The big story of the offseason on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was the sanctioning body’s decision to make American Racer Tire the exclusive tire provider for the series this season.
Hoosier had been the exclusive tire provider for the Whelen Modified Tour since the 1999 season.
Now it seems the big story of the offseason is on the verge of becoming the story taking over the headlines for the series after just four events on the new rubber.
There have been whispers of significant inconsistency with tires distributed to teams at series events since the start of the season on Feb. 7 at New Smyrna Speedway. Following the event at Seekonk Speedway on May 16, multiple teams told RaceDayCT that they were having concerning issues with tires coming apart at the event. None of those who reported the issue wanted to be named for worry they would face the wrath of the sanctioning body for speaking out to the media.
Though what happened today should surely get some standing at attention. Series full-time driver/owner Kyle Bonsignore announced that his team would be shutting down for an undefined amount of Whelen Modified Tour events. Bonsignore cited the tire issues as the reason for the break.
The Whelen Modified Tour returns to action for the Miller Lite Salute To Don Howe 200 Saturday at Riverehad Raceway.
In a statement on Facebook, Bonsignore said: “Usually look forward to the Riverhead tour race and going home, but the 22 car will be taking the next few tour races off. This is in no way a reflection of how I see the series, [series director Gary Putnam] and his team are doing a great job. Unfortunately, major inconsistency in the tires we are given to race at the track makes it a huge “roll of the dice” when putting on sticker tires. Racing is a gamble in and of itself, leaving that much to chance just doesn’t make sense to myself or the team. Hopefully the tires get better soon, good luck to the teams and competitors this Saturday! See you down the road.”
Bonsignore has competed in 86 consecutive series events. He has not missed a series event since the seventh race of the 2020 season at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Bonsignore has three career Whelen Modified Tour victories and has made 112 series starts since 2015.
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Doesn’t everyone get the same tires?
Yes. What seems to be in question in the quality difference from one tire to the next. Trying to think of a good analogy while also knowing I have no idea how tires are made… If you’re making pancakes, and you don’t mix the batter very well, it doesn’t matter if you’re using a one-size pancake pan to make all your pancakes the same size. Some will be thin and fluffy, others will have big dry lumps.