(Press Release from NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications)
As the country prepares to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice this Memorial Day weekend, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour travels to Jennerstown Speedway for the Jennerstown Salutes 150 this Saturday night.
Saturday’s race at the 0.522-mile asphalt oval will be the 18th NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race in the history of the track, which will honor fallen service men and women who gave their lives in defense of the United States.
Each driver competing in the Jennerstown Salutes 150 will carry the name of a fallen service member on his or her car as a way to honor and remember them during Memorial Day weekend.
The Jennerstown Salutes 150 is also the second race of four on the Tour schedule this season that will be promoted by JDV Productions.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour has competed at Jennerstown Speedway 17 times, with the first visit to the track coming in 1987. That event was won by Jan Leaty, with additional races in the years that followed being won by drivers like Reggie Ruggiero, Tony Hirschman, Mike Stefanik, Steve Park and Ted Christopher.
Christopher’s victory in 2006 was followed by a long hiatus for the Tour at Jennerstown. The track was closed for several seasons and went through a few ownership changes before the Tour returned in 2020, with Justin Bonsignore earning a trip to Victory Lane.
In the three races at Jennerstown since the Tour returned in 2020, Bonsignore has earned a pair of victories. Craig Lutz scored one of his three Tour victories at the track, as well.
Bonsignore and Lutz are among the those expected to compete Saturday night along with a strong contingent of Modified drivers who will be looking to take home the winner’s check.
Jennerstown Salutes 150 at Jennerstown Speedway
What to watch for:
Bonsignore is in need of a strong run, and there is no better place for him to get it than Jennerstown Speedway.
Bonsignore has won two of the last three races held at the Pennsylvania oval, including the inaugural running of the Jennerstown Salutes 150 last season. He dominated that race, leading all but 14 of the 150 laps contested as he marched toward his third NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship.
In his three races at Jennerstown in the last two years, Bonsignore has led 379 laps. No other driver has led more than 39.
If Bonsignore is to find his way back to Victory Lane, he’ll have to go through a number of strong competitors. They include Tour points leader Ron Silk, who is one of only two drivers to earn top-10 finishes in each of the first four races held so far this year.
The other driver to accomplish that is Eric Goodale, who sits second in the standings. Silk and Goodale are both looking for their first Tour victories of the season.
RELATED: Get tickets to the Jennerstown Salutes 150
After making his return to the Tour following a multi-year hiatus at Richmond Raceway in April, Donny Lia is set for his second race of the season in the Ole Blue No. 3 fielded by Boehler Racing Enterprises.
Mike Christopher Jr. is scheduled to take the wheel of Tommy Baldwin Jr.’s No. 7NY Modified, the same car Doug Coby used to win the last two races on the schedule at New York’s Riverhead Raceway and New Hampshire’s Lee USA Speedway.
Max McLaughlin is also back for his second start of the season after earning a 12th-place finish at Richmond. Other returnees include Spencer Davis, Tyler Rypkema and Kyle Ebersole. Patrick Emerling, who sat out the race at Lee USA Speedway to compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, is also back in action.
Craig Lutz, who holds a victory at Jennerstown in 2020, is among the Tour regulars who will be competing Saturday night. Additional Tour regulars expected to participate include Lee USA Speedway runner-up Jon McKennedy, Kyle Bonsignore, Tommy Catalano and J.B. Fortin, among others.
The complete entry list for the Jennerstown Salutes 150 will be available later this week.
RACE FACTS
| Race | Jennerstown Salutes 150 |
| Date | Saturday, May 28, 2022 |
| Track | Jennerstown Speedway |
| Layout | 0.522-mile paved oval |
| Location | Jennerstown, Pennsylvania |
| Start time | 8 p.m. ET |
| Laps | 150 |
| Posted awards | $104,723 |
| TV channel | USA (Delayed: Thursday, June 2, 2 p.m. ET) |
| Live stream | FloRacing (Live) |
Schedule: Garage opens at 12 p.m. ET … Final practice from 2:30-3:30 p.m. ET … Single-car qualifying (two laps) at 4:45 p.m. ET … Race at 8 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 Jennerstown Salutes 150 is limited to 24 starters including Provisional Positions. Vehicles will be impounded after qualifying. Vehicle must qualify on race setup.
Tire allotment: The maximum tire allotment available for this event is 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 four (4) tires, any position.
Big weekend for the modifieds – Friday night is Claremont – 15K to win, Sat is Jennerstown and Sunday is Thunder road. Plus local action at Stafford and Waterford. A lot of drivers will be looking for two wins this weekend.
All right then we’re 4 races into the season, a picture starting to emerge that perhaps most fans didn’t anticipate but may appreciate more now that it’s unfolding.
In the four races three winners. All very familiar names with two that have been a staple over the years battling for the championship. Thing is this year two of the winners aren’t racing for the championship and the one that is not up to snuff except for the one win. Leaving the points leaders looking refreshingly different.
-Ron Silk leading the points a bit of a surprise. 7th, 10th, 3rd and 4th were his finishes. Isn’t that all so very Silk. Only one podium but he moved up in every race and finished. Boy that HYR team has been smart. Dipping their toes in the water a couple years ago. Building momentum and experience then hiring Moran all the preparation paying dividends now.
-Goodale and the 58 team aren’t messing around this year. They aren’t flashy but are usually fast. Goodale is laser focused on patience and good judgment and if he can avoid the bad luck like at Lee they may not fade like last year.
-McKennedy-see Silk comment because much of it is the same. Only one podium but has improved his position in each race and finished.
-Everything is revitalized about TBR this year. The 7ny is in first place in the owners standings by a lot. Baldwin seems to be reaching out more to the fan base. He’s said unkind things about RaceDayCt in the past but this year has been on Unmuffled. It can’t be overstated how important it is for teams to support the single most important publication for modified racing no matter how they feel about how they are treated in it. Change in plans this weekend. Due to weather Claremont and Thunder Road are off the schedule and Jennerstown the priority with Christopher in the drivers seat. Is that a disappointment to those that wanted Coby going for a third win who knows but we need to keep our eye on the ball this year. That is the 7ny isn’t about the driver so much it’s about the finishes and the owner championship that at this point seems well in hand.
-Catalano and Beers in 4th and 5th. They have to be happy with that.
-The BRE 3 another team we need to pay attention to in the owners championship and not so much the driver. Donnie Lia up for Jennerstown and he’ll be looking to improve on his Richmond performance. A 9th not bad for his return but Ole Blue is fast this year and looking to be in the front more times then not. What an intriguing mix of drivers this year with Preece, Lia and Johnson. All so very different with different experience levels. Johnson the young lion in the group but young, cocky and looking to win. He may end up being the driver that makes the season for the iconic team.
-Didn’t expect to be mentioning the 51 this far down but here they are. Where do I start. The iron team known to finish races has had equipment failures in 3 of it’s last 7 races. This year a win looking like the old 51 but only one other top 10. That was at Lee where the Massa car looked very average. So the question is can they turn it around, start to dominate like everyone expected them to this year and eventually contend? I don’t know man, the hole is pretty deep and the competition at the top of the field is the best it’s been in years but it will be fun to watch. I’ll be rooting for new blood whomever that may be.
-So how’s the tour done so far with all the travel? Pretty well it seems. 14 cars have made the 4 races, 29 cars in two events and 49 have competed in at least one. Guessing that the car counts will be anemic for some events like at Lee but know what? If the competition at the front remains as is has been with some really good cars who cares.
-honorable mention to the 01 and Melissa Fifield. Ben Dodge said she’s one of the most popular drivers and he should know. Handling, ignition, handling and power steering have added up to four DNF’s so you wonder what is the point. I don’t really care somehow I like seeing her out there and will be rooting for her to complete a race which I think at Jennerstown may just happen.
So what’s the verdict is the season a success so far? Say anything you like except that it’s been predictable.
Has anyone seen an entry list for the Whelen race in Jennerstown. I couldn’t find one which makes me wonder if its a little low. I am thinking we may see a season low to date for car count. Hopefully I am incorrect. The list is out there and they have a good field. When do they usually post the entry list? Maybe I am looking too early.
01 Melissa Fifield
2 J.R. Bertuccio Jr.
3 Donny Lia
5 Kyle Ebersole
07 Patrick Emerling
7 Mike Christopher Jr.
16 Ron Silk
18 Ken Heagy
22 Kyle Bonsignore
24 Andrew Krause
26 Gary McDonald
29 Spencer Davis
32 Tyler Rypkema
34 J.B. Fortin
36 David Sapienza
51 Justin Bonsignore
54 Tommy Catalano
58 Eric Goodale
64 Austin Beers
71 James Pritchard Jr.
77 Max McLaughlin
78 Walter Sutcliffe Jr.
79 Jon McKennedy
82 Craig Lutz
thanks Doug. Are we doing a pickem contest for this one or any of the modified shows this weekend?
If we’re making picks I’ll go with 16, 79, 51 7ny, 10, 3.
csg, the Entry List has become Waldo, as is “Where’s Waldo?” is the new game.
The Entry List is no longer included on the Race Center page, and it is released later and later.
As of now, it shows up on the NASCAR Whelen Modified home page, like this:
https://www.nascar.com/whelen-modified-tour/
That’s the only way I have been able to find the Entry List the last few races.
We’ve got a list and we’ve got the first entry so pick away race fans.
I’ll take 51, 79,07,58,7ny,5
PICK 6 PICK’EM JENNERSTOWN PICK SIX….>>>>
HAVE FUN = BE HAPPY………
1. 58
2. 7NY
3. 79
4. 16
5. 77
6. 07
My picks for Jtown:
51,16,77,7, 3, 07
fyi claremont postponed to 6.3 I believe.
my picks
16 79 51 58 7 54
Sorry Doug, a correction on mine. Please substitute the 07 for 10. Thought Coby was heading south.
Doug;
I’ll try these:
51
O7
16
22
79
3
Thanks for doing this!
Revised Forum Pick 6 Rules
First Place………0 points
Second Place….2 points
Third Place……..3 points
Fourth through the final finisher assigned points equal to their finishing position.
“Mulligan”-Worst finish (aka highest score) dropped from scoring leaving your 5 best counting toward your final score.
Any car that doesn’t show, has an equipment failure or otherwise doesn’t make the feature to be assigned a score equal to the number of feature starters plus one and can be dropped via the mulligan.
Lowest point total wins.
Tie breaker- All six picks scored.
NWMT Jennerstown 5/29/2022
Eddie…..16,79,51,7ny,10,3
Doug……51,79,07,58, 7ny,5
Jake…….58,7ny,79,16,77,07
Big City..51,16,77,7ny,3,07
51, 07, 16, 79, 58, 54
NWMT Jennerstown 5/29/2022
Eddie…..16,79,51,7ny,07,3
Doug……51,79,07,58, 7ny,5
Jake…….58,7ny,79,16,77,07
Big City..51,16,77,7ny,3,07
csg………16,79,51,58,7ny,54
Bobf…….51,07,16,22,79,3
Earl……..51,07,16,79,58,54
Thanks for participating.
My Picks:
79
16
51
7NY
77
3
NWMT Jennerstown 5/29/2022
Eddie…..16,79,51,7ny,07,3
Doug……51,79,07,58, 7ny,5
Jake…….58,7ny,79,16,77,07
Big City..51,16,77,7ny,3,07
csg………16,79,51,58,7ny,54
Bobf…….51,07,16,22,79,3
Earl……..51,07,16,79,58,54
Lapped…79, 16, 51, 7ny, 77, 3
51, 79,07,58,7ny,24
Sorry I’m late