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The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will continue the 2017 season at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in Thompson, Connecticut, on Wednesday night with the third annual Thompson 125. Below is a statistical look at the fifth race of the 2017 points championship season, including selected driver notes:

Thompson 125 Setup:

• This marks the second of the four appearances for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Thompson for the 2017 season. The final two events will come on August 9 and October 15.
• This event is the only of the four races at Thompson that will see a distance of 125 laps. All others are scheduled for 150 laps, including the season-finale in October, where the champion will be crowned.
• Rowan Pennink returns to the 0.625-mile oval as the most recent winner on the high-banks. He scored the win in the Icebreaker 150 back on April 9 and currently sits second in the series point standings, trailing the lead by only nine points.

At Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park:
• The historic .625-mile oval opened in 1940 and has held at least one NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race since the series started in 1985.
• The track held three Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races in history, with the first being won by Neil Cole back in 1951.
• The track also has a non-NASCAR road course, where events are held throughout the year.
• The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Tour will return to Thompson for the first time since 2009 on July 8.

Notebook:
• There have been 135 Whelen Modified Tour races in the history of Thompson, which is the most of any other facility on the 2017 schedule.
• Seven-time series champion Mike Stefanik holds the lead with 15 career wins at the Connecticut oval, while Doug Coby, Bobby Santos and Justin Bonsignore lead all active drivers with five career wins.
• There have been 46 different pole winners at Thompson. Tony Hirschman leads the list with 13 career poles, while Doug Coby and Ted Christopher are the active leaders with seven poles each.
•In the Icebreaker, Rowan Pennink snapped a dry spell that dated back to 2009 for the Boelher Racing team. Since then, he has finished sixth at Stafford and seventh at Langley.

Thompson Data:
Race: #5 of 17 overall
Race Date: Wednesday, June 14 at 8:00 p.m. (approx)
Track Layout: .625-mile paved oval
Race Length: 125 laps (78.125 miles)

Qualifying/Race Data:
2016 Winner: Bobby Santos
2016 Polesitter: Doug Coby
1-Lap Qualifying Record: 123.376 mph (Bobby Santos — April 2011)
125-Lap Race Record: 99.769 mph (Doug Coby — June 2011)
Active Category Leaders at Thompson:

Wins
1. Ted Christopher … 13
2. Justin Bonsignore … 5
Doug Coby … 5
Bobby Santos … 5
3. Ron Silk … 4

Poles
1. Doug Coby … 7
2. Ted Christopher … 7
3. Bobby Santos … 5
4. Donny Lia …. 4
5. Ryan Preece …. 4

Top Fives
1. Ted Christopher … 34
2. Jamie Tomaino … 20
3. Ron Silk … 17
4. Doug Coby ….16

Top 10s
1. Ted Christopher … 49
2. Jamie Tomaino … 49
3. Doug Coby …. 29
4. Todd Szegedy … 28

Laps Led
1. Ted Christopher … 1,750
2. Doug Coby … 847
3. Donny Lia … 645

Starts
1. Jamie Tomaino … 134
2. Wade Cole… 89
3. Ted Christopher … 89
4. Doug Coby … 50

Selected Driver Highlights:

Doug Coby (No. 2 Mayhew Tools Chevrolet)
• The four-time series champion won three of the four pole awards at Thompson last season and has seven career on the high-banks.
• Has five wins, 16 top fives and 29 top 10s in 51 career NWMT starts at Thompson, including 847 laps led.
• Has qualified inside the top five in his last 11 Thompson starts.

Justin Bonsignore (No. 51 Phoenix Communications Inc. Chevrolet)
• Has 12 wins, 49 top fives and 69 top 10s in 109 career series starts.
• Has five wins, 10 top fives and 15 top 10s in 26 career NWMT starts at Thompson.
• Although he has five career Thompson victories, none of them have come in the 125 lap race.

Timmy Solomito (No. 16 Starrett Tools Ford)
• Has six wins, 18 top fives, 31 top 10s in 56 career series starts.
• Has one win, five top fives and 11 top 10s in 15 career Thompson starts.
• Already has two wins this season and has won the last two Coors Light Pole Awards at Thompson.

Ryan Preece (No. 6 TS Haulers Chevrolet)
• Has 16 wins, 60 top fives and 86 top 10s in 134 career series starts.
• Has one win, 16 top fives and 24 top 10s in 37 career Thompson starts.
• Won the Spring Sizzler at Stafford Motor Speedway back on April 30, but missed the last series event for his wedding.

Woody Pitkat (No. 46 Riverhead Building Supply Chevrolet)
• Has three wins, 23 top fives and 64 top 10s in 123 career series starts.
• Has no wins, seven top fives and 14 top 10s in 34 career Thompson starts.
• Won the 2006 and 2015 NWAAS Sunoco Modified title at Thompson and has a best NWMT finish of second.

Bobby Santos (No. 44 Tinio Corp/Worldband Chevrolet)
• Has 14 wins, 44 top fives and 65 top 10s in 125 career series starts.
• Has five wins, 16 top fives and 22 top 10s in 40 career Thompson starts, leading 482 laps.
• Led only one lap in winning at Thompson last June after starting seventh. He used a last lap pass to score the victory.

Eric Goodale (No. 58 GAF Roofing Chevrolet)
• Has 2 wins, 17 top fives and 57 top 10s in 122 career series starts.
• Has no wins, three top fives and 15 top 10s in 29 career Thompson starts.
• Has finished inside the top five in the last two NWMT events, including a second at Langley on May 13.

Rowan Pennink (No. 3 Cape Cod Copper Chevrolet)
• Has three wins, 30 top fives and 70 top 10s in 145 career series starts.
• Has two wins, nine top fives and 20 top 10s in 38 career Thompson starts.
• Won the Icebreaker 150 this season at Thompson back on April 9.

Max Zachem (No. 20 MPZ Motorsports/Lu Mac’s Package Store Chevrolet)
• Has 6 top fives and 17 top 10s in 39 career series starts.
• Has two top fives, five top 10s and 43 laps led in 11 career Thompson starts.
• Was leading last year’s June race at the white flag, but finished second to Bobby Santos.

Todd Szegedy (No. 85 Montanari Fuel/Stuarts Automotive/J&R Pre-Cast Chevrolet)
• Has 19 wins, 86 top fives and 130 top 10s in 209 career series starts.
• Won the 2003 series championship.
• Has three wins, 15 top fives and 28 top 10s in 50 career Thompson starts, including a 10th in this year’s Icebreaker 150.

Ted Christopher (No. 82 Horton Avenue Materials Chevrolet )
• Has 42 wins, 132 top fives and 200 top 10s in 364 career Whelen Modified Tour starts.
• Has 13 wins, 34 top fives, 49 top 10s and 1,750 laps led in 89 career Thompson starts.
• His most recent NWMT start came at Stafford in this year’s Sizzler, where he finished fifth.
• Will drive for Danny Watts in the No. 82 for the remainder of the season.

Up To Speed:
• This is the 33rd season of NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour action. The first race was in 1985 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.
• The 2017 schedule includes 17 points races at 10 different tracks, across seven different states. It also includes two non-points events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway.
• Timmy Solomito scored the victory in the most recent series event at Langley Speedway back on May 13.
• Following the Thompson 125, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returns to Riverhead Raceway for race six of the season on Saturday, June 24.

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