As part of an extension with longtime title sponsor Whelen Engineering, the NASCAR Modified Tour will feature increased purses and a scheduled designed to bring a spotlight to the Tour Type Modified division.
The title sponsorship announcement was made on Saturday at Martinsville Speedway prior to the season finale. A press release states that ‘championship prize money will increase by 250 percent’ and that ‘each entry will see a minimum of $2,000 payout to start the race.’
NASCAR states the new purse structure is ‘in several cases more than double the current payout for lower-finishing positions.’
The extension, and schedule, was co-spearheaded by longtime tour director Jimmy Wilson and NASCAR’s managing director of weekly and touring, Joey Dennewitz. Both do not shy away from car counts that routinely hover around 20 right now and when Whelen Engineering approached the sanctioning body about how to best strengthen the series, Dennewitz says the racers were front and foremost.
“Racing is expensive,” Dennewitz told Short Track Scene. “That is not a secret and I think this is the first time in a decade that a partner has come to us and said ‘we want to invest in this, so tell us the best way to do that,’ and most people think NASCAR would take the money and run, but that isn’t what we did.
“We put it towards the competitors because ultimately, they are the ones that will have to buy tires and fuel, drive up and down the road, get hotel rooms so there are some things we can control, with the schedule or regulations and some things we can’t.
“But having a partner like Whelen, who understood this community wanted an injection of energy and then being able to deliver on this package, has me really excited for 2025 to see who comes out to challenge Ron Silk and Justin Bonsignore.”
Bonsignore and Silk have been the championship battle for two seasons but the tour has lost, from a full-time standpoint, stalwarts like six-time champion Doug Coby, reigning champion Jon McKennedy or a popular former contender like Timmy Solomito.
There is always the dream tour scenario of NASCAR being able to entice one of the Tour Time independent greats like Matt Hirschman to chase a championship, his only missing resume item as well.
Is that a topic of conversation in the halls at Charlotte and Daytona Beach for Wilson and Dennewitz?
“I was very fortunate last year in my new role to be introduced to Doug Coby, who kept me very honest, almost weekly on things that he felt could be improved,” Dennewitz said. “I appreciated all of that feedback.
“Tony Glover (longtime crew chief and technical director) is part of our inspection group and he tells me all the time about how much he enjoys and values talking to our teams and understanding what they’re going through because it helps us make those decisions. The communication is really important.
“I have drivers and car owners call and text through the week and ask questions or clarifications and provide feedback, all that. So again, what you’re seeing here is the culmination of that experience, us showing that we hear the teams, and doing our best to show that the Modified Tour is the place to come hang out and race with.”
The schedule in 2025 is at 16 races, which is traditionally the sweet spot number for the division, but also down from 19 and 18 the past two years, also a mea culpa of sorts to teams to ensure maximum participation.
The schedule again starts down south at New Smyrna, as part of Speedweeks and the World Series of Asphalt, with Richmond moving to the late summer before ending the campaign again at Martinsville.
The North Wilkesboro date, which has bounced around since returning to the fold, will now take place right before the Cup Series All-Star Race, as a showcase for that division in front of the most eye balls possible.
“The perks and benefits of running at North Wilkesboro with the All-Star Race is just simply the spotlight that it shines on Tour Type Modified racing,” Dennewitz said. “I like to think that short track racing is almost in a renaissance right now.
“I also believe that the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour has some of the best short track racing on the planet. Putting that on a grand stage, like the NASCAR All Star weekend is a massive opportunity for us.
“Listen, I also think a lot of good comes from that outside of the tour, with Justin Bonsignore able to run an ARCA and then Xfinity Series race and this kind of spotlight opens the doors for our racers to prove they are just as good as those racing in those divisions now.
“But ultimately, Speedway Motorsports had this vision for North Wilkesboro and the All-Star Race and we were just happy to oblige it.”
Matt Weaver is the owner and founder of Short Track Scene. Weaver grew up in the sport, having raced himself before becoming a reporter in college at the University of South Alabama. He also has extensive experience covering NASCAR, IndyCar and Dirt Sprint Cars.
