Away from the Island 

Analyzing the UNOH Battle At The Beach

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The NASCAR Whelen Modified and Whelen Sothern Modified Tours will go head-to-head in the second edition of the UNOH Battle At The Beach on the short track at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on Tuesday, Feb. 18. Below is a statistical look at the performance of selected drivers:

Daytona Race Setup:

  • The non-points UNOH Battle At The Beach will open the competition season for the NASCAR Whelen Modified and NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tours.
  • The Daytona entry list includes six past NASCAR modified champions: Doug Coby (NWMT-2012), Donny Lia (NWMT-2007, `09), Burt Myers (NWSMT-2010), Ryan Preece (NWMT-2013), Ron Silk (NWMT-2011) and Jamie Tomaino (NWMT-1990).
  • There are five drivers entered for Daytona that will attempt to make their NASCAR Whelen Modified debut, including: Kyle Benjamin, Bud McIntyre, Matt Montineri, Dave Sapienza and T.J. Zacharias.
  • The 2014 UNOH Battle At The Beach will have a first-time winner as inaugural event victor Steve Park is not entered this year.

AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY:

History

  • Groundbreaking for Daytona International Speedway was Nov. 25, 1957. The soil underneath the banked corners was dug from the infield of the track and the hole filled with water. It is now known as Lake Lloyd.
  • The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona was a 100-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20, 1959 – won by Bob Welborn.
  • Lights were installed in the spring of 1998 and the track underwent a repave in 2010. The backstretch skid pad was widened during that repave, allowing for the possibility of a temporary oval that is now utilized for the UNOH Battle At The Beach.

Notebook

  • The full 2.5-mile tri-oval at Daytona has played host to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 133 times, the NASCAR Nationwide Series 44 times and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 14 times.
  • The inaugural UNOH Battle At The Beach was held on Feb. 18-19, 2013. Kyle Larson won the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series late model feature, Steve Park was victorious in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race and Cameron Hayley took the checkered flag in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series event. All three were non-points races.

Daytona Data

Track Layout: .37-mile temporary asphalt oval

  • Race Length: 150 laps (55.5 miles)
  • Banking/Corners: No banking

 Qualifying/Race Data

2013 Pole Winner: Kyle Larson and Todd Szegedy won twin qualifying races

2013 Race Winner: Steve Park

 

SELECTED DRIVER HIGHLIGHTS:

(NOTE: Bullring tracks listed below are defined as .375-miles or smaller.)

 

Kyle Benjamin (No. 7 RainEater Wiper Blades Chevrolet)

  • Led three laps and finished third in his only previous NASCAR regional touring series race, the 2013 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East event at Dover International Speedway.
  • Will attempt to make his NASCAR modified debut at Daytona International Speedway.
  • Recorded two wins and two additional top fives in eight ARCA starts in 2013 and tallied a combined 13 super late model wins in 2012-13.

 

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 two wins and 10 top fives in 13 career bullring points races.
  • Finished sixth in the 2013 UNOH Battle At The Beach.

 

Doug Coby (No. 2 Dunleavy’s Truck & Trailer Repair)

  • The 2012 NWMT champion has nine wins, four poles and 66 top 10s in 143 career starts.
  • Eight of his nine career wins came in the previous three seasons with his former No. 52 team.
  • Has 11 top 10s in 31 career bullring points races.
  • Finished fourth in the 2013 UNOH Battle At The Beach.
  • Won the 2011 UNOH Showdown at Thompson Speedway, also a non-points combination race with the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour.

 

Luke Fleming (No. 40 AutosByNelson.com/Kevin Powell Motorsports Ford)

  • Has a win and six top 10s in 14 career NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour starts.
  • Won in his tour debut at the flat quarter-mile Bowman Gray Stadium in 2009.
  • Has an average finish of eighth in four career NWSMT flat-track points races between Bowman Gray and the Charlotte Motor Speedway quarter mile.
  • Finished 19th in the 2013 UNOH Battle At The Beach.

 

Eric Goodale (No. 58 Riverhead Building Supply Chevrolet)

  • Has a pole and 28 top 10s in 73 career NWMT starts. Best career points race finish of second came last June at the banked quarter mile of Riverhead Raceway.
  • Has five top 10s in 12 career bullring points races.
  • Was the runner-up in the 2013 UNOH Battle At The Beach.

 

Donny Lia (No. 4 Mystic Missile Racing Dodge)

  • The 2007 and 2009 NWMT champion. He has 17 wins, 18 poles and 72 top 10s in 141 career starts.
  • Has six wins, three poles and 15 top fives in 37 career bullring points races.
  • Finished 23rd in the 2013 UNOH Battle At The Beach.

 

Burt Myers (No. 1 Citrusafe/Speedway Auto Auction Ford)

  • The 2010 NWSMT champion has 11 wins, a tour record 26 poles and 86 top 10s in 104 career starts.
  • Has four wins, four poles and 10 top fives in 13 career NWSMT flat-track points races.
  • Has 56 career modified wins at Bowman Gray, where he is a six-time track champion.
  • Finished 15th in the 2013 UNOH Battle At The Beach.

 

Jason Myers (No. 14 SouthernVapesLLC.com E-Cigs Ford)

  • Owner of three wins and 80 top 10s in a NWSMT-record 108 career starts.
  • Has a win and nine top 10s in 13 career NWSMT flat-track points races.
  • Has 14 career modified wins at Bowman Gray.
  • Finished 20th in the 2013 UNOH Battle At The Beach.

 

Cole Powell (No. 73 Copps BuildAll/Tricar Developments Chevrolet)

  • The 2013 NWMT Sunoco Rookie of the Year.
  • Has one top 10 in 17 career NWMT starts and five top 10s in seven NWSMT appearances.
  • Placed third in each of the last two NWSMT races at Bowman Gray but has an average finish of 17th in four career NWMT bullring events.
  • Finished eighth in the 2013 UNOH Battle At The Beach.

 

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.
  • Six of his wins and three of his poles have come at bullrings, where he’s maintained a top-five average finish in 11 such starts during his NWMT career.
  • Has a win, three poles and four top fives in six career NWSMT starts. Won at Bowman Gray in 2013 and was runner-up at Charlotte in 2012.
  • Finished 26th in the 2013 UNOH Battle At The Beach.

 

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 two poles and 13 top 10s in 21 career bullring points races.
  • Finished 11th in the 2013 UNOH Battle At The Beach.

 

Timmy Solomito (No. 75 Eastport Feeds Chevrolet)

  • Has a pole and three top 10s in eight combined NWMT and NWSMT starts. Seven came in NWMT action.
  • Earned that pole in September 2013 at Riverhead where he led 176 laps before a third-place finish.
  • Has 11 career NASCAR Whelen All-American Series modified wins at Riverhead.

 

UP TO SPEED:

  • The upcoming 2014 season will be the 30th for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. The 14-race schedule will open with the Icebreaker 150 on Sunday, April 6 at Thompson (Conn.) Speedway Motorsports Park. Ryan Preece is the reigning NWMT champion.
  • The 2014 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour schedule will consists of 15 events starting with the Caraway 150 on Sunday, March 9 at Caraway Speedway in rural Sophia, N.C. George Brunnhoelzl III is the three-time defending NWSMT titlist.