2015 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour

The 2015 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was the thirty-first season of the Whelen Modified Tour (WMT). It began with the Icebreaker 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park on April 12 and concluded at the same venue with the Sunoco World Series 150 on October 18.^[1]

Defending champion Doug Coby won his third series title, and as a result, became the first driver since Tony Hirschman Jr. to win successive Whelen Modified Tour championships. Coby was the season's most prolific winner – with seven victories – including the final three races which allowed him to overhaul Ryan Preece in the standings, with Coby ultimately prevailing by eleven points after entering the final race tied on points with Preece. Preece was a four-time race winner, and finished all but one race inside the top-ten placings. Just like Preece, Woody Pitkat recorded fourteen top-ten finishes out of fifteen starts – winning at Stafford along with the non-championship Shootout at New Hampshire – as he finished third in points, two down on Preece and thirteen behind Coby. The only other drivers to win races during the season were Todd Szegedy at New Hampshire and Justin Bonsignore, who swept both races at his local track, Riverhead Raceway.

Drivers

No.	Manufacturer	Car Owner	Race Driver	Crew Chief
0	Chevrolet	Joe Ambrose	Tom Rogers Jr. 2	Helmut Loschnig
01	Chevrolet	Kenneth Fifield	Melissa Fifield	Kenneth Fifield
2	Chevrolet	Mike Smeriglio III	Doug Coby	Phil Moran
3	Chevrolet	Jan Boehler	Troy Talman (R) 10	Greg Fournier
			Derek Ramstrom (R) 1	Rick Ramstrom
			Kyle Bonsignore (R) 1	Bill Bonsignore
4	Dodge	Robert Garbarino	Todd Szegedy^{[N 1]}	Ryan Spaulding
5	Chevrolet	Raymond Bouchard	Frank Vigliarolo Jr. 2	Raymond Bouchard
06	Chevrolet	Michelle Biondolillo	Vincent Biondolillo (R) 1	Jarred Hayes
6	Chevrolet	Ed Partridge	Ryan Preece^[2]	Tommy Grasso
07	Chevrolet	Jennifer Emerling	Patrick Emerling	Jan Leaty
7	Chevrolet	Mike Curb	Ryan Newman 3	Teddy Musgrave Jr.
8	Chevrolet	Mark Sypher	Donny Lia^[3]	Dan Laferriere
9	Chevrolet	Cheryl Tomaino	Chase Dowling (R)	Don Barker
11	Chevrolet	Grant Williams	Chuck Steuer 1	Butch Capuano
11	Chevrolet	William Deakin	John Beatty Jr. (R) 1	Glenn Dixon
13	Chevrolet	Robert Katon Jr.	Ted Christopher 8	Bob Fill
			Andy Seuss 2	Bob Fill
			Johnny Bush 1	Michael Loomis
			James Civali 4	Bob Fill
14	Chevrolet	Ken Zachem	Max Zachem (R)	Shawn Ruszczyk
15	Chevrolet	Rob Fuller	Corey LaJoie 2	Jeff DeMinck
			Ron Silk 4^{[N 1]}	Ryan Stone
			Ray Graham (R) 1	Ryan Stone
16	Ford	Eric Sanderson	Timmy Solomito^[4]	Sly Szaban
17	Chevrolet	John Ellwood Jr.	Kyle Ellwood (R) 5	Rico Mariani
18	Chevrolet	Robert Pollifrone	Ken Heagy 14	Greg Gorman
19	Chevrolet	Karen Oltra	Brandon Oltra (R) 3	Steve Kreitzer
20	Chevrolet	Barbara Park	Ron Silk 2	Dave Wheeler
22	Chevrolet	Christopher Our	Tommy Barrett Jr. 1	Brad Lafontaine
			Keith Rocco 7
			Ted Christopher 5
26	Chevrolet 10	Sean McDonald	Gary McDonald 14	Chad McDonald
26	Pontiac 4	Sean McDonald	Gary McDonald 14	Chad McDonald
28	Ford	George Bock	Brendon Bock (R) 1	Glenn Dixon
29	Chevrolet 2	Jon McKennedy	Jon McKennedy 2	Peter Frappier
	Ford 7	George Bock	Brendon Bock (R) 8	Glenn Dixon
	Chevrolet 1	George Bock	Brendon Bock (R) 8	Glenn Dixon
31	Chevrolet	Pete Masse	Steve Masse (R) 9	Josh Steeves
33	Chevrolet	Wade Cole	Johnny Bush 3	Rick Rodenbaugh
33	Chevrolet	Wade Cole	Wade Cole 12	Rick Rodenbaugh
35	Chevrolet	Wayne Darling	Derek Ramstrom (R) 3	Rick Ramstrom
36	Chevrolet	Jarod Zeltmann	Dave Sapienza (R)	Jarod Zeltmann
37	Chevrolet	Cynthia Richey	Dave Salzarulo 10	Marty Radewick
38	Chevrolet	Linda Rodenbaugh	Wade Cole 1	Jake Marosz
38	Chevrolet	Linda Rodenbaugh	George Perreault (R) 1	Jake Marosz
40	Chevrolet	Monica Fuller	Ron Silk 2	Ryan Stone
41	Chevrolet	Tom Soper	Kyle Soper (R) 1	Tom Soper
44	Chevrolet	Mike Curb	Bobby Santos III 14	Steve Lemay
46	Chevrolet	Russell Goodale	Jeff Goodale (R)	Doug Ogiejko
51	Chevrolet	Ken Massa	Justin Bonsignore	Bill Michael
56	Chevrolet	Renee Lutz	Craig Lutz (R) 3	Jason Seachrist
57	Chevrolet	Mark Pane	Keith Rocco 1	Stash Butova
58	Chevrolet	Edgar Goodale	Eric Goodale	Jason Shephard
59	Chevrolet	Ed Bennett III	Jerry Solomito Jr. (R) 2	Jerry Solomito Sr.
59	Chevrolet	Ted Christopher	Ronnie Williams (R) 1	Stash Butova
63	Chevrolet	Bill Darrow	Tom Rogers Jr. 4	Mike Curtis
64	Chevrolet	Mike Murphy	Anthony Nocella (R) 12	Steve Dodge
68	Chevrolet	Charlene Bush	Johnny Bush 2	Michael Loomis
69	Chevrolet	Jason Blatz	Jason Agugliaro (R) 1	Jason Blatz
70	Chevrolet	Steve Seuss	Andy Seuss 2	Steve Seuss
73	Chevrolet	Paul Hartwig	Paul Hartwig Jr. (R) 1	Lisa Hartwig
73	Chevrolet	Todd Powell	Cole Powell 1	Seth Smith
75	Chevrolet	Wayne Anderson	Shawn Solomito 14	Jerry Solomito Sr.
75	Chevrolet	Wayne Anderson	Jerry Solomito Jr. (R) 1	Butch Capuano
77	Chevrolet	Mike Curb	Gary Putnam 2	Mike Hann
79	Pontiac 8	Susan Hill	Spencer Davis 5	David Hill
			James Civali 1
			Joe Ryan Osborne 2
	Chevrolet 2		Troy Talman (R) 1
	Chevrolet 2		Joe Ryan Osborne 1^{[N 1]}
82	Chevrolet	Pamla Hulse	Danny Watts Jr. 5	Buddy Loecher
83	Chevrolet	Linda Rodenbaugh	Tom Rogers Jr. 1	Helmut Losching
87	Chevrolet	Keri Brunnhoelzl	Ed Brunnhoelzl III (R) 1	Russell Savoy
88	Chevrolet	Buzz Chew	Woody Pitkat^{[N 2]}	Ronald Ste-Marie
89	Chevrolet	John Swanson	Matt Swanson (R) 5	Ken Barry
93	Chevrolet	Mark Pennink	Rowan Pennink 13	Jimmy Fuller
99	Chevrolet	Brittany Tomaino	Jamie Tomaino	George Ratajczak

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c At the Bush's Beans 150 at Bristol, some WMT and WSMT drivers had to change numbers to avoid clashing with the other Modified Tour championship. WMT drivers who had to change numbers: Todd Szegedy drove car number 41, instead of his regular car number 4, Ron Silk drove car number 05, instead of his regular car number 15 and Joe Ryan Osborne drove car number 19, instead of his regular car number 79.
^ At the F. W. Webb 100 Woody Pitkat drove with car number 38 instead of his regular 88 as a tribute to NASCAR Hall of Fame-elect Jerry Cook.

Schedule

The Whelen All-Star Shootout did not count towards the championship. 10 races from the 2015 season were televised on NBCSN, on a tape-delay basis.^[5]

No.	Race Title	Track	Date^[1]	TV
1	Icebreaker 150	Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, Thompson^[6]	April 12	NBCSN
2	NAPA Spring Sizzler 200	Stafford Motor Speedway, Stafford	April 26
3	Mr. Rooter 161	Waterford Speedbowl, Waterford	May 30
4	TSI Harley-Davidson 125	Stafford Motor Speedway, Stafford	June 5
5	Mr. Rooter 125	Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, Thompson^[6]	June 10	NBCSN
6	Hoosier Tire East 200	Riverhead Raceway, Riverhead	June 28^[a]	NBCSN
	Whelen All-Star Shootout	New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon	July 17	NBCSN
7	Andy Blacksmith 100 presented by Donate Life New England	New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon	July 18	NBCSN
8	O'Reilly Auto Parts 200	Monadnock Speedway, Winchester	July 25	NBCSN
9	Call Before You Dig 150	Stafford Motor Speedway, Stafford	August 7
10	Budweiser King of Beers 150	Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, Thompson^[6]	August 12	FansChoice.TV
11	Bush's Beans 150^[b]	Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol	August 19	NBCSN
12	Riverhead 200	Riverhead Raceway, Riverhead	August 29
13	F. W. Webb 100	New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon	September 26	NBCSN
14	NAPA Fall Final 150	Stafford Motor Speedway, Stafford	October 4	NBCSN
15	Sunoco World Series 150	Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, Thompson^[6]	October 18	NBCSN

Notes

^ The Riverhead Hoosier Tire East 200 was originally scheduled for June 27, but was postponed to June 28 due to heavy rain.^[7]
^ The Bush's Beans 150 was held as a combined event, with competitors from the Whelen Modified Tour competing along with competitors for the Whelen Southern Modified Tour. The race was run with a series-based point distribution, where drivers received points and statistical credit for their finish relative to other drivers in their series, not to the whole field in general.

Results and standings

Races

No.	Race	Pole position	Most laps led	Winning driver	Manufacturer
1	Icebreaker 150	Doug Coby	Doug Coby	Doug Coby	Chevrolet
2	NAPA Spring Sizzler 200	Ryan Preece	Ryan Preece	Woody Pitkat	Chevrolet
3	Mr. Rooter 161	Donny Lia	Ryan Preece	Ryan Preece	Chevrolet
4	TSI Harley-Davidson 125	Doug Coby	Ryan Preece	Ryan Preece	Chevrolet
5	Mr. Rooter 125	Woody Pitkat	Doug Coby	Doug Coby	Chevrolet
6	Hoosier Tire East 200	Tom Rogers Jr.	Justin Bonsignore	Justin Bonsignore	Chevrolet
	Whelen All-Star Shootout	Eric Goodale¹	Woody Pitkat	Woody Pitkat	Chevrolet
7	Andy Blacksmith 100 presented by Donate Life New England	Doug Coby	Ryan Preece	Todd Szegedy	Dodge
8	O'Reilly Auto Parts 200	Ryan Preece	Doug Coby	Doug Coby	Chevrolet
9	Call Before You Dig 150	Patrick Emerling	Ryan Preece	Ryan Preece	Chevrolet
10	Budweiser King of Beers 150	Patrick Emerling	Doug Coby	Doug Coby	Chevrolet
11	Bush's Beans 150	Woody Pitkat	Woody Pitkat	Ryan Preece	Chevrolet
12	Riverhead 200	Tom Rogers Jr.	Justin Bonsignore	Justin Bonsignore	Chevrolet
13	F. W. Webb 100	Doug Coby	Doug Coby	Doug Coby	Chevrolet
14	NAPA Fall Final 150	Doug Coby	Ryan Preece	Doug Coby	Chevrolet
15	Sunoco World Series 150	Doug Coby	Doug Coby	Doug Coby	Chevrolet

Notes

¹ – There was no qualifying session for the Whelen All-Star Shootout. The starting grid was decided with a random draw.^[8]

Drivers' championship

(key) Bold - Pole position awarded by time. Italics - Pole position set by final practice results or rainout. * – Most laps led.

Pos	Driver	THO	STA	WAT	STA	THO	RIV	NHA‡	NHA	MON	STA	THO	BRI	RIV	NHA	STA	THO	Points
1	Doug Coby	1*	6	2	13	1*	3	20	30	1*	2	1*	34	2	1*	1	1*	613
2	Ryan Preece	5	3*	1*	1*	7	8	2	6*	10	1*	6	1	8	19	2*	7	602
3	Woody Pitkat	2	1	5	2	5	5	1*	7	2	3	2	2*	7	10	12	5	600
4	Todd Szegedy	10	2	19	4	3	2	11	1	4	16	3	35	9	20	10	4	535
5	Patrick Emerling	11	8	7	9	12	16	15	4	16	6	7	10	13	2	22	6	515
6	Timmy Solomito	6	16	12	3	9	6	17	12	21	7	10	9	19	12	3	3	514
7	Donny Lia	8	5	21	25	20	23	3	2	12	26	5	3	4	6	4	10	490
8	Eric Goodale	7	4	11	26	8	4	7	8	6	8	4	28	5	28	14	23	486
9	Chase Dowling (R)	17	32	16	12	17	13		10	9	10	11	8	3	8	6	9	481
10	Justin Bonsignore	27	20	25	28	2	1*	4	22	3	5	8	36	1*	5	21	2	478
11	Bobby Santos III	3	11	6	5	6	20	5	3	22	9	23	5		3	20	16	467
12	Max Zachem (R)	31	21	4	19	16	14		14	13	13	17	14	12	30	11	15	418
13	Ted Christopher	4	24	3	6	10	11	6	31		4	9	13		21	19	8	414
14	Jamie Tomaino	16	9	33	17	22	21	19	16	11	19	20	24	22	14	8	18	397
15	Jeff Goodale (R)	22	23	15	18	21	DNQ¹		32	23	12	22	7	10	7	23	11	386
16	Shawn Solomito	32	17	18	15		18		29	7	11	28	18	20	17	5	13	373
17	Dave Sapienza (R)	21	18	13	20	19	10		15	20	14	26	DNQ¹	23	9	26	32	369
18	Rowan Pennink	13	7	8	7	13	25	16	24	14	20	19	22	11	32			364
19	Ken Heagy	30	15	26	21		24	18	21	19	24	21	23	14	13	9	19	344
20	Gary McDonald	23	28	29	23	25	DNQ¹		20	24	21	25		18	16	17	20	296
21	Troy Talman (R)	20	14	20	16	15	22		25	5	25	16			29			277
22	Wade Cole			30	29	23	DNQ¹		18	18	18	24	DNQ¹	24	25	15	29	263
23	Keith Rocco		12	10	8	4	15	12	9	28							12	254
24	Anthony Nocella (R)	26	26	31	24	26	DNQ¹		26	26			12		34	13	14	240
25	Melissa Fifield	29	29	32	30	28	DNQ¹		23	27	22	29	DNQ¹	27	31	27	25	239
26	Brendon Bock (R)		10	22	27	18	17		13	15	23		33					231
27	Dave Salzarulo	24	27	17	22	29		14	17		17	30			18	25		214
28	Ron Silk	9				27	27	8	5			27	28	28	4			199
29	Tom Rogers Jr.	14	31	23	10		7							6	33			185
30	Steve Masse (R)	33	25	24	11				33	25		12				18	31	184
31	Matt Swanson (R)										15	15			24	7	27	132
32	Derek Ramstrom (R)	15		14		11						14						122
33	Johnny Bush	34	19	28					19				29	26				119
34	Kyle Ellwood (R)		33		14		12							16			28	117
35	Spencer Davis	12	30	9	31	24												114
36	Andy Seuss							10	27	8		13	6³		15			113
37	James Civali						28						11³	15	27	16	26	108
38	Craig Lutz (R)											18		21	11		21	105
39	Ryan Newman							9	11				4		26			91
40	Danny Watts Jr.	35					DNQ¹							Wth⁴	22		24	74
41	Joe Ryan Osborne								34	17			19					67
42	Jerry Solomito Jr. (R)					30	19							17				66
43	Brandon Oltra (R)	25	22												23			62
44	Gary Putnam		13					13	28				20³					47
45	Corey LaJoie	28				14												46
46	Jon McKennedy	18		27														43
47	Vincent Biondolillo (R)						9											35
48	Frank Vigliarolo Jr.						26							Wth⁴				33
49	Kyle Soper (R)																17	27
50	Tommy Barrett Jr.	19																25
51	Kyle Bonsignore (R)												32					24
52	John Beatty Jr. (R)																22	22
53	Ronnie Williams (R)															24		20
54	Ed Brunnhoelzl III (R)													25				19
55	Chuck Steuer													Wth⁴				14
56	Ray Graham (R)																30	14
57	Paul Hartwig Jr. (R)						DNQ¹											11
58	George Perreault (R)																DNQ¹	11
59	Cole Powell								DNS²									9
	Jason Agugliaro (R)													Wth
Drivers ineligible for Whelen Modified Tour points
	George Brunnhoelzl III												15
	Frank Fleming												16
	Jason Myers												17
	Jeremy Gerstner												21
	Bobby Measmer Jr.												25
	Kyle Ebersole												26
	David Calabrese												27
	Burt Myers												30
	J. R. Bertuccio												31
	Cale Gale												DNQ
	Tom Abele Jr.												DNQ
	Trey Hutchens (R)												Wth
Pos	Driver	THO	STA	WAT	STA	THO	RIV	NHA‡	NHA	MON	STA	THO	BRI	RIV	NHA	STA	THO	Points

Notes

^‡ – Non-championship round.
¹ – Wade Cole, Melissa Fifield, Jeff Goodale, Paul Hartwig Jr., Gary McDonald, Anthony Nocella, George Perreault, Dave Sapienza, and Danny Watts Jr. received championship points, despite the fact that they did not qualify for the race.
² – Cole Powell received championship points, despite the fact that he did not start the race.
³ – Scored points towards the Whelen Southern Modified Tour.
⁴ – Chuck Steuer, Frank Vigliarolo Jr. and Danny Watts Jr. received championship points, despite the fact that they did not qualify for the race.

References

^ ^a ^b Cunningham, Jason (December 17, 2014). "Whelen Modified 2015 Schedules Announced". NASCAR Home Tracks. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on January 6, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
^ Cunningham, Jason (October 20, 2014). "Preece Changing Tour Rides". NASCAR Home Tracks. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
^ "Lia Joins Forces with TCS Racing for 2015 NWMT Season". Speed51.com. 51 Sports, LLC. December 4, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
^ Cunningham, Jason (October 27, 2014). "Solomito Headed To Flamingo". NASCAR Home Tracks. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
^ Cunningham, Jason (February 3, 2015). "Robust NBCSN Broadcast Schedule Revealed". NASCAR Home Tracks. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Fourth Whelen Modified Tour Event Coming To Thompson Speedway Schedule In 2015". racedayct.com. RaceDayCT. October 19, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
^ Cunningham, Jason (June 27, 2015). "Whelen Mod Tour Postponed At Riverhead". NASCAR Home Tracks. NASCAR. Archived from the original on June 30, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
^ "Starting Lineup: All-Star Shootout – NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, New Hampshire Motor Speedway; July 17, 2015" (PDF). NASCAR Home Tracks. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. July 17, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 21, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2015.

[Bristol-2] At the Bush's Beans 150 at Bristol, some WMT and WSMT drivers had to change numbers to avoid clashing with the other Modified Tour championship. WMT drivers who had to change numbers: Todd Szegedy drove car number 41, instead of his regular car number 4, Ron Silk drove car number 05, instead of his regular car number 15 and Joe Ryan Osborne drove car number 19, instead of his regular car number 79.

[Pitkat-6] At the F. W. Webb 100 Woody Pitkat drove with car number 38 instead of his regular 88 as a tribute to NASCAR Hall of Fame-elect Jerry Cook.

[10] The Riverhead Hoosier Tire East 200 was originally scheduled for June 27, but was postponed to June 28 due to heavy rain.^[7]

[11] The Bush's Beans 150 was held as a combined event, with competitors from the Whelen Modified Tour competing along with competitors for the Whelen Southern Modified Tour. The race was run with a series-based point distribution, where drivers received points and statistical credit for their finish relative to other drivers in their series, not to the whole field in general.

[Dates-1] Cunningham, Jason (December 17, 2014). "Whelen Modified 2015 Schedules Announced". NASCAR Home Tracks. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on January 6, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2015.

[3] Cunningham, Jason (October 20, 2014). "Preece Changing Tour Rides". NASCAR Home Tracks. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2014.

[4] "Lia Joins Forces with TCS Racing for 2015 NWMT Season". Speed51.com. 51 Sports, LLC. December 4, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2015.

[5] Cunningham, Jason (October 27, 2014). "Solomito Headed To Flamingo". NASCAR Home Tracks. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.

[7] Cunningham, Jason (February 3, 2015). "Robust NBCSN Broadcast Schedule Revealed". NASCAR Home Tracks. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2015.

[Four_at_Thompson-8] "Fourth Whelen Modified Tour Event Coming To Thompson Speedway Schedule In 2015". racedayct.com. RaceDayCT. October 19, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014.

[9] Cunningham, Jason (June 27, 2015). "Whelen Mod Tour Postponed At Riverhead". NASCAR Home Tracks. NASCAR. Archived from the original on June 30, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2015.

[12] "Starting Lineup: All-Star Shootout – NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, New Hampshire Motor Speedway; July 17, 2015" (PDF). NASCAR Home Tracks. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. July 17, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 21, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2015.

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