Whelen Modified Tour Stat Advance: Stafford
Analyzing The TSI Harley-Davidson 125 Presented By G-Oil
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will race under the lights for the first time in 2013 with the TSI Harley-Davidson 125 presented by G-Oil on Friday, May 24 at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway. Below is a statistical look at the performance of series and selected drivers at the track:
Stafford Race Setup:
• Bobby Santos has won the last two NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races at Stafford Motor Speedway, and five of his last 11 starts there overall.
• Reigning NWMT champion Doug Coby won three of the four races at Stafford last year, including the TSI Harley-Davidson 125.
• Following a rainout at Monadnock Speedway, this will be the first race since the NWMT last visited Stafford on April 28, for a span of 26 days between events.
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.
• Stafford is one of nine tracks that have been a part of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series program in each of its now 32 years of competition.
Notebook
• The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour has held 107 races at Stafford since 1985. The NWMT has run there every year of its existence, except for 1988.
• The 107 all-time NWMT races at Stafford rank second only to the 121 held at Thompson International Speedway.
• There have been 31 different race winners at Stafford, led by Mike Stefanik’s 20 victories. Doug Coby is the defending winner of the TSI Harley-Davidson 125.
• There have been 40 different pole winners at Stafford, led by Stefanik’s 17. Ryan Preece set the track qualifying in the 2012 Spring Sizzler while Bobby Santos earned the pole for the this event last year.
• The CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler entry list features 11 drivers that have previously won at the track, including: Stefanik (20), Ted Christopher (12), Santos (5), Coby (4), Todd Szegedy (4), Ed Flemke Jr. (3), Donny Lia (3), Jimmy Blewett (2), Ryan Preece (1), Ron Silk (1) and Jamie Tomaino (1).
Stafford Motor Speedway Data
Race: #3 of 14 overall, #2 of 4 at SMS
Track Layout: .5-mile asphalt oval
• Race Length: 125 laps (62.5 miles)
• Banking/Turns 1 & 2: Nine degrees
• Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 7.5 degrees
Qualifying/Race Data
2012 Pole Winner: Bobby Santos, 98.874 mph, 18.205 secs.
2012 Race Winner: Doug Coby, 98.874 mph, 51:46
Qualifying Record: Ryan Preece, 100.424 mph, 17.924 secs., 4/29/12
ACTIVE CATEGORY LEADERS AT STAFFORD:
Wins
1. Mike Stefanik … 20
2. Ted Christopher … 12
3. Bobby Santos … 5
4. Todd Szegedy … 4
Doug Coby … 4
Poles
1. Mike Stefanik … 17
2. Donny Lia … 7
3. Ted Christopher … 4
Bobby Santos … 3
5. Ryan Preece … 3
Laps Led
1. Mike Stefanik … 2,165
2. Ted Christopher … 2,083
3. Todd Szegedy … 801
4. Bobby Santos … 567
5. Doug Coby … 518
Starts
1. Jamie Tomaino … 106
2. Mike Stefanik … 92
3. Ed Flemke Jr. … 89
4. Ted Christopher … 81
5. Wade Cole … 47
SELECTED DRIVER HIGHLIGHTS:
Jimmy Blewett (No. 76 John Blewett Inc./TS Haulers Chevrolet)
• Has five wins, two poles and 34 top 10s in 102 career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts.
• Has two wins, a pole, 14 top 10s and an average finish of 14th in 29 career starts at Stafford Motor Speedway.
• Has a current streak of six-straight top-10s at Stafford, including finishes of second and third in the final two events there last year.
Justin Bonsignore (No. 51 M3 Technology Chevrolet)
• Has two wins, three poles and 26 top 10s in 48 career NWMT starts.
• Has a pole and six top 10s in 13 career starts at Stafford.
• Recorded his best career Stafford finish – second – in this year’s Spring Sizzler.
Ted Christopher (No. 3 Silver Dollar Construction/Cape Cod Copper Chevrolet)
• The 2008 NWMT champion, he has 42 wins, 24 poles and 177 top 10s in 323 career starts. His 42 wins rank third all-time and his 24 poles are eighth.
• Has 12 wins, four poles and 44 top 10s in 81 career NWMT starts at Stafford.
• Has finished in the top five in 14 of the last 25 events at Stafford, highlighted by six wins.
• Is an eight-time NASCAR Whelen All-American Series track champion at Stafford out of the SK Modified division and has a record 118 overall career feature wins at Stafford entering this week’s events.
Doug Coby (No. 52 Reynolds Auto Wrecking/Furnace & Duct Supply Chevrolet)
• The 2012 NWMT champion has seven wins, four poles and 57 top 10s in 132 career starts.
• Has six wins and 24 top 10s in 33 overall starts with the No. 52 team since the end of the 2010 season.
• Has four wins, two poles and 15 top 10s in 33 NWMT starts at Stafford. His first career NWMT win came in the 2006 Spring Sizzler and he won the first three events there in 2012.
• Has 18 career feature wins and two division titles at Stafford in NWAAS action.
Donny Lia (No. 4 Circle Track Magazine Dodge)
• The 2007 and 2009 NWMT champion. He has 16 wins, 16 poles and 65 top 10s in 129 career starts.
• In 32 career starts at Stafford he has recorded three wins, seven poles and 19 top 10s.
• Won the May Stafford race in 2007.
Rowan Pennink (No. 93 Monk Mechanics Hand Cleaner Chevrolet)
• Has a win and 43 top 10s in 90 career starts.
• Has 12 top 10s, an average finish of 11th and a best result of second (twice) in 23 career starts at Stafford.
• Is tied with Ryan Preece for the season points lead following a fifth-place finish in the Stafford Spring Sizzler.
• Earned his first career NWAAS SK Modified win at Stafford last week.
Woody Pitkat (No. 79 Hill Enterprises/Coors Light Pontiac)
• Has 25 top 10s in 66 career starts with a best finish of second (twice).
• One of those runner-ups came in last year’s Stafford Fall Final, when he led a career-high 128 laps.
• Has nine top 10s, an average finish of 16th in 19 career starts at Stafford.
• Has 64 career feature wins at Stafford, where he has two Late Model division titles in NWAAS action.
Ryan Preece (No. 16 East West Marine/Diversified Metals Ford)
• Has five wins, 12 poles and 46 top 10s in 83 career starts.
• In 17 races with Flamingo Motorsports he has two wins, seven poles, 12 top 10s and 11 races led.
• Is the current season points co-leader along with Rowan Pennink after two races.
• Has a win, three poles, 12 top 10s and an average finish of 13th in 23 career NWMT starts at Stafford. His win came in the August 2009 event.
• Was the 2011 NWAAS SK Modified division champion at Stafford, where he has eight career wins.
Bobby Santos (No. 44 Tinio Racing/Brendan Kelley Music Chevrolet)
• The 2010 NWMT champion has nine wins, nine poles and 36 top 10s in 70 career starts.
• Has five wins, four poles and 10 top 10s in 17 career starts at Stafford. He’s won the last two NWMT races there.
• Has finished on the podium in nine of his last 12 Stafford races, a run that includes all five of those wins.
Ron Silk (No. 6 TS Haulers/Calverton Tree Farm Chevrolet)
• The 2011 NWMT champion has nine wins, seven poles and 63 top 10s in 113 career starts.
• Has a win, two poles and 12 top 10s in 30 career starts at Stafford. His win came in this event in 2011.
• Has that win and seven top fives in 13 Stafford starts since joining forces with the No. 6 team.
Mike Stefanik (No. 22 Robert B. Our Co./Canto & Sons Paving Ford)
• The 1989, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2006 NWMT champion.
• Holds NWMT records for most titles (seven), wins (73), poles (48), top fives (221) and top 10s (294).
• Leads all drivers with 20 wins, 50 top fives, 71 top 10s and 2,165 laps led at Stafford. Also has a tour-best average finish of eighth across 92 career starts there.
• His last win at Stafford was the 2008 Fall Final, a span of 18 races, which is the longest drought of his career.
Todd Szegedy (No. 2 Dunleavy Truck & Trailer Repair/A&J Romano Construction Chevrolet)
• The 2003 NWMT champion has 17 wins, nine poles and 106 top 10s in 169 career starts.
• Has four wins, two poles, 20 top fives and an average finish of 10th in 45 career starts at Stafford. Last win there came in August 2010. The average finish is second-best among active drivers behind Mike Stefanik.
• Has an average finish of 5.5 in his last eight mid-season races at Stafford, but his last eight results in the Spring Sizzler and Fall Final events have averaged 17th.
UP TO SPEED:
• The 2013 season is the 29th for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
• The 2013 schedule features 14 races at seven different tracks across four states.
• The competition season began with the non-points UNOH Battle At The Beach on the short track at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on Feb. 19. The Modified feature was won by Steve Park.
• Mike Stefanik won from the pole in the season-opening Icebreaker at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway on April 14.
• Bobby Santos matched Stefanik’s feat from the opener when he won from the pole in the second race of the season on April 28 at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway.
• The third race of the season was to take place at Monadnock Speedway on May 11 but the event was postponed to July 27 due to rain.
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR
NWMT Stafford 5/24/13 Schedule
Time Series Event
10 a.m. NWMT Haulers Enter
11 a.m. NWMT Garage Opens
2:30-3:30 p.m. NWMT Practice
3:30-5:30 p.m. NWAAS Practice
6 p.m. NWMT Qualifying
6:30 p.m. NWAAS Feature Races Begin
7 p.m. NWMT Driver/Crew Chief Meeting
7:30 p.m. NWMT Driver Autograph Session
9:15 p.m. NWMT TSI Harley-Davidson 125 pres. by G-Oil (125 Laps/62.5 Miles)
All times ET and subject to change
NWMT Stafford 5/24/13 Entry List
CAR DRIVER/HOMETOWN TEAM OWNER CREW CHIEF
2 Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn Dunleavy Repair/A&J Romano Const. Chevrolet Mike Smeriglio, III Phil Moran
3 Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn. Silver Dollar Const./Cape Cod Copper Chevrolet Jan Boehler Scott Richards
4 Donny Lia, Jericho, N.Y. Circle Track Magazine Dodge Robert Garbarino Dan Laferriere
6 Ron Silk, Norwalk, Conn. TS Haulers/Calverton Tree Farm Chevrolet Ed Partridge Tom Grasso
07 Patrick Emerling, Orchard Park, N.Y. Emerling Chevrolet Dealership Chevrolet Jennifer Emerling Mike Paquette
7 Gary Putnam, Concord, N.C. Stock Car Steel Chevrolet Marcy Putnam Gary Putnam
16 Ryan Preece, Berlin, Conn. East West Marine/Diversified Metals Ford Eric Sanderson Stan Szaban
18 Ken Heagy, Calverton, N.Y. Buoy One Seafood/Mehner Racing Ford Robert Pollifrone Greg Gorman
22 Mike Stefanik, Coventry, R.I. Robert B Our Co/Canto & Sons Paving Ford Christopher Our Brad Lafontaine
25 Zane Zeiner, Bath, Pa. ATC Chevrolet Gary Cretty Barry Kuhnel
26 Gary McDonald, Ronkonkoma, N.Y. Lakeland Landscape/TRC Electric Pontiac Sean McDonald Chad McDonald
28 Ed Flemke, Jr., Southington, Conn Ron Bouchard’s Auto Stores Chevrolet Don King Tommy Trcka
33 Wade Cole, Riverton, Conn. Perf. Engines/Kendall Oil/Ryan’s Chevrolet Beth Cole Rick Rodenbaugh, DJ Hickton
38 Brian Schofield, Monson, Mass. Perf. Engines/Kendall Oil/Ryan’s Chevrolet Linda Rodenbaugh Larry Befford
39 Richie Pallai, Jr., Yorktown Heights, N.Y. MAHLE Performance/Lucas Oil Chevrolet Rich Pallai Denis Pruchnik
44 Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass. Tinio Racing/Brendan Kelley Music Chevrolet Mike Curb Steve Lemay
46 Eric Berndt, Cromwell, Conn. Cape Cod Agrgts./North End Auto Parts Chevrolet Robert Katon, Jr. Robert Horn
51 Justin Bonsignore, Holtsville, N.Y. M3 Technology Chevrolet Ken Massa John Sanford
52 Doug Coby, Milford, Conn. Reynolds Auto Wrckng./Furnace & Duct Chevrolet Wayne Darling John McKenna
58 Eric Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y. Riverhead Building Supply Chevrolet Edgar Goodale Jason Shephard
64 Ron Yuhas, Jr., Groton, Conn. Fast Track Electric/Scorpion Const. Chevrolet Mike Murphy Curt Chase
68 Johnny Bush, Huntington Station, N.Y. Buoy One Seafood/JB Stone Chevrolet Charlene Bush TBA
73 Cole Powell, Mt. Brydges, Ont., Canada * Copps BuildAll/Tricar Chevrolet Todd Powell Jeff Malave
76 Jimmy Blewett, Howell, N.J. John Blewett Inc./TS Haulers Chevrolet John Blewett Ed Bennett
79 Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn. Hill Enterprises/Coors Light Pontiac Sandra Hill David Hill
88 Bryon Chew, Mattituck, N.Y. Buzz Chew Chevrolet/GT Vodka Chevrolet Buzz Chew Ron Ste-Marie
89 Timmy Solomito, Islip, N.Y. * EMPower/Eastport Feeds Chevrolet Jerry Solomito Jerry Solomito
93 Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa. Monk Mechanics Hand Cleaner Chevrolet Mark Pennink Don Barker
99 Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J. Supreme Manufacturing Chevrolet Trey Tomaino Trey Tomaino
* Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender
Entry List – As of May 16