Press Release from Sadler-Stanley Racing
Sadler-Stanley Racing, owned by former NASCAR driver and FOX Television personality Hermie Sadler and Virginia State Senator Bill Stanley, announced today that the team will honor longtime NASCAR Owner and Crew Chief Tommy Baldwin at Martinsville Speedway this Thursday night, October 26, during the running of the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Race.
Baldwin, who has had a very successful career in NASCAR, is also known for his strong family ties to Open Wheel Modified Racing. He’s been responsible for helping launch many careers, not only in the Northeastern US racing series, but also in NASCAR in North Carolina. Baldwin was recently diagnosed with cancer and has been undergoing treatment, so he has been absent from the track.
Sadler Stanley Racing will honor Baldwin by running the famed 7NY number on one of their team cars, driven by NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Labonte, at Martinsville this week.
“I think it’s just great that our race team decided to do this,” said Labonte. “I have known Tommy (Baldwin) for a really long time, and this is a great way to honor him. He means so much to NASCAR, especially the modified series, where he has always had a passion. Tommy has impacted to so many people out here, it’s remarkable. We are all praying for him and wishing him good health.”
“It’s just the right thing to do,” Team Co-Owner Hermie Sadler said. “Tommy Baldwin and his family are synonymous with Modified Racing and the No. 7NY needs to be on the track. Plus, Tommy has been a part of many people’s careers in NASCAR, including mine and my brother Elliott’s, and we want to honor him.”
“Tommy Baldwin is a racing hero and legend to us all, and it is both fitting and appropriate to not only re-fit our Sadler/Stanley Racing Pace-O-Matic No. 18VA race car with the ‘fightin’ 7NY,’ but also to have another racing legend, Bobby Labonte, behind the wheel to carry it to victory at the championship NASCAR® Whelen Modified race Thursday night,” said Senator Stanley. “While Tommy might not be with us at the track on this night, the track, the racers, and the fans will all be with him as the 7NY car races at Martinsville Speedway.”
“Simply put, Tommy is more than a customer – he is family,” said Phil Stephanelli of PSR Products. “He is a racer’s racer and one of the toughest guys you will ever meet. His ties with PSR run deep. Our crew chief, Neal Cantor, and his family have raced with the Baldwin family since the 80s. Tommy has played a role in the success of all of our PSR teams, and we wanted to do something to let him know how big his support group really is. We are also excited to have some of the Tommy Baldwin Racing crew on hand to help us go chase a Martinsville victory for the No. 7NY and Tommy.”
After the race, Sadler-Stanley Racing will auction off the sheet metal on the car to raise money and awareness for the Baldwin family’s initiatives and Tommy’s fight against cancer.
That car looks awesome and for a great cause. Will look even better on the track.
Oh goody, another tribute. Can’t get enough of those can we? So how much does it cost to fund, prep and race a car at this race? Could you have just written a bigger check for the cost? Yes I know that’s all very cynical but in a life of death struggle with a cruel enemy I much prefer the battle lines to be better defined and the goals simple……remission, the sooner the better.
So what are we expecting from our man Preece? Family car, he had the budget priced McGunegill engine in it last year at Stafford in a DNF effort. Preece makes a lot of money now would he pop for a fresh RYR engine for one race?
Hmm the 79, that sounds familiar. Oh yes the number of last years champ that shut down earlier in the season. No McKennedy but Middlesex Interiors the championship owner it would seem is back. That’s as much a Rob Fuller house car as anything is it not? What do you expect from them in terms of performance can Berndt show some patience in this race? Was a bridge burned with McKennedy one wonders. Any implications for 2024?
OK all you NWMT naysayers admit it. You’re not only going to watching this race you’re actually looking forward to it.
Not to be specifically critical of SSR for their tribute to Tommy Baldwin but these tributes have been overdone for a long time now and the purpose is diminished or completely missed because there are so many. I have a question in regard to the previous post in this thread about the McGunnegill engine and Preece. Is the implication that he has run one of their engines in a NU$CAR Whelen Modified tour race or just open modified races at say New Smyrna or Stafford? There is no provision for such an engine (only the “Yates factory spac”) in the Whelen modified rule book and I doubt very seriously that McGunnegill would care enough to pay the tribute to have his engine allowed. I haven’t seen the NU$CAR Whelen modified rule book since 2021 so I’m not sure about the legality in 2023 of the old “legacy” real racing engine. Legal or not I’m guessing if a driver with no chance to win entered a race they would be allowed to use the legacy or Mcgunnegill for that matter for car count purposes.
Wow that’s a lot of implication from the McGunnegill reference.
It was a point of fact. Preece ran it at an open race at Stafford last year and I only know it be because Ben Dodge made a point to mention it.
No implication for the NWMT at all. And honestly I did say Stafford specifically without any reference to the NWMT or their engine rules. However I do believe the inference that the engine must be a Tour spec is flawed since other engines are allowed and are run.
Doug,
I asked you or anyone that might know for clarification regarding the McGunnegill engine. My sentence ended with a question mark, not a period. What do you mean by the last sentence in your previous post under this thread where you typed “However I do believe the inference that the engine must be a tour spec is flawed since other engines are allowed to run.”? One of the things I am trying fact check (just for my own benefit) is ; did the Whelen tour in 2023 state in their rule book that other engines besides the tour spac are allowed and if so which ones? I am working other limited sources to find out but I am hoping some of this website’s participants can help me out with answers to this and a few other things that interest me mostly on the tech side of racing.
Great question and thanks for being so specific. This is not a good time to find the rule seeing as how the season has ended. Tracks like Riverhead that go by Tour rules are mostly done except for the Islip 300 and those are open rules. I did find old rules at the Speedbowl of all places, they did confirm what I said but it’s outdated so it’s not really credible.
Check this out a quote from Robert Yates Racing which is current:
“The NASCAR-Approved Spec Engine is an alternative for competitors in the ARCA Menards Series, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, and NASCAR Pinty’s Series. (A new engine for a new series is coming soon. Check back for details.)”
First thing I notice is that even RYR says their spec is an alternative so it kind of confirms NASCAR does not specifically require the RYR engine. Second thing is the new engine for the news series so what the heck does that mean?
It shouldn’t be this hard should it but that’s NASCAR. From their rules to their lack of updates on points and stats to the lack of live timing they’re a pain in the ass.