NWMT: Sunoco World Series 150 Preview

This weekend is the final time for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races in 2014.  The World Series of Racing weekend at Thompson Speedway in Connecticut ends with the Sunoco 150 on Sunday and a champion will be crowned.

Doug Coby heads into the event with a 28-point lead over series veteran Ted Christopher.  Coby has tasted the championship victory lane by winning it all in 2012.  This time around, the Connecticut driver is wheeling the No. 2 Mike Smeriglio III Racing machine this season.  Coby won only one race in 2014, a two-week delayed race at Stafford Springs in June and leading all but eight laps in the race.  Consistency has kept Coby in the points lead most of the season.

His closest competitor heading into the last two races, Justin Bonsignore, is out of the championship hunt after suffering mechanical failures at both Loudon and Stafford Springs.  This allowed Christopher to slide into second in points and sits 28 markers behind Coby heading into the Thompson finale. 

Defending champ Ryan Preece had a goose egg in the win column, until last time out at Stafford, leading 79 of the 152 laps en route to victory.  Preece has also gotten his feet wet in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race with Tommy Baldwin Racing at Loudon in July.  He was also locked up in the SK Modified track battle at Stafford with Christopher.  Preece won the race, but Christopher won the war by winning the championship.

Rookies have played a part in this year’s series with Tommy Barrett, Jr. and Timmy Solomito.  Barrett scored the win on the high banks of Bristol in August, while Solomito already captured the Rookie of the Year title.  Sunday can be a golden opportunity for either driver and post another rookie victory on the 2014 season.

Thompson has seen two different winners in the last three races there, with Bonsignore looking for the 2014 trifecta, winning there in April and August.  Rowan Pennink grabbed the second of his two career wins in last year’s Thompson finale.  Pennink is winless this season and Sunday could be the chance to defend the victory.

A busy weekend for Modified racing, as the Race of Champions (ROC) tour is in Lancaster, New York for the rescheduled U.S. Open and 2014 series finale.  It is possible to see some drivers run the race in Western New York Saturday, then head to Thompson for Sunday’s race.  Matt Hirschman could be one of those drivers, as he drives two different cars in each series.  Hirschman is behind the No. 52 Wayne Darling Racing car on the Whelen Modified Tour and the No. 60 Matt Hirschman Motorsports machine in the ROC Series.  The Pennsylvania native hasn’t won a Modified Tour race since 2008, in one of his best seasons to date finishing second in points.

Bobby Santos III and Bonsignore are tied with the most Modified Tour wins on the season with three.  Santos posted his first win at the Magic Mile, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, in July.  A number of drivers are still looking for the first win of the season.

The green flag for the Sunoco World Series 150 is scheduled to drop Sunday afternoon.  The race will be shown TV on Saturday, November 1 at 10 a.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.

Kyle Magda