There is some speculation that the Whelen Modified Tour could return to Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, N.H. in 2022. What are your thoughts on that possibility? Vote below.
There have been nine different winners over 15 SK Modified events at Stafford Speedway in 2021? Who do you think has the best chance to became the 10th winner this season? Vote below.
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I remember the 1990 Tour race at Monadnock. The Reg was set to Dominate but breaks a rear end early in race. Tamaino ends up winning the race and title that year…. The Reg was Da Man!!
I think there was an actual on-the-track pass for the lead once when the Tour was at Monadnock, but I’m not sure.
So there are never any racing passes for the lead on the NWMT?…Using words like “I think” and “but I’m not sure” will help validate your point.
I thought the wmt races i saw there were really good. You wont see multiple lead changes per lap on a 1/4 mile, but i thought was really cool watching the A cars trying to lap the B cars who were trying to lap the C cars. Also watching A cars pass B cars battling for position. Good racing in my view!!
Ironically this news comes a year and a day after the last tour race at Monadnock. A Sunday afternoon affair last Aug 29th. The track was jam packed that day. Monadnock has had a lot of bad luck with touring series this year so I am not terribly surprised by this report. Hopefully the track and Nascar can seal the deal.
In 2012 George Silberman who was point man for NASCAR with the modifieds made a deal with Terry Eames to lower some of the barriers including the purse to get a race at the Speedbowl in return for reduced laps. The laps were 161, it became a Richie Evans memorial race thanks to an idea by Doug Coby and was hugely successful.
Point is NASCAR made a deal in better times and makes deals now more then ever. NASCAR needs it and Monadnock may be willing to listen because even with Tri Track those new stands they built were underutilized. This may not be as far fetched as it may seem at first blush.
Only 19 cars at Beech Ridge, and a few of them were locals. The “Tour” is dying the death of a thousand cuts. With more open shows each year, it seems it’s cheaper to run an open car, and for the most part the payouts are good money. Have you noticed more and more “Tour” drivers are running in open shows
Doug I see your point BUT making the deal or FLASH races lower the purse to be paid out, It seems everyone thinks NASCAR has billions of $$$$ and should Pay Big purses out but LOWER the fee for the track to get a race, Jimmy Wilson has a job to Book races, he has bosses he has to listen too, i am sure he would Love STAFFORD, THOMPSON, MAD DOG and many other New England tracks to have a race, if you saw the crowds at Lancaster, Stafford Aug. 6 and Beech Ridge, they all were pretty packed, i think Mad Dog would be too but look at the outcry teams gave at Flash purses and Myrtle Beach last yr!.
Did you see the posy by Jimmy Wilson saying last yr during pandemic season, NASCAR PAID $220,000 POINT fund out, DID any other series?????????????
wmass01013,
Just for clarification because you make it sound as if NASCAR dips into their personal savings piggy bank fund to pay the point fund. The bulk of the point fund is made up of money put up by the series sponsor and funds NASCAR collects from the tracks that put on events through sanctioning fees and purse requirements. It’s kind of the double-edged sword right now. The cost demands from NASCAR have made it so most short tracks aren’t interested in putting the series on anymore. So yes, it’s great that NASCAR “pays” (collects the money from sponsor and tracks, holds onto it, awards teams after the season) a nice point fund, and that’s great for teams, it’s also an economic model that has devastated the schedule and made it nearly impossible to find short track operators interested in putting on series events.
If we are talking car counts Oswego is going to have a strong count. BSIII, Austin Beers in the 64. Gary Putnam in the 77. Mike Leaty and Chuck Hossfeld too. All cars that weren’t at Beech Ridge. The PeeDee 60 will also be there.
Star recently announced a $20,000 to win Late Model/Pro Stock race for 2022. Total purse $78,000. Apparently purses of that nature aren’t as economically devasting as some would believe if a place like Star can pull it off.
TJ,
Purses of that nature aren’t economically devastating if the track operator feels like they can turn a profit within the parameters of what they need to put out financially to make the event happen. Obviously most track operators right now don’t feel like they can make the economic model of the Whelen Modified Tour work. Or is it some other reason you know of why there’s only one short track operator in New England currently interested in hosting the series?
I didn’t make anything sound like anything, i am just repeating what Jimmy Wilson posted on facebook, where or how NASCAR gets the point fund money is their business, i just asked does any other series do that?? i disagree with all your doom n gloom thinking!!!
This is all good stuff. Yes the economic model is outdated and yes there is a multi layered hierarchy in NASCAR that limits the flexibility at the Jimmy Wilson level making is appear clunky and unresponsive.
It is impressive what the NWMT pays out in purses and the points fund. However if the goal of doing so is to attract more competitors then the business model is broken.
The broken part seems fairly well established. The only question now is if the NASCAR bureaucracy is capable or even wants to make the changes necessary that make their product more attractive to local tracks or the less attractive alternative. Just muddling along like they are patching events into a schedule with chewing gum and baling wire, making the money they can then letting the series die as an inevitable change in the racing landscape. That’s a strategy too.
Forget the NWMT for a second. We’re getting to that time when tracks and sanctioning groups assess the year they’ve had and start to think about what they want to do next year. This year well over 30 tour type modified events were scheduled including events by Michaud & Mayberry, Stafford, the NWMT, Tri Track and the MRS. Is that too many?
Who wouldnt want to have more Whelen Tour races in the geographic region. These teams need some low travel shows to help the budget and offset some of the significant travel shows. I have seen some great modified shows at Monadnock.
TJ thanks for pointing out the Star Speedway pro stock SLM show. I missed the announcement. There are now about 4 10k to win SLM shows in the Northeast with Oxford 250, GPSS claremont, PASS Seekonk, and this Star 200 show . Not sure how many Tour Type mods 10k+ shows we have, Off the top of my head I can think of Seekonk OWW, Star SBM, Thompson 300, Whelen NHMS am I missing any? Full fender racing is making a comeback in the Northeast..
LEE has a 10k to win Pro Stock SLM race. I think its coming up maybe next Friday.
When NASCAR was the only game in town for tour-type Modifieds, the tracks were more willing to take a chance at having one. Also, at that time the WMT was a little more economical for race teams to chase the championship, as there were more races in a smaller geographical area. Now many races require a ton of travel (read $$$) to do them all, and the Open events are readily available locally. That’s not taking COVID into account, when at the beginning of the year most tracks still didn’t know if or how many fans they could have. A perfect storm to bump the WMT a few rungs down the prestige ladder. Is it worth the potential points $$ for a Northeast team to go multiple times to the Mid-Atlantic, western NY and farther to race? Do they have the available crewmembers to do that? Easy to see why less teams are running the WMT full time. A day or weekend in CT or NH is a lot easier than a 1/2 week in PA or Oswego. You want cars? Have races where the cars are!!
You don’t like Joe Biden Mr. Courchesne. Man that hurts. Think he’s made some bad decisions sure but don’t like him? Oh well at least you’re fair minded. We supporters are down now but Shotgun Joe is a spunky old guy with grit and may rally back from his current predicament.
Dead US soldiers and leaving people behind. Sounds really bad and it is but isn’t it leaving something out? Like 20 years under 4 presidents fighting, dying, borrowing ungodly amounts of money to fund a war. Fighting in a perpetually war torn country populated by a uneducated, poverty stricken population forced to eek out an existence in a desolate climate. That in the end folded quicker then the card table at midnight after the cribbage game wrapped up.
Of course Biden is to blame he called the shot, got us out and did a bad job in the extraction. I’m skeptical of the oppositions crocodile tears over the dead soldiers and those left behind when they showed no concern while hundreds of thousands were and are dying right here on American soil still fighting their own war again masks and vaccines.
Will we care in a year I doubt it. Might even be thankful Biden did it no matter how bad the execution was. It’s probably safe to say there is substantially less risk of our people dying in Afghanistan from this point forward and Biden may get some credit for that.
What we will care about in a year or so is the economy and Covid19. We can’t control the boneheads in other parts of the country but we’re doing alright so far. Infection rate in Connecticut hovers in the 3 to 4% range. Hospitalizations rising but not anything alarming and people aren’t dying anywhere near as much. In and around Enfield, Ct masks are in, it’s kind a part of life now vaccinated or not and not that big a deal. And it clearly helps.
That closure nonsense as well as all the other crap they spread on cable news and talk radio is simple razzle-dazzle. Nonsense targeted at receptive minds that with no interest in real news. Razzle-dazzle doesn’t win races for Ryan Preece nor does it inform people about real issues.
Beech Ridge is only 1.15hrs north of the MA/NH state line. It is right off I-95. BR is 2:45hrs north of Seekonk and Stafford. Oswego is a bit further away at 4.5 hrs west of Stafford. If any these rides take you half a week you went the wrong way.
Has there been any confirmation that ACT Promotions is returning to Thompson next year? That should be addressed first before discussing 2022 plans.
So are we in favor of seeing the tour back at Monadnock next year or not?
Shawn that’s why he calls himself a punk , can’t say I ever met a punk who was very smart , he mentions if he were a track owner , thank God he’s not ,could you imagine
It will be interesting to see if the NWMT makes a comeback when things are more “normal” in 2022 or 2023. I understand that the warning signs predate the pandemic, but I find it hard to believe that the pandemic has not played a significant role in the continued decline of the Tour.
Please Rafter, dont try to make any sense, u WILLL just get the ONLY 3 SHORT TRACK OWNERS wanted the WMT IN 2021, PANDEMIC? BLAHHHHHHHH NOTHING, this comes in a polll about Mad Dog maybe wanting WMT back, I guess again they are NOT A short track owner, and Thompson having WMT races is not a favorable economic model, yet a track to the west has 3 this yr with less seats and smaller TICKET price than any Thompson WMT.
Another point was Thompson used to have Family fun Nights before the ROAD COURSE which i assume the new gen owners are in LOVE WITH, take a look at the CROWD size at these events and say they were Not a Favorable economic model. The Hoenigs just want Road course racing But hey the doom and gloom is funny to read!
https://scottnickel.smugmug.com/Thompson-Speedway-2007/Family-Fun-Night-2007/i-STRDVbW
NASCAR has simply out priced itself. The fees they charge make it near impossible for a track to run a tour show, and turn a profit. Teams arstarting to dip into the open shows, because a day at the races costs them less with a chance to earn as much if not more than the Tour races. Like I said before, the tour is dying a death of a thousand cuts, and that last cut ain’t so far in the future.
The dust up involving The Atomic Punk has been removed which is nice to see.
The Atomic Punk is provocative but there’s nothing wrong with what. What is wrong is openly insulting the host of the site and especially with incorrect accusations. Like accusing the moderator of being a bully when in the last dust up with The Atomic Punk he effectively deescalated the rhetoric and admitted an error in the direction of his commentary. Like implying there are only a small number of people frequenting the site when there are not only hundreds reading it there are typically between 130 and 150 people contributing monthly to support it’s existence not to mention marketing partners contributing far more.
It’s just rude and unnecessary. This is a place to congregate and while you can contribute you’re not obligated to. Why is it so hard for some to understand that if you’re invited to someone’s place and being given something of value not to be attacking the person that’s giving it to you and doing it in such a ham handed way.
Over the next 24 hours the most important things to me will be the sump pump and the quality of the sealing job I did around a leaky chimney flashing. After that is will be continuing to see the remaining races in Connecticut and Northeast go off without threat of extraordinary safety measure due to a spike in Covid19.
The comment regarding the threat of a shut down also taken out with the trash and that’s just a public service it was so wildly alarmist and incorrect. Thanks mostly to the leadership of all the Northeast Governors, Republican, Democratic and Independent. Most notably our own Governor Lamont who got a nice write up in Fortune Magazine for his leadership regarding the pandemic.
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/tale-two-governors-covid-outcomes-210000522.html
Tj it’s not just the ride if you’re more than a spectator. If you’re participating in a race you’re doing load/unload, practice, qualifying, and the race, with support divisions in between, making it a 10-12 hour day minimum. If it’s a 4.5 hour ride that’s 9 hours round trip. That means hotel rooms and food for 5-6 people for 2 days minimum, along with race expenses. Jennerstown? Martinsville? Probably needs a 3rd day.
Shawn Courchesne has made it clear that it is his opinion that the NWMT continues to have serious issues, is on a continued downward trajectory and I’m guessing he’s so firm in that position because he doesn’t see it turning around any time soon. He knows all the players, talks to them and his opinion informed. Nonetheless I am going to attempt a devils advocate position informed by nothing except a few statistics and the races I’ve observed.
In 2010 Santos won the NWMT championship. Statistically it looks like it came down to the last race but realistically it doesn’t look like a barn burner of a finish. Santos came in 6th at Thompson and won the championship by 27 over Stefanik who came in 4th.
In 2010 19 teams competed in 13 or 14 events and were relevant in the points standings. 59 different teams competed in events and 41 two of more events.
This year Bonsignor and Emerling are separated by 8 points going into a track Emerling can do well at. There are 15 teams that have competed in at least 9 events and are relevant to the points. 57 total teams have competed in at least one event and 41 have competed in 2 or more.
There is erosion in the teams competing for points on a regular basis but there is more competition now from competing events and the drop is not jaw dropping in my view. In fact in view of the competition you might make the case the NWMT has held up fairly well. Furthermore the number of teams popping in for one race or two or more have not changed significantly so there clearly is still interest in competing in NWMT races.
Those are the stats but there’s more in my view. It seems every race there are interesting story lines. Preece or Hirschman may pop in or both and they will be competing for the win. We that pick race results know how hard it is to pick the top 5 that no matter how we study it still seems to elude a consistent formula for success.
While it is true that only 3 tracks now account for 8 races I’d counter that argument by saying 3 tracks still found it worth their while to host a total of 8 races. While it’s true that the tour has had to go far and wide to find tracks to host their races I’d counter that by saying that when they went far and wide the events they had appeared to be mostly successful.
If Mr. Courchesnes is correct and I would say that is the greatest possibility, we should see significant challenges this year around schedule time and more teams announcing they are going part time or bowing out. Stafford will be my canary in the coal mine and the one to watch. I’ll also be watching for the change in leadership NASCAR will be sending the modifieds way and if they change anything regarding their business model to change with the times.
It may very well be that the NWMT is dying a death by a thousand cuts but you couldn’t prove it by my level of interest. This Saturday it’s going to be a great event with big names just like 2010 with a number of cars capable of winning. I love opens and Tri Track but this is just simply better in my view. Regardless of the problems it’s still big time with the heaviest of hitters doing battle.