PIT BOX: Return to Seekonk Speedway up next for NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour

With a quarter of the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season officially in the books, the Mod Squad shifts its focus to Seekonk Speedway this Saturday night for the running of the Seekonk 150.

The Seekonk 150 marks a return for the series to Seekonk Speedway after last visiting the track in 2019. It marks the 11th visit by the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour to the third-mile asphalt oval in Massachusetts.

Seekonk Speedway first welcomed the series in 1987, with Reggie Ruggiero outlasting Jimmy Spencer to secure the victory. The series didn’t return again until 2000, when Jerry Marquis visited Victory Lane. Other Tour winners at the track include Chris Kopec, Ed Flemke Jr., Chuck Hossfeld, Eric Beers, Timmy Solomito, Justin Bonsignore and two-time Seekonk winner Doug Coby.

Tickets to Saturday’s Seekonk 150 are available here. Below is everything you need to know about the sixth race of the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season.

Seekonk 150 at Seekonk Speedway

What to watch for:

With five races now in the rearview for the stars of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, the battle at the top of the series standings is between Ron Silk and Justin Bonsignore.

Silk, who won the opening race of the season at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway, leads the standings by three points ahead of Bonsingore, who triumphed in Race 4 at New York’s Riverhead Raceway.

Both should be considered contenders Saturday when the Whelen Modified Tour makes its return to Seekonk for the first time since 2019.

Doug Coby is also likely to be among the frontrunners Saturday. The Tommy Baldwin Racing driver is the most recent Tour winner at Seekonk and already has a victory this year, which came at New Hampshire’s Monadnock Speedway last month.

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Matt Hirschman is still riding a wave of momentum following his victory in the most recent Tour event at New Hampshire’s Lee USA Speedway. He led laps in 2019 at Seekonk and will no doubt be in the mix when the green flag waves Saturday night.

Austin Beers will also be among those to watch Saturday. His father Eric Beers won his first Whelen Modified Tour race at Seekonk in 2005, and Austin would love to join his father as a Tour winner at the track.

Defending Tour champion Jon McKennedy will chase his first victory of the season Saturday at Seekonk alongside fellow 2022 race winners Anthony Nocella and Craig Lutz. One driver, Tommy Wanick, will be making his Whelen Modified Tour debut Saturday night.

The complete entry for the Seekonk 150 will be available later this week.

RACE FACTS

Schedule: Saturday, June 10 … Final practice from 3 to 4 p.m. ET … Qualifying at 5:30 p.m. ET … Local racing at 6 p.m. ET … Seekonk 150 at 8 p.m. ET.

Qualifying: Two consecutive qualifying laps. 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. Starting field for the Seekonk 150 is limited to 28 starters including Provisional Positions.

Tire allotment: The maximum tire allotment available for this event is eight (8) tires per team. All tires used for qualifying and the race must be purchased at the track and scanned by Hoosier, unless otherwise approved in advance by the Series Director. Four (4) tires must be used for qualifying and to begin the race. All qualifying tires must remain in impound until released by NASCAR Officials. The remaining tire allotment may be used for practice and/or change tires during the event. The tire change rule is zero (0) tires, any position.