There is no shortage of star power as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour heads to North Wilkesboro Speedway this Sunday for the Brushy Mountain Powersports 150.
Headlining the entry list are two NASCAR Cup Series legends – 2008 Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman and 2000 series champion Bobby Labonte. Newman is piloting the No. 77 Modified for Mike Curb, while Labonte is in the No. 38 for Sadler-Stanley Racing.
Labonte anticipates a complete contrast at North Wilkesboro on Sunday compared to past events with the recently repaved surface. All the unknowns surrounding the new pavement is something Labonte believes creates an ideal opportunity for him to contend with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour regulars.
“I‘m excited about it,” Labonte said. “We‘ve run [North] Wilkesboro a couple of times now, but the repave is going to be different for everybody. With a lot more cars on the racetrack, hopefully more rubber will be laid down and the groove will move up. Nobody has a clear-cut advantage, but somebody is going to hit on the right combination. Hopefully it‘s us.”
Since competing in his last Cup Series race in 2016, Labonte has kept himself busy by racing Modifieds around the Southeast.
The learning curve has not been as rigorous as Labonte initially envisioned. He has visited Victory Lane five times in a Modified during the 2020s, besting many established veterans like Burt Myers, Brandon Ward and even Newman.
Unlike Labonte, Newman‘s experience in Modifieds dates to when he was still competing in the Cup Series. Among the accomplishments Newman has amassed in the discipline include four NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victories, three of which were in the iconic No. 7NY.
Newman earned a solid sixth place finish during the inaugural Brushy Mountain Powersports 150 last year and won an exhibition event at North Wilkesboro in 2022, but he knows replicating those finishes will require a different strategy. Tire conservation is no longer paramount after the repave, yet Newman believes drivers will still have to race the track on Sunday.
“It‘s a totally different race track now with the new asphalt,” Newman said. “Everything we‘ve done in the past is not necessarily relevant. We did the tire test for Hoosier when the track was new. The track has got some age on it now, [so] I look forward to going back there.”
Labonte shared Newman‘s optimism regarding the slow aging of the new surface, which he hopes creates plenty of side-by-side racing. With how fast North Wilkesboro is now expected to be, Labonte said it will be imperative for teams to not make their cars too loose, otherwise they risk sacrificing corner speed.
A North Wilkesboro victory eluded Labonte during the handful of times he got to race there in the Cup Series. Checking off that milestone will require Labonte to deal with a talented group of racers, but he believes the cars prepared by PSR Products give him a great chance to be competitive all day.
“It would mean a lot to ride that elevator up at North Wilkesboro,” Labonte said. “I‘m looking forward to having that opportunity. I feel like we can be fairly competitive and if we can hit the right combination come race time, then I think we‘ll be really good.”
Labonte and Newman will look to take home a checkered flag at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. FloRacing will carry live coverage of all the on-track action in the Brushy Mountain Powersports 150.
Luke Baldwin piloting iconic No. 7NY Modified for father Tommy Baldwin Jr.
After a four-race absence, the No. 7NY returns to NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour competition this weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway, this time with Tommy Baldwin Jr.‘s son Luke behind the wheel.
Luke only has one prior NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour start on his resume, which occurred at New Hampshire Motor Speedway earlier this year. Driving the No. 38 for Sadler-Stanley Racing, Luke ended up settling for a 20th place finish after being collected in a late-race accident.
Despite this, Luke has enjoyed plenty of success in the early days of his career. He earned two victories and a championship in the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing‘s 602 Modified Division at New Smyrna Speedway last year before later finding Victory Lane in a Modified.
Expectations are high for Luke as he prepares to run his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event with his family‘s iconic number. Luke‘s grandfather Tom Baldwin established the legacy of the No. 7NY with countless accomplishments to his name, which has since been carried on through Tommy Jr.‘s Modified operation.
A strong field of cars awaits Luke on Sunday afternoon, but the 18-year-old competitor is eager for a successful first chapter with the No. 7NY on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
Matt Hirschman looks to stay undefeated at North Wilkesboro
When the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour made their first trip to North Wilkesboro Speedway in 2023, Matt Hirschman wasted no time etching his name into the record books.
The veteran racer led 80 laps from the outside pole to win the inaugural Brushy Mountain Powersports 150 ahead of Ron Silk and Justin Bonsignore. Hirschman is back in his familiar No. 60 PeeDee Motorsports Modified this weekend with the goal of adding another North Wilkesboro victory to his resume.
Since North Wilkesboro re-opened to the public, Hirschman has been one of the best drivers at the facility. Along with his NASAR Whelen Modified Tour triumph, Hirschman also tallied another victory and a third-place finish during two exhibition events at North Wilkesboro in August of 2022.
All those performances came on North Wilkesboro‘s old surface that remained relatively untouched during the track‘s prolonged closure. Hirschman will need to adapt to North Wilkesboro‘s fresh pavement if he wants to maintain or improve upon his average finish of 1.7 at the facility.
A victory for Hirschman on Sunday afternoon would give him his 10th overall in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and second in 2024, having last prevailed at Seekonk Speedway back in June.
NOTES:
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North Wilkesboro Speedway was the sight of Carson Loftin‘s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour debut in 2023, where he earned a lead lap finish of 25th. The talented Modified prospect is back with the series for his third start of 2024, seeking to improve upon a career-best run of ninth at Richmond Raceway in April.
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Andy Seuss, a two-time champion in the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour, is back with the premier tour after last competing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in June. Seuss‘ best performance on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was a third at Myrtle Beach Speedway in 2017, a milestone he looks to eclipse on Sunday.
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Former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor Joey Coulter has not run a race with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour since the season-opener at New Smyrna Speedway. That changes Sunday as Coulter enters North Wilkesboro Speedway determined to earn his first top 10 with the series.
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A long drive from 36th in last year‘s Brushy Mountain Powersports 150 for Andrew Krause ended with a solid seventh place finish. Krause has four NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour top 10s at tracks in the Southeast, but will search for his fourth career top five on Sunday afternoon at North Wilkesboro.
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