HOMESTEAD, Fla. — A strategy call from the pit box coupled with a patient move forward landed veteran Grant Enfinger his second consecutive NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series playoff race win in Saturday’s Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway while his closest competitors ran out of fuel behind him in the closing laps.
Enfinger, who also won the opening race in this playoff round at Talladega Superspeedway three weeks ago, denied the other seven playoff racers a chance at an automatic bid into the championship race at Phoenix. So now at least two drivers will advance based on points earned with only next Saturday’s race at Martinsville to settle which other three drivers move onward into the title fight.
Enfinger’s No. 9 CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet suffered damage on an early race restart, and the team opted to move to a different pit strategy — taking tires and fuel on Lap 80 while most of the day’s previous race leaders opted to pit later on Lap 100. Ultimately, Enfinger was able to save enough fuel and no one was able to catch him as he raced away to his 12th career victory.
Taking the lead for good with 22 laps remaining, Enfinger claimed a 17.5-second win over ThorSport Racing’s Ty Majeski as other trucks on a similar alternate strategy to Enfinger — the No. 38 driven by Layne Riggs and the No. 2 driven by Nick Sanchez — began running out of fuel in the final two laps.
Enfinger had enough fuel to do a burnout to celebrate the win.
“At the end of the day, [crew chief] Jeff [Stankiewicz] just had the best truck out here,” said Enfinger, who actually made up a lap on track after contact on a race restart cut his tire earlier in the day.
“Our car was really fast after about five laps yesterday [in practice] and was the same way today. Jeff did a good job managing me with the tires and then managing me with the fuel. I feel like I saved at least 20 percent more than I did in the first run. Jeff was on me pretty hard obviously and the 38 [Layne Riggs] ran out and the 2 [Nick Sanchez] did too.
“Hard to beat these two weeks,” he added with a grin.
“We’ve had potential all year,” the 39-year-old Alabama native continued. “There’s been sometimes, I haven’t executed and sometimes we’ve just had bad luck. Maybe it’s just time we get our momentum now.”
Connor Mosack finished a career-best third place in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports truck. The day’s most dominant truck, driven by Tricon Garage’s playoff driver Corey Heim finished fourth after leading a race-best 68 of the 134 laps. Heim continues to lead the championship standings and is now 49 points above fifth place with the top four drivers advancing to the title race.
“Overall, a good day for points, but disappointing,” said Heim, who has a series-best six wins on the year. “We were so fast last year and wanted to come back and redeem ourselves and win the race of course. But no complaints as far as points go, makes Martinsville a little bit easier if we put together a decent day.”
McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s playoff driver Tyler Ankrum, finished fifth — his best finish of the playoff run to date. Veteran Stewart Friesen was sixth, followed by Daniel Dye.
And three playoff drivers — Spire Motorsports’ Rajah Caruth, McAnally-Hilgemann’s Christian Eckes and Tricon Garage’s Taylor Gray rounded out the top 10.
Heading into the next race, Heim has that 49-point edge above the elimination line. Eckes is 38 points to the good and Majeski now holds a 22-point advantage. Caruth is ranked fifth, the first driver outside the playoff bubble, 22 points back. Gray is 24 points back and Ankrum and Sanchez — who finished 13th after running out of fuel — are 41 and 43 points behind, respectively.
Frankie Muniz, the popular actor from the ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ television series, finished 33rd after his truck suffered mechanical problems early in the race.
The Craftsman Truck Series races in the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 at Martinsville Speedway next Friday evening (6 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) to settle the Championship Four field. Eckes won the Martinsville spring race earlier this year.
NOTE: Post-race inspection in the Truck Series garage concluded without issue, confirming Enfinger as the Homestead-Miami winner. The No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet driven by Rajah Caruth was found with one unsecured lug nut, which will result in a monetary fine.
Tyler Reddick made it a clean sweep of Saturday’s track time, topping the practice leaderboard and backing that speed up in Busch Light Pole Qualifying with his third pole position of the season. Reddick landed a final-round lap of 167.452 mph in time trials, giving his No. 45 23XI Racing entry the top starting spot for Sunday’s 400-miler and leading a top-four sweep of playoff drivers on the grid. Toyota teams grabbed four of the top six spots.
Reddick was also atop the charts in practice with a best lap of 167.770 mph, besting Ross Chastain by a mere 0.001-second margin. He was also fastest among the eight playoff-eligible drivers in the consecutive 10-lap averages category. | Full Saturday recap
Big story line
Opportunity, and moving the playoff-bubble needle
Last weekend in Las Vegas, the Round of 8’s first race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs produced the Championship 4’s first entrant in race winner Joey Logano. It also yielded a wide-open 27-point cushion on the elimination line, with William Byron holding that margin over Denny Hamlin. It’s the largest gap between the provisional last driver in and the first driver out after a round-opening race in playoff history.
That margin, of course, is subject to change in Sunday’s 400-mile South Florida showdown, where only Logano can truly consider his postseason status safe.
There’s room for three more title hopefuls in the Nov. 10 season finale at Phoenix Raceway, and Sunday dawns with another opportunity for the remaining playoff-eligible seven to lock in with a clinching victory. The third and final chance in the round comes next weekend at Martinsville Speedway.
For Hamlin and fellow drivers among the bottom four — Tyler Reddick (-30), Ryan Blaney (-47) and Chase Elliott (-53) — all hope is not lost. At least one driver below the elimination line after the Round of 8 opener has reached the Championship 4 in each of the last five seasons. A victory at Homestead would be the most straightforward route, one that would also shift the complexion of the bubble for Martinsville.
“I mean, if we have pretty calm races from here to the last lap of Martinsville, I would say it’s probably not too great a deficit, but every freaking race in this playoffs, something crazy has happened,” said Reddick, who barrel-rolled his No. 45 Toyota on the frontstretch at Las Vegas last weekend, but who starts first Sunday. “So I wouldn’t rule it out, but I think for us to advance, today we have to be top three and score a lot of points, and if we want to win this race, we’ve got to do the same thing. Hopefully, we get some things to go our way along the way, but we’ve got to focus on just going into this weekend with the intent of winning.”
Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske group has the luxury of putting extra focus toward the Phoenix finale, given the team’s newfound playoff immunity. Logano said Friday that its team meetings this week included a brief Vegas recap, plus a Homestead-Miami overview, but concluded with an in-depth look at the title-deciding race two weeks from now.
The time frame is a bit tighter for the playoff field this weekend, but a Homestead victory would provide another week of Phoenix prep, sparing the winner from stressing over their playoff fate in the round-closing race at Martinsville.
“The teams have their routine to prepare the car for every week, but the Phoenix car is a special car and if you’re in the final four, it deserves to have more time and effort put into it,” said defending Miami race winner Christopher Bell. “So, winning that first race is huge and yeah, it’s an advantage, and I noticed that from winning Homestead last year, having that extra week to prepare.”
Seamless execution will be crucial for the remaining playoff contenders. Five of the eight encountered on-track trouble in last weekend’s round opener at Las Vegas, on pace with the steep 65% rate of playoff-driver peril in the postseason thus far.
History tells us…
Homestead, a playoff drivers’ playground. The last four winners of Homestead-Miami events share a common thread: All four are still alive in the Cup Series Playoffs. Denny Hamlin prevailed here during the COVID-shuffled season of 2020, and William Byron, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell have followed with their own trips to Victory Lane.
Further back in its history, Homestead was a haven for championship-clinching wins. The 1.5-mile track was the host venue for the Cup Series season finale from 2002-2019, and the eventual champion also won the season-ending race for six straight years after the advent of the playoff-elimination format in 2014.
No single manufacturer stands out with a heavy advantage at Homestead-Miami, but Ford’s record here includes a curious wrinkle: Ford won seven of the first 12 Cup Series races — including a five-year streak — at Homestead; in the 13 races since, Ford drivers have won just once (Logano’s title-clinching victory in 2018).
He may not be the betting favorite to win, but watch out for…
AUSTIN DILLON. The driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet has sagged to 28th in the current Cup Series standings, but his Homestead results merit a closer look. Dillon hasn’t led a lap in 10 starts here, but he has registered four top-10 finishes in the last five races here — including a career-best fourth in 2022. That rounds out to an 8.2 average finish — best among Cup Series full-timers during that span.
Dillon enters this weekend on the heels of two consecutive results outside the top 30, but for those looking for a deep dark-horse pick, the Richard Childress Racing driver’s 100-1 odds fit the bill. | Homestead-Miami odds
Speed reads
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.
• Bubble Watch: Playoff drivers running hot, cold into Miami | Photo gallery • Full speed to Ph0enix: Locked-in Logano has championship bid in focus | Read article • Script flipped: How Joey Logano’s rise turned the season’s tide | Read article
• Confidence remains: Why defending champ Blaney is still positive in finding momentum for rest of Round of 8 | Read article
• Homestead headway: Defending race winner Bell aims to shake Vegas toll | Read article • Turning Point: Chaos to continue with Miami mayhem? | Read article
• Playoff-time projections: Where Racing Insights predicts drivers will finish at Homestead | Read article
• Clinch scenarios: How drivers can advance in Round of 8’s middle race | Read article • Power Rankings: Reddick ready to reverse recent tailspin | Photo gallery • NASCAR Betting: Which Round of 8 contender is favored at Homestead? | Photo gallery • 36 for 36: Check out this week’s survivor pool picks | Read article
• Fantasy Update: Toyota pacing the field heading into Sunday, Stewart-Haas Racing could surprise | Read article • Memorable moments: Homestead’s history has a vibrant past | Photo gallery • NASCAR Classics: Rewind with favorite full-race replays from Homestead | Read article
• Paint Scheme Preview: Fresh Miami designs hit the track | Pick your favorite
Fast facts ⏩
Race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.
• Christopher Bell leads all Cup Series drivers with 265 points earned in the playoffs so far. • Tyler Reddick posted an average finish of 11.2 during the regular season; that figure has dropped to 20.57 in the seven postseason races. • Joey Logano’s sixth Championship 4 appearance ranks as the most in the Cup Series’ playoff era.
Much like Darlington Raceway last month, it’s a tall task to build the best fantasy lineup for Homestead-Miami Speedway because it’s a low-grip race track that has drastic tire falloff over the course of a run. Per usual at Homestead, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. were among the best in practice and qualifying. But it was non-playoff driver Noah Gragson who controlled the long runs, leading the field in 10-, 15-, 20-, 25- and 30-lap averages. Could there be one final hoorah for SHR before it rebrands to Haas Factory Team at the end of the 2024 season?
NEXT IN LINE: Bubba Wallace, Chase Briscoe, Noah Gragson, Chase Elliott
RISING: Elliott has never been unsatisfactory at Homestead, but his numbers don’t jump off the page, either, despite having an average finish of 10.4 in eight starts. After wrecking early in the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Elliott is in must-win mode. Not ideal, but the No. 9 team overachieved in qualifying, slotting in seventh. Crew chief Alan Gustafson might need to hone in on long-run speed, though, as Elliott lacked pace compared to his competition. That makes me hesitant to include him in my lineup.
There are just three races remaining for the current version of Stewart-Haas Racing, but the four-car team brought speed to Homestead. Noah Gragson was the best car on long runs in practice, and after 20 laps, Chase Briscoe soared up the leaderboard. The most recent Cup race at a track that resembled Homestead with drastic tire wear, the No. 14 team won its way into the playoffs in walk-off fashion at Darlington Raceway. Briscoe has struggled at Homestead in Cup but has won in both the Xfinity and Truck Series here and thoroughly enjoys low-grip race tracks.
FALLING: Entering Homestead comfortably 27 points above the elimination line, Byron just needs a well-rounded weekend. Unfortunately for the No. 24 team, Byron struggled in qualifying and will start the 400-mile race from 25th position, the worst of the playoff drivers still vying for a Championship 4 spot. Practice was better, however, particularly on the long run. Because Homestead is typically filled with said long runs, he’s worth keeping available.
It was a rough day at the office across the board for Team Penske on Saturday at Homestead. Joey Logano experienced a power steering issue in practice and will start the rear of the field. Austin Cindric is an elite qualifier, but his pace was 36th best in qualifying. Then there’s Ryan Blaney, whose focus will be on winning one of the next two races to advance to the Championship 4. We highlighted the defending Cup champion’s Homestead numbers earlier in the week, and his 20th-place qualifying effort doesn’t help those chances. The good news for Blaney fans: He looked competitive as runs went on (ranked third on 15-lap averages), which Homestead is typically filled with.
FEATURED MATCHUPS:
Kyle Larson vs. William Byron: This seemed like a tougher matchup entering the weekend, but the two Hendrick Motorsports drivers will start the race on opposite ends of the spectrum. The No. 5 machine was good enough for a front-row starting spot while the No. 24 car will be buried in 25th. Byron might have had a better car overall in practice, but there’s no way I’m going against Larson at Homestead.
Tyler Reddick vs. Christopher Bell: The Toyotas showed up on Saturday at Homestead with elite speed, filling out half of the top 10 in qualifying. Reddick scored his third pole award of the season and is known for running the wall better than anyone else in the field. The No. 20 team had a right-front tire go flat in qualifying and didn’t optimize the entire session. Sticking with Reddick because he’s so good at Homestead, but this is a wicked matchup.
Ryan Blaney vs. Martin Truex Jr.: Nothing has changed here, either. It’s plausible to believe that Blaney will rocket through the field on Sunday from his 20th starting position. Truex is a tough matchup because he’s also among the best at Homestead in recent years, earning four podium finishes in the last seven races. Keeping the No. 19 Toyota in my lineup and in this matchup.
Denny Hamlin vs. Chase Elliott: With how mediocre Hamlin and the No. 11 team have been in the postseason, qualifying fourth could be seen as a morale boost. The same could be said for Elliott in seventh because of his lack of speed over the long run in practice. Hamlin is the pick because of his longevity of success at Homestead.
See where your favorite NASCAR Cup Series driver will pit for the Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Only once has a driver pointed their way into Championship 4 from 20 points or more below the elimination line after the first Round of 8 race.
Being 47 markers down, it would be easy to close the book on Ryan Blaney’s chances of repeating as NASCAR Cup Series champion, especially when you consider his three finishes of 32nd or worse in the postseason and an average finish of 18.9 through seven playoff races. Numbers would suggest that the No. 12 team doesn’t have the momentum needed to make a second title bid.
However, in each of the last five seasons, at least one driver below the elimination line after the Round of 8 opener has raced their way into the finale. With a 27-point gap on the bubble being the largest deficit in playoff history after an opening-round race, Blaney and Co. remain confident that no matter how the standings look, they can right the ship over the final two Round of 8 contests.
“I feel like we’re controlling everything we can as a group very well. We’ve just been wrong spot, wrong time, and it’s kinda hurt us a little bit,” Blaney said. “We’re still in it. We still have a chance in two weeks with two really good tracks for us [Homestead and Martinsville], so hopefully we can step up.”
So much of the mentality for the 2023 Cup Series champion has been to reset to whatever the next challenge is and adapt in order to get back to Phoenix Raceway with a shot to go back-to-back.
“This group is so good at just like putting the past behind us, good, bad or indifferent and just moving on, like, ‘What’s the next job? What do we have to do have to do next?’ And we’re ready for that this weekend.” Blaney said. “We’ve done a great job. It’s just been a little bit more of a rougher year than I would’ve liked to have nothing really much of our doing. Just the way it goes sometimes.”
Blaney finished runner-up in last year’s Homestead race before closing out the Round of 8 with a dominant victory at Martinsville Speedway. However, he was one of the outliers in hoisting the Bill France Cup after not locking into the Championship early. With Joey Logano, his Team Penske counterpart, already locked in and having two weekends to prepare for the title race — in addition to the challenge of trying to gain points on contenders like Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson and William Byron — Blaney is more focused on finding momentum he can ride to the desert.
“I think there’s some advantage to winning early, Joey doing in ’22, Larson doing it ’21, you know, having a couple weeks to prepare. But like in our scenario [last year], a win at Martinsville, we rode that momentum right to next week, right? So it’s like, yeah, maybe you want a couple weeks to prepare, but there’s only so much you can do to prepare.
“I am a big believer in momentum. I do believe in that stuff, and anything, it’s a confidence thing and firing everybody up, and it’s belief that you can do it.”
Even with how much has gone wrong for the No. 12 team, they aren’t hitting the panic button at all, and Blaney’s found it easy to handle the growing pressure with his prior championship experience.
“There’s pressure in big moments,” Blaney said. “Being in these situations and understanding what’s at stake, and how do you handle that, right? How do you approach it and accept it and understand the pressure and just try to figure out how to kind of use it to your advantage where maybe people don’t handle it well.”
No matter if a win comes in the last two races or if Blaney points his way into the title bout, he and the team have always had Phoenix in the back of their minds.
“You take all the necessary precautions no matter what happens,” Blaney added. “No matter what scenario we’re in going into next week, we’re going to have a car ready for Phoenix like we’re going to run for the championship.”
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – The Regular Season Championship leaders will start alongside one another on the front row for Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400 playoff race at Homestead-Miami Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), with 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick besting Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson by a slight 0.077 seconds Saturday morning to claim the pole position.
This is the 28-year-old Californian’s third pole of the 2024 season in the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota — the ninth of his career — and comes at a crucial time in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs’ Round of 8 with Sunday the second of three races that will decide which four drivers advance to the Nov. 10 Phoenix race championship eligible to hoist the big trophy.
Reddick, a two-time Xfinity Series winner at the 1.5-miler, turned a 167.452 mph lap in his Toyota Camry to set the pace and earn the first pit stall selection. His work gave Toyota a three-series pole sweep for the weekend, with Toyotas starting first in Saturday’s Craftsman Truck Series and Xfinity Series races — the 13th time the make has done that.
“The pole has eluded me in the Cup Series here. We’ve been very close and just needed a very good Round 2. I think for our group, we ran a really good lap for sure,” said Reddick, the Regular Season Champion, who arrives in South Florida ranked sixth in the championship standings, 30 points behind Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron in that all-important fourth-place transfer position.
“It’s always nice to run a really good lap, but when you run your lap, and five cars go after you, you know they have the opportunity to adjust, so I was curious to see what the 5 [Larson]and 20 {Christopher Bell] were going to do there and obviously, the 5 got pretty close.
“All in all, it was a great day for us and looking forward to the race tomorrow.”
Toyotas and Chevrolets dominated the opening round of qualifying putting five cars each into the final one-lap run for the pole. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell — the current playoff points leader — will start third in the No. 20 Toyota, alongside teammate and three-time Homestead winner Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 Toyota.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who won the Talladega Superspeedway race three weeks ago, will start the No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Racing Chevrolet fifth, with JGR’s Martin Truex Jr. starting sixth in the No. 19 Toyota.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, who goes into the race ranked last among the eight Playoff drivers — 53 points below the elimination line — will start the No. 9 Chevrolet seventh alongside JGR’s Truex Jr. in the No. 19 Toyota. Kaulig Racing’s Daniel Hemric and Spire Motorsports’ Justin Haley will start their Chevrolets from the fifth row, marking the best qualifying effort of the year for Haley and the first time he’s advanced to the final round.
No Fords advanced to the final round for the first time since the Circuit of The Americas race on March 24. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Josh Berry was the fastest Mustang Saturday and will start 12th.
Only three playoff drivers did not advance to the 10-car final qualifying round. Among them is reigning series champion Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney, who will start his No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang 20th on the grid. He’s currently ranked seventh of the eight drivers, 47 points below the elimination line.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Byron — the 2021 Homestead winner — will roll off 25th in the No. 24 Chevrolet. He is in that all-important fourth position in the standings, 27 points up on Hamlin in fifth.
Team Penske’s Joey Logano — who earned the first of four Championship 4 berths with a Las Vegas win last week — qualified 26th but will start from the rear after his No. 22 Penske team made a steering system change post-qualifying.
Tyler Reddick tops practice leaderboard
Tyler Reddick concluded Cup Series practice with the fastest single-lap time, with the No. 45 23XI Racing driver wheeling a 167.769 mph circuit. Ross Chastain finished runner-up with a 167.764 mph lap. Bubba Wallace (167.754 mph), Michael McDowell (167.676 mph) and Brad Keselowski (167.338 mph) rounded out the top five.
Erik Jones (167.338 mph), Martin Truex Jr. (166.842 mph), Denny Hamlin (166.646 mph), Joey Logano (166.636 mph) and Zane Smith (166.543 mph) rounded out the top 10.
On Oct. 26, NASCAR announced an extension of the entitlement partnership for its original division; Whelen Engineering returns to the Modified Tour through 2029. In conjunction with that announcement, NASCAR released the 16-race 2025 Whelen Modified Tour schedule.
The Modified Tour schedule will continue to feature NASCAR national series event weekends to highlight the competitive nature of the racing. On May 18, for example, the Modifieds will be part of a unique doubleheader as the opening act for the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Richmond Raceway will host the Modified Tour on Aug. 14 as part of the track’s late summer NASCAR weekend. Also on the Modified Tour schedule is a Sept. 20 race during NASCAR Playoff weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule once again begins with a race at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway in 2025. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)
On Oct. 18, Martinsville Speedway will again host the Modified Tour championship race as an opener for a week of camping and fan activity that leads into the national series Playoff weekend.
Fan favorite Modified Tour tracks like Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (Connecticut), Monadnock Speedway (New Hampshire) and Riverhead Raceway (New York) will host multiple races.
“We are proud to once again have a strong mix of types of tracks on the 2025 Whelen Modified Tour schedule that allow our drivers to put on an impressive show for fans in multiple markets,” said Jimmy Wilson, Senior Director, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. “As you can see by the quality of racing and the intense championship battle to the end this year, these events showcase the various strengths of each of our drivers and allow for competitive racing from the first race to the finale.”
Thompson will host a trio of high-profile events, starting with the March 30 race as part of the track’s Icebreaker Weekend – now the second race on the Modified Tour’s schedule. Thompson will also host a Wednesday night mid-summer showdown on Aug. 6, plus the penultimate race of the season as part of the World Series of Speedway Racing on Oct. 12.
Monadnock will host two events, the first on May 3 and the second on July 19. Riverhead will have a pair of races, one on June 14, and the other on Sept. 6.
Seekonk Speedway (May 31), Lancaster Motorplex (July 12) and Oswego Speedway (Aug. 30) will once again host Tour races next season. Additionally, White Mountain Motorsports Park returns to the Modified Tour schedule for 2025. The New Hampshire track previously held a pair of Tour races in 2020.
Anybody who examines the history of Whelen Engineering will see how safety and racing run through the company’s veins.
Pilot and engineer George W. Whelen III founded the operation more than 70 years ago in his garage. Today, Whelen Engineering manufactures lights, sirens and other warning systems globally for a variety of industries, including motorsports. The name can be found on caution and safety lights at most race tracks across the United States; it sponsors teams and drivers, as well.
Perhaps Whelen’s paramount connection to racing — its partnership with NASCAR’s Modified Tour — won’t fracture anytime soon.
NASCAR on Saturday announced an extension of its original division’s entitlement sponsorship. Whelen Engineering not only returns to the Modified Tour through 2029; the deal guarantees increased payouts starting with the 2025 season.
“This is close to us,” said Peter Tiezzi, the General Manager of Motorsports for Whelen Engineering. “The Modifieds just hold a special place for us at Whelen. … We’re extending the contract, and we’re going to put a big boost into the prize fund and hopefully attract more drivers to come to the Modified Tour and make it their home for racing.”
Tiezzi’s sentiment is supported by the fact that Whelen’s extension with NASCAR continues the longest active series entitlement partnership in NASCAR and the longest such sponsorship in Modified Tour history.
The commitment is not lost on those who compete on the Tour. Defending series champion Ron Silk inadvertently spoke for the entire Mods community with one quick comment.
“Whelen’s support of our series has been unwavering for about 20 years,” he said. “We hope they know how much it means to us.”
Whelen Engineering has been entitlement partner of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour since 2005. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)
The extension includes a 250 percent increase to the season-ending championship purse and increased raced purses throughout the field. In short, drivers and teams will earn more throughout the year.
Jimmy Wilson, who has served as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Series Director since 2013, knows better than anyone the power of such a financial boost.
“Whelen’s involvement in NASCAR and the entire racing industry has been huge,” Wilson said. “Since they announced they were coming on board as the title sponsor back in 2005, over the last 20 years, everything they’ve done to increase their presence in the sport has not only done that for them as a company, but has made our sport safer.
“That includes the iconic caution lights you see around the race track, the lights on the safety vehicles to make the drivers aware of where they are on the race track, and the top-notch products made here in America. The fact that they are doubling down and reinvesting in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour to continue to make it the strongest Modified series in the country I think speaks for itself.”
Doug Coby has witnessed everything Whelen has done to bolster the Modified Tour since Day 1. The six-time series champion who began his career in 2002 sees this extension as yet another example of how Whelen remains dedicated to making sure the Modified Tour is the best regional series in the United States.
For him, the reinvestment is more than just a welcome development.
“Continuous growth requires continuous support,” Coby said. “It starts with an idea and getting key players to commit. Having a sponsor like Whelen to do that, and to bring in additional support and exposure, it helps with everything across the board.”
Doug Coby has won six NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championships, all during Whelen’s 20 years as the series’ entitlement partner. (Photo: Nick Grace/NASCAR)
Silk echoed Coby’s sentiments and added that, for many teams, the extra money being infused into the Modified Tour race and championship purses will go a long way toward attracting more competitors to the series.
“I race for a pretty well funded team, but more money is certainly always a good thing,” Silk said. “There are some teams that aren’t nearly as fortunate as we are, so hopefully we can get some more people interested in this and we can get the car counts back up to where we should be.”
The partnership between NASCAR and Whelen was initially spearheaded by longtime Whelen executive Phil Kurze, a proponent for grassroots racing. Kurze passed away in 2018 at the age of 69, but his influence remains impactful.
Coby believes Whelen’s continued support of the Modified Tour is the perfect way to honor Kurze, who never missed an opportunity shine a positive light on the series.
“Their commitment to the Modifieds and short-track racing in general started with Phil Kurze’s vision of how Whelen could fit into working with working class people who raced short tracks, and especially the Modifieds,” Coby said. “Phil loved our series and was an advocate for our series across the board.
“With his passing and Peter taking over and Whelen keeping the commitment going, it takes Phil’s legacy further. I know he is smiling. I know this is what he would want to see for the Modifieds.”
Phil Kurze, left, poses with race winner Todd Szegedy at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2011. Kurze, a driving force in Whelen Engineering’s partnership with NASCAR, passed away in 2018. (Photo: Donald Miralle/Getty Images)
Proof of Whelen’s continued support of motorsports following Kurze’s passing lies beyond its connection to the Modified Tour.
Whelen sponsors drivers, like part-time ARCA Menards Series and Modified Tour competitor Andy Jankowiak. The company sponsors other series, like the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup. Whelen even supports specific events, such as the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup.
“It’s kind of like you’re Saturday-night racing, more or less,” Tiezzi said of the grassroots racing vibe. “It’s local guys who have regular jobs. Blue-collar workers who come out and they race with the Modified Tour.”
And that’s exactly the point. Whelen Engineering builds products for blue-collar men and women, the kind of people who show up to work at 6 in the morning and don’t get home until 8 at night. The company is built by grassroots people for grassroots people.
The Modified Tour garage is filled with the same type of people. They work all week just to get to Saturday so they can go racing against the best Modified drivers in the country.
“I feel like Whelen is almost a perfect fit for the Modified Tour; the cars are very robust, and their products are very robust,” said Ken Massa, the owner of Ken Massa Motorsports and the No. 51 Modified driven by three-time champion Justin Bonsignore. “I’ve been to their facility. It’s a beautiful place. The way they manufacturer their products, they still have a lot of hands on. It’s an American-made company. I love their products; I think their products are perfect for what we are as the Modified Tour.”
Whelen Engineering’s support of grassroots racing goes far beyond entitlement partnership of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. (Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)
Bonsignore, who entered the 2024 season finale as the points leader in search of his fourth title, is one of the top Modified stars of his generation. His victory at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Oct. 20 moved him into a tie with Reggie Ruggiero for second on the all-time wins list.
All of Bonsignore’s wins have come under the Whelen entitlement, a fact that is not lost on the 36-year-old New Yorker.
“Whelen has been with the series for nearly 20 years and is still looking to improve and make the series better financially … it’s amazing,” Bonsignore said. “We’re really appreciative of Whelen, and in particular Peter Tiezzi, for everything they do for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. They’re just so dedicated to motorsports.
“We’re just really, really fortunate they continue to support the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, because that’s where I love to race and want to be. Having them re-sign gives more stability to the series.”
Perhaps no Modified team embodies the blue-collar work ethic quite like Boehler Racing Enterprises. Founded by the late Len Boehler in the 1950s, Boehler Racing Enterprises has fielded the famous Ole Blue No. 3 for decades starting with the original NASCAR National Modified Championship before the series was rebranded as the Modified Tour in 1985.
Now led by Len’s son Michael Boehler, the five-time NASCAR Modified championship-winning team continues to race with a mostly volunteer team full of blue-collar workers who simply want to be part of NASCAR’s oldest division.
Without Whelen’s support, those workers’ involvement wouldn’t be possible.
“Having a series title sponsor like Whelen is awesome,” Boehler said. “To have people dedicated to the series and what they’ve given back to us, the Modified community, is second to none. At the end of the day in racing, we’re a community. As team owners and crew members and drivers, we want to showcase our series. To have Whelen right here in the Northeast supporting us, it’s beneficial to us and the brand name.
“We feel proud to be involved, and obviously the partnership goes both ways. They must feel the same way if they keep renewing the contract.”
Ron Silk (16) is the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s most recent champion driving for team owners Tyler Haydt and Joe Yannone. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR)
Tyler Haydt, who co-owns the No. 16 Modified driven by Silk with business partner Joe Yannone, has a unique perspective on Whelen’s relationship with the series.
He started his Modified Tour career as a driver, competing in 15 events in 2005 before transitioning to team ownership. He’s thrilled Whelen is returning and even more thrilled to see the company continuing to up the ante.
“They’ve been in the series a long time. It’s nice to have a tenured sponsor like that who wants to keep upping the payouts,” Haydt said. “We’re all working people. This isn’t backed by sponsorship. This is about guys who like to race. Getting some more money back in the door is going to be beneficial.”
Simply put: The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour would not be what it is without the support of Whelen Engineering. With Whelen’s reinvestment in the series now official, all parties can focus on deepening the history of NASCAR’s oldest division.
“We’re honored to work with Sonny Whelen, Peter Tiezzi and Geoff Marsh and everyone at Whelen,” Wilson said. “We know how important the relationship with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour is to them, and we really do appreciate and value that partnership. With this reinvestment in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, we look forward to growing this sector of the sport and their presence in it together.”
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR today announced an extension of the entitlement partnership of its original series as Whelen Engineering, Inc. returns to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour through 2029 in a partnership that guarantees increased team payouts starting with the 2025 season. In conjunction with the announcement, NASCAR released the 16-race 2025 Whelen Modified Tour schedule.
Whelen’s commitment to the Whelen Modified Tour in the coming years will see the largest Tour purse increase in the last decade, with championship prize money increasing by 250 percent. Additionally, the entire starting field will see the benefits of the new partnership, as each entry will see a minimum $2,000 payout to start the race – in several cases more than double the current payout for lower-finishing positions. Race winners will get a minimum of $11,000 in Whelen payout.
“The heart of NASCAR is in our regional racing and long-time partners like Whelen help support the high quality racing our fans and competitors deserve in the grassroots programs,” said Joseph Dennewitz, Managing Director of NASCAR Regional. “By building up the purse for all in the garage, Whelen is putting their money where their mouth is in ensuring the success and health of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour for years to come.”
Competitors in the Whelen Modified Tour will begin seeing the benefits of the extended partnership next season at the season opener at New Smyrna Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 8. This will mark the fourth consecutive year that the Tour will open at the track that is just down the road from the birthplace of NASCAR.
The Whelen Modified Tour is NASCAR’s oldest and original series, which began racing in 1948 in Daytona Beach. The partnership between Whelen and the Tour originated with the 2005 season, and over the past two decades, Whelen has demonstrated a continued commitment to the dedicated fans and competitors of the Tour. The extension of the entitlement of the Whelen Modified Tour brings the partnership to 25 years in 2029, making them one of the longest-running sponsors in NASCAR.
“We are incredibly proud to extend our longstanding partnership with NASCAR and celebrate 20 years as the title sponsor of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour,” said Peter Tiezzi, General Manager of Motorsports for Whelen Engineering Company Inc. “For the past two decades, being part of this iconic series has been both an honor and a reflection of our commitment to grassroots racing. As the Official Warning Lights of NASCAR, we are excited to continue supporting the sport while further strengthening our ties within the racing community. This partnership highlights our dedication to safety and performance, both on and off the track.”
The Tour will continue to partner with NASCAR national series event weekends to highlight the extremely competitive nature of the racing. On Sunday, May 18, the Whelen Modified Tour will be part of a unique double-header as the opening act for the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Richmond Raceway will host the Tour on Thursday, Aug. 14, as part of its late summer NASCAR weekend, and the Tour joins the lineup for the NASCAR Playoff weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with a Saturday, Sept. 20, race.
On Saturday, Oct. 18, Martinsville Speedway will again host the championship race as an opener for a week of camping and fan activity that leads into the national series Playoff weekend.
Fan favorite Whelen Modified Tour tracks such as Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (Connecticut), Monadnock Speedway (New Hampshire), and Riverhead Raceway (New York) will each host multiple events.
“We are proud to once again have a strong mix of types of tracks on the 2025 Whelen Modified Tour schedule that allow our drivers to put on an impressive show for fans in multiple markets,” said Jimmy Wilson, Senior Director, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. “As you can see by the quality of racing and the intense championship battle to the end this year, these events showcase the various strengths of each of our drivers and allow for competitive racing from the first race to the finale.”
Thompson will host a trio of high-profile events, starting with the Sunday, March 30, event as part of the Icebreaker Weekend – now the second race on the Tour’s schedule. They will also host a Wednesday night mid-summer showdown on Aug. 6, and the penultimate race of the season as part of the World Series of Speedway Racing on Sunday, Oct. 12.
Monadnock will host two events on Saturday, May 3, and Saturday, July 19. Riverhead will have a pair of races on Saturday, June 14, and Saturday, Sept. 6.
Seekonk Speedway (Saturday, May 31), Lancaster Motorplex (Saturday, July 12), Oswego Speedway (Saturday, Aug. 30) will once again host Tour races next season. Additionally, White Mountain Motorsports Park returns to the Whelen Modified Tour schedule for 2025. The New Hampshire track previously held a pair of Tour races in 2020.
“The short tracks of the Northeast are at the heart of the Whelen Modified Tour and offer so many options for our teams to compete close to home in front of their friends and family,” added Wilson. “We have strong historic ties to many of these facilities and all host great events for everyone who comes through their gates.”
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will crown its champion later today (Saturday, Oct. 26) at 8 p.m. ET at Martinsville Speedway.
Over the two-decade partnership Whelen has held with the Modified Tour, 10 different drivers have won the Whelen Modified Tour championship, led by Doug Coby’s six titles (2012, 2014-17, 2018) and three from Justin Bonsignore (2018, 2020, 2021). Ron Silk, the reigning champion, also won the title in 2011.
This season, in one of the more thrilling – and contentious – championship battles in Tour history, Silk and Bonsignore are continuing the rivalry stemming from their down-to-the-wire title bout from a year ago.
Silk entered the penultimate race of the season last week at North Wilkesboro Speedway up by 11 points. But a dominate win on Sunday afternoon by Bonsignore flipped the script and put the driver of the No. 51 atop the points standings for the first time since August with a 10-point advantage entering the finale. Each driver heads into the championship race with four wins and 14 top 10s.
Tonight’s championship race may be streamed live on FloRacing, while schedule and ticket information is available at nascar.com/whelen-modified-tour.
