Whelen Modified Statistical Advance: Loudon
Analyzing The Town Fair Tire 100 At New Hampshire
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will take part in this weekend’s racing action at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with the Town Fair Tire 100 on Saturday, July 14. 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 74 top 10s in 175 career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts.
• Has nine top 10s in 20 starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with an average finish of 14th and a best finish of third in 2005.
Ryan Blaney (No. 98 Mohawk Northeast Chevrolet)
• Will attempt to make his first NWMT start in the Town Fair Tire 100.
• Has made three NASCAR Nationwide Series starts this year with a best finish of seventh in his debut at Richmond International Raceway.
• Has one NASCAR K&N Pro Series West start, a win in the 2011 finale at Phoenix International Raceway. In five NASCAR K&N Pro Series East races he has posted four top 10s with two runner-ups.
Jimmy Blewett (No. 76 John Blewett Inc./Ling Trucking Chevrolet)
• Has five wins, a pole and 29 top 10s in 90 career NWMT starts.
• Has three top 10s in five races this year. Had three top 10s across 16 races the two previous seasons.
• Has three top 10s in 14 career starts at NHMS with an average finish of 21st and a best finish of second, twice.
Justin Bonsignore (No. 51 M3 Technology Chevrolet)
• Has a win, three poles and 19 top 10s in 36 career NWMT starts.
• Since gaining his first win last year at Riverhead Raceway, he has finished in the top 10 in 13 of 15 events.
• First three starts at NHMS were finishes of 12, 27 and 31. In his last two appearances he has finished fourth and third.
Ted Christopher (No. 36 AL-Lee Installations Chevrolet)
• The 2008 NWMT champion, he has 42 wins and 24 poles and 171 top 10s in 312 career starts. His 42 wins rank third all-time and his 24 poles are eighth. Has at least one win in the 13 previous seasons.
• Is the active leader at NHMS for poles (5) and laps led (753), and ranks second among active drivers with five wins. Has 18 top fives and 26 top 10s in 45 career NWMT starts at NHMS with an average finish of 13th.
• His last 20 NWMT starts at NHMS have resulted in 17 top 10s. The other three were DNFs.
• Also has five NKNPS East victories at NHMS. His combined 10 wins are the most in track history.
• Has made five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and four NNS starts at NHMS.
Doug Coby (No. 52 Reynolds Auto Wrkng/Furnace & Duct Chevrolet)
• Has five wins, four poles and 50 top 10s in 121 career starts.
• Points leader has three wins in five races this year. Recorded two wins in 116 starts prior to the 2012 season.
• Has four wins and 16 top 10s in 22 starts with the No. 52 team since first racing together in the 2010 finale.
• Has a pole and eight top 10s in 17 career starts at NHMS with an average finish of 17th and a best finish of fourth on three occasions, including this race last year.
Donny Lia (No. 4 Mystic Missile Racing Dodge)
• The 2007 and 2009 champion, he has 15 wins, 15 poles and 58 top 10s in 118 career starts.
• Has three top 10s through five races in his return to the NWMT this year.
• Has two wins and seven top 10s in 14 career NWMT starts at NHMS with 114 laps led and an average finish of 15th.
Ryan Newman (No. 7 Menards/Aggressive Hydraulics Chevrolet)
• Has four wins, three poles and five top 10s in nine career NWMT starts. Two of those wins and all three poles have come at NHMS.
• Took the checkered flag from the pole in this race last year, but was disqualified for post-race technical violations.
• Not including the DQ, he’s won four of his previous five NWMT starts.
• Has three wins, six poles and 13 top 10s in 20 career NSCS starts at NHMS.
Rowan Pennink (No. 93 Monk Mechanics Hand Cleaner Chevrolet)
• Has a win and 38 top 10s in 77 career starts.
• Has three top 10s in 11 starts at NHMS with an average finish of 20th and a best finish of fourth in 2009.
Woody Pitkat (No. 11 Spectro Performance Oils Ford)
• Has 21 top 10s in 58 career NWMT starts.
• Has five top 10s in 10 starts at NHMS with an average finish of 15th and a best finish of second in 2011. That runner-up effort in last year’s August race is the best overall finish of his NWMT career.
Ryan Preece (No. 16 Diversified Metals/R.B. Enterprises Ford)
• Has four wins, nine poles and 37 top 10s in 72 career starts.
• Earned the pole in the first three races of 2012 and won at Monadnock Speedway on May 12.
• Has a pole and five top 10s in 11 career starts at NHMS with an average finish of 13th and a best result of third, twice.
Keith Rocco (No. 3 Cape Cod Copper/Silver Dollar Const. Chevrolet)
• Has six top-10 finishes in 10 career NWMT starts, including four in five races this season.
• Ranks sixth in the overall standings and has a commanding lead the Sunoco Rookie of the Year points.
• Only previous NWMT appearance at NHMS was a 33rd-place finish in 2009.
Bobby Santos (No. 44 Imperial Cars/Tinio Corporation Chevrolet)
• The 2010 NWMT champion has six wins, eight poles and 31 top 10s in 61 career starts.
• Has a pole and five top 10s in 11 career NWMT starts at NHMS with an average finish of 16th and a best result of fourth on two occasions.
• Made his sixth career NNS start, and first of 2012, last week at Daytona International Speedway and finished 33rd after a cut tire while running fifth midway through the race.
Andy Seuss (No. 70 Rockingham Boat/MUA/Summit Signs Chevrolet)
• Has three top 10s with an average finish of 21st and a best finish of eighth in 25 career NWMT starts.
• In nine starts at NHMS he has an average finish of 22nd with a best result of eighth in 2007.
• Primarily competes in the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour, where he has posted 11 wins and 45 top 10s in 62 career races and has finished in the top five in the final standings in each of the previous four years.
Ron Silk (No. 6 Reynolds Auto Wrecking/Schnitzer Chevrolet)
• The 2011 NWMT champion has eight wins, five poles and 56 top 10s in 102 career starts.
• Has five wins and 28 top 10s in 37 starts with TS Haulers Racing since they first joined forces in 2009.
• Has two wins, a pole and 10 top 10s in 16 career starts at NHMS with an average finish of 11th. Won the most-recent race there last September.
Mike Stefanik (No. 66 Canto & Sons Paving/Robert B. Our Co. Ford)
• 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 (287).
• Is tied for the NWMT record with seven wins at NHMS. Also has two poles, 577 laps led and 30 top 10s in 47 career starts at NHMS. The most recent of his 71 career wins came at NHMS in August 2011.
Todd Szegedy (No. 2 Dunleavy Repair/A&J Romano Const. Ford)
• The 2003 NWMT champion has 17 wins, nine poles and 99 top 10s in 158 career starts.
• Has two wins, a pole and 14 top 10s in 19 career starts at NHMS with an average finish of ninth and 210 laps led. He is the only active driver with a single-digit average finish at the track.
• Was credited with the win in this race last year. Finished third and second in the other two races there in 2011.
Ron Yuhas Jr. (No. 64 DreamRide.org/Hughes Motors Chevrolet)
• Has 11 top 10s in 40 career NWMT starts with a best finish of third at Thompson in 2007.
• Has two top 10s in six NHMS starts with an average finish of 21st and a best result of seventh in this race last year.
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.
• Doug Coby joined a select group of multiple Spring Sizzler winners when he took the checkered flag at Stafford Motor Speedway on April 29. Preece set the track record in qualifying prior to the event.
• Preece made it 3-for-3 in qualifying as he took the pole in track record fashion at Monadnock Speedway on May 12 and made the top starting position stand up as he led every lap en route to the victory.
• Bobby Santos captured the pole and led nearly the entire race before Coby wrestled the lead away in the closing laps to take the checkered flag on May 25 at Stafford.
• In the NWMT’s return to Waterford Speedbowl following a six-year absence, Ted Christopher earned the pole, but it was Coby who stole the show to earn his third win of the season.
• Following the Town Fair Tire 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the NWMT will return to action on July 28 at Riverhead Raceway.
At New Hampshire Motor Speedway:
History
• Groundbreaking for New Hampshire International Speedway was Aug. 13, 1989.
• The official opening was June 5, 1990 and the first NASCAR event was a NASCAR Nationwide Series race on July 15, 1990.
• The first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race was held on Sept. 2, 1990. The NWMT has raced there each year since.
• The track was renamed New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2008.
• The largest racing oval – and the largest sports facility overall – in New England.
Notebook
• There have been 55 all-time NWMT races at NHMS, the most of any facility outside of Connecticut.
• There have been 17 different race winners, led by Tony Hirschman and Mike Stefanik with seven apiece. Todd Szegedy was credited with the win in this event last year.
• There have been 23 different pole winners, led by Jan Leaty’s six. The pole for this race a year ago was vacated by penalty.
• Each year since 2007, with the exception of Ryan Newman’s season sweep in 2010, the eventual NWMT champion has won an event at NHMS during their title run.
New Hampshire Motor Speedway Data
Race: #6 of 14 overall, #1 of 1 at NHMS
Track Layout: 1.058-mile asphalt oval
• Race Length: 100 laps (105.8 miles)
• Banking–turns: 2 to 7 degrees
Qualifying/Race Data
2011 Pole Winner: None-penalty
2011 Race Winner: Todd Szegedy
Qualifying Record: Mike Ewanitsko (28.693 seconds, 132.743 mph, 7/20/01)
Active Win Leaders at NHMS
1. Mike Stefanik … 7
2. Ted Christopher … 5
3. Donny Lia … 2
Ryan Newman … 2
Ron Silk … 2
Todd Szegedy … 2
Active Pole Leaders at NHMS
1. Ted Christopher … 5
2. Ryan Newman … 3
3. Mike Stefanik … 2
Six drivers with … 1
Active Laps Led Leaders at NHMS
1. Ted Christopher … 753
2. Mike Stefanik … 577
3. Todd Szegedy … 210
4. Ron Silk … 162
5. Donny Lia … 114
Active Starts Leaders at NHMS
1. Jamie Tomaino … 55
2. Ed Flemke Jr. … 53
3. Wade Cole … 48
4. Mike Stefanik … 47
5. Ted Christopher … 45