(Press Release from JDV Productions)
Open Shows at Monadnock, Claremont on 2023 Calendar
JDV Productions announced today two additional events for their 2023 schedule, as the organization will branch out to promote two Open Modified events for the new season. The JDV Open Modifieds will compete in a 100-lap event at Monadnock Speedway on Saturday, June 3 and a 100-lap race at Claremont Motorsports Park on Sunday, September 3.
The Open Modified division will highlight some of the top Modified drivers in New England up against many local house division drivers from the respective New Hampshire short-tracks, who normally compete in the NHSTRA Modifieds.
Among the first two teams to show verbal commitments to competing in the events are former NASCAR New Hampshire state champion Brian Robie and Open Modified team owner Stan Mertz, who will also have his car compete in select NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events in 2023.
“We feel it’s the right time to branch out into the Open Modifieds and give ourselves a bit more involvement in a thrilling Modified environment in New England,” Josh Vanada, owner of JDV Productions, said. “On top of our scheduled NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events, we will showcase the Open Modifieds to race fans, with a bit of a local flavor. We’re looking forward to announcing additional details about our 2023 season soon prior to the holiday season. Stay tuned, race fans.”
Robie is no stranger to running at the front of the field at both Monadnock and Claremont and is excited to have some races in his backyard.
“We’ve enjoyed spending the last few years traveling around New England and will continue to do so, but it’s always nice to have a few Open Modified races close to home,” Robie said. “Having two of them is even better. The management team involved with JDV is looking to do things a little bit different, which is always welcome. I enjoy new challenges. Having these shows on our home turf offers a slight advantage. We will be looking forward to running these events in 2023.”
Mertz is also excited to get to the track to compete in these JDV Productions special events.
“We’ve made a living out of Open Modified races in the last few years and competing in a few promoted by Josh Vanada and the JDV team was a no brainer for us when we heard about it,” Mertz said. “We have yet to set a driver for these events, but we have had success at both tracks before and look forward to supporting these races next season. On top of our select Whelen Modified Tour races, we are going to have a busy calendar with our team.”
JDV Productions is excited to announce additional details about the 2023 schedule prior to the end of the 2022 calendar year. Stay tuned to the JDV Productions social media channels for more information.
For more information on JDV Productions, visit JDVProductions.com and follow on social media during the offseason for the latest news and updates.
nice to hear that JDV is expanding their schedule,, i liked their modified presentations in 2022..
Hope Vanada knows what he’s doing the tour mod dance card is filling up pretty fast.
It’s like the wild west these days with all the tour mod races. Anything can happen.
I STILL think we have to be very carefull with more races than we need, 19 WMT races 5 Stafford opens, 6,7 or more Tri track races, ? Thompson Opens, ? MRS, ? ROC , ?Riverhead ? RACING guys, now 2 JDV opens, 40-50 races for a division which i know has select support for certain series but overall i think waters down the car counts and quality with so many options, not to mention the Cost, Nothing against anyone that wants to PROMOTE Modified racing but i think has to be a limit at somepoint. those of us who love Modifieds certainly travel well but like the maybe smaller crowd at Haunted 100 after allllllllll the races in a yr you have to say i have spent enough.
I was thinking the smaller crowd at Seekonk Haunted Hundred was primarily because they dropped the home town favorite pro stock super late models for a legend car race and kept the same price as the previous year. It was like buying a bag of chips these days, you pay the same price but get much less than you did last year. I heard from a few people they weren’t happy about it but they were still there. Even with a decrease in attendance, I bet that show was one of their better attended race events of the year for Seekonk. Aside from their thrill shows the mods generally have their best crowds of the season.
I agree there is too many tour type modified events. There will certainly be some short fields when a couple of these shows end up on the same weekend or even the same night. The better series will survive the lesser series will struggle and fail. Look at the Bullring bash of a few years ago, and the American modified series. The series that ran American race tires. They struggled and ended up folding or going on hiatus. Personally, I probably wouldn’t go to any open tour type mod event unless there was an entry list put out in advance. It’s a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.
Thompson is being very quiet, MRS will be last sked out as they try and sort what tracks or dates are even available. WMT still has TBD dates still to announce I believe. TToms still most likey is working on 1 more show to add
I always put a “wish list” schedule together each year and so far have 7 WMT (assuning the TBA races will be around here) and 15 Open events listed. TriTrack and Stafford events will have their normally good sized fields, but it would definitely be beneficial to the rest to post their entry lists when available. I think as well as the teams may pick and choose events to fit their budgets, more fans may have to as well with all the available options.
If we are strictly talking car counts then the purses will be what draws the cars. There are a few teams that have very large or unlimited budgets but that is only a handful of teams and the majority rely on purses, sponsors, and personal money to keep showing up for races.
Average costs to run open modified for one race
Entry Fee $100 to $150
Tires 6 @ $220 each = $1320
Race Fuel 15 gallons @ $15.00 = $225
Pit Passes 8 @ $50 = $400
Oil Change $120
Fuel for Hauler $100
So that comes out to right around $2,300 for a race. An open engine cost to run is close to $10 per lap depending on the builder or engine combination. So another $1,000 in costs.
Of course these costs all assume that the car is already race ready. With all the open type modified shows expected next year I think that the purse from about 5th on back will play a big part in how many cars show up for a given race.
I am guessing those TBD are going to be JDV races held at LEE (5.27) and Claremont (7.29). This is based on races that were held last year. There is some ownership changes going on at both tracks and that may be why it wasnt announced in the original release. I thought I heard it hinted to in some capacity somehwere too.
Ed, your cost assessment is bare bones, if its a 6 tire race they allow 10 tires to purchase, or 5 tire race 9 tires for purchase, if 40 cars show up over 30 of them are purchasing the maxx tires and maybe 1-2 guys buy the minimum. Also Tri Track and other big open events have day before practice now at pretty much every event, usually half the field or so of cars attend that, thats hotels, more fuel, more tires.
Because they allow it, teams will use it and the costs to be competitive go thru the roof, if the guys next to you have 10 tires you better have 10 tires, if your on the bubble you better be at the test the day before looking for speed. 1 tenth is the difference between 15 cars. Also if you end up in the Consi or Bmain you are allowed to run any tire you want, meaning you can walk into trailer and pull out 4 more stickers or you can choose to try and compete with 12-15 lap old tires.
It would be interesting if someone reported what each team spent to race that day, I know everyone likes to report what each team was paid, but costs are the taboo subject.
Rich,
You said: “Tri Track and other big open events have day before practice now at pretty much every event, usually half the field or so of cars attend that.”
This is a wildly exaggerated statement.
Boy that summary of costs is terrific. There’s nothing like seeing a tour teams nut in black and white to help the average fan grasp what these folks are dealing with. The observation that it’s understated is easy to accept as well.
Often the discussion in this forum gravitates to purses vs the cost of fielding a race car, not just a tour mod but any race car. A bitterness creeps in that purses aren’t helping to offset enough of the cost to put a car on the track. All true but there’s one aspect I take issue with that gets ignored.
To race it takes a lot of money but also just as much hard work and time. Because of those two factors people confuse racing with work and business which is the furthest from the truth. It’s entertainment for the people participating. A recreational activity they are certainly not obligated to engage in nor is there any expectation they should come out even financially or even close. Sponsorship, purses serve the purpose of reducing the cost to participate that’s all. In the end if you race you’re going to come out behind financially and with regard to your personal time. Those are just the costs racers understand going in. Or learn very soon after they make the commitment.
So what’s the implication that tracks are somehow reaping large profits when they should be increasing purses? Come on man you know that isn’t true. On average they’re doing the best they can and in many cases barely surviving.
I look at the SK Light purse at Stafford that pays $175 for forth and $70 for 24th. Talk about a losing proposition and yet the division seems to have a bumper crop of cars every week. They get all those cars because racing is a lot of fun. There’s the personal challenge of mastering the physical and mental aspects of a complex endeavor. From a recreational standpoint what’s better then doing something you love with friends and family that people pay good money to watch you doing?
Tour mods are certainly losers like the SK Lights or any other division it’s just their numbers are bigger. But they tend to get owners with more resources and sponsor’s that commit to more money. Gripe about the costs vs purses yet once again we’re looking at a jam packed schedule. That can only happen if cars showed up in the past which they did.
Owning a boat, a camper, vacation home, traveling overseas or racing it’s all the same thing. A personal choice of how to spend your time and money recreating. if you can’t afford it you shouldn’t be doing it.
COSTS: I dipped my toes into owning a modified 2012 / 2013 seasons. I did it as low budget as I could and it ended up being $5,000 per race for 19 attempted events. MRS series with a leased engine.
your numbers are on the very very low end.
An interview with TC, he said it costs about $7,500 to run a NWMT race. And I can tell you that some teams spend far more than that prepping for Loudon… far more.