Josh Vanada of JDV Productions has never been afraid to express his love for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
He’s been a fan of Modified racing since childhood and has spent the last several seasons working to support the series by promoting events and offering bonus programs to competitors.
That love for NASCAR’s oldest division drives him to keep coming back and making his programs bigger and better each season.
Vanada, who has served as the general manager of Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park and the promoter of Monadnock Speedway, has stepped things up a notch yet again this year with the introduction of the Whelen Midsummer Championship.
The three-race miniseries, which began last Wednesday at Seekonk Speedway and includes Friday’s race at Claremont Motorsports Park and the July 25 event at Monadnock, is the latest evolution of what started as the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup in 2022.
ENTRIES: See who’s racing at Claremont on Friday
Vanada explained the adjustments to the program were the result of several factors, chief among them being changes to the Modified Tour schedule in 2026.
“I think the Tour schedule has a little bit more diversity than it has had in the past couple of years. That was one factor,” Vanada said. “The fact that Seekonk had asked my coaching business to sponsor the Firecracker 150, then we had Claremont and Monadnock all in the same month, it just lended itself to a really cool July program. In the past we’ve kind of just run it over the summer. Now we’re running it essentially over the course of a month.
“Yes, the name has changed slightly, but we felt like the Midsummer Challenge is a little bit of a refresh. It’s the largest program we’ve ever put together.”
The Whelen Midsummer Championship boasts a total purse of $25,000. The champion of the miniseries takes $5,000, with $2,500 going to second and $1,000 to third.
That’s not all. There is also the Hard Charger Award, which will pay $500 per event, as well as the Hard Luck Award, worth another $500 per race. There is also the JDV Loyalty Program Tire Bonus, which is valued at $3,500.
“The winner’s money is great, but there is only one of them,” Vanada said. “I think that’s something that I have learned over my career that is valuable. We need to make sure everybody stays in the field, especially the people who are running sixth to 20th.
“Let’s face it, $500 to these teams, it’s really not a lot in the grand scheme of their expense costs. It’s a way that we can say that we appreciate their effort and acknowledge it and give them a little bit to keep them going.”
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Last, but certainly not least, if a driver can win all three races as part of the Whelen Midsummer Challenge, he’ll earn a $10,000 bonus. After winning at Seekonk, Matt Hirschman is the only driver who can potentially earn that bonus.
This is the largest bonus program Vanada and JDV Productions have put together for the Modified Tour, and it’s a great source of pride.
“Being able to have something to keep the teams going in the summer stretch when it’s hot, when you’ve got to see yourself to the back end of the championship run that starts in August, it just seems like the timing is really good,” Vanada said. “To give a little bit of an injection of cash in the summer is something that we’re happy to do.
“It just injects some real life. You have a championship coming halfway through the year before you pivot to the last six or seven races of the season and really focus your eye on the season-long championship.”
While the Whelen Midsummer Championship is the brainchild of Vanada, the program wouldn’t be what it is today without the support of Whelen Engineering.
The company, in addition to serving as the title sponsor of the Modified Tour since 2005, has been a key part of what is now the Whelen Midsummer Championship since it was initially created in 2022.
Whelen Engineering operates a manufacturing facility just 20 minutes from Claremont Motorsports Park, and Vanada expects to host roughly 200 Whelen employees during Friday’s Clash at Claremont.
“Two of the three tracks are within 40 miles of Whelen,” Vanada said. “They get what we’re trying to do. They’ve invested for so long dating back to the Phil Kurze days when Phil and I used to do business together. They’re just terrific to deal with. They’re a local success story of a company that started out and grew and grew and has now become international.
“They haven’t forgotten where they come from. To be able to have a company that has scaled like that that also has that level of grassroots involvement is great. You can’t ask for better people to deal with.”
Ultimately, the Whelen Midsummer Championship is a passion project for Vanada. It’s his way of giving back to the division he grew to love as a child.
Now, as an adult, he can help it thrive. He plans to do that as long as possible.
“I grew up watching the Modifieds. I think I’ve said consistently I’m a fan first,” Vanada said. “That’s a division I have a lot of passion for. It’s the first division I kind of really fell in love with. It’s historic; it’s NASCAR oldest division.
“This is a labor of love. Just like it’s a labor of love for the racers, it’s a labor of love for me, too.”