The 25th season of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will draw to a close and a champion will be crowned at the World Series of Speedway Racing presented by Xtra Mart on Sunday, Oct. 18 at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway.
The final stop for the Whelen Modified Tour in 2009 will be a familiar one as Thompson has played host to more events than any other venue in the Tour’s 25-year history. And as the season concludes, a familiar storyline has once again come to the forefront: a tight championship battle.
Donny Lia – the 2007 Whelen Modified Tour champion – carries a slim 26-point lead into the season finale. Lia, from Jericho, N.Y., earned his Tour-high fourth win of the year last time out at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway, and consequently took the points lead for the first time this year.
Although he may have momentum on his side after winning three of the last five races, Lia will have his hands full at Thompson, however. Ryan Preece is Lia’s closest competition at just 26 markers back.
Preece, from Berlin, Conn., has been the season’s most consistent top finisher. Highlighted by a pair of wins and third-place efforts in the last three races entering Thompson, Preece has a Tour-high nine top-five finishes in 12 starts this year. Recent history has shown that – barring mechanical failure or getting caught up in an accident – Preece will be at or near the front on Sunday.
The Lia versus Preece match-up provides an interesting storyline entering the World Series. The No. 4 “Mystic Missile” driven by Lia has been a fixture in NASCAR Modified racing since 1962 with car owner Bob Garbarino, while the No. 3 “Ole Blue” Modified of Boehler Racing Enterprises began competition in 1957 under the direction of the late Len Boehler. History has come full-circle in the 25th season of the Whelen Modified Tour with Lia and Preece the title frontrunners in cars that represent the longest-running Modified teams in the Northeast by far.
For all intents and purposes, it is a two-horse race between Lia and Preece. Although still mathematically alive, Ted Christopher, Todd Szegedy and Rowan Pennink will be long shots for the championship trophy at Thompson. Szegedy and Pennink will be eliminated from contention when Lia takes the green flag and Christopher – at 109 points out of first – would need to win and have Lia finish worse than 30th to pass the current points leader. Should that happen, Christopher would also have to leapfrog Preece by finishing sixth or better, assuming Preece finished between 22nd and 32nd.
The 2009 World Series marks the second year in a row – and just the latest on the list of instances – where the championship comes down to the last race. A year ago, Christopher carried a 35-point lead to Thompson against Matt Hirschman. Christopher went on to win the race and secure his first title.
Raceday Notes: The smallest championship points differential occurred in 1995 when Tony Hirschman edged Steve Park by three points … If Lia were to win the title, he would become just the fourth driver in Whelen Modified Tour history to earn multiple championships, joining Tony Hirschman (5), Jimmy Spencer (2) and Mike Stefanik (7) … If Preece were to clinch the title, it would mark the third year in a row that the crown goes to a first time winner, following Lia in 2007 and Christopher in 2008 … Lia enters the race with 15 career wins, which has him tied with Spencer on the Whelen Modified Tour all-time list, and one shy of the totals of Mike McLaughlin and Park … The Whelen Modified Tour champion will earn a secured starting position in the 2010 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, to be held Jan. 29-30 at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.) … Renee Dupuis will attempt to make her 100th career Whelen Modified Tour start at the World Series.
Fast Facts
The Race: World Series of Speedway Racing presented by Xtra Mart
The Place: Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway
The Date: Sunday, October 18
The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
The Distance: 150 laps / 93.75 miles
Race Purse: $85,971
2008 Winner: Ted Christopher
2008 Polesitter: Eric Beers
Event Schedule: Saturday: Practice 11 a.m. – 12 p.m., Qualifying 2:20 p.m.