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News & Notes: Silk Looks For First Title

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The 2011 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season will conclude at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway with another competitive championship chase to be decided in the Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing on Sunday, Oct. 16.

After 15 races at eight different tracks across the last five months, it will once again all come down to the finale at Thompson, where Ron Silk will carry a 54-point lead on Todd Szegedy. Silk, from Norwalk, Conn., will vie for his first Whelen Modified Tour title in his sixth full-time season while the challenger Szegedy, from Ridgefield, Conn., will be looking for his second crown in his 10th campaign.

It would be a historic feat for Szegedy - the 2003 titlist - if he is able to overcome the deficit. Not only would it mark the most years between titles for a driver in Whelen Modified Tour history at eight seasons, but it would be just the second time in the previous 26 years of the Whelen Modified Tour that the second place driver entering the finale came out on top.

The one and only time that the chaser entered the final race and ended up victorious was 2005 when Tony Hirschman overcame a 36-point deficit to Ted Christopher in the finale at Thompson. Christopher crashed out after just 10 laps and was denied what would have been his first championship while Hirschman finished 12th in the race to clinch his fifth title.

Silk and Szegedy have posted nearly identical seasons to this point. Both have three wins and two poles. Silk has eight top fives and 12 top 10s while Szegedy has nine top fives and 11 top 10s. Silk has led the most laps (338), Szegedy the second-most (250), and both have just one DNF. Even their career results at the .625-mile oval at Thompson are similar. Silk has three wins and an average finish of 12th in 26 races while Szegedy also has three victories and an average finish of 13th in 35 starts.

This is uncharted territory for Silk. His best career championship finish was fourth in both 2007 and 2010, but he does have the luxury of a 54-point advantage, one that would allow him to clinch the title if he finishes ninth or better at Thompson no matter what Szegedy does.

Szegedy knows what it’s like to be in the position to protect. He had a 36-point lead on Chuck Hossfeld in 2003 and was able to close the deal. This time around he’ll look to counteract history.

Race Notes
Close competition the norm: The last 10 years the average points spread heading to the finale was 65, but that includes when Donny Lia had already clinched the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour title in 2007 and when Mike Stefanik had a 148-point lead in 2006. Remove those two instances and the average margin is 39 points in the other eight seasons.

Christopher dominant in World Series:  Ted Christopher has won seven of the last 10 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races at Thompson International Speedway overall, including the three previous season finale Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing events. Another win this time around would be his 14th at Thompson, which would tie Mike Stefanik for the all-time Tour record at ‘Big T.’

Christopher still in the top 10:  Christopher has a chance to do something that no driver has accomplished in the Whelen Modified Tour since 1992: finish in the top 10 in the final standings despite missing two or more races. Christopher’s No. 36 team skipped mid-season events at Bristol Motor Speedway and Delaware Speedway, but he is still ninth in the standings thanks to a Tour-high four wins and top 10s in all but two of his 13 outings. Although seven drivers ranked in the top 10 despite being two or more races down in the first eight years of the Tour’s existence, the last driver to do it was Doug Heveron in 1992 when he finished seventh after competing in 19 of 21 events.

Plenty of finishing positions up for grabs: Ron Silk and Todd Szegedy may be the only two drivers that will vie for the Whelen Modified Tour title this weekend, but there are plenty of other positions up for grabs for the final 2011 rankings. Rowan Pennink enters Thompson just 23 points behind Eric Beers for third while Doug Coby, Justin Bonsignore and Matt Hirschman are separated by only 88 points for positions 5-7. Eric Goodale (-109) and Mike Stefanik (-111) are longshots to catch Erick Rudolph for 10th at but the 15th and final point fund payout position – currently held by Jamie Tomaino – will be contested by Patrick Emerling (-25) and Eric Berndt (-66).

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Fast Facts
The Race:  The Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing will be the last of four races at Thompson International Speedway for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in 2011 and the final of 16 events on the season schedule.

The Procedure:  The starting field for the Sunoco World Series is 32 cars, including provisionals. The first 27 cars will have secured starting positions based on two-lap qualifying. The remaining five spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 150 laps (93.75 miles).

The Track:  A .625-mile high-banked oval that opened in 1940, Thompson was the first asphalt track in the nation, and the largest in New England for five decades. Thompson has played host to 115 Whelen Modified Tour races all-time, more than any other track.

Race Winners: There have been 30 different race winners at Thompson, led by Mike Stefanik’s 14 victories. Ted Christopher won the first two races at Thompson this year and is the defending Sunoco World Series victor. Doug Coby won in the Whelen Modified Tour’s last visit on Sept. 11.

Pole Winners:  There have been 40 different pole winners at Thompson, led by Tony Hirschman’s 13. Bobby Santos, Ted Christopher and Ryan Preece have earned poles at Thompson so far this year and Santos has the Thompson qualifying at 18.418 seconds (122.163 mph).

Home Tracks: Rocco Earns Third TIS Title
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national runner-up Keith Rocco has earned his third career Thompson International Speedway championship and his second track title of the 2011 season.

The Sunoco Modified division champion in 2007 and 2009, Rocco took home his third title this year by edging Ryan Preece by six points. He had five wins in the No. 57 at Thompson this year to Preece’s three. Rocco also took home the 2011 track title at Waterford Speedbowl while Preece beat him out for the SK Modified title at Stafford Motor Speedway.

Thompson’s other 2011 division champions include: Larry Gelinas (Super Late Model), Tommy O’Sullivan (Late Model), Keith McDermott (Thompson Modified), Chris Douton (Limited Sportsman) and Danny Field (Mini Stock).

Last Time Out: Stafford
In thrilling fashion, Ted Christopher won the CARQUEST Fall Final on Oct. 2 at Stafford Motor Speedway.

On a green-white-checkered finish, Christopher, out of Plainville, Conn., got his No. 36 Al-Lee Installations Chevrolet underneath Erick Rudolph to take the lead just after the field took the white flag to collect his 12th career victory at the Connecticut half-mile track. For Christopher, it was his Tour-best fourth win of the season and the 42nd of his storied career.

On the final lap Christopher got inside of Rudolph entering Turn 1, Rudolph went to block, Christopher held his ground and the two banged nerf bars rolling through the turn. Christopher came out of Turn 1 with the lead and rode to victory.

Ryan Preece capitalized on Rudolph’s misfortune to earn the runner-up position for his highest finish of the year, and best result in 19 starts in his family-owned No. 40 Chevrolet. Donny Lia crossed the line third in his first start at Stafford since his 2009 championship season. Eric Beers finished fourth and Rudolph ended up in the fifth position after being shuffled on the last lap.

Kevin Goodale recorded his best career stand-alone race finish in sixth place while season points leader Ron Silk, Matt Hirschman, Doug Coby and Justin Bonsignore rounded out the top 10.

Up Next: NASCAR Night of Champions
The NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Awards Banquet -- celebrating the champions of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series (East and West), the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour, the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and the NASCAR Mexico Series presented by Toyota -- will be held on Saturday, Dec. 10 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C.