Analyzing the AnytimeRealty.com 150 at Seekonk Speedway
Story By: TRAVIS BARRETT / NASCAR MEDIA
Photos By: DICK AYERS / RACERSGUIDE.COM
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. —September 8, 2016- The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returns to the “Action Track of the East” for the first time since 2005 when it heads to Seekonk Speedway in Seekonk, Massachusetts. Below is a look at Saturday’s AnytimeRealty.com 150 and some of the selected participants.
AnytimeRealty.com 150 Race Setup:
• This marks the return of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour to Seekonk Speedway for the first time since 2005.
• There have been only six Whelen Modified Tour events in history at the track, with the most recent won by Eric Beers.
• Three-time champion Doug Coby of Milford, Connecticut, holds a 20-point advantage over Holtsville, New York’s Justin Bonsignore atop the point standings after 13 races this season.
At Seekonk Speedway:
History:
• A .333-mile asphalt oval, Seekonk Speedway has operated continuously under the direction of the Venditti family since its opening in 1946, when D. Anthony Venditti built the track just a few miles west of Providence, Rhode Island.
• The track is a member of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series family, holding racing every Saturday night. The track’s top division is the Pro Stock (Super Late Model) class.
• Seekonk Speedway has hosted six previous Whelen Modified Tour races, the first in 1987. The Tour visited each year from 2000-2005, with the lone exception being in 2003.
Notebook:
• Reggie Ruggiero won the first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race held at Seekonk in 1987.
• Jerry Marquis won at Seekonk in 2000, the same year he went on to win the championship.
• No driver has won multiple races or poles at Seekonk. Ruggiero has a win and a pole at the track, in different seasons.
Seekonk Data:
Race: #14 of 17 overall
Race Date: Saturday, September 10 at 8 p.m. ET
Track Layout: .333-mile banked asphalt oval
Race Length: 150 laps (50 miles)
Qualifying/Race Data:
2015 Winner: N/A
2015 Pole Sitter: N/A
1-lap Qualifying Record: 102.121 mph (Tommy Cravenho, 11.739 seconds, June 2000)
150-lap Race Record: 66.347 mph (Jerry Marquis, June 2000)
Category Leaders at Seekonk:
Wins
1. Reggie Ruggiero … 1
Jerry Marquis … 1
Chris Kopec … 1
Ed Flemke Jr. … 1
Chuck Hossfeld … 1
Eric Beers … 1
Laps Led
1. Eric Beers … 187
2. Reggie Ruggiero … 170
3. Ed Flemke Jr. … 124
4. Chris Kopec … 107
5. Chuck Hossfeld … 83
Top Fives
1. Eric Beers … 2
John Blewett III … 2
Mike Ewanitsko … 2
Tony Hirschman … 2
Jerry Marquis … 2
Top 10s
1. John Blewett III … 4
Tommy Cravenho … 4
Rick Fuller … 4
4. Ted Christopher … 3
Tony Hirschman … 3
Jerry Marquis … 3
Selected Driver Highlights:
Jimmy Blewett (No. 4 Starrett Dodge)
• Is ranked eighth in the standings headed into this week with one win, five top-5 and eight top-10 finishes in 12 races.
• Won at Stafford Motor Speedway for his first win since 2009.
• Chuck Hossfeld substituted for him at Oswego last week after Blewett became ill prior to the race.
Justin Bonsignore (No. 51 M3 Technology Chevrolet)
• Sits second in the Whelen Modified Tour standings with two wins, nine top fives and 10 top 10s in 13 starts.
• Has the most top-five finishes of any driver on the tour this season with nine.
• Cut Doug Coby’s point lead by 18 points over the last eight races with six top five finishes in that span.
• Has wins at Thompson and Riverhead this season.
Doug Coby (No. 2 Dunleavy’s Repair Chevrolet)
• The three-time Whelen Modified Tour champion leads the standings this season with four wins, seven top fives and 10 top 10s in 13 races this season.
• His most recent victory was at Oswego and he also has two wins at Stafford this season and a win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
• Has three top-five finishes in his last six races.
• Won a non-NASCAR Modified open race at Seekonk in July.
Chase Dowling (No. 9 S&S Asphalt Paving/Dunleavy’s Chevrolet)
• Sits ninth in the current standings with two top fives and five top 10s in 13 races this season.
• Finished a season-best fourth in the third Stafford race.
• Has finished 11th or better in four of his last five starts.
Eric Goodale (No. 58 GAF Roofing/RBSCorp.com Chevrolet)
• Sits fifth in the current standings with one win, four top fives and eight top 10s through 13 races.
• Won at Bristol Motor Speedway for his second career win.
• Earned his first career win at his home track of Riverhead in 2014, where he has nine top 10s in 11 career NWMT starts.
Donny Lia (No. 8 Sypher Construction/Bardahl Chevrolet)
• The two-time Tour champion has 17 career wins.
• Sits fourth in the current series standings with four top fives and eight top 10s in 13 races.
• Finished second at Seekonk in 2004, his first of two career starts at the track.
Bobby Santos III (No. 44 Tinio Corp./Curb Records Chevrolet)
• Has one win, two top fives and five top 10s in 13 races this season.
• Won the second Thompson race this season and also won the non-points Whelen All-Star Shootout at New Hampshire.
• Has won in a midget at Seekonk, and competed at the track in Supermodifieds.
Ron Silk (No. 82 Horton Avenue Materials Chevrolet)
• Sits seventh in the standings with one win, three top fives and eight top 10s through 13 races.
• The 2011 Whelen Modified Tour champion won at New London-Waterford Speedbowl in May.
Timmy Solomito (No. 16 Diversified Metals/R.B. Enterprises Ford)
• Sits third in the standings with three wins and six top fives in 13 races.
• Won the June race at Riverhead for his second career win, and has also won at Thompson and Monadnock this season.
Max Zachem (No. 20 Lu-Mac’s Package Store/VWS Chevrolet)
• Sits sixth in the standings with two top fives and nine top 10s in 13 races.
• Ranks third on the Whelen Modified Tour with nine top-10 finishes this season.
• Finished a career-best second at Waterford and equaled that at Thompson.
Up To Speed:
• This is the 32nd season of NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour racing. The inaugural race was contested March 31, 1985 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.
• The 2015 schedule features 17 points races at nine different tracks across four states.
• The first five races of the season featured four different winners — Timmy Solomito, Doug Coby (twice), Ron Silk and Bobby Santos III.
• Doug Coby, Timmy Solomito and Justin Bonsignore are the only repeat winners this season. Coby has four wins, while Solomito has won three times. Bonsignore has won twice. Bobby Santos, Ron Silk, Jimmy Blewett and Eric Goodale have also won races.
