Pit Box: NASCAR Ready For 151st Visit To Thompson For Whelen Modified Tour

(Press Release from NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications)

For the record-extending 151st time in series history, Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park will welcome the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour on Wednesday, Aug. 16 for the running of the Thompson 150.

The 11th race of the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule marks the first of two visits to Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park this year for the series. Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park is perhaps the most historic venue on the series schedule, having hosted the first race in the modern history of the Tour on March 31, 1985.

Appropriately, one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR Modified history, Richie Evans won that race as well as the next three held at the track that year. He’s one of 37 drivers to grace Victory Lane at Thompson, including fellow Modified legends like Ted Christopher, Jeff Fuller, Rick Fuller and Tony Hirschman, as well as modern stars like Justin Bonsignore, Doug Coby and Ron Silk.

Tickets to Wednesday’s Thompson 150 are available trackside. Below is everything you need to know about the 11th race of the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season.

Thompson 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park

What to watch for:

The last time Eric Goodale or Craig Lutz visited Victory Lane with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, it was at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park last season.

The two veteran drivers will look to add another Thompson victory to their respective resumes next Wednesday when they both return to action with the series for the running of the Thompson 150.

They’ll be faced with a number of top contenders who will all be looking to add a trophy from Thompson their respective trophy cases. They include Justin Bonsignore, who sits third on the all-time Modified Tour win list at Thompson with 12 victories at the historic track.

Doug Coby and Ron Silk — who have six and five victories, respectively, at Thompson in Modified Tour competition — will also be among the contenders on Wednesday evening.

MORE THOMPSON: Watch live on FloRacing

Austin Beers, fresh off his second victory of the season at Lancaster Motorplex, will attempt to add his name to the list of Thompson winners with a victory in the No. 64 KLM Motorsports Modified. Another driver looking for his first Modified Tour win at Thompson is Matt Hirschman, who will be back in the No. 60 for PeeDee Motorsports.

Five-time Thompson Modified Tour winner Bobby Santos III will look to rebound after a crash in his most recent race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with a strong performance Wednesday. Also back in action with the Tour is Matt Swanson, who made his return to the Tour with an eighth-place finish at New Hampshire.

Brett Meservey will make his NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour debut alongside other notable entrants like Jake Johnson, Woody Pitkat, Patrick Emerling and Anthony Nocella.

The complete entry list for the Thompson 150 is available here.

RACE FACTS

Schedule: Wednesday, Aug. 16 … Final practice from 4 to 5 p.m. ET … Qualifying at 6:20 p.m. ET … Thompson 150 at 8 p.m. ET (FloRacing).

Qualifying: Two consecutive qualifying laps. Faster lap determines qualifying position. Adjustments or repairs may not be made on the vehicle after the vehicle has taken the green flag at the start/finish line. NASCAR reserves the right to have more than one vehicle engage in qualifying runs at the same time. Starting field for the Thompson 150 is limited to 30 starters including Provisional Positions.

Tire allotment: The maximum tire allotment available for this event is eleven (11) tires per team. All tires used for qualifying and the race must be purchased at the track and scanned by Hoosier, unless otherwise approved in advance by the Series Director. Four (4) tires must be used for qualifying and to begin the race. All qualifying tires must remain in impound until released by NASCAR Officials. The remaining tire allotment may be used for practice and/or change tires during the event. The tire change rule is three (3) tires, any position.