Rowan Pennink Wins Exit Realty Modified Touring Series Event At Monadnock Speedway

Rowan Pennink celebrates victory in the Exit Realty Modified Touring Series event Saturday at Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, N.H. (Photo: Jim DuPont)

Rowan Pennink has had plenty of notable accomplishments behind the wheel of a Modified over the past decade.

Saturday the Huntingdon Valley, Pa. driver got another first.

Pennink won the 125-lap Exit Realty Modified Tour Series event Saturday at Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, N.H.

It was the first series victory for Pennink, a regular on the Whelen Modified Tour and a former Valenti Modified Racing Series champion and the current two-time defending SK Modified division champion at Stafford Motor Speedway.

Woody Pitkat of Stafford was second and Eric Goodale of Riverhead, N.Y. third in the 15-car field at Monadnock.

Pennink went by Goodale for the lead on lap 109 with Pitkat following to second place a lap later.

Comments

  1. 15 cars. Enough said. VMRS had 18 cars last night. Again, we all saw this coming. MTS gets tour guys but no one else. VMRS gets a lot of kids and low dollar teams but no tour guys. Is there a reason for this? Hard to imagine both continuing like this in 2018.

    I wasn’t making that long drive for 15 cars. I wonder if Monadnock wishes they had just kept the tour date. Those races always packed the house.

    Anywho, two awesome races this week at Star and Seekonk. Both should be outstanding. $25 to get into Star this time. Admission prices going in the right direction there.

  2. Who cares. Until this series starts tearing down motors it means nothing. Go win on the tour then you will get recognition. SK series at Stafford is the same thing. The guys with the money to pay the engine builders will always win. Then they run 10th on the tour.

  3. This is the best race I ever seen
    This series is awesome
    15 cars was great to see
    I drove 3 hours and would drive 8 to see this one

  4. The 88 had there motor taken twice a couple years ago on the tour ,they’re not taking it any more

  5. I agree with you Barry.
    To many Modified Tours with no rules enforcement. ROC, MTS, MRS and Tri-Track with no tech.
    They find someone cheating and they let it go. Oh someone deleted that rule. LOL

    It’s all watered down. What a shame.

  6. Stan, you hit the nail on the head. So Matt Hirshman would rather run at some dump track for 2500 to win rather than show up at Loudon for 8k to win and actually get credibility? Yea…..ok. All these guys that win in these bottom feeder series are all just feeding their ego (or daddy’s ego) running these races. Patrick Emerling has my respect now. He earned it. All these other guys…..not so much.

  7. You can have all the motor in the world if you can’t make a car turn or keep it from burning the tires it means nothing . I say run whatever you want as long as it has a carb- er- tracer.

  8. knucklesmahoney says

    Name one series, where the director asked car owners to change their number for a race so certain people who were not there could get championship points? This series is a freaking joke. And 15 cars at Monadnock, while MRS gets 18 all the way up in Maine.

  9. Any drivers run both? I mean if they didn’t schedule both series on the same day would it have made a huge difference?

  10. The reason Matt would rather run the “dump track” for $2,500 to win is because he can’t afford a $47,000 NASCAR spec engine to earn credibility. Do the math, you need to win 6 races that pay 8k to win just to cover the engine investment. And how many WMT tour races pay 8k to win? Now let’s also take travel expenses, tires and race fuel from the purse and the cost of freshening the spec engine. So my guess is he will never cover the investment because you need 2 spec engines to run the entire season, $94,000 right out of the box. That kinda answeres the question for me why he does what he does.

  11. Just another case of too many touring divisions hurting us fans with short car counts and the race tracks as well. Sure glad I decided to spend the night watching the Bristol Taxi Cab race. We pay good money to see full fields and 15 or 18 cars IMO should be a consi or B-main race. I’m sure the tracks will be much more careful in scheduling next year. My bet is that “IF” there are still two (MRS & VMRS) basically the same Mod Touring Series going head to head against each other they may pass on both of them. As a fan I am surely not going to pay $30 +/- to see a 15 or 18 feature/ consi/ heat race regardless who is in the race unless its Tony Stewart or someone else that is guaranteed to put on a show worth watching.

  12. Humphrey you are full of crap, the Breuneau motor he is running cost more than a Spec does. His motor that you think isn’t competitive enough is beating Spec Motors at all of these races. He has to freshen that Breuneau motor just as much as anybody on the tour, he runs just as many laps if not more. He travels all over the place so trying to save money from traveling has no merit at all. Plenty of tour races pay 8 grand or more to win.

  13. 15 cars, that’s not so bad on a shorter track is it? Maybe it is. I’m thinking 18 cars is kind of the base number before it gets into Ripoffville. Looking forward to VMRS at Stafford on September 1st. The perfect distance, 80 laps and no competing series races to be found on that date. Predicted car count- pretty darned good. Should be great.

  14. Fast Eddie says

    Yes it was 15 cars… BUT you had guys like Pennick, Pitkat, Goodale, Alexander, Savory, & Pasteryak. 5 of 6 with wins at Monadnock, 4 of 6 past VMRS champs, 3 of 6 past WMT race winners, and 2 of 6 were VMRS champs more than once. You also had Tommy Barrett, MTS winner this year at Seekonk, which I think had the MTS’ largest field. This was a race of quality, not quantity. Great battles up front the whole race. There was also two Sportsman Modified features with 22 cars.
    McKennedy was running ISMA and I think Preece was at Bowman Gray. If not for the VMRS in Maine, I would bet Nocella, Masse, and Willis might have been at Monadnock.

  15. This division has very precise rules.no driver cheats its just they are faster because the have lead fert

  16. Crazy in NY says

    Matt runs the Pee Dee 60 in selected Tour races for an owner down in South Carolina. That car
    was built to be competitive on the NASCAR Tour and it has the Spec engine for power. You have to
    today to keep up. MTS vs MRS is really American Racer vs Hoosier. There is room for both but no,
    for sure, they should no schedule races on the same night. Matt’s 60 wins on the short tracks and bullrings because he makes it turn better than everybody else. Not because of some engine tricks,
    BIG carbs or officials letting him run light as some of you geniuses have suggested. Go and watch
    the thing turn. That’s why he wins.

  17. I agree, Matt’s advantage is not motor. He’s winning at tracks that are half throttle. Let’s see what Preece has for him on Wednesday(or Thursday).

    Larry nailed it. You can’t charge $30 or so dollars for tickets and have 15-18 cars show. That’s what MTS averages. They had 25 at Seekonk but that was also 3 weeks before the Open show. Some teams may have been using that event to get ready for the Tri Track race. They haven’t come close to that since. VMRS isn’t much better. It’s just easier to wait for this week with Star and Seekonk offering big events with full fields and name drivers. The too many series factor is catching up to these tours. MTS promised the world to us and have undelivered. Teams don’t seem interested. If they aren’t why should the fans show interest.

  18. Masse raced at Waterford in a sk.

  19. The points thing is a mess, if Mckenedy or Preece won the championship because of these shenanigans over a car that was there every race, somebody needs to be punched in the face and thrown in jail for fraud. Everybody knew the schedule, Preece chose to run bowman gray over Monadnock, Mckennedy chose to race a Super somewhere else, who does that with a points championship on the line? Yes the rule was owner points for the championship, wich is exactly what the 25 committed to when Dowling won the race subbing for Pennik, it was the same car, crew ,etc. To put a decal on somebody else’s car to insure points is pathetic, if points were important enough they would of been there. I got a feeling that MR. Knight would love to Claim Preece or Mckennedy as his MTS Champion, Preece is buzzing in Nascar world, and Mckennedy has a deal with the Title Sponsor Exit Reality.

  20. Fast Eddie says

    For the record, I believe McKennedy is leading the ISMA points. However, if the owner gets the points, then it should be the owner’s car in the race, not someone else’s car with their number on it.

  21. A simple stop watch will tell you where he is faster . I suggest all you guys that think he’s cheating get one and see where he is fast . You can time cars on the straight and in the corners and that should give you the answer but it may not be the one you want . Those guys know how to make their cars turn and they know how to conserve tires two things that come from experience .

  22. Car counts, car counts, car counts. Always mentioning car counts when the first observation should be how was the crowd.
    Most people agree all these racing series are ticking time bombs in the long run. All I know is Stafford and for the management there the touring series must be a winner. The crowds are stronger then on a regular night and they take in a ton more money. How is it not successful in the short run. September 1st they’ll have the VMRS with fireworks and if the weather cooperates the place will have a great crowd with a ton of kids. I’m guessing the car count will be 20 plus. Tell me how that’s bad for just about anybody.

  23. Jim, are you saying all those winners and champions at the Seekonk Open don’t have the experience or tire conservation skills that Matt does? Race after carefully selected race, year after year after year he wins and you are saying nothing is up? He’s won 4 out of 6 Star races going away. A track he runs ONCE a year (twice this year). Its not like its home track where he might have a million laps on it. He’s also won Tri Track races at Lee and Waterford in the past. Again, once a year races. N-S Shootout too. All races with little to no tech. Nobody is that much better than everyone else on an even playing field. He’s beating elite champion teams too. I don’t buy the experience factor. Especially when his brother works for Gibbs racing.

  24. Wow rich, you having a bad day? Punch someone in the face? Violence accomplishes nothing. Maybe Matt should take a trip to Seekonk this Saturday night with that 60 car with the monster 18 degree and race with the tour guys, that is if the car can pass NASCAR tech.

  25. Tony Membrino says

    Speed51 shows a clip of Woody getting into Rowan and both going around. They both come from the back to finish 1-2 after that?

  26. Just a quick question. Of everyone who has posted on this topic how many of you were at Monadnock on Saturday?

  27. wmass01013 says

    Doug New England is Modified country but with the multiple series watering down competition the crowds wont last long! While from 1985 to 2010 I used to average 8-12 WMT races a year, last several years maybe 5, I have not attended any MRS or MTS races so far in 2017 but have considered many and still on the fence about upcoming ones. 3 factors go into my choice, PRICE, WEATHER AND ENTRY LIST. you have maybe 100-125 Modified teams between all series and add Riverhead, Mahonig Valley and Wall weekly guys. Shame we average 15-25 cars for most races in any series, and I think fans will stop going for the money being charged for watered down racing!

  28. Fast Eddie says

    Rowan spun with the 15 and Woody went to the back for causing it, but that was around lap 30. The 25 & 52 were back in the top 5 around lap 80 when they pitted. They restarted in the top 10 and went back up front from there. The 25 looked fast all through practice and heats as well. I was telling a couple of people to watch that car because it looked so strong.
    The 15 showed why young kids should not be running in a touring series. He unfortunately acted his age and threw a temper tantrum, intentionally hitting the 25 under caution. They black flagged him three times, and then let him continue. (?!?) He proceeded to spin another car and get one last warning before being damaged in a later restart.

  29. Great points NH, and if my memory serves me correctly it is always the same car, red 60?

  30. Matt will be at Seekonk in the 60. I think it’s the PeeDee 60 though.

  31. Crazy in NY says

    Especially when his brother works for Gibbs racing.

    Kyle Busch’s sponsor is the reason Matt dominates at Star?
    Emergency!!!…someone ship some oxygen to new Hampshire and soon.

    humphry dumpy did you fall off a wall and hit you’re head?
    Matt will be at Seekonk in the Pee Dee 60. A car built for the Tour just like
    Preece, Coby, Goodale and Bonsignore have.
    Holy sheet are you guys something else.

  32. getserious says

    Hey Fast Eddie, also don’t forget when the 15 just came full bore out of the pits back onto the track while the race was in full swing. Right past the pit-release flagman. You’d think the 2 yrold behind the wheel and the rest of his crew had never been to a race before! And then the immaturity of him to be smashing into a veteran like Pennink for a typical racing incident spin in the first quarter of a long race! How he is allowed to race with those guys is beyond me.

  33. Hey Crazy – Suggestion… Before you call someone else out on being an idiot you might check what you’re typing. Gibbs Racing ain’t Kyle Busch’s sponsor, it his car owner. Anyone who works for them MIGHT know a little something about making cars go fast … Not that I agree with Humphrey, because I have no knowledge of where his brother works or what they share for info.

  34. I didn’t say anything about a sponsor?? I’m saying he has access to parts and/or technology from JGR that makes his car go faster.

    Remember when Newman use to win every mod race he entered. To good to be true and then they are busted. It took Nascar three years to catch them. Same deal here. He has something the rest don’t. Maybe it’s legal, maybe its not but he doesn’t bring his car anywhere where people are going to look. He’s cashing the checks so more power to him. Just don’t tell me he has what everyone else has. There is a clear advantage.

    He won some of those races in the orange 59.

    Wmass, I go entry list, weather, ticket price. If they don’t post entry list ahead of time I don’t go.

  35. This need not be a tug of war wmass cause I basically agree with everything you have said. My only point concerns the only thing I am sure of. The tours seem to have helped Stafford for now. I’d be very interested to hear what the crowds are like at the tracks up north for the special shows.
    Another question. Does a tour race bring in outsiders to a track or does in heighten interest locally. The Whelen Modified Tour hands down is a regional happening. But the other tours. Don’t they just peek interest of the local fan base on a race by race basis? I see a lot of you guys have an astounding knowledge and loyalty to the big dog WMT and travel great distances to follow the series. Aren’t the other tours completely different animals?

  36. Crazy in NY says

    My typo notwithstanding ( sponsor should have been spotter..sorry) the suggestion from NH Mark
    that because Tony III works for Gibbs ( spots for KB) that somehow the 60 is magically faster then everybody. It’s just pure foolishness. Again one last time. McKennedy has beaten Matt at Star, Coby and Barrett have beaten him at Seekonk. What he was legal in those races? Fools abound on this site.

  37. Stop watch

  38. I’m not sure how many fans travel to follow the WMT.I will attend most tour events this year this year.I arrive for practice and must say it is pretty empty.By 6-7 p.m. the stands start to fill up but I get the sense that most folks are local. I don’t know the answer to Doug’s question.My guess is that it is indeed largely local for all of these tours and travelers are a smaller part of the pie.

  39. The first VMRS event at Stafford this year was weak, with several cars running out of gas because of all the yellows. And, attendance was not good. The first MTS race there this year was nothing to write home about either, with unimpressive attendance. I missed the 2nd MTS race at Stafford and can’t comment on it. All in all, I’m not sure Stafford is thrilled with either series. With the SKs putting in great shows week after week (often for $17.50 admission), I don’t think Stafford fans are begging for more VMRS or MTS “action”.

  40. wmass01013 says

    Doug I think the racing the SK’s are bringing with any ADDED mod tours, n matter which helps interest, if the action in the sk’s was boring or dominated by 1 team them people might not be going as much!
    Obviously the WMT being the oldest most established tour with by most people’s mind the best Teams, drivers, cars brings a following, but the WMT doesn’t bring in outsiders like yesteryear did, the ROC guys stay in NY/PA, the south guys stay at Bowman Gray, the MRS/MTS drivers stick to those series, No Evans, Kent, Cook, Spencer, McLaughlin, Worley, Brian Ross, Heveron, Hirschman, Tomaino, Blewetts, Jeff and Rick Fuller and MORE who would show up at any racetrack!

  41. Crazy, so are you telling me that the red 60 car that he runs in the Tri track series is a WMT legal car? That is the car that I was speaking about him racing at Seekonk Saturday night.

  42. To clarify I’m not saying the stands are packed for the VMRS, MTS and ISMA races. I’m saying the crowd is as big of bigger then on regular nights and given the ticket price increase I’m guessing it’s a win for the Stafford management. Otherwise Rafter fan I agree. I know I’m there for the SK’s and the regular night price of $17.50 is a great value. I guess we’ll see when next years schedule comes out if the trend is more, less or the same amount of special shows. I’ll bet dollars to donuts they pack the schedule with special events again.
    So the WMT races aren’t regional. Could have knocked me over with a feather. I see a ton of campers in Stafford parking lot and a clearly bigger crowd. Tee shirts with all the different WMT race driver loyalties on them and a completely different vibe. On the other hand Art is usually on point so I guess he has the right answer. Thanks.

  43. This series is 1st class
    I hope it keeps going it’s good for racing

  44. darealgoodfella says

    Hirschman wins on small tracks that are not horsepower tracks. End of that conversation.

  45. FALSE GOPDFELLA
    YA GOTTA STOP EMBARGO URESELF
    GOODFELLER
    HE RUNS GREAT ALL OVER SIR

  46. The published entry list for the VMRS at Stafford on 9/1 is pretty strong, and 80 laps is a good distance. So, it should be a much better event than the “out of gas” debacle at Stafford earlier this year.

  47. Doug,You certainly are right about the campers in the lots on two day weekend shows.Very few last week at Thompson and ditto Stafford Friday b4 that.I’m usually in the pit stands so that might skew my perspective.Before I retired I only could swing a couple of tour races plus the two at Riverhead.Still I think it’s safe to say most short track racing is local.My question is are Monadnock and Loudon local tracks for CT. folks?

  48. Crazy in NY says

    Jim, are you saying all those winners and champions at the Seekonk Open don’t have the experience or tire conservation skills that Matt does? Race after carefully selected race, year after year after year he wins and you are saying nothing is up?
    ???????????????????????????????????????????????? or he’s really good in that format
    Richie Evans 9 time Mod champ and how many wins? ( something’s up)
    Steve Kinser 20 time WoO champ and how many wins? (something’s up)
    Richard Petty 201 carrier wins 7 time champ (something’s up)
    shall I go on?….. something is up because nobody can really be good at what they do.
    Dipsticks!!!

  49. Fast Eddie says

    The PeeDee 60 will be at Seekonk. Hirschman ran it during practice last night but used his red 60 in the race at Star. I talked to a guy in the stands connected with Hirschman’s team and the red 60 is ROC legal with a “built” engine. The PeeDee 60 has a spec engine.

  50. Muddbus461 says

    Dareal,Matty wins at Oswego.last time I knew that was not a short track and pure horsepower is needed for the Steel palace.

  51. darealgoodfella says

    art, I’m in CT and Monadnock and Loudon are not considered local for me. Both are serval hours away. Stafford and Thompson are closest, maybe an hour for one, and hour and a half for the other, and that’s as local as it gets.

  52. 21 cars at Star for tri track. For tri track, that’s terrible.

  53. Fast Eddie says

    Rich, I hear you. I was surprised that the car count was rather slim by TriTrack standards. I wonder if it was because of it being a mid-week show in New Hampshire. The TriTrack events usually draw at least 30 cars. The SBM race had more cars, maybe because it was a Saturday race? I’d bet the Haunted Hundred at Seekonk has closer to 40 cars.

  54. What is local? Seems like that answer will be like what is a fair price for a ticket. Everyone has their own view and there is no wrong answer. For me it’s 35 minutes to Stafford. Knowing the drivers and teams at the track that race every week. I know little of any of the tours and if they appear at Stafford they are like fireworks. Additional entertainment to enjoy but I’m still more interested in the regular track divisions and you gotta know the SK’s for sure.

  55. I found out at Star the other night, multiple teams have overdrive in transmissions, how can that be legal? That is a form of traction control if you ask me

  56. Tri Track had 32 cars at the Seekonk Open in June. 21 on Wed is low but given it was a midweek show in NH it was what it was. I found the race entertaining despite the 60.
    Ive been to all three Tri Track races. Nobody has even passed the 60. Just saying… He’s banked north of 22k. Plus Waterford last fall. He’s gotta beat the big boys tomorrow on an even playing field.

  57. Yes and he has to beat them with a WMT legal tour mod that will have to pass inspection before and after the race………

  58. darealgoodfella says

    No columns on upcoming Seekonk?

  59. Sorry guys I would like to respond to you ‘s but my profanity laced words won’t pass tech here

  60. Why no columns since 8/20 Shawn?

  61. Going to call a silver alert for Shawn , seriously I hope everything is ok and your just enjoying some time off

  62. This is unacceptable to all of us.

    Please go back to work at once.

    Shawn you are suspended immediately for 5 days with out pay.

    In can take over if you want
    If it’s money please let me write a check
    I have no issues because of my ability to write checks..i have 3 people around me who I pay like 50 per year to make sure my ego Is good…one I pay to compliment me all day

  63. I love tacing

  64. Is Jeffery trump?

  65. darealgoodfella says

    art, Jeffrey can’t be Trump. Jeffrey can parse his phrases.

  66. I hear what your saying dareal

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