PIT BOX: NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returning to Beech Ridge after over a decade

Davey Segal

5 years ago

Paul Rutherford

What’s old is new again this week on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Beech Ridge Motor Speedway will play host to the 10th race of the 14 in the championship points battle, marking the first time in over 15 years the tour has visited the third-mile Maine oval. While the track hasn’t hosted a modified race since 2005 or ARCA Menards Series East race since 2003, the facility operates weekly under the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Racing Series sanction, with local divisions on both Thursday and Saturday nights. But, dating back to 1995, the year the track became officially NASCAR sanctioned, tour standouts such as Steve Park, Todd Szegedy, the late Ted Christopher and Jerry Marquis, winner of the last event at Beech Ridge, have turned laps at the Scarborough track. RACE INFO: Race Center: Beech Ridge With only five races remaining before a champion is crowned, the new generation is primed to make their mark on Beech Ridge, hoping to reign in the Modified Tour’s return with a trip to Victory Lane. With a 12-point advantage over Patrick Emerling, Justin Bonsignore is looking to add to his cushion in search of his second consecutive championship, and third overall. Fans can watch the Rumble at The Ridge 200 live on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, and see a tape-delayed version on Sunday, August 29 at 4:30 pm ET on NBCSN.

Rumble at the Ridge 200

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

Only two drivers have prior experience with the Whelen Modified Tour at Beech Ridge. Seven-time champion Doug Coby has raced three times at the Maine oval, with his best finish coming all the way back in 2003 (12th), while Ransomville, New York's Chuck Hossfeld has four career starts, finishing third the same year. Hossfeld is entered to return to tour competition on Saturday driving for Gershow Motorsports, while Coby continues his quest to climb back to the front of the championship battle in the No. 10 Mayhew Tools machine. As with most everybody else, they’ll be learning from square one. But that may be a blessing in disguise for Bonsignore -- who seems to thrive on the Whelen Modified Tour’s inaugural trips to venues. Dating back to last season, he finished first or second in his first career starts at new tracks. At Jennerstown last season, he won in his first trip to the track (and backed it up with a win this season), did the same at White Mountain Motorsports Park in 2020, and finished second at Lancaster in his debut there just two races ago. The trend says the No. 51 will be, at a minimum, running up front towards the end of the 200-lap, 66.6-mile feature event. That would make things tough for Emerling, who is now playing catch up to Bonsignore in the standings. Emerling has only finished outside the top 10 once this season (13th at Loudon), but knows he needs to start racking up more victories if he wants to realistically catch Bonsignore for the big prize. RELATED: In Career Year, Emerling Preps For Stretch Run At Championship Although it’s all but a two-horse race for the title, the race behind them is heating up. Jon McKennedy holds the third spot by 17 markers over Ron Silk and 18 over Eric Goodale. Thanks to some mechanical gremlins in recent weeks and missing the race at Oswego, Coby sits a distant sixth in the standings despite his two victories thus far. Also in the Beech Ridge field are some part-timers, who are sure to be competitive. Matt Hirschman is entering only his second event of the season. But, having won the first one at Oswego in June leading 70 of the 150 laps, the No. 60 is sure to be up front. Still searching for his first win on the tour is Matt Swanson. While he’s yet to finish inside the top 10 this season, his outings at Stafford and Loudon were marred by crashes. The speed is there for the Acton, Massachusetts native, as he led 84 laps in the first Stafford event before the aforementioned wreck took him and his No. 3 team out of contention early. He does have experience this season at Beech Ridge in a Tour-Type Modified, competing with the Modified Racing Series. On top of the Whelen Modified Tour Rumble at the Ridge 200, the Beech Ridge local Beetle Bugs, Mad Bombers, Sport Series, Pro Series and Wildcat divisions are also scheduled to race Saturday. The Whelen Modified Tour drivers will be showcased to the fans in a driver autograph session behind the grandstands at 5:30 p.m. RACING REFERENCE:

RACE FACTS

Race	Rumble at the Ridge 200
Date	Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021
Track	Beech Ridge Motor Speedway
Layout	Third-mile oval
Location	Scarborough, Maine
Start time	7:30 p.m. ET
Laps	200
Miles	66.6
Tickets	Click here
TV channel	NBCSN (Delayed: Sunday, Aug. 29, 4:30 p.m. ET)
Live stream	TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold (Live)

RACEDAY SCHEDULE: Saturday, Aug. 21 — Garage opens: 12 p.m. ET; Practice: 2:50-3:50 p.m.; Qualifying: 6:30 p.m.; Race: 7:30 p.m. CREW CHIEF HANDOUT: The starting field for the Rumble at the Ridge 200 is limited to 28 starters including provisionals. The field will be set by qualifying (1-22) and provisional process per the entry blank (23-28) for the Rumble at the Ridge 200. In the event that qualifying as stated on the entry blank does not take place for any unforeseen circumstance, the field will be set in accordance with the 2021 NASCAR Touring Series Rule Book.

QUALIFYING: Two consecutive qualifying laps. Faster lap determines qualifying position. Adjustments or repairs may not be made on the vehicle after the vehicle has taken the green flag at the start-finish line. NASCAR reserves the right to have more than one vehicle engage in qualifying runs at the same time.

The maximum tire allotment available for this event is as follows: The maximum tire allotment available for this event is eleven (11) tires per team. All tires used for qualifying and the race must be purchased at the track and scanned by Hoosier, unless otherwise approved in advance by the Series Director. Four (4) tires must be used for qualifying and to begin the race. All qualifying tires must remain in impound until released by NASCAR Officials. The remaining tire allotment may be used for practice and/or change tires during the event.

The tire change rule is four (4) tires, any position. To utilize the fourth (4th) change tire, the team will have to take a practice tire purchased at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway and turn in by the conclusion of practice.

QUALIFYING AND SPECIAL AWARDS $400 Phil Kurze Halfway Leader Award presented by Josten’s per event award to the race leader at the halfway point of the event, regardless if the race is running under green or yellow. $600 Hoosier Tire “Lap Leader” per event award to the eligible car owner whose driver leads the most laps in each event. In the event of a tie, the award will go to the highest finishing car in the event. $500 Hoosier Tire “Hard Charger” per event award to the highest finishing eligible driver who advances the most positions during the course of the race. In the case of a tie, the highest finishing driver will receive the award. $500 Hoosier Tire “Most Improved” per event award to the eligible new team/organization whose driver improves the most positions during the course of the race. In the event of a tie, the award will go to the highest finishing car in the event. If money is not awarded during this event, funds will roll over to the next event and will continue to roll over until an eligible new team/organization claims the money. $1,000 Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole per event award to the driver with the fastest qualifying time eligible to participate under the Manufacturers' Prize Money Conditions. $550 Sunoco Spec Fuel award divided: 1st-$300 5th-$150 10th-$100. $3,500 Whelen Engineering “Winner of the Race” award to the winning driver. Whelen Non-Starter award will be paid to the first 15 competitors throughout the season who pass inspection, practice, attempt to qualify but fail to make the feature event.