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Whelen Mod Tour Notes: $20K In Bonuses Highlights Return Of Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup

(Press Release from NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications)

For the third consecutive season, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour drivers and teams will have the opportunity to race for bonus bucks as part of JDV Productions‘ Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup.

The program, created by JDV Productions founder Josh Vanada, features $20,000 in available bonus money this season. Headlining that is the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup point found, which features $6,000 to be distributed among the top three in points during the three-race miniseries held at Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, New Hampshire.

Saturday’s Granite State Derby, the Duel at the Dog 250 on July 20 and the Winchester Fair on Sept. 21 make up the 2024 edition of the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup. Matt Hirschman won the 2022 edition of the Cup, and Doug Coby captured the 2023 crown.

“This year, we changed the payout structure. We’re pumping more money into the teams,” said Vanada, who became the promoter of Monadnock Speedway prior to the 2024 season. “There are pit passes that are going to be credited to the teams so we can keep the teams coming back. That’s a change that was made. We made a change to the top-three payout, as well. Those are two of the bigger things. We also put some money into the 250-lap race that’s going to happen July 20, the Duel at the Dog 250.”

The program also features several unique bonuses, including a $250 Challenger Bonus that will be paid at each event to the highest finishing driver who competed in fewer than half of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events in 2023. A $1,000 bonus will be available to the driver who has the best average finish across all three events, and there is a $3,000 bonus available to any driver who can sweep all three races as part of the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup.

In previous years, the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup was held at multiple tracks, but this year, all three events will be held at Monadnock. Vanada believes that gives him the unique ability to better promote not just the three-race series, but short-track racing as a whole.

“I think it gives us access to actually improve our promotion,” Vanada said. “Now we have access to use track social media channels in ways we haven’t in the past. We can have more time to dress things up around the facility and really increase the profile from top to bottom. It’s not like we’re coming in a day or two before the race. We’re there, and we can make a year-long investment into truly making these marquee stops on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.”

Vanada, in his first season as promoter at Monadnock, has put in the work to make the facility as welcoming as possible for competitors and fans.

For competitors, the speedway has received a fresh layer of asphalt on the racing surface for the first time since 1971. Fans will be greeted by updated bathrooms, as well as a new concession stand menu.

“I think you’re going to be able to see the competitors really go after it,” Vanada said about the new racing surface. “Of course, the beneficiary of that is going to be the fans.

“We encourage everyone to come out and enjoy it and take advantage of all the stuff we’ve done.”

Redraw procedure to shuffle the deck for competitors at Monadnock

Saturday’s Granite State Derby will feature the debut of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s redraw. The procedure will be utilized at select events on the 2024 schedule.

The rules for the redraw procedure are as follows:

During driver introductions, the winner of the Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole Award will spin a wheel that will determine the number of drivers that will redraw for their starting positions. That number could be four, six, eight or 10.

NASCAR officials will have buckets ready to immediately begin the redraw process. Drivers will redraw in the order in which they qualified. For example, the pole winner will redraw first, followed by the second fastest qualifier, third fastest and so forth.

The pole position and/or any bonus point(s), if applicable, will be awarded to the fastest qualifier and will be the pole of record.

If, due to adverse conditions, qualifying is canceled, the field will be set in accordance with the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Rule Book. The redraw procedure will still take place regardless of how the field is set.

However, pole awards and/or any bonus point(s), if applicable, will not be paid, if due to adverse conditions, the field is set in accordance with the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Rule Book.

This isn’t the first time the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour has utilized a redraw. A similar procedure was last utilized during the 2010 season.

2022 Whelen Modified Tour champion Jon McKennedy returns

For the first time this season, 2022 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Jon McKennedy will be in the field when the green flag waves Saturday evening at Monadnock Speedway.

McKennedy returns to the series for his 99th career start in his own No. 79. It’s the first of five Tour races McKennedy plans to enter this year. He also plans to race at Massachusetts’ Seekonk Speedway (June 1), New Hampshire Motor Speedway (June 22), Monadnock (July 20) and Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (Aug. 14).

From Chelmsford, Massachusetts, McKennedy has two Modified Tour wins to his credit. His first victory came at Myrtle Beach Speedway in 2018 while driving for Tommy Baldwin Racing. His second came at Claremont Motorsports Park during his championship season in 2022.

He most recently competed with the Modified Tour at Oswego Speedway last September. Piloting the No. 77 for team owner Mike Curb, McKennedy started sixth and finished seventh.

McKennedy has four previous Modified Tour starts at Monadnock with mixed results. In 2020 he started from the pole and led 61 laps before fading to a sixth-place finish. In his lone start at the track last year, he started 12th and marched through the field to finish second. He also has two finishes of 18th or worse at the quarter-mile track.

• Justin Bonsignore enters Saturday’s Granite State Derby as the winner of three of the last four races at Monadnock. He’s the winningest driver in series history at Monadnock with five wins, and another would tie Ted Christopher for third on the all-time series wins list.
• For the first time this season, Anthony Nocella will be in the field for a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event. The 2022 New Hampshire Motor Speedway winner has four previous starts with the series at Monadnock, including finishes of fourth and sixth.
• After last competing with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in 2021, Joey Cipriano III will be among those competing Saturday at Monadnock. He has five previous series starts, with four coming at Stafford Motor Speedway and one at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
• Brian Robie enters the Granite State Derby with momentum after winning the opening race of the 2024 season at Monadnock Speedway on April 20. In his rookie season with the Whelen Modified Tour, Robie has a best finish of 12th at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. He finished eighth in the Whelen Modified Tour event at Monadnock last fall.
• For the first time this year, Timmy Solomito will take over driving duties of the No. 58 Goodie Motorsports entry. He is sharing driving duties of the No. 58 with his cousin, Eric Goodale, as the team pursues the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour owners championship.

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CARS Late Model Stock Tour

Carson kvapil claims cars win at ace as championship tightens.

• May 4, 2024

It’s early but the CARS Tour championship is still the gift that keeps on giving this spring as Carson Kvapil became the first driver to multiple wins this season as pretty much everyone up front has used a mulligan through the first five races.

For example, Connor Hall and Brent Crews entered the race weekend at Ace first and second in the standings but finished 12th and 15th respectively. Kvapil missed a race but made that up with top 5s in all the races he has entered, including the two wins.

Bobby McCarty was the points leader entering Orange County last week, got crashed while racing Connor Zilisch for a podium but recovered to a fourth place on Friday at Ace.

Mini Tyrrell and Treyten Lapcevich continue to be top-10 machines too. All told, this race was just a reminder of how closely contested this championship is going to be. And three years in a row, it continues to run through Kvapil following his victory in the AcceleratedGFX.com 285.

“Honestly, I just felt like we had better speed there at the end,” Kvapil said of a last laps duel with Brenden Queen. “Honestly, at the start of the race, I didn’t think we were all that great. I messed up in qualifying and put us in eighth and I thought we were better than that.

“We dropped the green flag and it didn’t seem to have as much ‘go’ as I thought we were going to have. But as the race played out, we just got better, felt like we had more tire left and could wrap the bottom better.”

To his point, Kvapil picked cars off methodically while Queen and Ryan Millington raced both each other and lapped traffic pretty hard on the longest green flag run of the night from Laps 50 to 95. Queen just didn’t have enough left to hold off Kvapil or get him on the final two restarts.

But still, a runner-up, plus leading a lap is a nice rebound from a season that includes three finishes outside of the top-10 alongside the two podiums.

“It’s been an emotional rollercoaster with this series, this year,” Queen said. “I thought we were a fifth-place car in practice, maybe had a bad set in practice and put older tires on and had speed but kind of went into qualifying blind with the setup because we wasted our practice today changing stuff.

“But we just missed the pole and had a strong top-two race all day long.”

Millington scored the pole and led the most laps but a track bar issue might have been the difference in not being able to hold off Kvapil and Queen.

“As soon as we got down here (on the podium celebration) I told them there’s a problem in the back,” Millington said. “We started shaking the car and found that the left-side track bar came loose and dropped all the way down. That ended up screwing us, because we had a really good piece.

“Lap 70 or 80, man, I was still riding, biding my time. Stuff happens, right? Mistakes are made, you’ve just got to learn from them. That’s all you can do. Solid P3 tonight. Just got to go back to the shop, regroup, try to build off this for Wilkesboro.”

CARS Tour Ace May 3 2024 Ace Speedway

• Carson Kvapil
• Brenden Queen
• Ryan Millington
• Bobby McCarty
• Chad McCumbee
• Ronnie Bassett, Jr.
• Treyten Lapcevich
• Isabella Robusto
• Mini Tyrrell
• Jacob Heafner
• Brandon Pierce
• Connor Hall
• Brandon Jones
• Katie Hettinger
• Brent Crews
• Deac McCaskill
• Landon Huffman
• Landen Lewis
• Andrew Grady
• Buddy Isles, Jr.
• Dillon Harville

 POINTS IN FOCUS

Connor Hall battled back to P12 by the end of the race but given that everything went wrong (in his words) this was not a good night.

Hall was approached for an interview, and said, this is not going to be a positive one.

There were a lot of frustration from starting 15th, receiving damage in a restart stack-up, getting spun by Landon Huffman and then all the beating and banging it took just to charge towards the top-10.

“So, we passed like four cars in the first five laps and had good drive, turned real good,” Hall said. “We sold out on qualifying so we could have a real good race car. I was really excited about our car, maybe had a fourth to fifth place car but once we got damage, I couldn’t even see.”

The spin was fortuitous in a sense because the Nelson Motorsports No. 22 team was able to shove the nose back down and get the car driving better but every pass was just a grind.

Hall, his dad Earle and team owner Barry Nelson were talking about the points before the interview, but that was after he calmed down.

“I was definitely not counting points when I climbed out of the car,” he said with a laugh. “And I thought I was going to get myself worked up in this interview but I’ve kept it together pretty well.”

But he’s right, that its going to be a dogfight of a points battle now.

“But it was always going to be,” he said. “Carson is going to string some of these together and you can’t count out Brenden and Lee and Chad’s guys. I just hated that we gave up so many points here when we had another top-5 car.”

Updated Standings

Connor Hall Bobby McCarty -14 Carson Kvapil-16 Mini Tyrrell -16 Treyten Lapcevich -16 Brent Crews -18 Brenden Queen -18 Ryan Millington -45

In finishing fourth, McCarty gained eight points on Hall but is still lamenting everything that happened at Orange County last month, the only real blemish on a resurgent season from the three-time champion and Coastal Plains winner.

“So, you never root for anyone to have bad nights but we’ve all had one so far,” McCarty said.

Even Crews, who fell to third, not that it changed how McCarty feels about him.

“I’ve been doing this a long time now, and seen a lot of drivers come and go, but Brent is really good so I was surprised to see them have a bad day. … But really, I’m kicking myself tonight because I think I tuned us out of a winning car. I’m really involved with the adjustments and sometimes I try to crew chief too much and adjust too much instead of trusting the car and (Mike) Triplett. I made so mistakes today and learned from them.”

Queen really hopes he’s righted the ship now and he’s not counting himself out either.

“This championship this year is so much tighter than last year because no one can seem to run away with it,” Queen said. “Anytime someone gets a good lead, they have an issue. We’re hanging in there. We were as far back as 30 last year and we closed it down to five (on Kvapil) so anything can happen.”

But until otherwise stated, this championship runs through Kvapil after winning at Ace.

“Missing one race really puts you in a hole because these tour guys are so good,” Kvapil said. “It’s the hardest series going. I’m not worried about it too much. If we can go out there and keep having races like this, it will take care of itself.”

Last➡️P17 tonight at Ace in @CARSTour No damage long night & weekend but we fought hard and I’m proud of my @HuffmanRacing_ team Thank you @HighRockVodka for the support! pic.twitter.com/CYAOIKd7mc — Landon Huffman (@LandonHuffman) May 4, 2024

P19 to P7 with a car that I felt terrible about beforehand! Definitely got the most out of it and logged another top 10. pic.twitter.com/oUrxqs1c6j — Treyten Lapcevich (@TreytenL) May 4, 2024

Ended up pulling in P.9 from qualifying 16th tonight in the #AcceleratedGFX285 pic.twitter.com/Hhio0bpMb2 — Mini Tyrrell (@MiniTyrrell) May 4, 2024

https://twitter.com/03Butterbean/status/1786618643125559665

Matt Weaver is the owner and founder of Short Track Scene. Weaver grew up in the sport, having raced himself before becoming a reporter in college at the University of South Alabama. He also has extensive experience covering NASCAR, IndyCar and Dirt Sprint Cars.

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NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings: Breaking down the top 10 in points after Oswego

Jon McKennedy has slightly more breathing room to work with in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings following Saturday‘s Toyota Bud Mod Classic 150 at Oswego Speedway.

Entering the race with just a three-point advantage, McKennedy stayed out of trouble all evening while the second-place points driver in 2011 champion Ron Silk was forced to make a late pit stop, which increased McKennedy‘s lead to 10 points.

RELATED:  Complete results from Oswego Speedway

Although McKennedy and Silk have primarily controlled the top two spots during the summer, a third contender has entered the conversation in three-time champion Justin Bonsignore. By winning at Oswego on Saturday, Bonsignore only trails McKennedy by 17 points with just three races remaining on the 2022 schedule.

Below is a breakdown of how the top 10 drivers in the standings fared during the Toyota Bud Mod Classic 150, along with a complete look at the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings.

Jon McKennedy: 492 points  

As has been the theme for most of the 2022 season, McKennedy enjoyed a calm evening at Oswego to settle for a solid, sixth-place finish. Maintaining consistent runs will be imperative for McKennedy over the final three races if he wants to keep Silk and Bonsignore behind him.

Ron Silk: 482 points

For most of the Toyota Bud Mod Classic 150, Silk was running right with McKennedy until he was forced to make a late, unscheduled stop. Silk‘s 13 th place finish at Oswego will now force him to play both offense and defense as he attempts to claim his second NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour title.

Justin Bonsignore: 475 points

Two poor early-season finishes at New Smyrna Speedway and Riverhead Raceway are the primary reason why Bonsignore is not atop the point standings. Now armed with three wins on the year, momentum is shifting in Bonsignore‘s favor to win a third consecutive title in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.

Eric Goodale: 465 points  

Goodale remains a dark horse contender for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour title, but he has work to do after Oswego. A ninth place run for Goodale on Saturday gives him eight Top 10s on the 2022 season, yet Bonsignore‘s victory caused him to fall from third to four in the standings.

Kyle Bonsignore: 445 points

The other Bonsignore did everything possible to overtake his cousin during the final laps of Saturday‘s Toyota Bud Mod Classic 150. Kyle ended up settling for fifth, matching a season-best three top-five finishes that he originally set last year.

Austin Beers*: 441 points

After tallying a career-best performance of third at Langley Speedway last weekend, Beers ended up getting a reality check on Saturday evening. Beers struggled to maintain solid track position at the front of the field and ended up finishing in 12 th .

Tommy Catalano: 438 points

The Bud Mod Classic 150 was a night to forget for Catalano. He finished two laps down in the 17 th position; his worst run on the 2022 season since New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where he finished 20 th after blowing an engine.

Craig Lutz: 429 points

Lutz has quietly turned his season around after finding Victory Lane at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. Lutz mixed it up with the Bonsignores and Chuck Hossfeld during the final laps of the Toyota Bud Mod Classic 150 and ultimately came home in third for his second top five of 2022.

Doug Coby: 368 points

Despite now being a part-time competitor in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, Coby remains one of the most efficient drivers in the series with three wins on the year. The six-time champion enjoyed plenty of time out front at Oswego on Saturday but diverging pit strategies forced him to settle for seventh

J.B. Fortin: 339 points

An early accident set the tone for Fortin‘s night at Oswego. He finished in the 22 nd position and has not recorded a top 10 since finishing third at Jennerstown Speedway back on May 28.

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NBA picks, best bets for playoffs: Why Timberwolves will keep it close against Jamal Murray, Nuggets in Game 1

Lean on the under in saturday's series opener.

The 2024  NBA  postseason is well underway, and the basketball betting market is hotter than ever. CBS Sports will provide daily picks for the duration of the postseason. Sam Quinn will make at least one pick for every game between now and the NBA Finals.

Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

Denver gains a basketball IQ advantage as a series progresses. Nikola Jokic is going to do a better job of solving your team than you are of solving him. But early in series? They're not exactly vulnerable, as they've won five straight Game 1's, but they're closer to mortal. That is especially true with Jamal Murray seemingly compromised physically. He just shot 40% on the dot from the field in the first round against a Lakers team with putrid point-of-attack defenders. I need to see him prove it in this series before I can comfortably take Denver. The Pick: Timberwolves +4.5

Minnesota's No. 1 defense in the regular season obviously suggests that the under is the play on the point total here, but what really sold it for me was how they handled Game 1 of the Suns series. Phoenix swept Minnesota in the regular season, and its jump shooting was a seemingly perfect answer to Minnesota's drop defense. Well, the Timberwolves came out for Game 1 with a whole new game plan. Minnesota gave Kevin Durant what he wanted so it could stop Devin Booker and Bradley Beal . Rudy Gobert defended in space more because he trusted the defenders around him to do his job. It led to a dominant defensive series. Denver is better-equipped to solve Minnesota's defense than Phoenix was because its system and players are far more versatile. But that's going to take time. Game 1 will be low-scoring. The Pick: Under 208

Speaking of disappointing first-round series, Devin Booker averaged just 20.3 points on 43.2% shooting in the first three games of Phoenix's first-round loss to Minnesota before erupting in Game 4. Jaden McDaniels was behind Booker's struggles, and he's likely to draw the Murray matchup in Game 1. He's an unorthodox matchup for Murray, but a perfect one if his speed is at all limited. McDaniels has such a size advantage over Murray that he should have a fairly hard time finding clean jumpers. Until he proves he's healthy, I'm expecting him to have some trouble with Minnesota's gigantic defense. The Pick: Jamal Murray Under 23.5 Points

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