Green With Anger: Odd Whelen Mod Tour Event At Thompson Leaves Ron Silk Irritated With NASCAR 

Ron Silk (Photo: Jim DuPont/RaceDayCT)

THOMPSON – Sunday’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Phoenix Communications 150 at Thompson Speedway played out in a way like few other series events at the track ever have before. 

After a lap 13 caution the race went green from a lap 16 restart to the checkered flag at lap 150. Race winner Eric Goodale lapped all but five of the 23 other cars that started the event led by as much six second late in the race. 

Former series champion and 2022 driver’s championship contender Ron Silk, who ended up ninth in the event, said NASCAR made a mistake in not throwing a caution when the opportunity to do it arose. At times during the long green flag stretch there were cars that got into the wall and kept going, at least one car leaking and one car slowed with a flat tire. 

“Just a stupid day,” Silk said. “Not entertaining for anybody at the place. I just can’t believe, I understand you can’t just totally manipulate the race, but at some point you have to try to put on a show for the people that come to watch it. That was embarrassing. It just sucked. I can’t believe that that’s what we did. … It’s ridiculous. You’ve got to find a way to throw a caution for something, I don’t even know where I finished or where everyone else finished. It’s just [freaking] ludicrous what we did. I don’t know what to say. We finally get back to Thompson and that’s the show we put on? I wouldn’t have us back. That sucked.” 

Series director Jimmy Wilson understood Silk’s frustration, but said series officials wouldn’t purposefully throw what they would deem to be an unwarranted caution. 

“If there would have been a reason for a yellow then we would have put a yellow out,” Wilson said. “There was no reason for a yellow.” 

Goodale said he understood the frustrations Silk had. 

“If I was mired back in the back and I was laps down I’d be upset too,” Goodale said. “I thought there was some opportunities where cars were up out of the groove and into the wall or down low they were leaking … I thought one time there was oil on the track. I’ve been on the other side of that too.” 

Said six-time series champion Doug Coby: “I don’t think it’s an embarrassment to the series. I think it’s a testament to the drivers to hang on to the cars out there. … That’s just how racing goes sometimes. I think if the officials want to look into the product and the package that we need to bring to certain races, if something should be different, then they should do that.” 

Comments

  1. What a baby. Hope they find some “debris” the next time he is in the lead because the race is “boring”, let’s see what he says then. Sounds like someone went too hard early and paid the price. Cant say I’ve seen many drivers openly say they want races manipulated. If he wanted it manipulated that bad, he should have just taken a page out of Rocco’s book from world series 2021 and self spun.

    The top 3 finishers started 18th, 10th, and 22nd respectively on that lone, early, restart. Watching them come through the field was a treat. Watching the points battle unfold as the 79 went 16th -> 6th, the 51 going 4th-> 14th and the 16 floundering just inside the top 10 was really compelling. And then the last 10 laps or so, waiting to see if they all had enough fuel.

    Can’t help but think there would be more complaining if there was a “debris” yellow with 40 to go, and we end up with 5 more yellows, 2 GWC’s 10 cars finishing, and another tire going over the wall.

    I’m not usually one to like long green flag runs, either. But that one was definitely good. Enough comers and goers still. Don’t think a fake yellow with 30 to go would have improved anything.

    Martinsville should be a must-watch race. My fast math says all four within 12 points

  2. Suitcase Jake says

    I thought it was Great…. no yellows… gas was in play…Strategy on long run
    set ups…. Every race is different ….. same for everyone…. kinda surprised by
    Ronnie’s reaction… He’s usually pretty cool with the way races go … Maybe the frustration of points and missing on the set up….. 58 musta had about 1/4 of a gallon left after 150 laps at .628 miles ….close to 4.28 miles per gallon

  3. wmass01013 says

    As i was watching i actually said who is going to do the spin to win move to get the caution?, I think Silks comments are embarrassing, if need for a caution so be it but would you rather have the wreckfest the 1st Thompson race was costing Owners which i dont SILK ever had been lots of $$$, easy to say when u just show up with helmet bag.

  4. I generally do not like long green flag runs but this was a great race! Lots of passing. Good racing. Driver’s contred their cars with flat tires, leaking and bouncing off walls. For example look at #3 flat tire pit and lapped all but 1 car under green trying to get laps back.

  5. spot on

  6. Rafter fan says

    I like Silk a lot, as many do. But, he’s off base on this one. If scheduled yellows are desired, move to a stage race format.

  7. So Coby doesn’t see any problem with the way the race played out does he? Just wondering if he had that famous F word race at Stafford a few years ago in mind. The one he dominated going green until the very end. Then the multi pit stop blunder at the end with not enough time to charge to the front.
    Betcha anything that one still sticks in his craw as one of the shoulda-woulda-coulda races he knew he deserved to win but got away. .

  8. Hey Goodfella maybe you should contact Jimmy Wilson to bring back the ride height rule then the set up would change lol

  9. I enjoyed the race, but was a little surprized at a couple of incidents that didn’t bring out a caution. Leaking fluid? A good bouce off the wall causing possible debris? I thought that’s when there is SUPPOSED to be a caution! Fortunately those incidents did not cause worse problems, but they easily could have.

  10. One way to resolve this is lengthen the race or limit the intitial fuel fill to force at least a fuel stop during the race.

  11. What a baby…just drive

  12. It was a very interesting race. The two cars that put the work into it were rewarded. Anybody complaining about this should kinda be ashamed. It was a good race! I told the people around me, when Mr. Silk was going backwards he should spin and win. It didn’t happen. Don’t blame NASCAR because that was a great race. I appreciate everyone running this race as it should be. CLEAN and fun to watch!

  13. It was a great race, and silks a great driver he’s just being a baby on this one.

  14. Been a fan of Modifieds for almost 50 years and been following the Tour since it started. It’s sad to see what it is right now and I don’t think NASCAR cares to fix it. Two other Modified divisions got more than 30 cars at Thompson over the weekend and both of those events were fun to watch. The Tour got 24 cars and put on a horrible show. I hear people say the Tour is still the best because of what they pay and the points fund. As a fan I don’t care what it pays, I want to see the best drivers and the best races. The Tour doesn’t do that now. 24 drivers there Sunday and probably 12 of them would struggle to qualify for a Tri-Track race, and six of them probably couldn’t get a top-15 in an SK Light race at Stafford. That’s pretty sad.

  15. Dave D, the racers that raced in MRS and Open this weekend were rewarded with the top 2 spots. Anybody that didn’t see what was happening is blind. Watching Goodale methodically work his way through the field was fun. He was going to win even if Preece didn’t have a flat tire. All the series, Tri-Track, Whelen Modified Tour, MRS, and Open races are all great to watch. You watched three drivers running for the championship run very different races. I thought it was very fun to watch. I appreciate what John McKennedy did. Everyone counted him out and he did a very good job to get by all of his championship competitors. I hope everybody going to Martinsville has a great experience.
    Everybody, don’t wish for cautions. Someone could be injured.

  16. 40 or 50 yrs ago people lapped the entire field. I saw Richie do this at Thompson. I saw the yellow 77, John Blewett? do this at Thompson in the early 2000’s…

  17. Really like Ron Silk. But I think that was just frustration. If he were in the lead or contending for the win, he wouldn’t have said it.
    That said. WMT races tend to be pretty boring. Im sure this is an unpopular opinion around here, but I believe they should implement stage racing. Either that or shorten these races.
    Most WMT races run about 90% green flag and then the last 10-20 laps is where any action happens.

  18. Racing Fan says

    If the shoe was on the other foot, Silk would not be crying like a baby. Guess the $100,000 Crew Chief do Silk any good. #85 racing team pretty much did it all in their back yard and had more wins than this BIG CREW CHIEF. Stop Crying and just drive the car and see if you can get the job DONE!!

  19. I can remember when some were bitching about phantom cautions and now some want them?

    Just let it play out, that’s what makes it interesting.

  20. If they threw a caution when preece’s tire went flat or Lutz’ rear end broke, I’d be willing to bet there’d be a bunch more torn up cars. I was happy rolling a complete car into my trailer even though we finished two laps down.

  21. Ron Silk has proven himself to be one of the most level-headed, cool, and intelligent guys out there racing today. So, I’m going to file this (one of the most bone-headed comments on the way a race should have been run) to fact that he is in a tight, tight points title battle with only one race to go and had an outburst. Otherwise, foolish. More yellows? Their use already borders on farce and manipulation of the real racing, for the benefit of only a few.

  22. Where’s Goodfella with his vast knowledge of what happened and his know it all vast wisdom who didn’t know the Tour hasn’t had a Rude height rule for 2 years LOL

  23. I LOVE a good, long run, strategy race. I’ll give Ron the benefit of being out there. We can’t see the shiny spots or junk on the track, but the drivers can.

    I also HATE competition cautions and roll bar padding and water bottle cautions for TV or fan entertainment.

    In the end, I’m not for or against his comments, I’ll only recognize then as his. He was lapping the track at speed, I was not.

  24. The constant complaining about cautions.

    Then the complaining about only one caution.

    WTF????

    There’s just no pleasing some people, or almost all people.

    It’s called strategy for a reason.

    Cars were sliding all over the place. It was pretty exciting, waiting to see who was going to be the next caution, but it never happened.

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