Crystal Ball Gazing At The Possibilities For The 2023 Season For The Whelen Modified Tour

The penultimate event of the 2022 season for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour – the Phoenix Communications 150 – is on deck for Sunday at Thompson Speedway. 

And it’s that time of year when the focus for the series is not only on championship battles of this season, but also what might be happening for the next year. 

It’s time to gaze into the crystal ball and try to piece together the puzzle that could be the 2023 schedule for the Whelen Modified Tour. 

The most common question asked around the Southern New England short track scene when it comes to the Whelen Modified Tour has to do with a track that was not on the schedule in 2022. 

Stafford Speedway was a cornerstone on the Whelen Modified Tour schedule for decades. The historic half-mile has hosted the second most series events since the inception of the division in 1985. The 2022 season marked the first time since 1988 that the Whelen Modified Tour did not compete at Stafford and only the second season since the division’s inception that there was not an event at Stafford. 

So will Stafford Speedway return to the Whelen Modified Tour schedule in 2023? It doesn’t look that way.

Stafford Speedway management has confirmed to RaceDayCT that NASCAR officials have not reached out to anyone at the track with any interest in putting on an event there in 2023. 

As far as what was on the 2022 schedule and not expected back, the series is not expected to return to Jennerstown (Pa.) Speedway next year.

Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, N.H. returned to the schedule in 2022 with one event and for 2023 the track is expected to be make two appearances on the schedule. 

In 2023 NASCAR makes a huge move with its annual Cup Series All-Star event heading to North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway. There has been chatter that the Whelen Modified Tour could end up as part of the All-Star weekend at the track. 

Check out below for our crystal ball gazing look at a possible 2023 schedule for the Whelen Modified Tour. 

Comments

  1. So I guess those tweets about star a few nights ago really were just a tease.

    Zero issues with that schedule. Can’t really ask for much more. This schedule would have been laughed if suggested 10 years ago during the dark times of 9 CT races. The month of May will be a little tough though.

    14 tracks has to be getting close to a record for the series, right? At least in the past 20 years or so.

    Hopefully they decide against Langley completely, though. Don’t think the juice is worth the squeeze there.

  2. Now that’s what I’m talkin bout….speculation. That schedule is a beauty. One that only a person with his hand on the pulse of local racing could even attempt to put together. Let me see if I can muddy the waters.
    No Stafford rumblings huh? That’s a mistake. In the new reality a date in August is the natural spot for Stafford. Tradition demands that there be at least one appearance there and it would benefit both parties while infringing on Stafford’s independent trajectory not one iota. We saw the pizzazz the NWMT brought to Thompson even in a mid week show. Stafford’s opens are a staple now but great schedules are built in part on diversity. Hopefully the MMTTS will be back and a Tour race would make the schedule ever so much more well rounded if they could get past the FloRacing conflict.
    Counting Jennerstown 6 big travel races in 2021…..not good. Got it, you can’t go to the tracks you want at the time you want because many are tepid on you being there in the first place. JDV Productions is the solution that popped up to fill the enthusiasm gap. 6 long distance races or 38% of the schedule was too many. Ideal number is 4 on my dance card.
    Two max down south, New Smyrna for one and take your best option from Martinsville, Richmond, North Wilksboro, Langley for the other two. Other then New Smyrna none of them will care if you’re there anyway. Oswego a must then a wild card like White Mountain, Thunder Road or Lancaster. Two early races down south and Thompson for the finally. Gong to Martinsville and settling the epic championship in front of empty seats is an embarrassment. Going to Langley in late August was a product of that Sizzler scheduling mess early on, a mistake, don’t repeat it.
    The natural epicenter of the NWMT now is Riverhead, a great track loyal to NASCAR we’re lucky that’s the case. JDV’s return and what races they’ll promote a question mark. Monadnock and Lee seemed to under perform but we’ll see. Seekonk a ray of sunshine.
    25% long distance max. The answer to the car count issue has a lot to do with that out of date insistence on the Robert Yates spec engine. Except for a small cadre of teams the NWMT are open races. Open the engine rules wide, align with the open rules format that has won over most all of tour modified events and the cars will follow since the money is already there.
    Jimmy Wilson and his crew always have a tough job scheduling. Unenthusiastic tracks on one side, so many tiers of management above them with God knows how many different goals and priorities. After all the cooks screw it all up the chances of having rules and a schedule that makes sense is only a remote possibility. On the other hand they do fill the most dates by far for tour modified racing, they are NASCAR so in spite of all the angst and hand wringing about what they do wrong they are indispensable to we tour mod addicts getting a proper racing fix.

  3. wmass01013 says

    Great Schedule, STAFFORD will never comeback and with their open sucess, why should they? Thompson i would add ANOTHER and a western NY stop or 2 Lancaster, maybe Holland???????

  4. wow,, would like to see more in connecticut,, but,, looks good.. heavy schedule,, wonder how many can make all the events..

  5. Can we get Waterford speedbowl on the schedule?

  6. Fast Eddie says

    I don’t think the speedbowl has a chance unless it’s sold, although I really enjoyed the wmt races I saw there previously.

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