegedy 1

Active Laps Led Leaders at Monadnock
1. Todd Szegedy 175
2. Mike Stefanik 146
3. Ted Christopher 41
4. Jamie Tomaino 31

Active Starts Leaders at Monadnock
1. Mike Stefanik 7
2. Jamie Tomaino 7
3. Ed Flemke Jr. 4
4. 12 drivers with 2

Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR