Column Compiled By: PHIL SMITH / RPW – WESTERLY, RI – The NASCAR Whelen Modified Touring closed out its season this past Saturday in Martinsville Virginia. Justin Bonsignore and Ron Silk battle it out for the title.
Patrick Emerling had an outside shot. Originally called the Cardinal 500, a 500 lapper for the modifieds this event would draw top cars and drivers from Canada. New York state, all of New England, Long Island and New Jersey.
Martinsville was the season ending mecca for Modified Racing. Back in the 60’s New England had Norwood Arena, Stafford Motor Speedway and Riverside Park. Each had its own driver’s fans who traveled to watch their favorite drivers to take on the big boys south of the Mason-Dixon line.
Local guys like Bugs Stevens, Eddie Flemke, Fred DeSarro, Gene Bergin had legions of fans who followed them. From Long Island it was Charlie Jarzombek, Fred Harbach and Dl DeAngelo to name a few, from upstate New York you had Lou Lazzaro, Eddie Pieniezek, Sonney Seamon, Maynard Troyer, the Treichler cousins, Merv and Roger along with Jerry Cook and Richie Evans.
Add another 50 or 60 local runners from the north plus another 30-35 from the Virginia-North Carolina.
The weekend would start on Thursday with check-in and practice. Friday would be reserved for time trials for the fastest 20. Friday night hosted a tradition that brought everyone together. A group organized a soft ball gane in near-by Fieldale. Following the game Mr Fred DeSarro Sr hosted the entire group to a home made spaghetti and meatball dinner. This went on for many years.
On Saturday twin 50 lap consolation races were held to fill in the remaining spots. Sunda would be the culmination of the weekend. The front covered grandstands would be packed and the open seats on the backstretch would be about half full.
Now we are at the end of the 2024 NASCAR Modified Season. Many of the tracks that ran weekly and supplied cars are now gone. The only ones left standing are Riverhead, Stafford and Thompson. Most competitors and fans don’t travel to far away places to watch races any more. Same goes for Upstate NewYorkers and Long Islander.
On a sad note it must be noted more years have passed us by. Many of our early day heros have sadly passed away. Hopefully some of the traditions at Martinsville will continue.
To no ones surprise Justi Bonsignore led the way in qualifying Saturday season ending Virginia Is For Racing Lovers 200 at Martinsville. Silk was 13th fastest out of 23 cars in qualifying. Emerling was 10th fastest.
Luke Baldwin won second fastest and joined Bonsignore on the front row. Jacob Lutz was third fastest. Austin Beers and Trevor Catalano rounded out the top five.
Starting on the pole Justin Bonsignore left little doubt that he was on a mission. After winning two races in two days a week previous Bonsignore had the attitude and drive to go after the victory at Martinsville. Bonsignore led the opening 57 laps of the 200 lapper and after rounds of pit stops led from lap 122 to 200. Ron Silk was in contention until lap 139 when he pitted with what he thought was starvation of gas.
His crew gassed him up and he returned only to make a lap before parking it. Crew Chief Phil Moran said “the motor was laying down, acting funny” With Silk out of contention Bonsignore was home free. Matt Hirschman finished second but had nothing for Bonsignore. Jacob Lutz, Austin Beers and Ryan Newman rounded out the top five. Sixth thru tenth included Craig Lutz, Luke Baldwin, Bobby Labonte, Andrew Krause and Patrick Emerling.
In some good news the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour got a much needed shot in the arm on Saturday. NASCAR and Whelen Engineering, Inc. announced a sponsorship extension through the 2029 season that will increase both event payouts and point fund money for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, with an agreement beginning with the 2025 season. The 2025 season schedule, which includes a companion event with the NASCAR Cup Series is also part of the Saturday morning announcement.
“There’s investments in both,” said Joseph Dennewitz, Managing Director of NASCAR Regional. “There’s investments in purse money for each race, and for the championship. The pool of championship money has increased by 250 percent. Every single race also sees a purse injection where the minimum to start is $2,000 and the minimum to win is $11,000. That will go up with contingency money as well.”
The agreement was a combined effort spearheaded by Peter Tiezzi, General Manager of Motorsports for Whelen Engineering. This partnership will bring Whelen’s involvement with the NWMT to a 25-year anniversary season in 2029, and Dennewitz made it clear that Whelen is the driving force behind this added investment by both parties.
“When we sat down with Whelen they said they wanted to invest and they wanted us to match,” he added. “I was very happy to go back and figure out ways that we could make this happen. It is a 100 percent collaborative effort between NASCAR and Whelen Engineering. To have a partner like Whelen that is just as invested in the success of a series and a community as NASCAR is wildly important.”
The final details of both the point fund and race purses are still to be finalized, with additional money from sponsorship bonuses and broadcast rights for next season still being negotiated. However, the series had been paying point fund money to the top 15 teams and that will now increase to the top 20 at the end of the 16-race schedule. The 2024 NWMT Championship team is expected to earn in the neighborhood of $70,000 this season, with a further increase going to the 2025 champion.
NASCAR also announced the 2025 schedule. The 2025 schedule is very similar in venues, with White Mountain Motorsports Park in North Woodstock, New Hampshire back on the schedule for the first time since 2020 on a June 28 date. That will replace an event across the state at Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, which will now host two events. The other 15 events are the same, but with a significant shuffling of dates, most notably the fall race at North Wilkesboro in North Carolina moving from October to May.
“The Modified Tour at North Wilkesboro is with the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star event,” Dennewitz said. “It’s on Sunday, May 18. The same day. That is about bringing a spotlight to short track racing.
“In my opinion, short track racing is in a bit of a renaissance right now. A lot of great short track racing around the country and I think the Whelen Modified Tour is some of the best. Being able to highlight that with a Cup Series All-Star race is incredible.”
The NWMT season will again begin at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway on February 8, and end one week sooner, on October 18 back at Martinsville. New Hampshire Motor Speedway moves to the fall, opening up space for White Mountain, with Lancaster Motorplex in New York moving from August to a July 12 date.
“Jimmy (Wilson, Senior Director, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) does a nice job balancing all of the stakeholders,” Dennewitz noted. “The schedule is a 3-D chess board of stakeholders. We want to make sure that our competitors want to race at those places. We want those places to be up to safety standards, want us, and will do a good job of promoting.
“Then of course what makes more sense for the brand of the series. There are a lot of things at play. We had a lot of great race tracks reach out to us this year and ask to be a part of the schedule. It was a lot of fun to work through what would be best for everybody there in terms of date and cadence for our schedule to not overload our teams with back-to-back races or travel races. There are a million factors in play there.”
2025 NASCAR WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR SCHEDULE
Date Race / Track
- Saturday, February 8 New Smyrna Speedway
- Sunday, March 30 Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
- Saturday, May 3 Monadnock Speedway
- Sunday, May 18 North Wilkesboro Speedway
- Saturday, May 31 Seekonk Speedway
- Saturday, June 14 Riverhead Raceway
- Saturday, June 28 White Mountain Motorsports Park
- Saturday, July 12 Lancaster Motorplex
- Saturday, July 19 Monadnock Speedway
- Wednesday, August 6 Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
- Thursday, August 14 Richmond Raceway
- Saturday, August 30 Oswego Speedway
- Saturday, September 6 Riverhead Raceway
- Saturday, September 20 New Hampshire Motor Speedway
- Sunday, October 12 Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
- Saturday, October 18 Martinsville Speedway
Speaking of tradition,: Stewart Friesen Ties Brett Hearn For Most Billy Whittaker Cars 200 Victories Jimmy Phelps finishes second after starting ninth, Williamson rounds out podium. On a historic night for the Super DIRTcar Series, Stewart Friesen added a piece of his own history Saturday night at Oswego Speedway.
In the first Super DIRT Week main event run on Saturday night, the Niagara-on-the-Lake, One driver led all 200 laps to score his sixth Billy Whittaker Cars 200 victory, tying Brett Hearn for the most all-time. Friesen held on for the $52,000 victory, becoming the first driver to lead all 200 laps in the event.
A tip of the hat to the Stafford Motor Speedway and the Arute family. The 2025 Stafford Speedway racing schedule has been set. The 24-race schedule kicks off April 26th and 27th with the 53rd annual NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler® weekend and ends with NAPA Auto Parts Champions Night Friday, October 3rd.
“Coming off a great 2024 season for all of our weekly divisions, we are continuing to keep our focus on showcasing our teams and drivers,” explained Stafford Speedway CEO Mark Arute. “With a mix of special events and strong weekly racing program our 2025 schedule puts our 5 weekly divisions in the spotlight every Friday night. Our goal is to make sure every event on the calendar is important and we believe our 2025 schedule does just that.”
NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler® Weekend April 26th & 27th The 2025 NAPA Spring Sizzler® Weekend will once again be one of the biggest short track events of the year and will feature two separate days of racing. New for 2025, Saturday will feature two 20-lap Duels for the SK Light Modified division with the top finishers advancing to the 30-lap feature on Sunday, April 27th. The Street Stock, Limited Late Model, and Late Model divisions will also compete on Saturday, April 26th.
Sunday, April 27th will be highlighted by the 53rd running of the NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler®. The Open Modifieds will practice, qualify, and run their features on Sunday. The afternoon will also feature the SK Modifieds®, SK Light Modified, and the NAPA Pit Party.
“We took a look at Spring Sizzler® weekend and made some adjustments to cut costs for the Open Modified teams while also giving the SK Light teams a big event to start their season. The result is a great weekend of racing highlighted by the 53rd running of the NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler®.”
After the most competitive season in its history featuring 12 different winners in 20 events, the SK Modifieds® will have 3 extra distance races in 2025. Extra distance events include:
Casella Waste SK Modified® 80 – Friday, June 6th, Call Before You Dig Senators Cup 50 – Friday, June 20th, 12th Annual NAPA Auto Parts SK 5K 112 – Friday, August 1st
“Not much better than SK Modified® racing. An additional special event will give the stars of our SK Modified® division another night to shine. We’re working on some fun and unique twists for these three events, stay tuned for more info.”
Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series
The Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series will make two stops at Stafford Speedway in 2025 including their 4th consecutive season as the headline division at the NAPA Auto Parts Fall Final. New for 2025, the Monaco Modifieds will visit the Stafford half-mile for a Wednesday night 100-lapper on July 16th with the 2nd Annual GAF Modified Masters. GAF Roofing Modified Masters 100 – Wednesday, July 16th
NAPA Auto Parts Fall Final 80 – Saturday, September 27th
“The Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series has done a great job with their series the last few seasons. We think they will bring our GAF Modified Masters event to the next level and help us develop that event into a marquee event on the Modified racing calendar.”
Special Events:
Each of Stafford’s 5 weekly divisions will have at least one special event night in 2025. Limited Late Models will go an extra 10 laps on June 13th, Street Stocks will run an extra 10 laps on June 27th for the annual Midstate Site Development Firecracker 30, and Paradiso Insurance returns as the presenting sponsor for the Late Model 50 on September 5th.
The SK Light Modified division will have 3 extra distance events including preliminary races and a 30-lap feature on NAPA Spring Sizzler® weekend, Monaco Ford SK Light Double Down on May 23rd, and the King of the Create event on Wednesday, July 16th.
The traditional Lincoln Tech Open Modified 80 returns to the calendar Friday, August 15th.
AZ Roofing and Maybury Material Handling return to host Kids Night events on May 30th and August 29th. Utility Services of New England has partnered with Stafford to host First Responders Night and the annual TC 13 SK Modified shootout.
Season Tickets:
Season tickets for the 2025 season are now on sale online at StaffordSpeedway.com/tickets. Early discount pricing is available through December 15th. Season ticket holders in 2024 saved 50% when compared to purchasing tickets each week. Contact the track office with any questions.
For more information, visit staffordspeedway.com, follow Stafford Speedway on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or contact the track office at 860-684-2783.
The all new book, The Modified Years At Stafford, by the Grace of God and 600 hp, is gaining interest and has become a must have in race fans and competitors library. Race by Race, Year by Year, it’s all there. Read all about it! Books are now available on Amazon.com and Coastal 181 (877-907-8181 toll free) and are available thru Stafford’s web site in their store. Order yours now. Makes a great gift!
With the cooperation of the Arute family another book has been published with pictures and biographies of the 50 Greatest Drivers at Stafford.
The Stafford Motor Speedway had become the epicenter of NASCAR Modified racing in the northeast by the late 1980’s. From its dirt beginnings to its lightning-fast asphalt, Stafford had become the toughest and most gratifying track to score a victory. The Arute family which has owned and guided the destiny of the facility commissioned their thousands of loyal fans to name their favorite drivers. In alphabetical order so as not to offend anyone:
Tom Baldwin, Gene Bergin, Brett Bodine, Geoff Bodine, Ken Bouchard, Ron Bouchard, Mario “Fats” Caruso, Rene Charland, Ted Christopher, Leo Cleary, Tim Connolly, Jerry Cook, Corky Cookman, Pete Corey, Fred DeSarro, Richie Evans, Mike Ewanitsko, Ed Flemke, Sr., Jeff Fuller, Rick Fuller, Ernie Gahan, Bill Greco, Bo Gunning, Ray Hendrick, George “Moose” Hewitt, Tony Hirschman, George Janoski, Charlie Jarzombek, George Kent, Buddy Krebs, Randy LaJoie, Jan Leaty, Jerry Marquis, Mike McLaughlin, Ray Miller, Steve Park, Bob Polverari, Bob Potter, Brian Ross, John “Reggie” Ruggiero, Greg Sacks, Ollie Silva, “Wild” Bill Slater, Jimmy Spencer, Mike Stefanik, Carl “Bugsy” Stevens, George Summers, Jamie “The Jet” Tomaino, Maynard Troyer and Satch Worley.
Books are priced at $17.95 each and be purchased at the track at the Novelty Booth or at the Stafford Motor Speedway on line store. Books are also available at Amazon.com and at Coastal181 (877-907-8181).
