Why New Hampshire Motor Speedway is special to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour

Every racing series has one event that drivers look forward to every year.

For the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, it‘s the Mohegan Sun 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Located in Loudon, New Hampshire, the 1.058-mile oval has produced tight racing and countless iconic finishes for the Modifieds since Bob Bahre opened the facility in 1990.

Many of the Whelen Modified Tour‘s best drivers have taken home checkered flags through the series‘ 30-year relationship with New Hampshire. These names include Reggie Ruggiero, Steve Park, Tony Hirschman, Mike Stefanik, Ted Christopher, Doug Coby, Bobby Santos III and many more.

Veteran Eric Goodale nearly added his name to that prestigious list in last year‘s Mohegan Sun 100. Since entering the Whelen Modified Tour, the allure of New Hampshire for Goodale has been the close on-track action along with the additional notoriety stemming from being a support event for the NASCAR Cup Series.

“If you talk to fans who go [to New Hampshire], they‘ll typically say [the Whelen Modified Tour] is the best race of the weekend,” Goodale said. “There‘s always a lot going on and not a ton of follow the leader. It‘s cool to be there on the main stage, which opens viewership to other people who wouldn‘t know about us.”

RELATED: Mohegan Sun 100 entry list

New Hampshire has historically not been one of Goodale‘s better tracks, but the 2022 Whelen 100 was the closest he came to winning the marquee event.

After leading 30 laps, Goodale found himself leading the pack as he charged towards the checkered flag. While this would be an optimal situation at other tracks, the prevalent draft at New Hampshire left Goodale in a vulnerable position, particularly to second-place driver Patrick Emerling.

Emerling used the draft to get alongside Goodale and pass him entering Turn 3 on the final lap. Goodale attempted to pull a crossover off Turn 4, but inadvertently turned Emerling and himself into the outside retaining wall, handing the win to Anthony Nocella.

The four laps Nocella led that day were his first ones out front at New Hampshire. He is hoping to improve upon that number in Saturday‘s Mohegan Sun 100, where he will be driving his second race in the No. 46 for Goodale‘s uncle Russell after going to Victory Lane in his own No. 92 last year.

“I‘m really looking forward to [New Hampshire],” Nocella said. “I‘m excited, especially after last year when we were able to win it after having a good car all weekend. Obviously, that was with my car, but we have equipment capable of winning up there [again], so I can‘t wait to get up there and see how we do.”

Underdog wins like Nocella‘s are not an uncommon occurrence at New Hampshire. One of Doug Heveron‘s three Whelen Modified Tour wins came at the facility in 1991, while Chase Dowling‘s New Hampshire triumph in 2018 remains his lone series win to date.

Despite this, New Hampshire typically rewards the Modified veterans who can master the draft and figure out when to time their moves. Santos leads all active Whelen Modified Tour drivers with six series wins, while others like Coby and current series points leader Ron Silk have also scored multiple New Hampshire wins.

RELATED: NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour winners at New Hampshire

Silk‘s three New Hampshire victories have been split between driving cars for Kevin Stuart and the late Eddie Partridge. He wants to add to his successful New Hampshire legacy by delivering a win for his current team, Haydt Yannone Racing, which would put him in a small group of drivers that have won at least four races at the track.

“[New Hampshire] is one of my favorite tracks that we race on,” Silk said. “I didn‘t have the best weekend up there last year. Got caught up in a wreck and didn‘t really show what we had. Historically, it‘s been good for me and we‘re looking forward to getting there.”

There will be plenty of talented drivers standing in the way of Silk‘s goal to claim his fourth New Hampshire victory.

Corey LaJoie is set to make his first Whelen Modified Tour start of the season in the Mohegan Sun 100 after winning last year‘s season finale at Martinsville Speedway. Other notable names on the preliminary entry list include Santos, Dowling and two-time NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour champion Andy Seuss.

Amongst the usual Whelen Modified Tour contingent, three-time champion Justin Bonsignore is determined to start accumulating victories at New Hampshire. His only points-paying win at the facility came in 2016 when he led 77 of the 106 laps.

RELATED: Get tickets to Saturday’s Mohegan Sun 100

Bonsignore said his recent New Hampshire performances do not reflect the speed his car has shown. He feels comfortable with the draft that is exclusive to New Hampshire for the Modifieds and is optimistic about picking up that elusive second win on Saturday evening.

No matter what happens this weekend, Bonsignore is looking forward to embracing the vibrant atmosphere that is always prevalent whenever the Whelen Modified Tour visits New Hampshire.

“We‘re always excited to go to Loudon,” Bonsignore said. “We‘ve been fast up there the past couple of years, but just haven‘t had great results. Hopefully a lot of fans come out and support it because it‘s usually the best race of the weekend. I wish we could go there more because it‘s such an event for us.

“We love being a part of it.”

Whelen Modified Tour race weekends at New Hampshire have undergone numerous changes since Bonsignore started racing full-time in 2010. The series downsized from two races at the track to one in 2020, and briefly experimented with a 250-lap race at the end of the last decade.

Through all these adjustments, Goodale still looks forward to New Hampshire with the same excitement he possessed when he turned his first laps there in 2009. Even though Goodale has only tallied five victories since that day, earning his sixth overall on Saturday would bring immense pride for one of the Whelen Modified Tour‘s most-seasoned drivers.

“If I win, I can say that I‘ve won at all the NASCAR tracks we run at other than Richmond, which we just started going to,” Goodale said. “We‘ve done good at Martinsville and Bristol, but Loudon is the one I have the most laps at. That race always seems to escape me, but it would be freaking awesome to finally get a checkered there.”

Another chapter in the Whelen Modified Tour‘s proud history with New Hampshire will be written on Saturday evening as Goodale and 29 other drivers make final preparations to have a shot at winning the series‘ most storied race.