Column By: BRITTANY NUTILE / RPW – LOUDON, NH – “That was good hard racing, if you didn’t like that, you need to find a better hobby” Ryan Newman’s thoughts on Saturday’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event at NHMS.
When fans come to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for NASCAR weekend, all the fans say that Saturday is the best day of racing because of the modified race. From the start of the race fans are on the edge of their seat anticipating what will happen on every lap.
Bobby Santos Won the Eastern Propane and Oil 100 today. There were a couple of cautions to begin the race. There were multiple lead changes throughout the race. Turn 1 and 2 were really hard to pass in the bottom but when you get to turns 3 and 4 you could dive on the bottom and pass very well. That’s where everyone seemed to pass and pass very easy. Bobby Santos led 3 laps all day and led the most important lap to win.
Ryan Newman won the Pole for the Whelen Modified Tour race today. During an interview Ryan said that he likes driving a modified and loves to drive here at New Hampshire. Ryan has run a modified for 11 years now. Everyone has been talking about cup drivers going back to their roots and racing local tracks, that’s what Ryan did this week. Ryan Newman started off this week racing in Eldora in the #3 truck. Then yesterday and today ran the #77 in the modified tour series. He talked after the race about grass roots where sometimes when other drivers like Ryan Newman get a chance to drive a modified, they are kind of at a disadvantage because they don’t run a modified all the time like most of the regulars on the tour. “You have to have confidence in the car and the engine and it says a lot about the team”. Said Ryan Newman after the race. Ryan led 16 laps in the race and finished 3rd today.
The points leader Justin Bonsignore starts 3rd for today’s race. He won the all-star shootout yesterday. Justin was up front a lot of the race today and could draft very well. Justin led 46 laps today, the most laps led through the race. Bonsignore stays the points leader after today’s 100 lap race.
Chase Dowling starts the Tour race 4th today. He is second in the points for the championship, Chase was up in the front the whole race he led 21 laps today during the race. Dowling has been second 3 time now and is itching for his first modified tour win. “Been pretty good so far in the season, have been unloading pretty fast, decent in practice and run well in qualifying and in the race, just missing a little bit and need to find a little edge to try to get a win.”
There were 20 lead changes among 8 drivers in a 100-lap race. Only 8 cautions in the race, there were 2 cautions in the first 10 laps but then drivers started to get in a groove and set into the race. The next modified tour race will be the Starrett 150 at Stafford Motor Speedway on August 8th.
Ankrum Stays Red Hot In K&N Pro East Series Action; Wins Saturday At NHMS
Tyler Ankrum won the United site services 70. Tyler ran a flawless race, he started second got the lead and then stayed the leader until he won the race.
Tyler said in an interview that he had a good car and it was his first time here at New Hampshire, but he was having a lot of fun racing it.
Harrison Burton started 3rd in the race and finished 2nd. He had a great battle with Ankrum and then Harrison started falling back and was running with Anthony Alfredo but stayed in the 2nd. This was Harrison’s first-time racing at NHMS as well because he is so young he couldn’t race on any of the bigger tracks before he was 18 so last year and this year are the only years he could run at most of the bigger tracks.
Anthony Alfredo had a great race. He started 4th and had great battles getting up to the top 3. He was battling with Tyler Dippel at one point because Dippel was gaining on him, but he didn’t let him get by him. This is one of Alfredo’s home tracks you could say because he lives in Connecticut. He said he likes this track and with the PJ1 they put on the track Alfredo likes the grooves it makes there and if they were to put more of the PJ1 on the higher part of the track it would make for even better racing than what we have now.
Derek Kraus was the pole leader for the race but, he seemed to fall back all the way back to 5th. He was battling with Dippel and Alfredo at one point, but they seem to have found some speed and were gaining on Harrison and Ankrum.
The K&N Pro East Series has their next race at Iowa Speedway on July 27th. Tyler Ankrum is still your point leader going into Iowa.
