According to sources close to the Whelen Modified Tour, NASCAR is expected to announce within the next two weeks that Whelen Engineering of Chester will be the title sponsor for the special Whelen Modified Tour invitation-only non-points event for the division at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 11.
The event will be billed as the Whelen All-Star Shootout.
The 40-lap event will be part of the Oxford Casino Pole Day racing card on the Friday of the Sprint Cup Series Camping World RV Sales 301 weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The event will pay at least $4,500 to win, with contingencies. Teams will earn at least $800 to start with some special bonuses included for the event.
NASCAR will announce that the special event will be run in two 20-lap segments. The field for the event will be capped at 20 drivers. The starting lineup for the first segment will be set by a random draw. Before the second segment, a decision will be made to invert the lineup by between 4 and 10 positions. There will be a caution between segments to reset the lineup, but the laps run will not be counted toward the race total of 40. There will be no pit stops.
Eligibility to make the will field will include current and past champions of the Whelen Modified Tour and Whelen Southern Modified Tour. Also included will be the 2013 Whelen Modified Tour and Whelen Southern Modified Tour Sunoco Rookie of the Year award winners. Any remaining spots in the 20-car field will be filled by drivers with the most wins in in either series since 2005 through June 20, 2014 who do not already meet eligibility criteria.
The Whelen All-Star Shootout will be televised by FOX Sports. Broadcast are expected to be announced at a later date.
Sooooo….the first segment is a race to finish 4th??? WTH
Sad that the tritrack series pays better than this show. Far cry compared to the cup allstar race
I wonder if this will cause any problems with guys making it back to Stafford.
The redraw will range from at least the top four positions to up to the top 10
So what makes this better? Another dumb idea by NASCAR for the mods. The criteria could leave out a rookie standout with say 5 second place finishes to start the season. Why cap at 20? To limit the purse? It’s going to be embarrassing to have 6 cars racing for the last green white checker.
Right, So the first segment is a race to not finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd…..again….WTH.
so I guess nascar doesn’t care about guys trying to make it back to Stafford to race in the “nascar weekly racing series”. Man they are out of touch
Modfan,
The race is scheduled for 2:10 pm on Friday, which should leave plenty of time for a safe return to Stafford Speedway for racing that evening.
Winning Saturday still pays a heck of a lot more. Logic suggests you park your car on Friday if you have a solid piece for the 100 lapper.
Why bother racing? That purse wont even cover the cost of a sandwich! No wonder so many have dropped out.