NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Jersey Shore 100 preview, entry list

After the first four races on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule, five-time series champion Doug Coby is clearly back in prime form.

The Milford, Connecticut, driver has two checkered flags already, and leads the championship standings by 17 points over Patrick Emerling.

But when the series makes a stop at Wall Stadium Speedway on Saturday for the first time since 2007, hometown drivers that have more experience at the banked third-mile could be the ones to shine.

JERSEY SHORE 150 AT WALL STADIUM SPEEDWAY

Just about all of the tracks on the Whelen Modified Tour schedule have drivers that have some type of home track advantage. Last Saturday afternoon, it was Coby, who is a former champion in Stafford Motor Speedway’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions, who took his home track advantage and picked up his 12th Whelen Modified Tour win at Stafford and 26th career win.

Heading to Wall Stadium, Coby definitely doesn’t have that ‘home track’ feel, but he is one of few drivers in the field that does have laps there in Whelen Modified Tour competition. Coby has two starts at Wall driving for Don King, with a best finish of ninth back in 2004. During an interview last week at Stafford, Coby named Wall as one of his favorite tracks to race — which could spell trouble for others.

Jimmy Blewett, who is a multiple-time champion in Wall’s weekly Modified division, might be the clear favorite to win. Blewett has previous experience on the Whelen Modified Tour there — picking up the victory in the most recent stop at the New Jersey oval in 2007. His experience at Wall on a weekly basis, where he dominated the season last year in the local class, could certainly pay off in a big way.

Andrew Krause, another runner in the weekly Modified division for many years, also knows the track like the back of his hand, both on the track and off. Krause’s family are the current operators of the New Jersey facility.

Blake Barney, another rising star on the Whelen Modified Tour, also has plenty of experience at Wall, driving multiple different cars there in his career, including Modifieds.

And there are more.

Wall runs the annual ‘Turkey Derby’ each year, a Tour-Type Modified event that many Whelen Modified Tour regulars end their season with. Dave Sapienza, who has a best career finish of second, won the Derby last November. Boehler Racing driver Matt Swanson also competed in last year’s event.

RACE FACTS

PLACE: Wall Stadium Speedway, Wall Township, New Jersey
DATE: Saturday, May 18
TIME: 8:30 p.m. (approx.)
STREAMING: FansChoice.TV
TRACK LAYOUT: Third-mile banked asphalt oval
EVENT SCHEDULE: Saturday; Garage Opens: 12 p.m.; Final Practice: 3-4:30 p.m.; Qualifying: 6:20 p.m.; Jersey Shore 150 8:30 p.m. (approx.)

CREW CHIEF HANDOUT: 

The starting field for the Jersey Shore 150 is limited to 28 starters, including provisional positions. The first 22 drivers will secure starting positions through the qualifying process. The remaining six positions will be awarded through the provisional process.

Two consecutive qualifying laps will be used for this event. Faster lap determines qualifying position. Adjustments or repairs may not be made on the vehicle after the vehicle has taken the green flag at the start/finish line. NASCAR reserves the right to have more than one vehicle engage in qualifying runs at the same time. Vehicles will be impounded after qualifying and must qualify on race set up. After qualifying, all vehicles will proceed to the  impound area. Only minor adjustments will be permitted following qualifying.

The Jersey Shore 150 will be run in two segments. There will be a three (3) minute break at or near the conclusion of lap 100. Once the yellow flag is displayed, the caution vehicle will pick up the field. Once the field is under control, pit road will be opened to the caution vehicle. Any vehicles that wish to pit shall pull on to pit road to their assigned pit stall. Vehicles must park in their pit stall. No work is to be performed at the break until advised by NASCAR officials. All participants in the event will be allowed to make changes that will occur during a routine pit stop. In NASCAR’s judgement, any unauthorized adjustments that are performed may be assessed a penalty. A maximum of five (5) uniformed crew members in the vehicle servicing area. During the break, you will be allowed to change three (3) tires and add fuel. Fuel cannot be added at the same time that the tires are being changed. At the two (2) minute mark, start moving your vehicle to the track behind the vehicles that did not pit. The caution vehicle will roll at the three (3) minute mark. At the end of the break, vehicles will line up with lead lap vehicles to the front.

The maximum tire allotment available for this event is ten (10) tires per team. Four (4) tires must be used for qualifying and to begin the race. The tire change rule is three (3) tires, any position.

ENTRY LIST

Nbr	Driver	Owner
1	Danny Bohn	Eddie Harvey
01	Melissa Fifield	Kenneth Fifield
2	Doug Coby	Mike Smeriglio III
3	Matt Swanson	Jan Boehler
06	Sam Rameau	Randy Rameau
07	Patrick Emerling	Jennifer Emerling
11	Anthony Sesely	Joe Yannone
14	Blake Barney	Richard Barney
16	Timmy Solomito	Eric Sanderson
18	Ken Heagy	Robert Pollifrone
21	Jimmy Blewett	Joseph Bertuccio
24	Andrew Krause	Diane Krause
25	Calvin Carroll	Joe Carroll
33	Wade Cole	Wade Cole
34	J.B. Fortin	Nicole Fortin
36	Dave Sapienza	Judy Thilberg
38	Kyle Ellwood	Linda Rodenbaugh
45	Timmy Catalano	Dave Catalano
46	Craig Lutz	Russell Goodale
51	Justin Bonsignore	Kenneth Massa
54	Tommy Catalano	Amy Catalano
58	Eric Goodale	Edgar Goodale
64	Rob Summers	Mike Murphy
75	Chris Pasteryak	Charles Pasteryak
78	Walter Sutcliffe, Jr.	Steven Sutcliffe
82	Woody Pitkat	Danny Watts Jr.
85	Ron Silk	Kevin Stuart
99	Jamie Tomaino	Cheryl Tomaino

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