2015 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour

The 2015 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was the thirty-first season of the Whelen Modified Tour (WMT). It began with the Icebreaker 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park on April 12 and concluded at the same venue with the Sunoco World Series 150 on October 18.[1]

Defending champion Doug Coby won his third series title, and as a result, became the first driver since Tony Hirschman Jr. to win successive Whelen Modified Tour championships. Coby was the season's most prolific winner – with seven victories – including the final three races which allowed him to overhaul Ryan Preece in the standings, with Coby ultimately prevailing by eleven points after entering the final race tied on points with Preece. Preece was a four-time race winner, and finished all but one race inside the top-ten placings. Just like Preece, Woody Pitkat recorded fourteen top-ten finishes out of fifteen starts – winning at Stafford along with the non-championship Shootout at New Hampshire – as he finished third in points, two down on Preece and thirteen behind Coby. The only other drivers to win races during the season were Todd Szegedy at New Hampshire and Justin Bonsignore, who swept both races at his local track, Riverhead Raceway.

Drivers

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No. Manufacturer Car Owner Race Driver Crew Chief
0 Chevrolet Joe Ambrose Tom Rogers Jr. 2 Helmut Loschnig
01 Chevrolet Kenneth Fifield Melissa Fifield Kenneth Fifield
2 Chevrolet Mike Smeriglio III Doug Coby Phil Moran
3 Chevrolet Jan Boehler Troy Talman (R) 10 Greg Fournier
Derek Ramstrom (R) 1 Rick Ramstrom
Kyle Bonsignore (R) 1 Bill Bonsignore
4 Dodge Robert Garbarino Todd Szegedy[N 1] Ryan Spaulding
5 Chevrolet Raymond Bouchard Frank Vigliarolo Jr. 2 Raymond Bouchard
06 Chevrolet Michelle Biondolillo Vincent Biondolillo (R) 1 Jarred Hayes
6 Chevrolet Ed Partridge Ryan Preece[2] Tommy Grasso
07 Chevrolet Jennifer Emerling Patrick Emerling Jan Leaty
7 Chevrolet Mike Curb Ryan Newman 3 Teddy Musgrave Jr.
8 Chevrolet Mark Sypher Donny Lia[3] Dan Laferriere
9 Chevrolet Cheryl Tomaino Chase Dowling (R) Don Barker
11 Chevrolet Grant Williams Chuck Steuer 1 Butch Capuano
William Deakin John Beatty Jr. (R) 1 Glenn Dixon
13 Chevrolet Robert Katon Jr. Ted Christopher 8 Bob Fill
Andy Seuss 2
Johnny Bush 1 Michael Loomis
James Civali 4 Bob Fill
14 Chevrolet Ken Zachem Max Zachem (R) Shawn Ruszczyk
15 Chevrolet Rob Fuller Corey LaJoie 2 Jeff DeMinck
Ron Silk 4[N 1] Ryan Stone
Ray Graham (R) 1
16 Ford Eric Sanderson Timmy Solomito[4] Sly Szaban
17 Chevrolet John Ellwood Jr. Kyle Ellwood (R) 5 Rico Mariani
18 Chevrolet Robert Pollifrone Ken Heagy 14 Greg Gorman
19 Chevrolet Karen Oltra Brandon Oltra (R) 3 Steve Kreitzer
20 Chevrolet Barbara Park Ron Silk 2 Dave Wheeler
22 Chevrolet Christopher Our Tommy Barrett Jr. 1 Brad Lafontaine
Keith Rocco 7
Ted Christopher 5
26 Chevrolet 10 Sean McDonald Gary McDonald 14 Chad McDonald
Pontiac 4
28 Ford George Bock Brendon Bock (R) 1 Glenn Dixon
29 Chevrolet 2 Jon McKennedy Jon McKennedy 2 Peter Frappier
Ford 7 George Bock Brendon Bock (R) 8 Glenn Dixon
Chevrolet 1
31 Chevrolet Pete Masse Steve Masse (R) 9 Josh Steeves
33 Chevrolet Wade Cole Johnny Bush 3 Rick Rodenbaugh
Wade Cole 12
35 Chevrolet Wayne Darling Derek Ramstrom (R) 3 Rick Ramstrom
36 Chevrolet Jarod Zeltmann Dave Sapienza (R) Jarod Zeltmann
37 Chevrolet Cynthia Richey Dave Salzarulo 10 Marty Radewick
38 Chevrolet Linda Rodenbaugh Wade Cole 1 Jake Marosz
George Perreault (R) 1
40 Chevrolet Monica Fuller Ron Silk 2 Ryan Stone
41 Chevrolet Tom Soper Kyle Soper (R) 1 Tom Soper
44 Chevrolet Mike Curb Bobby Santos III 14 Steve Lemay
46 Chevrolet Russell Goodale Jeff Goodale (R) Doug Ogiejko
51 Chevrolet Ken Massa Justin Bonsignore Bill Michael
56 Chevrolet Renee Lutz Craig Lutz (R) 3 Jason Seachrist
57 Chevrolet Mark Pane Keith Rocco 1 Stash Butova
58 Chevrolet Edgar Goodale Eric Goodale Jason Shephard
59 Chevrolet Ed Bennett III Jerry Solomito Jr. (R) 2 Jerry Solomito Sr.
Ted Christopher Ronnie Williams (R) 1 Stash Butova
63 Chevrolet Bill Darrow Tom Rogers Jr. 4 Mike Curtis
64 Chevrolet Mike Murphy Anthony Nocella (R) 12 Steve Dodge
68 Chevrolet Charlene Bush Johnny Bush 2 Michael Loomis
69 Chevrolet Jason Blatz Jason Agugliaro (R) 1 Jason Blatz
70 Chevrolet Steve Seuss Andy Seuss 2 Steve Seuss
73 Chevrolet Paul Hartwig Paul Hartwig Jr. (R) 1 Lisa Hartwig
Todd Powell Cole Powell 1 Seth Smith
75 Chevrolet Wayne Anderson Shawn Solomito 14 Jerry Solomito Sr.
Jerry Solomito Jr. (R) 1 Butch Capuano
77 Chevrolet Mike Curb Gary Putnam 2 Mike Hann
79 Pontiac 8 Susan Hill Spencer Davis 5 David Hill
James Civali 1
Joe Ryan Osborne 2
Chevrolet 2 Troy Talman (R) 1
Joe Ryan Osborne 1[N 1]
82 Chevrolet Pamla Hulse Danny Watts Jr. 5 Buddy Loecher
83 Chevrolet Linda Rodenbaugh Tom Rogers Jr. 1 Helmut Losching
87 Chevrolet Keri Brunnhoelzl Ed Brunnhoelzl III (R) 1 Russell Savoy
88 Chevrolet Buzz Chew Woody Pitkat[N 2] Ronald Ste-Marie
89 Chevrolet John Swanson Matt Swanson (R) 5 Ken Barry
93 Chevrolet Mark Pennink Rowan Pennink 13 Jimmy Fuller
99 Chevrolet Brittany Tomaino Jamie Tomaino George Ratajczak
Notes
  1. ^ a b c At the Bush's Beans 150 at Bristol, some WMT and WSMT drivers had to change numbers to avoid clashing with the other Modified Tour championship. WMT drivers who had to change numbers: Todd Szegedy drove car number 41, instead of his regular car number 4, Ron Silk drove car number 05, instead of his regular car number 15 and Joe Ryan Osborne drove car number 19, instead of his regular car number 79.
  2. ^ At the F. W. Webb 100 Woody Pitkat drove with car number 38 instead of his regular 88 as a tribute to NASCAR Hall of Fame-elect Jerry Cook.

Schedule

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The Whelen All-Star Shootout did not count towards the championship. 10 races from the 2015 season were televised on NBCSN, on a tape-delay basis.[5]

No. Race Title Track Date[1] TV
1 Icebreaker 150 Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, Thompson[6] April 12 NBCSN
2 NAPA Spring Sizzler 200 Stafford Motor Speedway, Stafford April 26
3 Mr. Rooter 161 Waterford Speedbowl, Waterford May 30
4 TSI Harley-Davidson 125 Stafford Motor Speedway, Stafford June 5
5 Mr. Rooter 125 Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, Thompson[6] June 10 NBCSN
6 Hoosier Tire East 200 Riverhead Raceway, Riverhead June 28[a] NBCSN
Whelen All-Star Shootout New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon July 17 NBCSN
7 Andy Blacksmith 100 presented by Donate Life New England July 18 NBCSN
8 O'Reilly Auto Parts 200 Monadnock Speedway, Winchester July 25 NBCSN
9 Call Before You Dig 150 Stafford Motor Speedway, Stafford August 7
10 Budweiser King of Beers 150 Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, Thompson[6] August 12 FansChoice.TV
11 Bush's Beans 150[b] Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol August 19 NBCSN
12 Riverhead 200 Riverhead Raceway, Riverhead August 29
13 F. W. Webb 100 New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon September 26 NBCSN
14 NAPA Fall Final 150 Stafford Motor Speedway, Stafford October 4 NBCSN
15 Sunoco World Series 150 Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, Thompson[6] October 18 NBCSN
Notes
  1. ^ The Riverhead Hoosier Tire East 200 was originally scheduled for June 27, but was postponed to June 28 due to heavy rain.[7]
  2. ^ The Bush's Beans 150 was held as a combined event, with competitors from the Whelen Modified Tour competing along with competitors for the Whelen Southern Modified Tour. The race was run with a series-based point distribution, where drivers received points and statistical credit for their finish relative to other drivers in their series, not to the whole field in general.

Results and standings

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Races

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No. Race Pole position Most laps led Winning driver Manufacturer
1 Icebreaker 150 Doug Coby Doug Coby Doug Coby Chevrolet
2 NAPA Spring Sizzler 200 Ryan Preece Ryan Preece Woody Pitkat Chevrolet
3 Mr. Rooter 161 Donny Lia Ryan Preece Ryan Preece Chevrolet
4 TSI Harley-Davidson 125 Doug Coby Ryan Preece Ryan Preece Chevrolet
5 Mr. Rooter 125 Woody Pitkat Doug Coby Doug Coby Chevrolet
6 Hoosier Tire East 200 Tom Rogers Jr. Justin Bonsignore Justin Bonsignore Chevrolet
Whelen All-Star Shootout Eric Goodale1 Woody Pitkat Woody Pitkat Chevrolet
7 Andy Blacksmith 100 presented by Donate Life New England Doug Coby Ryan Preece Todd Szegedy Dodge
8 O'Reilly Auto Parts 200 Ryan Preece Doug Coby Doug Coby Chevrolet
9 Call Before You Dig 150 Patrick Emerling Ryan Preece Ryan Preece Chevrolet
10 Budweiser King of Beers 150 Patrick Emerling Doug Coby Doug Coby Chevrolet
11 Bush's Beans 150 Woody Pitkat Woody Pitkat Ryan Preece Chevrolet
12 Riverhead 200 Tom Rogers Jr. Justin Bonsignore Justin Bonsignore Chevrolet
13 F. W. Webb 100 Doug Coby Doug Coby Doug Coby Chevrolet
14 NAPA Fall Final 150 Doug Coby Ryan Preece Doug Coby Chevrolet
15 Sunoco World Series 150 Doug Coby Doug Coby Doug Coby Chevrolet
Notes
  • 1 – There was no qualifying session for the Whelen All-Star Shootout. The starting grid was decided with a random draw.[8]

Drivers' championship

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(key) Bold - Pole position awarded by time. Italics - Pole position set by final practice results or rainout. * – Most laps led.

Pos Driver THO STA WAT STA THO RIV NHA NHA MON STA THO BRI RIV NHA STA THO Points
1 Doug Coby 1* 6 2 13 1* 3 20 30 1* 2 1* 34 2 1* 1 1* 613
2 Ryan Preece 5 3* 1* 1* 7 8 2 6* 10 1* 6 1 8 19 2* 7 602
3 Woody Pitkat 2 1 5 2 5 5 1* 7 2 3 2 2* 7 10 12 5 600
4 Todd Szegedy 10 2 19 4 3 2 11 1 4 16 3 35 9 20 10 4 535
5 Patrick Emerling 11 8 7 9 12 16 15 4 16 6 7 10 13 2 22 6 515
6 Timmy Solomito 6 16 12 3 9 6 17 12 21 7 10 9 19 12 3 3 514
7 Donny Lia 8 5 21 25 20 23 3 2 12 26 5 3 4 6 4 10 490
8 Eric Goodale 7 4 11 26 8 4 7 8 6 8 4 28 5 28 14 23 486
9 Chase Dowling (R) 17 32 16 12 17 13 10 9 10 11 8 3 8 6 9 481
10 Justin Bonsignore 27 20 25 28 2 1* 4 22 3 5 8 36 1* 5 21 2 478
11 Bobby Santos III 3 11 6 5 6 20 5 3 22 9 23 5 3 20 16 467
12 Max Zachem (R) 31 21 4 19 16 14 14 13 13 17 14 12 30 11 15 418
13 Ted Christopher 4 24 3 6 10 11 6 31 4 9 13 21 19 8 414
14 Jamie Tomaino 16 9 33 17 22 21 19 16 11 19 20 24 22 14 8 18 397
15 Jeff Goodale (R) 22 23 15 18 21 DNQ1 32 23 12 22 7 10 7 23 11 386
16 Shawn Solomito 32 17 18 15 18 29 7 11 28 18 20 17 5 13 373
17 Dave Sapienza (R) 21 18 13 20 19 10 15 20 14 26 DNQ1 23 9 26 32 369
18 Rowan Pennink 13 7 8 7 13 25 16 24 14 20 19 22 11 32 364
19 Ken Heagy 30 15 26 21 24 18 21 19 24 21 23 14 13 9 19 344
20 Gary McDonald 23 28 29 23 25 DNQ1 20 24 21 25 18 16 17 20 296
21 Troy Talman (R) 20 14 20 16 15 22 25 5 25 16 29 277
22 Wade Cole 30 29 23 DNQ1 18 18 18 24 DNQ1 24 25 15 29 263
23 Keith Rocco 12 10 8 4 15 12 9 28 12 254
24 Anthony Nocella (R) 26 26 31 24 26 DNQ1 26 26 12 34 13 14 240
25 Melissa Fifield 29 29 32 30 28 DNQ1 23 27 22 29 DNQ1 27 31 27 25 239
26 Brendon Bock (R) 10 22 27 18 17 13 15 23 33 231
27 Dave Salzarulo 24 27 17 22 29 14 17 17 30 18 25 214
28 Ron Silk 9 27 27 8 5 27 28 28 4 199
29 Tom Rogers Jr. 14 31 23 10 7 6 33 185
30 Steve Masse (R) 33 25 24 11 33 25 12 18 31 184
31 Matt Swanson (R) 15 15 24 7 27 132
32 Derek Ramstrom (R) 15 14 11 14 122
33 Johnny Bush 34 19 28 19 29 26 119
34 Kyle Ellwood (R) 33 14 12 16 28 117
35 Spencer Davis 12 30 9 31 24 114
36 Andy Seuss 10 27 8 13 63 15 113
37 James Civali 28 113 15 27 16 26 108
38 Craig Lutz (R) 18 21 11 21 105
39 Ryan Newman 9 11 4 26 91
40 Danny Watts Jr. 35 DNQ1 Wth4 22 24 74
41 Joe Ryan Osborne 34 17 19 67
42 Jerry Solomito Jr. (R) 30 19 17 66
43 Brandon Oltra (R) 25 22 23 62
44 Gary Putnam 13 13 28 203 47
45 Corey LaJoie 28 14 46
46 Jon McKennedy 18 27 43
47 Vincent Biondolillo (R) 9 35
48 Frank Vigliarolo Jr. 26 Wth4 33
49 Kyle Soper (R) 17 27
50 Tommy Barrett Jr. 19 25
51 Kyle Bonsignore (R) 32 24
52 John Beatty Jr. (R) 22 22
53 Ronnie Williams (R) 24 20
54 Ed Brunnhoelzl III (R) 25 19
55 Chuck Steuer Wth4 14
56 Ray Graham (R) 30 14
57 Paul Hartwig Jr. (R) DNQ1 11
58 George Perreault (R) DNQ1 11
59 Cole Powell DNS2 9
Jason Agugliaro (R) Wth
Drivers ineligible for Whelen Modified Tour points
George Brunnhoelzl III 15
Frank Fleming 16
Jason Myers 17
Jeremy Gerstner 21
Bobby Measmer Jr. 25
Kyle Ebersole 26
David Calabrese 27
Burt Myers 30
J. R. Bertuccio 31
Cale Gale DNQ
Tom Abele Jr. DNQ
Trey Hutchens (R) Wth
Pos Driver THO STA WAT STA THO RIV NHA NHA MON STA THO BRI RIV NHA STA THO Points
Notes
  •  – Non-championship round.
  • 1 – Wade Cole, Melissa Fifield, Jeff Goodale, Paul Hartwig Jr., Gary McDonald, Anthony Nocella, George Perreault, Dave Sapienza, and Danny Watts Jr. received championship points, despite the fact that they did not qualify for the race.
  • 2 – Cole Powell received championship points, despite the fact that he did not start the race.
  • 3 – Scored points towards the Whelen Southern Modified Tour.
  • 4 – Chuck Steuer, Frank Vigliarolo Jr. and Danny Watts Jr. received championship points, despite the fact that they did not qualify for the race.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Cunningham, Jason (December 17, 2014). "Whelen Modified 2015 Schedules Announced". NASCAR Home Tracks. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on January 6, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  2. ^ Cunningham, Jason (October 20, 2014). "Preece Changing Tour Rides". NASCAR Home Tracks. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  3. ^ "Lia Joins Forces with TCS Racing for 2015 NWMT Season". Speed51.com. 51 Sports, LLC. December 4, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  4. ^ Cunningham, Jason (October 27, 2014). "Solomito Headed To Flamingo". NASCAR Home Tracks. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  5. ^ Cunningham, Jason (February 3, 2015). "Robust NBCSN Broadcast Schedule Revealed". NASCAR Home Tracks. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d "Fourth Whelen Modified Tour Event Coming To Thompson Speedway Schedule In 2015". racedayct.com. RaceDayCT. October 19, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  7. ^ Cunningham, Jason (June 27, 2015). "Whelen Mod Tour Postponed At Riverhead". NASCAR Home Tracks. NASCAR. Archived from the original on June 30, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  8. ^ "Starting Lineup: All-Star Shootout – NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, New Hampshire Motor Speedway; July 17, 2015" (PDF). NASCAR Home Tracks. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. July 17, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 21, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2015.