05/3/2007

NASCAR WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR READIES FOR FIRST “FLASH EVENT”

    The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will travel to historic Wall Township (N.J.) Speedway for the inaugural “Flash Event” format race on Sunday May 6. The Thunder at the Shore will be the first of three flash events in 2007 and the races with the new format has become one of the most anticipated of the season.
    The Flash Event format does away with the time trial qualifying which is used at most series events. In its place will be twin 50-lap qualifying races which will determine the starting positions for the 50-lap feature.
    The last time the series used qualifying races to determine starting positions was at Thompson International Speedway in September of 2005.
    Short-distance races were a common element of the early days of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Holland (N.Y.) International Speedway hosted twin 50-lap races in 1985. That same year Thompson staged a 40-lap event as part of its World Series weekend.
    The short-distance race will dramatically change driver strategy usually associated with the longer races on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule. Drivers will not have the option of holding back. The distance will require a sprint strategy.
    These will not be the first events Wall has hosted. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour made its inaugural appearance at Wall in 2003 when John Blewett III was the winner. The following year Reggie Ruggiero scored a popular win giving local car owner Richard Barney his first series victory.
    The twin 50-lap qualifying races are slated to get the green at 1 p.m. on May 6. The 50-lap feature is scheduled to start at approximately 8 p.m.

WALL NOTES:
   *The 31-car filed will be determined by two 50-lap qualifying races which will take 26 cars and five provisional positions based on 2006 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour points. Positions 1-10 for the first qualifying race will be determined by a draw of the first ten odd number car owners based on the final 2006 car owner point standings. Positions 1st thru 10th for the second Qualifying Race will be determined by a draw of the first ten even number car owners based on 2006 car owner point standings. The final positions will be determined by a draw of those cars not in the highest 20 of the final 2006 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Championship car owner point standings.
   *The qualifying races will carry a $5,300 purse for the two races.
   *The $600 Bud Pole Award money will be divided evenly between the two qualifying race winners.

Source: Mark Mockovak/NASCAR Whelen Modified PR
Posted:  May 3, 2007