Whelen Modified Tour Stat Advance: Loudon
Analyzing The Town Fair Tire 100 At NHMS
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will head to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Town Fair Tire 100 on Saturday, July 13 in Loudon, N.H. Below is a statistical look at the performance of tour and selected drivers at the track:
Loudon Race Setup:
• Season points leader Ryan Preece will be in search of his first New Hampshire Motor Speedway win this week. He brings a streak of three straight wins this year into the Town Fair Tire 100.
• Mike Stefanik has a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour record eight victories at NHMS, including two of the last four races there.
• Ted Christopher is the all-time wins leader at NHMS with 10. Five of those wins have come in NWMT competition.
• NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Ryan Newman will once again compete with the NWMT this weekend. He has two Modified wins at NHMS.
AT NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY:
History
• Groundbreaking for New Hampshire International Speedway, as New Hampshire Motor Speedway was originally named, 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 1.058-mile oval is located on approximately 1,200 acres; the multi-use complex is the largest sports facility in New England.
• Speedway Motorsports, Inc. agreed to purchase New Hampshire International Speedway from Bob and Gary Bahre on January 11, 2008 and then renamed the track New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Notebook
• The first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race was held on Sept. 2, 1990. The NWMT has raced there each year since and there have been 56 all-time NWMT races at NHMS, the most of any facility outside of Connecticut.
• There have been 18 different race winners, led by Mike Stefanik with eight.
• There have been 24 different pole winners, led by Jan Leaty’s six.
• 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
Season Race #: 6 of 14 (7-13-13)
Track Size: 1.058-miles
Banking/Turns: 2 to 7 degrees
Banking/Straights: 1 degree
Race Length: 100 laps / 105.8 miles
Qualifying/Race Data
2012 Pole Winner: Ron Silk
2012 Race Winner: Mike Stefanik
Qualifying Record: Mike Ewanitsko (28.693 seconds, 132.743 mph, 7/20/01)
ACTIVE CATEGORY LEADERS AT NHMS:
Wins
1. Mike Stefanik … 8
2. Ted Christopher … 5
3. Donny Lia … 2
Ryan Newman … 2
Ron Silk … 2
Todd Szegedy … 2
Poles
1. Ted Christopher … 5
2. Ryan Newman … 3
3. Donny Lia … 2
Mike Stefanik … 2
Ron Silk … 2
Laps Led
1. Ted Christopher … 760
2. Mike Stefanik … 595
3. Ron Silk … 248
4. Todd Szegedy … 210
5. Donny Lia … 161
Starts
1. Jamie Tomaino … 57
2. Ed Flemke Jr. … 55
3. Wade Cole … 50
4. Mike Stefanik … 49
5. Ted Christopher … 47
SELECTED DRIVER HIGHLIGHTS:
Jimmy Blewett (No. 76 John Blewett Inc./Ling Trucking Chevrolet)
• Has five wins, two poles and 35 top 10s in 104 career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts.
• Has top-10 finishes in three of four races this year. Best finish was sixth in the opener at Thompson International Speedway. Did not attend the last event at Riverhead Raceway.
• Has three top 10s, an average finish of 21st and a best result of second (2010) in 16 career starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Justin Bonsignore (No. 51 M3 Technology Chevrolet)
• Has two wins, three poles and 28 top 10s in 51 career NWMT starts.
• Is fourth in points with top 10s in four of the first five races and a best result of second in the Spring Sizzler at Stafford Motor Speedway.
• Has two top 10s, an average finish of 19th and a best result of third (2011) in seven career NHMS starts.
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 325 career starts. His 42 wins rank third all-time and his 24 poles are eighth.
• Is eighth in points this season, highlighted by top-five finishes in the first two races of the year.
• Has five wins, five poles, 26 top 10s, an average finish of 14th and a NWMT-leading 760 laps led in 47 starts at NHMS.
• Also has five NASCAR K&N Pro Series East wins at NHMS, to give him a track record 10 total victories.
• Has made five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and four NASCAR Nationwide Series starts at NHMS.
Doug Coby (No. 52 Reynolds Auto Wrecking/Furnace & Duct Supply Chevrolet)
• The 2012 NWMT champion has seven wins, four poles and 59 top 10s in 135 career starts.
• Ranks fifth in points with top 10s in four of five races and a best result of second at Waterford Speedbowl.
• Has six wins and 26 top 10s in 36 overall starts with the No. 52 team since the end of the 2010 season.
• Has a win (2012), a pole, 10 top 10s and an average finish of 15th in 19 career NHMS starts.
Kyle Ebersole (No. 5 Ebersole Excavating Dodge)
• Will attempt to make his NWMT debut in this event.
• Ranks second in NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour points this year with four top-fives in five races.
• Has 12 top 10s in 16 career NWSMT starts.
Chuck Hossfeld (No. 72 Jerry Gradl Motors Chevrolet)
• Has seven wins, eight poles and 75 top 10s in 134 career starts.
• Has two starts this year with a best finish of ninth in the opener at Thompson.
• Has three wins (2002, 2003, 2008), nine top 10s and an average finish of 11th in 15 career starts at NHMS.
• His 2008 NHMS win by 0.001 seconds over Ted Christopher is the closest finish in NWMT history.
Donny Lia (No. 4 Circle Track Magazine Dodge)
• The 2007 and 2009 NWMT champion. He has 16 wins, 16 poles and 67 top 10s in 132 career starts.
• Ranks seventh in points with three top 10s in five races. Best season result was third at Waterford.
• Has two wins (2007, 2009), a pole, nine top 10s and an average finish of 13th in 16 career NHMS starts.
• Recorded an average finish of 20th in three career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at NHMS.
Ryan Newman (No. 7 Menards/Wix Filters Chevrolet)
• Has four wins, three poles and six top 10s in 11 career NWMT starts.
• At NHMS he has two wins, all three of those poles and an average finish of 16th in eight NWMT starts.
• Has three wins, six poles and an average finish of 13th in 22 career NSCS starts at NHMS, where he’s the track qualifying record-holder.
Rowan Pennink (No. 93 Monk Mechanics Hand Cleaner Chevrolet)
• Has a win and 44 top 10s in 92 career starts. The win came at Riverhead in 2010.
• Is second in points with top-10 finishes in four of five races, including a best finish of second in the opener.
• Has five top 10s, an average finish of 17th and a best result of fourth (2009) in 13 career starts at NHMS.
Ryan Preece (No. 16 East West Marine/Diversified Metals Ford)
• Has seven wins, 12 poles and 48 top 10s in 85 career starts.
• Is the season points leader with top-five finishes in all five races and wins the last three times out at Stafford, Waterford and Riverhead. Is in the midst of a career-best streak of 11 straight top-10 finishes dating back to last year.
• Is the ninth different driver in NWMT history to record three straight wins, and is looking to join only Richie Evans (1985) and Mike Stefanik (1997) as drivers who have won four in a row.
• Has a pole, six top 10s, an average finish of 13th and a best result of third (three times) in 13 career starts at NHMS.
• In 20 races with Flamingo Motorsports he has five wins, seven poles, 15 top 10s and 14 races led.
• Will also attempt to make his NNS debut this week at NHMS with Tommy Baldwin Racing.
Bobby Santos (No. 44 Tinio Racing/Brendan Kelley Music Chevrolet)
• The 2010 NWMT champion has nine wins, 10 poles and 38 top 10s in 72 career starts.
• Ranks 10th in points with three top-five finishes in four races, including a victory in the Stafford Spring Sizzler. Did not attend the last event at Riverhead.
• Has a pole, five top 10s, an average finish of 17th and a best result of fourth (twice) in 13 starts at NHMS.
• Has one NNS (2007) and one NCWTS (2011) start at NHMS.
Andy Seuss (No. 11 Phoenix Pre-Owned/Ideal Racing Dodge)
• Has four top 10s in 28 career NWMT starts.
• Two of his four top-10 finishes have been recorded at NHMS, including an overall career-best seventh in 2012.
• Competes full-time in the NWSMT, where he has 12 wins, seven poles and 55 top 10s in 73 career starts.
Ron Silk (No. 6 TS Haulers/Calverton Tree Farm Chevrolet)
• The 2011 NWMT champion has nine wins, eight poles and 65 top 10s in 116 career starts.
• Sits sixth in points with three top 10s in five races, including a runner-up effort at Stafford in May.
• Has two wins, two poles, 12 top 10s and an average finish of 10th in 18 career starts at NHMS.
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 (222) and top 10s (296).
• Is third in points with top-10 finishes in four of five races, highlighted by a victory in the Thompson opener.
• Has a record eight victories to go along with two poles, 31 top 10s and an average finish of 10th in 49 career NWMT starts at NHMS. Has won two of the last four races there.
• Also earned two NKNPS East wins at NHMS and has made five NNS and one NCWTS starts there.
Todd Szegedy (No. 2 Dunleavy Truck & Trailer Repair/A&J Romano Construction Chevrolet)
• The 2003 NWMT champion has 17 wins, 10 poles and 107 top 10s in 172 career starts.
• Ranks 11th in points after five races with a best result of sixth at Waterford.
• Has two wins (2007, 2011), a pole, 15 top 10s and an average finish of 10th in 21 career starts at NHMS.
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.
• At Stafford on June 14 it was Santos on the pole, but Ryan Preece rallied from the rear for the victory. The race was postponed twice – on May 24 and June 7 – due to rain.
• Preece made it two-in-a-row when he took the checkered flag following a thrilling green-white-checkered finish at Waterford (Conn.) Speedbowl on June 22. Todd Szegedy was the event’s pole winner.
• At Riverhead on June 29 Preece made it three victories in a row when he took yet another checkered flag. Ron Silk was the pole winner prior to the event.
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR