Whelen Mod Tour Stat Advance: Thompson
Analyzing The Icebreaker 150 Presented By Town Fair Tire
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The 30th season of NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour competition is set to take the green flag with the Icebreaker 150 presented by Town Fair Tire on Sunday, April 6 at Thompson (Conn.) Speedway Motorsports Park. Below is a statistical look at the performance of the tour and selected drivers at the track:
Thompson Race Setup:
• Mike Stefanik is the defending winner of the Icebreaker 150 presented by Town Fair Tire and has a record 15 triumphs at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.
• Ted Christopher holds the record for most Icebreaker victories with four. He is also looking to end the second-longest winless drought of his career.
• Defending NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Champion Ryan Preece is still in search of his first Thompson victory. He has finished second four times in 25 career starts.
• The Icebreaker will feature eight past NWMT champions and nine previous Thompson winners.
At Thompson Speedway:
History
• Opened on May 26, 1940 as the largest and first entirely-asphalt track in New England at the time.
• Was an inaugural member track of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, now in its 33rd season. Keith Rocco is the defending track champion out of the Sunoco Modified division.
• Held NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in 1951, 1969 and 1970 and 27 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East events from 1988-2009.
• Played host to the inaugural NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event on March 31, 1985, a race won by the late NASCAR Hall of Famer Richie Evans.
Notebook
• Thompson has played host to 123 NWMT races, the most in the tour’s now 30 seasons.
• There have been 33 different race winners at Thompson, led by Mike Stefanik’s 15 victories.
• There have been 41 different pole winners at Thompson, led by Tony Hirschman’s 13.
• Jamie Tomaino is the only driver that has participated in all 123 previous NWMT Thompson races.
• There have only been three races won in wire-to-wire fashion at Thompson, the last by Rick Fuller in 1997.
• Bobby Santos was the youngest Thompson race winner at 22 years, 11 days.
• Stefanik was the oldest Thompson victor at 54 years, 10 months, 25 days.
Icebreaker
• This is the 40th overall edition of Icebreaker weekend, and the 30th time that the NWMT has headlined the event.
• The Icebreaker has served as the NWMT opener 17 times in the previous 29 seasons, including each year since 2002.
• There have been 19 different winners of the NWMT Icebreaker, led by Christopher’s four.
• This year’s Icebreaker 150 presented by Town Fair Tire is expected to have nine drivers entered who have won at Thompson during their careers: Stefanik (15), Christopher (13), Ron Silk (4), Santos (4), Donny Lia (3), Justin Bonsignore (1), Doug Coby (1), Rowan Pennink (1) and Glen Reen (1).
Thompson Data
Race: #1 of 14 overall, #1 of 3 at Thompson
Track Layout: .625-mile asphalt oval
Banking/Turns: 26 degrees
Race Length: 150 laps (93.75 miles)
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| Icebreaker 150 Trackside Report |
Qualifying/Race Data
2013 Pole Winner: Mike Stefanik
2013 Race Winner: Mike Stefanik
Qualifying Record: Bobby Santos, Dodge, 18.237 seconds, 123.376 mph, April 10, 2011
Active Category Leaders at Thompson:
Wins
1. Mike Stefanik … 15
2. Ted Christopher … 13
3. Bobby Santos … 4
Ron Silk … 4
Poles
1. Mike Stefanik … 10
2. Ted Christopher … 7
3. Bobby Santos … 5
Laps Led
1. Mike Stefanik … 1,853
2. Ted Christopher … 1,723
3. Donny Lia … 539
Starts
1. Jamie Tomaino … 123
2. Mike Stefanik … 108
3. Ted Christopher … 82
Iron Man Streaks to End:
• Ed Flemke Jr. is not expected to compete in this week’s Icebreaker 150 presented by Town Fair Tire, which will end his NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour record for consecutive starts at 382 races. Flemke’s streak began on Aug. 22, 1992 at Riverhead Raceway.
• Todd Szegedy did own the second-longest starts streak of 119 races that began on April 9, 2006 in the Thompson Icebreaker. Like Flemke, he is also not expected to enter this week’s event.
• Eric Goodale, with 71 consecutive starts, and Jamie Tomaino at 66, will now become the drivers with the two longest active win streaks.
• NASCAR national series records for consecutive starts: Sprint Cup Series (788-Ricky Rudd), Nationwide Series (382-Jason Keller), Camping World Truck Series (316-Matt Crafton [active]).
• Flemke’s record spanned 21 years, one month and 28 days (7,729 days). For comparison, Cal Ripken Jr.’s famed Major League Baseball record of 2,632 consecutive games played spanned 16 years, three months and 20 days (5,956 days).
• Although Flemke’s NWMT mark and Keller’s NNS streak are tied at 382 races, Keller’s streak spanned 12 years, one month and 20 days (4,431 days) or 3,298 days shorter than Flemke’s.
Select Driver Highlights:
Justin Bonsignore (No. 51 M3 Technology Chevrolet)
• Has three wins, three poles and 33 top 10s in 60 career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts.
• Has a win (2012), five top 10s and an average finish of 16th in 13 career starts at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.
• Best career finish in the Icebreaker was fifth in 2011.
Ted Christopher (No. 13 J&R Pre-Cast/Cape Cod Aggregates Chevrolet)
• The 2008 NWMT champion has 42 wins, 24 poles and 181 top 10s in 335 career starts. His 42 wins rank third all-time and his 24 poles are eighth.
• Is looking to end a 29-race winless drought. It’s his longest such streak since the beginning of his career when his first win came in his 94th start.
• Has 13 wins, seven poles, 33 top fives and 43 top 10s in 82 career NWMT starts at Thompson. Also won the non-points UNOH Showdown at Thompson in 2012.
• Has a record four victories in the Icebreaker (2004, `05, `09 and `11).
• 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 the track entering this week’s events.
Doug Coby (No. 2 Dunleavy’s Truck & Trailer Repair Chevrolet)
• The 2012 NWMT champion has nine wins, four poles and 66 top 10s in 143 career starts.
• Won the non-points UNOH Battle At The Beach on the short track at Daytona International Speedway in February.
• Has a win (2011), 20 top 10s and an average finish of 12th in 39 career NWMT starts at Thompson. Also won the non-points UNOH Showdown at Thompson in 2011.
• Best career Icebreaker finish is seventh in both 2011 and 2013.
Matt Hirschman (No. 52 B.C. Brennenstuhl/L.I. Mod Maniac Chevrolet)
• Has two wins, three poles and 40 top 10s in 77 career NWMT starts.
• Has nine top 10s, an average finish of 14th and a best result of second (2008) in 22 career starts at Thompson.
• Best career finish in the Icebreaker was fifth in 2007.
Donny Lia (No. 4 Mystic Missile Racing Dodge)
• The 2007 and 2009 NWMT champion has 17 wins, 18 poles and 72 top 10s in 141 career starts.
• Has three wins, three poles, 14 top 10s and an average finish of 14th in 32 career starts at Thompson.
• Best career Icebreaker finish was third in 2009.
Rowan Pennink (No. 93 Monk Mechanics Hand Cleaner Chevrolet)
• Has two wins and 49 top 10s in 100 career starts.
• Has a win, 16 top 10s and an average finish of 11th in 27 career starts at Thompson. The win came in the 2013 finale.
• Was the Icebreaker runner-up in both 2011 and 2013.
Woody Pitkat (No. 88 Buzz Chew Chevrolet/GT Vodka Chevrolet)
• Has 34 top 10s in 78 career starts. Best career finish is second, recorded twice.
• Has five top 10s, an average finish of 17th and a best result of fifth (2013) in 22 career NWMT starts at Thompson.
• Best career finish in the Icebreaker was 11th a year ago.
• Tied for the points lead in Thompson’s NWAAS Modified division last year, but lost the championship to Keith Rocco on a tiebreaker.
Ryan Preece (No. 16 East West Marine/Diversified Metals Ford)
• The 2013 NWMT champion has nine wins, 12 poles, 25 podiums, 42 top fives and 54 top 10s in 95 career starts.
• Has four poles, 13 top 10s, an average finish of 12th and a best result of second (four times) in 25 Thompson starts.
• Best Icebreaker finish was a runner-up effort in 2010.
• Earned the 2012 NWAAS Sunoco Modified division track championship at Thompson.
Keith Rocco (No. 48 Wheelers Auto/Mr. Rooter Chevrolet)
• Has seven top 10s in 14 career NWMT starts with a best finish of third in the 2013 Stafford Spring Sizzler.
• Made his debut at Thompson in the 2008 World Series. Has three top 10s, an average finish of 13th and a best result of fifth in six career Thompson starts.
• Finished in the top four in the 2013 NWAAS national standings for the seventh year in a row on the strength of 14 wins and 39 top 10s in 48 points races. Earned five wins at Thompson en route to his fourth NWAAS track title there.
Bobby Santos (No. 44 Tinio Racing/ImperialCars.com Chevrolet)
• The 2010 NWMT champion has 10 wins, 13 poles and 43 top 10s in 80 career starts.
• Has four wins, five poles, 17 top 10s and an average finish of 13th in 28 career starts at Thompson.
• Won the 2010 Icebreaker to launch his championship campaign. That is his only top-five in the season-opener.
Ron Silk (No. 6 TS Haulers/Calverton Tree Farm Chevrolet)
• The 2011 NWMT champion has nine wins, eight poles and 72 top 10s in 125 career starts.
• Has four wins, 21 top 10s and an average finish of 11th in 34 career NWMT starts at Thompson.
• Won the 2012 Icebreaker.
• Earned the NWAAS modified division title in the New Smyrna Speedway World Series in February.
Mike Stefanik (No. 1 Cady’s Tavern Chevrolet)
• The 1989, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2006 NWMT champion.
• Holds NWMT records for most titles (seven), wins (74), poles (48), top fives (223) and top 10s (300).
• Leads all drivers at Thompson with 15 wins, 52 top fives, 67 top 10s and 1,853 laps led across 108 races.
• Won the Icebreaker in 1998, 2006 and `13. Has the longest active top-five finish streak in the event at four.
Up To Speed:
• The 2014 season is the 30th for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
• The 2014 schedule features 14 races at seven different tracks across four states.
• The competition season opened with the non-points UNOH Battle At The Beach on the short track at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 18. Ryan Preece was the polesitter and Doug Coby took the checkered flag.
• Following this week’s Icebreaker 150 presented by Town Fair Tire, the NWMT will return to action April 26-27 with the NAPA Spring Sizzler 200 at Stafford Motor Speedway.
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR WMT PR