Whelen Mod Tour Stat Advance: Thompson
Analyzing The Icebreaker At Thompson International Speedway
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will headline the racing action during Icebreaker weekend at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway when it opens the 2013 season on Sunday, April 14. Below is a statistical look at the performance of series and selected drivers at the track:
Thompson Race Setup:
• The 29th season of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will commence at Thompson International Speedway with the Icebreaker for the 12th year in a row.
• Ted Christopher’s last 18 NWMT starts at Thompson have included seven wins and an additional eight top-five finishes. He is one win shy of tying Mike Stefanik’s track record of 14 career wins and already possesses the NWMT record for the most wins in the Icebreaker with four.
• Mike Stefanik and Chuck Hossfeld also have a history of success in the Icebreaker. Stefanik won the race during two of his championship seasons – 1998 and 2006 – while Hossfeld has a win and three runner-ups in the event.
AT THOMPSON INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY:
History
• Opened on May 26, 1940 as the largest and first entirely-asphalt track in New England at the time.
• Held NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in 1951, 1969 and 1970.
• Was an inaugural member track of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, now in its 32nd season. Ryan Preece earned the 2012 track championship.
Notebook
• Thompson has played host to 120 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races, the most in the tour’s previous 28 seasons.
• There have been 32 different race winners at Thompson, led by Mike Stefanik’s 14 victories.
• There have been 41 different pole winners at Thompson, led by Tony Hirschman’s 13.
• Jamie Tomaino has competed in all 120 previous NWMT races at Thompson.
• Ted Christopher has won the Icebreaker the most times (4). He is also one of only two drivers to win it in back-to-back seasons (2004-05) along with Jeff Fuller (1992-93).
• The Sunoco-Town Fair Tire World Series is expected to have 10 drivers entered who have won at Thompson during their careers: Stefanik (14), Christopher (13), Ed Flemke Jr. (4), Ron Silk (4), Donny Lia (3), Bobby Santos (3), Todd Szegedy (3), Justin Bonsignore (1), Doug Coby (1) and Chuck Hossfeld (1).
Thompson Data
Race: #1 of 14 overall, #1 of 3 at Thompson
Track Layout: .625-mile asphalt oval
• Race Length: 150 laps (93.75 miles)
• Banking/Corners: 26 degrees
Qualifying/Race Data
Qualifying Record: Bobby Santos (18.237 seconds, 123.376 mph – 4/10/11)
2012 Pole Winner: Ryan Preece
2012 Race Winner: Ron Silk
ACTIVE CATEGORY LEADERS AT THOMPSON:
Wins
1. Mike Stefanik … 14
2. Ted Christopher … 13
3. Ed Flemke Jr. … 4
Ron Silk … 4
5. Donny Lia … 3
Bobby Santos … 3
Todd Szegedy … 3
Poles
1. Mike Stefanik … 8
2. Ted Christopher … 7
3. Ed Flemke Jr. … 4
Ryan Preece … 4
5. Donny Lia … 3
Bobby Santos … 3
Todd Szegedy … 3
Laps Led
1. Mike Stefanik … 1,843
2. Ted Christopher … 1,723
3. Donny Lia … 531
4. Ed Flemke Jr. … 450
5. Todd Szegedy … 429
Starts
1. Jamie Tomaino … 120
2. Mike Stefanik … 105
3. Ed Flemke Jr. … 92
4. Ted Christopher … 79
5. Wade Cole … 75
SELECTED DRIVER HIGHLIGHTS:
Jimmy Blewett (No. 76 John Blewett Inc./Ling Trucking Chevrolet)
• Has five wins, two poles and 32 top 10s in 100 career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts.
• Has seven top 10s in 27 career NWMT starts at Thompson International Speedway with an average finish of 17th and a best effort of second in both the 2006 World Series and 2009 Icebreaker.
Justin Bonsignore (No. 51 M3 Technology Chevrolet)
• Has two wins, three poles and 24 top 10s in 46 career NWMT starts.
• In 11 career starts at Thompson he’s posted a win, three top 10s and an average finish of 17th with five DNFs.
• His Thompson victory came last September in the Town Fair Tire Northern 75 as part of UNOH Showdown weekend.
Ted Christopher (No. 3 Silver Dollar Construction/Cape Cod Copper Chevrolet)
• The 2008 NWMT champion, he has 42 wins, 24 poles and 175 top 10s in 321 career starts. His 42 wins rank third all-time and his 24 poles are eighth.
• Has 13 wins, seven poles and 42 top 10s in 79 career NWMT starts at Thompson with an average finish of 13th.
• Has finished in the top five in 15 of the last 18 events at Thompson, including seven wins.
• Had a streak of 11-consecutive races at Thompson with laps led from 2008-11.
• Leads all NWMT drivers with four wins in the Icebreaker – one more than Rick Fuller.
• Is a four-time NASCAR Whelen All-American Series track champion at Thompson out of the Sunoco Modified division and unofficially has 98 overall career victories at Thompson 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 55 top 10s in 130 career starts.
• Has a win and 17 top 10s in 36 NWMT starts at Thompson with an average finish of 13th.
• Clinched his first tour title with a sixth-place finish at Thompson in last year’s season finale.
• Has six wins and 22 top 10s in 31 overall starts with the No. 52 team since the end of the 2010 season.
Chuck Hossfeld (No. 72 Jerry Gradl Motors Chevrolet)
• Has seven wins, nine poles and 74 top 10s in 132 career starts.
• Has a win, a pole, 21 top 10s and an average finish of 10th in 32 career starts at Thompson.
• Won the Icebreaker in 2003 and finished as the race runner-up three years in a row from 2006-08.
• Last time he competed in a NWNT race was at Thompson in 2011, a fourth-place finish in the World Series.
Donny Lia (No. 4 Mystic Missile Racing Dodge)
• The 2007 and 2009 NWMT champion. He has 16 wins, 16 poles and 64 top 10s in 127 career starts.
• In 29 career starts at Thompson he has recorded three wins, three poles, 12 top 10s and an average finish of 14th.
• All three of his Thompson wins have come in the mid-season night races. His best finish in the Icebreaker is third in 2009.
Rowan Pennink (No. 93 Monk Mechanics Hand Cleaner Chevrolet)
• Has a win and 41 top 10s in 88 career starts.
• Has 14 top 10s in 24 career NWMT starts at Thompson with an average finish of 12th and a best result of second in the 2011 Icebreaker.
• Had a run of top-10 finishes in 11 of 12 races at the track during the 2008-11 seasons.
Woody Pitkat (No. 79 Hill Enterprises/Coors Light Pontiac)
• Has 25 top 10s in 64 career starts with a best finish of second (twice).
• Has four top 10s, an average finish of 18th and a best result of seventh in 19 career starts at Thompson.
• Won four NWAAS Sunoco Modified races last year at Thompson.
Ryan Preece (No. 16 Diversified Metals Ford)
• Has five wins, 12 poles and 44 top 10s in 81 career starts.
• Has four poles, 11 top 10s and an average finish of 13th in 22 career NWMT starts at Thompson. He has been a runner-up at Thompson four times, including last year’s season finale.
• Was the 2012 NWAAS Sunoco Modified division champion at Thompson on the strength of 10 wins.
• In 15 races with Flamingo Motorsports he has two wins, seven poles, 10 top 10s and nine races led.
Bobby Santos (No. 44 ImperialCars.com/Brendan Kelley Music Chevrolet)
• The 2010 NWMT champion has eight wins, eight poles and 35 top 10s in 68 career starts.
• In a part-time role last season he won the final two races on the schedule, including the Thompson World Series.
• Has three wins, three poles, 15 top 10s and an average finish of 14th in 25 career starts at Thompson. Other two wins came in the 2007 World Series and 2011 Icebreaker.
Ron Silk (No. 6 TS Haulers Chevrolet)
• The 2011 NWMT champion has nine wins, seven poles and 62 top 10s in 111 career starts.
• Has four wins, 18 top 10s and an average finish of 12th in 31 career starts at Thompson. Has finished outside the top 10 just six times at Thompson since 2006, a span of 24 starts.
• Won the Icebreaker last year. Other three wins at the track came in mid-season races.
• Has six wins and 34 top 10s in 46 starts with TS Haulers Racing since they first joined forces in 2009. He’s led laps in 21 of those races and has just five DNFs during the span.
Mike Stefanik (No. 22 Robert B. Our Co./Canto & Sons Paving Chevrolet)
• The 1989, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2006 NWMT champion.
• Holds NWMT records for most titles (seven), wins (72), poles (47), top fives (220) and top 10s (292).
• Leads all drivers with 14 wins, 66 top 10s and 1,843 laps led at Thompson. Also has nine poles and an average finish of 11th in 104 career starts at the track. His last win there came in the 2006 Icebreaker, a drought of 28 races.
• Had an average finish of fifth in four races at Thompson last year and earned the pole in August.
• Won the Icebreaker in 1998 and 2006, both championship seasons.
Todd Szegedy (No. 2 Dunleavy Truck & Trailer Repair Chevrolet)
• The 2003 NWMT champion has 17 wins, nine poles and 106 top 10s in 167 career starts.
• Has three wins, three poles, 20 top 10s and an average finish of 13th in 40 career starts at Thompson. Last win there came in September 2008.
• Best career finish in the Icebreaker is fifth in both 2009 and 2010.
Ron Yuhas Jr. (No. 64 Hughes Motors/Complete Construction Chevrolet)
• Has 14 top 10s in 49 career NWMT starts with a best finish of third in 2007 at Thompson.
• Has five top 10s and an average finish of 16th in 17 career starts at Thompson.
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.
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR