Pit Box: Whelen Modified Tour Back At New Hampshire Motor Speedway

The race every driver in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour garage anticipates is here.

The Mohegan Sun 100, the seventh race of the 2024 Modified Tour season, takes place Saturday evening at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (6:30 p.m. ET on FloRacing). The annual visit to the track known as the Magic Mile is considered the Modified Tour’s equivalent to the Cup Series’ Daytona 500; it’s the race every competitor on the Tour wants to win, and the entry list each year backs up that claim.

Modified Tour competitors first visited New Hampshire in 1990, when Mike McLaughlin became the first winner in series history at the 1.058-mile oval. In the years since, the track has played host to some of the most thrilling races in series history. Winners at New Hampshire include stars like Mike Stefanik, Ted Christopher, Tony Hirschman, Reggie Ruggiero, Doug Coby, Bobby Santos III, Steve Park, Ryan Preece, Ryan Newman and, the most recent winner, Justin Bonsignore.

Tickets to the Mohegan Sun 100 are available here. Below is everything you need to know about the seventh race on the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule.

Mohegan Sun 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

What to watch for:

Justin Bonsignore is prepared for perhaps the biggest weekend of his career.

Not only is the three-time Modified Tour champion racing in Saturday’s Mohegan Sun 100, of which he is the defending winner, but he is also making his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in the Sci Aps 200 driving for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Add to that the fact that Bonsignore is still one win away from tying Ted Christopher for third on the all-time Modified Tour wins list, and Saturday could turn out to be a massive day for the driver from Holtsville, New York.

More than 30 drivers will be trying to deny Bonsignore a return visit to Victory Lane at New Hampshire. Among them is NASCAR Cup Series star Ryan Preece, who is making his second start of the Modified Tour season Saturday in his own No. 40 Modified. Preece has one Modified Tour victory at New Hampshire, which came in 2021.

Bobby Santos III, who is the active wins leader at New Hampshire with seven Modified Tour wins, will chase his eighth victory at the track in the Advantage Motorsports No. 14. However, he’ll be doing it from the rear of the field since he’ll miss practice and qualifying on Friday due to commitments with the USAC Silver Crown Series.

Doug Coby will reunite with Tommy Baldwin Racing to chase another New Hampshire win. They’ll do so while also honoring the late Bugsy Stevens with a special tribute paint scheme. Jon McKennedy will return to the series to make his 100th career start, and Anthony Nocella, the 2022 New Hampshire race winner, will join the fray in the No. 17 for team owner Michele Davini.

Ron Silk, a winner of three Modified Tour races already this year, will chase his fourth New Hampshire win. Chase Dowling, a winner at New Hampshire in 2018, will also be in the field aboard the No. 44 for team owner Lawney Tinio.

One notable driver, Luke Baldwin, will be making his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour start. The son of Tommy Baldwin Jr., the younger Baldwin will make his debut in the No. 38 for Sadler-Stanley Racing.

Other notable entries include Austin Beers, Craig Lutz, Patrick Emerling, Eric Goodale, Jake Johnson, Dave Sapienza, Tyler Rypkema, Andy Seuss and Matt Swanson, among others.

The full entry list for Saturday’s Mohegan Sun 100 is available here.

RACE FACTS

Schedule: Friday, June 21: Final practice from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. ET … Qualifying at 5:45 p.m. ET… Saturday, June 22: Mohegan Sun 100 at 6:40 p.m. ET.

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 Mohegan Sun 100 is limited to 32 starters including Provisional Positions.

Tire allotment: The maximum tire allotment available for this event is twelve (12) 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.