Statistical Advance: Whelen Modified Tour Sunoco World Series 150 At Thompson Speedway

(Press Release from NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications)

Whelen Modified Tour driver Justin Bonsignore goes to Thompson Speedway looking for his second consecutive series victory at the track and trying to chase down Doug Coby in the series standings (Photo: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images for NASCAR)

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour makes its fourth and final stop of the season at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in Thompson, Connecticut, for the season-ending Sunoco World Series 150 presented by XtraMart on Sunday, October 16. Below is a look at the race itself and some of the selected race participants.

Sunoco World Series 150 Race Setup:
This marks the fourth NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race in 2016 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. The track has held 133 Whelen Modified Tour races, the most of any track in series history. Three-time Whelen Modified Tour champion Doug Coby can clinch a fourth series title by finishing 16th or better after winning the most recent event at Stafford Motor Speedway.

At Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
History
• The track opened in 1940 and was immediately dubbed “The Indianapolis of the East” because its .625-mile, banked layout dwarfed all others in the northeast at the time.
• In 1951, Neil Cole won the first NASCAR Grand National division race at the track, driving a 1950 Oldsmobile. NASCAR Hall of Fame member David Pearson won a Grand National event at Thompson in 1969.
• The facility plays host to four NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events each season, including the season opener and the season finale. It also has a full accompanying road course that hosts non-NASCAR events throughout the year.

Notebook
• There have been 133 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races held at Thompson, more than any other track has hosted.
• Thompson is one of two tracks to have hosted the Whelen Modified Tour in every single season since its inception in 1985.
• Mike Stefanik owns 15 career wins at Thompson, most of any driver. Doug Coby and Bobby Santos lead all active drivers with five wins apiece at the track.
• There have been 44 different pole winners at Thompson, led by Tony Hirschman’s 13 career poles at the track.
• Jamie Tomaino is the only driver to have started all 133 previous events at Thompson.

Thompson Data
Race: #17 of 17 overall
Race Date: Sunday, October 16, at 3:45 p.m. ET
Track Layout: .625-mile banked asphalt oval
Race Length: 150 laps (93.8 miles)

Qualifying/Race Data
2015 Winner: Doug Coby
2015 Pole Sitter: Doug Coby
1-lap Qualifying Record: 123.376 mph (Bobby Santos, April 2011)
150-lap Race Record: 96.429 mph (Mike Stefanik, August 2003)

Active Category Leaders at Thompson
Wins
1. Doug Coby … 5
Bobby Santos … 5
3. Ron Silk … 4
Justin Bonsignore … 4

Poles
1. Doug Coby … 7
2. Bobby Santos … 5
3. Donny Lia … 4
Ryan Preece … 4

Top Fives
1. Jamie Tomaino … 20
2. Ron Silk … 17
3. Doug Coby … 16

Top 10s
1. Jamie Tomaino … 49
2. Doug Coby … 28
3. Todd Szegedy … 27

Laps Led
1. Doug Coby … 846
2. Donny Lia … 645

Starts
1. Jamie Tomaino … 133
2. Wade Cole … 87
3. Doug Coby … 49

Selected Driver Highlights
Jimmy Blewett (No. 4 Starrett Dodge)
• Is ranked eighth in the standings headed into this week with one win, six top-5 and 11 top-10 finishes in 14 races.
• Won the third of four races this season at Stafford Motor Speedway for his first win since 2009.
• Has two career poles and 11 top 10s in 32 career Thompson starts.
• Missed the race at Oswego in September due to illness.

Justin Bonsignore (No. 51 M3 Technology Chevrolet)
• Sits second in the Whelen Modified Tour standings with three wins, 12 top fives and 13 top 10s in 16 starts.
• Has won three of the last seven races on the schedule and has the most top-five finishes of any driver on the tour this season with 12.
• Can win his first career Whelen Modified Tour championship by winning the race and leading the most laps and having Doug Coby finish 17th or worse.
• Has wins at Thompson and Riverhead this season and won for the first time in his career at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September.
• Has four career Thompson wins, including the most recent race at the track in August.

Doug Coby (No. 2 Dunleavy’s Repair Chevrolet)
• Three-time Whelen Modified Tour champion leads the standings this season with five wins, 10 top fives and 13 top 10s in 16 races this season.
• Can clinch his fourth career championship by finishing 16th or better on Sunday, regardless of what Bonsignore does.
• Is seventh on the all-time win list with 22 career victories.
• Has five career wins at Thompson, along with 16 top fives and 28 top 10s in 49 career starts at the track.
• Has won four consecutive poles at Thompson and won all four races at the track in 2015.
• Won this race from the pole last season.

Chase Dowling (No. 9 S&S Asphalt Paving/Dunleavy’s Chevrolet)
• Sits ninth in the current standings with three top fives and seven top 10s in 16 races this season.
• Finished a season-best fourth in the third Stafford race this season.
• Has finished 11th or better in seven of his last eight starts, including a fifth-place run in the most recent race at Stafford.
• Has one top 10 in seven career Thompson starts.

Eric Goodale (No. 58 GAF Roofing/RBSCorp.com Chevrolet)
• Sits seventh in the current standings with one win, four top fives and nine top 10s through 16 races.
• Won at Bristol Motor Speedway in August for his second career win.
• Has 13 top 10s in 27 career starts at Thompson.

Donny Lia (No. 8 Sypher Construction/Bardahl Chevrolet)
• Two-time Tour champion has 17 career wins.
• Sits sixth in the current series standings with four top fives and nine top 10s in 16 races.
• Has three career wins and four career poles at Thompson, where he ranks second among active drivers with 645 laps led.

Bobby Santos III (No. 44 Tinio Corp./Curb Records Chevrolet)
• Ranks 12th in the current standings with one win, three top fives and six top 10s in 16 races this season. Two of his three top fives this season came at Thompson.
• Won the the second Thompson race this season and also won the non-points Whelen All-Star Shootout at New Hampshire.
• Has five wins and five poles in 38 career starts at Stafford. With 21 career top 10s at the track, he’s finished in the top 10 more than 55 percent of the time there.

Ron Silk (No. 82 Horton Avenue Materials Chevrolet)
• Sits fifth in the current standings with one win, four top fives and nine top 10s through 16 races.
• 2011 Whelen Modified Tour champion won at New London-Waterford Speedbowl in May.
• Has four wins and one pole in 43 career starts at Thompson.
• With 27 top 10s at Thompson, has finished in the top 10 at the track 62.8 percent of the time.

Timmy Solomito (No. 16 Diversified Metals/R.B. Enterprises Ford)
• Sits third in the current standings with four wins, eight top fives and 10 top 10s in 16 races.
• Won at Seekonk for his fourth career win, and has also won at Thompson, Monadnock and Riverhead this season.
• Has one win and nine top 10s in 13 career Thompson starts.

Max Zachem (No. 20 Lu-Mac’s Package Store Chevrolet)
• Sits fourth in the current standings with two top fives and 11 top 10s in 16 races.
• One of only four drivers to post 11 or more top-10 finishes this season.
• Has four top 10s in nine career Thompson starts with a career-best finish of second at the track in June.

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 five wins, Solomito has four wins, and Bonsignore has won three times. Bobby Santos, Ron Silk, Jimmy Blewett and Eric Goodale have also won races.