The 40 greatest NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour drivers: Part 3
The Modified division, NASCAR's oldest class, ran its first race on Feb. 15, 1948, predating the NASCAR Cup Series by a full season.
From 1948 through 1984, some of NASCAR's greatest drivers raced and won in Modifieds. They include legends like Bobby Allison, Richie Evans, Red Farmer, Red Byron, Bugsy Stevens, Jerry Cook and Fonty Flock. But as the sport continued to evolve, so did the division.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was formed in 1985. Having since transitioned from a national championship format to a season-long championship format, the Tour now hosts more than a dozen events at tracks up and down the East Coast.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the modern Whelen Modified Tour, NASCAR Regional has named the 40 greatest NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour drivers, selected based on their accomplishments on the Tour beginning in 1985. Accomplishments from the NASCAR Modified National Championship era (1948-84) were not used to determine this list.
The 40 drivers will be revealed in no particular order throughout the summer in groups of 10. Below is the third set of 10 drivers on the list of the 40 greatest NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour drivers.
PART 3
- 289 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts
- Six-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion
- 35 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour wins (tied fifth all time)
- 120 top fives and 183 top 10s
In the history of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, only two drivers have won six championships or more.
One is NASCAR Hall of Famer Mike Stefanik. The other is Doug Coby.
From Milford, Connecticut, Coby got his start racing quarter midgets at Stafford Motor Speedway. As his skill improved, he progressed up the ranks to eventually drive a Modified.
He made his first Modified Tour start in 2002 at age 22 and ran his first full season with the series in 2004. His first win came a few seasons later at Stafford driving for Curt Chase.
Coby won again five seasons later, in 2011 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park driving for Wayne Darling. That victory began Coby’s stretch of 13 consecutive Tour seasons with at least one victory.
In 2012, Coby captured his first championship driving for Darling, but his real success came when he took over the No. 2 for team owner Mike Smeriglio III. Together, they won five championships in six seasons, a run unmatched in series history.
Photo Credits: NASCAR Archives
- 147 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts
- Seven NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour wins
- 32 top fives and 57 top 10s
- Best championship finish of sixth
There are few families more directly associated with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour than the Blewetts.
From Howell, New Jersey, the Blewett clan has produced three Modified Tour race winners. Among them is Jimmy Blewett, a seven-time winner.
Alongside his older brother John Blewett III, Jimmy was a familiar face at tracks across the Northeast before he could even walk. He made his first Modified Tour start in 2001 at age 20, finishing ninth at the Chemung Speedrome.
He ran his first full season with the series in 2006 and scored his first win that same year at Martinsville Speedway driving the No. 12 entry for Eddie Partridge.
Jimmy ran the full series schedule in just a handful of seasons, but each time he showed up at the track, he was a threat to win. His seven victories came at venues like Martinsville, Riverhead, Stafford and his home track, Wall Stadium.
When John Blewett III died in a racing accident at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in 2007, Jimmy was determined to push forward. He did just that and is now focused on helping his son, James, continue the family tradition.
Photo Credits: NASCAR Archives
- 164 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts
- 10 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour wins
- 43 top fives and 78 top 10s
- Best championship finish of third
One can’t include one of the Blewett brothers on the list of the 40 greatest NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour drivers and not include the other.
Much like his younger brother Jimmy, John Blewett III spent his childhood at tracks across the Northeast. His Modified Tour debut came in 1995 at age 21 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, where he finished 23rd.
Five years later, John ran the full schedule for the first time. Driving the No. 44 for Mario Fiore, he bagged his first win at Riverhead Raceway on June 12, 1999.
One season later, he partnered with Curt Chase to pilot the No. 77, the car in which he enjoyed most of his success. Between 2000 and 2003, he won six times and finished third in the Modified Tour standings twice.
He departed Chase’s team midway through the 2004 season but returned to Victory Lane with the Blewett family No. 66 in 2006. He scored three wins that season, the final three of his career before his passing at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in 2007.
Remembered as a fierce-but-kind competitor, John Blewett III is far from forgotten.
Photo Credits: NASCAR Archives
- 372 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts
- 2008 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion
- 42 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour wins (fourth all time)
- 133 top fives and 203 top 10s
Ted Christopher was one of those drivers who rivals either loved or hated. But no matter how one felt about him, he or she couldn’t argue against his success on the track.
From Plainville, Connecticut, Christopher spent his childhood racing against his twin brother Mike. When the SK Modified division was created at Stafford Motor Speedway, the two were among the first to jump aboard.
At the weekly level, Ted was among the best in the state of Connecticut. He won nine track championships at Stafford, five at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park and one at Waterford Speedbowl. He even won the 2001 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division I national championship.
All of that is in addition to his incredible success on the Modified Tour. He made his first series start in 1987 at age 29, but he didn’t earn his first win until 1999 at age 41.
Once he got that first win, though, the floodgates opened.
Christopher won 42 times over the subsequent 13 years, including his 2008 championship season in which he won four races. His last win came in 2011 when he was 53.
Christopher’s life came to a tragic end in 2017 when he was killed in a plane crash while on his way to compete at Riverhead Raceway. But there is no forgetting the impact he had on the Modified Tour and racing as a whole in the Northeast.
Photo Credits: NASCAR Archives
- 167 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts
- Eight NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour wins
- 51 top fives and 93 top 10s
- Best championship finish of second
A modern NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour star, Patrick Emerling is a contender each time he arrives at a track.
From Orchard Park, New York, Emerling has been a regular Modified Tour competitor since he was 18. He made his first series start in 2011 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park as part of his rookie campaign.
Emerling scored his first Modified Tour win in 2017 on the high banks of Bristol Motor Speedway. On that day, he won the pole and led 148 of 150 laps.
He returned to Victory Lane on the Tour in 2021, a year in which he battled Justin Bonsignore for the championship. Emerling earned three wins and narrowly missed out on the title.
After a few part-time seasons while also competing in NASCAR’s national series, Emerling returned for the full schedule in 2024 with a new team owned by Rich Gautreau. The pairing proved successful, winning three times and placing third in the final standings.
Photo Credits: NASCAR Archives
- 257 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts
- Nine NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour wins
- 72 top fives and 122 top 10s
- Best championship finish of third
For more than 30 years, Jan Leaty was among the best drivers the Modified racing world had to offer.
From Williamson, New York, Leaty began racing in the 1970s and was one of the 35 drivers who competed in the inaugural Modified Tour event at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in 1985.
Two years later, Leaty bagged his first Modified Tour win at Jennerstown Speedway when he outran future NASCAR Cup Series race winner Jimmy Spencer.
In a Modified Tour career that spanned 20 seasons, Leaty scored victories at tracks like Nazareth Speedway, Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, Stafford Motor Speedway, Flemington Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
His last two wins came at New Hampshire, the most prestigious stop on the Modified Tour schedule. His final win, in 2002, came in one of just three starts he made that season at age 42.
Leaty retired in 2012, but he continues to be involved in racing today alongside his son, Mike.
Photo Credits: NASCAR Archives, Howie & Mary Hodge Collection
- 195 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts
- 12 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour wins
- 61 top fives and 117 top 10s
- Best championship finish of third
A quiet and self-described introvert, George Kent Jr. let his racing do the talking.
From Hoseheads, New York, Kent was a track champion at Tioga and Spencer Speedways before hitting the road for the Modified Tour’s inaugural season in 1985.
Driving a car owned by his brother Ron, Kent scored wins at Spencer, Tioga and Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park during the series’ inaugural season to earn a third-place championship finish.
He followed that with three wins in both 1986 and 1987, with triumphs coming at venues like New Egypt Speedway, Pocono Raceway, Stafford Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway.
Already 35 during the series’ inaugural season, Kent ran his last full year with the series in 1991 and scored a win at Flemington Speedway. He continued to dabble with the series through 1999 before retiring from competition.
These days, he remains involved in racing by helping his grandson, Jesse, compete locally in New York.
Photo Credits: NASCAR Archives, Howie & Mary Hodge Collection, Pete Lawlor
- 439 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts
- 17 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour wins
- 91 top fives and 160 top 10s
- Best championship finish of second
For 25 years, one couldn’t go to a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race and not see Ed Flemke Jr.
From Southington, Connecticut, Flemke began racing as an 18-year-old at Riverside Park Speedway in Massachusetts. Following in the footsteps of his father, who himself was a successful racer, Flemke began competing on the Modified Tour in 1988.
His first win arrived in 1994 at Tioga Speedway in the No. 11 for car owner John Hummel. Flemke scored three wins driving for Hummel, but the bulk of his success came later with team owner Roger Hill.
Starting in 1998, Flemke and Hill partnered to win 12 races, including victories at Flemington Speedway, Riverside Park, Nazareth Speedway, Stafford Motor Speedway, Seekonk Speedway, Riverhead Raceway, Holland International Speedway and Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.
His last win came in 2008 when, at 53, he won Thompson’s IceBreaker. His 439 starts rank third with the Modified Tour behind Jamie Tomaino (628) and Mike Stefanik (453).
Photo Credits: NASCAR Archives, Getty Images
- 213 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts
- 2000 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion
- 19 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour wins
- 74 top fives and 116 top 10s
Jerry Marquis could drive – and win in – any kind of car.
Born in Maine, Marquis began his career at Riverside Park Speedway in the 1970s, when he won track championships in the Figure 8 class. He went on to win track titles in multiple classes across the Northeast, including at Stafford Motor Speedway and Monadnock Speedway.
He was successful in what is now known as the ARCA Menards Series East, scoring seven wins in 162 starts and securing a runner-up championship finish in 1997.
However, his greatest success came with the Modified Tour.
Marquis made his first start in 1985 but didn’t race with the series regularly until the mid-1990s. He earned his first series win in 1994 at Riverside Park and added two more in 1996 at Riverside and Holland International Speedway.
His best season came in 2000 while driving for team owner Mario Fiore. He scored five wins and bested Reggie Ruggiero to capture the Modified Tour championship.
Marquis went on to score 19 wins, ending his Modified Tour career in 2012 with his final start at Monadnock.
Photo Credits: NASCAR Archives, Howie & Mary Hodge Collection
- 136 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour starts
- Seven NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour wins
- 50 top fives and 79 top 10s
- Best championship finish of third
From Ballston Spa, New York, Brian Ross was an important figure in the Modified world in the Northeast for years before the creation of NASCAR’s Modified Tour.
Already 40 when the modern series was created in 1985, Ross was quick to establish himself as a contender. He won the 22nd race in series history at Stafford Motor Speedway, leading all 100 laps from the pole.
Ross went on to win six more times in Modified Tour competition. His victories came at Stafford, Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, Oswego Speedway and Riverside Park Speedway.
His best season came in 1988, when he won three times and finished a career-best third in the championship standings.
After stepping away from Modified Tour competition in 1990, Ross made a brief return to the series in 2000. At age 55, Ross competed in six Modified Tour events that season.
An early cornerstone of the Modified Tour, Ross made the most of every start and always gave his all when he hit the track.
Photo Credits: NASCAR Archives, Howie & Mary Hodge Collection