(Press Release from NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications)
NASCAR’s oldest touring series will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the sanctioning body in a big way in 2023.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour teams will chase the championship in a 19-race schedule – spanning across eight different states from New Hampshire to Florida – moving from February through October. The last time the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season included 19 races was in 2004.
For the second-straight year the season begins New Smyrna Speedway in Florida on February 11 as part of the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing, and ends at Martinsville Speedway in the midst of a massive NASCAR Playoffs weekend on Thursday, October 26. In the middle, teams will visit countless tracks in the Northeast and help headline weekends with NASCAR National divisions at places like New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Richmond Raceway.
“Definitely adding a little bit more to the schedule this year with some different tracks,” defending series champion Jon McKennedy said. “Some that we have been to before, but others we haven’t. It’s cool to see some different venues there and have some more tracks interested in hosting our series and some more races on our schedule.”
RELATED: 2023 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule
After leaving New Smyrna, the series will visit Richmond for another year on March 31 for a Friday night special, prior to NASCAR Cup Series weekend. After that, drivers move north to Monadnock Speedway (May 6), Riverhead Raceway (May 20) and Lee USA Speedway (May 27) on Memorial Day weekend.
Trips to Seekonk Speedway in Massachusetts (June 10), Riverhead (June 24), Wall Stadium (July 8) and New Hampshire Motor Speedway (July 15) will bring the series to the halfway point.
McKennedy isn’t the only one looking forward to it.
“As a driver, I’m really excited for it this season,” three-time series champion Justin Bonsignore said. “The schedule has a lot of cool tracks, and some great facilities for us to visit. We’re heading to places like North Wilkesboro… that’s going to be an incredible event in itself.”
In the second half of the year, the Tour visits Claremont Motorsports Park (July 29), returns to Lancaster Motorplex for the second time in three years (August 5) and hits the high-banks of Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park on Wednesday, August 16. Stops at Langley Speedway (August 26), Oswego Speedway (September 2), Monadnock (September 9), Riverhead (September 16), North Wilkesboro Speedway (September 30), Thompson (October 8) and Martinsville (October 26) will keep drivers on their toes, and teams busy.
JDV Productions returns for the third straight year, promoting the two Monadnock events, the Lee USA Speedway race and Claremont Motorsports Park’s 150-lap race.
Travel is certainly going to play a major role in deciding who wins the championship. Even though the beginning of the season has the first two races separated by more than a month, the middle of the summer will be a grind with 15 races between May and September across seven different states.
The teams are ready and many of them are excited to see how it shakes out.
“It’s awesome to start the season at New Smyrna again between the Whelen Modified Tour and the World Series of Asphalt Tour Modified division – getting six nights of racing in to start the season is great,” Eric Goodale said. “My opinion it’s the best week of the year. I’m definitely excited to head to North Wilkesboro and still have some races in my hometown at Riverhead Raceway and everywhere else in New England.”
Bonsignore says the season will be a bit tougher on the crews compared to last year with three more races on the calendar. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour garage area is filled with crew members who work full-time jobs during the week away from the cars, then spend their nights in the shop and weekends at the track.
They will all need to work together on the cars to get them prepared.
“It’s going to be a challenge for our team and many teams, but it’s part of it,” Bonsignore said. “For the crew guys, especially with everyone volunteering, we may need to potentially rotate some guys in and out if a few have to miss a race or two. But we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
McKennedy, who knows defending his title will be a tough task to begin with, is ready. He also knows it will come with some adjustments.
“The Whelen Modified Tour has been extremely strong the last few years, with good car counts and support and I think it is great,” McKennedy said. “Having some races where we are with the NASCAR top divisions like the Cup Series and Xfinity Series also there, it’s cool to go out there and show those guys what we can do. A lot of them love the Modifieds and they are all watching us. The Whelen Modified Tour is some of the best short-track racing out there and it’s going to be like that again this year.”
For fans who can’t make it to the track, all 19 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races will available live on FloRacing.
The end of the Tour they said, LOL
And still undisputed Champ.
After hearing what Bonsignor and Silk had to say combined with everything else said about the number of events tour mods have to choose from I’ve heard enough to form an opinion.
It’s too much. If Bonsignor connected to one of the best funded teams on the Tour is talking about crew member rotations along with some other very pointed comments then there’s a problem. I certainly don’t think NASCAR expanded the schedule to break the back of other tour mod sanctioning groups but they sure as heck knew it may be a bi-product they were not unhappy to see. They’ll get their top tier cars for every race that will put on a great show and don’t car if the field is in the high teens. High teens is a problem for other open shows.
And what the heck did Vanada have in mind with his separaate open package he should know better. If he shows suffer from car count issues that would be karma at work for sure.
There will be colateral damage this year. Don’t know for what races or sanctioning groups but it will happen and I’m pretty sure NASCAR will smile when it does.
I have always believed that nascar is only interested in establishing the tour in the south.. it’s unfortunate,, but if you can’t run there,, then you better find something else..
Its pretty simple,
Top 7-9 teams will chase the whole Tour for point fund money, most of the other teams will stay local and cheery pick open events and WMT shows that are at their favorite tracks.
It’s too much travel. That message has been sent out over and over for many, many years.
A cost reduction option was to go to more single day events. Now this crazy schedule. Most travel and multi-day events ever, or in decades.
The southern cars won’t travel across the street. Don’t expect many if any of them to fill out the car counts.
Maybe 10 cars will run the whole tour. Really, half of them, at best, have a chance to win the championship.
Owners were complaining about too much travel and multi-day shows for decades, so NASCAR comes up with this schedule, probably the most travel required in the last 20-30 years. Absurd.
Last year was a good indicator that owners are going to run whatever events are close to home, less travel and less days required.
IT’S A GREAT SCHEDULE FOR YEAR 38 OF THE WMT!
Thank you Ted?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you Jimmy Wilson and Whelen!!!!!!!!!!
The problem with the travel argument is that is all fan vs car owner. Owners don’t want to pay for travel, (even though drivers mention going to big short tracks) which I prefer. But, those “big short tracks” (over a 1/2 mile in length) are scare in a New England Scale. You have to travel to other states to get them. Thompson and Stafford are 5/8th and 1/2 mile in CT. NHMS is 1 mile in NH. Oswego is 5/8th in NY. North Wilkesboro is 5/8th in NC. Richmond 3/4 in VA. New Smyrna is 1/2 mile in FL. If you can add Rockingham that great but its in NC. Nashville Fairgrounds is nice but, in TE. Driver mention IRP but, thats in IN. So, those big tracks I beleive are more fun to watch. There are so many tracks on the schedule under a 1/2 mile that is gets over saturated, (I’m not saying to NOT race there as its great tracks want the modifieds- this is just person preference).
As a fan, if they are traveling to, “blue chip” tracks it’s worth it. Again the drivers seem to love going to Richmond, and New Smyrna because of the venue itself. I wish they’d trade Langley Speedway for Caraway Speedway on the schedule.
Tyler, great points. Thompson and Stafford were usually half the NWMT season, perhaps 8-9 races. Personally, I think the Tour mod is a bit too much for a season of mostly bull ring racing. Can get the same result with far less motor and car. Tracks like Thompson and Stafford are pretty much ideal for Tour mods.
But with this schedule, the 01 is pretty much guaranteed a top 10 finish in points. Just imagine that.