(Press Release from New Hampshire Motor Speedway)
Doug Coby (2) and Ryan Preece (6) battle during a Whelen Modified Tour race in July at NHMS (Photo: Fran Lawlor)
LOUDON, N.H. – Two of the most storied racing series in New Hampshire Motor Speedway history will return in 2017, as speedway officials announced today that the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will hit the 1.058-mile track for four combined races during the 2017 major NASCAR weekends in July and September.
“The Whelen Modified Tour has been an integral part of the racing docket for many years and I couldn’t be happier to have them on our schedule again for next year,” said David McGrath, executive vice president and general manager of the speedway. “We know how important these races are to our fans. The mods never fail to deliver a show-stopping event and the K&N Pro Series East holds the keys to the future of our sport. The 2017 race season at New Hampshire Motor Speedway can’t get here soon enough.”
The Whelen Modified Tour will race twice in July and once in September. The mighty mods will drop the green flag on the fourth annual All-Star Shootout on Friday, July 14. The mods will also hold two 100-lap point races, on Saturday, July 15 and Saturday, Sept. 23.
The K&N Pro Series East will fire up the engines on Saturday, July 15 with the 71st running of the United Site Services 70.
All four races will be part of the 2017 NASCAR major event weekend docket that already includes the July 15 XFINITY Series Lakes Region 200, the July 16 Sprint Cup Series New Hampshire 301, the Sept. 23 Camping World Truck Series UNOH 175, and the Sept. 24 Sprint Cup Series New England 300.
New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s Ticket Tuesday promotion is well underway and will be running through Dec. 27. Ticket Tuesday gives ticket holders the chance to win one of six once-in-a-lifetime experiences for next year’s July 16 New Hampshire 301 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Winners will be selected from current New Hampshire 301 ticket holders at the time of the drawing, so the sooner you buy, the more chances you’ll have to win. Anyone that has already purchased tickets will be automatically entered each week.
In the meantime, be sure to catch the Gift of Lights, which is open daily at New Hampshire Motor Speedway from 4:30-9:00 p.m. Tickets for the Gift of Lights can be purchased online at www.nhms.com/giftoflights or at the gate. Patrons who bring three or more canned goods will receive a discount on their Gift of Lights admission.
ACT race I hope????
I’m not a fan of the All star race. It doesn’t make much sense since crowd is smaller than the saturday event and the drivers really cant go “all out” because they have to race their car the next day. Kind gesture for the series to have a special event but it really holds no value.
I think the All Star race would be a perfect “pre-race activity” on Sunday before the Cup race. It might even sell a few more Sunday tickets.
Paul T, nothing’s been said one way or the other about the ACT Invitational as far as I’ve seen. It’s not on next year’s ACT schedule but I wouldn’t be shocked to see them add it after the fact. On the other hand, the last two years, they’ve had high-profile drivers decline their invites (Scott Payea came to mind this year, then Wayne Helliwell withdrew due to illness), and they’ve had to dig deep to fill the raceday roster. In addition, the race wraps up at about the limit of raceable daylight, provided there aren’t any lengthy cautions. I love seeing the ACT stars duke it out on a big stage, but I could understand if it got a quiet burial, too.