Multiple sources have confirmed that Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, N.H. and Lee USA Speedway in Lee, N.H. both remain as possible facilities that could end up on the 2021 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule.
Monadnock Speedway was not on the original 2020 Whelen Modified Tour schedule, but ultimately ended up being one of four additional events added to the schedule after the COVID-19 global pandemic restrictions came into play earlier this year. Monadnock ended up hosting the Whelen Modified Tour for an Aug. 29 event this year, which was won by eventual series champion Justin Bonsignore.
Lee USA Speedway has not hosted a Whelen Modified Tour event since July 1998.
Monadnock Speedway and Lee USA Speedway are both owned by longtime Northeast racing competitor Norm Wrenn Jr. The Wrenn family was rocked last week by the untimely passing of Norm Wrenn III, who was the president of Lee USA Speedway and also deeply involved in management of Monadnock Speedway.
Sources told RaceDayCT that negotiations for a 2021 Whelen Modified Tour event at Monadnock were close to an agreement before the passing Norm Wrenn III, with the track looking at either an early June or late July event.
Sources also said negotiations concerning a Whelen Modified Tour event at Lee in 2021 had been in the very early stages of talk between track management and NASCAR before last week.
Monadnock Speedway consultant Jeff Zuidema was not available for comment on Monday morning. Whelen Modified Tour series director Jimmy Wilson declined to comment on current negotiations.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour has run 13 times at Monadnock Speedway since the series’ inception in 1985. The division ran one event each year from 1985 to 1990 at Monadnock. There was a 20 year layoff in between events at the facility before the division returned in 2010. The series ran one event annually at the track from 2010 to 2016.
The Whelen Modified Tour has run five times at Lee USA Speedway running one event annually from 1993-96 and returning to the track for the last event in 1998, which was won by Ed Flemke Jr.
Currently the Whelen Modified Tour is not on the schedule for the NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resorts Casino 301 weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which is scheduled for July 16-18. There’s a prevailing thought that should the Whelen Modified Tour not land on the Cup Series weekend schedule at Loudon, an event at Lee USA Speedway could be an attractive replacement for series organizers. Lee USA Speedway is about 35 miles southeast of New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.
Six events for the 2021 Whelen Modified Tour season have been announced. NASCAR announced has Whelen Modified Tour events at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (April 8), Lancaster (N.Y) Speedway on July 31 and Richmond Raceway (Sept. 10). Stafford Speedway has announced three Whelen Modified Tour events for 2021 on Wednesday on April 25, Aug. 6 and Sept. 25.
Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway management has confirmed that they will have two events on the Whelen Modified Tour schedule. Jennerstown (Pa.) Speedway is also expected to host one series event next year. NASCAR has not an announced an expected release date for the full 2021 Whelen Modified Tour schedule.
Late July? The only available date in late July is July 24th. The night of the SBM 125. I don’t see Monadnock, host of two TT races themselves doing that. No need to do that.
My original idea was TT to run Lee the night before the WMT at Loudon. I still think the WMT will be at Loudon. You all poo pooed that idea but it sounds like it could happen the other way around if NHMS falls through. Either way, that date is primed for Lee to do something big.
Based on all this info I have WMMP on July 3rd or July 10th now. Someone somewhere reported that race will be in July. I assume all the NH tracks can play nice, especially after last week’s events.
Seekonk is lone remaining domino for me. I think they have their date.
Doesn’t really matter what people put on paper now. Covid, it’s progression, and the restrictions it causes will determine when and where races are held, with maybe the exception of Cup.
The tour needs to get a new sponsor that pays real money. The sprint cars havens and they pay over 40k for a 50 lap race.9 ook
I want to understand all that stuff on the scheduling, only dates available and the rest but am completely lost. So far I see only Star and Stafford publishing schedules. Indications, inklings and speculation abound but so far Tri Track, the NWMT, MRS and The Racing Guys have not firmed up anything. The Michaud /Mayberry have plans but it isn’t official is it? Waterford will probably do something with open modifieds so where do they fit in to all this.
I’d like to speculate on the scheduling because it’s a good way to kill time in the off season. At this point it almost impossible to make an educated guess isn’t it?
If you’re the schedule guy be a mensch. Get everyone up to speed by providing a forecast listing the dates and races by month, track and sanctioning group so we can all play at the game together. What would really be cool is notations for confirmed, likely and best guess.
Give it some thought. It could be fun.
OMG JD, let’s not have a hissy fit because the tracks aren’t creating schedules to your liking. I don’t believe the tracks really care about your ideas as well. This is about what is financially best for them, not for you, something you can’t seem to embrace.
All schedules are tentative at best with COVID 19 spreading like wildfire throughout the country and States will make the final determination when racing resumes based on the restrictions in place.
No offense to Lee fans but to have the WMT there but not Thompson is a travesty.
So 2020 i kinda don’t understand your comment, IF THE NEW PROMOTERS of Thompson want 6 Open races and don’t want a WMT race and Mr Wrenn does at Lee, whats A TRAVESTY?
Doug, they had an “early dates released” list in one of the racing papers. Dates for TriTrack are 5/1Monadnock, 5/29 Star, 6/30 Seekonk, 7/24 Star, 8/14 Monadnock, & 10/23 Seekonk. Thompson dates are 4/9-11, 6/16, 7/7, 8/11, 9/8, and World Series. MRS dates so far are 6/19 Beech Ridge, 7/31 Wiscasset, & 9/17 Star. Of course, I’m sure this is subject to change based on NASCAR and COVID.
Earl, I won’t lie, I am trying to book my island trips around these schedules. Having said that, I had to listen to a month of hissy fits last July when Nascar and TT scheduled races for the same day(July 4th). If it’s about to happen again you don’t think that’s news??
Starting to feel like a New Hampshire heavy summer for both the WMT and TT. Winning!
The biggest travesty would be to have no Whelen modified races at NHMS. I have already made my peace with loosing Thompson. Their tour type opens certainly soften the blow. I am just happy they are opening next year.
I am surprised they are considering going to Lee given how tough the track is on tires. The MRS had some horrible shows there as everyone was running half throttle saving tires and they only run 100 laps though they are all green flag laps. I would assume the tour would do their standard 150 laps. Tire wear could become a big issue. I havent seen a Nascar Modified tour race at Lee. I hope it happens but dont want to see it replace NHMS.
I believe open mods and nascar mods use different types of tires so maybe that will have an effect on how tire wear would go at Lee.
APRIL
2, 3, 4
8 THURS NWMT MARTINSVILLE T
9 TSMP, 10 TSMP, 11 TSMP T
16 NHMS, 17 NHMS, 18 NHMS S
23, 24, (25 SMS SIZZLER) S
30
MAY
(1 TTOMS MONADNOCK), 2 T
(14 SMS OPEN), 15, 16 S
21, 22, 23
28, (29 TTOMS STAR), 30 T
JUNE
4, 5, 6
9 WED MRS BEECH RIDGE T
(11 SMS OPEN), 12 ,13 S
16 WED TSMP OPEN T
18, 19, 20
25, 26, 27
30 WED TTOMS SEEKONK T
JULY
2, 3, 4
7 WED TSMP OPEN T
(9 SMS OPEN), 10, 11 S
16,17,18
23, (24 TTOMS STAR), 25 S
30, (31 MRS WISCONSET) (NWMT LANCASTER) MRS S, NWMT T
AUGUST
1
(6 SMS NWMT), 7 ,8 S
11 WED TSMP OPEN T
13,(14 TTOMS MONADNOCK), 15 T
(20 SMS OPEN), 21, 22 S
27,28,29
SEPTEMBER
2,3,4
8 WED TSMP OPEN T
(10 NWMT RICHMOND),11,12 T
(17 MRS STAR), 18, 19 S
24, (25 SMS OPEN), 26 S
OCTOBER
1,2,3
8 TSMP,9 TSMP,10 TSMP T
15,16,17
22,(23 TTOMS SEEKONK), 24 T
29,30,
Schedule defined as published on series or track web site. Tentative everything else
There will only be a tour race at NHMS if fans are allowed.
With Covid ravaging the whole country right now, allot of what happens next year will depend on vaccines. From everything I’ve read and seen, the vast majority of the population won’t even start to be vaccinated until May or June so I can see the hesitance to book a tour race for cup weekend in July.
We are on the fringe of another shutdown. With no Federal aid in sight, and no signs of Don taking any action we’re screwed at least until late January, early February at least which is going to tank the economy again.
The track could announce that there will be a race, put tickets on sale, then cancel the race because of low ticket sales.
It’s just way to sketchy, and makes me think there won’t be a tour race on cup weekend.
And who goes to the islands in July? Isn’t that something normal people do during the winter?
Can always check out the open race in April, if that even happens.
MASK UP PEOPLE!
Thanks for putting out the tour type mod schedule. I didnt even know MRS released a couple of dates already.
Great job on the dates Doug.
I can’t see people choosing to have the WMT at Lee over Thompson. Lee sucks for tour mods. Thompson is awesome for tour mods.