NWMT: Monadnock Preview

As the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour heads to Monadnock Speedway this week, a pair of drivers stand as favorites to either continue a historical trend or make their own mark on the record books.

Although the competition is nearly too close to call across the board, Whelen Modified Tour co-point leaders Rowan Pennink and Ryan Preece lead the tour contingent into the Town Fair Tire Whitcomb 200 at the quarter-mile oval on Saturday, May 11 in rural Winchester, N.H.

Pennink will look to continue the historical trend at Monadnock that has seen a different driver win each of the previous eight all-time Whelen Modified Tour events at the track. Conversely, last year’s Monadnock winner Preece will attempt to become the tour’s first two-time victor there.

Although he’s averaged a finish just outside the top 10 in his first two career Whelen Modified Tour starts at Monadnock, Pennink has run second and fifth in two races so far this season. In addition to bringing that momentum to Monadnock, where he’s already registered a Modified win this year, Pennink has had plenty of success through the years at the other quarter-mile bullring on the tour schedule – Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway – including his lone career win.

Meanwhile, Preece was the best Whelen Modified Tour bullring driver a year ago when he won at Riverhead in addition to Monadnock. Add to that his first Riverhead win in 2009 and three of his five career triumphs have come in bullring races.

Pennink and Preece may enter Monadnock atop the points and the list of favorites to win, but they’ll have plenty of competition for the checkered flag. Veterans Mike Stefanik and Ted Christopher – at one and three tallies behind in points, respectively – both have career wins at Monadnock in addition to their hot starts to the current season. Additionally, Justin Bonsignore, who groomed his early racing career at Riverhead, is just five points back of the leaders and has finished in the top five the last two years at Monadnock.

RACE:  Town Fair Tire Whitcomb 200

PLACE: Monadnock Speedway, Winchester, N.H.

DATE: Saturday, May 11

TIME: 8:30 p.m. ET

TRACK LAYOUT: .25-mile, banked asphalt oval

2012 POLESITTER/WINNER: Ryan Preece

EVENT SCHEDULE: Practice 1:30-2:30 p.m., Qualifying 4 p.m., Driver Autograph Session 6 p.m.

TRACK CONTACT: Michelle Cloutier, (603) 239-4067, speedway@webryders.net

TRACK TWITTER: @monadnockspeed

EVENT TWITTER HASHTAG: #Whitcomb200

NASCAR CONTACT: Jason Cunningham, 704-201-6658, jcunningham@nascar.com, Twitter: @NASCAR_NE

The Race: The Town Fair Tire Whitcomb 200 at Monadnock Speedway will be the third race of the 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season. It will be the lone appearance for the tour at Monadnock, but the first of three races in the state of New Hampshire.

The Procedure: The maximum starting field is 28 cars, including provisionals. The first 23 cars will have secured starting positions based on two-lap qualifying. The remaining five spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race is scheduled for 200 laps (50 miles).

The Track: One of two “bullrings” that the Whelen Modified Tour races at, Monadnock is a high-banked quarter-mile asphalt track. Monadnock held five tour races from 1986-90 and returned to the schedule in 2010.

Race Winners: Each of the eight all-time races at Monadnock have produced different winners. Ken Bouchard won the inaugural event in 1986 and Ryan Preece took the checkered flag a year ago.

Pole Winners: There have been seven different pole winners in the eight races at Monadnock, with Bouchard the lone driver with two. Preece took the pole in last year’s event with a track-record lap of 12.313 seconds (73.082 mph).

First of Three Bullring Races:  The Town Fair Tire Whitcomb 200 at Monadnock Speedway will be the first of three bullring races on the calendar for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. With the addition of a second race at Riverhead Raceway this year, the tour has three dates at quarter-mile tracks for the first time since 1999 when there were four: two a Riverhead and two at the former Riverside Park Speedway in Massachusetts.

Stefanik and Tomaino, Then and Now:  Veterans Mike Stefanik and Jamie Tomaino are the only drivers to compete in each of the previous eight Whelen Modified Tour events at Monadnock. They each registered a victory in the tour’s first era of races at the track (1986-90). The 1988 win for Stefanik was just the third of his tour-record 73 career triumphs while Tomaino’s came during his 1990 championship season.

Better Be Fast in Time Trials:  Since the Whelen Modified Tour returned to Monadnock in 2010 after a 20-year absence from the track, the race winner has come from the first two rows of the starting lineup in each of the three events. Ted Christopher started fourth and waged a race-long battle with polesitter Erick Rudolph before making the pass with 41 laps to go for the victory in 2010. In 2011 and 2012 pole winners Todd Szegedy and Ryan Preece led wire-wire for their respective wins. This is not a recent development, however, as the last race in the first era of the tour at Monadnock also saw Tomaino win from a second-row staring position in 1990.

Friday Night Event in Keene:  Monadnock Speedway has organized an appearance at the Applebee’s restaurant in nearby Keene, N.H., on Friday, May 10 that will feature the Whelen Modified Tour’s No. 51 M3 Technology team. Fans are encouraged to come by to meet driver Justin Bonsignore and see the No. 51 Chevrolet up close from 5-7 p.m. Race sponsor Town Fair Tire will also have a coupon giveaway at the event. The Applebee’s is located at 40 Key Road in Keene.

Wayne Helliwell has had the field covered in New Hampshire NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action in recent seasons. The Granite State champion three years running, Helliwell has decided not to defend his string of titles, thus opening up the competition in 2013 after he finished 14th nationally last year. Russ Hersey Jr. is the reigning Division I champion at Monadnock Speedway, where he outdistanced Bill Kimball Jr. by 30 tallies in the Sportsman Modified division.

The second race of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour 2013 season took place on April 28 at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway with the CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler. Here are some highlights:

·         Bobby Santos took the pole on Saturday and led all but four laps on Sunday to capture his second Whelen Modified Tour Spring Sizzler victory. Five of his now nine career wins have come at Stafford.

·         Justin Bonsignore finished as the runner-up and earned Coca-Cola Move of the Race honors after improving 12 spots from his starting position.

·         Ted Christopher also improved 12 spots from start to finish as he crossed the line third thanks to a rally in the closing laps of the race after pitting later than the rest of the field for tires.

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will return to action on Friday, May 24 for the second of four races at Stafford Motor Speedway, and the first of two night races at the historic half mile. Doug Coby is the defending winner of the TSI Harley-Davidson/G-Oil 125, a victory earned with a pass of polesitter Bobby Santos with just eight laps left in the event.