The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returns to “The Magic Mile” this Saturday for what is always a thrilling 100-lap showdown on Modified racing’s biggest stage. And to no one’s surprise, the Tour is bringing a 32-car field loaded with talent to Loudon, New Hampshire’s New Hampshire Motor Speedway for Saturday evening’s Mohegan Sun 100.
Headlining the entry list is NASCAR Cup Series driver and former Loudon winner, Ryan Preece. The Berlin, Connecticut driver hasn’t run a Modified race at NHMS in two years, but it’s of course a track that the 2013 NWMT champion is very familiar with. Preece went to victory lane at New Hampshire in 2021 as part of a seven-win season. Preece led 22 of the 100 laps that day. Preece also won the now-defunct Whelen All-Star Shootout at NHMS in 2017.
Preece hasn’t run many Modified races since joining Stewart-Haas Racing at the start of 2023, but his win at Martinsville Speedway last fall was one of the most dominant performances of his career. Preece led 134 of the 200 laps that night in a car that he built and set up.
Next up is three-time champion, Justin Bonsignore, who also happens to be the defending winner of this race. Bonsignore held off six-time champion Doug Coby in a thrilling photo-finish by 0.045-second to score his second victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
This weekend is a big one for Bonsignore for a couple of reasons. We’re one-race shy of the halfway point of the 2024 season, and win would help him close the 16-point deficit to defending champion Ron Silk. But also, because Bonsignore is making his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut with powerhouse Joe Gibbs Racing. Bonsignore will be pulling double-duty on Saturday, with the Xfinity Series race first up at 3:30 p.m. ET before hopping into his No. 51 Ken Massa Motorsports Modified for the 100-lap NWMT race at 6:30 p.m. ET.
That brings us to the aforementioned Silk, who seems to be running even stronger in 2024 than he was in last year’s run to his second championship. Silk has three wins already in 2024, and only one finish lower than third all season. That was when he finished 10th at Monadnock Speedway in May. But otherwise, Silk has finishes of first, second, first, first, and third, on top of leading 469 of the 1,008 laps run to this point. The Norwalk, Connecticut driver has three wins at NHMS, though he’s looking for his first trip back to victory lane there since September of 2019.
One big surprise on the entry list is Bobby Santos III in the Advantage Motorsports No. 14 machine instead of the Tinio Racing No. 44. Instead, Chase Dowling makes his NWMT return in the Tinio Racing car.
Even though he has made starts for other teams on occasion, Santos has mostly been behind the wheel of the Tinio No. 44 going back to 2012. Santos is a six-time winner at NHMS, with four of those wins coming behind the wheel of the No. 44. That said, Santos and the Tinio group have not won at NHMS together since 2018. In fact, that win is the last time they have won together at all. Santos has two more wins at NHMS since then driving for Dave Sapienza when he was injured.
This weekend will not be Santos’ first start in the Advantage Motorsports No. 14. Santos has made two prior starts for that team and has scored a top five in both races.
Lastly, another Baldwin will begin to make his mark on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Luke Baldwin, the grandson of the late legend, “Tiger” Tom Baldwin, and son of Daytona 500 champion crew chief and NWMT car owner, Tommy Baldwin Jr., will make his NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour debut on Saturday. The 17-year-old driver put the Modified world on notice when he held off Matt Hirschman to be crowned the “King of the Modifieds” at South Boston Speedway back in March.
Saturday’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour “Mohegan Sun 100” will go green at 6:30 p.m. ET live on FloRacing. Fans can subscribe to FloRacing by clicking here.
The full entry list for Saturday's Mohegan Sun 100 can be found below.
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NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at New Hampshire Schedule
Friday, June 21 | |
Time | Event |
10:30AM | NWMT Haulers Enter |
11:15AM | Technical Inspection Begins |
2:30 - 3:30pm | NWMT Practice |
5:45PM | NWMT Qualifying |
Saturday, June 22 | |
Time | Event |
2:00PM | Garage Opens |
2:30PM | Driver/crew chief meeting |
6:30PM | NWMT Race (100 laps) |
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at New Hampshire Entry List
Car No. | Driver | Crew Chief |
00 | Andy Jankowiak | Steve Mendoza |
01 | Melissa Fifield | Jake Marosz |
1 | Patrick Emerling | Dale Hedquist |
3 | Jake Johnson | Greg Fournier |
4 | Tim Connolly | Cale Gale |
06 | Sam Rameau | Jimbo Boccanfuso |
7 | Doug Coby | Tommy Baldwin Jr. |
8 | John-Michael Shenette | TBA |
15 | Joey Cirpriano III | Ryan Plourde |
16 | Ron Silk | Phil Moran |
17 | Anthony Nocella | Michele Davini |
18 | Ken Heagy | Greg Gorman |
19 | Anthony Sesely | James Archibald |
22 | Kyle Bonsignore | Cam McDermott |
26 | Gary McDonald | Chad McDonald |
32 | Tyler Rypkema | Zach Truesdail |
36 | Dave Sapienza | Greg Kleila |
38 | Luke Baldwin | Neal Cantor |
40 | Ryan Preece | Jeff Preece |
43 | Matt Kimball | William Kimball Jr. |
44 | Chase Dowling | Daniel Gamache |
46 | Craig Lutz | Douglas Ogiejko |
51 | Justin Bonsignore | Ryan Stone |
54 | Tommy Catalano | Rick Kluth |
56 | Trevor Catalano | David Catalano |
58 | Eric Goodale | Jason Shephard |
64 | Austin Beers | Ron Yuhas |
70 | Andy Seuss | Steve Seuss |
79 | Jon McKennedy | John Lowinski |
84 | Tyler Catalano | JJ Vece |
89 | Matt Swanson | Gary Casella |
114 | Bobby Santos III | Bill Putney |
128 | Mike Marshall | Kevin Ledoux |
